Cool Crap Five Year In Review

2008 was a rough year.

A lot of personal trials and tribulations hit me that year, but 2009 was pretty damn good to yours truly.

We got a nice house. We got a nice dog. My home business did better this year than last year and looks like it’ll do even better in 2010. I’ve got a lot to be thankful for, and while things like dealing with a mortgage and trying to drum up even more business to pay the bills (everything costs more now, doesn’t it?) will present exciting, scary new challenges, I’m pretty optimistic for the year to come.

And as a geek, 2009 was pretty sweet.

What were the cool things in 2009?


Well, there were certainly more than five. Fortunately, for the purposes of this column, all I need to present are a personal five things that made the geek facets of my life so sweet this year.

Some of this may be old news, but it’s a year in review.

So without further ado...

Movies
Star Trek
I was very worried that this might suck. I mean, come on... an odd-numbered movie, and ST: Nemesis was such a dud. But then again... it’s the handiwork of JJ Abrams, the guy who’s been jerking me around with Lost--so could it be bad?

Turns out my fears were for naught. A lot of great movies came out in 2009, but if I had to pick the most relevant for geeks--it would be the Star Trek movie reboot.

My biggest concern, I think, was that Abrams would somehow disenfranchise over 40 years of Trek canon and fandom. The Star Trek franchise is one of those few examples of a universe in which the fans really did have an effect on how the universe developed. Was that all going out the window? Were those millions of pages of Trek fiction and fan memorabilia be destined for the dust bin?

Nah. The alternate timeline thing kept all the wonderful Trek lore intact, while opening up exciting new roads for future lore. Brilliant work.

As for the movie itself, the casting was excellent. The overall look of the new Star Trek universe is sleek and bright--modern without looking too contrived. Even the shaky camera and lens flares works.

Well done, guys.

Now keep it up. You’re got our attention now.


Comics
Girl Genius

This was the year I really embraced Girl Genius by Phil and Kaja Foglio. I’d been a longtime Foglio fan, but had yet to invest in reading through the archive of Girl Genius comics at GirlGenius.com. I rue (rue!) having waited so long.

I’ve seen a lot of steampunk stories over the years, but nothing comes close to this series as far as capturing the more fun aspects of the genre. The writing and art are outstanding, with brilliant, vibrant use of color. The characters are engaging and the plot, while convoluted, is extremely well thought out and managed. There are laughs. Lots of laughs.

And a lot of edge-of-the-seat action.

Science!

Really, if you’ve not checked this out (and I know I’ve mentioned this comic before, so you have no real excuse now), you must run to your computer and visit the Girl Genius website. You can read them all for free, then go and order the dead-tree editions.

You won’t be sorry.

Science!

Books
Douglas Coupland
Regular readers are going to be familiar with this name. One of the first books I reviewed here was Coupland’s J-Pod about five tech loonies at a software company. I followed that up with reviews of The Gum Thief, Eleanor Rigby, Microserfs, and All Families Are Psychotic. As far as single authors go, I’ve read more by Coupland this year than anyone else.

Why do I find his work so fascinating?

I’m usually a science fiction kind of guy, but I also get into modern literature--often with a post-mostern bent, and Coupland really is a master of that style. There is a certain transgressiveness about many of the plots, and the characters speak to you directly. I know at first glance this sounds like it could be annoying, but that’s the trick. Coupland makes it work. You enjoy the style rather than be distracted or annoyed with it.

From the guy who first coined the term “Generation X”, his writing speaks to me on a personal level, and I think you folks out there in the same age and economic bracket as myself will also identify with Coupland’s worlds and characters.

What have you go to lose?

(Bonus: Visit this site for some modern handicrafts by Coupland.)


Food
Double Chocolate Brownie mix by Ghirardelli
As a guy who likes to cook, I’ve made some fun dishes this past year. My apple cobbler recipe and clamcake recipe are hits with friends and relatives. I tried a special version of chicken marsala recently that came out quite excellent. But in the area of easy-to-make comfort foods...where last year it was Trader Joe’s cornbread mix, this year it seems to be the Double Chocolate Brownie mix from Ghirardelli. It’s easy to make... 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, one egg, and mix. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. Best brownies ever. Loaded with chocolate chips, and rich brownie-cake. They taste like something you might have made from scratch. I won’t tell if you try to pass them off as such.

And if you’re cooking for someone with a dairy allergy, no problem. It’s dairy-free.

Don’t disdain those handy boxed mixed on the supermarket shelves. Some are quite good, and comfort food should also be comfortable to make.

Try this brownie mix. Cheap, and available in most major supermarkets.


Television
The Venture Bros.
There were a lot of shows I’ve watched this year--some old and some new--which got my attention: Dexter, Dinner For Five, Lost, The Henry Rollins Show, etc., but the one show that I anticipated the return of most was the current season of The Venture Bros. and I was not disappointed. The stories moved more forward than they did in season three which seemed to focus a lot on the past. There have been some changes to the Venture-verse with Sgt. Hatred’s new role in the Venture family, and Brock Sampson’s time in S.P.H.I.N.X....but what changes more yet to come? Only half the season was broadcast in 2009. The rest of the new episodes won’t rear their heads until summer.

Still, Venture Bros remains one of my all-time favorite shows, and even eight new episodes this year are still cause for celebration. Great artwork. Superb voice acting. This is Adult Swim’s greatest triumph.


And that’s my Cool Crap Five Faves of 2009. May you all have a happy New Year. 2010 shows a lot of promise. If we survived the economic and social turmoils of the Bush era, and the reverberations of this past year, we should be all set to weather storms to come and emerge stronger and richer for it all.

So say we all.

For information on how to get your book, comic, movie, whatever reviewed on Falling Off the Shelf, or to send hate mail, feel free to contact me at john (at) johnteehan (dot) com.