The Archies: The Top 56 Things in the World (2010)

It's time for my annual contribution to The Archies. The post title pretty much explains it all, but I suggest following the link for more information, especially if you decide to participate too.

My previous entries include the top things for 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009.

It goes without saying that I've probably forgotten some things, but looking over this lengthy list, it tells me that maybe last year was better than I thought it was. Without further ado, I present my selections for The Top 56 Things in the World: 2010 edition.

1. Angry Birds
2. @pourmecoffee
3. Arcade Fire at Lollapalooza
4. "Arrow" - Kathryn Calder
5. Bangor, Maine
6. Bemidji, Minnesota
7. The Best Show on WFMU
8. "Bright Lights Bigger City" - Cee Lo Green
9. Bigelow Constant Comment decaffeinated tea
10. Blackduck Lake
11. "Blue As Your Blood" - The Walkmen
12. Bone
13. Charity: Water
14. Chicago, Illinois
15. Chick-fil-a’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich
16. Community
17. Curling in the Olympics
18. DK Diner donuts
19. Facemash.com creation in The Social Network
20. Fossil messenger bag
21. Friars' Bakehouse
22. Guided by Voices reunion show at Outland on Liberty
23. Hot Doug's
24. Inception
25. Joanna Newsom at the Southern Theatre
26. Kindle
27. Lobster roll
28. Lourdes
29. "Madder Red" - Yeasayer (For the album version, here's the official video, which may be a bit gross to some.)
30. Mexican Cokes
31. Minneapolis, Minnesota
32. Moxie
33. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
34. NCAA Opening Round game
35. Nephew
36. The New Pornographers at the Newport Music Hall
37. Netflix Watch Instantly
38. New-to-me car (Let's not have this item on here for a third consecutive year.)
39. Online bill pay
40. "Out Go the Lights" - Spoon
41. Parks and Recreation
42. Pavement at the Lifestyle Communities Pavilion
43. The Red Shoes
44. Reds home playoff game!
45. Sherlock Holmes stories
46. "Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk" - The New Pornographers
47. Taco Bueno
48. Taco trucks
49. Teen Dream - Beach House
50. Trains
51. Twitter
52. Ultrasound machine that helped work out tight neck muscles
53. University of Dayton NIT Championship (and attending one of the games)
54. Vancouver Winter Olympics
55. Visiting ballparks (PNC Park, Target Field, Wrigley Field)
56. Words with Friends

The Organization

Regarding my Archies '09 post, Donna B. of Arkansas writes:

Have you always done it alphabetically and this is the first time I've noticed?

Also, how do you do it alphabetically -- by hand, or using computer-assisted sorting?

We need an "Archies Behind The Scenes" featurette for this post!

Why yes, Donna, I have always arranged my Archies selections in alphabetical order. How else would one give shape and symmetry to such a list? One alternative might be to place them in chronological order, the benefit of which is to show an evolution through the year, but I've not kept track of these things well enough to do that method justice. Also, that just occurred to me as another way of doing it. For my purposes, alphabetical is where it's at.

As for the how, I follow in the tradition of the finest artisans and sort the list by hand. More specifically, I sort by hand with the computer screen as my blank page to work on. As the items come to mind, I enter them into a word processing or blogging document and then proceed to put them in order by cutting and pasting each into the appropriate position. This could probably be done faster with a spreadsheet document like Excel, but that's not what I've done in these instances.

Alphabetical sorting, or sorting of any kind, is something that comes second nature to me. I had at least one temp job that required putting stacks of files back in many rows of drawers, so the easiest way to attack such work was to alphabetize the files first. (I also worked part-time in a library for a few months in high school.) Keep in mind, many years after junior high choir I have retained the useless talent of being able to name the states in alphabetical order from learning the song "Fifty Nifty United States".

I think it's all about seeing structure where it may not be immediately apparent or providing structure where there is none. For instance, my music collection is arranged alphabetically by artist. (I use the artist's last name, not the maddening first name method that iTunes favors, although I understand why it is set up in such a manner.) The albums are arranged in order of release. Singles follow their corresponding albums and are also arranged in order of release. Multiple artist compilations and soundtracks are grouped together in alphabetical order after all the artists.

I also keep books in order first by author name and then by the order in which the books were released. (This tends to pertain to novels and non-fiction. Specialty books, such as knitting books, are not in the above mix.) DVDs and Blu-ray discs are alphabetized by title, with music and television programs each self-contained subsets. Naturally, Criterion Collection titles are separated out and put in numerical order.

Maybe this all sounds obsessive-compulsive, but it has value to me. In High Fidelity, both in the book and the film, main character Rob Gordon puts a great deal of thought in how he arranges his collection and reorders it on a regular basis. (I believe one method is the order in which he acquired the albums. Good luck with that one.) Like much of the book (and film), it struck a chord with me. Other than making it easier to find what you want, is there a need to do this alphabetizing? Probably not. Does it please me? You bet.

(And yes, it's shameful that those are the only three Springsteen albums I own and that I have more Tobin Sprout solo albums.)

The Archies: The Top 51 Things in the World (2009)

For many people, the fact that 2009 is over is worth celebrating. Sure, the year presented its share of hardships and aggravations, but let's not forget the good things too.

Donna began The Archies, which is a list of one's top things in the world (as opposed to favorites), and I've played along the last three years. So, I'm back for more this year, even though I've most assuredly forgotten some things. If you'd like to participate, just make sure to let her know in the comments to her Archies '09 if you do.

Now, my Archies selections for The Top 51 Things in the World: The 2009 Edition.

1. Andrew Bird and St. Vincent at the Southern Theatre
2. Auto-Tune the News
3. Back-to-back Cincinnati Reds games (nice, brief overnight trip to see two games in one trip)
4. The Beatles Stereo Box Set
5. Busch Stadium (gorgeous St. Louis ballpark and a Reds win)
6. Chungking Express
7. Cincinnati Bengals' winning season (they're rare even if the playoffs disappointed)
8. The Decemberists at Lifestyle Communities Pavilion
9. Don't Stop/All Night EP - Annie
10. Duplicity
11. First Columbus Blue Jackets playoff appearance (even if their brief stint was a disaster)
12. Flannel sheets in the winter
13. Gateway Arch
14. Google Chrome
15. GPS
16. Grandma's letter
17. Hotwire
18. Inglourious Basterds
19. Inventory by the writers of The A.V. Club
20. iPhone
21. Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams
22. Leonard Cohen at the Palace Theatre
23. Married life montage in Up
24. Martinelli's Gold Medal Sparkling Cider
25. Matt Damon in The Informant!
26. Minor league baseball games in the midwest and south
27. "My Girls" - Animal Collective
28. My own small, artificial Christmas tree
29. New car (despite all the repair issues)
30. New car radio (despite one being stolen)
31. "Night Shift" café scene in 35 Shots of Rum
32. Rubz
33. A Serious Man
34. Snowville Creamery milk
35. "So Far Around the Bend" - The National
36. "Stillness is the Move" - Dirty Projectors
37. The Stone Roses debut album reissue
38. Summer Hours
39. Timberland waterproof boots
40. Tom Scharpling and Paul F. Tompkins on The Best Show talking about the 2009 Gathering of the Juggalos infomercial (runs from 1:26:55 to 1:51:14) (so funny it reduced me to tears, although it helps if you've seen what they're commenting on)
41. Twitter (I've resisted social networking sites, but this one has been a lot of fun)
42. Two Lovers
43. "Two Weeks" - Grizzly Bear
44. University of Central Arkansas dishcloth
45. Vacation hosts
46. Watchmen (the graphic novel; the film was just OK)
47. Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwich (best fast food sandwich ever?)
48. Whole Foods
49. Wingate by Wyndham Birmingham (not to mention the killer price I got the room for)
50. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - Phoenix
51. Yo La Tengo at Stuart's Opera House

The Archies: The Top 52 Things in the World (2008)

Let's start the new year with a bunch of positives. Donna began The Archies, which is a list of one's top things in the world (as opposed to favorites), and I've played along the last two years. So, I'm back for more this year.

Have I forgotten some things? Undoubtedly. This list got longer as I went along. Am I sure what the difference is between top things and favorite things? Not exactly. Should you participate too? Of course. Just make sure to let her know in the comments to her Archies '08 if you do.

Now, my Archies selections for The Top 52 Things in the World: The 2008 Edition.

1. A.M. Cinema (a nice way to spend a weekend morning and the only way I managed with all the press screenings I skipped)
2. The A.V. Club Hipster Dishrag (self-serving but I'm proud of my first design)
3. Beijing Olympics (especially that opening ceremony)
4. Benno CD towers
5. Black Box performance space (saw several very good concerts there at a reasonable price)
6. Blog 365
7. Blueberry pancakes
8. Cable cast on
9. Change we can believe in
10. Debt-free
11. Euro lap desk
12. Everlasting Bagstopper
13. Firefox
14. Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant EP and Fleet Foxes
15. Funny Games (the director's U.S. remake of his 1997 Austrian original is probably unnecessary, but it's more relevant in its cultural criticism now than ever)
16. Google Docs
17. Guitar Hero: World Tour (no slight intended to Rock Band; it's just that their peripherals aren't compatible with the Guitar Hero game I already had)
18. HDTV
19. Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks scarf
20. The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
21. "In the New Year" - The Walkmen
22. Knit night (I'm baffled that I fit in, but I've found one where I'm comfortable)
23. Mad Men (watched the debut episode in 2007 and didn't return until recently; should have been back sooner)
24. Mar-Chele soft pretzels
25. Mario Kart Wii
26. Meijer Gold Mango Peach Salsa
27. Misti Alpaca
28. Mom's homemade peanut brittle
29. My Morning Jacket at The LC Pavilion
30. Newsradio Classic TV Club
31. NHL Winter Classic
32. The NY Times Sunday at Home Crosswords
33. Ohio IKEA
34. Pot roast sandwich and sweet potato fries at Tip Tip Kitchen & Cocktails
35. Priceless (Hors de prix) (there's always room for this kind of French cinematic trifle)
36. The Purple Rose of Cairo
37. Pushing Daisies (my added viewership this season is unfortunately too little, too late)
38. Radiohead at Blossom Music Center
39. Raising Cane's chicken fingers
40. Ravelry
41. Ravelympics
42. Roger Ebert's Journal
43. Roy Orbison - The Soul of Rock and Roll
44. The Sartorialist (I don't know much of anything about fashion and style, but this photographer's pictures from the streets make those things seem a little more accessible)
45. Scrunchable Scarf
46. Socks of my very own making
47. Tina Fey
48. "Transformer" - Marnie Stern
49. "Unknown Legend" in Rachel Getting Married
50. "Viva La Vida" - Coldplay (yeah, the band is extremely popular and totally not cool among the music snobs, but this is a perfect pop song...and the album's pretty good too)
51. WALL-E
52. The Year in Pictures (with that name, what else could it be but a photography blog)

The Archies: The Top 51 Things in the World (2007)

Last year Donna started something she dubbed The Archies. I played along and kept this year's list in the back of my mind through 2007. (Unfortunately I didn't have the sense to write things down as the year progressed.) The beauty of this is that it encourages remembering the kind of stuff that enriches your life.

Donna has already posted her 2007 Archies and the rules, so check out her picks and list your own on your blog.

With no further ado, I announce my 2007 Archies, The Top 51 Things in the World.

1. "1 2 3 4"
2. $5 parking for hockey games
3. $10 Huntington Green Seats at Blue Jackets games
4. 3o Rock
5. Alexander Payne's "14th arrondissement" in Paris, je t'aime
6. Amy Adams in Enchanted
7. The Apples in Stereo "7 Stars"
8. The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
9. Arkansas vacation hosts
10. Cascade 220
11. Casey Affleck in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Gone Baby Gone, and Ocean's Thirteen
12. City Barbeque sweet tea
13. Columbus Gas Prices.com
14. Down pillow I got for Christmas
15. FranklinCovey planner
16. Google Desktop
17. Google Reader (wipes the floor with last year's Bloglines nomination)
18. Google Talk
19. Gorilla Glue
20. Greenberg Smoked Turkey
21. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Funny how I'm OK with this now that I don't have to hear my former neighbors playing it all hours of the day. Only played it once, but it was awfully fun.)
22. Hotwire
23. I Am America (And So Can You!)
24. IKEA Kaffe (French press)
25. Kelly Willis - Translated from Love
26. Knit Picks Options interchangeable needles
27. Malabrigo
28. Mike's Place (best meal I had all year)
29. Minuteman Pizza
30. Nels Cline guitar solos on Wilco's Sky Blue Sky (especially great in concert)
31. New apartment
32. Nintendo Wii (probably just as well I don't have one)
33. The North Market
34. Norwegian films at the Cleveland International Film Festival (The Bothersome Man, Cold Prey, Reprise, and Sons)
35. Once
36. The Onion AV Club (the best gets even better with TV Club)
37. "PoP! Goes My Heart"
38. Radiohead - In Rainbows (bonus points for the "it's up to you" download)
39. Ratatouille
40. Ravelry
41. Roger Ebert's letter on the eve of Ebertfest
42. Scotch paper cutter
43. Sonic
44. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
45. TehKu teas
46. There Will Be Blood
47. Tim Tams
48. Toshiba Satellite laptop
49. TV shows available for free on network websites (even if it is a cause of the writer's strike)
50. Vernors ginger soda
51. Zout Action Foam

Salvaged

Texas dishcloth

Yarn: Lily The Original Sugar 'n Cream (100% cotton; worsted weight)
Color: Delft blue
Needles: US 7s
Stitches: 38

An FO! It's been such a long time. I cast on and knit a few rows after writing yesterday's blog entry, but I knit almost all of it this afternoon. It's not quite big enough to meet the Dish Rag Tag size specifications, not that I'm going to knit this pattern for the race. I feel like I should be able to crank out a dishcloth the same day I get the box, though. Is my mojo back? I hope.

This was a day for salvaging. Last night I got home from a cookout and discovered that some runny filling from the blackberry pie I made had dripped all over my shirt and shorts. (This happened en route from my car to my apartment, not at the party.) I thought that the stains might be impossible to get out. It didn't help that I was out of stain remover.

This morning I saw that blackberry pie residue had also dripped on one of my car seats. Picture above my head a cartoon thermometer with the sound of a slide whistle accompanying the rising mercury. I bought Zout Action Foam to do battle with the stains. To my amazement, I didn't see a trace of blackberries on my clothes when I took them out of the washer. Guess what's going on the shortlist for this year's Archies.

Google Desktop will be on that list too. The tool was a saving grace when I couldn't get a wireless signal in Arkansas, and it helped me get to information I needed this weekend while my work e-mail was inaccessible. I would have shown up late to the cookout, but Google Desktop let me search my computer for an old e-mail I had viewed on it.

These minor wins have given me the courage to sew my messenger bag strap. I need to find a sewing tutorial--something as basic as how to start--and then I think I'm ready to take the plunge with blanket stitch.