The Day 2017 Dies

The year comes to its end and I find time to ramble for far too long.

 Modern Countryside

All of my blog posts start life in a notepad document. The are a few reasons for this; it opens quick, never breaks and is easy to use. Then the is fact it doesn't shout at me when I spell something incorrect. I will spell words wrong and even make actual typos now and then, but I prefer not to be distracted by little red and green lines. They are all over the place as I get words from my head onto the page.

The may be a better way of doing this, but it works for me. When finished I copy it into a proper word processor (I use LibreOffice) then I go through it a paragraph at a time and remove all the underlines. Only then will the second draft begin. I will read it out loud and make changes to the text so it flows better. Or in some cases so it actually makes a modicum of sense. Once I have done that I jump back and forth making other changes, adding new thoughts and moving things around.

Autumns Colours

I find it to be much simpler to change what is there than to create from nothing. This post is going to be about my year but I just started writing about writing. I would move this lower down but I like the point it makes, If I ever get there. My life can be similar (why do I use words that I spell so wrong spell check doesn't have a clue!) I look at aspect of my life and make changes, move things about and clear out what doesn't work.

I have done this a bit more this year than in the past; and I like were it is going but the are more changes to be made. I have cleaned up many things over the last month alone my phone, my Twitter feed and my subscriptions on Youtube to name a few. Tastes change but various inputs had not, now those distractions have mostly gone. I have stopped playing Hearthsone uninstalling it from both computers my tablet and phone. I just drifted off from the game, it is fun but my time with it is done.

Yawn

Some things I will save for a new years blog but I have aspects from this year that will continue to be major themes and even grow bigger. I have had success with some and stumbled with others. I have started many documents like this and most didn't make it to the blog. It is not a waste but some practice and the is always the chance some will be reworked in the future.

But the biggest failure was that I didn’t do enough reviews. I made many starts that just fell off and then I moved on. Even with films like Pi that I still think about. One song faired better but the next one has gone down such a deep rabbit hole, to the extend where I have researched battles from the second world war in depth. More will come as I am overflowing with possibility's.

Countryside Church

Since I wont be watching a film tonight I will use this post to go through some of what I liked this year:

The year I found Edgar Wright, I love his films I shroud see if Baby Driver soon. Great, funny and cleaver films.

Inside Out and Up were great, still a few more Pixar film to catch up on.

Soylent Green left a mark as well such a well realised world and that ending...

Arrival. It was good then the reveal came and it became a master-work.

Kimi no Na Wa, another year and this would be the best of the year.

The new Planet of the Apes trilogy will go dawn as one of the best. They are all different but all brilliant.

Memories of Murder, I watched a few south Korean films this year and this stands out among them.

I loved the Last Jedi and don't agree with the detractors. I think that they don't see the themes clearly. I loved it.

But the was one film that for me was the best by a country mile. It hit me over and over again with beauty and awe. Looking at the cinema screen vibrate as the sound track blasted out was strange and the world was beautiful. That story and cinematography was unparalleled. Blade Runner 2049 is one on the best films of all time.

It wasn't the biggest year for watching films but I did like most of what I saw.

Pathway

In other media I read less books this year but I did have a go at some big ones. I delved deeper into the Cosmere and connected worlds together that Brandon Sanderson has so deftly crafted. He released a few books this year but I have also re-read most of his works. In Oathbringer he made connections that delighted had action that brought cheers and tears. The way he brought so many crowning moments of awesome was fantastic. The avalanche of action and plot at the end has many implications of which we can only just link together. His world building is second to none and the story flows so well. I am just a few hours into the audio book for the second time right now and am falling for the characters all over again. His interactions make the place seem so alive.

Its been a better year for my photography than I feared now I think back. I have plans for next year in that regard but I am happy with what I have taken and my recent exploration into deeper more complex manipulations. Only 6000 pictures for the year is low but the ratio of quality is higher.

Broken

It has been a tough year. Then why wouldn't it be, I achieved things by ploughing through frustration going alone and working to the end. It will change I will ask for help next year, I can't do everything myself no matter how much I would like to. At times it has meant I got nothing got done and at other s it meant I did far too much working through the night on barely meaningful stuff.

More trimming needs to be done, I must prune my life to grown in the direction I want. And without cutting off what can't be regrown. The is good and bad each year but I will use both as a way to improve myself and anyone who needs my help.

Close Up

Right its time to copy this into the document and see what survives. 16:08 right now lets see if I can get this posted before next year. I listened to the full Paprika OST wile writing this, The OST for Kimi no Na wa has gotten me through the revisions. Done at 19:00 with a few changes, time to relax.

Have a happy new year and I see you next year bright eyed and ready to grow.