Review Of 2019 Pt 1 - How Original...

Way back in the dim and distant recesses of January, I made a selection of Resolutions That Were Not Resolutions Because No One Sticks To Those. One of those was to write a blog post every weekday. I didn't quite stick to that (the last month has been a bit sparse and the summer months were a little thin on the ground too) but I have managed 170 posts this year (quantity over quality as always) which has more than doubled last year’s efforts so I’m going to qualify that as achieved.

Why bring that up in the intro? Well, it’s a long-winded way of justifying what is frankly a lazily-themed selection of upcoming posts in which I use our arbitrary method of delineating the passage of time as an excuse to rehash items that I’ve probably already discussed. Yes, it’s the End Of Year Review!

It’s definitely been a year of consumption for me. In addition to the whole “Write More” unresolution, I also decided to read more (books, that is, as opposed to comics and magazines which I already read more than enough of). As of writing, I’ve made my way through 54 books this year (just over one a week this year). “Ah, I just don’t have the time for that,” I hear you say. There is an answer - make time. It sounds facetious but it can be done. Coming in from work and just flicking channels to see what;s on with no real watching agenda? Don’t do that, pick up your book and read a bit more instead. Commuting? Put down the brightly coloured sweet-based gaming app and pick up your book. Hey, you can even read them on your phone if you want to. Look, I know it sounds a bit patronising and simplistic but, if you want to read, you can read. It honestly is that simple.

It wasn’t in the resolution but I also decided to myself some way through the year that I would try and watch as many of the major and acclaimed film releases (alongside my usual technique of “that sounds a bit odd, I’ll give it a go”) of the year. As a result, not only have I watched 130 films this year (which does admittedly include films that I’ve rewatched) but 77 of those were released this very year. Of those 77, I’ve written about 43 of them so there’s still a fair few I’ve viewed that haven’t been mentioned.* Not entirely a rehash of old content then.

(Those of you looking at that Unresolutions post may be thinking, “Wasn’t there something about exercising more on there as well?” Let us not speak of that bit. Look  you’ve got to have to something to improve on in the next year otherwise you’d be all Mary Poppins - practically perfect in every way.)

So given that this blog is basically a guide to pop culture what I do like, let’s take a look at the TV, films, general live events and any other assorted stuff that have made 2019 for me, shall we? (As always, rhetorical question - you have no real say in this. Other than just not reading, of course.) Come back next time for the first part...


* Come on, everyone loves a good stat.