Saturday, December 31, 2022

Best and Worst of 2022

 I didn't get to finish last years list, but I'm off from work today, so I can complete this one.

Best Concerts:

Compared to last year, I went to a lot of shows, the most so far.

  • Iron Maiden's Legacy of the Beast 2022: Anaheim, both nights. First night was on the third balcony and the second night was in the second row from the stage because I had also won "First to the Barrier" although I got squished, it was worth it!
  • Rammstein at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, after waiting 2 years, the show finally went on! And it was worth the wait.
  • Behemoth with Arch Enemy. Second time seeing Behemoth, but first time seeing Arch Enemy, which was awesome.
  • Ghost with Twin Temple and Volbeat. I unfortunately missed most of Twin Temple's set, but got to hear their last song. Third time seeing Volbeat, who sound much better live.
  • Adrian Smith with Richie Kotzen, twice! Got to be close to Adrian and got to go with my friends, both old and new.
  • Last but not least...An Evening with Bruce Dickinson. OK not a concert, but it was still a good show.

Best Albums:

  • Behemoth's Opvs Contra Natvram
  • Arch Enemy's Deceivers
  • Halestorm's Back from the Dead
  • Ghost's Impera
  •  Amon Amarth's The Great Heathen Army
  • Megadeth's The Sick, The Dying, and The Dead!
  • Rammstein's Zeit

Best New Bands:

  • Witch Fever
  • SpiritWorld

Best Movies:

  • Wakanda Forever
  • Dr Strange and the Multiverse of Madness
  • Top Gun Maverick
  • The Menu
  • The Northman

Best TV Shows:

  • House of the Dragon
  • Inventing Anna

New Shows on my Watchlist:

These are shows I wanted to see, but never got around to

  • Moonknight
  • She-Hulk
  • Severence
  • Wednesday
  • Lord of the Rings: Power of the Rings
  • Interview with the Vampire

Most Hated People of the Year:

  • Liz Truss, the last Prime Minister that Queen Elizabeth met before she passed, but only served 45 days before resigning.
  • Elon Musk, for buying Twitter and charging $8 a month to keep the blue check mark, which was meant for famous people to verify that their accounts are legit.
  • Sam Bankman-Fried, the head of FTX who lost people more money than Bernie Madoff ever did.

People of the Year:

  • Volodymyr Zelensky, the Prime Minister of Ukraine who fought side by side with his people against Russia's attacks
  • Dolly Parton, country music icon. Although she tried to remove herself from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominations, I make an exception for her to be included with Judas Priest. She has also pledged to give free books to children. Last but not least...she renewed her vow with her husband who has been by her side for 50 years.

In Memorium:

  • Pele', the Brazilian Football player and three time World Cup winner
  • Kristie Alley, actress
  • Christie McVie, singer-songwriter of Fleetwood Mac
  • Jason David Frank, played the green and white ranger in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
  • John Aniston, star of Days of Our Lives and Jennifer Anistons dad
  • Robbie Coltrane, who played Hagrid in Harry Potter
  • Angela Lansbury, who played Jessica Fletcher in Murder She Wrote
  • Loretta Lynn, country music legend
  • Coolio, "Gangster's paradise" rapper
  • Anne Heche, Actress
  • Olivia Newton-John, actress and singer of Grease
  • Vin Scully, the voice of The Dodgers
  • Nichelle Nichols, Star Trek actress
  • Ivana Trump, First wife of Donald
  • Gilbert Gottfried, actor and voice actor
  • Taylor Hawkins, drummer of the Foo Fighters
  • Louie Anderson, comedian, actor, and creator of cartoon Life with Louie
  • Meatloaf, singer and actor
  • Bob Saget, actor and comedian
  • Sidney Poitier, actor of In the Heat of the Night
  • Queen Elizabeth the ll
  • Barbara Walters

Resolutions for 2023

 Looking at my past resolutions, I realized that it needs to say the next new year, not "of..." Anyway, here we go!

1. Try again on going zero waste. I'm now moving on from shampoo bars to a refillable shampoo bottle. I'm also going to continue to use up all the Bath & Body Works products before I buy anymore new product. Then when I do, I will be buying the soap bars in place of their body washes. I will also attempt to provide refillable cleaning products.

2. Get my spending under control and save more. Cut down on eating out and going to coffee shops. Set aside more money in my savings account to get by the next slow seasons of Six Flags. Make higher car payments to reach my goal of either getting it halfway paid off, or ambitiously paid off completely by the end of next year.

3. Go to less big concerts, but more smaller shows. But if I do go to the big concerts, get the cheaper seats. Also try to buy less shirts and more unique merch.

4. Put my foot down more often. If anyone asks for a ride and it turns into an inconvenience or being taken advantage of, I must cut them off. Also if I ever loan out money, I should draft a contract about getting paid back.

5.  Get my teeth fixed. Hopefully my company insurance will cover more than Denti-cal did.