It's that time of the year again...

Summer is just about over, and holy guacamole what a summer it's been. Let's start with the basics: my new apartment is great, my roommates are awesome and we have two wonderful little cats running around. Here's Charlie doing his best to intimidate me as Annabelle Lee relaxes in the background.

But hanging on my bed just isn't good enough for these cats. No, Charlie prefers napping under our sink, behind our pots and pans. To each his own.

The big event of the summer was my college buddy Daryl getting married, and that certainly did not disappoint. I flew to NYC, got to see a bunch of my closest friends, and I even played the church's grand piano as people were walking down the aisle. A little Beethoven, some Pachelbel's Canon, and Mendelssohn's Wedding March for the recessional. It was sick. And of course the reception was top-notch. The weather was beautiful, everyone had a blast, it was perfect.

Then there was our family vacation on Cape Cod. We had ten adults and six kids, five of whom never stopped running all over the place. It was so much fun getting to spend time with everyone, just a whole week of amazing food and drinks, swimming in our little bay and playing with the kids. And I finally got to meet my little nephew Jackson!! So pensive.

And of course Addie just keeps getting bigger and smarter and funnier and awesomer.

                                                     

Man, that place was gorgeous.

                                         

But the fun didn't stop there. My pal Dean visited Chicago for several days, and of course that means good food, bars, arcade games and cribbage. Then we had a little Butler reunion in Iowa, and who do you think I was most excited to see? Dmitri of course!! Even though I live with two cats, I will always miss this little guy.

And last weekend I helped my friends do a short film in Michigan City, Indiana. It's only 90 minutes from Chicago and we had a ton of fun once filming was done. Here's a shot of Julie getting a shot of Matt before the sun completely disappeared.

And that leads us to what you've all been waiting for...my yearly awards! I can't believe I've been in Chicago for three years now, what a treat it's been.

Best concert: Honorable mention goes to the Andrew WK show, I never knew it was possible to get drenched with sweat, dry off and then get completely sweaty again in the space of an hour. That show was intense. But come on, #1 spot has to go to the Hives show. Their new tracks are growing on me, probably because they played them so well live. And every time they brought out an oldie, the place went bonkers. And did I mention I caught one of their drumsticks???

Best movie: I really enjoyed the Dark Knight Rises, especially Bane's jacket (hint hint Christmas present hint hint), Prometheus was super cool, and Drive was really well done, but my favorite movie of the past year was definitely Moonrise Kingdom. The soundtrack was great, as was Edward Norton, and the visuals were lovely as always, but the highlight for me was the performance of the two young leads. They were fantastic. In fact all of the young actors exceeded my expectations. The story gets a little over-the-top towards the end, but even so it's a great movie.

Best sports clip: I like adding weird categories every year, and this is really just an opportunity for me to share some awesome videos of sports moments. Even though it hasn't been the best year in Boston sports (that of course belongs to 2004, or more specifically Feb. 2004-Feb. 2005), we've still had some great moments. Even though I didn't follow it much, this clip of the US Women's Soccer team defeating Canada is pretty righteous. Some amazing shots and headers for both sides, just a thrilling soccer match for the ages. But come on, nothing beats a come-from-behind walk-off home run over the Green Monster. Wait a second, where did that neon blue arc of gatorade come from??? That's pure magic right there. No matter how crappy this season has been, we will always have this moment of jubilation.

Best song: This one is tough, I really like Beach House's Myth for its deep, rich vocals and spacey sound. And the main hook always gets stuck in my head, but I'll say it, the form of the song is kind of predictable. The new Hives album has some really good tracks too, like Wait A Minute Now. But I'm gonna have to give this award to Beirut's Port of Call. I know, it came out almost exactly a year ago, but I never listened to it until recently. My favorite part is definitely the hemiola (when the rhythm goes 1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-1-2-1-2), and admit it, this guy's voice is just too perfect. Ok, fine, here are some more great songs: Think About the Days by the Beach Boys (yes, they put out an album this year, and yes, some of the songs are good), All I Wanna Do (also by the Beach Boys, but this is from the 1970 album Sunflower), and how about a little Rosanna by Toto. Deal with it.

Best album: Honorable mention goes to Beach House's Bloom, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's Hysterical, but start to finish Dan Deacon's America takes the cake for me. Mixing electronic, classical, and indie music into one glorious hodgepodge isn't as easy as it sounds. But Dan Deacon kills it.

Best book: Although I am thoroughly enjoying Kurt Vonnegut's the Sirens of Titan, and the Razor's Edge was extraordinary, I have to give this award to the recently deceased David Rakoff. I've read two of his collections, which are both hilarious and devastating at the same time. If you have a chance, read Half Empty and Fraud, they are marvelous, and I can only assume his other book Don't Get Too Comfortable is as well. David was a supremely witty and intelligent writer, and he will be greatly missed.

Ok, that's enough for now. It's time to get back into the swing of things and enjoy my day of labor. Until next time amigos!