What I'm looking forward to in 2009

1.) Neko Case has a new album coming out in early March called Middle Cyclone. Check out the cover. What a badass...

2.) On January 24th I will be jetting to Tokyo for a week. For the past ten years, Japan has been at the very top of a long list of international destinations I want to see and to finally be able to set foot in the country will be a surreal experience.

3.) Quentin Tarantino will finally be finishing Inglorious Bastards, a film project he has been talking about since before Kill Bill was released. Luckily (for me), the film will be released in late August. So I will get to see it in theaters, quite possibly the day after I return to America. Look out Cape Cod Mall Regal Cinema!

4.) My parents adopoted an Australian Shepherd named Trip in October. Though we have already met via Skype video chat, I look forward to meeting Trip in person in August. Here is a picture of Trip along with our other dog Tiver, who I also look forward to seeing in 2009.

5.) Over the summer I worked at Cape Cod Beer, and drank a pint (or two) of the Cape Cod IPA almost every day. It quickly became my favorite beer and I miss it very much. I will definitely be making a trip to Cape Cod Beer within 24 hours of my arrival back in America.

6.) Over the summer I will be traveling to China for a week or so. I told myself that I cannot leave Asia without stepping foot in Tokyo and getting a picture of myself on the Great Wall. From what I hear, China is a glorious ball of chaos and I can't to see it. 

7.) James Cameron is releasing his first feature film since Titanic, a 3-D science fiction epic called Avatar. Cameron has been working on the film since the mid '90s and has said that the incessant delays in production have been due to the fact that he had to wait for the technology he wanted to use in the film to be invented. WHOA! Avatar will hit US theaters in December of 2009.

8.) I anxiously look forward to Barack Obama taking office, fixing the world, and curing AIDS.

9.) I read somewhere that both Arcade Fire and the Postal Service have new albums coming out in 2009, though I don't have any specific information. The new Postal Service release will quite possibly be the last good album that Ben Gibbard makes, now that he is marrying Zooey Deschanel. 

Marriage + emo-tinged Indie rock = Epic Fail

10.) Driving.

11.) I became a big fan of the LG Twins last fall and eagerly anticipate the start of the Korean Baseball season in April.

12.) Around the same time that may parents adopted Trip, my Dad bought a 1970 Harley Davidson M65. If you know my Dad, you will understand why this is extremely surprising. My mom was convinced that he was going through a mid-life crisis. Either way, I am excited to finally have some motivation to get my motorcycle license next fall. The bike is not what you would picture as a Harley Davidson. It is small, only a few steps above a motor scooter in terms of speed. Herb says he is only using it for cruising around town. Here is a picture he sent me of the bike.

13.) Visiting Burlington - Duff Hour, Four Corners, Asiana House, etc.

14.) This past fall, a great percentage of my time and energy was devoted to the Wire, a television show originally on HBO. My friend Bradford, who also happens to be in Korea, has also been consumed by this show. We both decided that we need to take a road trip to Baltimore next fall and take "The Wire Tour." We're going to hit the dirty streets of West B-more, try and witness a re-up, and hopefully run into Bubbles.