PixlBit

Think about it as the last year for a hundred years you will have a date like this: 12-12-12. I'll do this like the previous year: I'll list a favorite one I experienced in that year, and one I missed and most want to experience now

MUSIC:

Fav. Then - Wreck-It Ralph soundtrack. This introduced me to DJ Skrillex with his music for the Bug Hunt scene in the movie. As I watch this, I realize I am playing a very similar game in EDF: Insect Armageddon right now. I should play this song this weekend as I play. I'm developing an affinity to electronica recently and the Noisia remix of this song is so frickin' awesome. 

To Hear Now:The Fixx - Beautiful Friction. I always liked The Fixx, but I really got into them about a decade after they were on the charts. There's always several songs on any one of their albums that I really like and their bass lines are delicious. Check out Facing the Wind from their Phantoms album. The original members are all back for Beautiful Friction and I'd love to hear it. 

GAMES:

Fav. Then: Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition. The talk about Minecraft was all over the place in 2012 but I avoided it until it came to Xbox and I could try a demo of it. I thought the graphics were less than interesting, but once I played it, I realized what everyone was talking about. It was so much fun to create things and interact with this world! I soon came to love the look of the game and resented skins that made it look more realistic. Then I watched as my niece and nephew played Minecraft obsessively in their pre-teen years. I think they may be outgrowing it as they enter their teens now, but it was my second most played game in 2015. I'm apparently not growing up. 

To Play Now: XCOM: Enemy Unknown. I got this day-one and still haven't played it other than a demo before it came out. So many games, so little time. It's on the list, though, and I will get to it. 

BOOKS:

Fav. Then: Halo: Primordium by Greg Bear. This the second in Mr. Bear's Forerunner trilogy. I just really loved the level of detail and complexity of his Halo books. This series tells the story of how the Forerunners came to create the Halos. 

To Read Now: The Social Conquest of Earth by E.O. Wilson. Mr. Wilson is the ant guy, a myrmecologist. He is someone who is particularly appropriate for me to read now as I blast ants to tiny bits in Earth Defence Force. Mr. Wilson is much more than just a leading expert in ants though. He's a biologist, sociologist, and naturalist too. In this book he seems to be taking his study of the eusocial behavior of insects and mammals and seeing how they might give insight into human behavior and development. I just found the audio book in the libraries and should be able to start reading it this weekend. Oo, I can't wait. 

FILM/TV:

Fav. Then: - Seven Psychopaths. This movie attempted to explore our bizarre interest in extreme violence and the motivations of pyscho killers. It has actors who have played psychos before like Woody Harrelson and Christopher Walken. The trailer makes it seem like a comedy, and perhaps that's why I saw it, but it's less comedic and more thoughtful. It has stuck in my mind over the years for the great Christopher Walken performance and for it's poignant, thought provoking ending. 

To Watch Now: Cloud Atlas. I wasn't interested in this when it came out. Maybe 'cause I associate Tom Hanks with movies I don't like, or maybe the idea of past lives makes me ill; but I read the brief description of the book it was based on a few weeks ago, and it seemed like something I might like. I'll have to give it a look and possibly a read sometime.

That's 2012. I'm listening to a playlist of albums and soundtracks from that year this week. I'm having a blast with that.