PixlBit

These are my favorite five things from '95. 

The Private Life of Plants: This David Attenborough nature show blew my mind. I was always into nature documentaries but this one was special. They showcased so many plants and their incredible adaptations which are still imprinted on my mind today. If this show doesn't convince you of the intelligence of plants, nothing will. There's the flower that creates a near perfect imitation of the mate of a specific species of bee to attract it to its flower. Then there is the plant that imitates a dead caracass, including the smell, to lure insects into its maw. As a great companion to this film is another David Attenborough nature show called, The Life of Birds from '98. That one blew my mind too. 

Ace Venture: When Nature Calls: Most people I've talked to prefer either the first Ace Ventura movie or Mask over this, but I think it's Jim Carey's finest moment. Jim Carey's comedy is so cartoony to begin with it only makes sense to make a live action film with him in it feel like a cartoon. Dave Odenkirk directed, and I think he got it right. So many moments in this film are lodged in my memory. I especially love the moment in the Buddist temple where his guru tells him he's achieved oneness just to get him to leave. Also, I use the term "helpy helperton" quite often still. 

Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness: I played this game so often on my PC but never finished it. I used to play the first ten levels repeatedly. After the tenth level it got too complex and burdensome to be fun for me. But I played those first ten in every possible way. It's just a lot of fun to see a strategy work itself out. You play as either humans or orcs, accumulate natural resources and then battle it out for dominance of the map. I so wish this would be remastered and optimized for consoles. There was a PSone version way back that I played but I didn't take to it because it wasn't optimized for a controller. I'd like WCII and the first Warcraft game on my Xbox One, thank you Blizzard. 

Red Hot Chili Peppers' One Hot Minute: Most people I've talked to like the previous Red Hot Chili Peppers albums much better than this one. Dave Navarro from Jane's Addiction took over the guitarist position and hard core Chili fans didn't approve of his more heavy metal approach. I, however, discovered the Chili Peppers through the song "Warped" on this album, and I still love this album above eveything else they did; although, I do now appreciate all their funkier and punkier earlier albums.  

Oliver Sacks' An Anthropologist on Mars: I think I knew of Sacks from his famous 1985 book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, but I really got into him with his 2007 book Musicofilia. Anthropologist on Mars is another of his collections of case studies of people with truely bizzarre brain malfunctions that sometimes come with amazing new skills or reveal new ways at looking at reality. The brain is a fascinating organ and Dr. Sacks is here to observe and reveal its hidden workings through the study of patients with neurological conditions.