It’s the end of the year and that means it’s time for my annual top albums list.  This year I’ll be counting down my favorite 10 records from 2010.  But first, one honorable mention that didn’t make the top 10:

Weezer - Hurley

This years list has only one honorable mention and it’s really got nothing to do with the actual content of the album, but instead the name and cover!  Weezer gets props for using Hurley from Lost as their album art and (apparently) their album title.  Actor Jorge Garcia actually appeared live with Weezer numerous times this year.

Best Song: Trainwrecks

Stay tuned as we count down to the top spot on the list!

Hello!

It’s been a while since my last update (almost 3 months, yikes!).  But I’ve been pretty damn busy in those past three months.  Here’s a quick run-down of everything that’s happened since my last update.

Sydney Trip

I was lucky enough to head down-under for about 3 weeks to visit the Atlassian office in Sydney.  This was my first time in Australia so I was super stoked to go!  

While I was pretty busy with work most of the time, I did get some time to meet up with some Canadian friends, drink a lot of beer, do some sightseeing and enjoy the city.  Sydney is a beautiful place and although it can be expensive, I'd definitely like to be back there again sometime in the future.  The only thing I could complain about would be the weather!  I’ve got a bunch more photos available on my Flickr site.

SF Giants Win the World Series!

While I was away I unfortunately miss an awesome party in San Francisco.  The Giants won the world series!

I had really enjoyed following the Giants while they made their run (I was able to catch up on all the games during my Sydney trip).  However I was pretty bummed that I missed the homecoming parade that happened a few days following their win.

Congratulations to the SF Giants on their win!

Thanksgiving

We celebrated our first Thanksgiving Holiday in the US this year.  Actually, we’re guilty of celebrating two Thanksgivings this year as we decided to celebrate the Canadian holiday as well (in October).  However, it’s apparent that Americans take their Thanksgiving holiday much more seriously.  It’s the start of the holiday shopping season (Black Friday) and I found the food to be a tad more gluttonous.  Take for example, my first experience of Turducken:

This beast is a full turkey, stuffed with a chicken, stuffed with a duck, stuffed with sausage.  Needless to say, I was stuffed after this meal!  My first Thanksgiving dinner in the US was a success!

Concerts

Needless to say, I’ve been able to take in many shows since my last update.  Here’s a quick rundown of the concerts I’ve been to recently:

• Pepper @ The Warfield - Second time seeing these guys (last time was at Warped Tour many years ago).  Great show with lots of energy!
• Bad Religion @ The Regency Ballroom - First time seeing Bad Religion outside of Warped.  For 30 year veterans these guys can still rock.  One of the best punk shows I’ve been to.
• Weezer @ The Nob Hill Masonic Center - Weezer played the Blue Album in its entirety on this night.  Brought back many memories of listening the album in elementary school!
• Weezer @ The Nob Hill Masonic Center - Night #2 featured Pinkerton, which is probably my favorite Weezer album.  It was classic.
• Wu-Tang Clan @ Mezzanine - The entire crew (minus RZA) was in the house for their first show of their latest tour.

And some photos from a few of the shows:

What’s Next?

With the holiday approaching, I’m gearing up to list my Top 10 Albums of 2010.  Be sure to stay tuned as I run down my favorite albums of the year!

Dylan

Phew, what a month!  It’s been since mid-August since I’ve posted and I’ve got an excuse, since then I’ve been extra busy with travelling and visiting friends and family.  And also eating a lot of delicious food, take the image below for example (from the Ferry Building Market):

The end of August marked my first visit back to Victoria since moving to San Francisco.  A weekend full of partying and weddings made for a very long trip back to the states.  It was great to see everyone and celebrate with them!  Surprisingly the weather in Victoria was even better than I have seen in San Francisco all summer.  However it appears I’m eating my own words on that one, as this weekend has been the hottest so far this year and there’s more to come through October.

I also checked out back-to-back San Francisco Giants games in September.  Luckily I was able to score some sweet seats at work to a Friday night game, followed up by a Saturday game in the nosebleeds.  Unfortunately the Giants fell in both tries with only few hits, which was unfortunate as they are currently making a run for the playoffs.  Still a few weeks to go though, go Giants!

September also marked my first NFL game ever!  I was lucky enough to check out the San Francisco 49ers vs. the New Orleans Saints.  It was a nail-biter right to the end, and while both teams didn’t really play their best it was a close game that the Saints ended up taking with a last minute field goal.

What surprised me (not really actually) was how passionate Americans are about football.  70,000+ people all in red yelling at the top of their lungs can be deafening!  The Saints fans in the stadium also got an earful.  I was also impressed by how seriously the fans take tailgating.  Some had been their hours before kickoff just to fire up their BBQs and slam beers before watching their favorite teams.

On another note, September marks the return of many of my favorite TV shows.  I had barely caught up on season 2 of Fringe right before the premiere last Thursday.  Following that new episodes of 30 Rock and The Office aired.  And my guilty pleasure Hell’s Kitchen also started up this week as well.  I’m also looking forward to catching up on Eastbound & Down which starts up season 2 this week!

Oh, and last (but not least) on the list, pre-season hockey has started!  It appears that the remainder of the Canucks pre-season games are available for me on the NHL Network down here (and in HD!) which is great.  However I’m not sure what selection I’ll have come the regular season and may be forced to purchase the Center Ice package.  I have been able to stream some games online via my PS3 but the quality is hardly watchable.  Desperate times call for desperate measures, I suppose.  Regardless, the team looked great against the Ducks last night and I’m eager for the regular season to start!

Stay posted as I’m hoping to have another album review come up in the next few weeks!

Dylan