The End of Year Review II: Music 2011

Once again Amazon and their nonsense business of making me that much poorer, threw $5 sales at me every month on music.

I do not think I bought as many albums from them other than the ones I truly wanted and had to invest in this year but looking at my Amazon Cloud may disprove my terrible memory.

As in previous years, here is the usual disclaimer - I listened to albums past and those will be included on this list mixed in with 2011 efforts.

I also will not be including video game soundtracks on the list this year because a) I will be writing well into next year and b) I will give them their own props when I do the end of year review.

That said, here we go!!!!

Adventure Time's Soundtrack makes number one.  It seriously would if it had a proper soundtrack release! Casey James Basichis is brilliant and Pendleton Ward is a geinus.  Since there has been no official release, I will "begrudgingly" go with these instead.

The End of Year Review I: The Best of the Blog 2011

Welcome to the first round for the End of Year Reviews.

I will be late with the End of Year reviews for Video Games because I started my final game at the end of November and have not had a chance to finish it up for inclusion.

The End of Year music review and the live show review will be posted hopefully later today.

Right now, let's take a look back at the best stories and memories captured on the blog!

25 Years

This year marked the 25th Anniversary of The Legend of Zelda.  25 years!

I chopped some bushes and messed around Hyrule in the original game a long time ago but did not play my first game until Ocarina of Time.  I know! It's a terrible confession, isn't it?

Since then, I've played most of the games that followed with my favourite game of all time being The Legend of Zelda: Mask of Majora. 

A Trini Christmas in Food

What Christmas would be complete without some pastelles.

Thanks to Frass this year for bring us pastelles from Brooklyn.  H1 has decided they were little too hot which made them not as enjoyable as they could have been.

Mom and I loved them.  Please bring more soon.  Bwahahaha.

We also thank Frass for being this year's designated caper and olive boy for the batch of pastelles that The HOchieS churned out.

We bought a tortilla press this year to assist in the making of the pastelles and it is now universally acknowledged that H1 is the Master of the Tortilla press.

The Tree and Jazzie

This year, H1 and I decided the tree was going to be pink!

It turned a sort of pink, purple, silver and gold sort of a mess but it was a lovely mess!

Don't judge my tree! Just my photo.

Who you should judge is Jazzie.

Ridiculous Sightings in Retail

One of the things H1 and I wanted to start doing was dedicating blog posts to all the ridiculous and clever products we often see on our trips to various stores.

What better time to find questionable items in stock than at Christmas time?  There's so much good stuff out there just waiting to be found.

Take these Christmas cards we saw at Target for instance:

Meanwhile in the Cookie aisle, Siamese twins are born!

The Christmas (Present List) Fraught With Extermination and Danger

Some how, this Christmas saw a bunch of Daleks invade the HOchie household.

One Dalek can destroy an entire city so imagine what these three will do!!!!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

The Christmas Monkey is off boozing it up with some ponche-de-creme made fresh by Papa HOchie and vows to return some time this week to dole out New Year's Resolutions to you guys.

In his absence, The HOchieS are taking the opportunity to wish all our frenemies and everyone a very Merry Christmas!

We hope St. Nick's Express delivered all the toys, joy, best wishes and the presents Kyle, the presents...to your homes.

We will post the Presento-Pyo List later today once we open ours.

Momma HOchie is working today and will wait for her to return before busting open the good times.

Lots of love and Merry Ithmus!

The HOchieS.

The Airing of Grievances 2011

'Tis the moment you have all been waiting for!

The Christmas Monkey with the all seeing gangsta eyes has come to deliver the news...

The crystal ball does not lie

Fortune Cookie Asshattery

It should come as no surprise now that I continue to be insulted by fortune cookies.

Here we have our order for lunch today:

Good times, right?

H1 and I had to share a fortune today and as if they are intentionally effing with  me, this is what we got:

What?

In this case, I will go with wontons...which is what I actually did.  H1 ordered the dumplings.

I suppose it was not as bad as the time before when it was not only implied that I was stupid but I was called out on my fat nature:

Adieu, Autumn! Bonjour, Christmas...Monkey...?

It's not officially Winter yet but it is officially 6 days until Christmas and so we are bidding adieu to the happy Scarecrow friend with mute crow.

Warm, sunny days were full of fun.  Rain showers were just a few but welcome all the same.  The sometimes chilly air made us remember the what time of the year it was and the leaves were late to fall off the trees.

Thank you for the wonderful Autumn days.  Thank you for the smiles and thank you, until we meet again!

Today, we say hello to a cheeky Christmas monkey.  He's got a crystal ball full of glitter and happiness but he's got his eye on everyone.

I think we better be really good less we end up with coal.  Or um, Monkey... poopies.

Who knows with these monkeys.

The Great 2011 Frenemies' Visit, Part III: Asshattery and Blokus

If there was one thing we did a lot of during Thanksgiving week, was play Blokus.  Budgie and Angelo introduced us to Blokus Jr. when they bought Boohead a copy of the game for his birthday.

We all were hooked on Blokus Jr. and after playing two players for a few days during the Frenemies' visit, Luuuuiiiisssss and everyone decided that a 10 p.m. run to Walmart was in order to get the full, adult version of Blokus.

The keyword here is that it was the 'adult' version.

The Time Has Come

Some may say I am an ass.

A lot of people do that, actually.  And they're rude.

Some may say I can cook white rice like nobody's buisness.

Those people would be right.  In fact, everyone should know this about me.

Some may say I talk too damned much.

Yeah, well.  I believe that to be true because look! I've typed so many words here and have not yet said what I wanted to.

Some may say I am a dreamer.

Bwahahaha, okay.  I won't go there.  That was just a little kid.

Some may say I am a lot of things, but the one I no longer am...

...is displaced.

That's right because it was at this time 16 years ago, we moved to the U.S.A.

It was then at that young age that I was plucked from Trinidad and brought to NY to live my life.  I was confused and felt like I belonged no where for some time but now, I am no longer that displaced child.

I am a New Yorker.

Some may argue.

And to those I say, "Screw you guys."

The Great 2011 Frenemies' Visit, Part II: Seminar

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving it rained and put a damper on our plans.  Ha! Sorry, I could not help myself.

The rain was pretty intense but off Clee and I went to meet up with Pandy, Jilly and Pandy Incarnate of Evilness (True story - PIE is wickedness and we love him plenty!), spend time at Nintendo World, eat at Shake Shack and then to drop some culture on Clee's ass at 7 p.m.

The Great 2011 Frenemies' Visit, Part I: It's Love

Thanksgiving week seems as if it was ages ago.  We were fortunate to have some of the frenemies visit NYC that week and as per usual, it flew by.

It's awesome enough when frenemies hang out but it's twice as awesome when they bring you goodies and oh the goodies they brought.

A handful of tunnocks? Yes, please.

Reminder: Must go over there and eat last one before Luuuiiiissss gets to it.

A box full of fudge? Indeed.  And thanks.

Reminder: Inquire as to whereabouts of the fudge.

A plethora of multi-coloured and flavoured rums? Uh... yeah... why...not..?  Rum is always welcome.  The radioactive green one though? Huh.  It certainly makes my life (and cabinet) brighter!

And maybe my insides brighter too? Huh.

Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit. Hare, Hare, Hare.

It's December and I don't feel Christmas-ey, do you?

Never mind that though! It's the beginning of the month and I wish every luck.  Have a good one, all!