You see them a lot this time of year. End of Year Lists. Best Of Lists. Worst Of Lists. All Kinds of Yearly Lists.
I've always supposed that journalists, needing an easy column during the holidays, keep notebooks during the year, jotting down candidates for best or worst as they happen. Then in mid-December they review the list, make a few editorial decisions, add some literary polish, check their spelling and get on with more important things, like drinking.
At least that's what I imagined journalists did. I tried to come up with a personal Best Of List during recent Decembers but couldn't think of anything worthwhile. My memory isn't what it used to be, as you well know.
This year I tried to keep a running list during the year. Whenever something that generated a bit of my enthusiasm came up during 2012 I added it to a special file. Then, last week, thinking it was time to polish off my own Best Of List for 2012 so I could get on with my drinking, I looked at the list.
Imagine my horror to discover that there were only five items on it. And three of them were food products. I guarantee you do not want to read about mini peppers or high fiber bread any more than I want to write about them. You might have been somewhat interested to learn that Starbucks occasionally serves a decent cup of coffee. Or read something funny. Or discover some progressive political articles.
I probably would have added my new iPad as item number six. That's still four enthusiasms short of a minyan. People who know me know that enthusiasm is not one of my strong personality traits.
That's when I came up with Plan B. I'll tell you what Plan B is in a moment.
Plan B was this: write a 30 Second Spot entitled My Ten Favorite Things About 2012. In other words, compose music with a misleading title. That way I could avoid the problem entirely without having to even feign enthusiasm.
That's what I did. Once I'd finished writing the music I slapped on a bit of random video. Any correlation between this music or image and my actual ten favorite things from 2012 (assuming I even had ten favorite things, or even six) is totally in the mind of the beholder. The beholder is you, Mr. or Ms. Beholder.
So behold.
My Ten Favorite Things About 2012 - © 2012 by David Ocker 39 Seconds
Back in the early years of Mixed Meters there was a B.O.L. tradition. Try 2006 or 2007 or 2008. I'm happy to discover that all but a few of those items still merit quantums of my enthusiasm.
Watch more of my music videos.
Listen to more of my 30 Second Spots.
"I wish you'd just tell me rather than try to engage my enthusiasm, because I haven't got one." Marvin the Paranoid Android
B.O.L. Tags: enthusiasm. . . why do I bother. . . Best Of Lists
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