A selection of the best things I experienced in 2019

Best Movie

The BlacKkKlansman

I didn’t watch many movies during 2019. I enjoy Spike Lee and Adam Driver is always excellent. Honorable mentions go to Interstellar and Street Fighter the movie. and Street Fighter the movie.

Best Book

The Contrary Farmer - Gene Lodson

An unknown book by a farmer who does things contrary to big agribusiness. I appriciate how clear he is about his life. Honorable mention to How to Cook Your Life: From the Zen Kitchen to Enlightenment.

Best Album

Northwest Passage - Stan Rogers

I have been loving all of Stan Roger’s discography, this album has a good selection. My favorite songs are Barrett’s Privateers, The Idiot, the Mary Ellen Carter, and White Squal. This year I also enjoyed The Heart of Saturday Night, Fiddler On the Roof, John Prine’s September 79.

Best Recipe

Chicken Tikka Masala - Budget Bytes

This recipe is so good. It’s perfectly delicious. I have it memorized at this point. I’d also like to shout out The Perfect Loaf for a great sourdough recipe.

Best Linux Software

Valve’s Proton

While non libre, this has given me the comfort to switch to entirely linux on my desktop computer. Now, steam games automatically are configured, usually requiring no setup. Most all of my games work great, and I am not limited in my choices. I have also been using cherrytree, which is excellent.

Best Board Game

Decrypto

A really fun game that is in the same category as the classic Codenames. I also enjoyed We’re Doomed, though did not play very much.

Best Video Game

Super Mario Maker 2

The Mario platforming series is my favorite video games series. Mario Maker is the peak of the franchise (and at times the trough).

Best Newsletter

The Convivial Society

A newsletter about technology, discussing how it has changed our society. I look forward to each new issue.

Best Website

Low-Tech Magazine

Another great website about technology. I love their articles about wind usage especially.