Okay, here's one I missed in my list this morning: Oliver Twist by Roman Polanski. One of the best adaptations of this much abused work. Not exactly Polanski's best, but excellent never-the-less.

I'm sure I'll remember a dozen other things to add to my "10 best movies of 2005" list later. My top 10 should expand to at least 25 by the time the Oscar's are announced.

I suppose every American is obligated to release their 10 Best Films of the Year list before the end of January, so here's mine*:

The 10 Best Films of 2005:

Capote - I'm going to say that this is my favorite movie of the year, primarily for the performances. Great, terrifying, and brilliant.

The close runner-ups for Movie of the Year, in no particular order, are:
Match Point - Munich - Memoirs of a Geisha; all flawless and riveting storytelling. It's only the performance of Philip Seymour Hoffman that lifted Capote out of this pack.

The next grouping, all tied for third place, are:
Walk the Line - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Good Night and Good Luck; each well worth watching and far exceeding my expectations.

Special mention goes to these two, but probably more for personal reasons than because they're great films:
Grizzly Man - Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World

And, finally, there's Brokeback Mountain; I don't think it's as great or groundbreaking as all the hype tells me it is, but it was a good film, and it did get people talking.

* (To be honest, these are actually the only 10 films of 2005 that I can recall seeing off the top of my head. I'm sure there's more, but this is what I recall.)

Something disturbing:

A chart showing how many earthquakes have occurred in my area over the last 24 hours Click around and find out how many quakes you've survived in the last day or two.

Something positive:

Last week we went to see the Indigo Girls perform. They were great (as expected), but the best surprise was the warm-up band. Three5Human is a kick ass rock band with an incredible singer and excellent guitarist. We bought their CD from them in the lobby after the show. Check them out.

I'm back! It's been a hellish couple of months due to work pressures, but that's coming to an end. I'll explain further, later, but I've turned in my notice and will be done with this job on February 3.

Options for what to do next are not finalized. Meanwhile, I'm getting each of my home businesses back in running order. I've updated the Goldstein Consulting web site, and am accepting new grant writing, facilitation, trainings, and consulting assignments. I've also updated Highway 17 Music, and have a few items ready to go up for auction over the next couple of weeks, including a rare, hand built, Tony De Lacugo bass guitar. It's a prototype of the Excalibur Bass, and is one of only six made.

Anyway - I'll have more to say about all of this, and much more, soon - as soon as I'm free of my current work obligations. Life begins anew on February 4.