The anime movie Appleseed was a surprise hit for me. It had beginnings of an overly philosophical plot, but made sure the viewer wasn’t too confused throughout. Of course, the brains of those watching it were distracted by the absolutely gorgeous animation. It was a fluid mixture of CGI and anime style, better than Last Exile or any other anime where the usage of CGI is blatantly obvious. Even if you’re deaf and have no access to subtitles, watch Appleseed.

I finally caught up with the anime series Naruto. I’m sad that Sakura, the resident love interest, is no longer around to flaunt her crybaby, love-stricken, powerless self, but as one of the more interesting plot seeds has started to bloom, I’m being utterly entranced by the series.

Friday Night Lights, like almost all other football movies, was enjoyable. It wasn’t great, but enjoyable. The games were very exciting, the drama was (slightly) touching, and it wasn’t sugar-coated. In fact, it’s like they poured salt over the spikes that were lodged into it, just to make the viewer miserable. It was the kind of misery that nobody expects, and because it catches people off-guard, it’s able to deliver a pain that people aren’t used to. That’s what makes it memorable. Not the random slut who doesn’t show up past her two cameos.

Christmas went well, as it does traditionally. Three groups of my family get together for Christmas: my mother, father, brother, and myself; my grandmother, aunt, and uncle; and my uncle, aunt, and their two sons. We meet, finish preparing food, catch up over an early dinner, exchange presents, then go our separate ways. Gifts have been increasingly underwhelming for me as I got older, which may have been because my list has gotten increasingly smaller as I got older. For the past few years it’s just been money or gift certificates, which is just fine, considering I take an odd pleasure in comparison shopping and researching for something I want. Though I probably could have settled on what I ended up choosing even if I didn’t spend hours exploring the options, but instead just judging the amount of eye candy.

Now I have to buckle down and do some work. Man, if only you could have heard how little enthusiasm and resolve was in that statement.