Next Exit – sayonara 2007, aloha 2008

Goodbye, 2007. Shortly.

An apt moment to pen my lasting memories of the year. It ended with the expected and the drastically unexpected. Merv was rampaging once more, prompting my regular tuk-tuker to mutter in disgust ‘Ehay chandiyek vagai’. Which, of course, brought back memories of an old post. I thought Elmore Perera, the President of the OPA, got it about spot on, when he noted “What can you expect from a pig but a grunt.” I will ignore the slight on good pigs everywhere, but that be true. On the other side of the coin, the West Indies defeated South Africa in a test match. In South Africa. That pig must have been winging its merry way across the water.

Anyway, reflections of 2007. It will no doubt be forever etched in memory as the year that this blog was begun, rather more so than those myriad events of lesser importance – Tony Blair stepping down, intensifying war in Iraq, and closer to home, the fall of the East and air raids here in Colombo amongst other things. The government here went from one crisis to another, albeit with notable successes on the military front. I don’t usually bother criticising but frankly, I can’t imagine any post-independence government has ever done as bad a job on multiple fronts. The military front has remained the only positive for the government vis-a-vis the southern electorate, and there is an assumption that continued success in the North will mitigate the adverse effects of the economic situation. Even there, while the government has conducted the war with a zeal that has been missing in recent years, the ground made pales in comparison with the immediate thrust of Chandrika’s War for Peace effort. The difference now is that the availability of high quality equipment, particularly in the air, has made it far more difficult for the LTTE to avoid taking serious casualties on a consistent basis. We can expect intensification in 2008. By all accounts, a time table is in place. We shall see.

Enough of politics. Tis here is my blog, so let’s do a ‘best of’ 2007.

Favourite sporting moment: If Comet Cable wasn’t being such a diabolical waste of space, I would probably have picked the West Indies win because it was so unexpected and to cap it all, came against the Saffas, whom I despise for any number of reasons. But your favourite sporting event can’t be something you didn’t witness so I am going to go with the French defeat of the All Blacks in the World Cup quarterfinal. Okay, false dawn, but fantastic while it lasted. An honourable mention, however, has to go to the World Darts final because it was of a remarkably high standard, and utterly captivating. And bah to those who say darts is not a real sport.

Most amusing sporting moment: South Africa’s chokes. What to do. I really do not like them. The best of the lot was the choke at the World 20-20, where they contrived to muck up a piss-easy chase against India that they did not even need to win. But the 20-20 World Cup was not really the real thing, so the annihilation at the hands of Australia and the defeat against Bangladesh in the real World Cup must also get honourable mentions. They do make me giggle.

Favourite film: I don’t know. There were some high quality contenders. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was very good, but it wasn’t released in the last couple of years so I think that disqualifies it. For pure comedic value, I can’t argue with Blades of Glory but I think I have to give it to Little Miss Sunshine. So funny and so much heart.

Favourite album: Tough one. I believe that I’ve heard a fair few new albums this year. For a change. The New Pornographers’ Challengers was a little disappointing; Interpol’s new album was excellent but fell short, in my opinion, of the highs of their previous efforts; White Stripes’ Icky Thump was a return to form but not exceptional, and the Foo Fighters and the Chili Peppers’ efforts were solid but again, nothing special, which leaves me with two contenders. Stars’ In My Bedroom After the War is actually a better all-round album than their previous effort, which says a lot since I dragged that to a desert island, but lacks the stand out tracks of Ageless Beauty and Your Ex-Lover is Dead, so I have to go, predictably, with Black Francis’ Bluefinger. I think I gave my reasons – here. I do want to listen to the new Dinosaur Jr. album, but no one has bothered sending it to me yet. Gah.

Favourite music video: Hmm. Rihanna anyone? I can’t argue with Umbrella for pure poptastic brilliance. The song has also sadly grown on me. However, I’m going to go with the Chemical Brothers’ The Salmon Dance. I just like it:

Favourite meal: Had some high quality seafood cuisine in the Philippines, a first jab at Korean BBQ in Toronto, countless other stand-out eats, but I think that the first time I laid eyes upon the mutton biriyani and sheesh kebab at Big Bite Biriyani has to be the winner. Simply fantastic.

So, what to expect in 2008? I’m hoping that my exit strategy comes into place and I’ll be on my way to new pastures. That’s the main priority. There’s a new R.E.M album to look forward to, which is something that used to get me excited, but after their last effort, I’m a tad apprehensive. Other than that, much of the same, I imagine.

All the best for the New Year, gits!