2012 Year In Review

2012 is so over.  I have compiled a month-by-month list of the ‘Best of SPA/Waldina” and posted it below.  I love best/worst lists at the end of the year.  In fact, I included some that I found over the internet at the end of this post.  I hope 2013 is astonishingly kick ass for you.

Instagram. We love it. We hate it. I have chosen one photo of a moderately artsy nature (less faces and such) from each month of 2012. There is a link to my Instagram profile on the right-side navigation bar, I am parkeranderson.

JANUARY: A street mural in Puerto Vallarta.

MARCH: “Re-Bar” The photo booth where so many great memories have been captured over the last 20 years.

FEBRUARY: The photo booth at Re-Bar is responsible for some of my favorite memories for the last 20 years.

APRIL: “Push For Signal” We are the 99%, we are. I love the small messages that are placed everywhere in the city, I love that activism.

MAY: “Uh, what are you trying to say?” This was seen on a walk near the train yard in Interbay.

JUNE: “Drive in Movie” It is still a real experience, still exactly the same as you remember it.

JULY: “Pistachio Pac Man.” I found these little guys on the street when I was stepping out of the car.

AUGUST: “Moped a Go Go on the Ferry.” A group of 30 mopeds and scooters all got on the Vashon ferry with us, it was amazing.

SEPTEMBER: “However, the alley is free game and slightly cleaner.” Columbia City, keeping it classy as always.

OCTOBER: “The discarded wig at the CC Station is easing my transition to suburbia. #RoughNight” I do miss that wig.

NOVEMBER: “There goes the neighborhood. #haters #liars #crooks.” It’s true, they use their new-found born-again christian spirituality as a weapon against everything they disagree with.

DECEMBER: “I love how the glow of the street lights refract off the aluminum foil over the windows. #MobileMethLab” Seriously, I need to know what’s going on in there.

Now let’s take a look at my favorite blog post from each month.  Amongst all the Style Icons and Not So Secret Obsessions, I have chosen the ones that I like the most.  Or the ones that I think are worth a second look.  I may be re-fry some of them for 2013, but for now these are my favorites of 2012:

JANUARY:  Screwball – If you have a chance, you should see “Holiday.”  It is probably one of my very favorite screwball comedies, although choosing one is impossible.  You could just add everything that George Cukor directed to your Netflix and that is a great start.

FEBRUARY:  “Mrs de Florian – Style Icon” – For 70 years the Parisian apartment had been left uninhabited, under lock and key, the rent faithfully paid but no hint of what was inside.

MARCH:  “Open Letter To Politicians.” – I want to cast my vote for who I believe in the most, not for who I disagree with the least.

APRIL:  “Coffee: The Greatest Addiction Ever” – Every day the world consumes 300 tones of caffeine – enough for one cup of coffee for every man, woman and child.

MAY:  “Tornado” – Tragedy blows through your life like a tornado, uprooting everything, creating chaos. You wait for the dust to settle, and then you choose. You can live in the wreckage and pretend it’s still the mansion you remember. Or you can crawl from the rubble and slowly rebuild. Because after disaster strikes, the important thing is that you move on. But if you’re like me, you just keep chasing the storm.

JUNE:  “Forgetting Does Not Mean Forgiving: A Father’s Day Message” – Be the parent you wanted, not the one you had.

JULY:  “But I’ d rather know a shover than a pusher ’cause a pusher’s a jerk.” – I came to a realization this weekend.  It’s not that I don’t like children as much as it is I really don’t like some of their parents.

AUGUST:  “What Was Saved” – Your house is burning. You have to get out fast. Suddenly you are forced to prioritize, editing down a lifetime of possessions to a mere handful. Now you must decide: Of all the things you own, what is most important to you?

SEPTEMBER:  “The Art of Coffee: A Mad Men Era Short Film” – How, then, do we make the perfect cup of coffee to our taste? Success lies in a single word: Care.

OCTOBER:  “Karl Lagerfeld – Humanity’s Antagonist” – “What can you write that hasn’t been written already?”

NOVEMBER:  “Daily Prompt: Last Words (of Advice)” – “Never tell anyone you collect frogs.”

DECEMBER:  “Stick Figure Model Confidential – Fire” – I like the end results of the shoot and think that my work here will save lives.  That’s what it is all about, isn’t it?

2012 LISTS

Best Books of 2012 by GoodReads (voted by readers)

Ten Greats We Lost In 2012 by EOnline

Top Wikipedial Searches for 2012  by The Washington Post

The Most Compelling LGBT People of 2012 by The Huffington Post

Anti-LGBT Villains of 2012 by The Huffington Post

But this is by far the best of 2012:

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• Help Us Determine the Worst and Best of 2012! (newwaysministryblog.wordpress.com)
• 2012 Instagrams | {my life} (newvintagephotography.wordpress.com)
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