From Away

I’ve seen the year end lists popping up around many of the blogs I visit on a regular basis, so I thought that I’d throw my hat in the ring as well.

Music

1. Self Titled by Probot

   

2. Inferno by Motörhead

   

3. With The Lights Out by Nirvana

   

4. New Found Power by Damageplan

   

5. Hot Fuss by The Killers

   

6. Honorable Mention: Archetype by Fear Factory

   

Movies

1. Kill Bill Vol. 2

2. Anchorman

3. The Village

4. Dodgeball

5. The Butterfly Effect

Blogs

1. Dooce - Heather Armstrong

   
   Dooce is probably one of my favorite daily reads because Heather is one of the few blog authors out there that writes exactly what she thinks. She does not fear any of the negative feedback that she may receive from her readers because of the language she uses are the ideas she presents. I commend her for being so true to life, not to mention for giving me so many great laughs over the past year.
   

2. SimpleBits - Dan Cedarholm

   
   Dan’s insights on web design and web standards are always welcome pieces of information. I always look forward to seeing new posts listed under SimpleBits when I open NetNewsWire.
   

3. Airbag - Greg Storey

   
   Greg is another blog auther that expresses exactly what’s on his mind. That added to his “Airbag Longboard” always makes for an interesting read, and even more interesting discussion that seems to always follow his posts.
   

4. Jardigital Design & Illustration - Jared Christensen

   
   Although this blog is a relatively new find for me, I really enjoy what I’ve read so far, not to mention that Jared is an excellent designer as well as artist (check out some of his sketches in his portfolio). Jared’s “Plugged In” section also offers some excellent web siting’s, quite a few of which I wouldn’t have seen if it wasn’t for him pointing them out.
   

5. hicksdesign Journal - Jon Hicks

   
   I couldn’t have a list like this and not include Jon’s blog. Always great for an interesting read. I first stumbled upon Jon’s blog late last year while looking for a way to use Movable Type to organize my portfolio.
   

Website Designs

1. Justwatchthesky - Ryan Sims

   
   Definitely my favorite web design of the year. An excellent combination of web standards, design, and information.
   

2. Binary Bonsai: Freya - Michael Heilemann

   
   The newest incarnation of the Bonsai is extremely easy to read and makes use of a very daring color scheme. Which worked out very well I might add.
   

3. Airbag - Greg Storey

   
   Beautiful in its simplicity. Probably the first design I’ve seen this year that was effective and took the use of white space to the next level which seems to have become a trend somewhat in its own right.
   

4. Jason Santa Maria

   
   By far the most original design I’ve seen for a site this year.
   

5. Wrecked.nu - Gabe Rubin

   
   His own site in addition to the work he’s done on the Lemony Snickets “A Series Of Unfortunate Events movie website are excellent.
   

Other

1. I moved across the country from New Brunswick to St. Albert, Alberta; definitely the biggest event in my world this year.
2. Canada wins the World Cup of Hockey.
3. “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott murdered on-stage in a Columbus, Ohio nightclub.
4. NHL locks out players.
5. Somehow, Dubya squeaks out another four years. Still shaking my head over that one.
6. The war in Iraq rages on…
7. Firefox 1.0 was released amongst a great amount of excitement amongst many in the internet world.
8. The Web Standards movement gains a lot more steam, and a lot more recognization.

So that’s 2004 as I saw it. I’ll probably add to the “Other” list as the year draws to a close as I’m sure that there have been a few things that I’ve missed.