This has been quite a busy week for me. Last Thursday, I was doing the NBC thing, when I got one of those “big breaks” you hear about. The photographer I was working with let me shoot the entire story we were working on (about the Albemarle County School Board), and because of various circumstances leading to the fact that no one was physically in the newsroom to edit the piece together, I got to do it. The producers took a little while to warm up to the idea (I am still an intern, after all, and they had scheduled that piece to lead the 11o’clock news) – but eventually they decided to let me go for it. I still haven’t actually spoken to back at the station since they’ve seen the final piece, but I think I did an okay job – a few mistakes, but nothing –too- major…

More drama: Last period of the day on Friday, I get called down to the Media Center: apparently, I was scheduled to take the Earth Science SOL. The only problem? I’ve never taken Earth Science… I explain this to the unfortunate teacher that had been relegated to SOL duty, and after being told by the assistant principal that she didn’t know what to do, we go on a 20-minute pilgrimage across the school, first looking for my guidance counselor (out for the week), eventually finding a different guidance counselor before being referred to the chair of the guidance department before being referred right back to the assistant principal we started with.

In the end, we managed to find out that I need to take one more science SOL in order to get an advanced diploma (*sigh* - bureaucracies…). The second snag? The SOL testing was only going on for one more week, and since I was going to be in Hawaii that whole time… So now I need to wait until April to take the Biology SOL (a class I took four years ago and hated). And though I seriously doubt I could even manage to fail that test now, for years after I learned the material, my diploma status is still technically in limbo for the next three months. FUN!
And then of course there’s the fact that I’m going to Hawaii this week for my grandparent’s 50th anniversary (yes, I know it’s a bit ridiculous… :P). I was supposed to fly to Chicago on my own, where I would meet up with my grandparents for the 8-hour flight to Honolulu. Naturally, the tickets were messed up, and now I’m flying the whole way on my own ?. Ah well, I guess I kind of like being out on my own… Relaxing, in a way.

P.S. – I wrote this in the Chicago airport, just feet from the exact spot (next to the moving walkway) where I thought up the idea to do a music video for MMMBop, which led me down a series of adventures in videography that eventually got me into NYU. Yay!

So I know you’re supposed to do the whole, “Best of 200_” before 200_ is over, but hey - I was busy driving from Indiana on New Years’ Eve to do that. So here it is: my list of favorite things from 2007 (in no particular order).

Television Show: Damages
This was my favorite new television show from 2007 for many reasons. One was the stellar cast - newcomers like Rose Byrne alongside regulars like Glenn Close came together to play out a great story of high stakes litigation, murder, betrayal (all that good stuff). The best thing about it was how it kept making you switch who you thought the bad guy was - and made it plausible each time. It’s scheduled for another season next year on FX.

Movie: Romance & Cigarettes
So maybe I’m biased (it was a first-date movie for me), but John Turturro’s sophomore effort as a director with Romance & Cigarettes was a no-brainer for my favorite movie of the year (though Ratatouille and Juno came in close seconds). The loose plot about a New Yorker (The Soprano’s James Gandolfini) and his struggle to win back the love of his wife (while dealing with his crazy mistress) pale in comparison to the sheer humor of the fact that it’s a musical. Most of the songs are actually vintage recordings from the mid 20th century, with the actor’s lip synching as if it were actually them singing - though it’s quite obvious they aren’t. The DVD comes out in February, and I strongly suggest you see it - just keep an open mind (and preferably see it in a pack) and you’ll laugh harder than you have in years. I also was able to speak with John Turturro with just a few dozen others during the Virginia Film Festival, which might be adding a bit more bias to the situation…

CD: This Delicate Thing We’ve Made by Darren Hayes
So Darren Hayes may have had his 15 minutes of fame come and go as lead singer for Savage Garden - but that doesn’t mean he can’t still make great music. The production on this 2 CD set is a bit less impressive than on the chart-topping singles he made in the 90s, but Hayes nevertheless managed to put out a CD with more emotion and a greater message than any I’ve seen in recent years. At 25 songs, it’s a long listen - but it’s one of those CDs you should listen to straight through; and the message of hope and happiness that seeps out of it is worth the time.

Website: Richmond Sunlight
Also a bit of bias here, since Waldo created it, but it really is a wonderful piece of work. The site allows you to track every piece of legislation that goes through the Richmond General Assembly - from what stage of the process it’s in to who supports it. And Waldo says there’s even more coming for next year.

Book: Not available.
Mainly, because the only books I have time to read are for English class. And they all stink.

2007 was also a year of “Oh crap…” moments for me, not the least of which occurred on this very blog. A few weeks ago, I wrote about my experiences at NBC29 here in Charlottesville, which some at the station could theoretically take offense at. Naturally, Waldo linked to it on Cvillenews.com, and I’ve gotten hundreds of hits from WVIR’s IP address since. Thanks, Waldo :). A critique of my math teacher’s grading practices (and his subsequent reading of the post) led to a certain amount of awkwardness for the first few months of class. And last but not least, back in May I criticized some comments made about teachers on Facebook by Andy Carvin (a bigwig developer for PBS and NPR’s websites). 24 hours later, I’ve got two comments from him. But because of all this, I’m now very aware that anything you post online can (and probably will) be found by the wrong people.

Anyone else have any Best of ‘07 lists?