Taking a moment to consider my “favourites” for 2012.

My favourite song of 2012 is from Delta Goodrem. It’s dedicated to a childhood friend she lost in an accident in 2009. It’s absolutely beautiful and deeply sad.

The speech of the year goes to Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. When she stood up in Parliament and launched a 15 minute diatribe against the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, decrying sexism and misogyny.

The speech was interesting on a number of levels. Social media lauded it as a landmark moment, when the PM spoke for fed-up women everywhere who were tired of the ribald jokes, the subtle (and not so subtle) put downs, the cutting pass overs for promotion awarded to less able blokes. Traditional media failed to see it as that, they argued while she was stating the case for women she was voting to support the Speaker of the House who had been alleged to have sent a series of crude, sexist texts to a male colleague and subsequently ended up facing sexual abuse charges, although the case was ultimately dismissed.

Whatever it was it certainly got people talking.

http://youtu.be/wfo3SGIiSE0

My favourite video of the year is the one I posted earlier in the year Caine’s Arcade, you can see it on this post. It’s just so feel-good. I love the ingenuity of the kid.

There’s an incredible update to the story below. Kids around the world making their own cardboard creations, an Imagination Foundation is formed and a global day of play held. It’s awesome!

Bearing in mind I don’t seem to get out to the movies much. My favourite film for the year was Argo. It’s based on a true story and tells of a covert operation to rescue six Americans who had managed to escape from the American embassy in Tehran moments before it was overtaken by militants in 1979. There was a thriller element, but surprisingly a lot of humour of well, particularly involving John Goodman and Alan Arkin (pictured below with actor/director Ben Affleck).

There’s some controversy over the licence Affleck took with the true story, but I’ve decided to simply enjoy it as a film “loosely based” on a real event, it’s no documentary,but it is a good yarn.

Have had trouble coming up with a favourite book. I think I might have read with too critical a mind this year. Going to go with Fishing for Tigers. A book which created an evocative sense of place and an interesting exploration of relationships. Do you have any suggestions for best books for 2012?

Turning to the television I’m giving Homeland my gong for favourite TV show of the year.  Lots of twists and turns, never really sure of who was good or bad. Loved the acting!

 

What were some of your favourites for 2012?