Hello and Welcome to the New, Improved Big Sandy Bottom!

As our first post, we proudly offer:

The Best of 2004

(as presented by the establishment.)

I encourage everyone else to submit their own lists, either in response to mine, or make up your very own categories. Lets see what we come up with! I don’t want to hear any nitpicky things like “that album actually came out in 1999” (oh wait, Fat Dave isn’t on this site.). If you enjoyed a book, a TV show, a movie in the year 2004, that’s what counts. I will publish the best of the "Best of" in a upcoming episode!


Best Overall:
Oh. my. god. Ipod. rules.

Best Books:
The Time Traveler's Wife. This goes on my favorite books of all-time list, also.
The Life of Pi. You must read this. You may not even like it, but I guarantee you'll never read another book like it. The best book ever written about a boy trapped in a life raft with a Bengal tiger.
The Dark Tower, books 1-7. Book 1 kinda sucks, and Book 7 gets kinda cutesy, but the tale of Oy the billybumbler and his friends Roland, Eddie, Jack and Susannah is way fun. (Okay, I realize that technically Oy is not the main character and really the books are primarily about Roland's quest for the Dark Tower. I don't care. I love Oy.)

Best Music:
Jason Mraz, Album - Waiting for My Rocket. (yo, that kid is crazy.)
Green Day, Album - American Idiot. Great album. Who'dve thunk it?
Blink 182, Song - I Miss You. Again, who'dve thunk it?
That song by that group that Olivia's friend in Walnut Creek used to be in.

Best Vampire Slayer:
Ivy saves her little sister from the evil bat in her bedroom. Ivy, you rock!

Best Total Dis of Eric in a Restaurant:
In front of her boyfriend Sean, Olivia feigns no knowledge of the phrase "they suck the breath out of babies" and completely sells out Eric in the process.

Weirdest Paranormal Incident:
Mumma calls Sally and gets Mary. Or calls Mary and gets Sally. Or calls some totally random person, thinking it's Sally or Mary and gets somebody else. Or something like that.

Item(s) That You Would Think was Necessary But Ivy Forgot to Bring to College:
Shoes

Best Professional Live Performance:
Big River, presented by the Deaf Actors Theatre. This has closed, so maybe you'll never get a chance to see it. If you do get a chance, this show is incredible. Big River itself is fairly innocuous, cute but not compelling. As performed by both non-hearing and hearing actors, it is totally different and amazing. Goose-bump inducing.

Best Stunt:
My mom tests that whole "stay seated until the bus has come to a full and complete stop" thing.

Best Road Trip:

Olivia, Riley and I go to Disneyland, run into a guy with the shortest, tightest hot pants ever, and eat trail mix with no M&M's. (grr.)