Caught in the Carousel

That jagged little word that awakens the contrarian in us all. When I hear that something, or someone is the "best" at anything, I am almost instantly transformed into some sort of critical monster. Giant sharp teeth, red scales, horns, flames etc. I simply cannot bear to be told the latest best of anything.

Best, best, best.

Ok, perhaps I should ease up on the poor word. After all, it's had a worn and abusive life. So when I say best, just ignore what the word truly means, and think mildly amusing, or noteworthy, or vaguely distinctive. With that in mind, here are some random picks of 2008:

The best restaurant in the known universe is Melbourne's Triple Happy Restaurant. This award is based purely on the merits of the delectable titles given to each dish. Among the gems to be ordered here are Shredded Fish Head Curry, Seaweed Jellyfish Platter, and White Fungus Soup. Mmmm.

The most spectacular descent into dishonour goes to Metallica for going too far in the volume war. Even the fans think it's too loud.

Best movie of the year: Juno.
Juno is a very human, vulnerable and funny movie. It develops an eclectic range of characters and is a delightful story.

Best overused word: Best.

Second best over-used word: Eclectic.
Eclectic is what you use when the honest answer would have been, "I don't know, all sorts of stuff"

Well done to the humble Wikipedia, who finished first in Time magazine's essential websites of 2008. My vote for best website goes to google maps. Thank-you, Internet, you old creep, now I can see my house from...my house.

My favourite album of the year was Department of Eagles' In Ear Park, but I must not forget that the year is not yet over, and maybe Metallica will pull something out of the bag.

Or maybe they will next year?

In the meantime, I wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season.

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