Happy New Year: 2024 Review!

Greetings, welcome to the last blog update of 2024! This will be a memorable year for me as I had an enjoyable holiday cruise near the start of it, I finally become a permanent member of staff in the middle and got the keys to a house of my own by the end of it. Of course, 2024 will always be significant after the passing of my old companion Treacle and I’d like to say thanks for your nice comments about her in my previous update. As always, I have thought over my personal picks of entertainment from the last 12 months and I’ve listed them below. Feel free to write your own highlights in the comments that you particularly enjoyed this year as those are always interesting to read over.

Television Show of the Year: Archer

A popular animated comedy series that ran from 2009 all the way to 2023, ‘Archer’ follows the adventures of the titular hero Sterling Archer, who is a charismatic and narcissistic spy, as he jets all across the globe in daring missions. I believe the show deserves to be recognised for the numerous years it kept me entertained although it unarguably became a little stale and repetitive towards the end of its run. The jokes may have been all too easy to foresee after a while and catchphrases became overused but ‘Archer’ finished strong and wasn’t afraid to dedicate whole seasons to trying something different by delving into different genres.

Book of the Year: A Confederacy of Dunces

John Kennedy Toole’s ‘A Confederacy of Dunces’ is regarded as an American literary classic and the enduring allure around it is partially due to the late author being unappreciated during his time. Even though I think the book dragged on for too long for my liking, I understand why people enjoyed it so much and especially why notable comedians hold it in such high regard. The main character of Ignatius J. Reilly is very unique and his attitude is amusing, particularly as the reader is introduced to him. There is a lot of comedy to be had with the sloppy Ignatius with his obsessive hatred for the modern world and his admiration for the medieval ways.

Game of the Year: Phasmophobia

‘Phasmophobia’ is a co-operative game from 2020 in which players work together to investigate a haunted location and towards the goal of correctly determining which type of spirit they are hunting. A single player or a team of players do this by collecting numerous pieces of evidence that will be applicable to only one type of ghost and they must avoid being killed in the process lest they lose the match as well as their hard earned equipment. A well-crafted, atmospheric and terrifying game in its early stages, this became a very popular title upon its release and dominated the Steam rankings for some time.

Film of the Year: The Holdovers

Funny, touching and bound to be a celebrated Christmas classic in the years to come, 2023’s ‘The Holdovers’ is a throwback to the early 1970s and is set in an all-male boarding school in a wintry New England. It follows Paul Hunham, a classics teacher who is equally disliked by both his lacklustre students and his academic peers, as he is forced to look after a small number of pupils who are unable to return home for Christmas. This number of holdovers dwindles down to just one boy called Angus and the plot slowly humanizes Hunham as his relationship with the student and cafeteria manager, Mary, blossoms.

That is all for 2024! I’ll be back to blogging again in 2025 and I’m currently on schedule to reach the 400th blog update which should be published on the site towards the end of the year. Additionally, I’ll be ramping up my literary efforts on Write Wise after a more relaxed year this time around and I already have the some of the stories in mind that I want to write over the next several months. I also intend to be indulging in more books and playing more video games next year as that is something I haven’t done as much as I would have liked to in previous years. Have a happy New Year and I hope 2025 proves to be a great one for you!

Quote of the Day

Here's something I bet you didn't know. Your uniform, festive as it is, is historically inaccurate. Saint Nicholas of Myra was actually a fourth-century Greek Bishop from what is now Turkey. So, uh, a robe and sandals would be closer to the mark. Yeah, but I guess that would be impractical given the weather and all the silly but lucrative mythology about Santa and elves and reindeer and chimneys and whatnot.

Paul Hunham

The Holdovers