It must be Friday! This is the night we give this post to any one of the writers who feeling like playing. Sometimes we get a lot of responses, sometimes we get like two. But, lately we have been running a pretty strong 50 percent response rate.

And that's pretty good for us, ok?

This week we are getting the jump on all those end of year lists.

Your favorite whatever.

What are the best things you bought/read/listened to/watched/ate/inhaled/etc. this year? Could be anything from a great album to a new restuarant you discovered to that box set of Saved By the Bell you got for your birthday.

So let' see what we had to say.....

Jo (Amie)

3 things: At this time of year I try to look back at the year that has been and look at all the good luck I've had.

1.) Earlier this year, due to my own stupidity, three of my closest friends decided they didn't want me in their life anymore. The first gift I was given this year that really was wonderful was the completely random addition of 3 newborn kittens into my life; Spazerella, Greebo and Gilligan. Three, perfect, orange tabby triplets. Caring for them gave me a new purpose in my life. I'd been emotional beaten and bruised and making sure that these 3 kittens survived became my new reason in life. I consider them a great gift.

2.) After these 3 friends left my life I was overwhelemed with phone calls, e-mail and random occurrances that brought old friends back into my life. After 15 years my childhood best friend found me online. Old High School friends found me online. Friends I hadn't seen in years started popping up into my life again unexpectedly. I even began hanging out with a guy I met several years ago and had never gotten to know. We now hang out on a daily basis. This gift was finding out just who my REAL friends are. The people who can understand and forgive my stupidity. This was my second gift this year.

3.) The kindness of friends. If you have ever been a pot-buyer you know that it is almost impossible to get pot for free. Due to a refound friend and me being laid up in bed with a bum back and leg, I have spent the last 4 months getting stoned everyday to relieve the pain in my back and leg. Thankfully I'm a functional stoner when I need to be. ;) But considering that I can smoke anywhere from 2 bowls to almost a whole 1/8 in a day, thats quite a bit of pot I'm smoking for free (with the company of my friends). My third gift was the company of friends and their generosity towards me and the pain I'm in.

Pat (Vermont Witch):

Hoowee! This kinda falls under the "revealing yourself" heading...

Movie: X-Men III - The Last Stand. Hmm, Logan is just incredibly great scenery, and him walking up that pile of rubble while Phoenix tears strips off him so he can save her from herself... that's love, baby!

Book: Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel "Wintersmith" - third in the series about a juvenile witch and the mistakes she makes because she's kinda going it alone. Has one of my favorite Pratchett quotes about witches: "Some people think a group of witches is a coven. It's not. It's an argument." I swear that man is a witch!

Coolest present I got all year: kittens. Two newborn abandoned kittens, the day after they were born, which also happened to be the day after I was laid off from my job of nine years. How can you be depressed about being thrown away when you have two tiny furballs depending on you for food, warmth and anal massages so they can pee? p.s. - we got a third from the litter a week and a half later; all three survived and thrived and are almost five months old now. My special little girl is named Spaz, short for spastic, and she sucks on my upper lip when she's tired.

That's three! Blessed Be, all. ~Pat

Turtle (Underground, LNT):

This one is hard.

24 - I'm teling you. Does this show get any better? I mean how many shows get the coveted "Don't talk to me while this is on" award? Not many. I mean Little House on the Prarie barely gets this award. And knowing that Chloe is a strong regular and they killed that fat guy who had a crush on her, nothing stands in my way to full on stalk her now!

My "New" BBQ - It's not mine, but I use it almost daily and hey hell, I love to BBQ. Nothing says BBQ like freezing temparatures, freezing fingers and well done chicken breasts. You can take me out of California and stick me in a frozen wasteland, but I'll still find a way to BBQ. Even if it is snowing, I'll be around with my tongs and Rooster Sauce.

Casino Royale: That was a cool movie. James fucked up from the start and showed he is actually human. I like him, the new actor, a hell of alot better than anyone else, cept for Sean Connery. Plus the ending of that movie is really cool.

Angelo's Stuffed Shells - Hey, I don't eat alot of Italian food so I am not too versed on some of this stuff. But, I like stuffed shells, ok?

Michele (Gauntlet, LNT):

My favorite things of 2006:

TV show: Cash Cab (Discovery Channel). I am hooked not only on this show, but on Discovery Channel as a whole. But Cash Cab is such an awesome show. We watch it every day from 5-6 and let me tell you, I kick so much ass at this. But I know that if we ever got into this cab I would probably freeze up and not even be able to answer the simplest questions.

Movies: Borat - I laughed so hard through this whole movie and it was a "I'm going to hell for laughing" kind of thing. Which are usually the best laughs. Also, kudos to Casino Royale. I'm not a big Bond fan, but this flick kicked all kinds of ass.

Food: This is the year I discovered the joys and wonders of Rooster Sauce

Albums: New: My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade. A sorta concept album that is part Queen, part Styx, part goth emo stuff. It really works well together.
Old: Rediscovered Minor Threat's Discography this year. Enjoyed as much as I did the first time I heard it and was probably my most played album of 2006.

Book: King Dork by Frank Portman (aka Dr. Frank of MTX). One of the best young adult books I had the pleasure of reading and I'm not just saying that because he's my friend. It's a really good book.

Day: August 25th. Best birthday I ever had in my life.

Ernie (end zone):

Best thing to happen to me this year was the birth of my baby girl.

Best thing I did this year was to take the family on a trip to the White Mountains in N.H., even if I did have to say, 'IF I HAVE TO STOP THIS CAR...' a few times.

Saw a bunch of great shows this year, Rollins Band, Social Distortion, Supersuckers, Ministry... Had the opportunity to see George Strait and Kenny Chesney but the tix were $$$$$. Saw Clutch Grabwell play at the Wachusett Brewery Spring Fling. Those guys are great and the Spring Fling is always a blast, even if I did throw up afterwards.

Took my kids, and my Dad, believe it or not, to their first ever baseball game. Minor league team, The Worcester Tornadoes. Good times my friends.

Finn (Livin' in the City):

2006 has been an interesting year... But it was loaded with good stuff and surprised me more than once. My favorites:

TV Show: Heroes / Torchwood

I hate to admit how much I'm digging Heroes right now, because I know as soon as I do, they'll get a new writing staff and completely fuck it up a la Lost. But I love a good mystery and I'm a huge comic book fan. Heores is coming through in spades right now.

Torchwood is a Doctor Who spin off that the BBC started this year that's got my attention and is having no problem holding it. It's a smart, sexy and well written look at a group of lunatics who chase down and salvage alien technology on Earth and it's got one of my new favorite Doctor Who companions in it.

Movie: The Host / Survive Style 5+

The Host is a giant monster movie done right. Gone are the rubber suits and cliched plot lines that I've come to expect and love. Instead, we get a little humor, a few seriously scary moments and one of the best "crowd running away from the giant monster" scenes I've ever witnessed. If subtitles don't bother you, this is a can't miss movie.

Survive Style 5+ came out a couple of years ago in Japan (and if I haven't seen it, it's new to me). It's got five quirky, intertwined stories that range from a British hit man (Vinnie Jones) running around Japan offering low, low prices to a man whose wife won't stay dead and there's even a salaryman who thinks he's a bird. The music rocks, the stories are great and and it's got the best kung fu fight sequence I've seen all year.

Stupid thing I bought for myself and that the whole family now uses: The Nintendo Wii

Believe the hype. The Wii has the most intuitive and cleverly designed interface I've ever used. People who don't normally play games glom right on to this thing because it just makes sense. My wife, who usually doesn't like games, plays with the Wii every day and I can't wait to bust this thing out at the next party we have. It promotes playing with other people and social interaction. And that's what makes it so much fun.

Joel (Lo Fi and Imbibe):

This is hard and I'll probably forget the things I loved the most this year, but here are a couple off the top of my head--all of them recent experiences, unsurprisingly.

Music: The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me by Brand New

This is the follow up to Deja Entendu and pretty much the inspiration for my most recent Lo-Fi column. I was really excited about this, seeing as Deja Entendu is one of my favorite albums. I started out really liking Devil and God. Then I started to think that, while it was good, it wasn't as good as I had hoped. Now, about twenty five listens in, I'm in love with it. The album kicks my ass. It's dark and moody and emotional. It's different enough from Deja Entendu that it took me awhile to really get past that album and into this one, but now that I have, goddamn. What great music.

Book: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

I haven't read Everything is Illuminated, which was Foer's first book and a pretty big hit. I hear it's great and I'll read it soon. But this one, his second novel, is absolutely incredible. It's about a boy wandering around New York, trying to solve a mystery surrounding his father, who died on 9/11. It's an incredible book, devastating at times, always fascinating and entertaining. This boy will break your heart, but the book is not suffocatingly depressing, either. I just recommend it. The novel really blew me away and is possibly the best one I read this year, in a year in which I read some pretty incredible books.

Movie: The Science of Sleep

Amazing. I've seen it twice and it really knocks me on my ass. It's crazy, visually fascinating, with a core romance that's very affecting. The main character may drive you nuts with his occasional stupidity, so you have to be forgiving if you're really going to love the movie. But I do love this movie. Michel Gondry directed an incredible movie with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and now with Science of Sleep, he shows what he can do when he's the guy writing as well as directing. It's pretty damn impressive and a great companion to Eternal Sunshine. This is definitely a purchase when it hits DVD.

Cullen (All About the Guitar):

Best album of 2006: "Super Colossal" by Joe Satriani. This album is so good. Every song perfectly segues into the next and is well balanced. Joe's a master technician and can shred, but you'll find little of that of this album. Instead, he uses his technical mastery to focus on perfect tone and note selection. The product is an amazing sounding compilation of powerful music.

Book: I didn't read much this year outside of school books, but what I did pick up were generally quick reads. Of those, the best was probably "The Government Manual for New Superheroes." Very funny.

Movie: There was a lot of crap to come out this year.The good stuff, by and large, I think seems better than they really are by comparison to the crap. However, one film that moved me more than any other film I have ever seen was "United 93." Amazing.

Branden (Uber's Corner and Audience of Shadows):

Album: Food and Liquor by Lupe Fiasco.

TV Show: Lost. Holy crap. I'm so pissed that I wasn't around or could really get involved in the web experience while season two was going on. Started watching this series on DVD back in May, and my girlfriend and I were watching three or four episodes a night before long. This method of storytelling is right up my alley. Next to the prematurely-cancelled masterpiece Carnivale (FUCK YOU HBO) this is the best TV-watching experience I've ever had.

Beer: Dogfish Head's Midas Touch. Only had it once. It has this beautiful honey flavor that's so thick your lips actually get sticky. Almost syruppy, it's the best beer I've tasted this year. Not to mention that it gets you a very strange kind of drunk. Honorable mentions: Satan Red and Golden Monkey.

Place to drink beer: Playa del Carmen. My girlfriend and I headed down there in late August. I had never seen blue water, and was floored by it. It was one of the greatest trips ever. You wake up, go eat fresh fruit for breakfast. Then you go down to the beach, stop by the bar on the way and order some Corona, and sit under a cabana all day. In between beers, we went snorkeling and parasailing, both a blast. I even participated in a beer drinking contest with this huge Scottish guy--and tied him. All in all, it was a great vacation.

Favorite Simpson: Bart turned into a poontang last season, Ashlee looks creepy with her new facejob, so for the third year in a row, my favorite Simpson is OJ.

Kory (Fictional Universe)
This year the three major new things I discovered and enjoyed were:

1. Adobe Flash - This animation program affords users the capability (if not ability) of a full fledged animation studio from the 60s. It rocks.

2. The AK-47 - I think I "discovered" it this year. It's hard to explain why, but the AK-47 is a LOT more fun to use than the M-16. This is an army-related thing, not a "I am a psycho" related thing.

3. Cooking - Up until recently, I have been the absolute last person I would ever suspect of trying to cook anything. However, for some inexplicable reason I've gotten downright gourmet recently. Anyone who knows me knows how truly bizarre that is. It's like Malcolm X discovering the allure of Blue Grass music, except even more unlikely.

Deb (I'll See You On The Ice)

1. Shooting a .22, .36 Special and a 9mm Glock. Who says romance writers are all hearts and flowers? For that hot hot hot afternoon in Atlanta I was a fearless sharp shooter. The Glock rep was inpressed that not only did I hit the target, I took his head off...

2. Learning the danger of mixing Cosmos and swimming. My nose will never be quite the same, and the blood stain is off the patio, but the memories will follow me like the plague for the rest of my life.

3. Daniel Craig. Lordy oh Lordy. Daniel Craig. The man IS sex. I already know which scenes are going to be played over and over, and which ones are going to be paused ;-) When does the next Bond come out?

So that was it. Pretty easy, eh? So the question to you is what are your favorite 2006 moments?

We told you ours so you could make fun of them. I think it is only right if you tell us yours so we can make fun of you.

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