Bombarded by wraps and rewinds and reviews, I took the opportunity to highlight some interesting stats. Or brag in some cases. But also see where this data leads. Hopefully beyond simple numbers.

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Movies

According to Letterboxd, I watched 107 movies this year. The most I’ve ever seen in a twelve-month period I believe. This is a paltry number compared to some of my cine-friends. I began the year with Tokyo Godfathers and ended it with Red 2. My 50th was Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and my 100th was Babe. And I watched Dune: Part Two three times (which contributed to Zendaya taking the crown as my most watched actress of the year). Only 17 of the movies I watched released in 2024. Twenty-eight were re-watches--several of which were childhood favorites I never had the opportunity to see on the big screen and, thanks to The Belcourt, now I have.

The longest movie I watched was Seven Samurai which runs 207 minutes or three hours and 45 minutes. But this pales in comparison to The Before Trilogy Marathon which comes in at a whopping 310 minutes including intermissions. This translates to over five hours at the movie theater. You would think one half-day marathon would be enough for one year but I managed to subject myself to another uninterrupted six hours at the movies by watching The Godfather parts two and three back-to-back (yes, Coppola was my most watched director of the year). Though the more impactful double-feature for me was Fitzcarraldo and Burden of Dreams. Werner Herzog has my full attention as an artist.

The stat I’m most proud of is 66 of the 107 movies I watched this year were in a movie theater. Fifty-two of which were at my beloved Belcourt (five of these projected on 35mm film).

The numbers are telling me I love movies. But more so it reveals my appreciation for what my local indie theater offers. The Belcourt provides windows into new experiences and diverse art. Some I like; some I don’t. But I respect all of it because my imagination is being taught.

I love going to the theater alone. It’s a mindful experience for me. I enter another world. My self fades away. And when the journey concludes I’m refreshed and sometimes wiser. The Red Shoes was the penultimate solo experience for me this year. A solo movie at the theater is innately shared with strangers and renders each screening unique. Often, their presence is vital. I would have walked out of Twilight if it were not for the audience providing me a guide to the experience--laughing and cheering and dictating how the movie should be received. This would have been lost if I streamed it.

I also love sharing these moments with friends--especially if it's a movie I treasure, or a friend’s treasure. The highlight in this case was The Before Trilogy Marathon. My friend Jonathan had told me to watch these movies for years. And I got to see all of them for the first time with him. The Virgin Suicides is also notable because a couple of URL friends became IRL friends at this screening. And I finally got to introduce longtime friends to two favorites: The Fall and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. I cherish hearing their reactions to these movies.

TV

My friend, Will, shared Midnight Mass with me this year. He recommended it since I’ve been writing a vampire story. A small crew watched the miniseries at his house on Friday nights over a few weeks and discussed the night’s episodes afterward. Much of Midnight Mass’ execution wasn’t to my liking. I found it longwinded and the pace frustrating. But the content and themes were meaty and well-considered. It was shot and lit exceptionally well to boot. Mike Flanagan has my respect. I’m thankful I got to watch this series with thoughtful friends.

That aside, my interest in TV is on the wane. There are too many shows that are too long and too mediocre. I have no desire to keep up. What little I do watch are what I dub “cooking shows.” Shows I can listen to while I cook or do other chores. This year’s cooking show MVP was unquestionably Sailor Moon. Silly with lovable characters and drama intense enough to pause my work to give the show my full attention. I’ve also been plugging away at the excellent King of the Hill.

There were few series I took the time to sit down and watch. Oddtaxi took me by surprise--a quirky show hiding greater depth. I caught up on Made in Abyss and then watched Scavengers Reign. Both juggle beauty, horror, and the mysterious exceptionally well. I finally completed my runs through the iconic series The X-Files and Twin Peaks. And I was supremely disappointed in the latest season of The Bear. A near complete waste of time.

I think TV will continue to become less and less of a priority for me. What I do watch will be very intentional (and likely already complete) or something that can be double as a background radio drama. I crave the short and self-contained.

GAMES

This desire extends into video games. Too many games are too long with too much padding. I like playing games. But I love stories. There’s too much homework to get to the next bit of narrative lately. I’ve picked up and dropped many renowned games this year because they took an eternity to get going. I don’t have the free time of my youth to invest anymore. Give me a focused, well-crafted experience. It could be a single hour for all I care. Just make it great. Don’t give me another live service. Many thanks to Animal Well, Astro Bot, and Gris for helping me draw this conclusion.

BOOKS

My reading is up this year thanks to audiobooks, the library, and the indispensable Libby app. According to BookWyrm, I read 25 books this year. A slight undercount because I only logged the first volume of the manga series I finished (though I’m inclined to consider a full series a closer equivalent of a novel rather than a single volume). My shortest read was Carmilla; Dune the longest. I read all six original Herbert-authored Dune novels this year. I’m glad I did. His universe is fascinating to me and I’m better able to appreciate Denis Villeneuve's masterful adaptation to the screen. But some of Herbert’s books could have genuinely been an email. Good grief.

The Earthsea series was the surprise of the year. I adore this world and its characters. And I now treasure Ursula K. Le Guin’s voice. I added to my vampire knowledge by rereading Dracula and finally picking up Carmilla. Fledgling was by far the most fascinating vampire tale I read this year and Happiness the most eerie. But the read that impacted me most, by far, was Till We Have Faces. I can only hope to read another like it this coming year.

FITNESS

My workout app informs me I did 284 workouts and burned 79,095 calories this year, whatever the hell that means. My top equipment was “dumbbell” and top exercise was “Hand Release Push Up.” I also ran a 16 mile half marathon. That’s when you run an extra three miles after running 13 for some reason.

I ditched the scale and calorie counting in 2024. Both were useful tools the previous year. The calorie/nutrition tracking app I used helped me better understand what I was eating and diversify my regular diet. But logging and weighing is a chore. And I noticed negative mental effects creeping in by the end of 2023. I felt it was time to take off the training wheels and practice intuitive eating.

I knew it would be a challenge for me. I’ve spent most my life ignoring how my body feels. My instinct is to power through. Suck it up. The situation normally escalates to catastrophic before I address a health or medical issue. I’ve tried to be more mindful in recent years. Noticing when I’m tired. When my brain is foggy. How I feel after I eat. Taking medicine when I’m sick. Slowing down.

Intuitive eating is a natural next step in this practice of listening to and treating my body well. And I’m happy with the results. I eat what I want, as needed. Thanks to my disciplined year of tracking, I’m much more sensitive to my cravings. I can feel when I need fresh vegetables. I can recognize when a rich meal makes me feel bad hours later. My eating habits are far more flexible and adventurous. Moderation has finally become a concrete concept for me.

Numbers no longer dictate my health habits. How I feel does. I feel fit. I feel satiated. I feel healthy and comfortable in my body.

COFFEE

I tried several new spots and revisited some past favorites. Of the new spots, Elegy, Weak, and No Free stood out. Elegy is unfortunately too busy, but their espresso is good and they have an excellent biscuit. Weak is a fun spot to bike to and the specialty drinks are tasty. I should visit more often in the summer. No Free was a late surprise. Close by and the espresso excellent. I was especially impressed with the americano. I hope to work it into my regular schedule.

I got to visit Headquarters a few times again this year. I love this cozy spot. Unfortunately, their hours often don’t work with my schedule. That may change. My regular haunts were Frothy, The Horn, and Crema. Frothy gained this status due to convenience. They are open late. Easy to get to after the 9-to-5 to work on personal projects. I mainly drink from their selection of High Garden teas. The Earl Grey (caffeinated) and Honeybliss (non-caffeinated) are my go-to's. The Horn received this distinction for multiple reasons: its exceptional chai (which I order dirty), delicious sambusas, and decent cup of joe. It’s also the regular location of my Saturday morning writing group.

I forgot the value of writing with others in silence. Writing is categorized as a solo activity in my mind (which is innately true) and I didn’t know a writing group could actually be all about the activity of writing rather than reading each other’s work, giving feedback, and quibbling about craft. During lockdown a few years ago, I was invited by fellow writers to join a video call on Saturday mornings where we’d quietly work on our projects. It was a lifesaver in more ways than one. Something to anticipate, social contact, and creative accountability. My sanity was preserved and, as a bonus, I finished a script I’d been struggling with for two years.

But the group reached its natural end when the world reopened. I returned to sporadic solo writing.

Then, early last year, I received a new invitation from new writing fellows. Same day of the week. Same time. This time in person. I was reminded how powerful time dedicated to writing with others could be. We’ve written at a variety of coffee spots--we like to explore--but our anchor is The Horn. Dirty chais and sambusa fueled most of our writing sessions.

Already blessed with one writing group, I was suddenly bestowed with another. A bar I frequent advertised it would be hosting a public writing group called Shut Up and Write. I decided to check it out. Writing with strangers was certainly different, but the results were the same. I became a regular attendee. And the strangers became friends. Friends enough to be invited to Friendsgiving. And with the accountability and encouragement of two writing groups, I finished another shitty first draft before the year was out.

Crema must also be mentioned. Not just because it’s an institution in Nashville, but it played host to early morning coffee meetings. These were occasional and sporadic one-on-ones reserved for a small handful of friends who could only meet at that time during the work week. But I think I want to make the early morning coffee a regular rhythm in 2025. Focused, individual time expanded to all those I’d like to invest in. It should also help me get to work on time in the morning.

SOCIAL

I’ve continued to abandon social media as has been my trend over the past years. Twitter I dropped completely and, though I tried several replacements, I’ve lost the desire to tweet at all. Letterboxd seems to satisfy my instinct to quip online. I use several of the media logging sites. They are more of a tool for me to track what I’m watching, reading, playing, and prompt reflection and critical thinking (though I also enjoy seeing what my friends are absorbing and thinking). They ultimately serve as fodder for my personal blog--the central repository for my online presence. I still check and post to Instagram occasionally for reasons I used to check and post to Facebook: most of my social connections are there. I’ve stopped posting stories almost entirely and rarely check them. I ignore reels/tiktoks. The most I post are usually photo recaps. And those are meant to be silly and primarily little diary entries for myself. My Tumblr blogs have lain fallow. I love them, but I just don’t have the time or energy anymore. And the CEO that owns the service dropped his open-internet-proponent mask and revealed he’s a controlling 1% asshole like all the rest.

YouTube is this generation’s PBS. God bless that mess.

The exception this year was the arrival of PI.FYI, a new social platform spawned from a popular Substack--now independent newsletter--Perfectly Imperfect. A January article by The Verge about the site opening to the public drew my attention, so I hopped on the train. I’m glad I did. The early days of this community captured the excitement and earnestness of Web 1.0 days. It’s a unique blend of message board and personal blog. It feels small because it is. PI.FYI is a town with digital neighbors that you all know of and you consider many URL friends. A stark contrast to the dominant platforms where it feels like you’re clinging to mutuals for dear life while an algorithmic ocean tries to tear you all apart. The site has already gone through multiple eras and redesigns in just a year and there are new features and experiments all the time. But its best feature remains facilitating community. We actually talk to each other there. We’re silly and serious. In-person meetups are organized. Real friendships and romances kindled. I’m richer two IRL friends thanks to this upstart site.

In general, my social circle grew dramatically in 2024 from seeds sown at the end of 2023. The internet was an unexpected but welcome contributor via PI.FYI and Shut up and Write (which is organized on Instagram). But the main driver was in-person invitations, saying yes even when reluctant, and leaning into taking the initiative myself. Things really got rolling when I was told, pointedly, I was sitting on the wrong side of the room at church. Thank you, Brooke. Simply sitting near people, being near people, who wanted to know me led to Saturday morning writing, game nights, a monthly vinyl and cocktail event, hikes, a long-weekend stay at a cabin, multiple friendsgivings...an ambient community to live life with.

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2024 was an exceptionally frustrating year for me for several stupid reasons not worth discussing. But, as you can see, it was also rich in connection. I will not take that gift for granted.