2004

That was the year of the Indian Ocean earthquake, my move to San Diego and first Comic-Con, and my first time in Toronto (where my in-laws now live).

The most sentimental movies released: I never saw The Passion of the Christ (2/25) for its graphic nature and yet I enjoyed raunchy comedies like Jersey Girl (3/26), The Girl Next Door (3/27), and Team America: World Police (10/15), along with tamer teen fare like Napoleon Dynamite (6/11), which I almost saw at Sundance, and Mean Girls (4/30), which introduced me to Tina Fey; last but not least, the "Mormon movie" with the best production values I've ever seen - Saints and Soldiers (8/6)

Music artists I discovered: Nouvelle Vague - Nouvelle Vague (8/9 as an import); Kasabian - Kasabian (9/13); Arcade Fire - Funeral (9/14); Backlash and Freezepop, which were featured on the State of Synthpop 2003 6CD sampler

Comic book series I followed from the first issue: Common Grounds, Marvel Team-Up, The Question, Strange, and Ultimate Fantastic Four; this year belonged to indies like Burlyman's Doc Frankenstein and the new Conan from Dark Horse; I didn't like the art for DC's Identity Crisis or Marvel's Avengers "Dissassembled"

Restaurants I discovered: The Green Flash and Zen 5 Sushi (both in Pacific Beach)