Best of 2006, continued

Best Albums of the Year - "Orphans" by Tom Waits; "Fishscale" by Ghostface Killah; and "I Am Not Afraid Of You and I Will Beat Your Ass," by Yo La Tengo. I was going to post a review of each, but I'm feeling rather lazy, so I'll simply tell you that the second disc of "Orphans" is beautiful, Ghostface Killah's record (and the sequel album "More Fish") demonstrate his assention to the title of best Wu Tang rapper, while pretty much any Yo La Tengo album will satisfy my soul.

Oddest/Oddly Funny Political Ad of 2006 - "Puppies" by the Steele campaign (MD). Really, folks, when you can make the claim that someone is going to attack your stance on puppies, you know you've hit rock bottom in muckraking. So, in this ad, Steele presupposes that the other side is going to say he doesn't like puppies. You see that? He beat them to the punch, much like B. Rabbit in that MC battle, yo.

Best Website With the Best Photos of the Year - TIME: The Best Photos of the Year. The shot of Beirut mirroring WTC, the charred imprint of a body in Sudan, and the Marines in their makeshift camp in Iraq...stirring images from some of the best photographers.

Best Reason to Run Out and Buy a Behemoth-mobile - Bob Lutz (vice-chairman of GM). Lutz, a long-time critic of government fuel economy regulations, compared the attempt to force carmakers to sell smaller vehicles to "fighting the nation's obesity problem by forcing clothing manufacturers to sell garments only in small sizes." Don't you know, people, fat people deserve, nay require, fat cars!

Best Film That Teaches You the Brilliance of Andy Kaufman, Satire, and Jackass - Borat. Funny movie, but really just an amalgamation of Latka's naivity and avant-comedy with Sacha Baron Cohen's razor sharp satirical eye with a healthy dollop of Steve-O jackassery.

Best Return to Form By a Cinematic Master - Martin Scorsese for "The Departed." He took a popcorn action flick (albeit a great one in Infernal Affairs) and upped the anty with breakneck virtuosity. A clastrophobic, fast paced character study that demanded and attained great performances by Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jack Nicholson. Funny how Donnie Wahlberg comes in and steals the movie though.

Best Reason to Punch a Director - The Science of Sleep. Such a precious little trifle, it made me want to sock Michel Gondry in the face. Stick to directing movies by great writers like Charlie Kaufman, otherwise its off to the Hello Kitty factory for you.

continued.