It's the most wonderful time of the decade

A year ago, in "celebrating" this blog's tenth anniversary, I bemoaned that I was running out of material and openly wondered about the future health of The Audient in a world that had moved on from blogs.

Well, things aren't much healthier in the blogosphere, but weeks like the one coming up are the ones I blog for.

I don't ordinarily project a schedule of events on this blog, but the next five days are chock full, as weeks like this only come along once every ten years.

Now, you'll have to forgive me a bit in my phrasing of the subject of this post, which plays off of yesterday's topic and also, again, that Christmas song. It seems weird, on the surface, to say that two weeks into a new decade is its most wonderful time.

So if you like, consider this "time" to be part of last decade, the end part that is not actually part of the decade itself.

On this blog, this week is not only when I release my best of the year, it's when I release my best of the decade.

It all starts "tomorrow," which is "today" for American readers. I'm writing these words on my Monday at 7:34 a.m. On your Monday at 5:30 a.m., assuming you live in America and specifically on the west coast, the Oscar nominations will be announced. That'll trigger, as it does every year, the posting of my year-end movie rankings, which will go up on my Tuesday at sometime after midnight.

On my Wednesday, I will post my 2019 wrap-up post, which includes things like which performers had a good and bad year, a couple short essays on 2019, the best movies I saw in 2019 that didn't come out in 2019, some stats, and some quick hits. No one reads this post, but I write it anyway. (Actually, they read it, I think, or at least start reading it. They just don't comment. Maybe you can change that this year.)

On my Thursday, it's 2019 portmanteaus, where I combine the titles of two (or sometimes more) films from the previous year into a new and ridiculous movie pitch. I also use Microsoft Paint for some crude "photoshopping." I have fun on this one.

That's a normal year. In the first year of a new decade, the fun continues after that.

On my Friday, it's the big one -- my top 25 films of the previous decade, as well as ten honorable mentions. I've been working on this project for ages. I can't wait to finally unveil it for you.

Lastly, on my Saturday, a behind-the-scenes of this project, which you don't need or probably want, but maybe you'll read it anyway.

You can't prep these posts overnight, so I've been working on them for two weeks, even though some of that has been speculative as it has involved lists that were still changing. For example, I've only written nine of my top ten blurbs for best of 2019, a recognition of the fact that my final 2019 viewing, Ash is Purest White tonight, could still worm its way into a top ten that I really sort of hope is finalized by now. In fact, it could conceivably worm its way into a top ten of the decade that I really sort of hope is finalized by now.

Except I don't actually hope that, because isn't that why we watch movies? Because each next one we watch could always be one of the best we've ever seen?

This next week on this blog will be all about why we watch movies.

I hope you'll tune in.