THIS WAS 2006

[Slim K team]

[glow=red,2,300]THIS WAS 2006[/glow]

<sup>"Hello Everybody,



What a Day today Saturday, December 30th 2006 was ...
It really certainly was an eventful day indeed, the last 48 hours of a year such as this time around No one really saw it coming.
it's funny catching different reviews about 2006 a few days ago.. (??) - some should wait until the last day of the year kicks in!
it's not over until it's really over

Today-happenings Saturday, December 30th 2006

• The Execution of Saddam Hussein at dawn
• Two Car bombs went off in Iraq (Kufa & Baghdad) at least 66 people were killed
• One car bomb explodes in parking lot at Spain's busiest airport Madrid
• More than 8,500 Fans incl. Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson etc.. say farewell to James Brown
• Somali, Ethiopian troops close on stronghold of a militant Islamic movement
• former US. President Gerald Ford funeral ceremony in Washington DC

what a busy day it was .. I'm watching Al Jazeera, N-TV (Germany), BBC (UK) and some CNN, C-Span, FOX ..
all at the same time

there's NO Show nor Movie could top reality and drama in life (around the world)
The New Years Eve & the Holy Islamic Eid ul-Adha is surely going to leave a bad taste in my mouth - getting up with the Saddam hanging (which I thought it was very inappropriate in it's TIMING) and the two big Funeral Ceremonies of Brown and Ford incl. the car bombs events etc...

the only worst New Years Eve I had before was the death of my Mother on Christmas Eve in 1994 and the Funeral at New Years Eve .. that was major.


Personally for me 2006 was indeed a very very interesting, busy, eventfull year, filled with turning points and decisions ... a year of change in many ways.

After spending a wonderful Christmas with my Family and As the New Year 2007 dawns upon us...

May I pause to reflect the past 12 months?
First MY Personal TOP CULTURAL picks of 2006:

BOOK: Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" and currently I'm reading Siegfried Tesche's "Das Große James Bond Buch"

ART SHOWS: I enjoyed pretty much the first annual ARTWALK in Culver City (June 3, 2006). - which presented various Gallery Expositions on different Locations that day ..



TELEVISION: "Haunting", "Project Runway", "Flava of Love", "10 Items or Less", "Help Me To Help You", "Blow Out", "Gene Simmons Family Jewels", "Workout"

POLITICAL MOMENTS: Democratic success in both the US Houses, the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld and and losing the War in Iraq (pretty much)

SPEECHLESS MOMENTS: Israel Bombing Lebanon to the Ground, Saddam's Execution (incl. Video over and over again) and the incident of The World Cup Final, Zidane head butts Mattarazi.

ALBUM/ SONG:

Albums*

Gnarls Barkley' "St.Elsewhere", Shakira's "Oral Fixation, Vol. 2", Keane's "Under The Iron Sea", Nelly Furtado's "Loose", Justin Timberlake "FutureSex/LoveSounds", David Arnold's "Casino Royale" soundtrack, Diddy's "Press Play"

Songs*

Crazy /Gnarls Barkley
Keane /Is It Any Wonder
Love Me Or Hate Me /Lady Sovereign
Buttons /P'Cat Dolls
Far Away /Nickelback
Run It/ Chris Brown
Wind It Up /Gwen Stefani
Promiscuous /Nelly Furtado
Le Disko /Shiny Toy Guns
Come To Me and Tell Me /Diddy
You Know My Name /Chris Cornell
Fergalicious /Fergie
Stolen / Dashboard Cofessions
Move Along /All-American Rejects
Pointed By Numbers /The Sounds
Hips Don't Lie /Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean
SexyBack and My Love /Justin Timberlake
How To Save A Life /The Fray
You're Beautiful /James Blunt
SOS /Rihanna
I Write Sins Not Tragedies /Panic! At The Disco
Me & U /Cassie
Unfaithful /Rihanna
Chasing Cars /Snow Patrol
So Sick /Ne-Yo
Bad Day /Daniel Powter
Dance, Dance /Fall Out Boy


FILM: James Bond 007 "Casino Royale" - loved it and congrats to Daniel Craig.

"The Departed" superb cast, Michael Mann's 'Miami Vice' sees the crime genre with laser-eyed freshness I enjoyed it.. but still missed Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas, John Hillcoat's 'The Proposition' - an Aussie Western, is criminally underrated

"The Da Vinci Code" w. Tom Hanks.. good suspense and interesting story.

Mel Gibson's 'Apocalypto', despite a taste for gore that's near pathological, brings a poet's eye and fierce energy to a Mayan civilization that mirrors our own.

and last but not least "The Queen"


Best Documentary Davis Guggenheim's 'An Inconvenient Truth' cuts Al Gore loose on global warming.

Worst Movies of 2006: "Superman Returns" - I'm a huge Superman fan.. Chris Reeves is my hero, thought the new version was weak of a story and actors .., "Talladega Nights" w. Will Ferrell and "Casanova" w. Heath Ledger ... HATE IT Both of them

BIGGEST MOVIE HYPE: "Borat." It was/is a funny film, but it was the most incredibly hyped thing ...much about nothing.

CRINGE WORTHY AND EMBARRASSING MOMENTS: Kanye West at the 'MTV Europe Awards' (pregnant doging why he didn't win??? only because he had Pam Anderson in the video and spent 1 mill. dollars??? - I don't think so.. it's lame!) - Evil Knievel sues Kanye West over that video .. as well Legendary diva DAME SHIRLEY BASSEY is furious after discovering rapper KANYE WEST sampled her 1971 hit DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER in his single DIAMONDS FROM SIERRA LEONE. - wow.. that's sad, Kanye West in my Opinion incredibly over-hyped and P. Diddy wanna be. - nuff said!

AND the Britney / K-Federline drama


FUNNIEST RE-RUNS: "Everybody Loves Raymond", "Seinfeld", "King of Queens" and the JAMES BOND movie series.



"My heart goes out to all the souls affected by the recent tragedies around the world. In the spirit of giving this holiday season, please consider making a donation to those who need it most!

May the spirit of the season fill you with love, joy and peace throughout the New Year of 2007.

On the memory of Years passed
As the first New Year Day greets you
Love and Happiness are wished
Peace Joy and Prosperity.

When the clock strikes twelve on December 31st, people all over the world cheer and wish each other a very Happy New Year.

For some, this event is no more than a change of a calendar.
But for many others incl. myself, the New Year symbolizes the beginning of a better tomorrow.

So, if you look forward to a good year ahead, be confident, be postive and spread happiness.

Alright I'm outa here off to PALM SPRINGS ;D



The Best of New Years wishes to you and for all the Muslims around the World 'Happy Eid ul-Adha' "</sup>

[Slim K team]

2006 Timeline

In Jan. 2006, astronomers reported seeing a rare explosion on the Moon.

The actor Chris Penn was found dead, Charles Kennedy resigned as Lib Dem leader after admitting a drinking problem and British diplomats in Moscow were accused of using fake rocks to spy.

In Feb. The publication of caricatures mocking the Prophet Muhammad dominated the news in February. Protests against the cartoons led to deaths. Many readers were keen to know exactly what the pictures depicted. (I thought it was tasteless and ignorant from the West as usual)

Slim K Archives News (Feb. - May 23rd 2006)

In June 2006 An anti-terror raid in east London involving 250 officers led to the shooting of a 23-year-old man. No evidence of involvement in terrorism was found by officers, who had been looking for a chemical device.

In Iraq, the militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in an air raid. He had been considered the figurehead of the Sunni insurgency and blamed for thousands of deaths.

In the US, the story that internet users were to be enlisted to patrol the US border prompted great interest. Surfers would be able to watch the border between Mexico and Texas and call the authorities if they saw illegal crossings.

The FIFA Soccer World Cup kicks in Germany, Italy wins Cup (I thought FRANCE deserved it and Zinedine Zidane should've left the world stage as a Champion)



World Cup final
July 9
Italy won a penalty shootout 5-3 to lift the World Cup for the fourth time after Zinedine Zidane was sensationally sent off for head-butting Marco Materazzi. The French captain was shown the red card in the final match of his career near the end of the final, which was tied 1-1 after extra time. A few months later, Materazzi broke his silence, telling Gazzetta dello Sport it was a remark he made about Zidane's sister that provoked the incident. Materazzi said that when Zidane offered to give him his France jersey in response to persistent shirt-tugging by the Italian, he had replied: "I would prefer your sister."





TV king Rudi Carrell passes away
At the age of 71




Israel-Hezbollah WAR
July 12
Israel launched a series of bombing raids into Lebanon after Hezbollah forces crossed into Israel, killing three soldiers and abducting two more, a move the Israeli prime minister called an "act of war." A month later, a cease-fire took effect, and displaced civilians began returning home. About a million people on each side of the border were displaced, officials said. The conflict left 908 dead and 3,877 wounded in Lebanon, and 159 dead and more than 1,000 wounded in Israel, authorities in the two countries said.

August In Austria, the remarkable story of Natascha Kampusch, the girl kidnapped and held in a basement for eight years, made headlines worldwide. The kidnapper died after throwing himself in front of a train.

Australian naturalist Steve Irwin's death from a stingray barb to the heart was one of the year's most widely read stories. His popularity also saw huge numbers read about a video tape showing his last moments.


Slim K Archives News (Aug. - October 11th 2006)
Slim K Archives News (May - July 19th 2006)
Slim K Archives News (Feb. - May 23rd 2006)


In November There was bad news for President George W Bush, when the Democrats secured victory in the US mid-terms. After the Republicans lost both houses of Congress, Mr Bush pledged to work with his rivals.

The United States calls the Iraq war "The Civil War" (I call it the failed war of the US)

A major scientific study suggested that there were only 50 years left for fishing, if current trends continued. Stocks had collapsed in one-third of sea fisheries, the report said.

November was also the month that saw Saddam Hussein sentenced to death and a modern spy drama following the death of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko in London.

in Decemeber The deaths of five prostitutes whose bodies were found near Ipswich dominated the news for much of December. Steven Wright, a 48-year-old Ipswich man has been remanded in custody, accused of their murder.

There was better news in China where the world's tallest man put his long arms to good use. Mongolian herdsman Bao Xishun, who stands at 2.36m (7ft 8.95in), reached into the stomachs of dolphins at an aquarium in Fushun to remove plastic they had swallowed. Vets had failed.

In the early hours of 30 December, the news emerged from Iraq that Saddam Hussein had been executed by hanging.

Footage of the former dictator's final moments as he went to the gallows were broadcast on Iraqi state TV.