In a year where the general mantra was change, 2008 lived up to the hype. Yes it's time to look back at the year and reflect on what surprised us, amazed us, disappointed, and angered. Here are some of the best and worst that I have noted about the year.
1. Senator Obama wins the Presidency - After facing rampant rumors and internet smear emails about his race, religion and plans for the nation, not to mention direct insults and racial attacks from the campaign of his now proposed Secretary of State, Senator Obama defied all the pundits and pollsters. With almost 10% of the nation admitting they would never vote for a Presidential candidate that was not White, and a mere 40 years after the Civil Rights Movement, Senator Obama broke through one of the highest and hardest glass ceilings in the nation. Many never expected to see the day a Black man became President. Nothing else could take first place in this year.
2. Amy Winehouse - She is still alive. I am incredibly amazed. She has been in more rehab and hospitals than Britney Spears, and that says a lot this year. I am sure there were odds in Vegas running almost 50/50 on her dying this year. It is merely the miracle of the human body in youth that seems to keep her going, not that she isn't pushing the limits.
3. The mortgage crisis - It started the year depressing the financial industry, raising up gold and commodities, and took out Bear Stearns. This of course gave us the quick action of Treasury Secretary Paulson, Barney Frank, and Fed chairman Bernanke. Thus it got much worse. As oil peaked at $160/barrel, gold topped $1100, mortgage foreclosures hit all-time highs, and home prices dropped across the nation the overseers just mentioned promised more action and the security of our institutions. Then Freddie Mac and Fannie Mac failed on cue. And as the scramble to fix the fix became more important it became an election issue. But not before we were told the sky was about to fall; it didn't but the stock market did. This then became...
4. The credit crisis - Money for everyone got scarce. New home purchases bogged down as banks said no to even highly qualified borrowers. Big businesses couldn't get loans, including Mc Donald's. The stock market continued down in a crash not seen in 2 generations. Banks failed at an unprecedented rate, brokerages became banks to get in on a bailout that HAD to happen. And the Government scooped up positions in private business, for our good, as they poured a trillion dollars into the economy. Which still has not stopped the overall downturn in the economy.
5. Heath Ledger, Bernie Mac, Isaac Hayes, Buddy Dial, Jerry Groom, Janet Kagan, John Bliss, Julian Rathbone, Mike Smith, William F. Buckley, Jr., David Edwards, Buddy Miles, Genoa Keawe, Larry Norman, Richard Baer, Eagle Day, Dennis Letts, Stephen Marlowe, Steve Whitaker, Ben Chapman, Robin Moore, Bobby Lee Trammell, Jim Jones, Benigno G. Tabora, Jerry Karl, Bobby Lord, Johnny Weaver, Thurlow Cooper, Perry Lopez, Lionel Mark Smith, Roger Voisin, John Brunious, Preston Hanson, Freddie Bell, Steve Gerber, Roy Scheider, Robert DoQui, John Alvin, John Grimsley, Schoolboy Cleve, Kenny Konz, Winston Walls, Ken Hunt, Christopher Allport, Lance Clemons, Suzanne Pleshette, Bobby Fischer, Ernie Holmes, Allan Melvin, Brad Renfro, Johnny Grant, Brandi Borr, O.G. Style, Sean Levert, Heath Benedict, Chalmers Alford, Richard Widmark, Al Hofmann, Wayne Davis, G. David Low, Martin Fierro, Rafael Tufiño, Chuck Day, Gary Gygax, Ivan Caesar, Will Robinson, Paul Davis, Al Wilson, Orish Grinstead, VL Mike, John Marzano, Danny Federici, Sean Costello, Stanley Kamel, James Barrier, Gib Shanley, Charlton Heston, Ray Poole, Harvey Korman, Sydney Pollack, Tom McHale, Mitch Mullany, Camu Tao, Dick Martin, Michelle Meldrum, Zelma Henderson, Lloyd Moore, John Phillip Law, Heather Stohler, Dick Sutcliffe, Curtis Whitley, Eddy Arnold, Mildred Loving, Jim Hager, Don S. Davis, Dave Carpenter, Charles Dryden, John Furlong, George Carlin, Scott Kalitta, Mel Agee, Johnathan Goddard, Stan Winston, Mitch Frerotte, Jim McKay, Robert J. Anderson, Bo Diddley, Mel Ferrer, Luther Davis, Bruce Adler, Michael J. Daly, Joe Beck, Estelle Getty, Anastasia Blue, Paul Sorensen, Sherman Maxwell, Luke Kruytbosch, Bobby Murcer, Terrence Kiel, Larry Harmon, Phil Hill, Ed Vega, Kevin Duckworth, Steve Foley, Frank Cornish, Jeff MacKay, Jerry Finn, Julius Carry, LeRoi Moore, Pervis Jackson, Jack Kamen, Gary Mooney, Fujio Akatsuka, Paul Newman, Nappy Brown, Norman Whitfield, Joan Winston, Joey Giardello, Bill Meléndez, John Ripley, Estelle Reiner, Merl Saunders, Richard Blackwell, Dave McKenna, Chris Mims, Kevin Foster, Gidget Gein, DeWayne McKinney, Johnny "J", Robert Arthur, Doris Dungey, Derek Scott, MC Breed, Abraham Woods, Michael Crichton, Chris Thurston, Nathaniel Mayer, Tiffany Sloan, Shakir Stewart, Paul Benedict, Donna Stewart-Hardaway, Steve Bradley, Jimmy Anderson.
All passed away in 2008. Only Heath Ledger has been spoken about in any lasting and referential way.
6. The Shield ended is run on cable television. And so has The Riches in a move of network television cowardice (in my opinion). Leaving a serious void of realistic and/or quality programming.
7. American Idol continues to be on television. Creating a lasting void in the minds of viewers.
8. Top movies of the year starts with Batman: The Dark Knight. Which proves that hype and bad writing can make money. This is followed by Iron Man (a massively better movie), Indiana Jones 4, Hancock, Wall-E, Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar 2, Horton Hears a Who, Sex in the City, and Quantum of Solace.
Considering the top 10 grossing films, you would think the nation loves kid films that are animated or movies based on long-running comic book characters. The exception being sluts and a guy with an accent and lots of violence. And you would be right.
9. The continuous flood of television shows that were successful (and better) on the BBC, that have now been Americanized and appear on U.S. channels (notably NBC). Generally these converted shows fail within a few episodes.
10. The massive blogosphere controversy over Ben Stiller's film Tropic Thunder failed to ignite onto the streets when the film came out in theaters. This is likely due to the failure of the film as anything watchable. But the controversy continues to this day.
11. The massive number of films that are 'revisioned' copies of comic books, television shows, and books astounds the mind. 70 % of the top 10 movies are either a sequel, comic book conversion, television show and/or a combination of these. The sheer number of copies for the entire year is to high to count, especially if you add in video game conversions to the mix. Witting in Hollywood seems to be completely dead.
12. The absolute joy of the media and many White Americans at the thought, and then celebration of the OJ Simpson Las Vegas trial and conviction. Never mind the dubious nature of how the crime was setup, nor the quirky way the trial went. It could only be justice if OJ went to jail for a long time, which was a given the day he was arrested. Not to mention the guy where justice just evaporated and the media just passed it over.
13. The unmitigated bias and propaganda of the news media in promoting President-elect Obama throughout the election cycle. Never before has the media so blatantly given up its obligation to provide the truth without bias to the public. It wasn't yellow journalism, but it wasn't beneficial either.
14. The amazement of how the media continues to depict video games as inciting violence in children, while playing down events like the collapse of a boy because his father could not bother to check in on him for 20 hours. It's not the games any more than it's music or movies or cartoons. It's the lack of parents doing their jobs.
15. The belief of some that racism has ended because President-elect Obama won. This flies in the face of police actions this year, stereotypes in the media, events in the nation, and long-held views that were reflected in polls. Or did we forget Lindsey Lohan already (which is understandable).
16. Guns n' Roses Chinese Democracy finally made it out to fans. Considering it took well over a decade to get done you might have expected it to be a masterpiece - it isn't. Still it did get it's share of media attention mostly due to Dr. Pepper.
17. Hanoi Jane Fonda announced she is again trying to forget what she did in the past.
18. Even amid all the economic chaos many continued to make charitable donations. Some from the most unexpected sources. And sometimes the media just wants to throw garbage at such actions. Still giving is a great thing and especially in these difficult times.
19. Internet scams continue to be on the internet, and many are gaining steam. From fake IRS stimulus checks to going after the grandparents little is left to chance. Considering the information on the net you would expect these frauds to fail completely. Yet they are still out their. And more than a few are snake oil salesmen that do to well with incredible claims that only harm those they claim to help.
20. We all continue to remember Sept 11, 2001. And I hope we never forget or diminish what happened that day. Or how we came together as a nation in the weeks afterward.
21. The Olympics were a time of great unity in the world. And at the same time some nation chose this moment to show how backwards they can still be in the 21st century.
22. And the media continued to seek out ways to portray African Americans as poorly as possible. While at the same time ignoring the obvious racially motivated actions of institutions against Blacks.
23. Several black celebrities were able to get some extra media this year though. Some were for accidents that occurred (and the media sought to mine controversy out of tragedy). Some were for their rising stars as they continued to gain acclaim they deserved. And a few were just selling out just a bit more before their media inspired hype ends.
24. We had a moment where the Government almost did something important. But instead settled for something notable and that went unreported. Because how important could an apology for slavery really be? Besides important enough that no one wanted their names on it, yea or nea.
25. There were many cotroversies throughout the year. Some for silly items and some were quite serious.
26. And along the way some learned a few new things about this nation that they never knew before.
These are just some of the things in the year that I noticed. I am sure I missed a few things, or had an interpertation some disagreed with. There were events I didn't mention, or didn't convey in this list. And I really haven't mentioned one thing that I find personally quite important.
One of the most important things in 2008 was the continued and growing attention you my visitors have provided to my blogs and sites. Without the attention and input from all your voices in over 125 nations each month, I would be working in vain. And for that I want to thank you.
I continue my promise to let you know my thoughts on issues and events that I believe are important, and sometimes just silly, that catch my eye. I will work hard to respond to each comment and email that comes from you. I will endeavour to provide the quality of writing and attention to detail you have come to expect.
2008 has been a good year for the growth of my blogs and sites, but I realize that it only happens because of you.
So I end this review of 2008 with this thought. No matter the economic environment, the events of the day, we all can achieve success if we work hard and maintain a high level of quality. You have proven that for me, and if I can do it I am sure you my readers can do even more.
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