Best of 2008

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Pogue's Top Tech Ideas of '08
 Pogue's 
 Top Tech 
 Ideas of '08 
OPINION
Dec 18, 2008 1:35 PM CST

Pogue's Top Tech Ideas of '08

List includes advancements from iPhone, Amazon and Netflix

(Newser) - David Pogue runs down the best tech ideas of 2008 in the New York Times, “the flashes of genius that somehow made it through committee, past the lawyers, and into the marketplace.” Highlights include:
  • Headache-free packaging: Amazon’s plastic-free alternative is good for the environment and does not
...

Biggest Stories You Didn't Hear in '08

Catching up on the stuff blotted out by the election and financial crisis

(Newser) - Election coverage and reports on the financial crisis ate up much of the media's attention in '08—while some major news stories went under-reported. Time runs down the biggest:
  1. A Pentagon gaffe accidentally sent nuclear warhead fuses to Taiwan in 2006; the mix-up was noted this year—by the Taiwanese.
...

Biggest Jerks of 2008
 Biggest Jerks
 of 2008 
Dec 14, 2008 7:02 PM CST

Biggest Jerks of 2008

Nickelback, Sarko, and a TV character all incur the Guardian's wrath

(Newser) - As a tumultuous year winds down, the Guardian asks the question on everybody’s mind: who are 2008’s biggest douchebags? A selection:
  • Nicolas Sarkozy: “Good God, man, will you put her away just for a second?”
  • Sarah Palin's advisors: "What you need to do, Sarah, to communicate
...

Errors Apparent: 2008's Worst Predictions

magazine recalls year's worst punditry

(Newser) - Presidential candidate Bloomberg? Nope. Russia invading the Ukraine? Hardly. Foreign Policy takes a look back at the worst predictions of the year:
  • A stabilized banking system: Shortly after Henry Paulson forecast stability on Wall Street, Citigroup’s stock price dropped 75% and closed below $5 for the first time since
...

Dog Poop DNA, Sean Avery Rule 2008 Ideas

NYT assembles hodgepodge of year's memorable concepts

(Newser) - For the eighth straight year, the New York Times Magazine has compiled the best—and worst—ideas that influenced the past 12 months:
  • Can’t get enough of popping bubble wrap? A Japanese, battery-operated key chain now simulates your favorite mindless activity.
  • Sean Avery not only made his name as
...

Google Taps Zeitgeist, Finds Palin a Winner

Alaska governor went zooming up search charts in '08

(Newser) - Every year, Google releases its analysis of the global zeitgeist based on billions of searches around the world. Newsweek reports the highlights:
  • Sarah Palin: "Obama" was the most searched for term overall, but the Alaska governor grabbed the top spot on the fastest-rising list.
  • Beijing 2008: The world was
...

5 Best Songs You Didn't Hear in 2008
 5 Best Songs You 
 Didn't Hear in 2008 
OPINION
Dec 11, 2008 12:34 PM CST

5 Best Songs You Didn't Hear in 2008

Esquire picks this year's best under-the-radar songs

(Newser) - Test your indie chops, courtesy of Esquire, which rounds up the five best tunes you probably didn’t hear this year:
  • “Jingle Bells,” Julian Koster: There's not a single bell in this holiday classic, just a harrowing singing saw.
  • “One Last Round,” Ron Sexsmith: Sharp commentary
...

Pop Culture Casualties of 2008
  Pop Culture Casualties of 2008 
OPINION
Dec 9, 2008 7:28 PM CST

Pop Culture Casualties of 2008

A look back at the year's cultural departures

(Newser) - A Led Zeppelin world tour? Sorry, that was a whole lotta hype. Madonna and Guy Ritchie's love story? Ditto. As the curtain comes down on 2008, the Los Angeles Times bids farewell to this year’s departed cultural phenomena.
  • Joaquin Phoenix’s movie career: He walked the line as Johnny
...

Bola&ntilde;o's 2666 Tops Another Book List
 Bolaño's 2666 Tops 
 Another Book List 
OPINION
Dec 8, 2008 2:55 PM CST

Bolaño's 2666 Tops Another Book List

Choi's A Person of Interest also gets Salon fiction nod; '67 Oscar race tops non-fiction

(Newser) - Chilean author Roberto Bolaño's novel 2666, about the murders of women in a border town, features on Salon's list of the 10 best books of the year. They include:
  • 2666: Bolaño, who died young in 2003, is celebrated posthumously in the English-speaking world. "He pursues, with suave
...

Morrison Tops Times 10 Best Books List

NY Times names its top 10 for 2008

(Newser) - Nobel Prize-winner Toni Morrison's most recent novel and nonfiction books about two wars feature on the New York Times list of the 10 best books of the year. They include:
  • A Mercy: Morrison's tale of 17th-century slaves and masters is "part Faulknerian puzzle, part dream-song."
  • 2666: Chilean author
...

Top Foreign Fiction of 2008
 Top Foreign Fiction of 2008 
OPINION
Dec 2, 2008 4:40 PM CST

Top Foreign Fiction of 2008

Pair of Spanish-language works highlight NPR list

(Newser) - Of 340 new works of foreign fiction and poetry translated for US audiences this year, NPR has culled five of the best into a list:
  • Senselessness, by Horacio Castellanos Moya: A Latin American freelance writer is hired by the Catholic Church to edit sinister documents in this compact dark comedy.
...

'Bailout' Named Word of the Year

'Trepidation' and 'turmoil' also top list of words readers often look up

(Newser) - The word "bailout," in frequent use in newspapers, magazines, and TV thanks to the economic meltdown, has been named Merriam-Webster's 2008 Word of the Year, reports the AP. It was the word most looked up on the company's online dictionary, edging out other newly prominent and worrisome terms...

10 Best Viral Election Videos
 10 Best Viral Election Videos 
OPINION
Nov 3, 2008 5:18 PM CST

10 Best Viral Election Videos

Web offers chance to poke fun, change a few minds

(Newser) - Viral election videos offer campy calls for change, seamless special effects, and more than a few celebrity cameos. Laughs aside, “over the past decade they’ve also impacted politics—sometimes changing the course of elections and frequently providing a few laughs in an otherwise wonky world,” Jeffrey Ressner...

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