Happy New Year!

Well, it's been a loooong 2008. A very, very long 2008. Filled with plenty of drama, excitement, and pretty much everything else. It's been a wild ride. Who would've thought, on January 1, 2008, that we'd be where we are today?

Among the things that happened...

The phraes "downward spiral" became the new hot phrase for a while as America tumbled into an economic crisis, dragging the rest of the world down with it. With the fall of Lehman Brothers in September, all hell broke loose, as countless banks found themselves billions in debt, the marekts seized up, and the new "credit crunch" (hey, another fun phrase!) became all the rage. When the Fed stepped in to buy Fannie and Freddie, AIG, etc., we knew that this was for real. Especially when markets in other countries started to fail. Go us!

All was not lost at home, however, as the buzzword "change" found itself the most popular kid on the block. Barack Obama's dazzling victory in the US presidential election was as inspiring a story as people have heard in their lifetimes, uniting a troubled populace and smashing racial barriers left and right. If there's anyone that helped give the world hope for the coming year, it is he.

In the meantime, John McCain fought a good fight, and Sarah Palin singlehandedly taught America how to stop thinking and embrace their inner fanatic. To Katie Couric's smug amusement.

Abroad, the world found its fair share of conflicts. The world will remember the Mumbai attacks that claimed the lives of hundreds, and took a city hostage for three days, all at the hands of ten men. And let's not forget the growing spread of terrorism everywhere: While they may not have claimed quite as many lives, hundreds of other attacks claimed the lives of countless innocents. Frankly, that just shows what a sorry state this world is in.

Oh, and Somalian pirates took over the waters near the horn of Africa. At least this means that global warming is finally slowly down.

Meanwhile, Russia waged war against Georgia over Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Who started it: No one knows. What it means for the world: The Russian bear is stretching its legs. And Putin's still in power, by the way.

Iraq got somewhat better... and Afghanistan got a lot worse. Funny the way the world works, eh?

Oh, and Fidel Castro stepped down, among the hundreds of other interesting things that happened that I didn't manage to mention. Didn't you hear?

The Beijing Olympics united the world in peace and harmony for a few weeks this summer... except for the whole Russia-waging-war thing. Still, it was a fun show, especially when Michael Phelps let his inner dolphin show. Such an amazing, talented, and sexy young man... Erm. Moving on.

The iPhone and iPod continued to conquer the world... I suggest you all keep a hammer handy. Apple may decide to proceed to Phase 2 of their iWorldDomination Scheme soon. Wouldn't want to have those lasers firing out of your iDevices hitting your eyes...

And the Large Hadron Collider, or LHC, based in Geneva, Switzerland, did not create a black hole and kill us all. That was Jeremiah Wright, and luckily, his dastardly plot was foiled by a media slipup that probably ended his career. And no, Barack is not "cool" with you anymore, Jeremiah.

Heath Ledger won my heart with the release of Batman: The Dark Knight, which despite the criticism of countless critics, still remains my favorite movie of 2008. Why so serious? Beacause your performance was so flipping amazing, Heath. That's why.

Rafael Nadal unseated Roger Federer as the king of tennis in what may have been the greatest tennis match of all time. And the Phillies, yes, the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series.

And some crazy blogger decided to start up a blog called Defenestrate!, which is read by an average of two to three people daily. If that. Who knows? Maybe by 2010, ten people will have read this post. That, my friends, is the miraculous wonder that is the internet.

Here's to a happy, healthy, prosperous, and significantly amusing 2009. Can't hope for more than that.

(Note: If you're still craving to reminisce on the year that was, check out The 2008 List of Lists. If you read slowly enough, it'll keep you occupied until 2010.)

G.O.P. VP a BP: Bad Pick

Until very recently, I was undecided on who to support in the upcoming presidential election. Strictly speaking about the candidates themselves, although I was favoring Obama somewhat for his policies, I was planning on waiting until the debates to make a real choice. However, recent rumblings in the McCain campaign have pushed me far, far away from the GOP as I can get. That rumbling's name is Sarah Palin.

I can see Joe Biden in the Oval Office. He's a respected man with a long list of legislative accomplishments, a good set of positions, and a nice foreign policy agenda.

I cannot see Sarah Palin in the Oval Office. She has never held a real legislative position, and has no experience except two years as governor of a state that has a total population one quarter than that of Brooklyn. She essentially strikes me as a hockey mom that ascended into local government, as she put it, from her beginnings as a member of the PTA. Now I hear that her 17-year old daughter Bristol has been pregnant for 5 months. In other words, the child of a very conservative mother who advocates strong Christian values had not the morals to stop herself from becoming pregnant in high school.

This is totally aside from the actual socio-econo-litical issues in the election. To me, Sarah Palin is far too conservative for my taste, and puts too much stock in her Christian background. I see religion as something personal. It should not be used, or at the very least advertised as the guiding principle behind one's policies. But stuff like this worries me. I am simply unwilling to entrust a strictly conservative, right-wing person with virtually no experience and questionable judgment with the massive amount of power that the Vice President wields. Don't forget: Especially in John McCain's campaign, the competence of a VP as a potential POTUS is important. And the McCain/Palin 08 is seriously lacking here.

Also, just as a by the way, her childrens' names, are Trig, Piper, Willow, Bristol, and Track. If you're going to run the country, at least give your kids some decent names. Seriously.

Congratulations, Sarah Palin, you've managed to convince me that Barack Obama is the right man for the job.