Year in Review

[Disclaimer: Since this blog was created in April of 2004, some of the selections are from 03’ because my frame of reference, especially for things I found interesting, is expansive.]

As this year comes to a close and the New Year approaches, I though it’d be interesting to memorialize the things I found fascinating over the past year. Here now is the list:

Biggest disappointments of 2004

The whole tectonic non-sense that Joshua Marshall alluded to never came to fruition. I visit that blog with less frequency now, and plan on doing so in the New Year.

This shouldn’t be on the 2004 list but it was that much of disappointment: Matrix Revolution (2003). That movie was a huge letdown—and will be so for many years to come.

I’m a partisan, so this shouldn’t come as a surprise: The reelection of George W. Bush. But, at the same time, he’s great material.

Best Blog Posts of 2004

John Holbo psychologizing David Frum in this blog post is indispensable. He’s Dead Right. (Circa 2003)

Limited, Inc. on Chess and Sistani: Shakh Mat. Enough said.

(You’d think there’d be more blog posts I found good. But this is it. I’m not even going to plug one of my own blog posts.)


Best Books of 2004(One’s I read in 04’)

House of the Dead; by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

A Problem from Hell: America and the age of Genocide; by Samantha Powers

American Pastoral; by Philip Roth

Irony, Contingency, and Solidarity; by Richard Rorty


Things to watch for in 2005

The American Scene’s Rehian Salam, a brilliantly witty writer.

Lasers and al-Qaida, seriously

SuperVolcanoes. via Bradford Plumer

An Israeli/Palestinian Peace?

Lofi indie rock, orchestral pop, post-punk post emo post-post-post genres of everything.

The stealth strength of weakness; bargaining from a weak position; the meek shall inherit the earth type-stuff.

The Pope dying sometime in May.

The Blog phenomenon loses its cult status when your mom gets her own blog and puts you on her blog roll.

Bush unwittingly turns into an American Revolutionary.

Emmy Rossum; Bio.

Cats.

Peanut Butter.

The collapse of the Greenback and subsequently the American economy, and subsequently the World economy.

Condi Rice comes out of the closet.

Celebrities murdering paparazzi.

Fox's hit show: When Celebrities fatally attack
The paparazzi.

Martha Stewart the folk hero.

Michael Jackson Reality Show.

French intellectuals become Pro-Bush. Seriously.

Flying cars.

Cellphones that are Ipods that are blueberry's that are ditial cameras that are digital camcorders that are DVD players that are laptops that are universal locators that are universal identification.

Love still being as sweet as it was the first time.

Happy New Year.