The End of a Decade

As 2009 draws to a close, bloggers, artists, and journalists everywhere are scrambling to reflect upon the past ten years. Naturally, in this decade of the Blog, of Google, of YouTube, and of Facebook (it's hard to believe that none of these concepts existed ten years ago), this reflection is taking many diverse forms.

First, there's the usual collection of different lists of favorites (videos, music, theater, etc.) from the year. As usual JibJab released a comical video immortalizing 2009 in song and dance. Dave Barry wrote his annual year in review.

My favorite 2009 tribute goes to DJ Earworm, who created this clever mash-up of the top 25 pop songs of the year:

However, reflections on the decade as a whole present additional challenges. To start with, what should we call these past ten years? We've had ten years to decide how to pronounce the '00s, and with perfect procrastination, we failed to reach any consensus. Personally, I'm a fan of reviving the term "aught", which was used to describe the years of 1900-1909. (For example, '05 was pronounced "aught five"). Paul Krugman argues reflects on all the negative trends between 2000-2009 and thus suggests that the decade should be remembered as the "Big Zero".

The past decade certainly did bring a lot of challenges, and it bears careful remembrance and reflection. For those with only a few minutes to spare, Newsweek released a comical fast-talking review of the decade in seven minutes through headlines and old news reels. For those with a bit more time to spare, the Daily Show released a fantastic year-by-year review of the decade through old Daily Show clips to sum up the main events.

NYT is again seeking photographs from readers, this time in order to document the images of the decade. (EDIT: Here's the collection of a decade of photos). Paste considered fashion and examined the evolution of the hipster in this past decade through images.

However, my favorite tribute so far is the You Aught to Remember blog. This blog has been posting an entry a day for the past hundred days in order to reminisce about various events and (pop) cultural phenomenon that were quintessential parts of 2000-2009. Though this blog will be completed in the next few days (only 4 more entries to go!), the archives provide a comprehensive look back over the past years.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll take a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne!

Happy 2010.

'Tis the Season

I loved this article on Weihnachtsmärkte in Germany. Such Christmas markets can be found across Germany, but the Berlin markets have especially specified and diversified. The NYT offers examples of a market for kids, a market for GLBT, and a market for environmentalists.

Hurry, because these markets traditionally close by Dec. 24!


Can't get to Deutschland or Österreich this year? A number of U.S. cities have adapted the tradition and added their own Christkindlmärkte.

Frohe Weihnachten und ein gutes Neues Jahr!

Rust Belt Tourism

USA highlighted Buffalo today and its efforts to regain its place as a city of architectural grandeur. As one who enjoyed architecture and an amateur urban explorer, I found the images intriguing and the building listed probably worth a visit, even if not fully restored.

Some more images of Buffalo, courtesy of Flickr.