2009, You're looking good!

December 30, 2008 3:39 AM

Have a Happy New Year and a Crappy Old Year. 2008 was the worst: year ever, for Wall Street, for movies, for restaurants, celebrities, malware, for women, for children, for relationships, for newspaper history, for the environment, for Arts, for ad revenue, for CDs, IPOs, MMOs, the GOP (duh!), for hurricanes, (almost) for weather related disasters, number of disaster victims, the nerd elite, Italian military helicopters, the vain and the venal, for guerillas and bear encounters.
posted by twoleftfeet (50 comments total)

The "MMOs" link is kind of over the top. There are always tons of failed MMOs, it's just the nature of the market. What's really important to note is that many are still going, including Final Fantasy, Eve, and Everquest, while Warhammer Online didn't fold in the face of WoW. Meanwhile, WoW released its second expansion to praise and they're still going strong.

Despite what that article says, I would bet MMOs do fine in a poor economy. They're a cheap source of entertainment, costing about the cost of a meal out or a movie night for a month's subscription. When you're unemployed, depressed, or just strapped for cash, you find yourself with more time around the house, and you can play them more as well. The times I've escaped the MMO trap were when I had motivation to do other things and the cash to follow up on that motivation.
posted by explosion at 4:09 AM on December 30, 2008

Yeah, I dunno. There isn't an objective measure, but to me 2008 seemed like a crappy year. I look forward to 2009, even though I know these demarcations are somewhat arbitrary.

I'm just glad that years have a reset button. I will press it in 3, 2, 1,....
posted by twoleftfeet at 4:42 AM on December 30, 2008

2008 was a great year for politics!
posted by caddis at 4:57 AM on December 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

You had me at "2008 was the worst: year ever...". But I'm flagging your post's title for false optimism.
posted by gman at 4:57 AM on December 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

i'm one of the anomalies, because i had my best year ever ... partially because i had very little money to lose in the first place .

i wouldn't say it was the worst year for the environment, in that the price of gas gave people a little kick in the pants about their fuel consumption . selfishly, i wanted the price to remain high to keep demand down (and because i could afford it) .
posted by hellogoodbye at 5:05 AM on December 30, 2008

But I'm flagging your post's title for false optimism.

Well then, this is probably the wrong place for me to put forth my bet that 2009 will bring the "Anti-9/11". This will be an event comparable to 9/11 in its impact, but in the opposite direction. Rather than bringing terror, it will be an event that brings extreme joy into the hearts of all mankind.

I'm not sure what it will be - the cure for cancer, strong evidence that there are other civilizations in the universe, a Beatles reunion (don't ask me how) - but I am placing bets that it will happen in 2009.

You heard it here first.

Pay up later.
posted by twoleftfeet at 5:08 AM on December 30, 2008 [3 favorites]

Eh, my 2008 was pretty damn good actually.
posted by Skorgu at 5:08 AM on December 30, 2008

Skorgu - What part of the solar system do you reside in?
posted by gman at 5:12 AM on December 30, 2008

...and for krautland.

time to lay the bitch on ice.
posted by krautland at 5:37 AM on December 30, 2008

ha HA! i got a fortune last night at doson's noodle house that says 'your fondest dream will come true within the year.' i took that to mean within this year, i.e., 2008. so i'm looking for the crappy to turn to zippy & zappy in less than 48 hours!

yeah. i'm one of the lucky ones.
posted by msconduct at 5:47 AM on December 30, 2008

To quote Homer Simpson: "They're the suckiest bunch of suck that ever sucked."
posted by eriko at 5:49 AM on December 30, 2008 [2 favorites]

It was a bad year for pets in my family: we lost my two high-school cats, my first canary, and had to put our dog down.

. for Scooby, Foot Foot, Andrew, and Josie. Fuck 2008.
posted by fiercecupcake at 5:51 AM on December 30, 2008

Wooooo... killing off the second canary prematurely. That was Sebastian that died. Sorry, Andrew!
posted by fiercecupcake at 5:51 AM on December 30, 2008

This year was great because it marks the end of Bush in office!!!
posted by Mastercheddaar at 5:59 AM on December 30, 2008

Holy crap did 2008 suck straight through the end of the summer, but things have been looking up since then and I feel like I'm going out on a high note so pessimists can suck it because 2009 is going to be awesome.
posted by The Straightener at 5:59 AM on December 30, 2008

Apparently this was already resolved by the brilliant minds at Yahoo! Answers:
Did anyone else think 2008 was a really crappy year?
The correct answer is: Yes it was a very crappy year..mine was awful. The whole year was full of drama and heartache and maybe, just maybe in 2009 it will stop.

Just wanted to clear that up. Everybody go home now. Nothing to see here.
posted by twoleftfeet at 6:02 AM on December 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

> 2008 was the worst:

'Twas ever thus.
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:02 AM on December 30, 2008

I had a mixed year but good goddamn did my home country have a year of gigantic suck. To cap all the shit that rained down on Iceland this year, there was a salmonella outbreak among horses at Christmastime, killing at least 22.
posted by Kattullus at 6:06 AM on December 30, 2008

After the last 8 years, I'm having trouble viewing "newspapers have worst year ever" as anything but good news for America. We need an entirely new set of bums in the Fourth Estate.
posted by DU at 6:27 AM on December 30, 2008

Yeah what a terrible year only a single explosion of pure joy involving dancing in the streets and banging on pots and pans in the perfect distillation of childlike innocence and wonder which simultaneously restored faith in our democratic system and hope that the majority of humanity can, on occasion, do something transcendentally right.

But enough about my divorce being finalized, Obama won too!
posted by Potomac Avenue at 6:34 AM on December 30, 2008 [3 favorites]

It's always amusing to be reminded of who the British consider celebrities.
posted by Joe Beese at 6:43 AM on December 30, 2008

It's always amusing to be reminded of who the British consider celebrities.

Britney Spears, Amy Winehouse, Sarah Palin... too bad the Queen didn't have a better year.
posted by twoleftfeet at 6:49 AM on December 30, 2008

twoleftfeet: ...a Beatles reunion (don't ask me how)...

Maybe like this?

Depressing thread this.
posted by cjorgensen at 6:50 AM on December 30, 2008

2008 was the worst:

1348 wasn't so hot.
posted by netbros at 6:50 AM on December 30, 2008

1348 wasn't so hot.

Sure, that's my point entirely. As you will recall, 1349 was wonderful.
posted by twoleftfeet at 6:58 AM on December 30, 2008 [2 favorites]

2008 Pluses
David Byrne & Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
Obama elected
The Dark Knight
The Large Hadron Collider didn't end the world

2008 Minuses
Everything else?
posted by Dr-Baa at 6:58 AM on December 30, 2008

2008 was a great year for politics!

Is this something you'd need to live in the U.S. to agree with? Because...
posted by gman at 7:04 AM on December 30, 2008

Me and Mrs Codger took a 3-month leave of absence this year - we went to Europe for a month (my first time), and then we chilled for two months and sailed alot. So in that respect 2008 was pretty darn good.

It so happens that we are conservative* enough that we're weathering the financial crisis OK, too.

I suspect the first quarter or third of 2009 is going to be tough, especially for workers and small business, and President-elect Obama is hopefully going to engage in alot of policy and structural reform, so there won't be unicorns and rainbows right away. Hang in there and take care of each other.

* * *

*the "spend wisely, try to save, don't waste anything, don't buy stupid stuff" conservative, not the "Reagan was a God, government is the problem, Operation Enduring Interference, what's wrong with a little torture" type of conservative.
posted by Artful Codger at 7:44 AM on December 30, 2008

Well, I'd like to go on record that 2008 was a bloody great year for me. Getting made redundant from my oh-so-tedious-but-well-paid finance industry job and getting a job as an arts lecturer a few weeks later was the highlight but my mortgage payments halving, nearly finishing a renovation project that had gone on far too long, some cool holidays & festivals, seeing more of my girlfriend and the near complete implosion of consumer capitalism as we know it were other good things.

The fact that some of the richest 20% of the world are wailing the loudest when the other 80% could really show them what the true meaning of financial hardship is just puts it all into perspective.

Some things that could make 2009 as good:

Coventry City have a push at the Championship playoffs but continue the rebuilding for a proper push for the Premier League in 2010.

The Knicks send Blahbury off to the glue factory & continue rebuilding (and the four home games at the end of February are the greatest in MSG history with the Knicks winning them all).

Al Davis dies.

Oh, and economic recovery, blah, blah, blah.
posted by i_cola at 8:04 AM on December 30, 2008

1348 wasn't so hot.

Sure, that's my point entirely. As you will recall, 1349 was wonderful.

Not for Scandinavia, Britain and Spain according to the map...
posted by shoebox at 8:05 AM on December 30, 2008

Malware was pretty awful this year, yes. I started encountering infections on people's systems that couldn't be cleaned with the one-two punch of Super Antispyware and Kaspersky, prompting use of the doomsday weapon Nod32. That's like having tuberculosis that only responds to one antibiotic.

Then I got hit by a drive-by download - in Firefox! - that installed this XP Antispyware 2009 crap. It infected the networking and intercepted browser requests for legitimate antivirus and antimalware web pages and update servers, sending me to harmless link farms. That, my friends, is fucking evil and clever.
posted by fleetmouse at 8:07 AM on December 30, 2008

Yeah, 2008 sucked. Set the bar so low, 2009 is either going to be an absolute nightmare, or it will be wonderful by comparison.
posted by paisley henosis at 8:27 AM on December 30, 2008

This year was full of FAIL.

'08 wasn't that great politically; Obama may have been elected, but he ain't the prez yet. That happens in '09.
posted by jabberjaw at 8:32 AM on December 30, 2008

I broke a lot of bones this year - luckily nothing serious.
posted by fuq at 8:34 AM on December 30, 2008

The Large Hadron Collider didn't end the world

Another huge disappointment.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 9:06 AM on December 30, 2008 [4 favorites]

2009 is either going to be an absolute nightmare, or it will be wonderful by comparison.

I wouldn't hold my breath for the latter, but you never know. I had a shit shit year in 06 and for the past two new years I've been mister optimistic - "Oh, next year will be brilliant", so this year I'm thinking - "next year will make this year seem like a walk in the park!"

Hope I'm wrong of course, I usually am.
posted by twistedonion at 9:07 AM on December 30, 2008

On a personal level, it was a great year. One of my best ever. Lot of adventure, lots of little personal achievements, more money, some nice travel, unexpected opportunities, all that.

My fortunes don't seem to run opposite the rest of the world's so much as they seem totally disconnected. Like, if I had been in Atlantis when it was sinking, I would have had the chance for a really wild three-way, and later washed up on a Greek isle, where I would have been mauled by a bear. And people would have been, like, jeez, you were in Atlantis? And I'd be like, oh, yeah, I guess I was.
posted by Astro Zombie at 9:19 AM on December 30, 2008 [2 favorites]

Well then, this is probably the wrong place for me to put forth my bet that 2009 will bring the "Anti-9/11". This will be an event comparable to 9/11 in its impact, but in the opposite direction. Rather than bringing terror, it will be an event that brings extreme joy into the hearts of all mankind.

I'm not sure what it will be - the cure for cancer, strong evidence that there are other civilizations in the universe, a Beatles reunion (don't ask me how) - but I am placing bets that it will happen in 2009.

Frankly, I am holding my hopes that something that great and good will happen in 2012, because that's the year that I would prefer that happen instead of something much much worse.
posted by JoeXIII007 at 9:28 AM on December 30, 2008

Heh, I just saw an article about how almost 60% of Canadians are optimistic about 2009.
posted by saucysault at 9:34 AM on December 30, 2008

2008 Pluses:
Obama elected

You're a bit premature on this one. (And yes, I know what the alternative was. I'm just going on the call-no-man-happy-'til-he-is-dead line, man in this case meaning mankind, and happy in this case being the end of the incoming president's term.)

We can revisit this in 2012, or even 2016.
posted by IndigoJones at 9:47 AM on December 30, 2008

Rather than bringing terror, it will be an event that brings extreme joy into the hearts of all mankind.

Is it a puppy? A giant space puppy? Because that would fucking rule!

The Large Hadron Collider didn't end the world

How do you know for certain?
posted by quin at 10:28 AM on December 30, 2008

Isn't this post a bit premature? At the rate at which shit has been raining down these last few months there's enough time left in 2008 for a few more major financial institutions to collapse, maybe a small nuclear war or two, who knows. For example, in less than an hour and a half our governor here in the great state of Illinois will appoint a maybe-senator just to show what a stone-cold motherfucker he is (and to watch Harry Reid shit himself).

You've kind of got to ask yourself — is this really the year to which we want to award a leap second?
posted by enn at 10:55 AM on December 30, 2008

Yeah, kind of a sucky year. Got laid off (while I was out on vacation, no severance package either), an alarming number of former coworkers are also unemployed, broke my toe last week, things not so great on the domestic front ... I'm with everyone who's keeping their fingers crossed for 2009, for all the good that will do.
posted by Quietgal at 11:08 AM on December 30, 2008

Of all the years I've experienced, 2008 is definately the most... recent.
posted by blue_beetle at 11:46 AM on December 30, 2008 [3 favorites]

Joe Beese: "It's always amusing to be reminded of who the British consider celebrities."
Yea, I've never heard of half of the celebrities on that page but then I guess such things are always subjective.
posted by octothorpe at 11:59 AM on December 30, 2008

What not to miss in 2009
posted by Rumple at 11:59 AM on December 30, 2008

This year was so bad it didn't even make it into my top 50.

On the plus side, I have a lovely new AARP card that I am assured will entitle me to all kinds of nifty discounts.
posted by merelyglib at 1:52 PM on December 30, 2008

For all you glass half empty types who got bummed over 2008, your year might be really complete when the Yellowstone Caldera blows and kills us all. You'll probably be extra bummed though if it ruins the majesty of a perfectly horrible 2008 by occurring next month instead. ;)
posted by caddis at 4:41 PM on December 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

You're a bit premature on this one.

Yes, I really meant Sarah Palin wasn't elected.
posted by Dr-Baa at 4:58 PM on December 30, 2008

This proves my theory that anyone could have an amazing year despite what's going on in the world around them. I find this very encouraging.
posted by Kimberly at 11:36 AM on December 31, 2008