 Lindsay Lohan, here in a publicity photo for the 2005 “Herbie” movie, actually didn’t top the list of celebrity trainwrecks this year |
WASHINGTON – Judging from the end-of-the-year chronicling going on in the media, 2008 was a year of anything but listlessness.
If anyone is making a list – and you can count on that – 2008 will go down as the year of lists. Everything that can be listed was listed – by someone.
And here’s the proof.
Predictably, entertainment news is replete with lists of the best movies of the year, the worst movies of the year, the best and worst of TV shows, the biggest new stars and those you wish would just call it a career.
But how about this one? Celebrity trainwrecks?
No, it wasn’t Lindsay Lohan who topped the list. She came in second. It was Amy Winehouse who had the dishonor of being No. 1 for a long list of problems including drug use, run-ins with the law after winning five Grammys for her 2006 album.
Here’s another entertainment list you might have missed – reality TV’s most-memorable Christians.
Or how about the biggest-grossing musical acts of the year? No, not the grossest acts – even though Madonna won the top honor. These are the ones people paid the most to hear.
Sports is always good for lists, too. And 2008 didn’t disappoint in that category. But here’s one that eluded the attention of many – the biggest moments in golf.
Business learned to get into the business of lists this year. For instance, there was the list of the biggest unfulfilled technology promises of 2008. You wouldn’t want to begin the new year without that one.
Even the once-sober Wall Street Journal couldn’t resist cataloguing the most surprising moments in business.
 AIG made the list of the worst corporations |
The way 2008 ended, it was certainly no surprise that someone listed the the worst corporations of 2008.
In the no-bad-deed-will-go-unheralded category, there also was the list of the top technology-aided capers of the year.
And while you may not know what people bought at Walmart in 2008, Amazon won’t let you forget what people bought from the giant online retailer.
Measured in total units sold, here is a list of those best-selling products:
- Books: “Breaking Dawn” by Stephenie Meyer (The Twilight Saga, Book 4)
- DVD: “Wall-E” (widescreen single-disc edition)
- Music: “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay
- Video Games: Nintendo Wii
- Software: Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007
- Electronics: Amazon Kindle
- Home & Garden: Oster 4207 electric wine opener
- Grocery: Senseo Douwe Egberts dark roast coffee pods
- Gourmet: Taste of Italy gift basket
- Health & Personal Care: Groom Mate Platinum XL nose and ear hair trimmer
- Beauty: Bare Escentuals bareMinerals SPF 15 foundation
- Toys: Wild Planet Hyper Dash
- Baby: Munchkin Mozart Magic Cube
- Apparel & Accessories: Levi’s men’s 501 pre-shrunk jeans
- Shoes and Handbags (Amazon.com and Endless.com): crocs Cayman sandal
- Jewelry: sterling silver open Double Flower pendant, 16″ – 18″
- Watches: Casio men’s Pathfinder multi-band solar atomic silver watch
- Sports & Outdoors: Razor A Kick scooter
- Home Improvement: First Alert CO600 plug-in carbon monoxide alarm
- Automotive: Accutire MS-4751WC digital programmable tire gauge with light
That’s not to say those products were the most loved. Amazon makes a distinction. Here’s is the company’s list of products that got the best reviews. Take a bow, Ron Paul.
- Books: “The Revolution: A Manifesto” by Ron Paul (hardcover)
- Kindle Books: “Twilight” by Stephenie Meyer (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)
- DVD: “Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity”
- Music: “Noel” by Josh Groban
- Video Games: Wii Fit
- Software: VMware Fusion
- Electronics: Samsung 46-inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV with RED Touch of Color
- Home & Garden: KitchenAid Artisan 5-quart stand mixers
- Grocery: Pamela’s ultimate baking and pancake mix, 64-ounce bags
- Gourmet: Premium Bourbon-Madagascar vanilla beans
- Health & Personal Care: Omron HJ-112 digital premium pedometer
- Beauty: Bare Escentuals bareMinerals SPF 15 foundation
- Toys: LeapFrog Learn & Groove musical table
- Baby: Fisher-Price Rainforest Jumperoo
- Apparel & Accessories: shoe pouch for Nike + iPod and Nike + SportBand
- Shoes and handbags (Amazon.com and Endless.com): crocs Athens Thong Sandal
- Jewelry: sparkling diamond-cut sterling silver 1 MM Italian snake chain necklace
- Watches: Invicta men’s Pro Diver collection automatic watch
- Sports & Outdoors: Perfect Pushup
- Home Improvement: Toro Ultra 12-amp variable-speed electric blower/vacuum
- Automotive: ScanGauge II 3-in-1 compact multifunction vehicle computer
You want to know what were the most wished-for products from Amazon? The company is only too happy to tell:
- Books: “The Tales of Beedle the Bard” by J.K. Rowling (standard edition)
- Kindle Books: “A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life`s Purpose” by Eckhart Tolle
- DVD: “Wall-E” (widescreen single-disc edition)
- Video on Demand: “The Bourne Supremacy”
- Music: “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay
- Amazon MP3: “I Kissed a Girl” by Katy Perry
- Video Games: Wii Fit
- Computers: Acer Aspire One 8.9-inch Netbook, sapphire blue
- Software: Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007
- Electronics: Amazon Kindle
- Home & Garden: Silpat 11 5/8- by-16 1/2-inch nonstick silicone baking mat
- Grocery: Numi’s Bouquet Bamboo gift set
- Gourmet: Godiva truffles
- Health & Personal Care: Klean Kanteen stainless-steel water bottles
- Beauty: Dior Diorshow mascara in azure blue 258
- Toys: Wild Planet Hyper Dash
- Baby: Munchkin Mozart Magic Cube
- Apparel & Accessories: Pepsi-Cola 1970’s vintage beach towel, white
- Shoes & Handbags: World Food Programme Feed Bag, natural
- Jewelry: sterling silver marcasite and garnet glass heart pendant, 18″
- Watches: Casio men’s Ana-Digi Electro-Luminescent sport watch
- Sports & Outdoors: Perfect Pushup
- Home Improvement: Leatherman 830850 Skeletool CX multitool
- Automotive: ScanGauge II 3-in-1 compact multifunction vehicle computer
Need a laugh? Somebody chronicled the best comics of 2008 – though not necessarily the funniest.
And keeping in line with everybody’s New Year’s resolution for 2009, you may want to look over this list – “The Best Low Carb Stories.”
It was a big year for science, too. And one of the biggest science projects ever was under way in Europe – though there hasn’t been much of a breakthrough announced yet. It’s the search for the so-called “God Particle” – the still theoretical Higgs boson. It is thought to be the missing link of physics – and it’s still missing. If and when it is ever found, some scientists believe it will explain the forces of the world (such as the electromagnetism. It could explain the universe, they say, or it could destroy it.
Hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Anyway, the search for it was ranked as the top science story of the year in this list. Just imagine where it will finish if it ever succeeds.
 Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is on the list of political upsets |
How crazy are people about lists? Even the U.S. Coast Guard put together its list of highlights for 2008.
Maybe someone should put together a list of the best lists, you say? Well, they’ve done it in the world of technology.
If you want a cure for insomnia and reading about lists hasn’t cured you, you might want to try poring over this list of the best posts on the car domain blog.
For you political junkies, there’s the list of the biggest upsets of the year.
One thing that most lists have in common is they are all a matter of opinion and entirely self-serving. Anybody can make up a list and somebody will read it. Proof of this theory is the best and worst of 2008 as seen by the Moderate Voice’s Jerry Remmers, who, as a result of this article is likely to get more traffic at his blog than ever before.
Related story:
What did the mainstream media miss in 2008
