With the proliferation of the web, Top 10 lists have become a mainstay from every Tom, Dick and Bloggy. As a blogger myself, I believe I am required to issue a Top 10 list myself (I think it's a clause buried in my Terms Of Service agreement), so it's just a matter of choosing a Top 10able topic. Since the ones that are out there cover a infinuum (my term for an infinite continuum) of topics -- news stories, scandals, inventions, people, blah, blah, blah -- I was always at a loss where to put my Top 10 stake in the ground. Until last year. That's when I hit on the Top 10 Things at Random idea. Rather that have to figure out how one thing related to another was more top than another, I simply sort through the bazillions of other lists out there and grab ten of the items that seem least like the others on my list.
With that background established, I proudly unveil this year's Top 10 Things at Random. They are, of course, in no particular order...
1. Barack Obama. A man of color has been elected to the highest office in the land, ready to land his butt in the Big Chair on January 20th. A black man is President. Earth-shattering, dumb-founding and, above all, about time. NOW can we finally get on with the evolution of our species?
2. Slumdog Millionaire. A movie by Director Danny Boyle that is, by turns, funny, heart-wrenching, thoughtful, adventurous and doesn't star anyone from the pages of the celebrity supermarket rags. Set in India, it offers a slice of a life that seems bizarre, fantastic and yet, on a certain level, completely believable. Using the Indian edition of TV's "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" as the anchor for the story is inspired.
3. Undiscovered. The aerial photos of an Amazon indian tribe that, apparently, has never had contact with modern society were fascinating. Tribesmen, covered in bright red paint and waving the weapons to ward off the plane which the photos were taken from was stirring -- the idea that in a world covered like a blanket by the internet, with satellites, jets and an orbiting space station, that there can still be a culture completely untouched by our modern influence is amazing.
4. Bernards Inn. The best restaurant in New Jersey, at least according to Cody Kendall, restaurant critic for the Star-Ledger. The restaurant is in Bernardsville and is thought of as one of the Garden State's legendary eateries. According to Kendall, "Built more than a century ago, the inn has a timeless elegance, its gleam buffed last year in a re-do that also prompted executive chef Corey Heyer to "step it up a notch," in the kitchen, but never lose the classic foundations of his food."
5. Banana Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding. From Vegan.com's Top 10 vegan recipes for the year. I'm not a vegan, but sometimes meatless, dairyless food can be damn tasty. Haven't tried this one yet, but maybe I'll whip some up next time I have some stale bread laying around the house.
6. Eliot Spitzer. Slimiest scandal of the year. From New York governor with a bright political future to "Client-9," as identified in an FBI affidavit, it didn't take long after being exposed before he resigned in disgrace. Months afterward, now working in his father's real estate business, Spitzer was given a bizarre absolution by Ashley Dupré, the 1000 bucks an hour call girl he'd engaged during some of his indisgressions: "I think he's been punished enough." Guess she needed her best client back. (It was hard to choose between this and the Senator Larry Craig picking-up-a-dude-in-the-airport-mens-room scandal, but that one wasn't costing taxpayers a grand an hour...)
7. T-Mobile NBA TV ads. Thanks to the magic of Tivo, I normally don't have to end up watching many TV commercials any more. But these commercials for T-Mobile feature Charles Barkley and Dwayne Wade were pretty funny. Funnier than Barkley's end-of-the-year DUI arrest, anyway.
8. Change. Thanks to Obama's campaign and the news media buzzwordiness, "change" emerged as the "Word of the year", according to the Global Language Monitor. Similarly, Barack Obama was the highest of the "Top 10 Names of 2008". Hillary Clinton was also on that list, as was Sarah Palin, who cam in #8, just about #9, John McCain. Joe Biden didn't rank.
9. Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer. According to YALSA, the Young Adult Literary Services Association, this was the best teen book for 2008. Not surprising, as it's the third book in the Twilight vampire sage by Meyer. Couple with the popularity of the Twilight movie that came out in 2008, it looks like a franchise that stands to put the bite on the departing Harry Potter series.
10. Heath Ledger. This list started with a person, so I'll end with a person. Found him in a list of the "Top 10 people who died in 2008". I'd just finished re-watching The Dark Knight, a movie made incredible through the magnificent final performance of this young actor. There's speculation that having to embody the dark character of the Joker may have been a contributing factor to Ledger's demise, which is chilling to consider. Like James Dean, another talented actor who passed away far too young, it makes one wonder what other characters this performer may have brought to life if he'd had the chance.
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