17 Comments on “Whatever Best of 2008”

1. Only a few hours to christmas here in Oz. So John, family and all the Whateverites Merry Christmas.

   Thanks for a another great year of Whatever.

2. Year’s best title: “John McCain, candidate for president of WTFistan”

   :D

3. I can’t beleive I only stumbled across “Whatever” some time this year and that when it started I was just leaving uni and typing my CV on an IBM PS1 and largely terrified of computers still. I’m thoroughly enjoying going back even this year, maybe if you have some proper quiet time I will check out previous years too.

4. Your reality check has been working out well so far. Nearly a month before his inauguration, Obama already has segments of the liberal and conservative camps cursing his name.

   This merely goes to demonstrate that someone who sits and thinks about things understands what is going on. The same cannot be said for “experts” who have already done all their thinking and just pontificate predetermined ideas.

   Thanks for making us think, even when (especially when) we don’t agree with what you say.

   I think you should have included the “I hate your politics” rant in the list. That was one of your best ever.

5. Yeah, but the “I Hate Your Politics” rant was written in 2002. Not good for a best of list for 2008.

6. Gerunds. Editing. Death.

   Eggggselent!

   (And MWT stole my other comment. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to steal some version of that without anyone noticing it was stolen.)

7. Re #5 Oh. Well, that explains that.

8. Merry Christmas John, and thanks for all the fun escapism you’ve provided me this year (and last). Keep writing good books, and I promise to keep buying and reading them.

9. “18. That guy on the A train who shouts loudly about his penis from 23rd to Cathedral Parkway”

   Is that the same guy I met on the D train who muttered incoherently, followed me out into the Port Authority, asked me where Times Square was (seemingly oblivious to the CINCINNATI REDS shirt I was wearing), then stared at me like I’d sprouted a new arm from my forehead when I said, “Upstairs, dumbass”?

   ‘Cuz, dude, I’d have totally voted for him.

   Oh, and I think you rated Toast too low on that list.

10. Great list of great blog threads. I’m honored to have commented in some.

    Not sure where this belongs, but:

    Seattle, Minneapolis most literate of big cities

    By Michelle Healy, USA TODAY
    Minneapolis and Seattle are the USA’s most literate cities, according to an annual study examining the “culture and resources for reading” in the nation’s largest metro areas.

    For the past six years, the two cities have traded the first and second spots in the rankings, which analyze six key indicators of literacy (newspaper circulation, number of bookstores, library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment and Internet resources) against population rates for cities with populations of 250,000 or more….

    It notes that in per-capita paid newspaper circulation, the USA ranks only 31st in the world, far behind other countries, including Aruba, Liechtenstein and Japan.

    So, Mr. Scalzi, please tell us about your book tour to Aruba, Liechtenstein and Japan. Aruba is looking mighty fine here in xmas eve winter, but Liechtenstein has better castles, and Japan has more high tech stuff plus sushi.

    Vaguely literacy-related quote of the week:

    Jeremy Piven, whom we know for his quadruple award-einning portrayal on Entourage of Ari Gold, the HBO character modeled on President Obama’s chief of staff’s Rahm Emmanuel’s super-agent brother and he’s quit Mamet’s “Speed-the-Plow” after missing a couple of performances.

    He says he’s got a high mercury count. Daily Variety reports Mamet’s priceless quote:

    “Piven has informed the producers that he hasn’t been feeling well and that the condition is attributable to a high mercury count.

    “The show’s producers weren’t returning calls, but Daily Variety reached out to David Mamet, who wrote the showbiz satire and seemed skeptical of the reasons for Piven’s departure.

    “I talked to Jeremy on the phone, and he told me that he discovered that he had a very high level of mercury,” Mamet said. “So my understanding is that he is leaving show business to pursue a career as a thermometer.”

11. Heh. Your post “Another Entry in the Annals…” strongly reminded me of a closely related Entry in those same Annals by one S. Palin. http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/10/31/palin/ (I didn’t read all the comments on that post, and you might have said something about this in another post, so I’m probably being repetitive, but I’ll still post it because I think people should remember that we very nearly had a VP who had no idea what the Constitution meant.)

12. I’m just gonna skip thing ’til later so I can say “Merry Christmas, John, Krissie and Athena”.

    You’re good people, and I hope you have a really good Christmas. Somehow, I think you shall.

13. As always a most impressive selection. Have a great Christmas!

14. Re: the SFWA rant and late, unlamented candidacy of Mr. Andrew Burt.

    I say that you should cannibalize one of his key campaign planks:

    “The singularity. We need to adapt and jump ahead of that sucker”

    Merry Christmas and thank for some laughs.

15. I haven’t spent much time here this year, so I’m really enjoying picking these cherries!

16. Now this is how to spend Christmas Eve- chortling over Whatever posts? It won’t matter what’s under the tree in the morning- it can’t measure up to this.

17. You probably won’t remember, but back in September I posted somewhere in Whateverland that I had named my fantasy football team Baconcats, in honor of your upcoming appearance at ConQuesT here in Kansas City. Last weekend, Baconcats finished off a 14-1 season by avenging their only loss of the year, defeating Animal House 110-78 to claim the RFFL championship.

    Baconcats Rule!

    Happy Krimble to all.