ok, so decided to do the precursory check of the best of 2003 lists this morning… yikes! what a rotten year. for instance checked amazon and b&n to see what the top sellers were in the book world… holy crapolla. best to browse these lists on an empty stomach: amazon, b&n. the funny thing about these lists is how few parts of it intersect with the “best books of the year” lists from critics, like say, the new york times (fiction, non-fiction), or the voice. the same stands true for albums this year, but everyone over 16 knows that popular music is ear crushingly awful. problem is, check out this round up of industry lists for best of 2003: metacritic. man oh man. anyhow, all the big lists i came across stunk like a skunk in a barrel, so i went in search of some more… interesting ones, here’s what i found
in no particular order
1) top 10 astronomy images of 2003, i like the one of mercury as a little dot in front of the sun. cool.
2) gnn’s spin of the year award, and the winner is? a picture is worth a thousand words.
3) gamespot’s best & worst video games, didn’t play any of them, so can’t vouch, but vid games are purty.
4) discovery’s 100 biggest science stories, lot’s o stuff. alternate science round up from sci am here.
5) significant armed conflicts in 2003. did you know india has been fighting over kashmir since 1948? geeeez.
6) icomics best comics list. maybe maybe not, we better get tom’s input on this one to make sure.
7) top 10 images of the sun from 2003. mmmm, warm, sunny goodness. soho: best satellite ever.
8) forbes mag best cemeteries slideshow. don’t ask me.
9) the media research center’s most notable quotables list, including categories like political IQ award for celebrity vapidity, media suck-up ward, and politics of meaninglessness award. real video for many.
10) best science books of the year.
11) best web museums of the year. i like the yin yu tang which allows you to explore a qing dynasty era house in china.
12) the new york public library’s best refernce. a group of librarians got together to decide on the best reference materials of the year. exciting stuff folks!
13) the 2003 media follies brought to you by working for change. their annual survey of the year’s most overhyped and underreported news stories.
14) 2003 round up of important scientific discoveries.
15) and finally, the top 10 places in nyc to throw up.
well, there you are folks, the best of the worst, the cream of the crap. 2003 left alot to be desired, let’s hope we’re all awash in good books, sophisticated, complex music, and intelligent public discourse in the 04. whooo hoooo…. yeah.