2009 - The Year Of...

To wrap up the year, I decided to compile a couple of lists of notable events from 2009. I think I started this in the middle of the year, so some of the key events from the first six months might have escaped my attention. Feel free to comment and tell me what I missed.

In a broad sense, 2009 was the Year of

• Twitter (explodes on the national consciousness, becomes part of the news media)
• Barack Obama is inaugurated - and later won the Nobel Peace Prize
  
• Cash for Clunkers ($1B in a week)
• The Depression that Wasn't
• The End of Jon & Kate
• Cougars -- and I still think they are the invention of middle-aged men, not real life people
• Michael Jackson's death
• Brett Favre as a Viking.
• H1N1 (aka "Swine Flu")
• The downfall of Tiger Woods' image
  
• "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," "Star Trek" and "Avatar" in the theaters
• Heath-care reform passes both houses of Congress. Now, how will it be perceived in 10 years?
  

Closer to home, 2009 was the Year of

• Great Courses (for me)
• Wii Fit (and then Wii Fit Plus)
• The Prius
  
• Seeing the space station and space shuttle in the sky over Nordic Fest
• Sarah & Leah both graduate
  
• Losing Doug
• Joining Mt. Olive
• Opening the time capsule from 1999, and preparing the one for 2019
  
• Sarah & Troy in Clarion, IA
  
• Season Tickets to the Vikings with Adam, Lucas & Dad
  
• My first trip to Japan and China
• Our first trip to Washington DC
  
• The wedding of Sarah & Troy
• Mannheim Steamroller in concert
• Leah entering NYU and thus...
• The Empty Nest

Happy New Year, everyone!