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Best and Worst of 2008
It was a history-making year, a music-filled year, an Olympic year.
"Fo sho," 2008 will be one for the record books and today the TX. staff reviews its ups and downs in our annual Best & Worst survey.
We make no claims that this is a scientific survey; the results come from nominations and votes from our staff members. But see if you agree -- or disagree -- with their picks for the standouts in fashion, movies, music, TV and sports.
Movies
BEST OVERALL FILM "The Dark Knight" 2. "Iron Man" 3. "Kung Fu Panda"
WORST OVERALL FILM "W." 2. "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" "I don't even have to see it to know that this is not something I want to spend $6 on," says Lindsey Larson of Roy High. 3. "High School Musical 3"
BEST COMEDY "Kung Fu Panda" 2. "Tropic Thunder" 3. "Get Smart"
WORST COMEDY "The Love Guru" 2. "You Don't Mess With the Zohan" 3. "Step Brothers"
BEST DRAMATIC FILM "The Dark Knight" Other favorites were "Jumper," "Iron Man," "Forever Strong" and "Twilight." "Twilight" fan Julia Saxton, at Roy High, says, "I'm sure every girl wouldn't mind a man like Edward!" WORST DRAMATIC FILM "Prom Night" 2. "The Happening" 3. "Vantage Point" and "10,000 B.C."
BEST SEQUEL "The Dark Night" 2. "Prince Caspian" 3. "High School Musical 3"
WORST SEQUEL "High School Musical 3" 2. "Saw V" 3. "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor"
BEST MOVIE LINE "We fell asleep listening to talk radio? So boring, the car just committed suicide." From "Pineapple Express" Runners-up: "Believe whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you ... stranger." The Joker in "The Dark Knight." "There is no charge for awesomeness or attractiveness!" From "Kung Fu Panda"
BEST ACTOR Heath Ledger 2. Robert Downey Jr. 3. Will Smith, Steve Carell, Tom Hanks, Robert Pattinson
WORST ACTOR Adam Sandler 2. Kristin Stewart, Maggie Gyllenhaal
News
BIGGEST NEWS STORY Barack Obama elected president "First black president - this is the ONLY news story from 2008 that will be remembered in 30 years," says Dallin Abendroth of Davis High.
SILLIEST/LEAST IMPORTANT STORY Take your pick: "Joe the Plumber," "Sarah Palin can see Russia from her house!" or the infamous pregnant man.
BEST SPORTS MOMENT No surprise here: Michael Phelps winning eight gold medals at the Summer Olympics. 2. The University of Utah's football win over Brigham Young University.
WORST SPORTS MOMENT The controversy over the Chinese gymnasts' ages at the Summer Olympics. "It just distracted from the overall competition and stole some of their spotlight when they won," said Shannon Sousa, at St. Joseph Catholic High. 2. BYU getting slaughtered in football by the U of U.
BEST SUMMER OLYMPICS ATHLETE Michael Phelps - no competition "I didn't realize a human body could be that ripped without additional growth hormones," says Noelle Johansen, at Syracuse High.
BEST SUMMER OLYMPICS MOMENT Phelps winning those eight gold medals. 2. Phelps winning his seventh race by 0.01 of a second, or, as one TX.er put it, "When Phelps almost got silver - but didn't!" 3. USA men's volleyball team beating Brazil and taking the gold medal after a death in the coach's family.
WORST SUMMER OLYMPICS MOMENT Finding out the Chinese replaced the singing little girl in the opening ceremony because she wasn't cute enough. 2. Gymnast Nastia Liukin ALMOST tying with the Chinese competitor on the parallel bars, and the age controversy over the Chinese gymnasts.
Music
BEST NEW ARTIST David Archuleta "I like him because he's just an average teenager like the rest of us," says Julia Saxton at Roy High. 2. Katy Perry
WORST NEW ARTIST Miranda Cosgrove 2. Lil Wayne
BEST NEW SONG Country: "Love Story," Taylor Swift "This song makes me want to dance and sing - really loudly!" says Cheri Peacock at Roy High. "Every girl wants a fairytale." Rap: "Handlebars" (Flobots) and "Whatever You Like" (T.I.) Pop: "Hot N Cold," Katy Perry Rock/Screamo: "So What," Pink Hip Hop: "Crush," David Archuleta Alternative: "Fall for You," Secondhand Serenade Other: "Check Yes Juliet," We The Kings
WORST NEW SONG Country: "I'd Like to Check You for Ticks," Brad Paisley Rap: "Lollipop," by Lil Wayne, or anything by Akon Pop: "I Kissed A Girl," Katy Perry Rock/Screamo: "Addicted," Saving Abel Hip Hop: "Lo," Flo Rida Alternative: "Viva La Vida," Coldplay Other: "I'm Yours," Jason Mraz
MOST OVERPLAYED SONG "Shake It," Metro Station
BEST NEW MUSIC VIDEO "So What," Pink
WORST NEW MUSIC VIDEO "Womanizer," Britney Spears "I love the song, Britney, but if you want to start new, that video is NOT how you do it!" says Lindsey Larson at Roy High.
BEST CONCERT Vans Warped Tour 2008 2. Coldplay 3. Ben Folds, Boys Like Girls, American Idol Concert Tour
BEST RADIO STATION 107.9 The Mix 2. 101.9 The End
Books/Comics
BEST NEW BOOK A tie between "Brisingr," by Christopher Paolini, and "The Host," by Stephenie Meyer. 2. "Breaking Dawn," by Stephenie Meyer 3. "Paper Towns," by John Green
WORST NEW BOOK 1. Any of that Twilight stuff 2. "Breaking Dawn" 3. "Brisingr"
BEST BOOK READ IN ENGLISH CLASS A tie between "Tuesdays With Morrie," by Mitch Albom, and "The Great Gatsby," by F. Scott Fitzgerald Other most-loved picks include "The Scarlet Letter," "Jane Eyre," "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Hound of the Baskervilles," "Oedipus Rex" and "Crime Punishment."
WORST BOOK READ IN ENGLISH CLASS "Heart of Darkness," "The Scarlet Letter," "The Red Badge of Courage" 2. "The Great Gatsby," "Huckleberry Finn," "Of Mice and Men" However, Robby Barr, of Fremont High, says his all-time worst was "1984": "I get the meaning of it and all that, but it was the first book I have fallen asleep to while reading."
FAVORITE NON-RELIGIOUS BOOK TO REREAD Our top picks include "The Host," "To Kill a Mockingbird," "It's Kind of a Funny Story" and "Harry Potter 7."
BEST COMIC STRIP "Zits" 2. "Calvin and Hobbes," "Pearls Before Swine," "F-Minus"
WORST COMIC STRIP "The Family Circus" and "Prince Valiant" ("What is that all about?" says Aaron Dayley of Weber High)
Trends
BEST FASHION Scarves. Other favs are flats, day-glo/highlighter bright colors, skinny jeans, peacoats, girls with shorter hair, and cardigans and sweaters for guys and gals.
WORST FASHION Thumbs down for making your hair bigger than your actual head - or "The Poof." Also say "yuck" to high-waisted pants, boots over pants, leg warmers over jeans, and boys with long hair ("It's not fair that their hair is longer or prettier than mine," says Jessica Fox, at Clearfield High.)
BEST CATCHY PHRASE Fo sho! "I just like it because it's so ridiculously gangsta it makes me laugh," says Dallin Abendroth, at Davis High. 2. That's what she said
WORST PHRASEChatspeak in real-life conversations Also, we could do without "That's what she said," "Peace out, Girl Scout," "Your mom," "Your face," "He/she's a creeper" and Chuck Norris sayings.
BEST WEB SITE YouTube "Hours of funny videos, whatever music you want to find and even good history stuff," says Megan Augustine, at Christian Heritage High. 2. Google 3. MySpace
BEST ONLINE CHAT SITE Facebook 2. MySpace
Daily Life
BEST NEW INVENTION Touch-screen things, including iPod Touch 2. Macbook Air 3. "Spore" video game
BEST NEW STORE Charlotte Russe
BEST NEW FOOD McDonald's Premium hot chocolate 2. Jamba's Granola Topper smoothies 3. Cheeze-Its Minis
BEST CELL PHONE Any of those with open-up full keyboards 2. Blackberry Curve 3. iPhone
BEST VIDEO GAME "Rock Band" 2. "Guitar Hero World Tour" 3. "Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party" and "Super Smash Bros. Brawl"
BEST DATE ACTIVITY "Anything cheap and fun" rates highest on this list. Other things we like to do include IHOP at 2 a.m., picnics, sports games, visits to the zoo, looking at lights on Salt Lake City's Temple Square or carving pumpkins.
WORST DATE ACTIVITY Anything that includes a third person or the date, of a fifth person on a group date. Other dating downers are "anything that is too awkard and lasts too long" or "anything where you don't talk to you date or have fun." We'll also pass on bowling, laser tagging, indoor glow-in-the-dark dodgeball, the movies and cooking.
Television
BEST NEW SHOW "The Secret Life of The American Teenager" "It's the ultimate guilty pleasure," says Malyssa Menzdorf, at St. Joseph Catholic High. 2. "The Fringe" 3. "The Mentalist"
WORST NEW SHOW "Paris Hilton's My New BFF" 2. "Kath & Kim" 3. "Worst Week" and "90210"
BEST REALITY SHOW "American Idol" 2. "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" 3. "So You Think You Can Dance"
WORST REALITY SHOW "Paris Hilton's My New BFF" 2. "The Secret Life of the American Teenager," "Ice Road Truckers," "America's Next Top Model"
BEST RETURNING SHOW "The Office" 2. "Psych" "This show is great because there is always a pineapple somewhere in each episode," says Laurie Reiner, at Davis High. 3. "Scrubs," "Mythbusters"
WORST RETURNING SHOW "Hannah Montana" 2. "24," "Desperate Housewives," "Heroes"
BEST TV COMMERCIAL The "Hi, this is Jen's Phone" AT&T commercial, with the woman who's a huge Michael Phelps fan but misses the call about him appearing nearby and says, "Maybe one day we'll look back on this and laugh. OR CRY!!"
WORST TV COMMERCIAL It was a tie between these two show-interrupters: - Victoria's Secret commercials These are especially annoying when you're watching a movie with your family ... "awkward!," says Danielle Downs, of Davis High. - That commercial about sending in your gold jewelry for cash.
BEST ON TV Hugh Laurie, Ashton Kutcher 2. Steve Carell
WORST ON TV Miley Cyrus 2. Rachael Ray
Add Your Comment
Everyone is intiled to there own opinons. these are the opinions of the TX staff. This shows everyone is diffrent and has diffrent tast. I believe that these high school students are learing and becoming better writters. This is way better than a high school newspaper. Are are terrible the stories are lame there are no quotes or big opions. I believe that you should have an open mind when you read these. These are others opinions. We are not get after yours. oh Ditto I get my info from many diffrent newspapers so there is no reason why you should dump the standard. And the TX are not dweebs. My friend lala (nickname) is on the staff and she plays 3 sports and is a baller. Just becuse you don't agree does not mean my friend is a dweeb
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