10 for the 2000s: 2009

1. Film: The top 5 grossing as of December 21 are Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, 2012, and Up. Still to be fully accounted for are Avatar and New Moon which both will likely be there.
2. Michael Jackson: The king of pop died tragically. I would say this is the most mourned death worldwide in my lifetime.
   
3. Tiger: Tiger Woods marital indiscretions have been everywhere on the news and have significantly tarnished his image. I try to make it a point to pray for him and his family every time I see a news story about it all.
4. Miss California: Carrie Preejan had her 15 minutes of fame as Miss California when she stood strong concerning her beliefs on gay marriage. In the past few months, her personal life has been under scrutiny as questionable photos and alleged sex tapes have come up.
5. Swine Flu: H1N1 hits the nation, and hits pretty hard. The death toll is fairly low (relatively speaking), but the 24 hour news world sure pushed us to freak out about it.
6. Heatlh Care: It's the hot political topic. Someone once asked me, "Do you think we (Christians) would need a health care system if the church were to actually live the way it did in Acts 2?" I think that's a legit question.
7. Glen Beck and Tea Parties: The Conservative Right rose up loudly in 2009, and Beck is really to the Obama administration what Rush Limbaugh was to Clinton.
8. Vampires Remixed: Move over Dracula and Buffy. The Twilight saga hit full stride with the release of movie #2 and MTVs all out blitz in promoting it. A mess of other tv shows and movies made their way out as well.
9. The Yankees Win! the Yankees close out the decade in the same way they started it; by winning the World Series. This win secured them in the discussion for "Team of the Decade" (a series post yet to come).
10. Recession Over? The decade closes out with some signs of hope in the economy, but things sure seem different than when they started.