The 20s took a bow, the 30s tumbled down; the 40s finished its stand, and the 50s bid farewell; the 60s sang the last note, the 70s moved on; the 80s ended, the 90s obliged its death. The year 2010 is poised to round out the first decade of the 21st century—though it’s not just the 00s that’s culminating. If you’ve done a Sleeping Beauty, dozing for the past ten years, wake up! Pages are turning, and stories have been ending all throughout 2010.
Scars, wands, and broomsticks
Muggles caught their first glimpse of the Wizarding World in 1998. Twelve years later, it’s become an enthralling escape, entombed within seven books, seven films, and several other merchandise (Lego Hogwarts, anyone?).
JK Rowling might just have restored the rabid fan base gene: There’s no precedent for readers and filmgoers queuing at midnight—in black robes, no less—nor for the raging debates that circulate the Internet, from Severus Snape’s true nature to Harry Potter’s love interest, to grounds for banning the book series.
With the series’ penultimate piece fresh on everyone’s mind—the first half of the last film aired in November—July 2011 can’t come soon enough, which in itself is a double-edged sword. The series will finally end, rendering those years with the boy wizard remnants of the past.
Apples and fangs
Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series, in one year, virtually destroyed all the vampire notions established over decades. Destroyed by the sun? No way—vampires glitter. Dreaded and blood-thirsty? Nope—having a vampire boyfriend is in vogue these days.
The cold ones were catapulted into the limelight, and several others tried to share it: books, films, TV shows, and of course, parodies. The last couple of years have been so saturated with the vampire genre that you’d gladly welcome this change: the reign of the vampires is ending, as the werewolves push their way in and the superheroes stage their comeback—on the silver screen, at least.
The vampires’ demise isn’t unprecedented; 2010 has already heralded the arrivals of Red Riding Hood, Green Lantern, and pre-Spiderman Peter Parker.
Coffee-cups-whipped-tops
It’s that time of the year again—and no, we don’t mean Santa Claus’ annual chimney drop-by.
Once November hits, only Peppermint Mocha Lattes and Frappuccinos matter, as holiday shoppers rush, rush, rush to Starbucks to exchange drinks for stickers, and stickers for planners.
After six years, the ubiquitous coffeehouse hasn’t failed to generate the sticker madness. But if amassing 18 stickers is a little too steep, Starbucks isn’t the only one cornering the planner market this year; like it or not, 2010 signals the end of the coffeehouse’s tight grip over the limited-edition planners craze.
Bo’s Coffee Shop has the Doodle Notebook, while The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf brings in the Giving Journal.
A-B-C-D-E
Admit it: Though most of us whine and moan about essay-type exams, we actually welcome them, if for the simple reason that anyone with a mastery of words can still reason out an wrong answer and receive partial credit. (Who was it that said A is for effort?)
It seems the Bar Examinations Committee have caught on to this fact. The 2011 Bar exam will throw out most of the essay questions, opting for a 60% multiple choice test. All those lawyers-to-be out there would fare better by burning the midnight oil earlier since quick wit won’t be as handy next year.
The disk that flops
Remember that 3.5” square disk that used to be your saving (pun intended) grace? The floppy disk was a dominant force late in the ‘80s and well throughout the ‘90s; they were cheap, portable and had relatively high storage capacities. Then CDs came into the picture, closely followed by flash disks and online file-hosting; the floppy disk stood no chance against these memory behemoths.
Early 2010, Sony ended production of the time-worn disk, officially ending the run of the wizened floppy.
A hint of lime
The music industry is booming—not economically perhaps, but in popularity and reach. The days of waiting for a shrink-wrapped CD to arrive is long past, as it’s become so easy to trade and share tracks over the Internet—a certain pirate cyber port comes into mind.
Music isn’t the only thing you can download and share with torrents; entire films, shows, and books also subvert the bounds of physical distance. Torrent sites aren’t the first word in file sharing though—LimeWire came first, that unassuming client that quickly boomed alongside the online world. Despite constant virus complaints and piracy accusations, LimeWire remained resilient for ten years, until a US court order tied its death with that of this decade’s.
Eligible no more
What signals an end to one person denotes the beginning to someone else. One man’s junk is another’s treasure after all. An apt example: Prince William announced his engagement to Kate Middleton late in the year. It’s the death of the prince’s eligibility and for sure, hearts broke across countries—it’s looking like new frogs would have to be kissed to find another dashing knight with a royal upbringing. On the other side of the coin, Megan Fox gave her ‘yes’ to Brian Austin Greene, effectively killing her bachelorette status.
That last note
Filipinos love to sing. What else could explain the proliferation of amateur singing competitions and karaoke bars and clubs? In retrospect, Rockeoke was a no-brainer: create a laid-back atmosphere on the most hectic day of the week, grab as many frazzled friends as you can, swig down the drinks, and rock—a step up from the typical karaoke/videoke session—out on a stage that’s yours for the moment.
Mag:net is the proponent of the open mic-live band-huge crowd genre, and practically perfected the concept, though it’s more of a patchwork of the contemporary arts. The combination café and gallery that first opened along Katipunan was the place to be for the university-bound, artists, musicians, writers, poets, performers and stand-up comics.
Mag:net revolutionized the Filipino’s concept of a night out, but rather than growing old and stale, Mag:net peaked at just the right moment and chose to die on its own terms—taking the three-year reign of Rockeoke with it.
Homeless NU Rock
No more In the Raw. No more Stairway to Seven. No more Rock Ed Radio. No more home of NU rock.
After a successful 23-year run, the people behind NU 107 officially signed off the only way they know how—by rocking out. Once amateur bands dropped by and bid their goodbyes to what served as their stepping stone to fame, and a generation that was enthused to be a rock star paid due respect. Appropriately enough, the final song heard on the airwaves was “Ang Huling El Bimbo” by one of the myriad of musicians inspired by none other than the station itself: the Eraserheads. With the adamant influence “the home of NU rock” has had on its listeners, the 107 candles lit might just be insufficient.
The pursuit of King James
We all witnessed the rise of “King James.” From the time he was selected as the number one pick in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers to the moment he won his second consecutive MVP trophy, he has always been under the limelight. His fame reached new heights just early this year. During the most anticipated and talked about free-agent decision spectacle, LeBron James situated himself in the center of the NBA universe when he chose to join Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. With the disappointed faces of the Cavalier fans behind him, he left on a bad note, having broken his promise of a championship for his hometown.
Reality killed the video star
For the ‘80s kids, the end of MTV did not only mean the end of a television program; it meant the end of a revolution which started in 1981 with The Bugles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star.” Since then, it has morphed into an art form, featuring only the most promising artists while highlighting stunning visual effects and fascinating storytelling in the process. It paved a way for a pop culture phenomenon like no other, forever changing the definition of celebrity. Who can forget the debut of Madonna and the reinvention of Michael Jackson? Even hiphop was ushered into the mainstream with Y! MTV Raps.
Certainly, MTV will live on despite its demise through the music it fed our generation over the years.
