2005–2008 · rendered at 240p

2008

Age: Age 3Turns 3 in February
Location: Olney, Maryland
Era: Preschool

In my words

Preschool at our synagogue. Not much memory of it, which seems fair.

The world that year

Banner 17, the helmet catch, and Tiger on one leg.

The Celtics beat the Lakers for their first title since Larry Bird's 1986 team, the Giants ended the Patriots' perfect season with a catch against a helmet, and Tiger Woods won the US Open in a playoff on a broken leg. Phelps won eight golds in Beijing, Ovechkin scored 65, Pedroia was the AL MVP, and MLB Super Sluggers put baseball on the Wii Remote.

Dec – Feb · Turns 3 on February 10

Winter

The birthday month. Snow on the street, warm windows, the year still new.

Now Playing

2008

My tracks

A song that was always on in the house in 2008.

editcontent/personal/2008.ts

On the charts that year

LowFlo Rida ft. T-Pain
Viva la VidaColdplay
Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)Beyoncé
Bleeding LoveLeona Lewis
I Kissed a GirlKaty Perry
DisturbiaRihanna

The winter season

cultural context

Giants 17, Patriots 14Super Bowl XLII, February 3. The helmet catch; 18–1.

Camera Roll

from the camera roll

A family photo from 2008. Drop files in public/photos/2008/ and run npm run photos.

edit 2008.ts

Mar – May

Spring

Diamonds drying out, the first catch of the year, the season starting.

Spring ball

cultural context

Nationals Park opensMarch 30; a walk-off homer by Ryan Zimmerman.
Ovechkin scores 65The most by a left winger in NHL history; his first Hart Trophy.

My Interests

this was everything

What you were into in 2008.

editcontent/personal/2008.ts

Things People Couldn't Stop Playing

cultural context

MLB Super SluggersmineJune 2; Mario baseball on the Wii, motion swings and all.
Mario Kart WiiApril 27; the wheel.
Wii FitMay; the balance board.
Super Smash Bros. BrawlMarch.
Call of Duty: World at WarNovember; Nazi Zombies.
Grand Theft Auto IVApril 29.
Madden NFL 09Brett Favre on the cover, in a Jets jersey by launch.
NBA 2K9Kevin Garnett on the cover, months after the title.
MLB 08: The ShowRyan Howard.
Lego Indiana Jones and Lego BatmanJune and September.
Backyard Baseball '09On the Wii, with real big-leaguers as kids.
Rock Band 2September.

Jun – Aug

Summer

The pool, the basement, long light, nowhere to be.

On My Screen

Mine

What you watched or played on repeat in 2008.

editcontent/personal/2008.ts

Everyone's

The helmet catch on FoxSuper Bowl XLII, February 3; Giants 17, Patriots 14.
Phelps' eight golds on NBCBeijing, August 9–17; the 100 fly by a fingertip.
Celtics–Lakers on ABCJune; Game 6, 131–92.
The Dark KnightJuly 18.
Iron ManMay 2; the start of the MCU.
WALL-EJune.
Kung Fu PandaJune.
Speed RacerMay.
BoltNovember.
HancockJuly.
Fred and SmoshYouTube's first stars, at 5 and 15 million views.
Phineas and FerbDisney's summer that never ended.

The summer season

cultural context

Tiger wins the US Open on one legTorrey Pines, June 16; a 19-hole playoff with a torn ACL and a broken tibia.
Banner 17NBA Finals, June 17; Celtics 131, Lakers 92 in Game 6. The first since Bird's 1986 team.
Phelps wins eightBeijing, August 9–17; Bolt runs 9.69 the same week.
Nadal beats Federer at WimbledonJuly 6, in the dark, 9–7 in the fifth.
Red Wings win the CupJune 4.

Tech I Remember

In the house

A device or app you used in 2008.

editcontent/personal/2008.ts

Out in the world

iPhone 3GFaster data, GPS, and the App Store.
T-Mobile G1The first Android phone, with a slide-out keyboard.
MacBook AirPulled out of a manila envelope on stage.
NetbooksTiny, cheap laptops like the Eee PC.
Wii Fit and the Balance Board
Flip Mino
Blu-ray winsHD DVD gave up in February.
Xbox 360 New ExperienceAvatars arrived on the dashboard.

Sep – Nov

Fall

New grade, Halloween, leaves on the lawn, the good hoodie weather.

Fragments

1 filed

Preschool
At the synagogue. I remember almost none of it.
#school

Milestones

Started preschool at the synagogue
2008

The fall season

cultural context

Pedroia, AL MVPA .326 season, 213 hits, 20 homers, a Gold Glove.
Phillies over RaysWorld Series, October 29, after a two-day rain delay.

Objects of 2008

6 objects

MLB Super Sluggers case
App Store icon
Wii Wheel
Netbook
MacBook Air envelope
Chrome logo

The Internet That Year

cultural context

The App Store opens500 apps on day one.
Google ChromeAnnounced with a comic book.
Spotify launches (Europe)US arrival came in 2011.
Hulu opens to the public
Facebook Chat
FAIL Blog and the Rickroll peakYouTube rickrolled every featured video on April Fools'.
Bitcoin whitepaperPublished in October by "Satoshi Nakamoto".
Twitter at the DNC and RNCLive-tweeting entered the vocabulary.

Meanwhile

The world that year

Banner 17, the helmet catch, and Tiger on one leg.

The season that year

cultural context

Giants 17, Patriots 14Super Bowl XLII, February 3. The helmet catch; 18–1.
Nationals Park opensMarch 30; a walk-off homer by Ryan Zimmerman.
Ovechkin scores 65The most by a left winger in NHL history; his first Hart Trophy.
Tiger wins the US Open on one legTorrey Pines, June 16; a 19-hole playoff with a torn ACL and a broken tibia.
Banner 17NBA Finals, June 17; Celtics 131, Lakers 92 in Game 6. The first since Bird's 1986 team.
Phelps wins eightBeijing, August 9–17; Bolt runs 9.69 the same week.
Nadal beats Federer at WimbledonJuly 6, in the dark, 9–7 in the fifth.
Pedroia, AL MVPA .326 season, 213 hits, 20 homers, a Gold Glove.
Phillies over RaysWorld Series, October 29, after a two-day rain delay.
Red Wings win the CupJune 4.

Culture

trends · memes · products

Beijing OlympicsMichael Phelps won eight gold medals.
A historic US electionNovember 4.
Single Ladies dance
Wii Fit in every den
Facebook "25 Random Things"Peaked in early 2009.
Bakugan and Pokémon cards
Jonas Brothers and Camp Rock

How things looked

Glossy buttons and badge-shaped icons everywhere. The App Store made rounded-square icons with a shine the default look of software.