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Ethan Goldstein

2009–2012 · rendered at 480p

2009

Age
Age 4Turns 4 in February
Location
Wooden Bridge Road, Cold Spring, Potomac
Era
Moved to Cold Spring

In my words

We moved to the Cold Spring neighbourhood, to a house on Wooden Bridge Road with a massive basement and a pool.

The world that year

Modern Warfare 2, Bolt's 9.58, and the Nationals draft Strasburg.

Modern Warfare 2 sold $310 million on its first day in November, Wii Sports Resort put a MotionPlus on the remote, and Minecraft's first version appeared quietly in May. Bolt ran 9.58 in Berlin, the Yankees won a 27th title in the new Stadium, Kobe won his first without Shaq, and the Nationals drafted Stephen Strasburg first overall in June.

Dec – Feb · Turns 4 on February 10

Winter

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

Now Playing

2009

My tracks

A song that was always on in the house in 2009.

editcontent/personal/2009.ts

On the charts that year

  • Boom Boom PowThe Black Eyed Peas
  • Poker FaceLady Gaga
  • I Gotta FeelingThe Black Eyed Peas
  • Party in the U.S.A.Miley Cyrus
  • FirefliesOwl City
  • Empire State of MindJay-Z ft. Alicia Keys

The winter season

cultural context
  • Steelers 27, Cardinals 23Super Bowl XLIII, February 1. Holmes' toe-tap catch with 35 seconds left.

Photo Album

from the camera roll

  • A photo from 2009. Drop files in public/photos/2009/ and run npm run photos.

    edit 2009.ts

Video

A short clip from 2009: an mp4 in public/photos/2009/ or an unlisted YouTube link.

edit 2009.ts

Mar – May

Spring

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

Spring ball

cultural context
  • Ovechkin, back-to-back Hart56 goals; the league's MVP for the second straight year.

My Interests

this was everything
  • The WiiWii Sports and MLB Super Sluggers.
  • Lego Star WarsThe Complete Saga, on the Wii.

What you were into in 2009.

editcontent/personal/2009.ts

Things People Couldn't Stop Playing

cultural context
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2November 10; $310 million on day one.
  • Wii Sports ResortJuly 26; sword fights and frisbee with MotionPlus.
  • New Super Mario Bros. WiiNovember; four players on one couch.
  • NBA 2K10Kobe on the cover; the year 2K won the argument.
  • Madden NFL 10Fitzgerald and Polamalu.
  • MLB 09: The ShowDustin Pedroia on the cover, fresh off the MVP.
  • Backyard Baseball 2010November, on the Wii.
  • Minecraft's first versionMay 17; Notch's alpha.
  • Angry BirdsDecember; the first app everyone had.
  • Lego Rock Band and Lego Batman
  • FIFA 10
  • Uncharted 2October.

Jun – Aug

Summer

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

On My Screen

Mine

What you watched or played on repeat in 2009.

editcontent/personal/2009.ts

Everyone's

  • Super Bowl XLIII on NBCFebruary 1; Steelers 27, Cardinals 23, Santonio Holmes in the corner.
  • The Blind SideNovember 20; Michael Oher and Sandra Bullock.
  • UpMay.
  • Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceJuly.
  • Star TrekMay.
  • Transformers: Revenge of the FallenJune.
  • Cloudy with a Chance of MeatballsSeptember.
  • Fantastic Mr. FoxNovember.
  • David After DentistJanuary.
  • Susan BoyleApril; Britain's Got Talent, the clip that broke YouTube.
  • Phineas and Ferb, Wizards of Waverly PlaceDisney Channel after school.

The summer season

cultural context
  • Nationals draft StrasburgJune 9, first overall; a 100-mph fastball from San Diego State.
  • Kobe's first without ShaqNBA Finals, June 14; Lakers over Magic in five.
  • Penguins beat the Red WingsStanley Cup Final Game 7, June 12; Crosby at 21.
  • Bolt runs 9.58World Championships, Berlin, August 16.
  • Federer's 15thWimbledon, July 5; 16–14 in the fifth over Roddick.
  • Y.E. Yang beats TigerPGA Championship, August 16; the first time Tiger lost a major from ahead on Sunday.

Tech I Remember

In the house

A device or app you used in 2009.

editcontent/personal/2009.ts

Out in the world

  • Windows 7Released October 22.
  • iPhone 3GSVideo recording and a compass.
  • iPod touch (3rd gen) and nano with a camera
  • Nintendo DSiTwo cameras and the DSi Shop.
  • Motorola Droid"Droid does" — Android's first hit in the US.
  • Palm Pre
  • Kindle 2
  • Zune HD

Sep – Nov

Fall

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

Memories

2 filed

  • The basement and the pool

    The Wooden Bridge Road house had a sweet, massive basement and a pool. That basement is where a lot of the next few years happened.

    #home #pool #basement

  • Fenway

    Our first dog. He was there for the Wooden Bridge years.

    #fenway #family

Milestones

1

  1. Moved to Wooden Bridge Road

    2009

    Cold Spring neighbourhood, Potomac. Age four, probably.

The fall season

cultural context
  • Yankees win 27World Series, November 4, in the new Stadium. Matsui MVP.
  • Red Sox swept in OctoberThe Angels in three; the end of the 2007 core's run.

Time Capsule

9 objects
  • The poolmine
  • The basementmine
  • Fenwaymine
  • Wii MotionPlus
  • Like button
  • Windows 7
  • Angry Birds
  • DSi
  • 3D glasses

The Internet That Year

cultural context
  • The Facebook Like buttonIntroduced in February.
  • Twitter goes mainstreamAshton Kutcher raced CNN to a million followers.
  • FarmVilleFacebook gaming at its peak.
  • Minecraft (Classic)Markus Persson's first public version, May 17.
  • Bing launches
  • Google WaveInvite-only and gone within a year.
  • Keyboard Cat and David After Dentist
  • Fred, Smosh, NigahigaThe first YouTube subscriber race.

Meanwhile

The world that year

Modern Warfare 2, Bolt's 9.58, and the Nationals draft Strasburg.

The season that year

cultural context
  • Steelers 27, Cardinals 23Super Bowl XLIII, February 1. Holmes' toe-tap catch with 35 seconds left.
  • Nationals draft StrasburgJune 9, first overall; a 100-mph fastball from San Diego State.
  • Kobe's first without ShaqNBA Finals, June 14; Lakers over Magic in five.
  • Penguins beat the Red WingsStanley Cup Final Game 7, June 12; Crosby at 21.
  • Bolt runs 9.58World Championships, Berlin, August 16.
  • Federer's 15thWimbledon, July 5; 16–14 in the fifth over Roddick.
  • Yankees win 27World Series, November 4, in the new Stadium. Matsui MVP.
  • Ovechkin, back-to-back Hart56 goals; the league's MVP for the second straight year.
  • Y.E. Yang beats TigerPGA Championship, August 16; the first time Tiger lost a major from ahead on Sunday.
  • Red Sox swept in OctoberThe Angels in three; the end of the 2007 core's run.

Culture

trends · memes · products
  • Michael Jackson diesJune 25; the internet slowed down.
  • Kanye interrupts Taylor Swift"I'ma let you finish."
  • Silly Bandz appearThe craze peaked in 2010.
  • Zhu Zhu PetsThe holiday's sold-out toy.
  • Fail!
  • Auto-Tune everywhere
  • Snuggie

How things looked

Windows 7 Aero glass with a bigger taskbar; iPhone OS 3 and its glossy, skeuomorphic app icons. Gradients on everything, chrome on the buttons.

2009 · aero era · 6 slots still to fill← → to travel