Greetings Webtaculators! Here’s to hoping next year is better than this one. Also, don’t go out tonight. On to the news.

STORY OF THE YEAR (3 min. read)
What: The Year: A Review
Why: Because a lot of very dumb things happened. This doesn’t even come close to exploring most of them.

AMERICA THING OF THE YEAR (long read)
What: The Average American
Why: Because it turns some of us aren’t that great.

ECONOMIC THING OF THE YEAR (2 min. read)
What: How To Invest In Turbulent Times
Why: Because this was the worst year for stocks in a decade. I don’t know how you can even begin to invest when the market is swinging by multiple percentage points every other day.

ENVIRONMENTAL THING OF THE YEAR (4 min. read)
What: It’s Getting Hot In Here
Why: Because Global warming is a still very much a thing, and we continue to do way less than we should be about it.

LAW THING OF THE YEAR (8 min. read)
What: Judgement
Why: Because Trump’s judicial choices will affect the legal landscape for decades to come. Especially this particularly bad choice. Women, I hope you enjoy being less of a person than not-yet people due to these men’s beliefs.

TECH THING OF THE YEAR (long reads)
What: The Veneer Is Fading
Why: Because tech companies, overall, are proving to not have many more ideas, while at the same time, the fulfillment of having access to most people’s lives is turning out to be not that great.

SPORTS THING OF THE YEAR (4 min. read)
What: The Best And Worst Teams
Why: Because all teams should have to play all sports against each other forever.

PHOTOGRAPHY THING OF THE YEAR (3 min. read)
What: Un-Real
Why: Because fake news just got a lot more real looking.

TELEVISION THING OF THE YEAR (1 min. 30 sec. watch)
What: Choose Your Own TV
Why: Because the Netflix model is leaking into TV shows.

LITERATURE, MOVIE, AND MUSIC THING OF THE YEAR (2 min. read)
What: A Presidential List
Why: Because having a President who read was good. Obama also (unsurprisingly) has a great taste in film and music.

VIDEO GAME THING OF THE YEAR (8 min. read)
What: The Problems With Fun
Why: Because for an industry that is based around escapism and play, there sure are a ton of issues that relate to the opposite of that.

INTERNET THINGS OF THE WEEK (∞)
What: Time Marches On; NYC Ain’t Nuthing Ta Fuck Wit; Jordan Peele Continues To Scare The Shit Out Of Everyone
Why: Because Internet.

THING YOU SHOULD GET BRIAN OF THE YEAR
What: A Good New Year
Why: Because Brian deserves it.

Webtacularly yours,
Brian
Managing Editor, Webtacular World
The Internet You Didn’t Know You Needed™

Greetings Webtaculators! I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas, and that you all remember to think of your government workers who are either being forced to work without pay or cannot work because a very stupid man is continuing to make poor choices. On to the news.

STORY OF THE WEEK (4 min. read)
What: The Last Adult In The Room
Why: Because soon to be former Secretary of Defense Mattis resigned from his post due to Trump’s completely irresponsible decision to unilaterally withdraw from Syria.  Please read his resignation letter. Yes, war is bad. But once you commit to go to war, leaving without a plan in place is irresponsible to the people you already committed to help.

ECONOMIC THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: How Low Can You Go
Why: Because stocks suffered their worst week in a decade last week.

LAW THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: Please Be OK
Why: Because Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg underwent cancer surgery this week.

SCIENCE THING OF THE WEEK (4 min. read)
What: The Problem With Data
Why: Because we have all already given away most of the privacy in our lives. It doesn’t mean that you necessarily should have known, but after years of reported problems, it isn’t really a secret.

MOVIE THING OF THE WEEK (15 min. watch)
What: The Most Special Effects
Why:

MUSIC THING OF THE WEEK (long listens)
What: The 1975, Muse; Metric; Snail Mail; John Hopkins; CHVRCHES; Remember Sports; Middle Kids; Childish Gambino; Rainbow Kitten Surprise; Janelle Monae
Why: Because these were some of my favorite albums (and song) of the year.

PHOTOGRAPHY THING OF THE WEEK (5 min. read)
What: Bottoming Out
Why: Because Matt Mimiaga’s photographs bring humanity to people that many of us try not to pay attention to.

LITERATURE THING OF THE WEEK (long reads)
What: Station Eleven: A Novel; Norse Mythology; Kitchen Confidential; American War; A Man Called Ove: A Novel; A Kind of Mirraculas Paradise.
Why: Because these were some of my favorite books of the year (yes, I know most of these aren’t from this year, but that’s when I got around to reading them).

VIDEO GAME THING OF THE WEEK (long plays)
What: God Of War; Super Smash Bros. Ultimate; Monster Hunter: World; Red Dead Redemption II; SoulCalibur 6; Spider-Man
Why: Because these were some of my favorite games of the year. I realize all of these are sequels or series reboots, which is sort of problematic, but they are all very good.

INTERNET THINGS OF THE WEEK (∞)
What: Sandspiel; Do Your Job, Sarah; Straight White 30+ Year Old With Very Generous In-Law Problems
Why: Because Internet.

THING YOU SHOULD GET BRIAN OF THE WEEK
What: Whiskey Stones
Why: Because Brian deserves it.

Webtacularly yours,
Brian
Managing Editor, Webtacular World
The Internet You Didn’t Know You Needed™

Greetings Webtaculators! I just hosted my first Friendsgiving at my house, which is not something I ever really thought I would be able to do. This annual tradition has been going on with a group of law school classmates, significant others, and other people we have collected as friends along the way, and is a yearly reminder that even with everything going on in the world that is not as good as it should be, there are still many things in life that are going better than they seemingly should. I know I don’t always do the best in terms of optimism on a weekly basis, (see, e.g., any other Webtacular World issue from this year), but I’m trying. Then again, this is our current reality. On to the news.

STORY OF THE WEEK (long read)
What: The Guardians
Why: Because there were a lot of people Time Magazine could have named as person of the year, but this year was particularly somber and fitting.

ECONOMIC THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: Raiders Of The Last Store
Why: Because it’s sorta not that cool when a CEO who drove a company into the ground and leaves, then uses another company he owns to buy back the company he drove into the ground, while giving multi-million dollar bonuses to the other people who were responsible for driving the company into the ground.

LAW THING OF THE WEEK (5 min. read)
What: Dumb Judge Does Dumb Thing
Why: Because elections have actual consequences, and the stupid path that an uncaring government took to destroy affordable health care for people is now jeopardizing the whole thing.

SCIENCE THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: Yes, Steph, The Moon Landing Was Real
Why: Because Steph Curry’s joke(?) about the moon landing is another one of those things that seems like harmless fun, but for some reason people are more willing to believe an amazing basketball player about space than, you know, actual astronauts.

SPORTS THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. watch)
What: Amazing Basketball
Why: Because unlike his comments, Steph SHOULD keep participating in Japanese TV contests.

MOVIE THING OF THE WEEK (4 min. read)
What: Spider Pig
Why: Because the new animated Spider-Man movie might just be the best Spider-Man movie ever.

MUSIC THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: New Sway
Why: Because Easway Harrison is a great kid making great throwback rap. He just released his newest album, Nothing To Lose, and you should check it out.

ARCHITECTURE THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. look)
What: Architects Can Have Fun, Too
Why: Because even though they’re “practical” artists, architects mostly entered the field because they loved to create.

LITERATURE THING OF THE WEEK (long look)
What: More Best Books
Why: Because I did not read enough this year.

VIDEO GAME THING OF THE WEEK (5 min. read)
What: A New Place To Buy
Why: Because the company behind Fortnite is trying to compete with the Steam Store, the monolith of PC gaming. Giving a higher cut to creators is not a bad way to go about it.

INTERNET THINGS OF THE WEEK (∞)
What: The Best Of The Internet; The Worst Of The Internet; An OK Internet
Why: Because Internet.

THING YOU SHOULD GET BRIAN OF THE WEEK
What: New Skis
Why: Because Brian deserves it.

Webtacularly yours,
Brian
Managing Editor, Webtacular World
The Internet You Didn’t Know You Needed™

Greetings Webtaculators. So now that the Trump administration is completely falling apart, I would have figured that I would have felt something more. Hopefully he doesn’t take the country down with him on his way out. The GOP certainly is trying its hardest to help him. On to the news.

STORY OF THE WEEK (4 min. read)
What: Another One Bites The Dust
Why: Because John Kelly is a failure.

ECONOMIC THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: All Gone
Why: Because for the second time this year, all gains for 2018 have been wiped out. One of the biggest individual stories of the week is that Canada arrested the CFO of Huawei, one of China’s largest companies.

LAW THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: Cohen And Flynn
Why: Because Mueller threw the book at one while letting the other off. It pays to cooperate.

TECH THING OF THE WEEK (4 min. read)
What: No Porn For You
Why: Because essentially the only thing Tumblr is good for is no longer something that Tumblr is going to host.

SPORTS THING OF THE WEEK (5 min. read)
What: College Football Is Stupid Again
Why: Because colleges make the lives of their students worse by kowtowing to these moral-less programs.

MOVIE THING OF THE WEEK (13 min. watch)
What: Best Movies Of The Year
Why: Because it’s that time of year again. Looks like Kevin Hart won’t be able to tell you about them at the Oscars, though.

TELEVISION THING OF THE WEEK (6 min. read)
What: Best TV Shows Of The Year
Why: Because it’s that time of year again.

MUSIC THING OF THE WEEK (long reads)
What: Best Music Of The Year. Or Is This The Best Music? Or How About This?
Why: Because it’s that time of year again. Also, I am officially old, because I’ve never heard of most of the bands (groups, people, whatever) on the “cultured” lists, and actually listened to even fewer. I openly am at war with the musical taste of whoever is streaming from Apple, because most of those top albums and songs are hot garbage. I don’t know how to find music anymore, and that is disappointing.

PHOTOGRAPHY THING OF THE WEEK (long look)
What: Best Photos Of The Year
Why: Because it’s that time of year again.

LITERATURE THING OF THE WEEK (long reads)
What: Best Books Of The Year (Form 1, Form 2, And Form 3)
Why: Because it’s that time of year again.

VIDEO GAME THING OF THE WEEK (long read)
What: Best Video Games Of The Year
Why: Because it’s that time of year again (and yes, there are people who have been trying to make “the Oscars” of video games for a few years – the show is actually decently produced and entertaining). The real best game is Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, though.

INTERNET THINGS OF THE WEEK (∞)
What: No Look; Even More Avengers; The Russians Are Trying To Break Our Internet
Why: Because Internet.

THING YOU SHOULD GET BRIAN OF THE WEEK
What: Electric Audi
Why: Because Brian deserves it.

Webtacularly yours,
Brian
Managing Editor, Webtacular World
The Internet You Didn’t Know You Needed™

Greetings Webtaculators! Great news (for once)! The War on Christmas is officially over. After years of an intense offensive by every holiday in December that isn’t Christmas, all sides agreed to an armistice, and a place in the Goldsen household. This is why an over-achieving fancy bush is now my new roommate. Of course, since it is the first night of Hanukkah, and Christmas is still 23 days away, I will be extremely offended if anyone says “happy holidays” over the next eight days, and the war will be back on. On to the news.

STORY OF THE WEEK (long read)
What: RIP Bush Sr.
Why: Because the last decent* Republican President passed away.  His lack of action during the AIDS epidemic, his involvement in Iran-Contra scandal, the appointment of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, and his War On Drugs, along with the downfall of the economy under his watch, all are harsh marks against someone who undeniably had one of of the most impressive civic resumes of anyone who has been president. Of course, in comparison to what we currently have, Bush Sr. was a genius benevolent saint.

ECONOMIC THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: A Good Use For A Tax Break
Why: Because Pategonia, the high end outdoors clothing manufacturer, is donating $10 million of the money it earned this year due to Trump’s tax breaks to environmental focused non-profits.

LAW THING OF THE WEEK (6 min. read)
What: Don’t Lie On The Stand, Kids
Why: Because Manafort breached his plea deal by lying to Federal investigators. Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, also lied. Time to make like Monopoly and go straight to jail.

SCIENCE THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: Back To Mars
Why: Because NASA successfully launched another mission to the red planet.

SPORTS THING OF THE WEEK (5 min. read)
What: Chess Armageddon!
Why: Because I wish I understood how to play chess well.

TELEVISION THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. read)
What: Marvelous
Why: Because the Marvelous Ms. Maisel is a very good TV show. What is not marvelous is that Marvel’s Daredevil was canceled.

MUSIC THING OF THE WEEK (6 min. read)
What: Party Like It’s 1975
Why: Because the new album A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships by The 1975 is good pop music.

PHOTOGRAPHY THING OF THE WEEK (3 min. look)
What: SPAAAAAACE
Why: Because Mars is cool.

LITERATURE THING OF THE WEEK (6 min. read)
What: Best of 2018
Why: Because it’s that time of the year again.

VIDEO GAME THING OF THE WEEK (5 min. read)
What: Best Thinking Person’s Games Of The Year
Why: Because the New Yorker put together a best games list.

INTERNET THINGS OF THE WEEK (∞)
What: Indifferently Stabbed; No One Walks Away From John!; We All Are Doomed
Why: Because Internet.

THING YOU SHOULD NOT GET BRIAN OF THE WEEK
What: Because I fit a 6+ foot Christmas Tree in my Prius.

Why: Because Brian deserves it.

Webtacularly yours,
Brian
Managing Editor, Webtacular World
The Internet You Didn’t Know You Needed™