Pass In Review: 2006

I know, I know. I need to get in the habit of getting this all together before the year ends and not in mid January. Either way, I've listed below, in no particular order of importance, the year's events. Feel free to add any comments or anything major I've left out.

- The Dems Take Over. I've blogged numerous times on this over the last 2 months already. I won't bore ya'll even further. All that matters now is that we pick the right horse to take on either Hildabeast or Obama. And that will not be an easy task.

- Irish Times and Finnegan's Wake Close. But forget the Democratic takeover, because we all know that the biggest story of the year by far was the closing of City Market institution O'Connell's/Finnegan's Wake and a short-lived Whitaker Street experiment called Irish Times. O'Connell's is special to me because it was the first bar you could go to underage in Savannah. Forget Loco's, Savannah Blues, Wild Wing, and all these other new long-haired, Country Dazed, drugged out, Lacoste loser-hangouts. Back in '01, the only place to go was O'Connell's.

Irish Times was a much different story, and I think its failure demonstrates why charging $6 for just about everything you sell might not always be the best idea.

Anyway, as much as you may hate Paula Deen, the sale of O'Connell's was simply an example of the market's invisible hand doing its job through "creative destruction" (where capital flows to its most profitable destination, replacing less profitable ventures but ultimately benefiting the public). So at least I can feel good about that.

- The Herndon Era begins. BC goes 3-8 and strongly considers dropping down to 8-man football.

- Stephen Starts Work. So finally, with the CPA exam passed and a plush new white-collar job on President Street, all those years of miserly living are over, right? Wrong. He still sneaks liquor into bars and asks for rides home. Constantly.

- TC ties the Knot. The former Brigade S-1 should write himself up for some merits for this one. I would say Ryan is next since he caught that garter thing or whatever, but then again he doesn't believe in God.

- U.S. Economy Roars to New Heights. The Dow sets new records, unemployment continues its slide, and inflation looks to finally be in check as oil begins to retreat after a 5 year-run.

- Music: No Kelly Clarkson album was released in '06. "Promiscuous Girl," "Hips Don't Lie," and "Check on It" dominated the airwaves, which further concludes that girls love singing about being the sluts they truly are.

- Sports: Braves fail to capture the division title for the first time since the Cold War. Georgia has its worst season in a decade but steps it up in November, overpowering Auburn, Tech, and Virginia Tech. Tech has its best team in years but that's still not good enough to beat Georgia.

- Movies: Daniel Craig delivers a stellar performance as the new 007, in what critics and fans are continuing to praise as the best Bond flick since the 60s. Scorsese's The Departed kicks ass as well.