The Year That Was by The Morning News
The most important events of 2011 as told by writers and thinkers from around the globe

My favorites:

Marian Wang, Reporter for ProPublica

The Tunisian fruit vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi, who finally had enough and set himself on fire after he was slapped by a local government inspector. Bouazizi’s act—one that cost him his life—galvanized protests across the country that ultimately deposed the country’s dictator and inspired continued revolution in the region. It’s a remarkable reminder to me, as a reporter, that we spend so much time watching activity at the top—the supposed movers and shakers who all too often waste so much time playing politics—when the act of an ordinary person can also write history in a big way.

Matthew Newton, Editor of Annals of Americus

It turned out Osama bin Laden was in Pakistan, biding his time watching lo-fi porn on a TV/VCR combo and snuggling up under a warm blanket. (Is that a universal remote he’s holding?) He wasn’t relegated to life in a cave as so many experts believed, or curled up in a hole somewhere like another baddie the USA flushed out. Instead, the man who orchestrated the deaths of thousands of Americans on that Tuesday in September of 2001, was living like an American teenager in the pre-internet era—bored, disconnected, and exhausted from masturbating. Until he was shot dead and buried at sea, of course. At which point Americans expressed their collective joy by going apeshit in the streets.

Jenna Wortham, New York Times Tech Reporter

Most important thing of the year: The retweet. 2011 was the year that retweeting became less about achieving value and followers and more of a new form of cultural and information currency—not unlike a viral version of the bit, self-propagating units of information (can you tell I’m knee-deep in James Gleick “The Information”?). We learned to self-select and spread the most important things we saw to others, creating a counterpoint to Twitter’s most-commonly referenced downside, narcissism, and turning it into a collectivist tool for creating a pulsing ecosystem of information bigger than each individually posted message…

Honorable Mentions: Talk That Talk, GIFs of the awkward girl in pink who dances in “Friday,” Nicki Minaj, Matt Cutts’ TED talk about breaking and forming new habits, the Horse E-Books Twitter account, the breakthrough of New York as a thriving tech hub, emoji, Reddit IAMA threads, Khan Academy/Codecademy and using the Web to reinvent education, Justin Bieber’s Instagram feed (srsly).

Julie Klausner, author of I Don’t Care About Your Band

A woman who weighs more than 120 pounds soaking wet was finally admitted into the “Women in Comedy” inner sanctum that we’ve been hearing so much about. When Melissa McCarthy hosted SNL it was almost as if it was okay for female comics, just like their male counterparts, to just be funny, not magazine-skinny, in order to succeed.

Best Holiday Purchase: Velvet Overalls?

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Kexin Alice

When I was shopping for Xmas presents downtown I happened to stumble across this gem. It’s an amazing crushed-velvet, floral-print, overall-style jumper (the pictures really don’t do it justice) by Free People. This piece is so unique and beautiful, and at a price of $32 it is beyond worth it. I am unbelievably happy and smitten.

Find this stunner HERE.

DIY Chalkboard Mugs: An invitation to doodle…

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Kexin Alice

All you need is a mug and some chalkboard paint (who ever knew there was such a thing?), and you can make yourself this fabulous mug to doodle on and drink from (but the doodling must come first 😉).

Get your instructions here.

via the style files

Holiday Baking Project: Candied S’mores

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Kexin Alice

What better way to sweeten the post-Xmas, pre-NYE gap than to bake, bake, bake! My sister and I decided to make these candied s’mores as a fun baking project to fill the lull of our winter breaks. And besides, who can turn down the delightful taste of sticky marshmallows and chocolate oozing between graham crackers? These little treats are truly drool-worthy.

12 graham crackers
3/4 cup butter
3/4 firmly packed brown sugar
3 cups miniature marshmallows
1 cup M&Ms (or Hershey’s Drops in this case)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 15x10x1-inch jelly-roll pan with aluminum foil leaving a 1-inch overhang on ends; spray foil with no-stick cooking spray. Place graham crackers onto foil so sides touch.

Melt butter and brown sugar in 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and mixture just comes to a boil (4 to 6 minutes). Pour evenly over crackers. Bake for 5 to 6 minutes or until bubbly.

Remove pan from oven; sprinkle with marshmallows.