IPE Journal looks back at the cultural, sporting and down right random things that diverted our attention from economic Armageddon in 2008. In other words, The Rest...
-The 2008 Olympic Games were much more than China's coming out party. The world stood in awe at the Opening Ceremonies, Michael Phelps became the greatest Olympian of modern times and China's athletes topped the gold medal table. 2008 was a year of stark contrasts for China: the tragedy of the Sichuan earthquake, tainted milk, and exposure of the shortcomings of China's economic miracle v. the scale, triumph and symbolism of the games, land reform and progress with Taiwan. 2009 promises to be an interesting year.
-In the Prem, Arsenal collapsed following a very bad day in Birmingham, throwing away the 07-08 title. They began the 08-09 season in disarray, and placed their future on the young shoulders of CescFabregas, who, naturally, was immediately lost for four months with ruptured knee ligaments. ManU and Chelsea provided a cardiac finish to both the Prem and Champions League final in Moscow, with SAF's men taking the double.
-Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and an epic Wimbledon final, considered by many the greatest tennis match of all time.
-The Year in Japanese innovation: robots that feed you, bionic legs and a trumpet playing robot joins the Cincinnati Pops. According to the International Federation of Robotics, robot use will increase substantially over the next few years, for combat, labour and personal uses. The Guardian identifies Japan as the world leader in robotic labour density (25 per 10,000 workers).
-In what will surely go down as man's historic victory over the animal kingdom, monkey waiters hit Japan.
-Contemporary art market boom/bust: The contemporary art market is an interesting barometer for investor sentiment (the Mayfair, not main street, investor) and Banksy provides a perfect case study. In October 2007, 10 prints by the London-based street artist sold at auction for a whopping ₤546,000. Fast forward to September 2008, and the five Banksy pieces at auction in London went unsold. In fact, two thirds of the items in the Loyd and Turnbull contemporary art auction were withdrawn. (Editor's note- my two Banksy prints were purchased in Covent Garden for 30 quid. Beat that.)
-Finally, in a year of great You Tube moments (Bush shoe thrower, Brown's messiah slip), this one takes the cake, both for humour and IPE symbolism:
