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Published December 30, 2009 Good Times...
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 APRIL 11: BIRTH OF AUTO-TUNEThe News Got Auto-Tuned
Politically, this year was action-packed—tea parties, Afghanistan, governors "hiking the Appalachian
trail." But what it was not, was musical. And that's where this brother duo came in: Through a series of
videos where they rapped, T-Pain style, over news clips from CNN and the like, they made Nancy Pelosi the
biggest hip-hop muse since Rihanna. And really, that was long overdue.
 APRIL 20: BALE FAILChristian Bale Freaks Out, the Remixes
We really should have seen this coming: Within hours of Bale's on-set meltdown—the one where he
somehow turns "you're a nice guy" into a threat—leaking to the web, an intrepid DJ named RevoLucian
(why yes, he is from LA) remixed it into the dance music equivalent of an Andrew Dice Clay
cassingle.
 AUGUST: JACK ATTACKJack Nicholson's European Vacation
In his 72nd year, Jack continued doing what he does best: making you jealous as hell. He didn't star in any
movies, but in a series of vacation photos—where he's swimming, smoking, scoping out French girls and
generally looking like he doesn't give a damn—he helped us forget about The Bucket
List.
 OCTOBER 6: THE SHOW GOES ONApparently, Showgirls Sequel in the Works
We're not sure what was going on in October—we remember hearing the words "health care" a
lot—but we somehow missed this earth-shattering piece of cinematic news: a German director is
following up the legendary masterwork with a sequel. Sadly, Jessie Spano's not involved.
 NOVEMBER 16: SCOTCHY SCOTCHScotch Liberated From South Pole
In 1909, Ernest Shackleton tried and failed to make it to the South Pole. But he left a smart marker: two
bottles of scotch. In 2009, a New Zealand group decided to retrieve those bottles. Experts say the
century-long ice burial won't substantially change the whiskey's original flavor, but we're still willing to
give it a taste.
 NOVEMBER 18: PIRACYNicolas Cage Visits Real-Life Pirates
It sounds like the beginning of National Treasure 3: The Pirate's Revenge: this fall, Nic Cage
toured a Kenyan prison, where he met with some captured Somali pirates, who—we kid you
not—performed a choreographed dance in his honor. All of which was only slightly less baffling than
his haircut.
 ALL YEAR: BEARD PAPASCrazy Actors Grow Crazier Beards
This year, it seemed like if you knew someone who made his living in the acting arts, there was a 50-50 shot
he would grow a beard worthy of a robber baron and go absolutely nuts. Randy Quaid
got busted for skipping out on a hotel bill, while Joaquin Phoenix did his best
impression of catatonic Santa. Emilio Estevez, we've got our eye on you.
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