Articles from December, 2008

Best Films of 2008

Robots, abortions, tightropes, Sean Penn, and disappearing pencils—a great year in film. Kevin Nguyen discusses his favorite movies of 2008.

Best Local Albums of 2008

Tired of hearing about No Age and Bon Iver? Kevin Nguyen and Nick Martens ask music bloggers from around the country for their top local picks.

Best Albums of 2008

The Bureau Staff makes like John Cusack in High Fidelity and lists their ten favorite albums of the year.

Person of the Year 2008

The Bureau Staff picks the year’s most notable individuals.

Judging a Book by Its Blog

Kevin Nguyen recognizes the growing trend of blog-to-book deals, hoping that publishers pursue more sites like BLDGBLOG and fewer sites like I Can Has Cheezburger.

How to Spot an Asshole on Facebook

Facebook means friends forever. When it comes to friend requests, David Tveite makes it very clear when you should just say no.

Confessions of a Music Hoarder

In an era when the iPod has encouraged us to download as many albums as possible, Tim Lehman confronts 34 gigabytes of music he has never listened to.

The Rambling American: To Be Young Again

Unable to speak Polish in a room full of Poles, Locke McKenzie finds a three-year-old friend.

RSS: Really Simply Shallow

Subscribing to a site’s RSS feed is the most efficient way to keep up with new posts, but Brandon Lueken explains why it’s not the best way to read the web.

Fifteen Percent

While the deadlocked senatorial race in Minnesota between Al Franken and Norm Coleman may seem like a battle between good and evil, David Tveite justifies his vote for third-party candidate Dean Barkley.

Visa on Arrival: Japan in Reverse

Japanese culture evokes a lot of stereotypes, and no one is more excited to experience them than Daniel Adler. But after his tour of the country’s major cities, he comes to understand the complexity of Japan’s identity.

Rocking Out to Pop Music and Not Feeling Guilty

Brandon Lueken defends his offensive love of pop music against the legions of his peers, who tell him he should know better.