2009: A Year in Review

2009: A Year in Review
By Kirk Vichengrad




The end of the year. The close of the decade.
Time to reflect as 2009 comes to a fade.

A new President takes office and hope is in the air,
But obstacles multiply and quickly falls to despair.

Unemployment rates rise and job opportunities fall,
Banks get stimulated but the economy does stall.

Trying our patience are questionable, endless wars,
We must bring home all our troops, back to American shores.

Healthcare debates, Wall Street ruin, and Palin went rogue,
Facebook, You Tube, and Twitter all became vogue.

Miracle on the Hudson, thanks to Captain Sully, a true hero was born
And for the great Senator Ted Kennedy, a nation did mourn.

Arnold slashed budgets, education, and jobs like a real hack,
Let’s hope and pray that as governator he won’t be back.

Our culture itself saw itself threatened by fate,
As dubious celebrities found fame like John and Kate.

People now only text, tweet, and have addresses with dot com,
Distorting the notion of fame as in the case of the Octomom.

A couple crashed the White House dinner party in a reality show ploy,
And 2009 saw the gross media coverage of the absurd Balloon Boy.

Gay marriage became legal in Iowa, hardly a progressive state,
Yet in New York and California we learned there was still tremendous hate.

Carrie Prejean opened her mouth and made me want to yell,
And it’s tragic that American soldiers still have Don’t ask, don’t tell.

The world is at our fingertips yet very few make human contact,
Instead, earbuds are in and we look down at iThis and iThat.

We must look up from our gadgets and take the world in,
It’s human connection we seek not a username and pin.

Powerful men abused their position of wealth and fame,
Spitzer, Sanford, and now Tiger are just a few by name.

Slumdog swept the Oscars and Beyonce could do no wrong,
She even serenaded the first couple with the gift of song.

Conan moved to The Tonight Show and Leno’s program is a TV crime,
But Letterman’s confession made for the best late night TV in quite some time.

NCIS surged to the top of the ratings, who knew anyone was watchin,
But I’ll take 30 Rock, HGTV, and Top Chef, especially while noshin!

Though uneven, there’s no denying the great talents in Glee,
But the best new show hands down is Modern Family.

Comebacks were made, none more dramatic than Britney,
And it was great to see the return of original diva, Whitney.

Adam Lambert stole Idol and they bid farewell to Paula Abdul
Lady Gaga showed her poker face and to Taylor Swift Kanye was cruel.

Susan Boyle proved stardom can come anytime, anyhow,
Though it does help when you’re friends with Simon Cowell.

Rihanna fought back with a hit album, poise, and a lot of class,
While Chris Brown continued to look like a complete jack ass.

With Love is the Answer, my Barbra opened at Number One
And the Black Eyed Peas had a feeling and everyone had fun.

2009 saw lots of movies – some a Cheer, some a Yawn.
I love being a Variety VIP, thanks to my dear friend Dawn.

Clooney travelled Up in the Air and totally soared,
While Clint went to South Africa and completely bored.

Pixar once again UPed their game,
And Precious lived up to her valuable name.

For me, no film this year was as sizzling as Nine,
With that incredible cast can you imagine anything as fine.

Meryl proved she can do anything and Carey Mulligan became a star,
Bradley Cooper got hungover and James Cameron gave us Avatar.

Old friends returned such as Harry Potter, Transformers, and the Star Trek crew,
Not to mention Sandra Bullock and Wolverine with my guy Hugh.

According to best seller’s lists, tell all books became a big fad,
Agassi, Kathy Griffin, and Mackenzie Phillips, who wrote too much about her dad.

2009 brought so many tragic iconic losses, figures we hold so high.
Leaders of their fields, idols to which it is hard to say Good-bye.

Natasha Richardson, Karl Malden, Les Paul, man of the guitar
Danny Gans, Ed McMahon, Patrick Swayze, a brave superstar.

Ricardo Montalban, Ron Silver, Mary Travers, a singing pearl
John Hughes, DJ AM, and Bea Arthur, a true Golden Girl.

With Army Archerd, Variety lost a writer of dignity and might,
And that’s the way it is for the great man Walter Cronkite.

On June 25th, two industry giants took their leave
And the world came together to mourn and grieve.

Farrah Fawcett became a real angel as she lost her valiant fight,
And This Is It for Michael Jackson, to whom we said Good night.

As we look in the rearview mirror at this tumultuous year,
Think about the moments that brought laughter and perhaps a tear.

For these are the memories that must be cherished as we enter 2010,
With love, compassion, and respect we can tackle whatever happens then.

And always we have Hope to help us climb to the light,
Keeping the faith makes every dark moment oh so bright.




Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for the New Year!


Kirk Vichengrad
actndir@aol.com