Need more proof of film culture’s fractured state? Twenty-three different titles grace the 30 slots on the three Top 10 lists that follow, and only two — Man on Wire and The Wrestler — appear on all three.  

Though the year in sports produced its fair share of memories, no sporting memory will obscure the hard reality of economic gloom coursing through the world in a tense 2008.  

Shit, has it really been six years since The Sundresses erupted all over the Cincinnati scene? In that time, the trio has amassed some impressive stats, including four consecutive SXSW appearances and a ton of wildly successful opening gigs and tours.  

Coming into 2008, my priority as CityBeat editor was implementing our “refreshment” project, with new features, an updated cover look, section fronts that made our opinion columns more prominent and a redesigned Web site. My priority as the organization’s lead editorial voice was to help get a Democrat elected president.  

Cincinnati doesn’t have a theater scene that compares to that of New York or Chicago or the Twin Cities. But for a city our size, we have a ton of theater. I see 60-70 local productions annually. Are there enough serious theatergoers in Greater Cincinnati to support more?  

For better or for worse, I usually end up writing most of the columns in this Living Out Loud space — and that was no different in 2008. Sometimes I think I’ll run out of things to write about, but something always happens. That something is life. If you’re living with your eyes open — or out loud — the well never really runs dry.