Enjoy Lists? Disagree with TIME's picks?
Comment on TIME's comprehensive look back at the year 2008 through a collection of not-so-serious Top 10 lists.
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I love your choices, but am disappointed with the layout in The List pages of the magazine. It looks as if it was hastily put together with a bunch of text boxes and 9-point font size. I had a hard time reading several lists. White space is important in information design, but I felt the pages were barren and "cheap" looking. I've always been a huge fan of Time's graphics, but lately am noticing a lack of colorful in-depth designs of the past.
The photos, usually a stand-out feature of TIME, are grey-toned,grainy,and elfin-sized. The lay-out resembles a treasure map missing that all-important "X." A new low in graphic design.
It looks like your criteria for most fuel efficient vehicles included some other criteria. Even according to Edmunds - your cited source - the Volkswagon Jetta TDI at 34mpg and the Smart ForTwo at 36mpg should have been on your list. I'm a little disapointed that it appears that whoever put this list together thinks that fuel efficiency = hybrid and/or asian and completely ignored an excellent diesel vehicle and an interesting micro alternative.
To Richard Corliss:
WHERE WAS THE DARK KNIGHT? I felt deeply insulted at the loss of an honoring to classic superhero movie THE DARK KNIGHT in the top movie list. You put the Werner Herzog filmahead if of the Dark
Knight! You put Speed Racer?! That was a deep blow to my respect for you Richard Corliss. I only hope that you can understand and identify with my opinions. I'm deeply soory if I sound too angry and I hope it is known that I respect ypur descicion though I feel utter confusion.
I find it very disheartening to see that Time's music list rewarded very little inginuity and instead chose to make a list which resembles a 16 year old's Ipod.
Overall - great lists. However, I do disagree with your list, Top 10 Bank Slogans (printed on page 51 in your December 22, 2008 issue - Volume 172 Number 25). My issue is that several of the companies inlcuded in this list are actually not banks. Lehman Brothers, World Financial Group and T Rowe Price are all securities brokers/dealers; and AIG and Nationwide are insurance companies. While this may a technicality, I am surprised that is passed your editorial team.
"Wall-E"? The scream of disbelief was enough to get my mother's attention, who was sorrowful that this film, which she had recieved an earful about after I lived through it, had been named number one movie of the year. Even more so, she was sorry that I had been reminded that it existed. Seeing "Wall-E" was like sitting through the first half of "Cast Away" twice, without an interesting inanimate object to relate to. However, the question of when I am finally relagated to a deserted wasteplanet whether I would prefer the company of a volleyball or a generic appliance in love with a gadget torn between love and her work, I will know to pack a net and Misty Mae Trainer's autobiography.
Even though the magazine mentioned a few "not-so-serious" Top 10 lists were included, I didn't expect Richard Corliss' "contribution" to be THAT over-the-top. Seriously, to only mention "The Dark Knight" in passing while including "SPEED RACER" in the list is evidence of either Corliss' ingenuity or complete lack of artistic taste. Other disappointments: the top 10 songs, the top ten most fuel-efficient vehicles, the top ten "bank" slogans, and, as another reader pointed out earlier, the layout of the entire article.
Love your top ten lists but you forgot to have the top ten readers who can read that tiny print without hauling out a magnifying glass!
Surely Randy Paush's The Last Lecture should be in the top ten. The Last Lecture is a testament to the indomitable spirit in all of us, facing the reckless abandon of an uncertain economic future, let alone frankly exploring our own mortality. Paush's legacy can be found in the many good-faith missions that abound this holiday season; his message of living each moment and caring for each other rather than our stuff goes a long way to more humanely managing our priorities.
And if nothing else, his book constructs a bridge spanning the literacy gap from Eclipse to Outliers, giving us all something to read and discuss as a family – certainly that deserves a nod from the Top Ten.
3 of the most egregious RIP OFFS of the American public:
1. Red Light Cameras
2. Converter boxes on televsion sets
3. Price of gasoline almost all of 2008
BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU
There are more and more of the cameras being installed at intersections ostensibly to catch speeders and red light violators. I have a feeling this is a money maker and not entirely an attempt to thwart speeders or red light violators. There are two in Grand Terrace and several in Loma Linda, San Bernardino, Riverside and Redlands. Five are planned for Ontario. I do not know of any human being that drives that does not make an occasional mistake. I know of no driver who is a perfect driver. I am certainly not one. I may be exhibiting sour grapes. I was driving south on Mt. Vernon Ave. in Grand Terrace and came to Barton Rd. , to the intersection planning to turn right but the light was yellow and as I punched the accelerator the light turned red and the cameras caught me.
Was it really worth a $390 fine? Not to mention the time lost going to court to try for a reduction. Did the judge ask me to explain? Not a word. His only statement was whether or not I wanted to go to traffic school ($50). I said “Yes”
Thinking perhaps I could learn how to avoid this violation in the future. Another two hours trying to decipher the lessons. The reduction was $100 but with the $50 charge for school the amount of the fine was $340. What would they have done to me if I had been broke, put me in jail?
Loma Linda in its infinite wisdom has also decided that it is okay to fine anyone smoking in Loma Linda. Is Loma Linda offering free help for people who want to stop smoking? They want to make Loma Linda smoke free, even on public roads. I don't know if this will make the money for Loma Linda that the cameras do but it might . I have not smoked in 25 years. It was the most difficult thing I ever did but the best for my lungs. But can we be judge and jury on the poor smoker? Isn't his nicotine addiction enough of a burden for him?
Someone somewhere decided without my permission or yours that we will need a converter box for our television sets that do not have digital or high definition capabilities. I am told by the experts that our reception will be so much better that we will be delighted. What about those who cannot really afford the cost of the box? You can apply for a reduction but the box will probably cost about $20.00 even with the reduced rate.
We are having to give up more and more freedoms. Are these deficits justified? I love my country. I happen to know from experience that it is the best country in the world to live in. But Folks, what is wrong with this picture? Big Brother lurks, doesn't he? I am reminded of an essay written about responsibility and it went something like this: Generally speaking we are responsible for the consequences of our actions. I knew when I hit the intersection that the yellow light did not mean to speed up. It actually means caution.
I would just like to know how you expect my 40+ eyes to read some of the lists in your magazine. There was no way for me to read Top 10 List of Lists, Top 10 strange baby names, Top 10 fastest growing jobs, or Top 10 Financial Meltdowns with out a magnifying glass. You really should look at your reading demographic when setting your type so small. I think you have more older readers than the 20 somethings that can read that small type. Other than that, I loved the lists! Sue Temple
I'm really disappointed that Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight was not on the Top 10 Movies. I'm not saying it should have been first, but it should have at least been on the list. Raking in $155.34 million in its first weekend, The Dark Knight has delivered the best weekend box office opening ever, beating Spider-Man 3, with $151 million. Speed Racer, for example, brought in an estimated $20.2 million its opening weekend, a disastrous sum for a movie that cost well in excess of $100 million. The Dark Knight also beat Time's number one: Wall-E's $63.088 million opening weekend gross. Even if you disregard money, Dark Knight's plot was much more exciting than sitting through an hour of a robot cleaning up a dead city. Wall-E was cute, but pails in comparison to Batman.
I had my prostrate removed through my rectum in 1996 at Rex Hospital in Raleigh, NC. This left no scars. How can you say this is one of the top ten discoveries of 2008?
I really enjoyed your Top Ten olympic moments but was surprised to find that Dara Torres did not make the top ten. Considering that she is the first person in the United States to compete in 5 Olympics, is 41 and still managed to win two silver medals, without using performance-enhancing drugs, is an astounding accomplishment.
Your list of 10 things lost forever:
Polaroid instant film:
Still available at Walgreen's
One needs to read the top ten earmarks carefully.
First it is definitely slanted to be anti Republican
Second it misses the top ear marker ever. Eg the Democratid Congressman from Pennsylvania.
Last session he had over 100 Million $ in EAR MARKS
They may have been spread out but I bet there were some that would lead the list.
Let us know who the listers voted for last election?
Not sure if I can disagree with your Top 10 of everything!
I can only just about read the Top 10 Fastest Growing Jobs and Top 10 Strange Baby Names. As for the Top 10 List of Lists... it's not worth getting out the magnifying glass to read it!
What point size is that... 6 or maybe even 5!
I disagree with the list of top ten music tracks. the genres i saw were limited to the common songs that "normal" people listen to. I on the other hand listen to what some call unenjoyable noise. the Rock/Metal genres in my opinion were ignored in your lists. Take for example the band Disturbed, from there newly realesed album the song Indestructuble was nominated for an emmy. I would like people to understand that when you say that this music is "unworthy" of a simple list without even listening to it, is of a condesending nature.
(I would like to let the people who read this to know that i listen to all types of music and have looked at the subject matter intensely, and that im under 18 not out of high school, dont judge people by their age, we are all equal.)
I was saddened that nowhere in your top ten list, could we read anything about the beloved late Tim Russert. I believe we owe him this much. Thanks for allowing us to comment your Top 10.
No Dark Knight in the top 10 movie list? C'mon, man! I can agree with most of the titles (why in the heck is Speed Racer on this list!?), but the exclusion of Dark Knight is criminal. The movie transcended the superhero genre. The escalating war between Batman and The Joker for the soul of a city said something that you don't see in these types of films. Iron Man, while highly entertaining, was a popcorn movie. Dark Knight had some heft to it.
As a loyal TIME reader for many, many moons (which makes me 61!), why in the world were so many of your lists in such small point size? To test our eyes? To appeal to a younger crowd? Just to be clever? I don't get it.
Rie Wilson, Shepherdstown, WV
If you honestly think that Romanian abortions are more entertaining than classic superhero movies, then I don't know what to say.
Perhaps you forgot that Amy Poheler broke up with SNL?
Sarah Palin - a Runner Up? For what, exactly? Being the biggest embarassment (after Dubya) to the US? Don't give that Stepford mutant one more minute of space.
Richard Corliss' Top 10 Movies list is quite appalling when The Dark Knight is absent and beaten by the inferior Iron Man film. Iron Man is a simple and clichéd story about an egotistical man's path to redemption by reinventing himself in a cool manner to save others. On the other hand, The Dark Knight has surpassed the origin story. It is less about gadgets and power suits and is more of a psychologically deep and tragic telling about conflicted characters who are brought low and stripped of their identity by one of the most disturbing villains in cinematic history. Batman does not gloat in the glory of his victory like Iron Man, but is a true hero who receives no praise for taking upon himself the sins of others. Clearly, Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight is a detailed masterpiece while Iron Man is but a slab of watercolor.
Were you trying to see just how small you could make the type in some of those boxes? I am very nearsighted and had to take off my glasses to read some. I cringed at the thought of some people who would have to take out magnifying glasses to read. The layout person had plenty of room to enlarge and expand the boxes into the plethora of white spaces. It looks very sloppy, hurried, and unprofessional.
And, the last two items were cut off the page of "10 Things Lost Forever." What are they?
As everybody knows the top fashion faux pas of 2008 was the memorable MICHELLE OBAMA AT THE VICTORY CELEBRATION. You can Google it.
in the print version you have 10 Things Lost Forever but I don't even see that in your online Full List (so they REALLY are lost!). In the print version the page is cut so you can barely see something printed as 9, so I'm guessing 9 and 10 are REALLY REALLY Lost Forever? I wonder how many readers noticed?
I find it odd that Ms. Britney Spears made NO lists at all. Obviously, she has made a LOT of money for all parties, newsprint included. She is also THE most popular (by search engine) celebrity many years in a row. Yet, she does not get mentioned? I feel that whoever does these "lists" has a personal dislike for the young lady and was not objective.
Instead of choosing these lists by God knows who...perhaps in the future it should be a vote by the good ole' citizens (and residents!) of the good ole' U.S.A.
Sincerely,
Anthony F Magaldi
What a miserable layout, hard to read, or follow which text goes with what graphic, or the order of the graphics - oh right, look real hard and there might be an arrow! Where is the AOL.com CD with this issue? - just kidding.
I thought Time was a magazine that got it's fact correct before publishing them, guess I was wrong.
Your Top 10 religion stories are a case in point. The church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that Mitt Romney attends and the one whose members worked to help pass Proposition 8 IS NOT the same church that had 400 children removed. Please get your facts straight before publishing next time.
Also some of your lists were so small they weren't readable.
I loved your cover story. I did not disagree with everything but definitely wanted to imput my own list. thanks for opportunity.
here they are..order not relevant.
1.) Opening ceremonies Beijing Olympics. 2.) The DNC 3.) The Walmart Trampling story 4.) The loss of George Carlin 4.) Barack Obamas election 5.) Pandora Internet Radio 6.) Hay House Internet Radio 7.) The price of Gas (CA) @ $1.65 8.) Hillary Clinton Secty of State cabinet pick 9.)Dexter on Showtime TV 10.)The Stock Market "mega rollercoaster"
I just received "The List Issue" of Time today and don't quite understand why the list of "10 Things Lost Forever" only has nine entries in it. Does anyone have a clue?
I was excited to read the list issue until I got into the list. This was one of the worst laid out articles I've ever seen. I'm not sure what was trying to be achieved, but I found the lists very difficult to read and follow. You always do such a great job with "by the numbers" and the other sections of Briefing. Too bad you fell down on the job with your list layout and attempts at humor.
Sign me a dissatisfied reader.
How serious are you when you include a Top Ten List of Lists in a type so small a reader needs to clean off the glasses and increase the lights so that a squint is effective in reading the content? Just because you have a type that small doesn't mean you should use it.
Is anyone on your graphics staff over the age of 40? Quite a few of the lists in the magazine were too small to be read.
Your layout of the Top Ten Lists should be at the dead bottom of a list of Worst Graphic Designs! I couldn't even get through all of it due to the incredibly small print, the confusing layout, and all those little lines connecting everything! Really bad! I have been reading and mostly enjoying Time for decades, but this was truly a new all-time low! I wanted to see those small drawings that appeared here and there, thinking they were probably something funny, but darned if I could see even one of them clearly! On the front cover in the upper right hand corner there is box that says, "very good, unacceptable, and chimerical." I looked up "chimerical," and here's what the dictionary said, "...unreal, impossible, absurd." And that's it in a nutshell. I don't necessarily disagree with what I could read of this article, but the layout was "unreal, impossible, absurd"! Please, never again!
While I enjoyed the top ten lists, I found myself wondering if you guys at Time could have found smaller fonts. I needed a magnifying glass to read some of the boxes!! Come on guys!!
#10 of the 10 things lost forever list is cut off. What is it, or is it actually lost forever as well?
You did the list around November, because there is no mention of Caylee's body being found, Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme and the Auto maker bailouts.
Don't you think the list should be made AFTER January 1st? If anyone looks at this years from now, the list won't be accurate at all.
I guess it's fun to make timelines about TIME's picks on TimeRime.com. This will reach a bigger audience.
Please don't use this format again. It was torture to read.
To the Editor:
I enjoyed your December 22, 2008 issue with it's Top 10 Lists of 2008. However, I was taken aback when I noticed a highly unusual cartoon which appeared on the page with the Top 10 Scandals of the year in the Top 10 Everything section. There is a cartoon of a little bird that is whispering something. An understandable image metaphor to go with the scandals section, BUT, look at the image within the bubble of what the bird is whispering!!! When I looked closely at it, and I'm not sure why it caught my eye in the first place, I realized that it is a pornographic image of two men and a woman engaged in sexual acts from the front and back! It's not that I'm offended by it, but did TIME magazine intentionally print that image, or did it slip past the editors desk as a cartoonist's prank??? I would be very interested to know!
Thanks in advance for your response
Do not post or publish this.
Most annoying thing about TIME's top ten lists? The ridiculously small font on most of them. One footnote was < 1 mm high. Space was not an issue, evidently; these tiny lists were surrounded by lots of space. Someday you 20- and 30-somethings will be over 40 (if you're lucky) and you will wish that current 20- and 30-somethings were printing things in larger fonts.
Does the print issue of Time have a death wish? Many of the Top Ten Lists could not be read without a magnifying glass. It didn't seem worth the trouble. I guess I could have read them online but I am a print oriented person. I suppose some graphic designer convinced you that it would make a really good looking page to have all of that empty space and tiny print.
I enjoyed all your lists The subjects and Times's picks were excellent, however I had to rely on a magnifying glass to read some of them. What was the purpose of the choice of the incredibly small print and pictures on a such a few amount of pages? I hope Time will repeat THE LIST for 2009.
Mary Cook
San Diego
Enjoying lists I was looking forward to taking in your collection. However, after reading the lists on the very first page, it put a damper on the entire article. HOW can you list the top 10 Financial Meltdowns without including WAMU, the largest bank ever to fail.
My favourite Top 10 list is this one of the Worst 10 Top 10 lists.
http://butidigressellipsis.blogspot.com/2008/12/top-10-stupidest-top-10-lists-of-2008.html
Nice to see someone reacting to the general "Top 10 of 2008" overload.