Top 10 Books 2008

1. Hot, Flat and Crowded - Thomas Friedman

2. The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch

3. A Mercy - Toni Morrison

4. People of the Book - Geraldine Brooks

5. The Tales of Beedle the Barb - J. K. Rowling

6. Anathem - Neal Stephenson

7. Books: A Mmemoir - Larry McMurty

8. Chagall: A Biography - Jackie Wullschlager

9. Promised Land: 13 Books that Changed America - Jay Parini

10. America: A History in Art - William Scheller

Top 10 Albums 2008

1. Viva La Vida - Coldplay

2. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

3. Rockferry - Duffy

4. To Survive - Joan As Policewoman

5. Evil Urges - My Morning Jacket

6. Konk - The Kooks

7. Fearless - Taylor Swift

8. Rook - Shearwater

9. Carried To Dust - Calexico

10. We Sing - Jason Mraz

11. Gossip In The Grain - Ray LaMontage

12. Saturday Night and Sunday Mornings - Counting Crows

January 8, 2009 — The University of Virginia offers students the best education for their money of all the nation's public universities, according to "Best Value Colleges for 2009," a ranking released today by The Princeton Review and USAToday.

Based on surveys of administrators and students at more than 650 public and private colleges and universities, The Princeton Review measured more than 30 factors in three general areas: academics, cost of attendance and financial aid. It announced its rankings of the top 50 public and private universities in today's edition of USA Today.

"Few schools can match University of Virginia’s potent combination of phenomenal faculty, intelligent students, remarkable intercollegiate sports, and extraordinary academics. Indeed, students are continually impressed by the high caliber of opportunities available to them, both within the classroom and outside it. Notably, unlike other public institutions, there doesn’t seem to be a tendency for UVA students to be lost amid the paperwork and bureaucracy. Professors are accessible and devoted; many go out of their way to ensure that students are comfortable with the material."

It continued. "UVA exerts a tremendous effort to ensure its undergraduates have access to an affordable education. Between grants, loans, work-study, and numerous scholarships, students are able to find a means of financial support." ...read full article here...

The Maryland(23-3-0) men's soccer team needed to prove twice why it was the best team in the ACC and they did just that and more Sunday, defeating North Carolina, 1-0, off a game-winner from senior Graham Zusi to capture the 2008 NCAA National Championship(College Cup) at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas.

From the onset, it appeared quite obvious that this was the third matchup between the two teams this season. North Carolina and Maryland players nearly shadowed each other for the majority of the first half, neither allowing much space to operate. UNC (15-8-1) took the first shot and corner kick of the match as well as tallying more scoring opportunities in the first 20 minutes than Maryland faced the entire semifinal Friday against St. John's, which Maryland won 1-0 on a goal, also by Graham Zsui.

The title is the third for the Maryland men's soccer program and the second in the past four seasons.

For the second year in a row, the selective Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County has been named the country's top public high school in a ranking by U.S. News & World Report.

The magazine's "gold medal list," published online this week, was developed through a formula using such variables as state test scores, student demographics and performance in college-level courses.

Jefferson's reputation has been strong for years because it selects top students from a broad pool across Northern Virginia. ...read more here...

Five states -- Massachusetts, Washington, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey -- are leading the United States' transformation into a global, entrepreneurial and knowledge- and innovation-based, or "new" economy, according to a new report released this week.

The 2008 State New Economy Index found that Mississippi and West Virginia ranked lowest among the states in making the transition to the "new economy." The other lowest-scoring states include Arkansas, Alabama and Wyoming.

The report said the new economy has taken root in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, Mountain West and Pacific regions. Fourteen of the top 20 states are in those regions. In contrast, 16 of the 20 lowest-ranking states are in the Midwest, Great Plains and Southern regions.

The index measures states' economic structures. Rather than measuring state economic performance or state economic policies, it focuses on a single question: To what degree does the structure of state economies match the ideal structure of the new economy? ...read more here