so it's come to this: a vox clip show

like so many others, we here at hotrod.vox.com were a vox beta tester.  we were, in fact, a beta tester as of one year ago today.  yndar invited dabysan who invited us, which we guess makes us george clooney to vox's kevin bacon.  we've come a long way in the three hundred and sixty-four days since our first post, and we owe it all to you - the patient reader we never expected.  to honor this momentous occasion, we would like first to celebrate those offerings from our core neighborhood which have offered us the most admiration and/or amusement.

we didn't know what to expect when we began this experiment, but we have had more fun than we can possibly express.  we owe it all to you;  we have the best neighborhood imaginable.

• jodi says it out loud.  good luck, jodi - we'll buy it in hardback, whatever it is.
  
• calaverde discovers "south park" and the painful innocence of butters.
• the good doctor loves puppies.
• curlysalamander visits new zealand.  we are insanely jealous.
• akaijen asks how it all began.
• michellemybelle talks about christmas vacation.  and ice cream sandwiches.
• the grumblebunny shares the MOBA website.
• soo eats some breadsticks.
• el-crunch-e-tan attempts - unsuccessfully - to defend himself.
• emma reviews the wuss-rock of belle and sebastian.
• vanna discusses chappy's dad.  and to a lesser extent: their cats, and kttd.
• and, finally, dabysan admits that we have been right all along.

and because we suppose that this retrospective wouldn't be complete without a little navel-gazing, following are the five favorite posts of our own of the year which just ended.  a top-five list is tough, indeed - and these are presented only in reverse chronological order.

• scandal rocked the insular world of karaoke to the death.
  
• comments on a simple caricature exercise shocked and horrified sister #2.
• and who can forget when the grumblebunny joined our pitiful little band?
• we offered a much needed apology to our bike.
• we reminisced about terrible concerts we have seen.