As the year has now come to a close, it’s time to look back at The Aesthetic Poetic’s most popular stories of ‘08. In case you missed them the first time, here’s a list of the top 12.

1. Ilkka Halso: Museum Of Nature - Finnish artist Ilkka Halso portrays a futuristic world where nature, no longer capable of serving its natural purpose, functions as nothing more than an amusement attraction.

2. The California Academy of Sciences - The California Academy of Sciences is currently migrating 20 million specimens and 38,000 living animals to its new location in Golden Gate Park.

3. “Chinglish” In China - Recently, the F-word has been popping up on many signs leaving government officials bewildered and expats amused.

4. Carbonated Conflict - Prompted by a recent surge of prosperity in the Middle East, the giant American beverage companies have engaged in a fierce race to win the soft-drink allegiance of Arabs, especially youth.

5. Reverse Shoplifting - “Shopdropping” as it’s known, is an ongoing project in which artist Ryan Watkins-Hughes replaces the packaging of canned goods with his own artwork, and then “shopdrops” the items back onto grocery store shelves.

6. Cyclope Paris: Fixie Bike Culture - Cyclope, the city’s only shop dedicated to repairing, building and selling fixed gear bikes, is impossible to find without extremely detailed directions or a guide.

7. Photographers are Terrorists - All to often the act of snapping a couple of unsuspecting photos results in extreme violence towards the photographer.

8. The Street Jazz Hustle - In Europe, the means by which peddlers, buskers and vagrants alike hustle for dollars on the street-level is much different than in North America. When compared, European beggars are performers, fortune tellers and musicians whereas North American bums are lazy, intoxicated narco-state drones that expect you to provision their next crack rock, smack injection, or bottle of liquor like it’s your societal duty to do so.

9. Seylynn Bowl - On Saturday October 17th 1978, the district of North Vancouver opened Seylynn Skateboard Park to the public. Now in its thirtieth year, it’s the oldest surviving park in Canada.

10. Corporate Infiltration - Recent years have seen street art and its central figures become as mainstream as all over print tee shirts and French electronica.

11. San-Zhr Pods - Along the coastline of San-Zhr - a small town on the north coast of Taiwan - exists remnants of a brightly colored and futuristic looking hotel/housing development.

12. Made In Queens - Are you as hyped as I am on the sound bike scene that’s brewing in New York’s Queens borough?