Now that 2008 is winding down, we realize that a lot has happened in pop culture this year. Some pop culture phenomena were rather awesome, like the launching of The Frisky and Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin impersonations, but others were rather annoying or dreadful. So after the jump, our list of the 10 pop culture phenomenons we hope don’t repeat in 2009 (in no particular order).

1. The Staged Celebrity Photo Op: If Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt stopped posing for “random” photos, the world would forget about them and would, therefore, be a better place. Paparazzo Adnan Ghalib was also guilty of this, except he threw Britney Spears to the paparazzi lions. Also, we’re sick of celebs selling photos of their babies. They should either allow the mags to photograph the babies for free or donate all the proceeds to charity. We’re talking to you J.Lo.
2. The Celeb Scowl: What exactly do they have to be angry about? If their photos didn’t fetch thousands of dollars, then that would mean they were irrelevant. Yeah, we know being followed constantly is annoying, but grin and bear it. We’re calling Jessica Biel, Victoria Beckham, and Jessica “MiserAlba” out for this one.
3. Celebs Copying Celebs: Christina Aguilera’s new look appears to have been lifted from Lady Gaga, but Xtina isn’t the only celebrity image thief. With all the fashion stylists just waiting for their big break, we know there are more unique looks to be explored.
4. Crocs In Any Form: Once again, we reiterate: “Crocs are effing ugly!” It doesn’t matter if they’re sherpa-lined, boots, slip-ons, or the oh-so-feminine Mary Jane style. No one, besides fishermen, and maybe gardeners, should wear Crocs.
5. Abstinence Preaching, Instead Of Comprehensive Sex Education: This year we witnessed two very high-profile teenage pregnancies: Jamie Lynn Spears and Bristol Palin. We think both of these situations could have been avoided if both women received proper sex education and had access to contraceptives. It’s no surprise that teens have sex, so it’s about time we equip them with the info to avoid unwanted pregnancies and the spread of disease.
6. Ringback Tones: These tones are almost as annoying as music on a voicemail message. If we wanted to listen to music, then we’d turn on our iPods, instead of making a call.
7. Pre-Teen/Teen Madness: There are people who really love Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers, although we don’t know any. And some of us really enjoyed “Twilight,” but we think the fan pandemonium surrounding these phenomena is ridiculous. It’s perfectly okay to be a fan, but it’s not okay to go bat s#&t crazy.
8. Fake Health Woes: A mystery illness forced Janet Jackson to postpone several “Rock Witchu” tour dates, but now we know that Ms. Jackson came down with a case of low ticket sales. Maybe if she evolved her sound and dance routines more people would be willing to shell out major dollars to see her.
9. Disappointing TV Shows: We willingly forgave the second season of “Heroes” because the third season sounded promising. Boy, what another let down. And on that note, we’re also really disappointed with “90210,” which had such a huge buildup and no payoff. There’s no hot guy to lust after, none of the women deserve support and the clothes suck. And they got rid of Brenda already!
10. “Flavor of Love” Spinoffs: VH1 has definitely milked this cash cow for all that it’s worth. The network launched “I Love Money,” “New York Goes to Hollywood,” “Rock of Love Charm School” and “Real Chance of Love” in 2008. We’ll admit that these shows were entertaining at times, but so are videos. We’d rather watch new episodes of “Behind the Music” and “Pop-up Video” than this fluff.