2008 was a year filled with ups and downs.  We laughed, we cried, and we captured it all on camera!  While 2009 promises plenty of tears—thanks to Brody Jenner’s upcoming show “Bromance,”, we must honor the whimper that was the past 12 months.  So, to commemorate those who weren’t afraid to just let it all out, here are the Best Cries Of 2008:

10. Kenley Was Finally Humbled On “Project Runway”

Project Runway’s most hatable hack, Kenley, wouldn’t even tone it down when Tim Gunn gave her a talking to, but Diane von Furstenberg was finally able to break her! Just the mere sight of the fashion icon turned Kenley into mush.  Damn, wrap dresses really do amazing things for women!

In case you live in a cave and have somehow avoided seeing images of Oprah recently, she’s put on some weight in the last couple of years: 40 pounds to be exact. In the January issue of O Magazine, out on newsstands today, Oprah opens up about her continued weight struggle in what’s become her signature way: like she’s confessing her sins — or at least her deepest vulnerabilities — to her closest confidante. “I’m embarrassed,” she writes. “I can’t believe that after all these years, all the things I know how to do, I’m still talking about my weight. I look at my thinner self and think, `How did I let this happen again?”’ 

Brad Pitt is on Oprah RIGHT NOW, but here’s the highlights of his solo interview with Miss Winfrey before his “Curious Case Of Benjamin Button” co-star, Cate Blanchett, came out. Apparently, the Jolie-Pitt kids are really bad at chewing their food and like things that smell funny. Maybe being their nanny wouldn’t be such a dream…

Jennifer Aniston’s much anticipated appearance on “Oprah” yesterday did not disappoint. She clarified the comments she made about Angelina Jolie in Vogue (that the actress did something “uncool” by implying that she and Brad Pitt fell in love while filming “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”), assured everyone that she’s in perfectly happy place, thank you very much, and that she’s totally proud of what Brad Pitt has done with his life in the last few years. She also confirmed she’s back with John Mayer, but that they are not expecting twins. Clip above! I gotta say, I really do like Jennifer Aniston—she seems smart and independent and self-assured. You don’t need to choose to be on Team Jolie or Team Aniston—I’m on both!

Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman appeared on “Oprah” yesterday to promote their epic love story “Australia”, directed by Baz Luhrman, out Thanksgiving weekend. One of the most interesting moments came when Nicole described how intently she devotes herself to portraying a love story, implying that during those moments in filming that she tries to actually feel in love with her co-star, only to drop the emotion once the camera stops. Clip above, and after the jump, the full “Australia” trailer.

A few months ago, I wrote about an article in New York magazine, in which the author, Philip Weiss, tried to explain why men cheat—the basis of his argument was that people, especially men, are not meant, biologically, to be monogamous and that men who cheat are just fulfilling their perfectly natural urges. Boo-frickin’-hoo, I said then, and reminded that if men who got married never promised to be monogamous, they wouldn’t have to cheat. Well, unfortunately, Weiss is not alone in making a career out of explaining and justifying cheating—Gary Neuman, a recent “Oprah” guest, has a theory of his own and has written a book on the subject, called “The Truth About Cheating”. He believes men cheat because they’re experiencing loneliness in their relationship or marriage, they’re seeking affirmation from other women, and are not getting enough attention at home. In other words, it’s your fault ladies! And Oprah isn’t the only person giving this guy credence—Christie Brinkley ex Peter Cook, who cheated on her with his 18-year-old assistant, has taken a page straight out of the Neuman playbook and blames Brinkley for driving him to cheat.

Space, the final frontier, is getting a new voyager and some sperm that’s outta this world! Richard Garriott, the video game visionary behind Tabula Rasa, is going to be the sixth private citizen to be sent to outer space. How’d he get so lucky? Well, he’s started a program to collect, create, and carry digital DNA and snippets of human history as a time capsule to be stored at the International Space Station. The paranoid gamer is worried androids, the apocalypse, and natural disasters could make us all extinct. His fear has inspired him to create the project, called “Operation Immortality,” to ensure a future for humanity. So who’s genetic code is he cracking? So far, brilliant comedian and well-known narcissist, Stephen Colbert, has agreed to donate, but even the average Jane can offer up her stuff too!  All you have to do is play the free trial of Tabula Rasa and your name could get selected at random to become a sample.  But if DNA seems a bit too personal, you can simply send a message to the Universe by typing a note about the 21st Century here. Mr. Garriott will be collecting information until October when his shuttle launches. So, with a month to go, we’d like to recommend a few good peeps we think the future could use…

In her 90210 rise to stardom, Shannen Doherty had it all—fame, fortune, and the most glamorous bitch face on television. Over a decade later, we’re genuinely surprised Shannen isn’t still in the public eye or happily hitched to some billionaire with a pompadour. But after being a brat and leaving the show that made her a household name, she’s still magically managed to keep her career afloat (though on life support) with made-for-TV movies and shows like Charmed. And now that she’s signed on to the new 90210, Shannen is poised again for serious stardom.  So how can she take her life to the next level now that she’s suddenly gone from D-list to C-list?  We here at The Frisky have some ideas to put this bitch back on magazine covers!

The big 4-0 maybe the new 30, but 50 and up are the new twentysomething! From their way with men to their media coverage, the only hot flashes these ladies suffer from are from the paparazzi! Just check out these celeb sex symbols:

Cher This fierce fashionista may be suiting up as Catwoman at 62! Rumor has it, she is director Christopher Nolan’s first choice to play the purring vixen in the next Batman movie.  He wants a vamp that’s adored by younger men—in this case, the younger men may be gay, but hey, she still rocks!

This week, Barack Obama is expected to announce his running mate. Who will he choose? Many of the rumored contenders are men, but a few women, including Hillary Clinton, are rumored to have been considered. We here at the Frisky would love to see Obama pick a female as his VP. So, we’ve assembled a list of the ladies we think would make for a suitable candidate-mate.

According to Star magazine, Tom Cruise really, really, really didn’t want wife Katie Holmes going to New York for three months to perform on Broadway—so he sent her to Scientology’s base in Hemet, California (known as “Gold Base”) for boot camp instead. So not as fun, right? Check out what that entailed:

“It included various tests, confession sessions, tons of reading and physically challenging purification processes,” a Scientology insider reveals. “Tom insists that auditing and purification practices are incredibly beneficial to Scientologists at all levels.”

But we’re sure all is well in the Cruise household. And if anyone is going to prove that to the entire friggin’ world with more couch-jumping antics, it’s Cruise, who appears on Oprah today. Our DVRs are SET. Stay tuned! [Star]

The cast of Sex and the City were on Oprah yesterday. It was so funny. The audience looked like a Crayola box vomited all over them, there was much, much, much screeching, and the ladies kind of played up their characters, with the possible exception of Cynthia Nixon, who really does seem over-the-moon in love with that girlfriend of hers. The cast talked about those much discussed “dream sequences” that they hyped during the filming to throw people off about the plot, but seemed to allude that maybe they weren’t so dreamy after all. The highlight for me, however, was when Chris Noth came out, because honestly? Drool.

Strange things are going to be happening on Oprah. In an upcoming show, Cher is going to reveal that she had a relationship with Tom Cruise—when he was 23 and she was 39. The Daily Mail reported that Cher told Oprah, “I was crazy about him.” She said he was an awkward young man trying to adjust to life as an up-and-coming actor (Risky Business had just been released): “He said he felt like such a boob in school and nobody talked to him.” Once a boob, always a boob, I guess. [Sydney Morning Herald]

Previously: Tom Cruise Bringing The Crazy Back To Oprah

Celebs like Oprah, Bono, Angelina Jolie, and even Jessica Simpson try to do good by backing certain causes, but according to a Harris Poll, 51 percent of Americans say celebrities make little to no difference to the issues they support. Younger people are more likely to believe famous people have a positive influence, as are Democrats. For me, it really depends who the celeb is and whether it seems as though they really care about the cause they’re touting. Remember when Paris Hilton said she wanted to “use [her] fame in a good way”? Well, now she’s supposedly hosting a dog-grooming show in the U.K. [Reuters, Washington Post, AHN]

A few weeks ago we wrote about Thomas Bettie, the Female-to-Male transgender man who’s currently six months pregnant. Yesterday, as the news of Thomas’ pregnancy spread like wildfire through the media (initially his story was reported in The Advocate, which everyone seems to be forgetting in lieu of the fact that People has jumped on it), he appeared on Oprah with his wife Nancy. It was kind of an awkward interview, honestly, because the audience had no warning and appeared flabbergasted the whole time, while Thomas and Nancy are clearly not media whores—they just want to get their story out into the public so they can go on with their lives, without scrutiny. I really do think this story is wonderful and phenomenal and give so much credit to Thomas and Nancy for being brave and telling their remarkable story. Oh, and as a side note, I totally think Thomas makes for a pretty good-lookin’ dude, but he was really hot as a woman too. Clip above.

Saying Tyra Banks is crazy is just redundant.  After all those seasons of the Surreal Life, everyone must know by now that it takes a well-crafted level of “look at me” to make it in the biz.  And in true celeb form, Tyra, the diva of drama queens, who screams all her lines like she’s getting slashed in a B horror movie, wants to be the gravitational pull of public attention. Whether she’s spooning Sherri Shepard on The View or showing off her model moves, she’s always doing something you have to watch like you’re rubbernecking a highway accident.  Unfortunately, in the media lately, she’s been made out to be a more of a car wreck than she deserves. She’s just a TV personality people! So we here at the Frisky just want to stand by our loud and proud lady.  We respect a woman, let alone a model, with a burgeoning career in her 30’s. And we’re super psyched about her new CW reality TV show which will be based on one of our fav movies The Devil Wears Prada.  So go on with your so bad it’s good self Ty Ty, we’ll be watching you compete in America’s Next Top Oprah!