Two more end of year wrap-ups in case you didn't see them already: Year in Culture [Slate] and Year in Gossip [Salon]. One phrase that keeps popping up in these types of pieces is "coming of age" which we always thought referred to our 13th birthday and becoming a man (or woman). But other things come of age too, like really techie, business things, and some countries.

Coming Of Age, 2004:
 The DVD [NYT]
Inter-generational dramas [Boston Herald]
Blogs [BBC]
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) [Tech Target]
USB flash drive [USAToday]
New Zealand capital markets [Stuff NZ]
Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs) [Yahoo Singapore]
Wireless Internet [Seattle P-I]
Botswana [All Africa]
India and China [IBD]