It was the year when mass shootings large and small in places large and small have traumatized America like never before.
The year when our president won another term for the middle class, health care, and Big Bird.
The year when women everywhere had to indulge a hot, steamy book that was more piping than a latte.
The year when "The Hunger Games", "The Avengers", and the last of the "Twilight" films left us on our seats, while "Cloud Atlas" and "John Carter" got us out of our seats.
The year when we said goodbye to the world's oldest teenager while saying hello to the world's obnoxious pre-pre-pre-pre-pre-pre-teenager.
The year when there was still evidence of life on Mars...not just the planet, but also a singer.
The year when one man made one huge memorial leap into the desert for the person who did so for all mankind.
And yes, it was the year when everybody -- including naked royals and disappointed Mayans -- kicked it Gangnam Style!
That year was 2012.
Join the AllenBlog for a look back at another twisty and turny year.
The continuation of the Arab Spring and the unrest in Syria kicked off the year, in which a change of power in Yemen as Ali Abdullah Saleh passed the torch to Abd Rabbuah Mansur Al-Hadi. But perhaps the true turning point came in September, when one little trailer for "The Innocence of Muslims" on YouTube sparked a wave of terrorist attacks at U.S. embassies worldwide; in Libya, ambassador Christopher Stephens was among the martyrs.
The New York Giants routed the New England Patriots 21-17 in Super Bowl XLIV; 111.3 million viewers made it the most-watched television broadcast ever. But the Patriots' loss proved to be one superfan's gain, which I'll save for next time.
The year's other big sports story was the Summer Olympics in London, where Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt weren't anything but rusty after Beijing. Phelps became the most-decorated Olympian ever, though he and fellow teammate Ryan Lochte fended off a challenge. Bolt, meanwhile, was still king of the track, with double amputee Oscar Pistorius of South Africa being the games's inspiration story even if he didn't medal.
In other words, those games should've been called the Women's Olympics, as gymnastics' Fierce Five (Gabby Douglas and company), Missy Franklin, and Serena Williams (to add women's tennis gold in between her Wimbledon and U.S. Open trophies) led that charge like never before. After the cauldron was snuffed out, the United States took home the most haul: 104 with 46 of them gold; host country Great Britain did extremely well too with 65 (29 golds), with Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins, Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, and Mo Farah among the contributors.
Other 2012 sports highlights include: The Los Angeles Kings' first ever Stanley Cup hoisting (though the NHL season is still in jeopardy with yet another lockout), the San Francisco Giants striking out Detroit for another World Series title, Bubba Watson Master-ful at Augusta, Dario Franchitti taking his third Indianapolis 500 checkered flag, a bounty scandal crippling the New Orleans Saints, Ernie Els kissing the British Open clarinet jug, Tim Tebow traded to the New York Jets with Peyton Manning headed to Denver, Lance Armstrong being stripped of all his seven Tour de France titles due to doping, Dallas Seavey making Iditarod history as its youngest winner ever at age 25, LeBron James and his Miami Heat bringing the NBA title back to South Beach, Kentucky and Baylor the kings and queens of college basketball, and Matt Kenseth dominating the twice-delayed Daytona 500. Also, the Penn State child sex abuse scandal reached its crescendo as after Joe Paterno's death in February, his statue would later be removed plus all 112 wins from his last 13 years were vacated. Jerry Sandusky, on the other hand, would face the ultimate consequence: 30 to 60 years behind bars.
In business and the economy, the debt crisis in Greece was still far from over, as in February, Eurozone finance ministers reached an agreement on another 130 billion Euro bailout. Over in China, the Foxconn factory where iPods, iPhones, and iPads are made were in the spotlight. And back here in the States, the auto industry once again saw sales pick up, while a bakers' strike shut down Hostess Brands. That sudden news led to supermarket shelves immediately running dry of Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Ho-Hos, and Wonder Bread, though there's word now that several companies including Wal-Mart and Kroger may give them another life after all.
In outer space, NASA's Curosity rover brought us fresh images from Mars, while Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner descended from space back to Earth in a daring jump that would make Evel Knievel proud.
Rising floodwaters in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia forced tens of thousands out of their homes in February. But that pales in comparison to the year's biggest weather story: Superstorm (or Hurricane, whichever you prefer) Sandy, which killed 209 people in its path and racked up billions of dollars in damage, especially in the hardest-hit areas of New York and New Jersey. Before that, though, Hurricane Isaac threatened the Caribbean and almost the Florida coast, while the midwest U.S. would experience the second worst drought next to the 1930's Dust Bowl.
President Obama won an additional four years at the White House, defeating former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney in what was a very tense battle for power. There were two major pre-election victories, though: The Supreme Court ruling of the Affordable Health Care Act being constitutional, and Obama standing up for same-sex marriage.
In the end, it was a series of mass murders that landed on more front pages throughout 2012. The Denver area -- and especially the country -- would be traumatized by another tragedy 13 years after Columbine when James Holmes opened fire at a packed movie theater showing "The Dark Knight Rises" in nearby Aurora, but not before he set deadly booby traps at his apartment for the police, which would be diffused. In August, a White Supremacist turned a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin into a killing field; seven were slain including a police officer before committing suicide. And in early December at the height of the holiday shopping season, two people were shot dead at a mall outside Portland, Oregon before the gunman pulled the trigger on himself.
But a couple days later, the sleepy town of Newtown, Connecticut woke up to the sound of horror as Adam Lanza killed 27 people -- 20 of them children -- and then himself at Sandy Hook Elementary School in what was the second deadliest school shooting in U.S. history behind Virginia Tech. And although it got little news at the same time, 23 were injured at a knife attack in a Chinese school; no deaths were reported.
There may have been new faces in the crowd this year, but of course, we had to bid a fond farewell to most of the old faces: Mike Wallace, jazz musician Dave Brubeck, Richard Dawson, Don Cornelius, Whitney Houston, Larry Hagman, Etta James, Maurice Sendak, Phyllis Diller, film director Tony Scott, Ernest Borgnine, Alex Karras, Donna Summer, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Sally Ride, Andy Williams, Arlen Specter, Helen Gurley Brown, Andy Griffith, game show producer Bob Stewart, George McGovern, Ray Bradbury, Davy Jones, boxer Hector "Macho" Camacho, Robin Gibb, Rodney King, Gore Vidal, Sherman Hemsley, Vidal Sassoon, Nora Ephron, Sylvia Kristel, Charles Durning, Gary Collins, Ravi Shankar, Jack Klugman, and the World's Oldest Teenager himself...Dick Clark.
What could we expect in 2013? The beginning of President Obama's next four years in office won't be the one and only highlight as right now, we're heading into a fiscal cliff. There may or may not be an NHL season after all, and Prince William and Kate will celebrate their second anniversary with a little bundle of joy. But who knows what else is going to happen in this crazy world of ours; the only way to find out is when the clock strikes midnight on January 1.
Next time when the "Year In Review" continues...2012 in pop culture.
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