By the time I click on "Publish", 2016 will have already arrived in some parts of the world. Without further ado, I bring you...

The Top 15 Things That Were Trending in 2015

15. Selfie sticks (note to seniors: they don't double as one of those grabber thingys)

14. "Back To The Future's" prediction about the Cubs winning the World Series not coming true this year (which explains that that curse is all about the "B's")

13. The feature film version of "Jem And The Holograms" (Man, that movie sucked. It just plain sucked. I've seen movies that suck before but that was the suckiest bunch of sucks that ever sucked! Sorry; back to this damn wiener list)

12. The sharks during Katy Perry's Super Bowl halftime show (they were there so they wouldn't get fined)

11. Ariana Grande caught licking a donut (somebody should just lick her face!)

10. Me winning big money at the casinos in June (had to put it in there)

9 (making her 17th consecutive appearance!!!). Britney Spears (she extended her Vegas stint by two more years and has been working on a new album...oh, Britney keeps getting better year after year after year after year after year after year after year...I could go on for a few more times!)

8. Lebron James's and Lenny Kravitz's full-frontal wardrobe malfunctions (keep them away!!!)

7. Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" music video (proving she still has "The Right Stuff" (referring to the movie, not the New Kids On the Block song))

6. "Empire" (because we loved tuning in on Wednesdays to see how the Cookie crumbles)

5. Periscope (aka Big Brother on steroids)

4. "Jurassic World" and "Star Wars" (two of the year's most anticipated movies scoring record opening weekend grosses. I'd rather go with the dinosaurs)

3. Caitlyn Jenner (no explanation needed)

2. The royal baby who ran in the Kentucky Derby then hopping on a flight to fight Mayweather and Pacquiao on the same day (Ronda Rousey, you met your match)

And the #1 thing that was trending in 2015 which will continue in 2016:

1. The presidential election (I'll be casting my vote for Not Donald Trump!)

And that's the AllenBlog's 2015 Year In Review.

Also, this is my last full blog after ten years. Yes, blogs like this one was a big deal in the mid-2000's, but the explosion of social media (especially with Periscope) has made it moot.

As with my annual Sexiest Woman of the Year poll, which I already ended this year after 15 years, the AllenBlog also originated in Fairbanks, Alaska where there was very little material. But since relocating to Atlanta a couple years ago, I would have an unlimited number of resources for me to consume, and other things in my life have led me to cutting back on doing the blog.

But of course, I won't be going away anytime soon, so is this blog. I will still do those mini-blogs on occasion, which will be about a single topic instead of multiple ones (which took up a lot of time). So yes, there will be much more of me in the months, perhaps years, to come.

Until I have something else to say...so long stay strong, God bless, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Part 2: Entertainment and Pop Culture

From "Star Wars" to "Jurassic World"; from "Empire"s and another royal baby being born to a former Olympic gold medalist telling the world, "Call me Caitlyn"; and from saying "Hello" again to Adele to bidding David Letterman adieu...2015 in the world of pop culture had us whipping and nae-naeing on Periscope!

It was a lackluster 87th Academy Awards to say the least; favorite "Boyhood" was expected to walk away with a few Oscars but won only one (Supporting Actress for Patricia Arquette). The two they were gunning for, Best Director and Picture, both went to "Birdman" instead, while Eddie Redmayne picked up Best Actor for "The Theory of Everything" and Julianne Moore finally collected her first Oscar in the form of Best Actress ("Still Alice"). Why lackluster, you ask? Host Neil Patrick Harris failed to capture the same kind of ratings magic Ellen DeGeneres left behind last year, though he would later redeem himself with NBC's "Best Time Ever".

While we're sticking with movies...this year we had two mega-hits, several regular hits, and many misses. "Jurassic World" literally owned the summer box office, as it grossed $208 million in its opening weekend. But that all-time record would be short-lived, as the wait for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" was really worth it, just earning $40 million more to eclipse the dinosaurs; as of publish time, it has quickly surpassed the $1 billion mark.

"Magic Mike XXL", "Straight Outta Compton", "The Hunger Games Mocking Jay: Part 2", "Minions", "The Martian", "Avengers: Age of Ultron" (opened on the same mega-weekend as the birth of the royal baby, Kentucky Derby, and Mayweather-Pacquiao), "Spectre", "Fifty Shades of Grey", and "Furious 7" were among the many regular hits that attracted casual moviegoers; while Helen Mirren in "Woman in Gold", Julianne Moore in "Freeheld", Eddie Redmayne in "The Danish Girl", and Jennifer Lawrence in "Joy" had some of them sending a clear message to the Oscar voters: "For your consideration."

And there were many moviegoers going, "What the (expletive) was that?!" in response to "Rock the Kashbah", "Our Brand is Crisis" (which may or may have not doomed Sandra Bullock's career fresh off of "Minions"), "Pan", "Fantastic Four", and what I think is perhaps the biggest steaming pile of turd since "Howard The Duck" almost 30 years ago: "Jem and the Holograms" (both films were by Universal)!

"Modern Family's" long streak was snapped at the 57th Primetime Emmys, as HBO's "Veep" walked away with Comedy Series with "Game of Thrones" claming Drama Series. Jon Hamm finally winning for AMC's "Mad Men" was the ultimate closer to the former Emmy darling, while "How To Get Away With Murder's" Viola Davis became the first African-American Outstanding Actress-Drama recipient. 

Other 2015 television highlights include David Letterman hanging it up after 35 years with Stephen Colbert inheriting the Ed Sullivan Theater, HBO (back to them again) to be the new home for "Sesame Street", Fox about to say goodbye to former ratings dynamo "American Idol" while saying hello to new powerhouse "Empire", Jon Stewart passing "The Daily Show" fake anchor desk to Trevor Noah, Brian Williams's pack of lies that cost him his "NBC Nightly News" job (Lester Holt would assume it while Williams would be demoted to MSNBC), Lady Gaga injecting new life to the ailing "American Horror Story", and Steve Harvey's Miss Universe flub as the franchise changed owners (Donald Trump to IMG). Among the new shows: "Supergirl", "Blindspot", "Agent X", "Life in Pieces", and "Quantico" (introducing Indian actress Priyanka Chopra to the western world) filled up our DVRs; the aforementioned "Best Time Ever" lasted a few episodes longer than "Knock Knock Live"; and "Wicked City" crashed and burned.

In music, all ears were on Adele in her first album since becoming a mom and that tickets to her upcoming tour next year were all but gone within seconds. In its first two weeks of release, "25" sold more than 1 million copies in the U.S., even though it came a little too late for Grammy consideration this year (oh, just wait till 2017). Taylor Swift's "1989 World Tour" packed venues with surprise special guests in every show, from the U.S. women's soccer team to Selena Gomez, one of the many co-stars in her "Bad Blood" video. In addition, there were new tunes by The Weeknd, One Direction (minus Zayn Malik, who suddenly quit the group this year to millions of girls bawling in their pillows and on social media), Carrie Underwood, and Selena Gomez among others. 

20 years after the death of Jerry Garcia, the remaining surviving members of the Grateful Dead played their last ever shows together in Chicago in July; three of them would still be touring as Dead and Co. with John Mayer as Garcia. The terror attacks in Paris catapulted the little-known Eagles of Death Metal into the spotlight; the following month, the band returned to Paris, this time joining U2 on stage. And at the MTV Video Music Awards, while verbal fisticuffs were flying between Nicki Minaj and a nearly naked Miley Cyrus, Kanye West announced his 2020 presidential run.

Apple may have been on a technological tear this year with the releases of the Apple Watch, iPhone 6s, iPad Pro, and new iPod Touch (the latter one came without any fanfare); but the hot app this year was Periscope. It was like watching a never-ending episode of "Big Brother"...except that we get to see countless glimpses of the outside world live as it's happening!

Relationships came and went this year; among those that went down the aisle: Sofia Vergara and Joe Manginello, Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux, Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, Amy Adams and Darren Le Gallo, Geri Halliwell and Christian Horner, Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder, David Arquette and Christina McLarty, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden, Stephen Fry and Elliott Spencer, Daisy Fuentes and Richard Marx, and Billy Joel and Alexis Roderick. 

Then there were those that had enough of each other: Kate Beckinsale and Len Wiseman, Olivia Culpo and Nick Jonas (and later Tim Tebow), Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez, Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green, Kaley Cuoco and Ryan Sweeting, Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn, Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale, Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert, Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, and the one that nobody saw it coming: Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy!

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West may have welcomed Saint West to the world, but that (and many others) paled in comparison to what was the year's biggest celebrity baby birth: Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, born on May 2 as a kickoff to what would be the biggest 24 hours in the world of sports and pop culture (see fourth paragraph)!

The new "Star Wars" film was without question the top entertainment news story of the year, but of course, there were tons more that shared the spotlight. One of them in particular, was Bruce Jenner now Caitlyn Jenner, as the transformation from a he to a she shone a gold medal for the transgender community. Josh Duggar's sex scandal and his use of the infidelity website Ashley Madison led to the cancelation of TLC's "19 Kids and Counting", while the allegations continue to mount against Bill Cosby as more women stepped forward claiming that he was "all over" them as well. Bobbi Kristina Brown, the only child of Bobby Brown and the late Whitney Houston, was clinging on to dear life after submerging in a bathtub at her Atlanta home; she would die in July after several months in a coma. Charlie Sheen announced he contracted HIV a few years ago, while Justin Bieber was captured frolicking naked in Bora Bora. Former NBA star Lamar Odom was too in a coma for three days after being found unconscious in a Nevada brothel where he partied and took way too much drugs'; concerned for his well-being, estranged wife Khloe Kardashian shredded the divorce papers. 

With eveything that has went on, my Entertainer of the Year for 2015? Amy Schumer, and here is why: Her "Trainwreck" wasn't anything but that, becoming a box office smash (partly thanks to LeBron James, Bill Hader, Daniel Radcliffe, and WWE wrestler John Cena among the few co-stars) and putting her on the map. Then there was her Comedy Central show "Inside Amy Schumer", which claimed the inaugural Variety Sketch Series Emmy (beating the venerable "Saturday Night Live", which she hosted to spectacular ratings); her HBO special taped at the Apollo Theater; and of course, a sold-out comedy tour. Oh, not to mention being BFFs with Jennifer Lawrence.

What's in the horizon for 2016? It could be deja vu at the Oscars as far as Eddie Redmayne and Julianne Moore are concerned, while "The Angry Birds Movie", "Independence Day" Resurgence", and the all-female "Ghostbusters" starring Kristen Wiig are expected to collect millions at the box office. Whatever else happens, we'll be keeping our eyes peeled.

Tomorrow...we conclude with the Top 15 Things That Were Trending in 2015, and you-know-who will be on there! Also, a personal note.

What pops into our minds when we look back at 2015? Was it the series of mass shootings and terrorist attacks that had the world on edge? The "anything goes" race for the White House starring a billionaire, a former First Lady, a doctor, and several politicians? The fact that gay marriages are now official in every state in the union? The possibilities were endless in those last 52 weeks.

We started it all with a series of massacres in Baga, Nigeria initiated by the jihadist group Boko Haram, killing over 2,000. But that was just the beginning, as they would be hooking up with the mega-group ISIS, which we'll get to later. 

With a record 114.8 million viewers tuning in, the Seattle Seahawks were about to put the New England Patriots to bed in Super Bowl XLIX (making them back-to-back champions), until an interception by Malcolm Butler, uh, "deflated" those chances 28-24. A month earlier, the Ohio State Buckeyes were crowned the first national champions in the newly-created college football playoffs. But perhaps the biggest sports story of the year was 37 years in the making as American Pharoah, ridden by Victor Espinoza, captured horse racing's Triple Crown and ending that long streak.

And we had other major sports happenings besides those three: the U.S. soccer team lifting their first FIFA Women's World Cup in 16 years, Juan Pablo Montoya's second Indianapolis 500 victory lap, Duke (men's) and Connecticut (women's) the masters of their college hoops domain, the Golden State Warriors's first NBA title since Gerald Ford was president (and Jay Hammond my home state's (Alaska) governor), Serena Williams almost "slam"-ming her way into the tennis history books, the Chicago Blackhawks taking another drink out of the Stanley Cup, Britain's Tyson Fury ending Wladimir Klitschiko's reign as boxing champion, the Kansas City Royals dethroning the New York Mets for their first World Series pennant in 30 years, Holly Holm putting Ronda Rousey's UFC dominance to an end, Boston dropping out of their 2024 Olympics bid and Los Angeles back in; and on the same day as the Kentucky Derby, NBA/NHL playoffs, final day of the NFL Draft, Yankees vs. Red Sox, a NASCAR race, and the birth of a second royal baby for William and Kate (which I'll save for Part 2)...Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao in the fight of fights that was or wasn't -- depending on who you were rooting for -- worth the $100.

The U.S. Supreme Court had a monumental year themselves, as they ruled Obamacare unconstitutional and made same-sex marriage legal all over the country in a span of 24 hours (Ireland would become the first for that latter). From late April to early May, Baltimore became the latest epicenter of racial turmoil over the arrest and death of Freddie Gray; riots broke out all over the city and even a Orioles-Red Sox game had to be played with nobody but the teams and TV cameras present (as of publish time, there was a mistrial in the Gray case). Two days of flash flooding in Texas and Oklahoma claimed 17 lives, Rachel Dolezal resigned as Spokane, Wash. NAACP president over allegations about her race, Alaska and Oregon made recreational use of marijuana official, and former President Jimmy Carter announced in August he was diagnosed with brain cancer, only for the cancer to be eradicated from his body in early December.

Over 9,000 were killed in a 7.8 earthquake in April that stretched from Nepal to Bangladesh; 218 more would follow in another quake over two weeks later. After 54 years of being dormant, the U.S. embassy in Havana, Cuba and the Cuban embassy in Washington were both reopened at the same time. The U.S. experienced its worst wildfire season on record with a $1.71 billion bill and over 9.8 million acres burned, especially in California and Alaska; other fires were ablaze in Australia and Indonesia. Subway pitchman Jared Fogle would plead guilty for possession of child pornography, and Virginia TV reporter Alison Parker and her photographer Adam Ward were shot and killed live on the air by a disgruntled former employee of their station, who would later commit suicide. Pope Francis made landfall in the United States for the first time in late September; a day after his visit to Washington, House Speaker John Boehner announced he would resign and Paul Ryan of Wisconsin would take the gavel. And in north Texas, 12 were killed in a series of severe storms around Christmas

In international politics, Britain took to the polls to keep David Cameron and his Conservative Party in power for at least another five years; while in Canada, the Liberal Party (led by Justin Trudeau) ended Stephen Harper's nine-year reign. 

There were temporary streaks ending as I mentioned, and then there were life streaks that also came to an end this year: Robert Loggia; Ed Sabol; Yvonne Craig; Dick Van Patten; professional wrestlers Nick Bockwinkel, Verne Gagne, Dusty Rhodes, and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper; game show host Jim Perry; Gary Owens; Leonard Nimoy; Lesley Gore; Dusty Rhodes; Los Angeles newscaster Stan Chambers; Marty Pasetta; Betsy Palmer; Scott Weiland; gospel singer Andrae Crouch; blues legend B.B. King; James Horner, Bess Myerson, Maureen O'Hara, Patrick Macnee, Allen Toussaint, Percy Sledge, Jayne Meadows, former New York governor Mario Cuomo, Ben E. King, Christopher Lee, Stuart Scott, Paul Prudhomme, Bobbi Kristina Brown, former Harlem Globetrotter Meadowlark Lemon, and Frank Gifford.

The year's major story? Violence, especially a global wave of mass shootings and terrorist attacks, starting with the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris that left 12 dead inside the offices of the French satirical publication and "Je suis Charlie" ("I am Charlie") becoming a worldwide sign of solidarity. But the worst was far from over; in November, Islamic State militants wreaked terror all over Paris, killing 130 people in restaurants, bars, and an indoor rock concert.

Domestically, mass shootings from coast to coast dominated the news. One in particular was in Charleston, South Carolina, as a white gunman opened fire during bible study at the Emanuel A.M.E. Church, killing nine blacks including the pastor. The killer's fascination with the Confederate flag sparked debate about present-day Civil War symbols; the following month, the flag would permanently be removed from the South Carolina State House grounds. And there were others: 14 dead at a community center in San Bernadino, four Marines and a sailor in Chattanooga, a professor and eight students at an Oregon community college; and three, including an police officer, at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado.

The other biggie? The ever changing 2016 presidential race, headlined by former First Lady/New York Senator/former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Dr. Ben Carson, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, Lawrence Lessig, and several Senators (Bernie Sanders, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham) and governors (Jeb Bush, Rick Perry, Chris Christie, Lincoln Chafee, Martin O'Malley, Bobby Jindal). Everything seemed to be going well as planned...that is, until uber-billionaire Donald Trump decided to put his name into the hat, and things were about to get wild. His participation in the televised Republican debates drew record ratings for the cable news channels, while some of the names I mentioned couldn't stand the heat and let themselves out.

No doubt, the headliner maker of 2016 is guaranteed to be the presidential election itself, as Hillary Clinton wants to make all those dreams about a woman occupying the Oval Office finally become a reality...that is, if she can get past Bernie Sanders. Donald Trump may still lead the polls on the Republican side, but something tells us that we will have had enough, and that Ted Cruz will pull as many strings as possible to be that party's nominee with Trump pulling a Ross Perot and running as a third party candidate. Based on what we've seen, especially in Paris, the war against ISIS is expected to escalate even further. And yes, you have the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, as Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt could be going out in style and new legends will be born.

There's no telling what else will happen in the next 366 days; all we have to do is to count down the final seconds of the previous 365 to find out.

Next time in Part 2: A look back at the year's biggest entertainment highlights.