The AllenBlog's
It was the year when change for America would slowly begin with a brewski summit and then trying to play health care catch-up.
The year when everybody was all a-Twitterin' while trying to find out what Mafia Wars on Facebook is.
The year when a major outbreak put Porky Pig, Miss Piggy, and the pig from "Green Acres" on edge.
The year when "Twilight: New Moon", "Paranormal Activity", and "The Hangover" had audiences going "OMG!", while "Jennifer's Body" and "Imagine That" were saying, "WTF?"
The year when an "American Idol" contestant sucked face with a guy at an awards show while a guy punched Snookie's face at a bar.
The year when the continuing recession and its side effects had America tightening its belts...and trimming their wallets.
The year when one family's homemade balloon that went awry turned out to be the longest commercial for Jiffy Pop we've ever seen.
The year when one woman stepped down as Alaska's governor, while her daughter's baby daddy stripped down to his sweet nothings.
The year when one young woman was Taylor-made for success...that is, until she got a Swift and verbal lashing.
The year when a politician almost turned a joint session of Congress speech into the "Maury Show."
The year when everybody went Gaga for "Glee."
And yes, it was the year when we said goodbye to an Angel, the King of Pop, the Most Trusted Man in America, and an actress who was once known for saying "I'll Never Tell."
That year was 2009.
Join the AllenBlog as we look back at another tumultuous year.
It was the year when change for America would slowly begin with a brewski summit and then trying to play health care catch-up.
The year when everybody was all a-Twitterin' while trying to find out what Mafia Wars on Facebook is.
The year when a major outbreak put Porky Pig, Miss Piggy, and the pig from "Green Acres" on edge.
The year when "Twilight: New Moon", "Paranormal Activity", and "The Hangover" had audiences going "OMG!", while "Jennifer's Body" and "Imagine That" were saying, "WTF?"
The year when an "American Idol" contestant sucked face with a guy at an awards show while a guy punched Snookie's face at a bar.
The year when the continuing recession and its side effects had America tightening its belts...and trimming their wallets.
The year when one family's homemade balloon that went awry turned out to be the longest commercial for Jiffy Pop we've ever seen.
The year when one woman stepped down as Alaska's governor, while her daughter's baby daddy stripped down to his sweet nothings.
The year when one young woman was Taylor-made for success...that is, until she got a Swift and verbal lashing.
The year when a politician almost turned a joint session of Congress speech into the "Maury Show."
The year when everybody went Gaga for "Glee."
And yes, it was the year when we said goodbye to an Angel, the King of Pop, the Most Trusted Man in America, and an actress who was once known for saying "I'll Never Tell."
That year was 2009.
Join the AllenBlog as we look back at another tumultuous year.
From a growing recession too impossible to control, to health care reform and Afghanistan taking center stage in the first months of the Obama administration, from the swine flu virus terrifying the world, to the social networking universe exploding like never before...forget Jon and Kate, Octomom, and Balloon Boy; there was a lot of real-life drama all throughout 2009 than those combined!
We began the year with, of course, the inauguration of Barack Obama as America's 44th President, and something that was worth waiting for for generations. The administration wasted no time going to work, with health care reform priority one and trying to pick up where Hillary Clinton left off. More about that later.
The H1NI outbreak, otherwise known as the Swine Flu Virus, was front page news worldwide this year. Beginning with Mexico, the virus would be quickly spread to the rest of the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East, making it a global pandemic. It has happened here before in 1976, but this time, it was a very serious matter as we began to cough with our sleeves and sales of hand sanitizers going through the roof.
Australia experienced the deadliest bushfires in its history in February, killing 173 and destroying 1.1 million acres. And here in the States, a series of wildfires near Los Angeles even threatened Mount Wilson, home to all of the area's main broadcasting transmitters. Other natural disasters topping the news include: a 6.3 earthquake killing 300 in Italy, a couple more earthquakes followed by a tsunami claiming thousands more lives in the South Pacific, a series of tornadoes wreaking havoc in the Midwest in May leaving many areas in ruins, and Mount Redoubt here in Alaska spewing tons of ash into the Anchorage skies.
Iran went to the polls in June, but when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected as their president, the opponents knew something was up and all hell began to break loose. In aviation, all 228 people aboard Air France flight 447 were killed; Boeing's much-anticipated (and hyped) 787 took to the skies for the first time; and what was perhaps one of most miraculous stories at the beginning of the year...everybody on board US Airways Flight 1549, thanks to the heroic efforts of captain Chelsie "Sully" Sullenberger, survived the crash on the Hudson River.
The sports world was chock full of headlines during '09. We had Brett Favre coming out of retirement (again!) and into the Minnesota Vikings, Pittsburgh briefly becoming the sports capital of the U.S. with the Steelers clinching their sixth Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl XLIII and the Penguins possessing the Stanley Cup, Helio Castroneves coming back from the dead -- the "dead" being near jailtime for tax evasion -- to win the Indianapolis 500 with Danica Patrick taking third, the Los Angeles Lakers' 15th NBA title, North Carolina and Connecticut on top of the college basketball world, Lance Mackey three-peating the Iditarod, Rio De Janeiro being awarded the 2016 Summer Olympics despite Oprah Winfrey and President Obama stumping for Chicago, and for the unprecedented 27th time and in their new home...the New York Yankees as World Series champions! Oh yeah, and the Detroit Lions finally won a game or two, while the Chicago Cubs went entered their 101st year without a World Series trophy by filing for bankruptcy.
The social networking revolution spread like wildfire this year, with Twitter and Facebook becoming the hotspots for instant interaction and reaction while MySpace was still clinging on for dear life.
The "Beer Summit" at the White House pretty much earned President Obama the Nobel Peace Prize in October. And in November, a mass shooting at Fort Hood claimed 12 lives and wounding a dozen more victims.
In other political headlines: Rod Blagojevich became the first Illinois governor to be impeached; Al Franken would be admitted to the U.S. Senate representing Minnesota after and eight-month battle between him and Norm Coleman; South Carolina congressman Joe Wilson heckled "You lie!" to President Obama during his joint session of Congress speech while their governor Mark Sanford got burned for frolicking with some Argentine mistress; and on the opposite side of the Atlantic, British political leader Nick Griffin dodged thousands of protestors to appear on the BBC's debate program "Question Time."
Prior to the Fourth of July holiday, we were treated to some unexpected fireworks as Sarah Palin announced she's stepping down as Alaska's Governor. Sean Parnell would take the reins, while Palin went to war against David Letterman over some low-brow remarks he made about daughter Bristol while even lashing out against Levi Johnston. Johnston returned the favor as only he can: by going nearly naked in "Playgirl."
The two stories that dominated much of 2009 were health care reform and the recession that rolled over into the Obama administration.
First, back to health care: All during the summer recess, our lawmakers have pushed the plan very hard at various town hall meetings...but not before they were faced with protests throughout with extra security stepping in. In November, the bill narrowly passed the House; by the time this blog gets published, it will have passed the Senate as well.
And then there was the economy, as the recession cost General Motors the Pontiac brand after 83 years, not to mention selling off Hummer and Saab plus the government buying them out. The silver linings came when the Dow Jones went back to the 10,000 mark for the first time in quite a while. In the meantime, Bernie Madoff would be sentenced to 150 years in prison for his Ponzi scheme that has took millions out of people's bank accounts.
But along with Michael Jackson (who I'll save for the "Year in Entertainment"), there have been other greats we've said goodbye to in 2009; greats like: Walter Cronkite, Farrah Fawcett, evangelist Oral Roberts, Bea Arthur, Ricardo Montablan, Ed McMahon, game show host Ken Ober, Patrick Swayze, former Alaska politicians George Sullivan and Juanita Helms, David Carradine, economist Paul Samuelson, Senator Edward Kennedy, film director John Hughes, Les Paul, Karl Malden, Dom DeLuise, John Updike, political columnist Robert Novak, Natasha Richardson, radio personality Paul Harvey, Dominick Dunne, Mary Travers (1/3 of Peter, Paul and Mary), "60 Minutes" creator Don Hewitt, infomercial pitchman Billy Mays, Army Archerd, Cincinnati Bengals player Chris Henry, and (as of publish time) Brittany Murphy. We've had more key deaths this year than any other in the 2000's.
So...what will 2010 bring to the table as we head into a new decade? Britain is expected to go to the polls, and so will us with the mid-terms and the Republicans hoping to make a comeback. The Winter Olympics return to North America with the games in Vancouver and Apolo Anton Ohno and Sasha Cohen about to take center stage once again; for Cohen, this will be her second chance at gold. The possibilities are endless; who knows what's going to happen when the ball drops at midnight on January 1.
We began the year with, of course, the inauguration of Barack Obama as America's 44th President, and something that was worth waiting for for generations. The administration wasted no time going to work, with health care reform priority one and trying to pick up where Hillary Clinton left off. More about that later.
The H1NI outbreak, otherwise known as the Swine Flu Virus, was front page news worldwide this year. Beginning with Mexico, the virus would be quickly spread to the rest of the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East, making it a global pandemic. It has happened here before in 1976, but this time, it was a very serious matter as we began to cough with our sleeves and sales of hand sanitizers going through the roof.
Australia experienced the deadliest bushfires in its history in February, killing 173 and destroying 1.1 million acres. And here in the States, a series of wildfires near Los Angeles even threatened Mount Wilson, home to all of the area's main broadcasting transmitters. Other natural disasters topping the news include: a 6.3 earthquake killing 300 in Italy, a couple more earthquakes followed by a tsunami claiming thousands more lives in the South Pacific, a series of tornadoes wreaking havoc in the Midwest in May leaving many areas in ruins, and Mount Redoubt here in Alaska spewing tons of ash into the Anchorage skies.
Iran went to the polls in June, but when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected as their president, the opponents knew something was up and all hell began to break loose. In aviation, all 228 people aboard Air France flight 447 were killed; Boeing's much-anticipated (and hyped) 787 took to the skies for the first time; and what was perhaps one of most miraculous stories at the beginning of the year...everybody on board US Airways Flight 1549, thanks to the heroic efforts of captain Chelsie "Sully" Sullenberger, survived the crash on the Hudson River.
The sports world was chock full of headlines during '09. We had Brett Favre coming out of retirement (again!) and into the Minnesota Vikings, Pittsburgh briefly becoming the sports capital of the U.S. with the Steelers clinching their sixth Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl XLIII and the Penguins possessing the Stanley Cup, Helio Castroneves coming back from the dead -- the "dead" being near jailtime for tax evasion -- to win the Indianapolis 500 with Danica Patrick taking third, the Los Angeles Lakers' 15th NBA title, North Carolina and Connecticut on top of the college basketball world, Lance Mackey three-peating the Iditarod, Rio De Janeiro being awarded the 2016 Summer Olympics despite Oprah Winfrey and President Obama stumping for Chicago, and for the unprecedented 27th time and in their new home...the New York Yankees as World Series champions! Oh yeah, and the Detroit Lions finally won a game or two, while the Chicago Cubs went entered their 101st year without a World Series trophy by filing for bankruptcy.
The social networking revolution spread like wildfire this year, with Twitter and Facebook becoming the hotspots for instant interaction and reaction while MySpace was still clinging on for dear life.
The "Beer Summit" at the White House pretty much earned President Obama the Nobel Peace Prize in October. And in November, a mass shooting at Fort Hood claimed 12 lives and wounding a dozen more victims.
In other political headlines: Rod Blagojevich became the first Illinois governor to be impeached; Al Franken would be admitted to the U.S. Senate representing Minnesota after and eight-month battle between him and Norm Coleman; South Carolina congressman Joe Wilson heckled "You lie!" to President Obama during his joint session of Congress speech while their governor Mark Sanford got burned for frolicking with some Argentine mistress; and on the opposite side of the Atlantic, British political leader Nick Griffin dodged thousands of protestors to appear on the BBC's debate program "Question Time."
Prior to the Fourth of July holiday, we were treated to some unexpected fireworks as Sarah Palin announced she's stepping down as Alaska's Governor. Sean Parnell would take the reins, while Palin went to war against David Letterman over some low-brow remarks he made about daughter Bristol while even lashing out against Levi Johnston. Johnston returned the favor as only he can: by going nearly naked in "Playgirl."
The two stories that dominated much of 2009 were health care reform and the recession that rolled over into the Obama administration.
First, back to health care: All during the summer recess, our lawmakers have pushed the plan very hard at various town hall meetings...but not before they were faced with protests throughout with extra security stepping in. In November, the bill narrowly passed the House; by the time this blog gets published, it will have passed the Senate as well.
And then there was the economy, as the recession cost General Motors the Pontiac brand after 83 years, not to mention selling off Hummer and Saab plus the government buying them out. The silver linings came when the Dow Jones went back to the 10,000 mark for the first time in quite a while. In the meantime, Bernie Madoff would be sentenced to 150 years in prison for his Ponzi scheme that has took millions out of people's bank accounts.
But along with Michael Jackson (who I'll save for the "Year in Entertainment"), there have been other greats we've said goodbye to in 2009; greats like: Walter Cronkite, Farrah Fawcett, evangelist Oral Roberts, Bea Arthur, Ricardo Montablan, Ed McMahon, game show host Ken Ober, Patrick Swayze, former Alaska politicians George Sullivan and Juanita Helms, David Carradine, economist Paul Samuelson, Senator Edward Kennedy, film director John Hughes, Les Paul, Karl Malden, Dom DeLuise, John Updike, political columnist Robert Novak, Natasha Richardson, radio personality Paul Harvey, Dominick Dunne, Mary Travers (1/3 of Peter, Paul and Mary), "60 Minutes" creator Don Hewitt, infomercial pitchman Billy Mays, Army Archerd, Cincinnati Bengals player Chris Henry, and (as of publish time) Brittany Murphy. We've had more key deaths this year than any other in the 2000's.
So...what will 2010 bring to the table as we head into a new decade? Britain is expected to go to the polls, and so will us with the mid-terms and the Republicans hoping to make a comeback. The Winter Olympics return to North America with the games in Vancouver and Apolo Anton Ohno and Sasha Cohen about to take center stage once again; for Cohen, this will be her second chance at gold. The possibilities are endless; who knows what's going to happen when the ball drops at midnight on January 1.
Next time when the "Year In Review" continues...2009's biggest entertainment/celebrity stories and scandals! So long and stay strong.
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