By: Haley Osborn and Anna Schneeberger

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Best Movies of 2012

1. The acclaimed musical comes to life on the big screen, where emotion, adventure and redemption touches the hearts of every person who experiences this phenomenal adaptation of Les Miserables.
2. Argo, the portrayal of the rescue of six United State citizens who escaped the United States embassy in Iran during the Iranian Revolution in the 1970s. An adventurous movie that leaves the audience on the edge of their seat, awaiting to find out whether this secret mission is successful or ends in utter disaster.
3. Batman embarks on his epic last battle to save Gotham City from the forces of evil. The Dark Knight Rises shows Batman’s inner battle with himself to find the strength to put an end to the evil in the world around him, even if it means sacrificing himself.  
4. Django Unchained brings the audience on a journey of a freed slaves’ objective to retrieve his wife, who is still captive to the chains of slavery, from the hands of a Mississippi plantation owner.
5. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey shows us a younger, adventurous hobbit of Bilbo Baggins who sets out on a journey with a group of dwarfs to regain their mountain which was captured by a dragon named Smaug.
6. Beasts of the Southern Wild depicts the story of a young girl named Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis) who when her father contracts a rare disease, has to muster up courage and remember the fierce love her father has for her to try to find her long, lost mother.
7. When a young man is a part of a disaster at sea, he is thrown into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. He is completely alone, except for one lone companion, a Bengal Tiger. The Life of Pi brings this epic adventure alive and sends the audience into the discoveries made along his journey.
8. Lincoln takes the story of Abraham Lincoln choosing to emancipate the slaves to the big screen. It portrays his inner conflict and the conflict within the United States government as to whether or not the emancipation of the slaves should be passed.
9. Amour is the story of two retired music teachers whose love is tested and their lives are turned upside down when the women has a heart-attack. Also, nominated for multiple Academy Awards it shows the essence of true love and the meaning of  “for better or worse.”
10. After spending time in a mental institution, Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper) goes home to live with his parents and attempt to reconcile with his ex-wife. But his plan gets thrown into disarray when he meets a local girl with problems of her own. Silver Linings Playbook is nominated for multiple Academy Awards including Best Actor and Best Actress.

Best Moments of 2012

1. World famous British pop-artist ADELE won 6 Grammys: Album of the Year, Pop Vocal Album, Best Pop Solo Vocal Performance, Short Form Music Video, Record of the Year and Song of the Year
2. Twelve years ago in Australia, a gangly fifteen year old began the journey of a lifetime. Michael Phelps was the youngest Olympic swimmer at the Olympic Games in 68 years when he competed in the Australian Olympics. After his outstanding performances in Athens and Beijing, Phelps returned to the Olympic pool to finish out his swimming career. With a total of four gold medals and two silver medals at the London games, Phelps became the greatest Olympian of all-time with a total of 22 career medals.  
3. Every four years, the United States faces serious political tension as we elect a new president. This year tensions were heightened as Mitt Romney, a controversially political figure, ran against the current president, Barack Obama. As November 8, 2012 approached no one could really predict who was going to be giving their inaugural address. When the polls closed, the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama, came away with the victory.
4. December 21, 2012 the day which will go down in infamy as the day at which the ancient Mayan calendar ended. It was the day that people expected the apocalypse, but it held no weight as the day came and went without even the smallest event.
5. Colorado blood through and through, this four-time Olympic gold medalist is just seventeen years old. Missy Franklin not only has gold medals, but holds the world record in the 200 meter backstroke and is an enormous asset to the USA Swimming team.
6. In the prelims of the all-around gymnastic competition, the USA gymnastics team was expected to have multiple contenders for the gold. But when the gold medal favorite from the USA team did not make it back for finals, it was time for the three USA gymnasts to step up their game. Gabby Douglas did just that and ended up taking home the all-around gold along with multiple individual event medals.
7. The fastest man alive made history again as he won gold in both the 100 meter and 200 meter sprints at the 2012 London Olympics. Usain Bolt is known around the world as the fastest man ever to live and to hold back-to-back gold medals in the 100 meter and 200 meter sprints.
8. Oscar Pistorious proved to the world that just because a person has been labeled with a disability does not mean that they are cannot compete with the greatest athletes in the world. With two prosthetic legs, Pistorious became an inspiration not only for his home country of South Africa, but to athletes all around the world.
9. Allyson Felix, Tianna Madison, Bianca Knight and Carmelita Jeter shatter the world record in the women’s 4X100 meter relay and bring the gold medal back to the United States for the first time since 1996.
10. When a Saudi Arabian woman was allowed to compete for the first time in this year Olympics, she proved to the world and to the Middle East that women are just as capable to compete on a world-level as men are.

Fashion Trends of 2012

1. Lace: Lace took on a whole new look as a prominent style not only as an overlay on dresses, but as lace, see-through tops which became the style to wear with a stylish bandeau (for those who have confidence in their body), or a simpler camisole and skin style.
2. Crop Tops: It’s the reincarnation of what were once dubbed as “belly-button shirts.” But now instead of tying the two corners of the shirt together in the front, they were created to land right along the waist, no tie needed.
3. Metallic: Nails, a girls most wearable accessory. Some like it bright and neon, but this year bright and neon took a turn to a more retro metallic, flaunting those so nicely painted nails with just a hint of razzle dazzle. 
4. Super high-waisted pants: Goodbye muffin tops and hello to a pair of pants which flatter those with high waists. Reaching above the hips and instead landing on to the waist these pants encouraged tucked in shirts and a nice pair of high heels to top off this glamorous and chic outfit.
5. Beanies: Not just a way to cover the head when it’s cold, but a style statement that brings together the words hip and ster.
6. Semi-sheer skirts: Sometimes just a regular skirt doesn’t cut it, with semi-sheer skirts a shorter base color are overlaid with gauze, sheer fabric of sorts. They are flouncy and have more movement and motion available to them. 
7. Party Skirts: They aren’t just a regular skirt; they bring together a solid color base with an overlay of lace or some sort of pattern. Perfect for any occasion that requires a bit of dressier style.
8. Prints: Leopard, flowers, zebra the list goes on and on, this year was the year for prints. Everything from pants, shirts, blazers, sweaters could be found in any type of print.
9. Peplum: The midsection always proves a problem when finding clothing which looks and lays right. With the introduction of peplum, which is the flaring of fabric along the bra line, clothing took on a more retro, older style.
10. Luxe Sweatshirts: A new take on the style of sweatshirts, these sweatshirts are created with graphic prints and other luxurious embellishments. Both stylish and comfortable these sweats add a new sense of style to original sweatshirts.

Top Songs:

1. Call Me Maybe: This poppy, up-beat song by the Canadian star, Carly Rae Jepsen blew up the charts in early spring of 2012. There are tons of spoofs on this song, including my personal favorite “Join Us Maybe” made by Key Club. Also, did you know that Carly Rae Jepsen is 27 years old? Crazy.
2. Somebody That I Used to Know: Here’s some trivia for you: what is the singer of Somebody That I Used to Know, Gotye’s, real name? It’s Wouter “Wally” De Backer. No wonder he uses Gotye. This alternative rock song became popular in late spring and stayed hot throughout the summer.
3. We Are Young burned brighter than the sun this year and also introduced the band Fun., which was previously known as The Format. This group had an amazing 2012 with two singles that reached number one and six Grammy nominations.
4. Payphone – The biggest hit for Maroon 5 in 2012 was “Payphone” which led to the bands revival with two follow up singles, “One More Night” and “Daylight” which are both doing well in the charts right now.
5. Starships – Released on Valentine’s Day, this song by Trinidad-born Nicki Minaj, originally born as Onika Maraj, quickly became a popular summer beat. Right now Minaj is currently in the charts with Justin Bieber’s hit, “Beauty and the Beat” and is a judge on American Idol.
6. What Makes You Beautiful – The newest boy-band from the British version of the X-Factor, came onto the scene with this song about accepting your beauty. The fact that this band is made-up of five attractive English boys also helps with the popularity of the band and this song.
7. Boyfriend – Justin Bieber switched up his style in 2012 with rapping and club beats. His song “Boyfriend” is quite different from his past songs like “Baby” and “Somebody to Love”, but apparently the Bieber Fever is still contagious, as this was the seventh popular song of 2012.
8. Ho Hey – This Denver-based, folk-rock band made their musical debut with their single “Ho Hey”. They have had a very successful year and The Lumineers were Grammy nominated for best new artist and best American album.
9. Never Getting Back Together – Taylor Swift is back and is whiny as ever. Her big hit of 2012 kissed Taylor’s country roots good-bye with this poppy song about telling her on and off boyfriend that enough is enough, they are never going to get back together.
10. Gangam Style – Korean artist, Psy, not only took over the YouTube chart, he also tore through the music charts. With over one billion hits on YouTube and a dance that goes with it, it is apparent why this song swept through the United States. 

The Saddest Moments of 2012

1. The Sandy Hook Elementary shooting: On December 14^th, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut, 20-year-old Adam Lanza busted into Sandy Hook Elementary School and tragically murdered 20 children and 5 adults, before shooting himself. Earlier that morning, Lanza had shot and killed his mother at their house. This shooting led to new gun laws in the state of New York and nation-wide with Obama’s executive orders.
2. Hurricane Sandy: In late October, the “superstorm” Sandy raged through the east coast. The storm left a path of wreckage from wiping part of Atlantic City away in New Jersey, to flooding New York’s subway system, to massive power outages. The damage repair is estimated to cost $50 billion and killed 90 Americans.
3. Aurora Theater Shooting: On July 20, suspected gunman James Holmes broke into a midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises” and started shooting. With 12 deaths and 58 wounded people, this event was one of the bloodiest in recent history. James Holmes is still on trial for this crime. 
4. Trayvon Martin: In Sandford, Florida in February, George Zimmerman was on duty as a neighborhood watch volunteer when he saw 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman got out of his car and got in a fight with Martin. Zimmerman eventually shot and killed Martin claiming it was “self-defense”. The parents of Martin started fighting for an investigation after revealing that Martin was unarmed. After trying Zimmerman, he was found guilty of second-degree murder for the death of Trayvon Martin.
5. Wildfires: After an extremely dry winter, fires in Colorado raged in the summer months leading to the evacuation of at least 34,500 residents. Some especially brutal fires were the Waldo Canyon Fire near Colorado Springs and the High Park Fire which occurred west of Fort Collins.
6. Nanny stabbing in NY: In October, New York mother came home to her apartment to find her two children Lucia (6) and Leo (1) in the bathroom stabbed to death. She later found the nanny, Yoselyn Ortega, nearby who seemed to have self-inflicted knife wounds. Ortega pleaded not guilty.
7. Syrian Civil war: At the beginning of the year Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad refuses to give up his control to the Syrian National Coalition, causing a full fledge civil war. It is said that over 40,000 people have died because of this conflict already.
8. Costa Concordia: On the evening of January 14^th, the cruise ship Costa Concordia ran aground among the rocky coastline of the Mediterranean. The following day the ship began sinking and in all, 32 people died. The captain of the 4200 passenger ship, Francesco Schettino was charged for manslaughter.
9. Libya Terrorist Attack: On the 11^th anniversary of September 11^th terrorist attacks, four Americans were killed in Benghazi, Libya. All four of the American worked at the consulate there in Libya and two were ex-Navy SEALS.
10. Jessica Ridgeway murder: On the morning of October 5^th, Jessica Ridgeway (10) walked to school and was never heard from again. A few days later the bodily remains that were found nine miles from Ridgeway’s home were identified as hers. The suspected killer, 18-year-old Austin Sigg confessed to his mother and is charged with four counts of murder, two counts of kidnapping, a count of sexual assault on a child, and robbery. 

Most Popular YouTube Videos:

1. Psy – Gangam Style – It’s no surprise that the music video for Gangam Style is the number one music video of 2012. Since its’ release 6 months ago, this video has grossed around 1,220,000,000 views; making it the most-watched video of all time on YouTube. 
2. Somebody That I Used to Know – Walk Off the Earth Gotye Cover – This Canadian covered this famous song is an unconventional way: they had all five of their band members play on one guitar. This unusual method got their cover to about 144 million views. 
3. Kony 2012 – March was the month when Kony became a nationwide concern. This 30 minute mini-documentary discusses the child armies of Africa and gives Americans the opportunity to help out. This touching video got about 96 million hits. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc
4. Call Me Maybe featuring Justin Bieber, Ashley Tisdale, Selena Gomez, AND MORE – This group of celebrities, as well as some of their friends, got this video of them singing and dancing to Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” to 57 million views. This very video spawned other people to create their own videos of them jamming out to this song. 
5. Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney – Epic Rap Battles of History Season 2 – During the November election, Epic Rap Battles created a rap between the two candidates. Highlights: the Obama impersonator’s take of the presidents voice and trying to see a white guy rap. This political rap raked in 53 Million views. 
6. A Dramatic Surprise on a Quiet Square – When the TV channel first premiered in Belgium earlier this year, they came up with one of the most popular ads of 2012. The premise is that there is a button and if you push it, it will create a little drama. The ad is full of fights, gun fights, girls in bikinis on motorcycles, and many other dramatics. This advertisement received 42 million views. 
7. Why You Asking All Them Questions. #fchw – Emmanuel Hudson and Spoken Reasons team up to create a rap about nagging women that ask a lot of questions to their significant others. This amusing video reached 42 million views. 
8. Dubstep Violin Original – Lindsey Stirling – Crystallize – Lindsey Stirling mixed two different musical types into one unexpected, unique masterpiece. Stirling mixes her love of violin with dubstep to create a distinct music experience. Stirling’s one-of-a-kind style got her 44 million hits. 
9. Facebook Parenting: For the Troubled Teen – After his 15-year-old daughter wrote a disrespectful Facebook post about how her parents work her too hard and give her too many chores, Tommy Jordan replies with his views on her punishment. He first reads the post out loud and explains do the daughter why she was in the wrong. This video grossed 36 million views. 
10. Felix Baumgartner’s supersonic freefall from 128k’ – Mission Highlights – In October of 2012, Felix Baumgartner recorded himself breaking the world record for highest freefall and highest manned balloon flight. In a helium balloon, Baumgartner rose 39,045 meters before making his descent. At his fastest, Baumgartner reached a speed of 833mph. His heart-pumping fall has 32 million hits.