Holiday Post 2012: What the heck happened in 2012?

I have to say that the last year had a bit of everything from some noble moments to moments that basically reached new heights in stupidity, lack of compassion and empathy, and other generally bad behavior. But there were some amusing things as well. Now, most people look to the news to get the usual "end of year" summary. Here, at The Itinerant Librarian, we'll look at some other "end of year" summaries.

The News

Well, stuff did happen in 2012. Do you remember what happened? Let's have a look.

Let's start with a video to remind us of what brought us together in 2012 (via YouTube). I did try to embed, but the playback for some reason was not working, so just click the link.


Now, let's see what else happened in 2012:

• Take this quiz from The Daily Beast to see what events and people you remember from 2012. You will find a lot of asshattery in this one. Then again, 2012 has its share of idiots.
• Can you tell if these headlines come from The Onion or from real newspapers? This was a year when satirical news really got close to the truth (via BuzzFeed).  
• AlterNet offers "Top Ten News Stories of 2012 That Turned into Jokes." This may depend on what you define as a joke, like Mitt Romney, whose candidacy was pretty much a joke, albeit a bad one.  
• Interested in LGBTQ news? The Advocate has their top ten stories of 2012.  
• What is an end-of-year summary without the obligatory list of those who died in the past year? Well, you can get the list with the fancy celebrities and other famous people someplace else. Here, via Mental Floss, are "11 Not-So-Famous People We Lost in 2012."  One of them was bagel tycoon Murray Lender. Thanks to him and others who have followed or went alongside for making my favorite breakfast (and some other times) food. Learn more also about great performers and medical geniuses too. 
• Another way to look at those who died in 2012 is those that society killed, namely those society executed. The ACLU has a summary of "Lives Lost in 2012: Who Did We Kill?" In Texas, they have no problem executing folks with mental illnesses (then again, those on dead row in Texas can forget about getting a last meal as well).
• In addition, the ACLU also offers a summary of "This Year in Civil Liberties." For instance, did you know that there was "a school in which state forced female students to take pregnancy tests and then kicked out students who refused or were pregnant?."
• ProPublica has the "Best of MuckReads 2012." Because once in a while it is nice to see that there are still some actual journalists doing actual investigative journalism that can do some good instead of the usual pap. 
• News does not just happen in the U.S. Here are some summaries of what happened in the Caribbean in 2012 provided by Global Voices (Part One and Part Two).  
• World Policy blog offers a summary of "Latin America's Top 5 News Stories of 2012." If you are interested in the region, these are stories to watch out for as they unfold in 2013. 
• Oh, and some stuff or other happened in the library world.  If you want a bit more thoughtful summary of things affecting the library world, the Library Loon gives you the 2012 recap, plus she looks into the crystal ball for 2013 to see what is in store for the library world.

Photographs

• Here is a collection of powerful images of the year. Some are moving. Some are sad. Some are just inspiring (via BuzzFeed). 
• And here is a collection of animal photos. No, these are not just cutesy animal pics (via BuzzFeed). 
• COED has the "50 Sexiest Photo Shoots of 2012." Basically, go down memory lane to see some very attractive women in highlights from various magazines.  I am not so sure about the inclusion of Cameron Diaz, but then again, I am always into women most guys just go gaga over.
• Spiegel online has "2012 in Pictures." That flying stuffed cat is just a tad disturbing.

Entertainment

•  A lot of movies came out in 2012. Some good, a lot of them crappy. If you did not have time or inclination to watch them all, here is a mashup of every movie from 2012 (YouTube video). Oh, and it only takes a little over 6 minutes to watch.
• A collection of music videos for the 2012 (via BuzzFeed). Given how little we see or hear of music videos, this caught my eye. I tend to forget some musicians still make music videos. 
• Mother Jones makes their picks for best movies and television of 2012. I will admit I am not watching as much TV as I used to, and when I do, is mostly easy stuff I often keep on the background while I am online.  The only item I am interested in from this list is the film Pelotero, but I am sure others out there have favorites on this list.

Food and drink stuff

• Esquire provides a list of the "Worst Food Moments of 2012." A book entitled Cooking with Poo? Don't worry, it is not as bad as it sounds. 

Advertising and other images

• Hey, if it pisses off those stupid One Million Moms, I am all for it. Advertisers probably did not mean to piss them off as much as just show they cater to gay people too, but it did have the effect of pissing those bigots off. So, here is a list of "12 Best Gay Ads of 2012." Oreos, anyone? (via BuzzFeed).
•  We can also remember the year by protest signs. From Pussy Riot to the Westboro Baptist Church, there was a bit of everything in terms of protests (via BuzzFeed). 
• Via Mashable, "The 20 Most Shared Ads of 2012" and "the 12 Most Memorable Marketing Campaigns of 2012." Some were silly, some were serious, some were...well, who knows? 

Assorted Stupidity

There is no other way to put it for this category. There was a lot of stupidity going around, and much of it came from politicians.  Whether just sticking their feet in their mouths or just showing their true stripes as sociopathic assholes, there were a lot of stupid things said and done by people in 2012.

• The Texas Freedom Network does an annual collection of quotes. There did so many that you are better off following this link to their tag on "The Year in Quotes." 
• The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund offers a summary of the year 2012 in censorship.  From stupid Canadians who think manga is porn (the guy they charged and gave grief too took them to trial and won) to the usual assorted asshats in U.S. libraries who freak out over some graphic novel. By the way, it is not always inattentive parents bitching about books they have not read. Sometimes you get asshat librarians making unilateral decisions to remove something because they feel the need to be "offended" (a.k.a. "it offends me, I am making the decision for the whole community because I know best" syndrome). 
• Mashable offers a list of "The 10 Worst People on the Internet in 2012." Yes, Donald Trump made the list.