Can you believe 2012 is over already? And what a year it was… Lets look at the year in review!

In Entertainment: The undead and other fans rushed out to see the final episode of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, while singer Carly Rae Jepsen immortalized herself with her oft-parodied “Call Me Maybe” song. Apple ensured that phone calls could be cutting edge again with the release of the iPhone 5. And, unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to many notable celebrities including:  Whitney Houston, Robin Gibb, Andy Griffiths, Michael Clarke Duncan and “For Now, Dick Clark, So Long!”  

In Politics: The presidential election battle between Obama and Romney was certainly top-of-mind this year with much of the drama—as well as the comedy— played out on TV. Remote control “mute” buttons across the country saw a lot of action during all those annoying TV ads!

In Science:   The Mars rover, aptly named Curiosity, landed for a two-year stint on the red planet to answer questions about life there.  Meanwhile even bigger mysteries about the universe saw some light when the physics elite revealed the discovery of the Higgs boson. This subatomic particle (aka the God Particle) might just hold the answer to all life—right down to those little green men on Mars!

In Sports:  The Giants won their second World Series in three years (incredible, right?), and in football, the NFL referee strike was fortunately short lived.  Although the sub refs brought enthusiasm to their duties, well, they didn’t bring much else!  But the sports highlight was the London Olympic Games, which saw Michael Phelps with a record-setting medal count, and the “Fierce Five” vaulting Women’s Gymnastics to new heights.

In Weather: There was extensive drought throughout much of the country, wildfires in the west and, of course,  flooding and power outages from Superstorm Sandy in the east. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that the first eight months of 2012 were the most extreme weather events ever recorded. It looks like weathering the storms could be more the norm than the exception.

And last but not least, we are happy to report that one predicted event—the end of the world—did not occur. While many thought the Mayan calendar foretold our demise on December 21st, we are now looking forward to celebrating the arrival of 2013!

Happy New Year, everyone!