Happy New Year folks.
We say goodbye to 2011. A year of Arab Spring and occupiers. Rioting in Athens and looting in London. Flooding in Thailand, Pakistan and Brazil, earthquakes in Turkey and New Zealand, but alas Japan suffered the worst of both.
Gerard Depardieu was pissing, Charlie Sheen was "winning" and Glen Beck was goodbye-ing. The Colonel joined Twitter, Prince William got hitched, Queen Liz and Obama visited the Emerald Isle.
The great Fianna Fáil party lost power and Micheal D becomes president of Ireland. The economic crisis in Europe worsens but the U.S. turns its collective head to their next would-be president.
But above all, this picture defines what a successful year this has been:
Notable Events of 2011:
January 14 – The Tunisian government falls after a month of increasingly violent protests; President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali flees to Saudi Arabia after 23 years in power.
February 6 - Super Bowl XLV attracts 111 million viewers, making the Fox broadcast the most-watched program in American TV history.
February 11 – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigns
February 24 - Following a series of angry public rants by star Charlie Sheen, including comments directed at his employers, CBS and Warner Bros. announce that production on Two and a Half Men will be cancelled for the remainder of the season. In early March, Sheen was fired.
February 27 - Inception and The King's Speech receive 4 Awards each at the 83rd Academy Awards.
March 11 – A 9.1-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit the east of Japan, killing 15,840 and leaving another 3,926 missing. Tsunami warnings are issued in 50 countries and territories. Emergencies are declared at four nuclear power plants affected by the quake.
Battle: Los Angles is released by Columbia Pictures and makes $211.4m
March 17 – The United Nations Security Council votes 10-0 to create a no-fly zone over Libya in response to allegations of government aggression against civilians.
April 17 - Game of Thrones premieres on HBO. While premiering at 2.2m viewers, it climbed to 3m by episode 10.
The Colonel sends his first Tweet.
April 28 - Steve Carell makes his last appearance as a regular on The Office.
April 29 – An estimated two billion people watch the wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey in London.
May 1 – U.S. President Barack Obama announces that Osama bin Laden, the founder and leader of the militant group Al-Qaeda, has been killed during an American military operation in Pakistan.
May 6 - Thor is released by Paramount/Marvel and makes $449.3m
May 23 - President Obama visits Ireland
June 3 - X-Men: First Class is released by Fox/Marvel and makes $353.6m
June 14 - The Duke Nukem Forever video game is finally released but to predominantly negative reviews.
June 29 - Transformers: Dark of the Moon is released by Paramount and makes $1.1Bn
July 21 – Space Shuttle Atlantis lands successfully at Kennedy Space Center after completing STS-135, concluding NASA's space shuttle program.
July 22 - Captain America: The First Avenger is released by Paramount/Marvel and makes $368.6m
October 14 - The UN appoints a Special Investigation Committee to examine UNPASID and UNETIDA.
October 20 - Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is killed in Sirte
October 31 - UN declares global population has reached seven billion
November 8 - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is released. Within 24 hours of going on sale, the game sold 6.5 million copies in the US and UK alone and grossed $400 million, making it the biggest entertainment launch of all time.
December 15 – The United States formally declares an end to the Iraq War.
December 16 - Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is released by Paramount/Bad Robot and makes $324.9m
December 17 - Supreme ruler of North Korea, Kim Jong-il dies aged 69 [or 70].
December 20 - Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG is released by Bioware/EA. At a development cost rumoured to be over $80 million, it is said to be one of the most expensive video games ever created.
As always, we remember those lost in 2011:
James Arness, 88, American actor [Gunsmoke]
Nickolas Ashford, 70, American R&B singer [Ashford & Simpson]
John Barry, 77, British composer [James Bond series]
William Campbell, 87, American Actor [Star Trek / Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]
George Baker, 80, British actor [The Spy Who Loved Me]
Gene Colan, 84, American comic book artist [Iron Man]
Jeff Conaway, 60, American actor [Babylon 5]
Jackie Cooper, 88, American actor [Superman]
Peter Falk, 83, American actor [Columbo]
Betty Ford, 93, American First Lady (1974–1977) and co-founder of Betty Ford Center.
Michael Gough, 94, Actor [Batman]
Dave Hoover, 56, American comics artist [Captain America]
Steve Jobs, 56, American computer entrepreneur and inventor, co-founder of Apple
Paul Kent, 80, American actor [Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]
Sidney Lumet, 86, American film director [Serpico]
Anne McCaffrey, 85, American-born Irish science fiction writer [Dragonriders of Pern]
T. P. McKenna, 81, Irish actor [Red Scorpion]
Dan Mills, 80, American animator [He-Man and the Masters of the Universe]
Gary Moore, 58, Irish rock guitarist and singer [Thin Lizzy]
Harry Morgan, 96, American actor [M*A*S*H]
Charles Napier,75, American Actor [Rambo: First Blood Part II]
Pete Postlethwaite, 64, British actor [Inception]
Dennis Ritchie, 70, American computer scientist, developer of C and Unix
Cliff Robertson, 88, American actor [Spider-Man]
Jerry Robinson, 89, American comic book artist [Batman] and reputed creator of The Joker
Jim Roslof, 64, American artist [Dungeons & Dragons]
Ken Russell, 84, British film director [Billion Dollar Brain]
Randy "Macho Man" Savage, 58, American professional wrestler
Sir Jimmy Savile, 84, British television presenter [Jim'll Fix It]
Bubba Smith, 66, American actor [Police Academy]
Joe Simon, 98, American comic book writer [Captain America]
Fred Steiner, 88, American television composer [Star Trek]
Dame Elizabeth Taylor, 79, British-American actress [Cleopatra]
Arch West, 97, American marketing executive credited with developing Doritos
Andy Whitfield, 39, Welsh-born Australian actor [Spartacus: Blood and Sand]
Amy Winehouse, 27, British singer-songwriter ["Rehab"]
Susannah York, 72, English actress [Superman]
We thank them for their talents.
We also acknowledge the service of these military servicemen, astronauts and politicians who served with distinction that have now passed:
Col. Bill Bower, 93, U.S. Air Force Officer, last surviving pilot of Doolittle Raid.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Brian Kenyon Burnett GCB DFC AFC, 98, RAF Officer, last Commander-in-Chief of Far East Command
Warren Christopher, 85, American diplomat, Secretary of State [1993–1997]
Sgt. Mike Colalillo, 86, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient
Group Captain Billy Drake DSO DFC & Bar, British air ace, top-scoring RAF P-40 pilot
Garret FitzGerald, 85, Irish politician, 7th Taoiseach (1981–1982; 1982–1987)
Seán French, 80, Irish politician, Lord Mayor of Cork (1976) and Fianna Fail TD (1967–1982) [Relative of The Colonel]
Admiral Noel Gayler, U.S. Naval Officer, ninth Commander of Pacific Command from 1972 to 1976
Clair George, 81, American CIA officer (Iran–Contra affair),
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Conyers Leach, GCB DL, 87, First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff 1979-1982, Falklands War
Brian Lenihen, Jnr, T.D., 52, Irish politician, Fianna Fáil, Minister for Finance 2008-2011
2nd Lieutenant Leonard G. “Bud” Lomell, 91, 75th Ranger Regiment. Disabled 5 155mm German guns on D-Day.
John Michael "Mike" Lounge, 64, NASA Space Shuttle Astronaut.
Staff Sergeant John McAleese MM, 61, British 22 SAS soldier involved in the 1981 Iranian Embassy Siege [widely believed to have been the inspiration for Captain Price in Call of Duty.]
Col. Charles P. Murray, Jr., 89, U.S. Army Officer, Medal of Honor recipient
Lt. Colonel Arthur Warren "Kit" Murray, U.S.A.F. Test Pilot, Bell X-1 / X-5
Flight Lieutenant George Charles Calder "Tich" Palliser DFC AE, 92, RAF fighter pilot during the Battle of Britain.
Lieutenant Tul Bahadur Pun VC, 88, Nepali World War II veteran, 6th Gurkha Rifles, recipient of the Victoria Cross, Burma Star.
Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Julian Robertson Oswald GCB, British Naval Officer, First Sea Lord from 1989 to 1993.
General John Shalikashvili, 75, U.S. Army Officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1993–1997)
General Donn Albert Starry, 86, U.S. Army Officer, Commanding General, U.S. Readiness Command 1981 to 1983.
Major Wilhelm Weidenbrück, 96, Wehrmacht, Panzer-Brigade 104, recipient of th Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
Major Richard "Dick" D. Winters, 92, U.S. Army Officer, E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne [subject of Band of Brothers]
May they all rest in peace.
And now folks
HAVE A GREAT 2012!
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