HAPPY
NEW YEAR!!!
I
don't know...there's just something about the very first blog entry
of a brand new year that gets me all giddy inside! Maybe it's the
rush of hanging up a new calendar. Maybe it's the joy of starting
fresh. Maybe it's the new car smell. Whatever the case, 2014 is
finally here, and with the arrival of 2014 comes a year with brand
new opportunies and brand new outlooks.
But,
while we're welcoming in the year 2014, we are still paying our
respects to the year gone by, as we resume the Best and Worst
countdown of the year gone by after taking yesterday off.
Today
we're going to take a look at the world's biggest news stories and
reflecting back on what ultimately became a topsy-turvy year. After
all, had Harold Camping been correct, we likely should have never
seen the year 2013 ushered in at all. Of course, maybe we could
speculate that he was actually trying to predict his own death, as he
ended up passing away in November of this past year.
(At
least he had a better track record than psychic Sylvia Browne, who
predicted that she would die at the age of 88, but really only lived
to be 77.)
So,
I think we can all agree that 2013 had its definite highs, and some
tragic lows...and everything in between. From North America to
Australia, it seemed that every place in the world had its big news
story.
(Well,
except where I live, in which the biggest news story that happened
here was of an ice storm that really didn't do much damage here.
Toronto, Ontario, on the other hand...)
So,
let's have a look at what happened over the course of the twelve
months and three hundred and sixty-five days that made up 2013, shall
we?
We'll
go in chronological order.
January
16 – As many as forty people
were killed during a hostage crisis at a natural gas facility in
Algeria. The hostage crisis began on January 16 and lasted until
January 20.
February
15 – People who lived in
Chelyabinsk, Russia got a rude awakening when a meteor exploded over
the city, shattering windows, crushing cars, and injuring people. By
the time the dust settled, it was estimated that at least 1,500
people were injured, and over 4,000 structures needed repairing. The
meteor was the most powerful to strike the Earth's atmosphere in over
one hundred years.
February
21 – Scientists in the United
States use a 3D printer to create a living lab-grown ear from
collagen and animal ear cell cultures. It is hoped that this
technology can assist in transplants and fixing ear related traumas
in the years to come.
February
28 – For the first time in
nearly six hundred years, a Pope (Pope Benedict XVI) resigns. He
would be succeeded by Pope Francis on March 13.
March
27 – Canada becomes the first
country to withdraw from the United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification.
April
15 – Runners and spectators
of the Boston Marathon were shaken up after two bombs were detonated
yards from the finish line. Three were killed, and another 264 were
injured in the blast. The bombs were placed by two brothers who were
Chechen Islamist immigrants. One brother would later die in a
shootout with police. The other is still in police custody.
April
24 – An eight-story building
located near Dhaka, Bangladesh collapses, killing over eleven hundred
people, and leaving another 2,500 injured.
May
13 – Canadian astronaut Chris
Hadfield returns to Earth following a well-documented social media
journey about his experiences aboard the International Space Station
(which lasted from December 2012 until May 2013.)
June
6 – American Edward Snowden
discloses operations engaged by a United States government mass
surveillance program to news publications. He would later flee the
country, and is reportedly living in Russia, where he has been
granted temporary asylum.
July
3 – It's chaos in the country
of Egypt as President Mohamed Morsi is deposed in a military coup
d'etat, which sees once peaceful protests erupt in violence.
July
6 – Tragedy strikes the small
community of Lac-Megantic, Quebec, Canada, after a train derailment
ignites mislabeled petroleum cars and a gigantic explosion wiped out
a section of the entire city. Forty-seven people were killed in the
blast, and at least thirty buildings – including the town library,
archives building, and a crowded bar/restaurant – were completely
destroyed. It is considered one of the deadliest train accidents in
Canadian history.
July
22 – The world rejoiced as
Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge is born. The happy
parents – Prince William and Princess Catherine – show off the
baby the following day as Catherine leaves the hospital.
August
21 – Reports surface that
Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, has allegedly gassed several
neighbourhoods surrounding Damascas in the Ghouta chemical attack,
which kills and sickens thousands of people.
September
21 – The Westgate Shopping
Mall in Nairobi, Kenya becomes a battleground as al-Shabaab Islamic
militants storm the crowded mall, leaving 62 dead and over 170
injured.
November
5 – Canadian press have a
field day as disgraced Canadian Senators Patrick Brazeau, Mike Duffy,
and Pamela Wallin are suspended from their duties over the Canadian
Senate expenses scandal. The trio are allowed to keep all of the
benefits associated with their duties however, which angers some
Canadian citizens.
November
8 – Typhoon Haiyan strikes
the Philippines and Vietnam, killing over six thousand people. It is
one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded.
November
12 – The piece “Three
Studies of Lucien Freud”, painted by artist Francis Bacon, is sold
at auction for $142.4 MILLION...setting a new world record for an
auctioned work of art.
November
15 – In what was considered
to be one of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's worst kept secrets, Ford
admitted that yes, he did smoke crack cocaine. He was rewarded for
his honesty by having most of his mayoral powers stripped away on
this date. A media circus complete with late night talk show hosts
poking fun at him shortly followed.
November
24 – The world breathed a
sigh of relief as Iran agrees to limit their nuclear development
program – in exchange for sanctions relief.
December
14 – Chinese spacecraft
Chang'e 3 becomes the first spacecraft to soft-land on the moon since
1976.
So,
those were the events that shaped 2013. Now you understand what I
mean by having it as one of the most unusual and controversial years
so far. All you'd have to do is mention Obamacare and Tea Party in
the same sentence and watch the arguments fly.
(NOTE:
Please don't argue because I just happened to write both Obamacare
and Tea Party in the same sentence. I was just doing it to
illustrate a point. Whoops, I just did it again. My bad.)
Now,
let's take a look at the world of sports. There were no Olympics
this year (though there was a lot of controversy over the 2014 Winter
Olympics being held in Russia given that country's stance on gay
marriage...which I'm sure we'll hear more about as we get closer to
the opening ceremonies), but we did have a Super Bowl, World Series,
and Stanley Cup! So, who won this year?
THE
2013 STANLEY CUP WINNNERS ARE: CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
THE
2013 SUPER BOWL WINNERS ARE: BALTIMORE RAVENS
THE
2013 WORLD SERIES WINNERS ARE: BOSTON RED SOX
And,
finally, we're going to end this blog off on a sad note, as we pause
to remember the famous faces who passed away during the year 2013.
So, let's take a moment to remember those we loved and lost in the
world of entertainment, politics, and sports.
JANUARY
1
- Patti Page, 85 - singer
7
– David R. Ellis, 60 - director
9
– James M. Buchanan, 93 – American Nobel economist
FEBRUARY
1
– Ed Koch, 88 – former mayor of New York City
17
– Tony Sheridan, 72 – singer
19
– Armen Alchian, 98 – American economist
19
– Robert Coleman Richardson, 75 – American Nobel physicist
28
– Donald A. Glaser, 86 – American Nobel physicist
MARCH
5 –
Hugo Chavez, 58 – Venezuelan president
6 –
Alvin Lee, 68 – guitarist
7 –
Peter Banks, 65 – guitarist
28 –
Richard Griffiths, 65 – actor
APRIL
4 –
Roger Ebert, 70 – film critic
8 –
Margaret Thatcher, 87 – former British prime minister
11 –
Jonathan Winters, 87 – actor/comedian
26 –
George Jones, 81 – country music singer
30 –
Deanna Durbin, 91 – singer
MAY
2 –
Jeff Hanneman, 49 – guitarist
8 –
Jeanne Cooper, 84 – actress
26 –
Jack Vance, 96 – author
31 –
Jean Stapleton, 90 – actress
JUNE
6 –
Esther Williams, 91 – actress/swimmer
9 –
Iain Banks, 59 – author
15 –
Kenneth G. Wilson, 77 – American Nobel physicist
19 –
James Gandolfini, 51 – actor
JULY
13
– Cory Monteith, 31 – actor/singer
19
– Mel Smith, 60 – comedian/actor
20
– Helen Thomas, 92 – journalist
22
– Dennis Farina, 69 – actor
28
– Eileen Brennan, 80 – actress
AUGUST
5 –
George Duke, 67 – keyboardist
8 –
Karen Black, 74 – actress
10 –
Eydie Gorme, 84 – singer
20 –
Elmore Leonard, 87 – novelist
24 –
Julie Harris, 87 – actress
31 –
David Frost, 74 – journalist/broadcaster
SEPTEMBER
1 –
Tommy Morrison, 44 – boxer
2 –
Ronald Coase, 102 – British Nobel economist
12 –
Ray Dolby, 80 – engineer/inventor
18 –
Ken Norton, 70 - boxer
19 –
Hiroshi Yamauchi, 85 – former president of Nintendo
OCTOBER
1
– Tom Clancy, 66 – author
10
– Scott Carpenter, 86 – astronaut
16
– Ed Lauter, 74 – actor
25
– Marcia Wallace, 70 – actress
27
– Lou Reed, 71 – singer/songwriter
NOVEMBER
2 –
Walt Bellamy, 74 – basketball player
30 –
Paul Walker, 40 – actor
DECEMBER
5 –
Nelson Mandela, 95 – former president of South Africa
9 –
Eleanor Parker, 91 – actress
10 –
Jim Hall, 83 – guitarist
14 –
Peter O'Toole, 81 – actor
15 –
Joan Fontaine, 96 – actress
16 –
Ray Price, 87 – country singer/songwwriter
And,
that wraps up the news of 2013.
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