Most historic weather of the year
A storm turned super in 2012. Hurricane Sandy become an immense storm.. it battered and shattered the East Coast and destroyed so much of New Jersey and New York.. It was spoken of as a sign of storms to come..

Most distressing stories of 2012
The world was not a place for children in 2012. It was the year kids lost innocence.. The tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School moved a nation to question a lot.. the tragic shooting in Aurora Colorado did the same.. the DARK KNIGHT rose at theaters but was shadowed by a tragic scenario..

Children were killed in Syria. And a lot of them. According to reports throughout the entire year, massacres were happening on a regular basis. The world stood by as the regime in the nation took all internet users off the grid. Fears of chemical weapons being used came next.. And so it goes.. And innocent children sadly suffer every time.

Best justice of the year
There was justice served in the Jerry Sandusky saga. He was found guilty and will be locked away most likely for the rest of his life.. It is a small consolation to the countless lives he destroyed by his actions. He also helped ruin a reputation of a once heralded institution. But was justice served in its entirety? Probably not. It also brought up interesting questions about what we, as people, value. Football reigns supreme. Even higher than education. In the case of Penn State, and Joe Paterno, football and the school reputation was much more important than the lives of children raped by Jerry Sandusky.

Worst food story of the year
In May, the story of the Miami Muncher was on everyone’s mind. A man on bath salts in Florida began eating another man. Both were naked. Jokes were made.. but also, the horror was showcased on nightly news with images of both of their nude legs. Weeks later, the victim’s face was shown and the wounds he suffered were horrendous..

2012: THE YEAR THAT DID NOT END

It was a year of madness. 

Chaos.. 

While some predictable things did happen, the rest came as shocks to the system.. 

Weather instability all throughout the globe—mixed with strange rumbling beneath the crust and in the sky, as well. 

Madness and mayhem in movie theaters, schools, parking lots, homes.. Shootings from sea to shining sea. Are we simply a more violent culture? Then again, when you see history and notice that the most violent school rampage took place before 1930, it redefines your perspective on this year’s handgun and military assault anarchy.. 

There was a big sinkhole this year. I bet you didn’t hear about that. 
But there was a presidential election. We heard way too much about that..

It seemed like yesterday, and ages ago all at the same time, that the Olympics graced billions of TV sets. Unfortunately not as many showed for the actual seating in London, but the games were great. 

Who were we this year? 
We were worried. 
Constantly wondering if the end was near.. and worrying so much about Armageddon that we forgot some basics. 

The globe still spins here in late December. We made it through. So we’re fine. 

The Mayan end times scenario was just a scenario that helped Coast to Coast AM and some DISCOVERY CHANNEL late night TV survive for the past ten years. I guess they can’t replay reruns asking if the world will end in ‘12 since it did not. Of course there will be a mighty large comet in the sky in November 2013—outshining the moon is a possibility. So maybe the end time will happen then.. 

But even though it wasn’t the end of time this year, there were sure moments when it felt it. 

The madness that took place in a school in Connecticut only weeks before Christmas was horrific. It was disgusting.. it was thoroughly depressing. It really affected the nation’s national psyche. Also the media did a tragically poor job in reporting it, taking misinformation from Twitter and talking about it as though it was fact, naming the wrong guy as the shooter and blasting his photo across news wires, and misreporting that Adam Lanza’s mom was a teacher. Maybe we will forget those details of the day, but we surely will never forget the day when innocent 6-year-olds were gunned down by a madman..

While adults though the end was nigh, children didn’t know what hit them. 2012 was a tragically bad year for children.. From the United States to Syria, Russia and China, kids who deserve better got the worst of 2012. They laugh in the same language, and cry in it too. This year they cried a lot. Adults need to get themselves off the wasteland of fast-paced nonsense on gadgets and phones and realize that a generation could waste away if they have a few more years like 2012.. It did not seem like a day went on this year that was absent a heartbreaking story about a child being gunned down, bombed, droned, or wasted away by society as we knew it.

But it’s over now. 
It’s gone. It came fast and seemed to go even faster.

From Mitt Romney’s mom jeans to moms carrying their children in battle, it’s all gone..

Perhaps not a moment too soon, either. 

2012 was a year like all other years: It was mixed with wonderful stories of humanity at its finest and deplorable stories of creatures who cannot be human. This is the planet earth, after all. So what else is new..

Here’s to some memories of ‘12, and the best for ‘13. We just keep marching on, don’t we?

2012. Hope the Mayans start working on a new calender. 
We made it.

A view from my window. Hope yours is as nice.. I love Saturdays when it snows.

I am working on a year in review. I hope you'll like it.

Coming soon. Probably today.
Putting some finishing touches on it.

Good snowy morning. 12 almost over. Heralding in lucky 13 with a winter weekend.

Happy end of 2012.

Because of our fine folks in Congress we are about to go into uncharted economic territory.. The fiscal cliff upon us. Enjoy the ride, I guess. The outcome may just not be pretty.

George H.W. Bush in ICU

Bush is surrounded by family.. President Obama is being updated in his condition.

George H.W. Bush in ICU

2013: The of the comet

Ison is coming. It may be brighter than the full moon..

2013: The of the comet

A family photo of the Zuckerbergs is now being seen all over the net .. It appears that Randi Zuckerberg became a victim of the ever changing Mark Zuckerberg privacy settings on Facebook. Someone tweeted the photo, Randi Zuckerberg responded in anger, and …asked the Twitter user to delete the original tweet. It is too late now that media all over the world has the photo at their disposal.. 

Oh, and it’s worth noting that Randi Zuckerberg wanted to everything to rethink privacy online 2011. She said, in part, 

I think anonymity on the Internet has to go away. People behave a lot better when they have their real names down. … I think people hide behind anonymity and they feel like they can say whatever they want behind closed doors.

I don’t think anyone can escape the irony on this way.

A peaceful night of watching Caillou with my son and wife.. and snow outside

The weather outside is frightful. And for parents, hours of Caillou may be worse. But it’s all for the best. Ayden loves it.

Grinning and bearing it, and watching my son laugh his heart out.

ONLY 365 MORE SHOPPING DAYS LEFT UNTIL CHRISTMAS ‘13!

Does anyone else out there think it’s bizarre that here we are Christmas Day 2012 and so far today I heard about four flocks of geese flying south? Weren’t they supposed to have done this already?

It was Ayden’s second Christmas—and first white one..

He hardly slept, with excitement about the snow along with the possibility that Santa was about to eat a chocolate chip cookie..

Fun memories.

I hope you and yours had an equally beautiful time last night and today.

Christmas almost done.
My God so is 2012..

Since we don’t know where times goes, may as well enjoy it.

Ayden's second Christmas

He got it this year. Really ‘got it’.. knew about Santa Claus. He even believed that Santa’s reindeer took a ‘poop’ on our front yard. 

For a soon to be two year old, the gift opening session went pretty well. 

He barely wanted to open more after a few books he liked were opened first.. 

We kept it minimal this year. On purpose. 

Kids can be spoiled quickly. Right now, with Ayden being our only son, he is spoiled simply by default.

But there is nothing wrong with that.. 

It’s amazing to see innocence in the eyes of a child. Eyes that have not seen horrors or ravages of this planet. That is precisely why images of children who see those horrors make me intensely sad sometimes around this time of year.

Ayden Morris, you did well. Cheers to another year coming. Your third Christmas will be only better.

Merry Christmas to all out there. And to all a good night.

CHRISTMAS 2012
PEACE ON EARTH!*
*Maybe next year

The Pope tells Catholics to make a place for God in busy and fast paced world

The Pope tells Catholics to make a place for God in busy and fast paced world

East Coasters: Look how many snowstorms we may have to contend with in the next few days

We are going from a warm December.. to a frightfully cold period of time. Along with numerous chances for large scale snowstorms.

The first tonight —it’s minor. But it will be a white Christmas thanks to it (snow will easily brush off your car).. look for Santa’s sleigh tracks.

By the time the ball drops on 2013, we may be sick of snow already..

East Coasters: Look how many snowstorms we may have to contend with in the next few days

Christmas Eve 2012 is here.. Be safe everyone.

So my local Walmart had a mobile meth lab in the parking lot.. Merry Christmas.

Pretty big day in the Skook, even with it being Christmas..

It may be everyday that a meth lab in some town gets found, but not a mobile one. A meth lab on wheels.. 

Turns out that the owner of the vehicle was from Berks County. So Schuylkillians are in the clear on this one. But… it may be proof that you can find pretty much any item at Walmart.

This is it. 

NEWSWEEK is done.

At least in the print world.. 

Digital it will live. But thrive? I don’t know.

TINA BROWN said the Zeitgeist was against the publication. But why? Why not TIME magazine. 

I recall a few years ago when US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT died away from newstands, too. But what did that magazine offer? Morty Zuck had nothing but bucks.. nothing to give readers either besides long lists of the ‘best of’ that no one ever read. The people who made the US NEWS ‘best of’ lists probably didn’t even know that they made it..

TIME magazine is still alive. Thriving? I don’t know. They just chose BARACK OBAMA as their person of the year—a safe choice and predictable one.. Will they be next in the digital universe? Abandoning the stains of print in turn for the speed of the phone?

Lots of people will lament NEWSWEEK’s print passing. Some won’t. 

But one day, maybe when that solar storm does actually hit, we will yearn for the days of print. Yearn for the days when we can hold a magazine in our hands…

Or will we..

Reaction in India continues after gang rape on bus

There is so much anger in New Delhi that big protests are continuing in the city..

CNN reports:

Saturday’s demonstration was prompted by public outrage over what police said was the gang-rape and beating of a 23-year-old woman on a moving bus in the capital on December 16.

Authorities haven’t released the name of the rape victim, but protesters are calling her “Damini,” which means “lightning” in Hindi.

According to reports, the young victim of the rape had a metal rod inserted in her vagina and she suffered loss of her intestines..

There has been global anger with how Indian officials responded to the incident—such as questioning why she was out past 9pm with a male, ignoring her life threatening damages incurred by the incident..

Lovin' it? McDonald's serving up 'restructured meat technology' ..

Lovin' it? McDonald's serving up 'restructured meat technology' ..