The Best and Worst of 2012
Without further ado, the very best and worst of 2012, baby! And I promise to keep it interesting because we all know that the most irritatingly viral video was “Call Me Maybe” and Gangnam whatever…
But who is the Best Mime of 2012 and what about the Most Awkward News Headline of 2012? You’ll have to scroll down to learn these winners as well as Man of the Decade.
Best Moment for All Humanity:: Felix Baumgartner’s Supersonic Freefall
Just for sheer awesomeness, our top 2012 award goes to Felix Baumgartner. After flying to an altitude of 39,045 meters (128,100 feet) in a helium-filled balloon, Felix Baumgartner completed a record breaking jump for the ages from the edge of space, exactly 65 years after Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier flying in an experimental rocket-powered airplane. Felix reached a maximum of speed of 833 mph through the near vacuum of the stratosphere during his 4:20 minute long freefall. The 43-year-old Austrian skydiving expert also broke two other world records; highest free fall and highest manned balloon flight. If you don’t think that’s cool, well I don’t know what to do for you.
It was close between Baumgartner and our runner-up, Nik Wallenda’s walk across Niagara Falls.
Third runner up, Winston Fiore, walked a 5,000 mile trek across Southeast Asia to raise money and awareness about cleft pallate surgery for children. Check out his journey at http://smiletrek.org/
Best Live Pop Performance:: Pink at the American Music Awards
Pink’s live performance at the 2012 AMA’s stood out as a genuine attempt at creating art within the vapid world of American pop music. Now, you might say that this had as much depth as a high school drama performance, but we’ll take it in comparison to “Call Me Maybe” or the latest anti-music from Justin Bieber. I think a comment found on the Youtube video sums it up. “I bet a little kid decided to become an artist after seeing that.” (Not quite up to the level of Kate Bush but she’s trying.)
Best Hipster Music of 2012:: Alt-J, “Breezeblocks”
This also might be the best music of 2012 that you haven’t heard of–making it hipster music. Watch out, they’ll probably be so popular in 2013 that you won’t be cool for knowing about them anymore! (Toy piano sound along with cheep Yamaha keyboard, check. Mumbling words, check…it’s still pretty infectious!)
Best Online Protest of 2012:: January 18th protest of SOPA & PIPA
The day the internet got mad. January 18th, 2012 saw the largest online protest in history helping to stop the internet censorship bills, SOPA & PIPA. Many websites, including Reddit and English Wikipedia, temporarily closed their content and redirected users to a message opposing the proposed legislation. Others, such as Google, Mozilla, and Flickr, participated to varying degrees. In all, over 115,000 websites joined the protest.
Read about it here.
Best Youtube Artist of 2012:: Krispy Kreme
As I write this, I’m still torn between calling Krispy Kreme the Andy Kaufman of 2012 or simply declaring him, straight up, the best hip-hop artist of 2012. Krispy Kreme–apparently he goes by Froggy Fresh now because of copyright issues–is a rapper clearly from somewhere in the South and who, along with Money Maker Mike, is giving the world of rap a run for it’s money. Yes, you should laugh and enjoy this…I have a sneaky suspicion that he is laughing too.
There is very little reliable information available about Krispy Kreme’s real identity. He’s thought to be Tyler Cassidy, a 22-year-old up-and-coming rapper who may have put out “The Baddest” as a one-time joke. The video quickly attained 10 million views which may have caused Tyler to stick with this hilarious persona.
I had a very hard time picking just one because there are several videos that made me spit out my coffee. Here’s my favorite, “Best Friends.”
It’s tempting to just laugh Krispy Kreme off as a troll or a joke. Well, I’d like to see you pull off the line, “Yeah, yep, yep, he had a knuckle sandwich for lunch,” with a straight face–all the while making music out of it. Most ridiculous of all, is to see music critics waste time writing up posts claiming to expose the persona of Krispy Kreme as a fraud. Isn’t that what hip-hop is? An adopted persona that embodies a narrative? And here’s a guy doing all this while poking fun at the whole genre of hip-hop. And, yeah, I’m still not sure if he’s not just some creative autistic kid in the South…I also recommend Denzel Washington and Haters Wanna Be Me.
Best Journalist of 2012:: Ben Swann
Ben Swann is an anchor and producer at WXIX Fox 19 in Cincinnati. For over a year now, he has fearlessly covered issues ignored by the “left” and the “right.” Ben courageously covered the shenanigans by the GOP leadership against real conservatives and Ron Paul Republicans at the GOP 2012 convention.
Who else has questioned President Obama to his face about his warrantless killing of American citizens by drones as well as countless other civilians? See more here.
Most Hypocritical Christian Award of 2012:: Dinesh D’Souza
Now, it goes without saying that Christians sin (After all, Jesus came “for sinners and not the righteous… Luke 5:32), but Dinesh pretty much exposed himself as, at best, an idiot of epic proportions when he justified being out on the Evangelical conference circuit accompanied by a 29 year old woman he called his “fiancé” while still being married.
Denise and I were trying to do the right thing. I had no idea that it is considered wrong in Christian circles to be engaged prior to being divorced….” (Denise is D’Souza’s fiancé.)
Dinesh D’Souza released 2016: Obama’s America in 2012 and previous to this scandal, was the president of King’s College (a Christian college) in New York City. In 2007, he wrote the book, What’s so Great about Christianity? Learn more at BaylyBlog.com
Most Intolerant Liberals of 2012:: IU Protestors of Doug Wilson
In 2012, Doug Wilson, a Christian pastor, came to Indiana University to present a lecture entitled, “Sexual by Design.” Needless to say, the protestors were an embarrassment to just about everyone. Doug Wilson plowed through his lecture despite the disruptions and proceeded to answer questions for nearly two hours. You can view the full event here.
Best Patriot of 2012:: Rand Paul’s Epic 1hr Foreign Aid Filibuster
Senator Paul was in danger of winning a “worst of” award for his endorsement of Mitt Romney, but he has consistently redeemed himself by his voting record and fearless defense of liberty. You may not want to watch it all right now, but a quick skim of this video will show that Senator Paul is following very much in his father’s footsteps. You’ll hear Senator Paul boldly bring up war mongering against Iran as well as illuminate the principle of blowback.
Most Awkward 2012 Headline::
“Justin Bieber kidnap plot gang wanted $2,500 per testicle“ – The UK Sun
Obsessed killer Dana Martin allegedly put a $2,500 bounty on each of Justin Bieber’s testicles as he outlined a plot to kidnap, castrate and strangle the teen pin-up.
Jailed Martin — who sports a Bieber tattoo on his leg — is accused of arranging for two other men to abduct and murder the singer, his bodyguard and two more unrelated victims…
Best Mime of 2012:: Still can’t decide…
It’s between Cloud Campos and Cécile Roussat & Julien Lubek. (watch their videos!)
It goes without saying that Ron Paul is THE MAN OF THE DECADE!
Ron Paul gets a hug from an emotional Britni Agnew, after speaking at the UCCU Center in Orem on Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012. (Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
Read and share our full mega post on Ron Paul here.
Happy New Year–2013!
What are your thoughts?