12 pop-culture trends that can stay in 2012

By Courtney Hazlett, TODAY

OPINION: Wouldn't it be great if the promise of a new year also meant a promise that some of pop culture's more odious trends could be left behind?? Here are 12 I could happily leave in 2012.

Getty, Reuters, YouTube

Blow us a kiss goodbye? Lindsay Lohan, left, a galloping PSY, center, and Brad Pitt mumbling for Chanel.

Gangnam style
More than 2 billion people have "liked" the video for "Gangnam Style" on YouTube since it debuted there on July 15, and I can firmly assert that I am not among them. I can appreciate a good earworm; I've been caught humming "Call Me Maybe." But I see no up side to the irritant that is PSY. The dance moves are unflattering, the melody nonexistent. And then it gets stuck in your head. Please: no more.

Lindsay Lohan
I'll keep this brief. Lindsay, I want the best for you, I do. But in 2013 I'd like to not read a word about you. Please stay away from clubs. Call a cab. Pay for everything.

Bad celeb ads
I get it -- endorsements are easy money. Signing on to be the face of a product is little work for a whole lot of dough and if Chanel came knocking on my door, I'd take the gig -- this is the one thing Brad Pitt and I have in common. But I'd want the ad to be spoof proof. Not just to save ego, but because it's not good for the career when you're starring in a film and all the viewer can think of is your silly perfume ad.

Rihanna?s Instagram
The photo-sharing social network, Instagram, has been under scrutiny lately for its advertising policy, but the real scandal is the fact that it allows Rihanna to play along. Sadly, it's a job requirement to keep track of her feed -- how else would I know if she and Chris Brown were together again? How else would I know if she had a new tattoo, or if the skin on her upper thighs was blemish-free? Sharing is one thing, over-sharing another.

Deciphering greater meaning in celeb tattoos
If a celebrity gets a tattoo and doesn't take an Instagram picture of it, does the tattoo exist? Does it have MEANING? Ink up your skin all you want, kids, but let's not spend another moment wondering what its place is in the universe.

The wardrobe malfunction down south
If you're a celebrity and your stylist can't find an undergarment that works with your particular dress, you should probably get another stylist.?

Bump watching
People are either pregnant or they are not. And until someone decides to make it known that their uterus is occupied, we, the public, just cannot know more. I'm fine leaving it at that. (And I never thought the day would come that I'd write this: Thank you, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. You did you part by sparing us from this ritual before the request even went out. Congrats on your baby-to-be.

Kimye, or any other lovers' contraction
The ill-fated romance between Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez kicked off the trend, and since" Bennifer" made it into the lexicon there appears to be some strange, unwritten obligation to give all celeb couples the same treatment. Here's the thing: Bennifer worked. It rolled off the tongue, it saved headline space.? But Kimye, for the aforementioned Kim and Kanye? No.

Celebs 'quitting' twitter
And by quitting, I mean making a grand "I am not doing this any more" gesture and then rejoining. Miley Cyrus, Chris Brown, Alec Baldwin are all offenders. You're either in or out, folks. Commit.

Teen Mom tweets
Speaking of Twitter: Admittedly, I have a strange fascination with "Teen Mom" (especially "Teen Mom 2"). But their tweeting habits -- the fighting, the new baby news, the marriages, the obvious amount of time they're spending on the social network and not with their kids -- ?it's too much.

The television over-think
You guys, don't ruin shows you love by thinking too hard about everything (Yes, I'm talking about "Homeland" here). Remember, this television-watching stuff is supposed to be fun.?

Madonna's concert stunts
Hopefully, the finale of Madonna's MDNA tour will put an end to her well-publicized concert stunts, but in case that's not her plan ... Please stop waving guns and dedicating stripteases to children shot by the Taliban. The stunts are so commonplace, it's hard to actually get mad about them, instead they're just really?irritating?and tired.

But let's end on a positive note; there were some great pop culture standouts in 2012. ?

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee was great comedy and a perfect use of the digital medium.

Alec Baldwin's "Here's the Thing" podcasts for WNYC are real gems -- if you've never listened to any, trust me when I encourage you to check out the subjects that have no initial appeal. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

Jimmy Fallon and the Roots can put their classroom-instrument spin on any song as far as I'm concerned, and Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield proved that celebs can be just plain nice.

Here's to more of that in 2013. Happy New Year!

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Source: http://entertainment.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/31/16045683-12-pop-culture-trends-that-can-stay-in-2012?lite

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Nanaimo Concerts | Music, Sports | Recreation | New Years Eve at ...

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Monday, December 31st, 2012
8:00 PM to 3:00 AM

What a better way to ring in 2013 than a party at The Queens with Toy Zebra.
The female duo DJS; The Mewws will be making sure that you're still dancing in between band breaks. Get ready to dance the night away!

There will be party hats and a balloon drop at Midnight

There will be FREE appetizers all night long and FREE Champagne at Midnight.

Source: http://www.harbourliving.ca/event/new-years-eve-at-the-queens-wtoy-zebra/

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2012: The Year Of Drought And Heat

AccuWeather:

The "Heat and Drought of 2012" caused crops to wither and Mississippi River levels to plunge while yielding the warmest year on record for the U.S.

Read the whole story at AccuWeather

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/31/2012-drought_n_2387769.html

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Assad's forces battle to retake Damascus suburb

AMMAN (Reuters) - Elite Syrian government troops backed by tanks battled on Monday to recapture a strategic Damascus suburb from rebels who have advanced within striking distance of the center of Syria's capital.

Five people, including a child, died from army rocket fire that hit the Daraya suburb during the fighting, opposition activists said. Daraya is part of a semi-circle of Sunni Muslim suburbs south of the capital that have been at the forefront of the 21-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.

"This is the biggest attack on Daraya in two months. An armored column is trying to advance but it is being held (back) by the Free Syrian Army," said Abu Kinan, an opposition activist in the area, referring to a rebel group.

Clashes were also reported near the airport in Aleppo, Syria's largest city, which is in the north. Insurgents have made that airport a target in the hope of limiting government access to Aleppo, which is largely under rebel control.

Rebels have taken much of the north and east of Syria over the past six months, but government forces still hold most of the densely populated southwest around the capital, the main north-south highway and the Mediterranean coast.

Government forces scored a victory on Saturday, pushing rebels out of Deir Baalbeh, a district in Homs, an important central city that straddles the highway linking Damascus with the north and the Mediterranean.

Some opposition activists have said scores or even hundreds of people were executed in Deir Baalbeh by troops that seized it after several days of fighting. However, reports of killings there on a large scale could not be verified.

More than 45,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the 21-month war, the longest and deadliest of the revolts that began throughout the Arab world two years ago. Mainly Sunni Muslim rebels are fighting to topple Assad, a member of the Alawite minority sect whose family has ruled Syria since his father seized power 42 years ago in a coup.

The opposition refuses to hold peace talks unless Assad relinquishes power, and military successes over the last six months have reinforced its belief it can drive him out by force.

However, government troops still heavily outgun the fighters and maintain air bases scattered across the country.

The Damascus suburbs have become one of the major fronts of the war, with the rebels hoping to finally bring their uprising to the capital, heart of Assad's power.

Activist Abu Kinan said that tens of thousands of civilians had fled Daraya during weeks of government assault on the suburb, but that 5,000 remained, along with hundreds of rebels. Daraya is located near the main southern highway connecting Damascus to the Jordanian border 85 km (50 miles) to the south.

Activists said Republican Guard forces are trying to push back rebels who have been slowly advancing from the outskirts of Damascus to within striking distance of government targets and central districts inhabited by Assad's Alawite minority sect.

Assad's forces have mostly relied on aerial and artillery bombardment, rather than infantry. Rebels have been able take outlying towns and have clashed with government troops near Damascus International Airport, halting flights by foreign airlines.

Another activist in Damascus with links to rebels, who did not want to be named, said Daraya has been a firing position for rebels using mortars and homemade rockets. From it, they have been able to hit a huge presidential complex located on a hilltop overlooking Damascus and target pro-Assad shabbiha militia in an Alawite enclave nearby known as Mezze 86.

"So far they have missed the palace but they are getting better. I think the regime has realized that it no longer can afford to have such a threat so close by, but it has failed to overrun Daraya before," he said.

"HELL OR THE POLITICAL PROCESS"

The opposition is backed by most Western and Arab states, while Assad has enjoyed the diplomatic protection of Moscow, which sells arms to his government and maintains a naval base in one of his ports.

Western countries have been searching for signs that Moscow is lifting its protection of Assad, hoping that would bring him down much as Russia's withdrawal of support heralded the fall of Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic 12 years ago.

Moscow said on Saturday that it has no power to make Assad leave office, and accused the rebels of prolonging the bloodshed by refusing to negotiate with him.

U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has called on outside powers to push all sides to talk, arguing that Syria faces a choice of "hell or the political process".

Brahimi is touting a peace plan agreed to in principle by international powers six months ago, but the plan does not explicitly call for Assad to be excluded from power, which the opposition regards as a precondition to any talks.

The opposition-linked Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that rebels clashed with government troops near Aleppo's international airport. Rami Abdelrahman, the British-based Observatory's director, told Reuters by phone that fighting flared on Sunday night and continued into Monday morning.

He said no flights were departing or arriving from the airport. Syria's state airline canceled at least one flight there over the weekend.

Nevertheless, the government's seizure of Deir Baalbeh in Homs is a reminder that its forces are still capable of recapturing territory from the lightly armed rebels. Syria's state news agency SANA said government forces seized a large cache of weapons and ammunition after capturing the district.

(Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Oliver Holmes and Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/assads-forces-battle-retake-damascus-suburb-142424810.html

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Court: Unseal documents in NASCAR chairman's legal fight with ex ...

The N.C. Court of Appeals on Monday upheld a Mecklenburg judge?s order unsealing the secret documents in NASCAR Chairman Brian France?s legal battle with his former wife.

The appeals court ruling is the latest twist in Brian and Megan France?s efforts to keep secret the details of their legal wrangling and the contents of their confidential separation agreement.

Brian France has sought to scrap the separation agreement with his ex-wife that calls for him to pay the mother of his two children $9 million as well as more than $40,000 a month in alimony and child support. The NASCAR chairman claims Megan France breached their confidential agreement.

The appeals court ruling Monday upholds Mecklenburg District Judge Jena Culler?s ruling in August 2011 unsealing the documents in the Frances? litigation. Culler also overturned an order by a former judge sealing the documents in 2008.

?The public has a right to access court files,? Culler announced in court. ?I feel very strongly that these files should be unsealed.?

Johnny Stephenson, one of Brian France?s attorneys, told the Observer: ?We are disappointed by the court of appeals opinion, which we believe to be legally flawed, and we intend to seek immediate review from the N.C. Supreme Court.?

Ray Owens, an attorney for the Observer and its news partner, WCNC-TV, said he is pleased that the appeals court agreed with the positions of his clients.

?Our appellate courts have now twice unanimously ruled that Mr. France must seek justice like the rest of us ? without special consideration or favor,? Owens said. ?Our legal system ? even with its flaws ? desires openness over secrecy and the Court?s decision today only serves to emphasize that principle.?

Brian and Megan France had also sought to have the court hearings closed to the public. But Culler in 2009 ruled that the courtroom proceedings would be open to the public. The appeals court upheld that decision, concluding that Culler had not erred by refusing to close the proceedings.

On Monday, the appeals court panel voted 3-0 to uphold Culler?s ruling unsealing the documents. The appeals court judges said they found no ?abuse in discretion? in Culler?s decision.

The secret documents, however, won?t be unsealed immediately. Brian and Megan France can now appeal.

At a hearing in July 2011, Observer attorney Ray Owens urged Culler to unseal the documents.

?It?s time for openness,? he argued.

But Johnny Stephenson, one of Brian France?s attorneys, argued that then-District Judge Todd Owens? order in 2008 to seal the documents had not been overturned and was still in effect. ?The order is the law of this case,? he told the judge. ?And we have to abide by it.?

Culler, in ordering the documents be unsealed, found that there had been substantial changes in the circumstances surrounding the litigation between Brian and Megan France. One of the changes the judge cited were published reports in the media disclosing details about the Frances? confidential separation agreement. Another occurred when the appeals court upheld Culler?s ruling that the Frances? litigation would take place in open court.

Public disclosure about the Frances? separation agreement, Culler said, warranted unsealing the documents. The judge also pointed out the difficulties of holding hearings in open court about documents that are under seal and issues that are confidential.

?This is simply not how our courts are supposed to run,? Culler said.

The appeals court, in its ruling Monday, cited its decision in 2009 upholding Culler?s order that the Frances? litigation should be played out in open court. That ruling, the appeals court judges wrote, was sufficient alone to warrant a reconsideration of whether Owens? 2008 order sealing the documents in the Frances? litigation was still proper.

The appeals court judges said they found ?no indication of abuse of discretion? in Culler?s findings of fact.

?The findings of fact are supported by the evidence and each reasonably supports the conclusion of law that a change in circumstance has occurred,? the appeals court judges wrote. ?Therefore, we affirm the trial court?s order unsealing the documents.?

Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/12/31/3757106/court-unseal-documents-in-nascar.html

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2012 NBA Standings: Hawks just a game back in East standings

A four-game winning streak has the Atlanta Hawks within a game of first-place in the Eastern Conference.

The Atlanta Hawks are riding a four-game winning streak and have pulled to within a game of first-place in the Eastern Conference. At 20-8 Miami leads the conference by percentage points of the New York Knicks who are 21-9. Atlanta is a game back in third place at 19-9 and enjoying the longest current winning streak in the Eastern Conference.

Milwaukee and Chicago are tied for fourth place with the Pacers slipping to the sixth spot after Saturday's loss to the Hawks. Brooklyn has won two straight since giving Avery Johnson his walking papers and are in seventh place in the conference. Boston is a game in front of Philadelphia for the eighth spot in the standings with a 14-15 record.

Orlando is sliding quickly as their losing streak reached five games but they will have to go a long ways to catch the funk that Charlotte is currently in. The Bobcats have gone winless again this week and their losing streak is now up to 18 games.

Here is a look at the full conference standings:

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Here is a look at the updated Southeast Division standings:

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Source: http://www.peachtreehoops.com/2012/12/30/3814346/2012-nba-standings-atlanta-hawks

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Kanye West, Kim Kardashian expecting 1st child

FILE - Kim Kardashian, right, and Kanye West, left, are shown before an NBA basketball game between the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks in this Dec, 6, 2012 file photo taken in Miami. The rapper Kanye West announced at a concert Sunday night Dec. 30, 2012 that his girlfriend is pregnant. He told the crowd of more than 5,000 at the Ovation Hall at the Revel Resort in song form: "Now you having my baby." ( AP Photo/Alan Diaz, File)

FILE - Kim Kardashian, right, and Kanye West, left, are shown before an NBA basketball game between the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks in this Dec, 6, 2012 file photo taken in Miami. The rapper Kanye West announced at a concert Sunday night Dec. 30, 2012 that his girlfriend is pregnant. He told the crowd of more than 5,000 at the Ovation Hall at the Revel Resort in song form: "Now you having my baby." ( AP Photo/Alan Diaz, File)

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) ? A kid for Kimye: Kanye West and Kim Kardashian are expecting their first child.

The rapper announced at a concert Sunday night that his girlfriend is pregnant. Kardashian was in the crowd at Revel Resort's Ovation Hall with her mother, Kris Jenner, and West's mentor and best friend, Jay-Z. West told the crowd of more than 5,000 in song form: "Now you having my baby."

The crowd roared. And so did people on the Internet.

The news instantly went viral on Twitter and Facebook, with thousands posting and commenting on the expecting couple.

Most of the Kardashian clan also tweeted about the news, including Kim's sisters. Kourtney Kardashian wrote: "Another angel to welcome to our family. Overwhelmed with excitement!"

West, 35, also told concertgoers to congratulate his "baby mom" and that this was the "most amazing thing."

Representatives for West and Kardashian, 32, didn't immediately respond to emails about the pregnancy.

The rapper and reality TV star went public in March.

Kardashian married NBA player Kris Humphries in August 2011 and their divorce is not finalized.

West's Sunday-night show was his third consecutive performance at Revel. He took the stage for nearly two hours, performing hits like "Good Life," ''Jesus Walks" and "Clique" in an all-white ensemble with two bandmates.

___

AP Writer Bianca Roach contributed to this report.

___

Follow Mesfin Fekadu on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MusicMesfin . Follow Bianca Roach at http://twitter.com/B__Roach

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-12-31-Kanye%20West-Kim%20Kardashian/id-8619a9799edb4c779dfd8015285500d9

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