2011: A year in memoriam

"525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes – how do you measure, measure a year?" Well, another year has passed 2011 is gone and 2012 is here, and this editor will try to measure the year of 2011.

We saw this year a wave of revolutions and demonstrations. Revolts happened almost everywhere, from Libya to Portland, Ore. The Arabic/Muslim world seemed consumed in citizen-lead rebellions calling for democratic change.

Starting in Tunisia, the world saw the fall and flee of dictators that had oppressed their countrymen for decades.  In fact, so many Arabic rebellions happened that the media has named the series of revolts as "The Arab Spring." Possibly the most hard-fallen dictator was Libyan ruler  Muammar Gaddafi. The dictator, who was delusional to his people's hatred for him, was brutally killed by Libyan rebels in the streets.

Then in the states we saw the Occupy movement. Born on Wall Street, the Occupy movement from what I can tell started as a protest to big business owning the U.S. and mad at the bank bailout. The world saw good ole American protesting at its very prolonged and usual misunderstood self.

In May, we finally saw the capture and killing of Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, somewhat ending an ordeal that has gone on for half of my life. New Yorkers and Washington D.C. residents took to the streets in celebration, as they lost many loved ones because that despicable example of a human being.

Sadly in the summer of 2011, Norway saw terrible acts of violence with a massacre of 91 people by the deranged Anders Behring Breivik, a right-wing extremist. Oslo, the Norwegian capital, and a summer camp on an island outside the city were under the fire and terror of Breivik.

In December,  President Obama announced that the war in Iraq was finally over and that troop pull out was to begin in January. With the ending of the Iraqi war and  the killing of Osama, it seems to be an end to conflicts that have been going on since I was in middle school. While I know we will probably be in Afghanistan for years to come, at least one war is over.

Moving on from rebellions, revolts and wars, we saw tradition and royalty at its best. The wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton took the world by fairytale frenzy. Two billion people (myself included) "put the kettle on" while William and Kate said their "I dos" and became the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, in a not-so-private private wedding, as the wedding was not a state function like Diana's wedding to Charles was. Kate and her sister Pippa became media sweethearts and loved around the world.

Also the marriage of Grace Kelly's son Prince Albert II of Monaco to, former South African Olympic swimmer, Charlene Wittstock, while the wedding was no where near the hype of Britain's Royal nuptials, never the less, added to the Cinderella fever sweeping Europe's remaining Crowned Heads.

Musically, we saw the explosions into fame in Adele and Nicki Minaj. Adele who previously released an album in 2008, saw her album 21 steam roll to the top of the charts with her single "Rolling in the Deep." Minaj bounced on the charts with "Super Bass" and is quickly becoming one of the most successful female rappers of all-time.

Sadly for the music world we saw the loss Amy Winehouse, a figure of great talent and greater tragedy. Winehouse lost the battle to drug and alcohol addiction; music lost a singer who could actually sing. Possibly even more tragic than the loss of Winehouse, Katy Perry tied the King of Pop Michael Jackson with five hit singles from the same album.

Other notable deaths included Elizabeth Taylor and Jane Russell, both silver screen legends. 2011 also saw the passings of Geraldine Ferraro (first female vice-president candidate), Betty Ford (former First Lady) and Dorothy Rodham (Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's mother).

Steve Jobs the founder of Macintosh and Pixar also passed away. Thanks to Jobs, we saw the friendship of a cowboy and astronaut; we found Nemo. We can say "There's an app for that" on our iPads/iPhones/iMacs. A truly genius and passionate man lost the battle to cancer.

The premier year of the second decade in the new millennium has seen rebellions, a decade long war ended, deaths, debuts all made 2011 one for the record books. New talents blossomed in 2011 while older stars faded away. Now we are in the year of 2012 so let's hope the Mayans were wrong!