1 Kate turns big 3-0: Her name is already forecast to be the most-used word in social media this year, and watch how much attention Kate gets next Monday (Jan. 9) when the duchess turns 30. What would be the icing on the cake? When Will and Kate announce they’re having a baby. Twitter would completely melt.
2 Rob Schneider: His new comedy, Rob, airs next week (Jan. 12). It’s about a newlywed dealing with his wife’s close-knit Mexican-American family. TV critic Jace Lacob watched the pilot and live-tweeted his disdain for it. Sample tweet from @televisionary: “If Hell exists, it would be watching the Rob pilot over and over again for eternity. And I am only two minutes in …” Must-watch.
3 @RupertMurdoch: Eighty-year-old media mogul Rupert Murdoch opened his (rather boring) Twitter account over the New Year’s holiday and already has more than 100,000 followers. Murdoch, whose media empire, News Corp., has been under increased scrutiny due to phone hacking at his U.K. newspapers, better hope his Twitter account never gets hacked.
4 Team Canada: Our juniors were getting smoked 6-1 in the semifinal by Russia at the Calgary Saddledome, and staged what was almost an epic comeback, scoring four goals in the third and hitting a post late before falling short 6-5. Even though they didn’t make the final, they can hold their heads high after that valiant comeback. 2013 will be their golden year.
5 Twins born a year apart: In a story gone viral this week, a Minneapolis couple welcomed twins six hours apart, with a boy, Beckett, born 6:40 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2011, and a girl, Freya, Jan. 1, 2012, at 12:26 a.m. New Year’s Day. This means a) separate birthdays for both, and b) whenever the siblings fight, Beckett can go, “Yo, I’m a year older.”
6 Butt out: A giant 12-foot acrylic cigarette butt was erected in Toronto Tuesday as The Canadian Cancer Society launched its seventh annual Driven to Quit Challenge. If you’re thinking of quitting, try it. I’ve been clean from the cancer sticks for over 10 years. All you need is 20 seconds of insane courage. And willpower.
7 Steve Jobs action figure: A Chinese toy company called InIcons is releasing a detailed 12-inch action figure of Jobs wearing his signature black turtleneck, rimless glasses and blue jeans. Due for U.S. release late February (if Apple gives permission), word is they’re getting tons of pre-orders. Accessories such as iPhone, iPad and iPod are not included!
8 4,700 self-portraits: For 14 years, Canadian photographer Jeff Harris has been doing an epic art project whereby he takes a self-portrait each day and then posts it on his website to take his readers along on his adventures. Think of it as his personal diary, but in photos. Check it out at jeffharris.org
