Written By Ljudmila Petrovic
Illustrated by Eleanor Qu
So, the Mayans screwed up and duped us all; we’re still here. Fear not, however, because amid catching up on all the things you didn’t do because “the world’s ending anyways” or “but it’s Christmas . . . time,” there are still a lot of things to look forward to in the coming year. Instead of giving you a comprehensive list of things that happened last year, The Peak is here to give you a peak into the future (and may it be filled with many more puns).
Science
Comets!
2013 is a big year for stargazers. The big one is the Comet Ison, which should appear by the end of the summer. By the end of the year, it will be visible to the naked eye, and it is expected to stay visible for several months after. In March, the Comet Pan-STARRS is projected to pass by Earth. It’s not going to be as bright as Comet Ison, but comets are great no matter what.
Culture… and babies
Hobbit replaces Twilight
For what feels like way too many years, the Twilight series seems to have been spewing movie after movie after movie. Well, now that both Team Jacob and Team Edward have retired, we can finally move on with our lives. Luckily, our itch for over-extended, big-budget series about mythical creatures will not be left unscratched: thanks to Peter Jackson’s ability to turn a 300-page book into a trilogy, we still have something to look forward to. The quality of the plot and premise cannot even be compared, so 2013 promises to be a vast improvement upon last year if only in this aspect.
Famous babies
Kate Middletown and Prince William are finally expecting a baby and it’s a big deal, because this will be the heir to the figurehead throne. Really, all we can hope for is that it will be a good-looking baby, and that it doesn’t inherit its father’s early pattern baldness. That being said, this child is being born in the midst of a debate about whether the gender of an heir should be taken into consideration, so it might be interesting for more than just the tabloids. Speaking of tabloids, Jennifer Aniston is also allegedly pregnant and happily in love with the father. If this idyllic situation is true, then this might be the downfall of the tabloid, not to mention that we’ll never see what Jen looks like as a cat lady. And let’s not forget Kanye and Kim Kardashian’s child — there’s not much to say, but we’re all curious to see what that happy little
family will look like.
JBiebs
Love him or hate him, he still sells the papers. The Biebs was named the top Canadian newsmaker of the year. That’s right: he beat out our Prime Minister and Luka Magnotta, the infamous killer. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that this is just an awkward phase for Canada’s readership and 2013’s headlines see less of his crotch-grabbing antics.
Provincial
40th BC General Election
Okay, so it’s not exactly the kind of thing that most people wait on the edge of their seat for, but the provincial election still has a huge impact on our everyday lives. On May 14th, Christy Clark and her opposition, headed by Adrian Dix, will address many of the issues that made local headlines in the past year, including the Enbridge pipeline, the hated HST, and poverty throughout the province.
U-Passes
As of Jan. 1, 2013,Translink has increased its fares. People around the Lower Mainland can’t stop bitching about it, but university students remain unaffected and can enjoy the luxury of our U-Passes. So, whenever you’re in front of your laptop eating Ramen noodles at 3 a.m. after a 10-hour paper-writing marathon, just think: at least you don’t have to pay
more to take a bus. On that note, 2013 will also see a referendum for BC students to vote on whether they wish to continue with the U-Pass program, so keep your eyes open for that date.
World
Obama’s inauguration
The election was nerve rackingly close, which just means that there’s added pressure for Obama to prove himself in the face of faltering support. Not to mention that his inaugural speech the first time around was an epic one, so the bar is high for inspirational oration on his part.
EU
Speaking of high bars, the European Union just won the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize, and they’ve named 2013 the “European Year of Citizens,” meaning that the focus will be on the rights that the EU’s citizen countries have. Europe had a rough year, so here’s hoping that the Union will embody the values of the Nobel Prize for a better 2013.
Technology
Blackberry 10
Blackberries are all but obsolete these days, but RIM’s still kicking around. In an attempt to catch up with the iPhone and Androids, they’re launching the Blackberry 10, the first of their models with an all-touchscreen. This is pretty much all they have, so we’ll see if this will have any effect on the face of technology.
