A Guide to 2012

The 2012 Olympics:

While the often rainy and drowsy London may not seem like the perfect place to hold the summer Olympics, the city has spent 9.5 billions pounds and the past six years building over 500 acres of new transportation routes and sports venues. With over eight million people already purchasing tickets, the world seems even more ready.

It may be hard for one country to “win” the Olympics, but in 2008, China earned 15 more gold medals than the United States, and this summer US athletes will be looking for revenge. Rising star swimmer Ryan Lochte and record setter Michael Phelps takes aim at eight gold medals each, and the NBA-filled basketball “Dream Team”, led by Duke’s Coach Mike Krzyzewski, looks to repeat as world’s best. Other close competitions for the US will include Mens and Womens Gymnastics, Softball and the Men’s 100m Dash.

The 2012 Presidential Election:

With the results Republican primaries continuing to shift and change in new directions, it is still unclear who the Grand Old Party will hoist up to race the Democrat incumbent, President Barrack Obama.

Earlier this year, it seemed both Republicans and Democrats in Congress were aiming at keeping the countries deficit as the main issue of this presidential election, new internet censorship bills such as SOPA and PIPA are coming into public view. The bill NDAA, which directly violates the Bill of Rights by denying habeus corpus, may also take the main stage in the near future.

With Republican candidates stretching farther and farther into the right wing, they might alienate some of their lesser-conservative voters. Obama too will be likely to lose undecided voters after backtracking or simply ignoring many of his 2008 campaign promises. With so many undecided voters that could swing left or right, this election will be incredibly close.

The XLVI Superbowl:

The Superbowl is America’s number one unofficial holiday. It is the All-American Event – a time for eating, football, and with this years weather, even grilling. Last year, over half of the country, 162,000,000 people, tuned in to watch kickoff. This year, NBC plans adding even more viewers by, for the first time ever, live streaming Superbowl XVLI from the internet to both computers and cellphones. Beyond setting new trends, this year’s Superbowl has already set a new record of it’s own, selling commercial time at an average of $3.5 million for every thirty seconds, costing 50% more than last year.

To be held in Lucas Oil Stadium, this years game will feature either Baltimore or New England from the AFC and either the New York Giants or San Francisco from the NFC. The half time show will feature Madonna collaborating with artist Nicki Minaj and performers from Cirque du Solei.

The Mayan Calendar ends:

Could it really be? Could a group of Mayan mathematicians and astronomers from Central America somehow predict the destruction of humanity as we know it, 2000 years in advance? Simply put: no. While as many as 1,000 people (according to 2012endofdays.com) have spent $5,000 apiece buying survival bunkers across the US, for most people, Friday the 21st, 2012, will be a run of the mill day.

In fact, there is no real connection between the end of the Mayan Calendar and the end of the world. The Mayans believe the end of calendar would simply mean the beginning of the next calendar, a time of renewel. Modern Mayans are even likely to use the end of the calendar to spark a civil rights campaign in countries such as Guatemala.

So no, you will (probably) not die. The most that will happen because of the projected end of world will be some sweet parties, and plenty of babies being born nine months after Friday the 21st.

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