11 Adventures in 2011

Happy first post of 2011! This year is just as much fun to pronounce as "Nineteen-ninety-nine" was a few years ago. "Twenty-Eleven" rolls so sweetly off one's tongue.

While many publications chose to recap the big happenings of 2010 today we're looking forward the future. The next 361 days are going to be exciting. If the world really does come to an end in 2012 then this is our last full year on earth. We better enjoy it.

To start 2011 off right here are 11 adventures in the coming year:

11 – Neptune will complete its first full orbit since its discovery in 1846. We often forget our blue neighbor a mere 2.68 billion miles away. The next time the planet will orbit the sun is 165 years from now in 2176. Happy 400 year anniversary America and hello Neptune!

10 – New Kids On The Block and Backstreet Boys concert tour. The NKOTBBSB extravaganza is the best thing former BOP and TigerBeat readers have to talk about since Corey Haim from the two Corey’s died. Please do not buy a ticket for this concert. Instead, take a camera to the event and photograph the people who did pay. There are going to be a lot of ridiculously attired Jordan Knight and Nick Carter fans at the bubblegum reunion shindig.

9 – The Wedding of Prince William & Kate Middleton on April 29. If Princess Diana & Prince Charles’s wedding was the wedding of the century then Wills & Kate’s wedding is the wedding of our millennium. I’m taking off work that Friday and going to Fado in Buckhead to drink a Guinness while watching the broadcast. Who’s coming with me?

8 – Evolution of traditional publishing (Borders, e-readers). Watch out folks because this year may be print doomsday. To start of 2011 we have Borders potentially filing for bankruptcy

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/04/business/media/04borders.html?_r=2&ref=business due to their poor revenue stream. Between the Borders bailout and the amazing advancements in digital media (particularly on devices such as Kindle and iPad) it’s going to be a helluva year for publishers. Watch what happens to your favorite bookstore or magazine over the next year. Times they are a changin’…

7 – Tea Partying. For the record I can’t stand Sarah Palin and her narcissistic agenda; however, the media reaction she’s created to her politics is phenomenal. With the elections coming up in 2012 it’s going to be interesting to see if the Tea Party actually plans to run a third party ticket and who will comprise its voters.

6 – Return of Comic book Superhero films (Thor, Captain America, The Avengers). Our millennial generation grew up on films such as “Superman” with Christopher Reeve and “Batman” with Michael Keaton (not the crap George Clooney version). Perhaps we’ll see another iconic actor rise up for a superhero film legacy. My money is on Ryan Reynolds as the Green Lantern.

5—Apple - iPhone 5, iPad2, iWhatever. Rupert Murdoch has hailed Steve Jobs as the best CEO of our time, and while I think Rupert Murdoch is an evil genius (who ran MySpace into the ground) I have to agree with him on Jobs. I held off on purchasing the iPhone 4 because I’m really interested to see what’s next. There’s rumors of holographs on the next iPhone. Can’t you hear Princess Leia calling you on your iPhone? “Help me, you’re my only hope…Steve Jobs!”

4 – California will open the world's largest solar plant. It’s a $6 billion project to power more than 300,000 homes. Not only is it using green energy to cleanly power American homes but it’s also creating hundreds of jobs for workers. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39836641/ns/us_news-environment/. Hopefully this is the first step opening the gates for a new industry beneficial to both the environment and the economy. Which leads to our next adventure…

3 – Economic Recovery. It’s been a really crappy two years for most Americans due to financial hardships. We have to continue to believe our economy will continue to get better and do everything we can to be prudent with our money. Save more, spend wisely and let’s work to make sure 2011 is an advantageous and adventurous year. I’m no economic expert but I am an expert on two things: the power of positive thinking and shopping therapy. Hopefully both will continue to prosper.

2 – U.S. Presidential campaigning begins. Brace yourself, America. We had enough of Bush’s "Four More Years" in 2004. Who knows what we’ll be in for when President Obama attempts to hang onto his seat in the White House. President Obama has a crackerjack marketing team but can they pull the wool over America’s eyes like they did three years ago?

1 – Releasing "That Southern Wedding" – my first novel. For those who know me well y’all know I’ve been typing my nails to bits on a 100,000-word story. Essentially I set out to rewrite “Gone With the Wind” for our modern times. “Gone With the Wind” was an epic romance and a wedding is too. “That Southern Wedding” follows a woman from Atlanta in the five-days leading up to her wedding her adventures towards the aisle. If you’d like to help more on my writing journey please let me know. Your reading and commenting this blog is a huge support.

Best wishes for an adventurous 2011. If you ever have a story to share please send it my way and I’ll feature it on this blog.

Now let “Twenty-Eleven” roll off your tongue just once more. Mmm...tastes sweet.