CARINA 360°: My Top Ten Highlights of the Year

As the year comes to a close, I have written up my top ten highlights of the year. Hopefully you agree!

10. Twitter blew up this year. Seriously, people made a fuss when Miley Cyrus deleted her account. When Ashton Kutcher beat CNN with millions more followers. Pshh. I’m more of a MySpace type of person. *Yawn.

9. Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize??? I know, huge shocker for everyone! Click Here.

8. Lady Gaga, she just came out of nowhere! I don’t need to say much about her, other than her fashion sense is so beyond crazy awesome.

7. FREAKING VAMPIRES! EVERYWHERE! Ugh, I'm so annoyed. Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, Day Breakers, and so on. I hope 2010 is full of wizards and witches. You know, Harry Potter! Gosh I love him.

6. Reality “Stars” seem to have been the new norm. The Kardashians, the Jersey Shore cast. Looks like getting a show on E! or MTV is the new way to gain fame. SCREW TALENT! Also, did you know that in ‘09 you could be famous just by pumping out 8 kids!? Well you could: Octomom.

5. Sonia Sotomayor, The first Hispanic Supreme Court justice.

4. H1N1 flu a pandemic. Hand sanitizer and tissues were being bought in bulk, and racist Mexican jokes were airborne like the virus itself. So far over 3,000 people have died and the vaccine was in short supply.

3. Michael Jackson dead at 50 due to Heart Attack. The world stopped. No I'm not being sarcastic.

2. Doesn't matter if you’re a Republican or a Democrat, voted for him or not, you must admit, this was a super huge deal! He’s the first African American to hold office. On January 20, 2009 Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President.

Now what could be number 1 on my top ten highlights of the year? What could beat President Obama? It's Britney B**ch!

1. OMG! April 12, 2009 was possibly the best day of ‘09 for me. This Easter Sunday in San Jose, I saw Britney Spears in concert. (*Angels Singing). Say what you want, all the other thousands of people in the Arena feel the same way. This was a huge deal for me. You see, Britney Spears music has been in my life since forever. So getting to see her was like epic for me! *sigh, I will never forget that day.



And everything else ...

The homeless doll
Balloon boy
Rihanna and Chris Brown (I hate you Chris Brown!!!)
Susan Boyle

CARINA 360°: 'His Music Will Live Forever'

It was yesterday that for almost 3 hours, the world, or at least everyone with a TV or Internet access, was not to be bothered. Music history was taking place.

Michael Jackson's memorial service was emotional to watch. Those with the "golden ticket" filled the Staples Center. Performances’ by Mariah Carey, Usher, John Mayor, Jennifer Hudson, and his own brother Jermaine...it seemed like a concert for a quick second.

However, all those performances weren’t notable enough when his daughter, Paris, called him the best dad in the world...then burst into tears into the arms of Janet Jackson.

The whole world was watching. And some people think it was too much for one man. According to the Los Angeles Times and HCD Research, 63% of Americans think he is getting to much coverage. But of those 63 percent, 80% are drawn to the media frenzy.

I don't find it surprising. People want to know. They can’t resist the drama and tragedy of this story.

Undoubtedly, a huge portion of his fans never knew him, but most people felt his death was like a huge loss in there own family. One fan being quoted as saying June 25, 2009 was the worst day of her life.

I wasn't his biggest fan, but I was a little sad. I remember when I was younger, watching the video “Thriller” with my brother. Both of us trying to dance like MJ. (Needless to say we did not succeed.)


In the end, the rumors and questions don‘t matter anymore. Michael Jackson was an entertainer. One of the best ones ever. Selling more than 750 million albums, becoming a music video icon with his original dance moves; he's been lending his voice to our ears since he was a teeny tiny boy.

August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009

-This one of my favorite songs. The beautiful song of Jackson's pet rat, Ben.