16 pop culture predictions for 2012

Here I’ve curated more than a dozen interesting predictions for 2012 from around the Web about entertainment, sports, politics and miscellaneous.

Ask.com offered a list of predictions for 2012 based on Internet queries to its website.

• Tiger Woods will retire from golf in 2012.
• Dr. Oz will surpass Dr. Phil in ratings in 2012.
• New York will reclaim its spot as the No. 1 U.S. tourist destination in 2012. Orlando was No. 1 in 2011.
• Nicki Minaj will leapfrog Katy Perry in album sales in 2012.
• The McRib will become a permanent fixture on McDonald’s menu.
• The Green Bay Packers will win the Super Bowl again.
• George Clooney will win an Oscar in 2012.
• Republican Mitt Romney will be elected president.

Forbes predicts that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will be elected president in 2012, kicking out Barack Obama after one term.

James Poulos, a columnist at The Daily Caller, also predicts that Romney will be elected president, adding that CIA director David Petraeus will be his vice president.

Predictions from Judy Hevenly, a Los Angeles-based psychic:

• Mitt Romney wins Iowa presidential caucus;
• A baby boy for Kate Middleton and Prince William;
• A tsunami in Hawaii;
• Barack Obama re-elected president;
• Breakthrough in the cure for Lyme disease;
• Angels will actually be seen walking among us by some with extraordinary powers of perception;

Adult industry professionals on the Xbiz.net forums offered a host of predictions for the porn industry in 2012. (Weblink requires registration.)
Black and Blue Media predicts that mainstream media companies will file copyright lawsuits against porn studios doing “parodies” of well-known TV shows and movies.
Copying a movie or TV show and just adding sex scenes as an homage to the original will not offer First Amendment parody protection, the group says.
Forum member Jacco agreed that some porn “parodies” likely are not protected free speech. He writes:

Parody: A work or performance that imitates another work or performance with ridicule or irony. 

The Supreme Court of the United States stated that parody “is the use of some elements of a prior author’s composition to create a new one that, at least in part, comments on that author’s works.”

If you look at the current crop of porn “parodies” the ridicule/irony/comments are mostly missing. The imitation part is there.

My guess is that there are not a lot more court cases … because the original copyright holders don’t want to generate publicity for the porn movies involved.

Just calling something a parody does not make it a parody.

Photo: Novelty item for opponents of President Barack Obama. The Obama Basher from RageGage lets users take out their frustrations on a toy Obama. The device responds to bashes with one of over two dozen presidential messages depending on the strength of the bash. It spouts phrases ranging from “You hit like Nancy Pelosi's hair dresser” to “OK, I give up ... I'll repeal it!”

11 bold tech and business predictions for 2012

Year-ahead predictions are a dime a dozen.
Put more bluntly by some foul-mouthed philosopher: Opinions are like assholes – everyone’s got one and everyone thinks theirs doesn’t stink.
I’ve reviewed a lot of 2012 predictions by experts in their fields and have compiled some of the most interesting ones.
Here are 11 notable predictions in technology and business that I’ve seen for the coming year.

1. Microsoft will buy Netflix and/or LinkedIn

Kudos to the analysts at market research firm IDC for sticking their necks out with their 2012 predictions. They predicted that Microsoft would buy Netflix to buck up its online content offerings and LinkedIn to add social networking capabilities.
IDC analyst Frank Gens admits they’re “audacious” calls.
“You can’t do layups all day,” he told me. “You have to take a half-court shot now and again.”

2. Microsoft will fire CEO Steve Ballmer

IBD tech business writer Brian Deagon is convinced that 2012 will be the year that Microsoft will give the boot to long-time CEO Steve Ballmer. This prediction has been floated in previous years, but Deagon is practically alone this year. (Warner Crocker at Gotta Be Mobile also predicts that Ballmer will step down next year.)
Deagon thinks Ballmer will be shown the door in 2012, despite the anticipated launch of Windows 8 later in the year, which will give the company a shot at penetrating the tablet market and reinvigorating PCs. Deagon thinks the Microsoft board will finally tire of Microsoft’s lagging stock price and missed opportunities.

3. Apple shares will plummet 50% from 2011 highs

Europe’s Saxo Bank predicts that Apple shares will tumble to $213.35 at some point in 2012, half of its 2011 high. The bank predicts that Apple will lose ground to competitors in smartphones and tablets in 2012 and see its profit margins cut.

4. Apple will buy Twitter

Apple will swoop in and buy Twitter as the microblogging service sees usage wane from competition from Facebook and Google+, ReadWriteWeb founder and editor-in-chief Richard MacManus predicts.

5. Apple will declare a dividend

The Apple board will decide to share some of its $26 billion cash hoard with investors in the form of a dividend, predicts Marc Lichtenfeld, senior analyst at Investment U.

6. Zynga will lose half its market cap

Social gaming company Zynga will see its market capitalization of over $6 billion cut in half in 2012, predicts Bernard Moon, co-founder and CEO of Vidquik, writing at VentureBeat.com.
Moon thinks Zynga will start to see its leadership position in the space diminish next year.

7. RIM will exit the hardware business

Research In Motion will ditch its BlackBerry smartphone hardware business and focus on software, says Alan Shimel, co-founder and managing partner of the CISO Group. RIM will focus on software for managing mobile devices for the enterprise, he says.

8. FTC will take Google to court

The Federal Trade Commission is likely to take Google to court next year on antitrust charges, according to Clint Boulton, senior editor for eWeek and Google Watch.
Boulton also predicts that Google will shutter its Chrome OS and Google TV products as CEO Larry Page continues to clean house of dead-end products and focus on core software.

9. Facebook will expand into e-commerce and business networks

Colin Sebastian, an analyst with Baird Research, thinks social networking leader Facebook will make a big push into e-commerce next year. He calls the online sales trend F-commerce.
IDC thinks Facebook will be getting more “business-oriented” in 2012, partnering with enterprise tech giants like Microsoft, IBM, Oracle and SAP to add social networking to their offerings.

10. Twitter for your toaster

IDC predicts that 2012 will see the arrival of microblogging by things, so people can follow the status of a product or service.
“Think Twitter for your toaster,” Gens said.
Machine-to-machine communications will allow people to follow a Twitter feed from an appliance in their home, the arrival time of a bus or the available parking spaces in an area.

11. Coinstar will change its name to Redbox

Coinstar will change its name to Redbox in 2012. Redbox is the company’s largest business today and it’s being used to brand new ventures like Seattle’s Best Coffee kiosks. This is my only personal prediction for the year.

Photos: Netflix on a laptop computer (top); and a Redbox-powered Seattle’s Best Coffee kiosk at the Harris Teeter grocery store in Reston, Va., in December 2011.

Movie ad fail: ‘Conan the Barbadian’

Vacationing at the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas this week, I saw this posting outside the resort’s movie theater.
The 2011 big-screen adaptation of “Conan the Barbarian” was billed as “Conan the Barbadian.” I would like to have seen that Caribbean-themed “Conan,” perhaps co-starring pop star Rihanna, the official ambassador of youth and culture for Barbados.

Naughty and nice Christmas lists

Merry Christmas, everybody!
In honor of the holiday, here are some neat pop culture lists I’ve curated. Enjoy!

15 Funniest Christmas Movies of All Time (Huffington Post; Dec. 6, 2011)

I haven’t seen all of them, but “The Ref” and “Bad Santa” were so terrible I couldn’t finish them. I definitely agree with “A Christmas Story,” “Scrooged” and “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” though.

The 15 Best Christmas Movies of All Time (CollegeHumor; Dec. 11, 2011)

20 Top Christmas Movies Ever (Entertainment Weekly; Dec. 15, 2010)

The Best Family Christmas Movies (Huffington Post; Dec. 24, 2010)

10 Holiday Songs You’ll Hate By Christmas (TheStreet.com; Nov. 16, 2010)

15 Christmas Songs Too Annoying For Words (Huffington Post; Dec. 9, 2011)

30 Years of Elf Handiwork - The Most Popular Holiday Toys since 1981 (UltimateCoupons.com; Dec. 20, 2011)

Top 30 Funniest Christmas Porn Movie Titles (Tech-media-tainment; Dec. 7, 2010)

Photo: Santa gets his wish this Christmas. From a photo shoot featuring Courtney Stodden and Doug Hutchison. See lots more photos from the shoot at The Superficial.

‘American Horror Story’: Best new show of 2011

“American Horror Story” finished its first season on FX this week and what a ride it was.
The 12-episode run was by turns shocking, frightening, funny and poignant. The series has pushed the boundaries of what’s acceptable on basic cable with its violent, sexual and mature content.
The show kept me guessing. I was never sure how it was going to turn out.
And the performance of scenery-chewing co-star Jessica Lange was a real treat. She should be a heavy favorite for honors at the Golden Globes and Emmy awards.
One of my big concerns about “American Horror Story” – and other new shows this season – was how far the creators could carry the premise of the show.
When the season finale was over, the story of the troubled Harmon family was complete. To continue it seemed pointless.
Series co-creator Ryan Murphy admitted as much this week. He told reporters that the second season would “begin with a new locale and a (mostly) new cast,” EW says. Some of the current cast members may come back in different roles, Murphy said.
“It’s a really fun idea to do an anthology show,” Murphy said. “That’s the way it was designed from the beginning. Every season, there will be a new haunting and we’ll have a new overriding theme.”
Of this fall’s other new shows, I’ve only stuck with CW’s “Ringer” and ABC’s “Revenge.” Both are far-fetched soap operas, classified as “guilty pleasures” by some critics. They’re entertaining enough, but low on my viewing list.
I still like returning shows “The Walking Dead,” “Supernatural” and “The Vampire Diaries.”
AMC’s “The Walking Dead” has suffered a sophomore slump with sluggish pacing and poor writing. It was partially redeemed by a great mid-season finale. But the show’s producers had better pick up the pace in the second half of the season.
CW’s “Supernatural” continues to surprise me in its seventh season. It’s a great show. But I hope they find a way to end it before it goes stale like “The X-Files.”
Both “Supernatural” and fellow CW show “The Vampire Diaries” could teach “The Walking Dead” producers a thing or two about pacing. They don’t stretch out story lines. They have mini-climaxes throughout the season and come up with new plots to keep things moving.

Michael Buble rules the Christmas music airwaves this year

This holiday season, Michael Buble is dominating the radio airwaves with tracks from his new Christmas album, including “Jingle Bells,” “All I Want For Christmas Is You” and “Holly Jolly Christmas.”
Buble’s album “Christmas” has been the No. 1 album for four weeks straight, according to Billboard. It’s already the year’s third best-selling album, behind Adele’s “21” and Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” the New York Times says.
The Canadian crooner also scored with a hit Christmas television special on NBC and was a recent musical guest on “Saturday Night Live.”

Here are my top 10 Christmas songs for 2011:

1. “Winter Wonderland” (1963) by Darlene Love
2. “Jingle Bells” (1946) by Frank Sinatra
3. “Ring Christmas Bells” (1962) by Ray Conniff
4. “Christmas Wrapping” (1981) by The Waitresses
5. “Mary’s Boy/Oh My Lord” (1981) by Boney M.
6. “Happy Xmas” (1998) by Celine Dion
7. “Carol of the Bells” (2008) by August Burns Red
8. “Last Christmas” (2010) by the cast of “Glee”
9. “Hey Santa” (2008) by Carnie and Wendy Wilson
10. “All I Want For Christmas Is You” (2011) by Michael Buble

The apocalyptic art of Steve McGhee

With some people convinced that the world will end next year, I thought I’d spotlight the work of Canadian artist Steve McGhee. He specializes in pictures depicting disasters and the end of the world.
McGhee uses photo manipulation and graphic design software to create his nightmarish works. I particularly like his airplane crash images, especially “All Is Lost,” which depicts a jumbo jet crashing into the bridge with cars.
For more information on McGhee, check out his website and his profile on the Behance Network.