Helping you plan your year in advance
We’ve said goodbye to 2008, and now we welcome the New Year by taking a look at what’s scheduled for 2009. (All the events and releases are, of course, subject to change depending on circumstances/ laziness of the people involved).
2009 is:
- The International Year of Astronomy: 2009 has been declared as the International Year of Astronomy by the UN in an effort to “help the citizens of the world rediscover their place in the Universe through the day- and night-time sky, and thereby engage a personal sense of wonder and discovery”. Joy. (Visit www.astronomy2009.org if you’re not easily bored.)
- Not just that, 2009 is also the International Year of Natural Fibres: Seeing how much we’ve learned about potatoes and their importance in 2008, we can hardly wait for the UN to raise our awareness of natural fibres while boosting the performance of the natural fibres industries. (To find out what the heck they mean by “natural fibres” anyway, go to www.naturalfibres2009.org.)
Political landscape and the economy
Last year the world overdosed on democracy, thanks to America and their seemingly never-ending electoral process. This year (a quick search on Google has revealed that) elections of one variety or the other are expected in various countries including Iran, Germany, Indonesia, Panama, Macedonia, Republic of Congo, Algeria, Malawi, Portugal, Norway, as well as many others. Even India has its parliamentary elections scheduled for May 2009. Therefore it is safe to assume that CNN will not be going out of business anytime soon. The focus of the year, however, will continue to be on Barack Obama as he takes office in January.
As for the economy…well, we’ve come to the point where whenever someone mentions the word “economy” to us, all we get is this mental picture of some unfortunate company executive jumping off the 98th floor of a skyscraper, and every time someone starts talking about it, we get a terrible headache, so we’ll keep it short and simple: it doesn’t look good. But not to worry: if it doesn’t start to improve in the first quarter or two, we can always start up that Large Hadron Collider thing again.
Books
Yes, books still exist. No, just because the Harry Potter series is over doesn’t give you an excuse to give up reading. Many works - both fiction and non-fiction - are slated to be released in 2009. The world’s favourite legal-fiction writer John Grisham returns with his new novel The Associate. Stephen King’s latest horror thriller Under The Dome is expected to hit the bookshelves this fall, while Stephenie Meyer is set to release The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide which will give further information on the world of the Twilight series. 2009 also sees the release of Lee Child’s Gone Tomorrow; and Lord Sunday the seventh book in Garth Nix's series The Keys to the Kingdom. Heck, even Sarah Palin is expected to “write” a book, having secured a book deal (reportedly worth $7m!!); we can only hope it’ll be as amusing as her interviews!
Movies
It was franchise films like The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Quantum of Solace, and even Twilight that ruled the box office in 2008. And 2009 is likely to go down the same path, with a number of prequels and sequels among the most highly anticipated films of the year. These include X-Men Origins: Wolverine (May), Terminator Salvation (May), Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen (June), Night At The Museum 2: Battle Of The Smithsonian (May), Angels & Demons (May), Star Trek (May), and the one that everyone who is me is particularly looking forward to: the animated hilarity of Ice Age; Dawn of the Dinosaurs (July).
But the one that almost everyone who is reading these words must surely be waiting for is the sixth instalment in the Harry Potter series, with Potter mania expected to grip the world in July with the release of Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince. Meanwhile, Disney fans will be flocking to the cinemas when Hannah Montana: The Movie comes out in April, while star power is likely to draw attention towards the ensemble powered New York, I Love You (February), which features appearances by Orlando Bloom, Hayden Christensen, Shia LaBeouf, Natalie Portman, Christina Ricci, Ethan Hawke, and Kevin Bacon. Other notable releases include the chick-flick Bride Wars (January), the romantic comedy He’s Just Not That Into You (February), the spy-thriller Duplicity (March), the animated Monsters vs. Aliens (March), crime drama Public Enemies (July), action driven The Taking Of Pelham 123 (July), and the dark comedy The Informant (September).
Music
Music fans are expecting a lot from 2009: albums are expected from bands and artists including Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, U2, Franz Ferdinand, the Goo Goo Dolls, Aerosmith, Muse, Tori Amos, Hoobastank, Michelle Branch, Eminem, 50 Cent and even Michael Jackson. We hope that at least some of these albums will be as good as we expect them to be, and make 2009 way more interesting than the year that preceded it. But if we’re really unlucky, then Paris Hilton will actually release that second album she’s been threatening the world with for the last few months; even the thought of that makes us shudder. There are even rumours that Guns N’ Roses could release another new album in ‘09, but we all know that that is SO not happening. Also, American Idol returns for its eighth season, while previous winners Kelly Clarkson and Taylor Hicks are expected to issue their new albums this year.
On the local front, Pakistani music will try to recover from the slump that was last year, with a lot of hope resting on the new album by the Meekal Hasan Band, which is slated for a 2009 release. Also scheduled for ’09 are albums by Inteha, Call, and Raeth. Oh and the Kaavish debut album is expected to come out any decade now (barring any unforeseen delays).
Sports
Pakistan has been struggling in the sporting arena in the last few years, and our inability to win medals and tournaments has only been made worse by the cancellation of the sporting events that were supposed to be held in Pakistan. Last year the ICC Champions Trophy was postponed due to security concerns, and the cricket teams of India and Australia also pulled out of their tour to Pakistan. But here’s the good news: the Champions trophy is expected to come back to Pakistan this year, and we can only hope that it won’t be cancelled this time. In addition, Sri Lanka have stepped in to tour PK in place of India, Australia could complete their cancelled tour, and New Zealand might also visit us for a tour.
Apart from cricket, the year will, of course, also see the annual football leagues and championships. Rafael Nadal will try to cement his No. 1 ranking in tennis when the year kicks off with the Australian Open, baseball has its 105th World Series, WWE holds its 25th Annual WrestleMania in April, while the fifth edition of the Rugby Sevens World Cup will be held in Dubai.
So there you have it – the events that are scheduled for 2009. But how will the year actually turn out? Will this be the only time you’ll read the words “natural fibres” in 2009? Will Obama be able to bring peace to the world? Can Pakistan manage to host any cricket tournaments this year? Can any Pakistani band manage to actually release an album on schedule? And - most importantly - will Us Magazine return to its 24-paged glory? We can’t really say (on account of not being fortune tellers), but we assure you 2009 will reveal all the answers!
- By Sameen Amer
Us Magazine, The News - 2nd January, 2009
We’ve said goodbye to 2008, and now we welcome the New Year by taking a look at what’s scheduled for 2009. (All the events and releases are, of course, subject to change depending on circumstances/ laziness of the people involved).
2009 is:
- The International Year of Astronomy: 2009 has been declared as the International Year of Astronomy by the UN in an effort to “help the citizens of the world rediscover their place in the Universe through the day- and night-time sky, and thereby engage a personal sense of wonder and discovery”. Joy. (Visit www.astronomy2009.org if you’re not easily bored.)
- Not just that, 2009 is also the International Year of Natural Fibres: Seeing how much we’ve learned about potatoes and their importance in 2008, we can hardly wait for the UN to raise our awareness of natural fibres while boosting the performance of the natural fibres industries. (To find out what the heck they mean by “natural fibres” anyway, go to www.naturalfibres2009.org.)
Political landscape and the economy
Last year the world overdosed on democracy, thanks to America and their seemingly never-ending electoral process. This year (a quick search on Google has revealed that) elections of one variety or the other are expected in various countries including Iran, Germany, Indonesia, Panama, Macedonia, Republic of Congo, Algeria, Malawi, Portugal, Norway, as well as many others. Even India has its parliamentary elections scheduled for May 2009. Therefore it is safe to assume that CNN will not be going out of business anytime soon. The focus of the year, however, will continue to be on Barack Obama as he takes office in January.
As for the economy…well, we’ve come to the point where whenever someone mentions the word “economy” to us, all we get is this mental picture of some unfortunate company executive jumping off the 98th floor of a skyscraper, and every time someone starts talking about it, we get a terrible headache, so we’ll keep it short and simple: it doesn’t look good. But not to worry: if it doesn’t start to improve in the first quarter or two, we can always start up that Large Hadron Collider thing again.
Books
Yes, books still exist. No, just because the Harry Potter series is over doesn’t give you an excuse to give up reading. Many works - both fiction and non-fiction - are slated to be released in 2009. The world’s favourite legal-fiction writer John Grisham returns with his new novel The Associate. Stephen King’s latest horror thriller Under The Dome is expected to hit the bookshelves this fall, while Stephenie Meyer is set to release The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide which will give further information on the world of the Twilight series. 2009 also sees the release of Lee Child’s Gone Tomorrow; and Lord Sunday the seventh book in Garth Nix's series The Keys to the Kingdom. Heck, even Sarah Palin is expected to “write” a book, having secured a book deal (reportedly worth $7m!!); we can only hope it’ll be as amusing as her interviews!
Movies
It was franchise films like The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Quantum of Solace, and even Twilight that ruled the box office in 2008. And 2009 is likely to go down the same path, with a number of prequels and sequels among the most highly anticipated films of the year. These include X-Men Origins: Wolverine (May), Terminator Salvation (May), Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen (June), Night At The Museum 2: Battle Of The Smithsonian (May), Angels & Demons (May), Star Trek (May), and the one that everyone who is me is particularly looking forward to: the animated hilarity of Ice Age; Dawn of the Dinosaurs (July).
But the one that almost everyone who is reading these words must surely be waiting for is the sixth instalment in the Harry Potter series, with Potter mania expected to grip the world in July with the release of Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince. Meanwhile, Disney fans will be flocking to the cinemas when Hannah Montana: The Movie comes out in April, while star power is likely to draw attention towards the ensemble powered New York, I Love You (February), which features appearances by Orlando Bloom, Hayden Christensen, Shia LaBeouf, Natalie Portman, Christina Ricci, Ethan Hawke, and Kevin Bacon. Other notable releases include the chick-flick Bride Wars (January), the romantic comedy He’s Just Not That Into You (February), the spy-thriller Duplicity (March), the animated Monsters vs. Aliens (March), crime drama Public Enemies (July), action driven The Taking Of Pelham 123 (July), and the dark comedy The Informant (September).
Music
Music fans are expecting a lot from 2009: albums are expected from bands and artists including Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, U2, Franz Ferdinand, the Goo Goo Dolls, Aerosmith, Muse, Tori Amos, Hoobastank, Michelle Branch, Eminem, 50 Cent and even Michael Jackson. We hope that at least some of these albums will be as good as we expect them to be, and make 2009 way more interesting than the year that preceded it. But if we’re really unlucky, then Paris Hilton will actually release that second album she’s been threatening the world with for the last few months; even the thought of that makes us shudder. There are even rumours that Guns N’ Roses could release another new album in ‘09, but we all know that that is SO not happening. Also, American Idol returns for its eighth season, while previous winners Kelly Clarkson and Taylor Hicks are expected to issue their new albums this year.
On the local front, Pakistani music will try to recover from the slump that was last year, with a lot of hope resting on the new album by the Meekal Hasan Band, which is slated for a 2009 release. Also scheduled for ’09 are albums by Inteha, Call, and Raeth. Oh and the Kaavish debut album is expected to come out any decade now (barring any unforeseen delays).
Sports
Pakistan has been struggling in the sporting arena in the last few years, and our inability to win medals and tournaments has only been made worse by the cancellation of the sporting events that were supposed to be held in Pakistan. Last year the ICC Champions Trophy was postponed due to security concerns, and the cricket teams of India and Australia also pulled out of their tour to Pakistan. But here’s the good news: the Champions trophy is expected to come back to Pakistan this year, and we can only hope that it won’t be cancelled this time. In addition, Sri Lanka have stepped in to tour PK in place of India, Australia could complete their cancelled tour, and New Zealand might also visit us for a tour.
Apart from cricket, the year will, of course, also see the annual football leagues and championships. Rafael Nadal will try to cement his No. 1 ranking in tennis when the year kicks off with the Australian Open, baseball has its 105th World Series, WWE holds its 25th Annual WrestleMania in April, while the fifth edition of the Rugby Sevens World Cup will be held in Dubai.
So there you have it – the events that are scheduled for 2009. But how will the year actually turn out? Will this be the only time you’ll read the words “natural fibres” in 2009? Will Obama be able to bring peace to the world? Can Pakistan manage to host any cricket tournaments this year? Can any Pakistani band manage to actually release an album on schedule? And - most importantly - will Us Magazine return to its 24-paged glory? We can’t really say (on account of not being fortune tellers), but we assure you 2009 will reveal all the answers!
- By Sameen Amer
Us Magazine, The News - 2nd January, 2009
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