Before we say hello to the New Year, we must first say goodbye to the old, including its celebrities and major events. As I sit before my fully lit Christmas tree while watching Carson Daly ring in the New Year and missing Dick Clark, I have to admit 2012 was a pretty good year for me. Job-wise and CliqueClack-wise. Job-wise everything fell into place this year as I felt more like myself. CliqueClack-wise was awesome, too. While I miss the old CliqueClack format, I got to interview actors like Bradley Cooper and Taraji P. Henson, sit next to Michael Ealy, watch previews of cool shows, and was complimented on my voice by a Voltron Force executive producer. It’s been an awesome year. While I hope 2013 doesn’t descend into the dark spiral I suspect, I’m going to hope it’s ten times better for myself, my family, my friends, my colleagues (at work and CliqueClack), and my nation.

But, before I talk about 2013 hopes, I want to pay tribute to those who left us in 2012, remembered in past CliqueClack posts:

• Dick Clark, I miss his Rockin’ Eve (Tara/Mike)
• Larry Hagman, Dallas and I Dream of Genie heart throb (Chuck)
• Whitney Houston, A Legend. Period.
  • Musiclack Tribute (Tara/Mike)
  • Cinderella Flashback (Katie)
• Farewell to Twinkies:
  • Hostess, What went wrong? (Anita)
  • Why did I stop eating Twinkies? (Anita)
• Mel Stuart, director of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (Kim)
• Davy Jones, The Monkees rock god:
  • Tribute (Kim)
  • Boy Meets World Flashback (Katie)
• Richard Dawson, Game Show Host Extraordinaire (Tara/Mike)
• “Farewell to the seniors on Glee“ … and Glee for that matter (Tara)
• Peter O’Toole retires (Chuck)
• And, like Chuck said, don’t omit Disco Queen Donna Summer! (Tara/Michael)

When I asked the CliqueClack gang what they most looked forward to in the New Year, it was a varied response. While I look forward to Michael no longer beating a dead horse, he looks forward to my transcribing interviews in under two months. Although Keith secretly hopes 2013 (or 2014) will be the year Michael writes on his all-time favorite comic hero, The Goon, he truthfully wants “to make the transition to cutting the cable by the end of the year” and hopes “to see even more quality programming come to online-only format, like Arrested Development‘s doing, so there’s more encouragement for putting stuff out there without requiring pricy subscriptions that require you to subscribe to channels where 99% of the programming you couldn’t care less about.” Meanwhile, Chuck, the sweetie that he is wishes “All the best to the CC team in 2013!”

So, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year. Hopefully, 2013 kicks 2012’s ass!