What happened while we were away at break?

We have reached 2012 without the world ending (not that I believe in that)! Coming back to reality from the sugar and alcohol rush that is what we usually refer to as "the holidays" can be a pretty big wakeup call. First, there's having to wrap your mind around the fact that you have to now date everything with "2012."

I didn't keep up with anything over the holidays, like most people. All of my magazines and newspapers that came in have stacked up and I haven't read them until just recently. If any of you are like me, you like to generally know what's going on with what's happening on this planet that involves the things we enjoy, like music or entertainment. Here's an update of what sparked my interest over break.

 Billy Corgan of the band The Smashing Pumpkins is going to open up a tea shop close to South Bend! According to eater.com, the front-man of the 90's-now band envisions opening a 1930's Chinese-style tea house in the upscale Highland Park neighborhood of Chicago. He's even going to be running it and working in it. There's no word on when it's going to open, but when it does, I'm definitely going. Finally, something interesting manifests in the Midwest.

 The offbeat IFC show Portlandia starring Fred Armisen (SNL) and singer/guitarist/comedian Carrie Brownstein has returned to the indie network with their second season. This show is a little different from most comedy shows that are on today. The two main characters play several character roles that are faced with different situations, and I know that sounds really vague, but that's pretty much the only way I can describe it. If I were to compare it to anything, it would be Adult Swim's bizarre sketch-comedy show Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! If you haven't seen Portlandia, try it at least once. The show's first season is on Netflix, so you really have no choice. When you are done watching those, enjoy season two! It's even funnier than the first.

 Somebody started a Bon Jovi death hoax. This is definitely the most laughable thing that has happened to the music scene lately. The rumor ended up becoming a top trending topic on Twitter, leading many people to believe that this rumor was true. It turned out that the rumor starter was a Pennsylvania musician named Jeffry Goho who opened up a false Twitter account for Bon Jovi. Goho told the Asbury Press that he was tired of all the attention the musician was getting. I honestly don't know what could make someone want to do this, especially to someone as out of the spotlight as Bon Jovi. If this guy was doing this to try to get attention, I think he was confused.

There also were tons of other things that happened. Some of the things I was excited about were the release of R.E.M.'s Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage in late December, Van Halen announced a 2012 tour with David Lee Roth (YES!), and R. Kelley decided that there will be no end to "Trapped in the Closet" so I will have plenty to laugh about this year. 2012 will be a good year after all.