2013 Tranniversary: Shawn

2013, an explosive year, both metaphorically and, unfortunately, quite literally.

2013 was the year of the Boston Marathon bombing, which resulted in the deaths of two people and the injury of nearly 300. It was also the year of George Zimmerman's trial for the murder of Trayvon Martin, and, in the wake of the much contested not guilty verdict, the genesis of the Black Lives Matter movement.

2013 also marked the first shutdown of the American government, mostly over the Affordable Care Act, which marked the beginning of a brand new era of childlike partisan tactics. It was also the year the city of Detroit declared bankruptcy, and the year that New York mayoral hopeful Anthony Weiner was caught in yet another sexing scandal.

In 2013, we lost notable global figures Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher, Robert Ebert, and Lou Reed. Meanwhile, in the UK, Prince William and Kate Middleton welcomed their first son, Prince George. Some of the biggest headlines of the year centered around gay rights. In June, the U. S. Supreme Court cleared the way for the subsequent legalization of gay marriage by ruling against part of the Defense of Marriage Act, which, in a 5 4 ruling, was found unconstitutional.

In a separate case, California's ban on same sex marriage was overturned in a federal appeals court. The U. S. Senate got its first openly gay member, and Congress had its largest ever LGBTQ caucus, with a whopping seven openly queer members by the end of the year. In keeping with the queer themes of 2013, Disney's Frozen was the top grossing film of the year, followed by Iron Man 3 and Despicable Me 2.

2013 was the year that the Harlem Shake video went viral, along with Norwegian pop band Ilves unforgettable video, What Does the Fox Say?