Welcome to February’s The Monthly Snapshot

As mentioned last month, this post is written partially for my sister Natalie, who is currently on an 18 month mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon), and for anyone else in similar circumstances. This is a quick snap-shot of current events and culture to give my sister an idea of all the excitement that has gone on while she is out and about.

If there are any events I’ve missed or should add, please make a note in the comments. Your help is greatly appreciated

• After months of protest, Ukraine ousts their president, Viktor Yanukovych, and sets up a new government
• The war in Syria continues, the second peace talks in Geneva concluding with little progress
• The fall out from the NSA scandal continues
• Target’s sales are down due to the breech of consumer and credit data the week before Christmas
• California got rain twice! We’re still in a drought, but the rain is still exciting
• And for lighter news just for Natalie, brain scans of dogs show striking similarities with humans (thanks Wired.com)
  

  Sports Snapshot

• The Seattle Sea Hawks creamed the Dallas Broncos 43-8 in the Super Bowl
• The best ad from the Super Bowl (in my opinion) was this:

• While the US Men’s Hockey Team beat Russia’s team in the Sochi, Russia Winter Olympics (due to a technicality,) the US team was later defeated by Canada and creamed by Finland, leading to no medal.
• The facilities in Sochi were found to be less than satisfactory
• Here’s a list of the five countries which won the most medals in the Olympics: (Panama didn’t participate. It’s like there’s no snow there.)
  • Russia – 13 Gold, 11 Silver, 9 Bronze, 33 Total
  • Norway – 11 Gold, 5 Silver, 10 Bronze, 26 Total
  • Canada – 10 Gold, 10 Silver, 5 Bronze, 25 Total
  • United States – 9 Gold, 7 Silver, 12 Bronze, 28 Total
  • Netherlands – 8 Gold, 7 Silver, 9 Bronze, 24 Total

Movies Snapshot

• Some cinema greats passed away: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sid Ceaser, and Shirley Temple
• On a lighter note, Frozen is still going strong but the top movie for February is The Lego Movie. And Everything Is Awesome.

 

Television Snapshot

This may come as a shock, but the most popular show on television in February was the…. Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Here’s a breakdown:

1	WNTR OLYM MON PRIME 2(S)	NBC	13.8	23,546
2	WNTR OLYM THU PRIME 3(S)	NBC	12.2	20,286
3	WNTR OLYM WED PRIME 2(S)	NBC	12.2	20,187
4	WNTR OLYM TUE PRIME 2(S)	NBC	11.2	18,934
5	WNTR OLYM FRI PRIME 2(S)	NBC	8.8	14,934
6	WNTR OLYM CLOSE CEREM(S)	NBC	8.7	15,117
7	WNTR OLYM SAT PRIME 3(S)	NBC	7.8	13,280
8	SOCHI GOLD(S)	NBC	7.8	12,723
9	CRIMINAL MINDS	CBS	6.5	10,061
10	NCIS	CBS	6.5	9,896

And, because I’m an American Idol nerd, I think you (Natalie) will enjoy this: (I don’t know if this will matter when you get home in a year, but it is your kind of song.)

Music Snapshot

Top 10 singles (according to Billboard Hot 100)

1. Happy by Pharrell Williams
2. Dark Horse by Katy Perry
3. Talk Dirty by Jason Derulo featuring 2 Chainz
4. All of Me by John Legend
5. Drunk In Love by Beyonce featuring Jay Z
6. Pompeii by Bastille
7. Team by Lorde
8. Say Something by A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera
9. Counting Stars by One Republic
10. Timber by Pitbull Featuring Ke$ha

And in family news…

I got in to BYU’s MPA program

And we were visited by this fine celebrity…

Update:

And I won First Place for the Tall Tales contest for my local Toastmaster’s Club