Went a whole week without accidentally saying or writing 2012--success!

• Dave Grohl will soon be making an appearance with the Sound City Players, the group of musicians from his documentary Sound City, at the Park City Live venue on January 18th.  Strangely, the actual members of the group (other than Grohl) aren't exactly known yet, though it could be anyone involved in the film, from former Nirvana members Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear to Stevie Nicks or Trent Reznor.
   
• Who had the best-selling vintage t-shirt of 2012?  That would be Black Sabbath and their '78 US tour tee.  Why?  Well, probably because Iron Man wore it.  The shirt saw a massive bump in sales after the release of The Avengers last year, in which Robert Downey Jr. wore it as Tony Stark in a subtle nod to the "Iron Man" connection.
   
• Sony Pictures Entertainment came out of 2012 smelling like a rose, as it turned out to be the biggest year in the studio's history.  Sony pulled in a whopping $4.440 billion dollars on the year from mega-hits like Skyfall, The Amazing Spider-Man, and Men in Black 3, plus surprises like Hotel Transylvania and 21 Jump Street...
   
• ...but what was the worst-grossing individual movie of last year?  Ask Christian Slater, who starred in the schlocky horror flick Playback.  It earned a ridiculously meager $264 in theaters--that's "hundred," not "thousand" or "million," mind you--on a one-week run.  Did I say "theaters?"  Sorry, that shouldn't be plural, because it only played on a single screen, making $252 opening night and another $12 bump the next week before being pulled straight to video on-demand services.  Yeowch.
   
• After an impressive twelve-year run, even through the launch of a new console, Sony's little engine that could is finally coming to the end of the tracks:  the Playstation 2 will cease production immediately in Japan.  In its lifespan, the system sold over 150 million units, and some developers claim they'll still be making software for it, even as the company's resources shift to the production of the PS4...
   
• ...and speaking of new systems, rumor has it that Microsoft's next Xbox offering will be revealed at E3.  The speculation is fueled by Major Nelson posting a cryptic countdown timer that, when the math is done, leads directly up to the 2013 convention.  Supposedly, dev kits have already been sent to game designers for this new console, codenamed "Kryptos" at this stage.
   

Kick back this weekend and enjoy, and I'll catch up with you again Monday!  'Til then, my friends...ROCK!
--HH

(News credit to 411mania.com)