Video: 2014 In 4 Minutes

Out filmmaker Ryan James Yezak gives you the year 2014 in only 4 minutes.

Hang on to your hats as Yezak speeds through the highs and lows of the past year, including: Taylor Swift, Apparently Kid, the Sochi Olympics, Adele Dazeem, the "Proud Whopper", selfies, Rob Ford, Ellen Page coming out, Flappy Bird, protests, "Bridgegate", Conchita Wurst, Alex from Target, the Michael Sam kiss and so much more.

(h/t Towleroad)

Video: Super Compilation Of 2014's Ultimate Fails

At some point in everyone's life, you try and fail at something. Sometimes things just don't go the way you planned. Get back up, kids, and keep going.

Check out this super-compilation of moments when things go astray in life.

I don't know about you, but this makes me feel a little better about my small "life fails."

(h/t Towleroad)

My Favorite Gift This Year

All that gorgeous, wonderful red! Click the image to enlarge and enjoy the fabulosity of it all.

Just intoxicating in the most fantastic way. What a great year for marriage equality.

Looking forward to finishing the job in 2015!

Mimosa Break From Cooking: Merry Christmas Everyone!

Twice-baked mashed potatoes done; Roz Ryan's mac and cheese in the oven; and first glass of mimosa.

Merry, merry everyone! Hope you all have a most fabu day!

Movie Mashup: Final Cut 2014

Mashup of the best in film for the year 2014 edited by Nick Bosworth. Very cleverly done.

Clip description: Another year has passed and it has been a memorable one folks. 2014 gave us many incredible films from every genre you can think of and I will once again honor the people behind them and their immense efforts by showcasing 330 films that released during the past year. I thank you all for watching and look forward to an even better 2015.

(h/t Towleroad)

Google - Year in Search 2014

From Google: In 2014 we searched trillions of times. What do these searches say about us? Explore the Year in Search and follow the conversation on #YearInSearch

Watch past Year in Search videos here.

Facebook's 2014 Year End Review

2014 Year in Review from Facebook on Vimeo.

Top Ten Most "Shazamed" Songs of 2014

According to music app Shazam, which identifies songs via the app software, has released it's list of "Most Shazamed Songs of 2014:"

Avicii's song "Wake Me Up" has been looked up on the Shazam service more than 19 million times. Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" came in second with more than 18 million Shazams, while Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know" came in third with more than 16 million.

1. Avicii - Wake Me Up (19 million +)
2. Robin Thicke Feat. T.I. & Pharrell - Blurred Lines (18 million +)
3. Gotye Feat. Kimbra - Somebody That I Used To Know (16 million +)
4. Passenger - Let Her Go (15 million +)
5. Clean Bandit Feat. Jess Glynne - Rather Be (14 million +)
6. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Feat. Wanz - Thrift Shop (14 million +)
7. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Feat. Ray Dalton - Can't Hold Us (12 million +)
8. OneRepublic - Counting Stars (11 million +)
9. P!nk Feat. Nate Ruess - Just Give Me A Reason (11 million +)
10. Daft Punk Feat. Pharrell Williams - Get Lucky (11 million +)

Read the full list of "25 Most Shazamed Songs" here.

YouTube Rewind 2014 - The Music, Moments & Memes Of The Year

YouTube Rewind 2014. Celebrating the moments, memes, and people that made 2014.

Can you spot all the references?

iTunes Shares Top 10 Best Selling Songs & Albums Plus "Best Of" For 2014

According to Billboard, the top selling singles and albums on iTunes this year were:

Songs:

1. "Happy," Pharrell
2. "All of Me," John Legend
3. "Dark Horse," Katy Perry
4. "Talk Dirty," Jason Derulo
5. "Fancy," Iggy Azalea
6. "Problem," Ariana Grande
7. "All About That Bass," Meghan Trainor
8. "Let It Go," Idina Menzel
9. "Turn Down for What," DJ Snake & Lil Jon
10. "Rude," Magic!

Albums:

1. Frozen
2. 1989, Taylor Swift
3. Ghost Stories, Coldplay
4. In the Lonely Hour, Sam Smith
5. Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack
6. Beyonce, Beyonce
7. Pure Heroine, Lorde
8. X, Ed Sheeran
9. The Outsiders, Eric Church
10. 5 Seconds of Summer, 5 Seconds of Summer

In addition, the iTunes crew issued their own "Best Of" List for 2014:

Apple's Best-Ofs:

Best Artist: Beyonce, Beyonce
Best Album: 1989, Taylor Swift
Best Song: "Fancy" (feat. Charli XCX), Iggy Azalea
Best New Artist: Sam Smith
Best Pop: 1989, Taylor Swift
Best Rock: Lazaretto, Jack White
Best Alternative: Lost in the Dream, The War on Drugs
Best Hip-Hop/Rap: Under Pressure, Logic
Best Country: Pain Killer, Little Big Town
Best R&B/Soul: JHUD, Jennifer Hudson
Best Dance: New Eyes, Clean Bandit
Best Singer/Songwriter: Utah, Jamestown Revival
Best Latin: MultiViral, Calle 13
Best Electronic: Our Love, Caribou
Best Jazz: Time and Time Again, The Cookers
Best Classical: John Luther Adams: Become Ocean, Ludovic Morlot & Seattle Symphony Orchestra

Thoughts On 2014 Election Night

After an election night that was just about what everyone expected - low turnout, "6th year curse" for incumbent president giving power to opposition party, and general malaise about the country - there were a few bright spots for The Randy Report:

• The six openly LGBT members of the US House - Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA), Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), Rep Mark Pocan (D-WI), Rep David Cicilline (D-RI), and Rep. Kysten Sinema (D-AZ) - won reelection.

• Dallas voters overwhelmingly added nondiscrimination protections for LGBT city employees to the City Charter on Tuesday by a vote of 77 to 23 percent opposed. See?  Not all Texans are assholes...

• In Massachusetts, Laura Healy became the first out Attorney General in the nation.

• Gov. John Hickenlooper squeaked out reelection in presidential swing state Colorado - that will be important come 2016

• LGBT ally Tom Wolf beat Pennsylvania's Tom Corbett to take the governor's mansion in that state. Wolf has stated he would sign hate crime legislation into law to help curb anti-gay attacks like the one in Philadelphia recently.

• Four red states — Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota — passed measures to increase the minimum wage.

• Former half-term Massachusetts senator (and carpetbagger) Scott Brown made history as the first man to lose twice to female candidates for the US Senate having lost two years ago in Massachusetts to Elizabeth Warren and last night to Jeanne Shaheen in New Hampshire.

At the end of the day, it's important that what happened last night is not unusual. Presidents Reagan, Clinton and George W. Bush all saw their party lose control of the Senate during midterm contests.

While I wouldn't have chosen last night's results, what will be interesting now that the Republicans control both chamber of Congress is this: Will they NOW do something to help the country, or will they continue to be obstructionists?  More obstruction will make the electorate more discontent, but actually doing something for the country could give accomplishments to the Obama column... Which will it be?

Last thought - we heard for the past two years how this the 2014 Senate map was bad for Democrats with the majority of Senate seats in play being Dems.  Well, 2016 will flip the script on the GOP. There will be 23 Republican seats up compared to just 10 for Democrats. And five of those -- Illinois, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin -- Obama won in 2008 and 2012.

Just saying...

Forward.

Sydney, Australia welcomes 2014

We may be counting down 2013, but Sydney is already celebrating 2014.