Number 10
General Stanley McChrystal
This former Commander of the U.S. Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A) caused quite an uproar in the middle of the year for his remarks in a Rolling Stone magazine article.
McChrystal and his staff made unflattering comments about Joe Biden, America's Vice-President, and other government officials. When questioned, he didn't deny the content.
The event prompted President Barack Obama to call the four-star general for a meeting at the White House where the latter tendered his resignation. Obama accepted it and days after the resignation, McChrystal decided to retire.
Not many people have the balls to take on the President, a man like Stanley McChrystal should deserve some sort of recognition.
Number 9
Angry Birds developers
First of all, in case you don't know, Angry Birds is a game that was released for iPhone in December 2009. With its ultra-addictive gameplay and cheap price, it took the entire mobile gaming world by storm this year.
Android and Symbian versions of the game were also created due to its overwhelming popularity. This catapult-puzzle game was developed by Rovio Mobile, a company in Finland and has sold over 12 million copies in Apple's App Store.
Gamers all around the world might be having fun (or difficulties) with the game. However, it is the people who created it who will have the last laugh.
Number 8
Konstantin Novoselov
Ok, maybe I should add Andre Geim in too since both of them are known for their work on graphene. I decided to put Novoselov name as I think Geim has already won more awards.
Both teacher and student (yes, Geim is the teacher) are also the recipients of this year's Nobel Prize in Physics. Novoselov is also the youngest Nobel laureate in 18 years.
The Russian scientist also won the 2010 Knights Commander of the Order of Netherlands Lion, a highly prestigious accolade for exceptional people.
Number 7
Naoto Kan
Last year, I had Yukio Hatoyama. This year, his successor also managed to garner a spot in my list. The current Japanese Prime Minister had a good taste of what ups and downs in life are all about in 2010.
The former finance minister a=only assumed office as PM in June after Hatoyama's shock resignation (actually not really that shocking).
Kan had to deal with problems regarding the economy, cabinet, and most notably the Senkaku Islands incident which strained relations with China.
The Japanese government stepped into the currency market in September by buying U.S. dollars to weaken the yen. It was a move welcomed by exporters, brokers as well as the public.
I wonder how long will he last as PM since Japan has a trend of changing governments in the last few years.
Number 6
Bill Gates
What is the world's richest man doing here in this list? Other than being a dropout student of Harvard, chairman of Microsoft and biggest shareholder of the company, he is also a philanthropist.
Together with his wife, they are the founders of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It is basically a charity thingy. This year, together with Warren Buffet (world no. 2 wealthiest man), Bill has embarked on a mission to get more billionaires to pledge their support for charity.
This is the kind of people who deserve to be rich, the kind who has a charitable heart. When will it be my turn?
Number 5
Xavier Hernández
After living on Earth for 3 decades, it is high time Xavi did something big in his career as a footballer. Luckily, he did it and it wasn't just one.
In 2010, the Barcelona midfielder won the Spanish League, Spanish Supercup, World Cup and World Player of the Year award.
The class of Xavi is out of this world. No human passes a ball with his foot better than this man from Spain. He is also the only sports representative in this list.
Number 4
Kim Jong-il
Let's keep this short. This short crazy old lady (or you can argue that she's a man) have been making headlines around the globe annually. 2010 has been a year where he created (and destroyed) lots of things.
See? Mr Kim, you finally managed to beat the Americans in something! There isn't anyone from America who is above 4th spot in this list.
Number 3
Julian Gillard
Current Prime Minister of Australia and the first female to do so in the country's history.
She overthrew Kevin Rudd, then Australian PM, after snatching party leadership from him thus, becoming head of government.
During the August federal election, her Labor party and the Coalition each garnered 72 seats in the 150-seat parliament. Under the persuasion of Gillard, 4 crossbench MPs decided to side by Labor hence, letting Gillard and Labor to remain in power.
Number 2
So Nyuh Shi Dae (Girls' Generation)
Right now, it's Girls' Generation! This list looks a bit boring at first right? Right, but SNSD thoroughly deserves the runners-up spot.
If you say Hallyu blew strongly all around Asia in 2010, you might as well say it was SNSD who led the attack. Korean popular culture seems incomplete without mentioning this 9-girl group.
Their popularity has never decreased from South Korea to Southeast Asia to as far as America. They won the Disk Daesang Award (Best Album) and Artist of the Year in the Golden Disk and Melon Music Awards respectively.
They were also picked as "Star of the Year" aka most influential artist by a survey from Sports Korea.
Need I add anything else?
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So can you guess who's Number One?
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Number 1
YOU YOU YOU
Yes, it's you. You survived another year. Another year of ups and downs. Give yourself a pat on the back. You deserved it.
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