3 Positive, Uplifting Stories That Could Unfold in 2013

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- It's difficult -- and feels inappropriate -- to talk about the stock market, lament the NHL lockout or whine because The Killers postponed the Friday night concert at MSG I was supposed to attend given what happened in Connecticut.

Such meaningless small potatoes, man. But what do you do?

In the general flow of life, things like stocks, sports and music -- while they serve a few practical and righteous purposes -- exist for times like these. When you cannot make sense of the serious, of the tragic, of reality, you turn to the inane crap that you know really doesn't matter when perspective knocks you upside the head.

So, here it goes. Three positive, uplifting stories -- pertaining to Yahoo! (YHOO), Apple (AAPL) and the fiscal cliff -- that, if there's any justice in this crazy world, will unfold, like storybook stories, in 2013.

Marissa Mayer Turns Yahoo! Around

If you follow tech, you better be rooting for Yahoo!. They're not the New York Yankees. You don't either love or hate Yahoo! You root for Yahoo! like you root for a not-all-that-far-under underdog.

Almost everybody I talk to uses Yahoo! I keep tabs for TheStreet and Yahoo! Finance open on my browser all day, everyday. Outside of these sites, there's email (Gmail and, you guessed it, Yahoo! Mail), social media feeds and an open tab or two for hitting other sites I need to see and conducting searches.

While I most often use these free tabs to conduct Google (GOOG) searches, I, with almost the same frequency, pop over to a Yahoo! site. When news breaks, I hit Twitter first, Yahoo!'s homepage second (it used to be Yahoo!'s homepage first!). I need a sports update, I automatically go to the appropriate Yahoo! Sports property.

As Marissa Mayer explained durnig a recent Yahoo! conference call, Yahoo! has the user base and traffic, it just needs to do a better job leveraging what is already a "daily habit" for millions.

But, beyond the fact that it's a great platform that deserves a grand revival, it will be good for the entire tech space if Yahoo! succeeds. Victory at Yahoo! could -- well, I sure as hell hope it does -- inspire other companies to do like Yahoo! did and make a bold move at the top. No more pulling a Best Buy (BBY) and overpaying a glorified consultant to play CEO.

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