diff --git a/History.txt b/History.txt
index e7e832b1..547378f8 100644
--- a/History.txt
+++ b/History.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-== HEAD
+== 0.12.0 / 2012-12-22
   * Minor Enhancements
     * Add ability to explicitly specify included files (#261)
     * Add --default-mimetype option (#279)
@@ -7,12 +7,15 @@
     * Allow multiple plugin dirs to be specified (#438)
     * Inline TOC token support for RDiscount (#333)
     * Add the option to specify the paginated url format (#342)
+    * Support Redcarpet 2 and fenced code blocks (#619)
+    * Better reporting of Liquid errors (#624)
   * Bug Fixes
     * Allow some special characters in highlight names
     * URL escape category names in URL generation (#360)
     * Fix error with limit_posts (#442)
     * Properly select dotfile during directory scan (#363, #431, #377)
     * Allow setting of Kramdown smart_quotes (#482)
+    * Ensure front-matter is at start of file (#562)
 
 == 0.11.2 / 2011-12-27
   * Bug Fixes
diff --git a/jekyll.gemspec b/jekyll.gemspec
index 55201ae8..f88d073e 100644
--- a/jekyll.gemspec
+++ b/jekyll.gemspec
@@ -4,8 +4,9 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |s|
   s.rubygems_version = '1.3.5'
 
   s.name              = 'jekyll'
-  s.version           = '0.11.2'
-  s.date              = '2011-12-27'
+  s.version           = '0.12.0'
+  s.license           = 'MIT'
+  s.date              = '2012-12-22'
   s.rubyforge_project = 'jekyll'
 
   s.summary     = "A simple, blog aware, static site generator."
@@ -27,7 +28,7 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |s|
   s.add_runtime_dependency('directory_watcher', "~> 1.1")
   s.add_runtime_dependency('maruku', "~> 0.5")
   s.add_runtime_dependency('kramdown', "~> 0.13.4")
-  s.add_runtime_dependency('pygments.rb', "~> 0.2.12")
+  s.add_runtime_dependency('pygments.rb', "~> 0.3.2")
 
   s.add_development_dependency('rake', "~> 0.9")
   s.add_development_dependency('rdoc', "~> 3.11")
@@ -37,7 +38,7 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |s|
   s.add_development_dependency('cucumber', "1.1")
   s.add_development_dependency('RedCloth', "~> 4.2")
   s.add_development_dependency('rdiscount', "~> 1.6")
-  s.add_development_dependency('redcarpet', "~> 1.9")
+  s.add_development_dependency('redcarpet', "~> 2.1.1")
   
   # = MANIFEST =
   s.files = %w[
@@ -74,10 +75,12 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |s|
     lib/jekyll/migrators/csv.rb
     lib/jekyll/migrators/drupal.rb
     lib/jekyll/migrators/enki.rb
+    lib/jekyll/migrators/joomla.rb
     lib/jekyll/migrators/marley.rb
     lib/jekyll/migrators/mephisto.rb
     lib/jekyll/migrators/mt.rb
     lib/jekyll/migrators/posterous.rb
+    lib/jekyll/migrators/rss.rb
     lib/jekyll/migrators/textpattern.rb
     lib/jekyll/migrators/tumblr.rb
     lib/jekyll/migrators/typo.rb
@@ -90,6 +93,9 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |s|
     lib/jekyll/static_file.rb
     lib/jekyll/tags/highlight.rb
     lib/jekyll/tags/include.rb
+    lib/jekyll/tags/post_url.rb
+    test/fixtures/broken_front_matter1.erb
+    test/fixtures/front_matter.erb
     test/helper.rb
     test/source/.htaccess
     test/source/_includes/sig.markdown
@@ -132,6 +138,7 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |s|
     test/source/z_category/_posts/2008-9-23-categories.textile
     test/suite.rb
     test/test_configuration.rb
+    test/test_convertible.rb
     test/test_core_ext.rb
     test/test_filters.rb
     test/test_generated_site.rb
@@ -141,9 +148,9 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |s|
     test/test_post.rb
     test/test_rdiscount.rb
     test/test_redcarpet.rb
+    test/test_redcloth.rb
     test/test_site.rb
     test/test_tags.rb
-    test/test_redcloth.rb
   ]
   # = MANIFEST =
 
diff --git a/lib/jekyll.rb b/lib/jekyll.rb
index 65e16cdb..eef5ab1c 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll.rb
@@ -46,46 +46,49 @@ require_all 'jekyll/generators'
 require_all 'jekyll/tags'
 
 module Jekyll
-  VERSION = '0.11.2'
+  VERSION = '0.12.0'
 
   # Default options. Overriden by values in _config.yml or command-line opts.
-  # (Strings rather symbols used for compatability with YAML).
+  # Strings rather than symbols are used for compatability with YAML.
   DEFAULTS = {
     'safe'          => false,
     'auto'          => false,
     'server'        => false,
     'server_port'   => 4000,
 
-    'source'       => Dir.pwd,
-    'destination'  => File.join(Dir.pwd, '_site'),
-    'plugins'      => File.join(Dir.pwd, '_plugins'),
-    'layouts'      => '_layouts',
+    'source'        => Dir.pwd,
+    'destination'   => File.join(Dir.pwd, '_site'),
+    'plugins'       => File.join(Dir.pwd, '_plugins'),
+    'layouts'       => '_layouts',
 
-    'future'       => true,
-    'lsi'          => false,
-    'pygments'     => false,
-    'markdown'     => 'maruku',
-    'permalink'    => 'date',
-    'include'      => ['.htaccess'],
+    'future'        => true,
+    'lsi'           => false,
+    'pygments'      => false,
+    'markdown'      => 'maruku',
+    'permalink'     => 'date',
+    'include'       => ['.htaccess'],
     'paginate_path' => 'page:num',
 
-    'markdown_ext' => 'markdown,mkd,mkdn,md',
-    'textile_ext'  => 'textile',
+    'markdown_ext'  => 'markdown,mkd,mkdn,md',
+    'textile_ext'   => 'textile',
 
-    'maruku'       => {
+    'maruku' => {
       'use_tex'    => false,
       'use_divs'   => false,
       'png_engine' => 'blahtex',
       'png_dir'    => 'images/latex',
       'png_url'    => '/images/latex'
     },
-    'rdiscount'    => {
+
+    'rdiscount' => {
       'extensions' => []
     },
-    'redcarpet'    => {
+
+    'redcarpet' => {
       'extensions' => []
     },
-    'kramdown'        => {
+
+    'kramdown' => {
       'auto_ids'      => true,
       'footnote_nr'   => 1,
       'entity_output' => 'as_char',
@@ -102,8 +105,9 @@ module Jekyll
         'coderay_css'               => 'style'
       }
     },
-    'redcloth'        => {
-      'hard_breaks'   => true
+
+    'redcloth' => {
+      'hard_breaks' => true
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/converters/markdown.rb b/lib/jekyll/converters/markdown.rb
index cb94c8d0..3c6ba539 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/converters/markdown.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/converters/markdown.rb
@@ -8,12 +8,28 @@ module Jekyll
 
     def setup
       return if @setup
-      # Set the Markdown interpreter (and Maruku self.config, if necessary)
       case @config['markdown']
         when 'redcarpet'
           begin
             require 'redcarpet'
-            @redcarpet_extensions = @config['redcarpet']['extensions'].map { |e| e.to_sym }
+
+            @renderer ||= Class.new(Redcarpet::Render::HTML) do
+              def block_code(code, lang)
+                lang = lang && lang.split.first || "text"
+                output = add_code_tags(
+                  Pygments.highlight(code, :lexer => lang, :options => { :encoding => 'utf-8' }),
+                  lang
+                )
+              end
+
+              def add_code_tags(code, lang)
+                code = code.sub(/<pre>/,'<pre><code class="' + lang + '">')
+                code = code.sub(/<\/pre>/,"</code></pre>")
+              end
+            end
+
+            @redcarpet_extensions = {}
+            @config['redcarpet']['extensions'].each { |e| @redcarpet_extensions[e.to_sym] = true }
           rescue LoadError
             STDERR.puts 'You are missing a library required for Markdown. Please run:'
             STDERR.puts '  $ [sudo] gem install redcarpet'
@@ -30,8 +46,6 @@ module Jekyll
         when 'rdiscount'
           begin
             require 'rdiscount'
-
-            # Load rdiscount extensions
             @rdiscount_extensions = @config['rdiscount']['extensions'].map { |e| e.to_sym }
           rescue LoadError
             STDERR.puts 'You are missing a library required for Markdown. Please run:'
@@ -88,7 +102,10 @@ module Jekyll
       setup
       case @config['markdown']
         when 'redcarpet'
-          Redcarpet.new(content, *@redcarpet_extensions).to_html
+          @redcarpet_extensions[:fenced_code_blocks] = !@redcarpet_extensions[:no_fenced_code_blocks]
+          @renderer.send :include, Redcarpet::Render::SmartyPants if @redcarpet_extensions[:smart]
+          markdown = Redcarpet::Markdown.new(@renderer.new(@redcarpet_extensions), @redcarpet_extensions)
+          markdown.render(content)
         when 'kramdown'
           # Check for use of coderay
           if @config['kramdown']['use_coderay']
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/convertible.rb b/lib/jekyll/convertible.rb
index fe25b30e..1fe34877 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/convertible.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/convertible.rb
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ module Jekyll
       self.content = File.read(File.join(base, name))
 
       begin
-        if self.content =~ /^(---\s*\n.*?\n?)^(---\s*$\n?)/m
+        if self.content =~ /\A(---\s*\n.*?\n?)^(---\s*$\n?)/m
           self.content = $POSTMATCH
           self.data = YAML.load($1)
         end
@@ -76,9 +76,13 @@ module Jekyll
       payload["pygments_suffix"] = converter.pygments_suffix
 
       begin
-        self.content = Liquid::Template.parse(self.content).render(payload, info)
+        self.content = Liquid::Template.parse(self.content).render!(payload, info)
       rescue => e
         puts "Liquid Exception: #{e.message} in #{self.name}"
+        e.backtrace.each do |backtrace|
+          puts backtrace
+        end
+        abort("Build Failed")
       end
 
       self.transform
@@ -94,9 +98,13 @@ module Jekyll
         payload = payload.deep_merge({"content" => self.output, "page" => layout.data})
 
         begin
-          self.output = Liquid::Template.parse(layout.content).render(payload, info)
+          self.output = Liquid::Template.parse(layout.content).render!(payload, info)
         rescue => e
           puts "Liquid Exception: #{e.message} in #{self.data["layout"]}"
+          e.backtrace.each do |backtrace|
+            puts backtrace
+          end
+          abort("Build Failed")
         end
 
         if layout = layouts[layout.data["layout"]]
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/post.rb b/lib/jekyll/post.rb
index a84c9ab9..3934b977 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/post.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/post.rb
@@ -38,7 +38,11 @@ module Jekyll
 
       self.categories = dir.split('/').reject { |x| x.empty? }
       self.process(name)
-      self.read_yaml(@base, name)
+      begin 
+        self.read_yaml(@base, name)
+      rescue Exception => msg
+        raise FatalException.new("#{msg} in #{@base}/#{name}")        
+      end
 
       #If we've added a date and time to the yaml, use that instead of the filename date
       #Means we'll sort correctly.
diff --git a/test/fixtures/broken_front_matter1.erb b/test/fixtures/broken_front_matter1.erb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c18befb6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/broken_front_matter1.erb
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# Some stuff on the first line
+---
+test: good
+---
+Real content starts here
diff --git a/test/fixtures/front_matter.erb b/test/fixtures/front_matter.erb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..96e46a07
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/front_matter.erb
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+---
+test: good
+---
+Real content starts here
diff --git a/test/test_convertible.rb b/test/test_convertible.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2032715b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/test_convertible.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+require 'helper'
+require 'ostruct'
+
+class TestConvertible < Test::Unit::TestCase
+  context "yaml front-matter" do
+    setup do
+      @convertible = OpenStruct.new
+      @convertible.extend Jekyll::Convertible
+      @base = File.expand_path('../fixtures', __FILE__)
+    end
+
+    should "parse the front-matter correctly" do
+      ret = @convertible.read_yaml(@base, 'front_matter.erb')
+      assert_equal({'test' => 'good'}, ret)
+    end
+
+    should "not parse if the front-matter is not at the start of the file" do
+      ret = @convertible.read_yaml(@base, 'broken_front_matter1.erb')
+      assert_equal({}, ret)
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/test/test_redcarpet.rb b/test/test_redcarpet.rb
index 05596a92..05cb0445 100644
--- a/test/test_redcarpet.rb
+++ b/test/test_redcarpet.rb
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ class TestRedcarpet < Test::Unit::TestCase
   context "redcarpet" do
     setup do
       config = {
-        'redcarpet' => { 'extensions' => ['smart'] },
+        'redcarpet' => { 'extensions' => ['smart', 'strikethrough', 'filter_html'] },
         'markdown' => 'redcarpet'
       }
       @markdown = MarkdownConverter.new config
@@ -14,8 +14,26 @@ class TestRedcarpet < Test::Unit::TestCase
       assert_equal "<h1>Some Header</h1>", @markdown.convert('# Some Header #').strip
     end
     
-    should "pass redcarpet extensions" do
+    should "pass redcarpet SmartyPants options" do
       assert_equal "<p>&ldquo;smart&rdquo;</p>", @markdown.convert('"smart"').strip
     end
+
+    should "pass redcarpet extensions" do
+      assert_equal "<p><del>deleted</del></p>", @markdown.convert('~~deleted~~').strip
+    end
+
+    should "pass redcarpet render options" do
+      assert_equal "<p><strong>bad code not here</strong>: i am bad</p>", @markdown.convert('**bad code not here**: <script>i am bad</script>').strip
+    end
+
+    should "render fenced code blocks" do
+      assert_equal "<div class=\"highlight\"><pre><code class=\"ruby\"><span class=\"nb\">puts</span> <span class=\"s2\">&quot;Hello world&quot;</span>\n</code></pre></div>", @markdown.convert(
+        <<-EOS
+```ruby
+puts "Hello world"
+```
+EOS
+      ).strip  
+    end
   end
 end