Category Archive: 2018

Jan 01

Best Book (that I read) this Year 2018

Best Book (that I read) this Year:  An Indigenous Peoples History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

A well-grounded and researched history of US expansion that provided context to what I thought I knew and filled in a lot of other gaps that were conveniently glossed over by school texts, and Hollywood.

What the other guys liked: Top 200 Goodreads of 2018

 

Related Story: In the lead up to last year’s July 4th celebrations we learned that Facebook’s hate speech algorithm deletes portions of the US Declaration of Independence. It seemed to think the part that referred to, “merciless Indian savages” was a racist statement.

Jan 01

Quote of the Year 2018

“I am asking every citizen from every party, every background, every race, color and creed, to reject the Democrat politics of anger, division destruction and to unite behind our proud, noble and righteous destiny as Americans.”

– Donald Trump, Political Rally in Cape Girardeau, Missouri  (November 5)          Two weeks after 16 pipe-bombs were mailed to prominent critics of President Trump and on the heels of a murderous rampage through a Pennsylvania synagogue by an alt-right nationalist

Jan 01

Other Awards 2018

My “She Too” award goes to… Amelia Earhart

Experts are now 99% certain that bones discovered on a pacific island in 1940 were those of Amelia Earhart. Although they cannot be 100% sure without those actual bones which have become lost again, we can now at least debunk the mrogynistic myth that, although women might get lost sometimes, only men can get lost all of the time.

 

My “Ugly to the Bone” award goes to Facebook 

The ugly [in]side of Facebook was exposed as it was being publicly called out and skinned alive all over the world.  Who’da thunk that the beauty of a product that was initially designed to rate who was hot on campus would only be skin deep.  Oh well, their “thick skin” response to a tsunami of criticism across 2018 could be an indication that at least they are not also shallow.

 

My “Badder than Bad News” award goes to the Gulf of Oman

Despite its continued growth to 8,776 square miles (it’s now the size of New Jersey), the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana is no longer the largest dead zone on the planet. That title must be passed to another massive zone of low dissolved oxygen in the Gulf of Oman south of Iran.  At 63,000 square miles (the size of Florida) it is seven times larger than last year’s champ. Ironically last year’s champ that has decimated the Louisiana shrimp fishery is now a shrimp by comparison.

 

My “What? Well I Never!” award goes to the Woeful Office

America’s tariffically, business savvy Chess Master-in-Chief is awash with righteous indignation and surprise when China responds to his opening move in a trade war to end all wars by levying some counter tariffs of their own.  Many more will follow as the Dodder trades “twittariffs” with everyone else in the world too.

 

My “Missouri Needs a New Slogan” award goes to belief systems

Believe it or not, it’s no longer just what you hear and read that is suspect, new technology “shows me” everything we see is sketchy too.

 

My “Capital Idea” award goes to Communist China.

The Peoples Republic of China are continuing to replace workers with more (and more advanced) robots.  Note:  The one doing all the talking in this video is not the robot (…I think).

 

My “For Korean Out Loud” award goes to the “Nut Rage” Sisters

Two crazy rich Asian Korean Air Executives are fired by the CEO, their dad, for going nuts at their work place.

 

My “Peace Surprise” award goes to… North & South Korea  

Although many still doubt the sincerity of North Korea’s promise of nuclear disarmament, no one can deny that this year’s unprecedented cooperation and face to face meetings between the Korean leaders represents a major first step to peace on the Korean Peninsula.

 

MyPop goes the Populismaward goes to Ontario Premier Doug Ford

Apparently Ontarians were too busy snickering at the goings on south of the 49th to pay attention to their own backyard. It’s Monkey See Monkey Dope meets the Butterfly Effect when a lunatic Toronto mayor emboldens a lunatic American president that in turn emboldens a Lunatic Ontario premier (and a host of other lunatics the world over) to believe that only they know how to make everything great again. They are clearly wrong and Sir Winston Churchill who (allegedly) said, “the best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter” was clearly right.

 

My “Dumbell Peace Meddle” award goes to… The Dodder 

America’s Megalomeddler-in-Chief showed the world exactly why he was (or was not) so successful in all of his past real-estate ventures. Although he was selling his decision to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as a long overdue step to advance the Middle East peace process, it immediately sparked protests that led to 58 dead Palestinians and another 2400 wounded.

 

My “Stop! Bang! or I’ll Shoot’” award goes to a Jury in Florida

A jury weighing the facts of a wrongful death suit over a policeman’s 2014 shooting of a man accused of playing loud music in his garage, decide the victim was 99% to blame because he was so clearly intoxicated.  The victim’s family is awarded $4 in damages (a dollar to the mother for funeral costs and another dollar for each of his three children).

 

My “Shape of Things to Come” award goes to Gerrymandering

American democracy continues to spiral out of control as they continue to accept a system that allows their politicians to select who votes for them as opposed to the other way around.  Yes, despite waning support with the masses, He-who-cannot-be-believed and his Republican cohorts can sit pretty while their opponents are seeking therapy in the ugly inkblots that are their allotted electoral districts.  The jury may still be out on whether the Americans will ever wake up and take back their freedom to choose, but so long as the gerrymander is still out there, the outcome of their elections will always be preordained.

 

My “Most Fake Orgasms” award goes to any one of the talking heads at Fox News (on any given day)

Fox News will always be my go to guy for a “fairly unhinged” alternative to the real world news networks.

 

My “Lie Me a River” award goes to President Donald Trump

Hard to believe but someone (Daniel Dale, a Canadian reporter) is actually keeping count.  Oh well, at least no one can say you can’t count on America’s Confounder-in-Chief for something.

 

My “Heinous Envy” award goes to Yep! Him Again

Always one to hang with the enemies of free speech (lest it be free of criticism to his regime), America’s Conspiracy Theorist-in-Chief does not dick around when he comes out in support of giving Saudi Prince MBS a hall-pass for the alleged murder of Saudi newspaper reporter Jamal Khashoggi.  Just two months earlier he seemed to have other thoughts when he called those allegations, “the worst cover-up in the history of coverups.”

 

My Two Negatives Make a Positive award goes to Same Guy as above, and above that, and…

Finally, something positive from the woeful office. America’s Conspiracy Theorist-in-Chief is “POSITIVE” Google and the other internet tech firms are conspiring to return only those stories and tweets that paint him in a negative light.  This, his latest negative attack on (everyone else’s) reality, is replete with loosely veiled threats of state censorship for news and the internet.  Coincidentally, this positively negative attack on negative Trump stories makes waves as our hero is being outed by his lawyer for conspiring to buy (but, apparently, not suppress) all the negative dirt The National Inquirer had on him.

Jan 01

Headlines You Won’t See in the Mainstream 2018 Year-End Reviews

“Tanking automobile think tank banks on tanks to make their industry great again

Detroit automakers anchor their plan to combat sinking profits by focussing their production on pickup trucks and SUVs proving that, although some people drink from the fountain of logic, the Detroit automakers prefer to gargle.  

 

“Australian life guards applauded for just droning it in”

 While immersed in a training exercise Australian lifeguards use their new toy to respond to a call for help.    

 

“His blindsight is 20/20 when it comes to intelligence”

America’s Naysayer-in-Chief continues to defy intelligence (…and intelligence reports).

 

“Now even Germany is agassed with VW’s assault on human decency (and humans).

They’re baaaack! Volkswagen and their other German automaker brethren are no longer monkeying around in an attempt to debunk concerns about the health effects of diesel emissions.  German authorities are fuming after reports that the automakers are now subjecting monkeys and men (women too) to diesel exhaust tests.

 

“Boldly parking where no man has parked before

Elon Musk proves that not even the sky is the limit for how far a true visionary may need to look before he can find that perfect parking spot. SpaceX uses the world’s largest rocket (his Falcon Heavy) to launch Elon’s Tesla roadster into that big parking space in the sky.  As I type his roadster is still circling somewhere between Earth and Mars and it is expected to continue in that holding pattern for many millions of years.

 

“Robot flips out in burger joint”

A restaurant in California had to terminate their robot after its first day of employment when it became apparent that Artificial Intelligence was not yet smart enough for the mindless task of flipping burgers in a fast food establishment.

 

“Smart Cars Dumb People – The Key to Stupidity”

An Ontario woman accidentally steals a car and goes on two week vacation courtesy of the latest not-so smart keyless ignitions.

 

“Russian President Putin deems Fox News to be the West’s best alternative to his own state-run news agency” 

On the heels of public outrage in America over their president’s performance at the US-Russia summit in Helsinki, Russian President Vladimir Putin (the global poster boy for fair and balanced transparency) grants an exclusive post-summit western news interview to Fox News in lieu of his state-owned TASS news agency/propaganda machine.

 

“Intercontinental football fanaticism escalatoring to Cold War”

US/Soviet relations sink to new lows in what can only be described as a broken arms (and legs) race to the bottom.  Shortly after Clemson University football fans crash through a floor while celebrating their school’s victory, intercontinental sports fanaticism escalators when drunken European football (a.k.a. soccer) fans are Russian to show how low they can go.

 

“Moscow russian to convince world that spies are people too”

Putin calls two men accused of being Russian spies who used a nerve agent to attempt to murder a Russian defector and his daughter in England, “ordinary citizens”. They call themselves “ordinary tourists”.  What can I say?  It’s situation normal in Russian politics.

 

“Doesn’t anyone want put the owe in Olympics?”

 Calgary (Canada) became the 20th city to say thanks but no thanks to an opportunity to host the 2026 Winter Olympics.

 

“Why sush-I  be worrying about trivial things like global warming and mercury poisoning?”

This year we learned that deep-sea bacteria are quickly consuming the Titanic.  Because they eat about 180kg (400lbs) a day, scientists have given the wreck a waning life expectancy of “…20 to 50 more years”.  If it takes 1 day for those microbes to eat 400lbs of titanic steel, how long before all those 40lb drums of toxic waste that have been legally (and now illegally) dumped off the coasts of Canada and the US have laid waste to our fish stocks?  Is it time to kiss our maths goodbye?

 

“Because when it comes to love boats, size matters.”

Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines launched the world’s biggest, if not sexiest love boat this year.  The 1188 foot, 18 story Symphony of the Seas houses 5,518 guests, a crew of 2,200 and 2 robot bartenders.

 

“Just another tanked drunk for the drunk tank”

A National Guardsman was charged with a DUI after he liberated an armoured vehicle from his base and led more than a dozen police cruisers on a two hour medium-high speed chase through the busy streets of Richmond, Virginia.   Meanwhile in California, a less driven group of tanked suspects have not been so difficult to pull over.

 

Jan 01

New Words 2018

The following words were added to the Oxford and/or Merriam-Webster dictionaries over the course of 2018.

Adorbs (adj.) Extremely charming or appealing : adorable.

Biohacking (n.)Biological experimentation (as by gene editing or the use of drugs or implants) done to improve the qualities or capabilities of living organisms especially by individuals and groups outside of a traditional medical or scientific research environment.

Deglobalization (n.)the process of making something less global and more regional in nature, focus, impact, etc.; esp. the reversal or decline of globalization, or its effects.

Hip Replacement (n.)A surgical operation involving the reconstruction or replacement of a hip joint.

Mansplain (v.)explain (something) to someone, typically a woman, in a manner regarded as condescending or patronizing.

Me Time (n.)doing what one wants, typically on one’s own, as opposed to working or doing things for others, considered as important in reducing stress or restoring energy.

Mocktail (n.)A usually iced drink made with any of various ingredients (such as juice, herbs, and soda water) but without alcohol: a nonalcoholic cocktail.

Rando (n.) derogatory, informal – A random person who is not known or recognizable or whose appearance seems unprompted or unwelcome.

Snowflake (n.) derogatory, informal – An overly sensitive or easily offended person, or one who believes they are entitled to special treatment on account of their supposedly unique characteristics.

TL;DR (abbrev.)Too long; didn’t read—used to say that something would require too much time to read.

Tomoz (adv.)Tomorrow

Jan 01

Vital Statistics 2018

Vital Statistics 2018 2017 2016 2008
a Canadian dollar is worth $0.74 US $0.79 US $0.74 US $0.82US
an ounce of Gold is worth $1,283 US $1,302 US $1,152US $870US
a Bitcoin is worth $3,687US $13,810US $951US (2010 debut 8¢)
S&P/TSX Composite Index 14,323 16,209 15,287 8,987
your share of the National Debt $17,994 $17,508  $ 17,508  $14,951
the average Housing Price in Ottawa is $429,039 $392,474 $371,901 $290,366
a domestic Postage Stamp costs $1.00 $1.00 $1.00 $1
a local call on a Bell pay phone $0.50 $0.50 $0.50 $0.50
a liter of Pepsi costs $2.49 $2.49 $2.49 $1.99
a liter of water costs $2.39 $2.49 $2.49 $1.79
a liter of milk costs $1.14 $1.07 $1.07 $1.29
a liter of gasoline costs $0.97 $1.09 $1.06 $0.66
a loaf of bread costs $3.29 $3.29 $3.29 $2.69
a paperback novel costs $12.99 $12.99 $12.99 $11.99
a weekly (Time) magazine costs $7.99 $7.99 $6.99 $4.95
a comic book costs $4.99 $4.99 $3.99 $2.99
a daily newspaper costs $2.38 $1.52 $1.52 $0.94
a regular bus ride costs $3.50 $3.40 $3.65 $2.00
a medium cup of coffee costs $1.71 $1.62 $1.62 $1.22
a basic cable television package $24.99 $24.99 $40.48 $28.49
a first run movie rental costs $4.99 $5.99 $5.99 $4.79
an adult’s movie theatre ticket costs $11.99 $11.99 $11.50 $9.95
a children’s movie theatre ticket costs $8.50 $8.50 $8.50 $7.95
Minimum wage (Ontario) $14.00/hr $11.60/hr $11.40/hr $  8.75/hr
an adult men’s haircut $20.00 $19.00 $19.00 $15.50
a medium combination pizza $17.00 $16.75 $16.75 $15.45

Current World Population

7,674,051,852

Births this year         140,757,753
Deaths this year           59,057,455
Net population growth this year 

81,700,298

Bonus – Other Vital Stat Meters at a Glance:   http://www.worldometers.info/

 

Jan 01

Predictions for the Year 2019

That invisible cabal of brilliant global warming naysayers and their ingeniously ingenuous leader claim that last year’s good news that the earth’s ozone layer is recovering only proves that it wasn’t such a big deal and that even stupid liberal scientists can get lucky sometimes. One unnamed genius tweets he could have done it better by constructing a really high wall that would have created lots and lots of jobs while saving the chemical industry fantastic amounts of money.

As the Huawei affair develops into a full-on trade war, Canada forces China to eat its words when they stop trading life giving food for the privilege of buying mind numbing junk.

Apple launches a new inflatable iPhone with the promise that the new design will eliminate the middle-drone while, at the same time, allowing swimmers to avoid the threat of iPhone theft (and binky separation syndrome) while they are in the water.

Riding the success of their Special Olympics venue (and an inability to find any city on the planet that is willing to host the next Olympics) the IOC announces that all future Olympic games will be rebranded the Homeless Olympic Games.  Suddenly, no longer needing to foot the additional costs of disappearing their homeless folk from the world stage, cities the world over determine that the costs are now within reach of their tax-payers.

When the IOC announces that, in the spirit of their new brand, only homeless athletes can participate, governments everywhere sink funds into feeding their homeless and weaning them off of opioids in order to avoid disqualification. Experts expect this to be the first games to be free of any drug scandals given that, unlike their spoiled upper middle-class predecessors, tomorrows athletes won’t be able to afford designer drugs or crooked trainers.

The American government’s habit of dumping drums of toxic waste into the North Atlantic Ocean prior to 1983 comes back to haunt us when a school of Codzillas lay “waste”  to all the towns and cities along the eastern seaboard of Canada and the United States.

The Dodder finally gets to construct an affordable wall along his Mexican border by using the endless supply of cheap tell-all books that have been published by all of his one-time cronies and confidents.  He then uses what is left over to build a bunker to protect himself from a new wave of books that various state and federal authorities are commencing to throw at him.

The National Football League orders defensive football players to replace their usual footwear with frogman flippers in order to further protect quarterbacks while, at the same time, generating more offense, more offensive records and more magical moments that football aficionados will find, well… just plain offensive.

 

Jan 01

Epilogue 2018

That’s the year as the voices in my head remembered it with plenty of computer cross-references to confirm that even they can’t make this stuff up. Just as the UN predicted when they elected to not dedicate 2018 to anything at all, 2018 seems to have been a pretty (make that) ugly, UNproductive year full of UNfulfilled promises and UNfinished business.  For the sake of closure us‘UNs will call 2018 the International Year of Endless Slow-Motion Train Wrecks.

 

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