Category Archive: 2015

Jan 01

2015 Year-end Review

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2015, Wreckollection

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The Chinese called it the Year of the Goat.  The United Nations dubbed 2015 the International Year of Soils.  It was the year that Ford’s Mustang and Sugar Bear turned 50.  Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity turned 100 years old in 2015 which also marked the 100th anniversary of:

  • the neon tube advertising sign
  • Pyrex Glassware
  • the Raggedy Ann doll
  • the US Coast Guard
  • Typhoid Mary’s arrest
  • the 1st military use of poison gas (chlorine, by Germany) in WW I
  • the poem “In Flanders Fields”
  • Babe Ruth’s 1st home run
  • the sinking of the SS Lusitania by German submarine; 1198 lives lost
  • the 1st device to record telephone conversations (Edison’s telescribe)
  • the 1st all-metal aircraft (Junkers J-1) test flown at Dessau, Germany
  • the 1st black world heavyweight boxing champion (Jack Johnson)
  • the resurrection of the Ku Klux Klan (America’s 1st terrorist org.)
  • the Ottoman Empire’s Armenian Genocide

The bad news: It was not the best of years.  A lot of people died for no apparent reason in 2015 unless, of course, God really did will it.

 

The Good news: On the brighter side, mankind has survived yet another predicted apocalypse – a.k.a. the Blood Moon Prophesy.  What’s more is that no-one is predicting the world’s demise in 2016.  I see nothing looming from the Christian, Muslim, Atheist or garden variety Nut-Job camps.  Speaking of Nut-jobs…

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Jan 01

Story of the Year 2015

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2015, Wreckollection

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“ISIS[pect] Jihad a Different Outcome in Mind.”

In a move that has both Napoleon and Hitler rolling in their graves, ISIS opens a second front with Russia by blowing up a Russian airliner in Egypt. In so doing they defuse a potentially explosive impasse between Russian and American forces over Syria.

But wait, there’s more! Not only do they inadvertently mediate irreconcilable Russo-American differences, they follow up with another cowardly attack in Paris that results in the French eventually fighting back. Even Anonymous, an anti-establishment group of hackers, has joined the fray on the side of their enemies in the establishment.

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Jan 01

Person(s) of the Year 2015

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2015, Wreckollection

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Anonymous

 

A mysterious group of unnamed hacktivists who have announced that they are stripping terrorists of their secret weapon (i.e. their own anonymity).  In addition to threatening to publish the names of charter members of the Ku Klux Klan in America, they are also outing (a.k.a. doxxing) ISIS recruiters and their digital communication networks.

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Jan 01

Feel Good Story of the Year 2015

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2015, Wreckollection

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Canadians Unite to Oust Repressive Regime! 

 

Just when we thought nothing could trump 2014’s feel good story (i.e. the demise of King Joffrey, the absolute most unlikable character on HBO’s hit television ,“Game of Thrones” series), our real-life Canadian conservative Prime Sinister, Stephen Harper is dethroned.  Smart* Canadians everywhere say, “Hey stupid! It’s not about which party leader is best qualified to run the country without the assistance of his (or her) elected members of parliament, it’s about who is going to listen to, and dare we say, heed the advice of our riding’s elected representative.”

 

* Smart Canadians believe democracy in general and parliamentary democracy in particular should not endorse the suppression of information and transparency via scientific gag orders, gagged party back-benchers and cabinet ministers, restrictions on media, prorogued parliaments, eliminating the long form census, a voter suppression scandal, supreme court challenges, and fear mongering, etc.

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Jan 01

Sleeper Story of the Year 2015

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2015, Wreckollection

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 “Serious Global Water Shortages by 2030”

 

According to one shocking US government report that was released last year, the global need for water will exceed the global supply of water by 40 percent by the year 2030.  Even Chinese authorities, not known for their candor on any subject, are warning that they are becoming, “perilously close to the internationally recognized benchmark for water shortages.”

Ref: http://realitieswatch.com/30-facts-about-the-coming-water-crisis-that-will-change-the-lives-of-every-person-on-the-planet/

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Jan 01

Statistic of the Year 2015

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2015, Wreckollection

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State of the Workers’ State in China         

 

China’s communist capital is concerned that their communist Workers’ State is making a statement re the State’s treatment of the labour movement.  Only time will tell who is going to capitalize on this new twist.

State of the Worker's State

Related Statistic: With 190 billionaires and more than two million millionaires, China tags just behind the US in number of high-net-worth individuals.  — Forbes magazine and Boston Consulting Group.

 

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Jan 01

Innovation of the Year 2015

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2015, Wreckollection

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SUSIBA2: Rice That Fights Global Warming

 

More than half the global population relies on rice as a regular part of their diet. But rice paddies have a downside for the planet too: They produce as much as 17 percent of the world’s total methane emissions. SUSIBA2 is a genetically modified rice plant that emits almost no methane. Instead of sending carbon to the roots to feed the bacteria that produce methane, the plant directs it toward the grain and leaves increasing the starch level and yield. “It’s a win-win”.

Honourable mention: 

Robotic Hand by Open Bionics: This 3D-printed robotic hand that can be made faster and more cheaply than current alternatives was this year’s UK winner of the James Dyson Award.

Ref: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34044453?ocid=global_bbccom_email_25082015_technology

 

See the rest of the field at: http://www.popsci.com/100-greatest-innovations-2015

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Jan 01

Movie of the Year 2015

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2015, Wreckollection

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Kingsman: The Secret Service 

 

In another year dedicated to remakes, sequels and blatant cash grabs in the form of final instalments of bestselling trilogies that were arbitrarily split into parts, this was a different, entertaining and semi-serious spy spoof.

 

What everyone else liked:  http://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=2015&p=.htm

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Jan 01

Song of the Year 2015

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2015, Wreckollection

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Wash It All Away by Five Finger Death Punch

Have a listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9VFg44H2z8

The lyrics pretty much sum up the world that we live in if not the state of my head at the moment, speaking of which…

Honourable mention:       

State of My Head  by Shinedown

Have a listen:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv0B-DLtMiM

Save Today by Seether

 Have a listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfj6r5tfEf4

Flotscrum’s Twenty-Twone Alternative for the Billbored for the Year 2015

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Jan 01

Best Book (I have read) of the Year 2015

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2015, Wreckollection

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A Crown for Cold Silver  by Alex Marshall

 

The inaugural instalment of a sword and sorcery epic of Game of Thrones proportions.  Non-conformity abounds with unexpected plot twists and intrigue suffered and/or instigated by a rogues gallery of imperfect men and women.  If you think you know what comes next, think again.

 

What the other guys liked:: http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2015-12-28/trade-fiction-paperback/list.html

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