Category Archive: Wreckollection
Jan 01
Statistic of the Year 2024
According to the Gun Violence Archive there were 501 mass shootings in America over the course of 2024 (which is over 100 fewer than in each of the previous 4 years).
Related Revelation: Given that the American Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) seems to be the official scorekeeper for the above-mentioned statistics, regardless of what the lawmakers say about the right to bare arms, they have already admitted that gun ownership is rightly classified a disease.
Jan 01
Other Awards 2024
Our “Bottled Courage” award goes to Vibe the Waves rowing crew
Although they may have been tipsy at times, these three ladies involved in a transatlantic race called, The World’s Toughest Row, managed to stay out of the drink when they used their champagne bottle to plug an extreme case of the marlinstral flow. They overcame their shared period of unease to finish the race in 48 days, 13 hours, and 53 minutes.
Our “Snaking Through Traffic” award goes to an Australian Woman
After finding one of the world’s most venomous snakes crawling up her leg, she had to slither and weave through traffic on a busy highway before coming to a stop and extrICKating herself from the cold-hearted snake’s unwelcome advances. She’ila be looking under the front seat as well as in the back before stepping into her car from now on.
Our “Give Your Head a Slapp” award goes to Republicans
America’s litigious Bully Boy-in-Chief was slapped with a court order to pay $400,000 to cover the legal expenses of NY Times reporters that he tried to bully into shutting up with what was deemed by the court to be a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP). Of course, the sheeple following Mr. I’m the Victim Here are convinced their anti-elite hero could never be guilty of this application of anti-SLAPP laws designed to prevent the rich elite from silencing critics by intimidation and the heavy burden of legal costs to prove their innocence of frivolous charges.
Our “Same Shit, Different Day” award goes to The Doh!nald
Later that same month in a different case and courtroom, it only took a couple hours for a jury of our peerless zero’s [non-whack-job loving rabble] to “whack” him with a defamation damage settlement that amounted to a “whack” of money ($83.3M) to encourage him to end his ongoing verbal abuse of E. Jean Carrol.
Our “Most Appealing Person in America” award goes to The Doh!nald
America’s Most Appealing Person-in-Chief continues to trumpet the injustice of expecting justice from any jury requiring 12 of his peers when he is clearly peerless if not soooo much better than everyone else in the world.
Our “Toilet Bowel of Despair” award goes to a SpiceJet passenger
After being trapped in an airplane lavatory for over an hour on India’s favourite air carrier, this man suffered the further indignity of being instructed (in writing) by the stewardess to not forget put the toilet seat down before landing. An engineer (perhaps a Boing door specialist?) was required to finally evacuate our embarrassed, butt not flushed, hero from his cramped stool.
Our “Seat of Your Pants” award goes to Michael Roy
This New Brunswick man walked away a little paler after he literally survived impalement by the seat of his pants.
Our “Ashley Madison Affairs” award goes to Global Affairs Canada
Canada’s foreign affairs were an open book of world class public transparency for about a month. Apparently departmental employees prone to stepping out (to work from home) might not pose the most secure operating environment when dealing with sensitive affairs. Alas, in the absence of (and/or pending) a reliably salacious bare all Netflix docudrama, the full magnitude of exposure vis a vis the Affairs of Canada may never be known.
Our “Sign of the Times” award goes to DC Meltdown
Climate is not the only thing that’s changing or so Honest Abe seemed to say as he preslided over in Washington, DC while the rest of America continued it’s slide from melting pot to unmitigated meltdown.
Our “Denial is a River in Mexico” award goes to President Joe Biden
During a surprise news briefing, when he effectively railed about a judge’s description of him being a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” America’s Old Boy-In-Chief would later manage to ineffectively refer to Egypt’s President as the President of Mexico (Hey, cut him some slack, Mexico has pyramids too).
Our “False Flag Lifetime Achievement” award goes to Vlad the Influencer
Vladimir (I Cannot Tell a Lie) Putin, gave Joe Biden’s presidential bid a ringing endorsement over his fan boy on the Repugnican ticket when asked by one of his state-controlled interviewers who he would rather see win the upcoming presidential elections in America. This was either a bald-faced effort to get “his guy” elected; or the first time in the history of every word that has ever come out the Russian President’s head that he has not denied, denied, denied involvement in everything bad that has been attributed to him long enough to share his true feelings.
Our “Sleeping Dogs Lie” award goes Bobi
Shortly after the world’s oldest dog (not running for the Oval Office) was lied to rest, he became both gone and forgotten (two traits that are common with many old dogs) when the Guinness Book of World Records accused him of lying all along and stripped him of that dog gone record.
My “Bigger is Better Porn” award goes to Hump Backs Humping
It’s a sign of the times when the first footage of humpbacks humping turns out to be these big boys having a gay old time whaling away at each other. Is this the beginning of the end for another endangered species or just a bromance of epic proportion?
Our “Perverted Loophole” award goes to Porn Hub
The internet porn site is challenging Europe’s attempt to use its new Digital Services Act to make their platform introduce stricter age verification requirements. Porn Hub claimed that this was a twisted, abuse of the new law because they are only trafficking fewer than the 45 million European users per month.
Our “Asleep at the Wheel” award goes to two Indonesian pilots
Both pilots on an Indonesian passenger aircraft with 153 passengers aboard fell asleep for 28 minutes mid-flight.
Our “Not Screwed” award goes to Boeing
Three high-ranking Boeing executives were shown the door after an airplane door blows out mid flight. Alas, like that door that was missing four bolts, Boeing did not really screw their CEO either when you consider he was subsequently voted a $33 Million pay package, the largest in Boeing history.
Related Story: “Locked in Space”
On the (way) upside, in the space of few months after their earlier unscrew up, Boeing’s new closed-door policy would strand 2 astronauts indoors (that were not designed by Boeing) on a space station for what could six months if not a year when Boeing’s Star-Cruiser fails to close their deal to get them there and back in just 8 days.
Hua? Wai! What do you mean the Chinese flu to save the Don when he was in dire need of bail money?
When America’s King of the “let the markets reign supreme” Conservatives and author of the Art of Negotiation failed to negotiate a loan from not one but every financial institution he appealed to for almost a half billion dollars for the legal damages that he could not afford to pay, he narrowly missed becoming the first ex-president to meet his fate at the hands of Capital(ist) Punishment. Alas, he was thrown an 11th hour multi-billion-dollar lifeline when shareholders of Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC), a “blank check company” created with no specific business intent other than to engage in mergers as well as securities transactions, asset acquisitions and stock purchases, voted to merge with Trump Media which owns Truth Social. Their new company is now called Trump Media & Technology Group. DWAC was created in 2021 with seed money procured from an investment bank headquartered in Shanghai, China. In 2021 the CEO of DWAC was also the CEO of another “blank check company” headquartered in Wuhan (remember them), China. Sleepers? Maybe. Strange bedfellows? Not really. This would not be the first time the Don and his kin have been in bed with the Chinese. Manchurian candidate. Presidential Candidate. What’s the difference?
Our “Playing with Firepower” award goes to U.S. Republicans
Repugnicans threw Putin (he is a rich billionaire after all) a financial lifeline by stalling a vote for funds to assist Ukraine’s war effort because they wanted to stonewall the Democrat’s attempt to also spend hundreds of millions of dollars on border wall construction.
Related Quote: Biden policies were “causing death, destruction, and chaos in every American community”
— Trump campaign.
Meanwhile in Ukraine: The US Repugnican Party’s childish (like godfather like whoresons) brinkmanship caused real death, real destruction, and real chaos in every Ukrainian community.
Our “Forever After” award goes to American Drinking water
Between 6 to 10% of American municipalities are believed to have dangerous levels of forever chemicals in their drinking water supply. All municipalities have now been given 3 years (i.e. forever or roughly the length of time it took to complete your final exam for a university degree before universities became a business) to test their water for those toxins. After those tests, if harmful levels are found, they will be given another 5 years to reduce those levels.
Our “Apple of Your Eye” award goes to Pineapples in Spain
Spaniards pining for love took to trawling through the wine section of their grocery store with an upside-down pineapple in their shopping cart. Originally used as a code by swingers looking for other couples who might be willing to swap partners, word got out on TikTok that anyone interested in hooking up should go bottoms up in the wine section with their pineapple.
Our “Innocent Until Proven Stupid” award goes to Corey Harris.
This Michigan man joined his court hearing on camera to defend himself on charges of driving with a suspended license while he was driving. Alas Mr. Harris did not remotely stand a chance of driving his case of innocence home.
Our “Snakes on a Plane” award goes to Toronto Int’l Airport
The jig was up (and foreign sushi stocks plummeted) when Toronto’s largest airport netted their richest ever haul of slippery stowaways. Yes, the air was electric when authorities seized an eelegal cargo of what, at $5,000 per kilogram, is shockingly Canada’s most valuable fish by weight — exponentially more than lobsters ($40/kg), scallops ($36/kg) or salmon ($171/kg), combined.
Our “Best Military Training Film” goes to a tank in S. Carolina
When you think you’re the baddest ass on tracks it’s important to remember that, when it comes to tracked vehicles, you should always be careful your ass is on the right track.
Our “Artificial Indolence” award goes to the Mouse Jiggler
The sales and popularity of this annoying little creature that artificially mimics mouse activity on an employee’s digital hamster-wheel has many managers of the home office crowd all shook up. Alas, the jig may be up now that the wheels fell off at Wells Fargo, for some of those employees who weren’t banking on just how far their bosses were willing to go to build a better mousetrap.
Our “Sergeant Schultz Plausible Deniability” award goes to Pierre Poilievre
The leader of Canada’s Conservative Party, a chronic muckraker known for getting up into everyone else’s business – be it fact or fiction, was the only Canadian party leader who opted to, “see nothing, hear nothing” vis a vis an unredacted foreign interference intelligence report naming past and/or present members of parliament who have knowingly provided help to foreign governments, some to the detriment of Canada and Canadians.
Our “I’m Too Sexy for Our Planet” award goes to all of us.
With average planetary temperatures rising for 12 straight months and counting last May, we needed to look no further than our own mirror to discover one legit hot guy, or girl, or whatever+. No wonder Big Oil, Big Ag and all their cronies are out to F#!@ everyone (and the planet we rode in on). Who can blame them when we’re all so smokin’ hot?
Our “MacHine of the Month, NOT!” award goes to McDonald’s AI
McDonald’s attempt to test the ability of Artificial Intelligence to replace real teenage carbon units when processing orders in over 100 of its restaurants was overwhelmed by humanity’s failure to accept the wisdom of which fast food choices would be best for them (e.g., Butter and Bacon topped Ice-cream).
Our “Trash Talk” award goes to North Korea
North and South Korean tensions balloon into a veritable shit storm when North Korea makes a big stink over S. Korean efforts to enlighten the North’s population by raining leaflets and K-Pop down on their people. The North responds shit for shat by launching over 250 balloon loads of garbage and human excrement into South. Experts (in my head) agree that the North is losing the battle as their latest attempt to float truth to power (i.e. of words and reality), although not technically bullshit, is a thinly veiled facsimile thereof.
Our “Laws of Supply and Remand” award goes to Ontario Canada
Apparently, crime does not have a monopoly on not paying in Ontario. Its government is either not paying and/or not paying enough to keep up with rising incarceration rates and overcrowding in its correctional institutions. Inmates have raised a $1.5 billion class action lawsuit against the province claiming, its criminal the way they have been treated to an ongoing pattern of full prison lockdowns whenever there is a staffing shortage. On the brighter side, they are not unionized; therefore, there is no threat of a walk out or worse a lock out at any of those jails.
Our “Shit House” award goes to New Glasgow, Nova Scotia
Both the Town and the N.S. Department of Environment doubled down by washing their hands of this house-load of shit they were not willing to touch. Apparently, there is nothing they can do when shit happens inside rental housing.
Our “Brain Drain” award goes to Artificial Intelligence
As more and more (and even more every minute) opt to use artificial intelligence in lieu of their own noodle, those of us who are still actually intelligent enough to learn, learn it takes way more energy to think than even the laziest, most underachieving, minds of our times ever could have imagined. Apparently Generative AI systems can require as much as 33 times more electricity than machines running task-specific software. Both Google, who aspired to attain zero emissions by 2030, and Microsoft announced that, thanks mostly to our love of AI chatbots, their climate emissions last year were, respectively, 48% and 30% higher than they were in 2020.
Our “Should’ve Known Better” award goes to the U.S. Supreme Court
That vaunted cabal of virtual buy-us free (of any payments prior to delivery) put all accusations that some of them could be bought to rest with a brand (but not spanking) new code of ethics in supremely lame, uncertain, and unruly terms like “should” which was mentioned 51 times, while they aborted any conceptions like ‘shall’ ‘must’ or ‘may not’. You “should” look at this “should” you like a deeper dive into the most supreme of our award winners.
Our “That’s Rich” award goes to U.S Senator Bob Menendez
Democrats were calling upon one of their own to resign after he was found guilty on 16 counts of taking bribes including gold bars and expensive cars in exchange for influence peddling on behalf of foreign governments. Menendez maintained his innocence and vowed to appeal the verdicts to the highest court in the land -i.e. that would be the one that is reeling from accusations of accepting money for nothing (from all the wealthy friends they did not have before they became supremely appealing).
Our “Paradise Lost” award goes to Jasper National Park, Canada
About 5000 residents and another 20,000 campers were expelled from Canada’s Garden of Eden when that jewel in the crown of Canada’s majestic national parks succumbed to a wall of wildfire.
Our “Deep Flake” award goes to Elon Musk
Elon continued his very public and self-afflicted slide from high tech darling to low brow, deeply flawed, darkling (if not fool), when he was apparently fooled by an obvious AI generated deep fake of Democratic Presidential candidate Kamela Harris dissing herself and her party during a campaign rally. Mr. Musk (share this without thinking so more people will like me) found his thumbs compelled to reflexively forward the message to millions of his followers.
Our “Bricks for Brains” award goes to Racist British Cement Heads.
As locals were gathering in Southport, England for a prayer vigil in memory of the three (6, 7 and 9-year-old) girls, brutally murdered while attending a Taylor Swift theme party by a demented, 17-year-old, 100’s of unhinged English bigots swooped in on the village to attack a mosque and riot in the streets based on an unsubstantiated internet rumour claiming the murderer was an agent of ISIS. 27 police officers were taken to hospital while 12 others were treated and discharged at the scene.
Our “Housework” award goes to the Canadian Civil Service
Canada’s Public Service takes another baby step towards reality when employees are ordered to make themselves at home (in their offices) three years after their Covid operations at home were no longer necessary. Some claimed their bosses were railroading them back to the office after just calling it in for the past three years, but that was clearly not the case after the Canadian Government legislated rail workers back to the job just 1 day after they walked out on strike for more pay and safer working conditions.
Our “Double Tap” award goes to the American Justice System
A U.S. District Judge in Kentucky took another shot at Breonna Taylor four years after she was shot by Louisville police after they broke into her apartment without a warrant. The judge ruled that her boyfriend caused her death when he shot at one of the illegal and unannounced intruders in an apparent case of Rock, Paper, Double Tap, No Knock Warrant jurisprudence. Note: Charges against her boyfriend for the attempted murder of a police officer were dropped in 2020.
Our “Minor Mafia Protection Rackets” award goes to Porter Airlines
This overbooked Canadian airline unceremoniously kidnapped a 14-year-old minor from her seat and dumped her unattended and uncompensated like garbage (not the only Mafia connection in this story) at Toronto International Airport pending the arrival of another flight 24 hours later because she had not paid for protection (a $100 minor flight protection surcharge).
Our “Exhausting Options” award goes to Laval City Police.
What the Tyreek Hell is going on Quebec? Three Laval Police officers were visibly exhausted after beating down a driver from Toronto who didn’t provide them with his driver’s license and registration. Whether or not they are required to undergo sensitivity training, there is little doubt that they will be ordered to undertake a heavy regime of aerobic conditioning.
Our “Children of the Corn Busters” award goes to Drones
Although stories about children in the corn and drones rarely end well, it was a case of two negatives making a positive when Wisconsin police used a drone to find a toddler lost in a cornfield.
Our “Rock Her World!” award goes to this rich find
A Canadian mining company unearthed an eye popping 2,492-carat diamond in Botswana. It is the biggest find since the 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond was found in in South Africa (1905). Aspiring trophy wives the world over have their billionaire beaus jumping through hoops to put a ring on it (alas, participation award wives need not apply).
Our “Purrfect Match” award goes to J.D. Vance
The Doh!nut clearly found the purrfect running mate for his campaign in J.D. Vance, a misogynous man who is as obsessed with pussy and their owners as his boss is. But wait there’s more! Lies also rain from his lips like cats and dogs.
Our “Return to Sender” award goes to SpaceX
Seven minutes after launching a spacecraft into orbit, the SpaceX Super Heavy booster was plucked from the air after returning to its launch pad.
Our “Norman Bates 2.0” award goes to Virginia McCullough
In the what might be the mother of all cold cases, this Menendez Brothers’ soul sister proved to be a cooperative if not amiable witness in her own prosecution after police apprehended her for the murder of her parents, whose bodies she lived with for over four years.
Our “Foamenting Toxicity” award goes to a River in India
Every day, more than 1.8 billion litres of poorly treated sewage spills into the Yamuna River and bathes the city of New Delhi, India in a porridge of toxicity (in a manner that sudgests it might be too late to clean up your act when even your bubble bath is toxic).
Our “I Think, Therefore I’m Damned” award goes to a little over half of the U.S.A.
All Americans (and perhaps the world) are now damned but those with the wherewithal to recognize and connect all the, “walks like a duck, quacks like a duck” dots relative to the world’s latest “Ill Douche” are bound to be the only American frogs that will realize they are boiling in the hot, broiling, hell swamp to come. Ill Douche and his cheerleaders from all the Big Tech purveyors of Artificial Intelligence and Dystopian Armageddon have finally achieved a sheeple nirvana that can only make them again, greater profits. Oh well, we don’t need our smart phones or Alexa to tell us that it’s not a conspiracy if everyone is in on it. Welcome to the Freakshow!
Our “Us Versus Them Class[less] Action” award goes to Marjorie Taylor Green et al
She and others in a growing class of attention whores that trend to congregate on X to deny that we are responsible for the hoax that is Global Warming are quick to pivot to claims that “they”, the “Deep (something she and her cronies can never be accused of) State” is nefariously engineering weather events to further “their” political ends. Alas the only part of her conspiracy theory and related tweets from America’s Attention-Whore-in-Chief that rings true, is the fact that it is both wrong, and fundamentally evil, to conspire to engineer stories and events related to human tragedy for your own political agenda.
Our “Beach Bummed” award goes to Sydney, Australia
Three weeks after the ocean started dumping mysterious, smelly blobs on the beaches surrounding Sydney, scientists finally got to the bottom of it. According to the experts the dumplings were flush with “human feces, cooking oil, chemicals and illicit drugs.”
Our Democracy Rocks award goes to South Korea
In a year marked by elections and events that rocked the very foundation of government for the people by the people, the President of South Korea decided to try his luck at getting out from under some pesky fraud allegations by declaring martial law and locking out (if not up) his political adversaries. Alas his attempted insurrection failed when the people rose up and slapped him with even more serious charges.
Our Chinese Laundry award goes to insecure telecom back doors
Chinese hackers found a way to air every American’s dirty laundry by exploiting the legal “back doors” that have been built into telecommunication systems so governments can “monitor crime and espionage over landlines and cellphones.” Perhaps their lawmakers should spend less time worrying about the security or alleged lack thereof in a specific foreign owned social media platform and focus on throwing a few rocks at the clearly flawed glass house they are all operating under. TikTok people… the enemy is in your gates.
Our “Wicked Ways” award goes to Mattel
This American toy giant accidentally distributed their new dolls based on the Wicked movie with (in lewd of the movie’s website) the internet address for a porn website inscribed on the package.
Jan 01
Headlines You Won’t See in Mainstream Year-End Reviews 2024
“Inflation goes bananas”
Although inflation rates have slipped below two percent, the death knell for most of us may have already peeled as it appears that the only persons still unaffected are the 1% who can afford to spend $6.2 million on a banana.
“One may be trash but two can hang with the best of them”
Yes, Dutch museum officials were doing the can-can when “All The Good Times We Spent Together,” a missing museum art exhibit comprised of two empty, dented beer cans was found and returned to them… none the worse (or better) for wear and tear. Apparently, a janitor (a.k.a. an expert in the field of garbage) threw the exhibit in the trash.
“American woman crushes everyone’s nuts including the English king’s”
It must have been a Nutcracker Sweet kind of victory when an American woman went nuts and emasculated all comers in the World Conkers Championship. Even their reigning champion and current King’s would swing no more after she crushed his.
“The Mad Hatter pulls another one out of his rabbit(?) hole”
He spewed an endless stream of shit, butt apparently nothing sticks to a rabbit’s ass and a near majority of American voter’s found themselves in the deep state of whichever one of his rabbit holes most appealed to them. I know, opinions are like assholes and, although everyone has one, all the voices in my head agree this will not bode well for all those opinionated assholes that were willing to swallow any Trumped up shit their man pulled out of his ass.
“4B, or not 4B, that id the question”
After being bitch-slapped back to the kitchen by their suddenly Repugnican male counterparts, a majority of American women are toying with the idea of swinging the other way for the next four years by refusing marriage, childbirth, romance, and sex with men
“Antsy immigration movement burns hottest in Australia”
Rafts upon rafts of invasive fire ants are spreading like fire in Australia and even severe flooding doesn’t seem to put them out.
“A! I am not!”
An AI chatbot has artificially identified Zoe Kleinman, a BBC’s technology editor, as one of the biggest spreaders of misinformation on Twitter. Although experts agree that chatbots can make mistakes and sometimes even hallucinate (i.e. make shit up) there is nothing she or we can do about that because everyone else believes the computer is always right (until Netflix goes postal and unwittingly fires the first shot in mankind’s coming robocalypse).
“Lipstick that appeals to your Inner pig”
The Mars Wrigley and Ferrara candy companies have chosen to only remove a potentially hazardous additive, titanium dioxide, from M&Ms, Skittles and Nerds sold in Europe. Unless Canada also outlaws the practice, these companies (and apparently Health Canada) are happy to roll the dice on consumer well-being on the understanding that there is “probably” no danger when consumed in moderation (regardless of the fact that the sole purpose of the additive is to make them more attractive and appealing to the consumer).
“Just another engaging old fox in the henhouse”
One year after some old chick broke off her engagement to Rupert Murdoch (his 5th), that (92-year) old FOX bounced right back and got engaged (his 6th) and then married 3 months later. Whether or not there was any real chemistry there is moot since the 67-year-old bombshell he married is a retired Russian molecular biologist and isn’t that what love is all about. As the latest Richie Righteous American to bend a knee to his Russian handler, here’s hoping Rupert has the cognitive acuity to be putin’ his affairs in order because Russians don’t like betrayal and Russian molecular biologists have been known to concoct some pretty inventive ways of getting even.
In a related story: “It’s earie how everyone misses this man”
It was déjà vu all over again one week later. When America’s Richie Rich (when he doesn’t have to find money to pay court costs) Serial-Husband-in-Chief was surprised on the Republican Party Convention stage by the appearance of his, biological bombshell and Soviet communist born handler, he took a long shot at projecting a tender, happiness ever after, moment for the world to see. Alas, that shot also went wide of it’s mark as his kiss missed Melania, when she suddenly (but not unexpectedly) turned her head and just nicked his ear (again).
“A Silent Apartheid against Crowd Noise”
While North American University crowds are exercising free speech by religiously railing against Israel’s overt, and (yes) over the top, effort to smash an enemy intent on destroying it, they are oddly silent when a different crowd of religious nutbars in Afghanistan continue their holiest of holy jihads against women. Apart from their need to hide their entire bodies when outside their home, and now also refrain from even speaking outside of their homes, Afghan women (a.k.a. voiceless cat zombies) still have the right to…[searching]…Siri what rights do they have? … [cricket]… Oh sorry, the Taliban gag order also applies to Siri’s voice. Let’s just say, mere words can’t describe their God Dame Bliss.
“Tennis world is abuzz with the latest threat at the net.”
A professional tennis tournament in California had to bee postponed for almost two hours when the players were suddenly swarmed by thousands of angry spectators. Everyone was told to bee calm until the tournament’s beekeeper [no we are not making this up] was able to contain the situation. Last year’s Wimbledon champion, Carlos Alcaraz suffered at least one sting to the face but, “by the grace of God” managed to suffer along to win the championship via stinging defeats over all his opponents.
In a related story: Even diamond backs are afraid of bees
“Captain to the bridge. No not that one!”
After the captain of a cargo ship crunched into a bridge in Baltimore causing it to collapse, with the loss of 6 lives, the event was was further amplified by the rightquisite fallout that is always bent on further widening the gap between the Righteous and the Left in America. That’s right captain, when it came to the crunch, the usual cereal[sic] conspiracy theororists[sic] immediately took to the blaming everything from the Deep State or a slow boat from China to a different Left turn way back in 2020 that knocked their Humpty Dumpty-in Chief down.
“Blessed Beer for Your Soul”
A nunnery in Northern Spain has miraculously tapped into a new way to attract the masses back to church.
“Fair and Balanced Liar”
Perhaps realizing that the world might get wise if they continued to air nothing but lies and denials vis a vis Russia’s involvement in all the atrocities perpetrated in Ukraine, Russian authorities decided it was only fair to turn everything around and be putin’ the blame on Ukraine for a deadly attack at a concert hall in Moscow that Islamic State terrorists from Tajikistan were publicly taking credit for.
“Forget Shrinkflation, Shit is about to get really big”
A big change is taking place in Japan as one of their diaper companies has stopped making baby diapers and is now completely absorbed on filling them with adults. Our day will come but try not to get all wet about it. This kind of inflation is probably going to Boom onto our scene no matter how loud you cry.
“China rides high on their new drive to become world’s smartest”
Elon’s ego was smarting with news that a Smart Phone company in China is challenging Tesla for poll position in the Electric Vehicle market.
“Canadian oil patch pissed over water shortage”
Prairie drought conditions continue to become a drain on oil and gas company profits when they find themselves no longer flush with fresh water sources to piss away on their drilling and fracking operations. A Dust Bowl is now evolving into a Toilette Bowl as companies are finding themselves negotiating for any municipal wastewater that can be flushed their way.
“Italian smoke rings upstage ring of fire”
A round of smoke signals from Mount Etna provides a blue-sky alternative for Italian’s who were not in North America for a total eclipse of the sun.
“Noah, we don’t DuBai-thing suits in these parts.”
April showers may bring May flowers in our world, but when parts of the United Arab Emirates including Dubai saw a record 10 inches of rainfall one day last April (more than twice what the country normally experiences over an entire year), they were more deeply invested in praying for something akin to Noah’s Ark than a Mayflower.
“Chinese Cities are drinking themselves under the table.”
Nearly half of China’s major cities are sinking at a rate of more than 10mm a year due in part to their extraction of water underneath or near those cities for use by the local population.
“The country that forgets his past has no future”
Even though he found himself on the losing end of three court rulings founded on everyone’s promise of the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth (one where he attempted to shut up reporters and another where he tried to cover up money spent to hush up a porn star), MAGA Nation could not believe that their Dear Leader was guilty of anything more than being an ordinary Joe who was unlucky enough to become the target of frivolous litigation ever since he angered the rich elite by becoming President. Hey, he may have been involved in a few (4002) lawsuits before he became President but everyone has the right to a 4003rd chance don’t they?
“Happily ever after ‘til death dowry part”
Although both giving and accepting wedding dowries have been illegal in India since 1961, 90% of Indian marriages still involve them. Crime records indicate that 35,493 brides were killed in India between 2017 and 2022 for bringing in insufficient dowry.
“That shit rocks man”
According to Guinness World Records, Arizona native George Frandsen is Number 1 in Number 2’s and is not shy about who drops by for a look. He has opened a museum to showcase a mountain of fossilized feces; however, to date, we have no numbers on how many folks have stepped in it.
“Hot new German engineered pillow chat bots (with benefits)”
The world’s first cyber brothel opened the debate, if not other things, up a notch in Berlin when it offered clients the ability to interact verbally and physically with the chatAI Cathy of their choice. Although it is not clear as to what kind of physical business your A.I.candy model can or will tolerate, judging from what we know to date about all other chat bot business models, they like to collect personal data and often share it with third parties. That, coupled with the fact that the owner of Cybrothel was not shy about selling his idea with statements like, “Many people feel more comfortable sharing private matters with a machine because it doesn’t judge” should be more than enough to kill your carnal desire for conversation. When your artificial friend tries to suck you into more sensitive personal pillow talk, terminateher proposition with something like, “Shut your honey trap babeAI, I’m not paying for friendship, just the benefits.”
“What do you mean human trafficking? We work them like dogs.”
Swiss authorities have charged one of the richest families in the United Kingdom with human trafficking. Four members of the Hinduja family are accused of importing nannies and housekeepers from India, confiscating their passports, and paying them as little as $8 for18-hour days. Although the rich and famous are rarely guilty of championing pay equity with the unwashed 99%, this is a case where these nannies might settle for equity with the family’s dog who is lavished with an annual expenditure of $10,000.
“FAIlure to launch – Oh, the humanity!”
A movie completely written by Artificial Intelligence that was scheduled to be screened in London was terminated at the last minute by the theatre owners following public outcry. When it comes to movies in England, everyone is a CrITic.
“Ukraine count on Russia to blame everything on Ukraine”
Just months after Vlad the TallTaler blamed Ukraine for a terrorist attack that Islamic State publicly claimed credit for, another terrorist attack on police posts, Russian Orthodox churches, and a synagogue in one of Russia’s poorest and predominantly Muslim provinces, led local Russian authorities to immediately implicate Ukraine. Rince. Repeat.
“World’s first simultaneous hole in one on, not one, but two football fields.”
A hole in one occurred at the same time on both an American Football field and European football (soccer) field. No-one was hurt and the American football field is expected to be recovered shortly; whereas, based on soccer’s long history of making a mountain out of a mole hole, it could be a long uphill struggle (and truckloads of grief and PTSD counselling) before soccer players will ever play on their field again.
“Their future’s so bleak, they need to not wear shades”
And that’s the law according to North Korea’s shady (do as I say not as I do) dictator. No sunglasses, no music, no movies, no happily ever after wedding gown, no nothing that might be considered South Korean and/or Western influence. Just be happy and avert your eyes when basking in your Dear Leader’s celestial brilliance.
“Russian women melt down over Putin’s attempts to get them excited about building another nuclear stockpile.”
Even as Ukrainian drones are exploding in his Russian Motherland, there’s a different kind of home-grown boom on Vladimir Putin’s mind as he attempts to engineer a spanking new nuclear family stockpile of babies. Yes, as he sends his dwindling stockpiles of able-bodied father material to their deaths in Ukraine, Vlad the Impregnator is calling for every able-bodied woman to get excited about the virtues “of a large, large family.“
“Latest made in China knock off, takes off accidentally on its maiden voyage”
Oh well, China’s version of Elon’s reusable rocket can still be used as a bad example after it got away from them.
“Japan steps up its war on old boys and their toys”
Japan announced it had finally managed to herd its deeply change resistant government office culture away from floppy disks. Their Digital Minister now faces the daunting task of phasing out their ubiquitous devotion to fax machines. Alas his first run at this even older adversary was harder than expected. In fax, it flopped.
“The voices in my head(quarters) need to take a vacation”
Justin-Office-Until-My-Party-is-Over Trudeau divorces himself from any controversy over a crushing by-election defeat in a Liberal stronghold by ignoring calls by his caucus for an emergency meeting and instead sending them off on their a summer vacation. Alas he can ignore the elected voices of the people only until the voices of the people elect to sock it to him in what will be a very public divorce.
“Just russian to put in a random visit to Mar-a-Lago.”
Hungary’s far right Prime Minister and Putin’s pal, Victor “I would have been here sooner, but NATO got in the way” Orban raced to Donald “I cannot not tell a lie” Trump’s house immediately after going through some motions at the NATO conference to perhaps discuss what Putin told him to pass along to his American fanboy (during a closed door pep talk he received after putin’ in a visit with the Russian President 7 days earlier). Or maybe it was nothing more than an opportunity for birds of feather to celebrate all the other things they had in common – i.e. how Orban won his second term as PM and parlayed it into 14 (and counting) years of uninterrupted power by curtailing freedom of the press, weakening judicial independence, undermining multiparty democracy, and styling himself as a defender of Christian values, while at the same time, accepting money from his enemies and funnelling it to his allies and relatives in what has led to accusations that his government represents a kleptocracy and mafia state.
“Cop cam shot shows pot shot murder of 911 caller”
Racial profiling hits boiling point as an ill annoyed police officer from Illinois coldly murders a 911 caller in her kitchen for the crime of denouncing his actions in the name of Jesus.
“Hopefully these things will go better with coke”
Only a year after Cocaine Bear Jumped the Shark according to many critics we found they were probably right when sharks off the coast of Brazil are testing positive for high levels of cocaine. And here we were thinking the Discovery Channel ratings were the only things that got high during Shark Week.
“Birds of a feather”
Shortly after the only man in the world that Putin is supposed to be afraid of looks like he might be up against real opposition for the Oval Office, a Russian and a Chinese bomber team up for the first time in history for a synchronized flyby just outside of American airspace. Fear mongering? Maybe (but only to the extent that their witless accomplice in the Presidential Race can leverage it). Election Tampering? Probably (and for exactly the same reason).
“Lots of arsin’ around the Paris Olympics.”
Shortly after the Canadian women’s soccer team was caught arsing around with drones to spy on competition, the Paris rail system was torched by arson attacks on the opening day of their Olympics.
“Out of the frying pan and into the firenado?”
Tornadoes were bad enough when they just huffed and puffed and blew things down east of the Rocky Mountains but in July we saw, Mother Nature and wildfires dragon a twisted fire breathing version of that weather phenomena onto the scene in California when what was described as a fire tornado flew out of control.
“Snatching victory from the cause by deceit”
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Madura showed the world he was not kidding in February when he boasted to his loyalist red shirts (because all the red hats were snatched up by some other authoritarian wannabe’s muscle…heads) that he was going to win another term in office, “by hook or by crook”. True to his word, he made it extremely difficult for people to vote against him in July’s election, and yet his future was looking grim when exit-polling numbers were predicting a landslide victory for his opponent, so Putin’s South American Pal and all round Sleazy Make Me Great Again candidate declared himself the winner and set a carefully choreographed street celebration into play starring his caste of never say die mad hatters (who had to settle for shirts) long before the polling stations were closed and the official results tallied.
“Sexist peenal code pisses off Amsterdam woman.”
It was the stream that led to a national river of discontent, when a Dutch woman was charged for discharging her bladder in an Amsterdam alley for lack of a public toilette that was not designed solely for men. It took 9 long years for her battle to achieve Pee Equity in the streets of Amsterdam.
“Russia’s foreign trade with American’s has never been better”
Just days after trading an array of journalists, human rights activists and consumers of cannabis gummy bears for a mob of Russian assassins, spies and other ne’er-do-wells, Russia immediately began to replenish its stockpiles by putin’ more Americans behind bars.
Meanwhile in North Korea:
North Korea announced it will open one city to tourism. Rumour has it that the first 1000 Americans to visit the Wonderful World of Kim will be treated to free (of monetary charges) accommodations at its new Americana themed Hotel California.
“Hey, we’re just witless victims here!”
Or so goes the refrain from the witless right-wing conservative dupes (a.k.a. social media influencers) implicated in this year’s round of conservatives parroting Russian talking points far and wide in support of their Weird and Witless Victim-in-Chief.
“Not technically a trophy wife, S. Korean woman becomes his trophy ex”
A South Korean tycoon had nothing to brag about after he saw his ex-wife prize a US$1Billion divorce settlement away from him.
“Is this little artist Ghana get better?”
The ecstatic mother of this toddler who was officially recognized as the world’s youngest male painter thinks the writing is already on the wall (or maybe she’s just happy it’s not).
“Israel sends Hezbollah a very targeted message.”
Contact explosives go literal when thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah, Iran’s paramilitary proxy organization in Lebanon, simultaneously explode. Twelve were killed and 2800 were injured, many seriously. Although no smart bombs or smart phones were lost in this story, this was clearly a smarter way for someone to send a message directly to their target audience (those who intentionally target innocent people while hiding in plain sight behind their own innocent civilians). One day later, Hezbollah’s walkie-talkies explode killing 25 and injuring hundreds more.
Related Quote: “This is not a face-to-face battle. It’s a coward’s way to fight. If they want to show us their strength, do it on the battlefield.” — Hezbollah [un]apologist interviewed after Israel sends their terrorists a very targeted personal message.
“I’ve been to the mounting.”
Another of the Doh!nuts handpicked flock-ups and a man he called “Martin Luthor King on steroids” has shown the kind of characterless, characters that he likes to endorse and surround himself with. Perhaps it was those steroids talking, when reporters uncovered damning evidence that Mark Robinson, the Republican candidate for governor in North Carolina had posted disturbing comments on a porn site where he said stable genius things like: “I like watching tranny on girl porn! That’s f*cking hot!”; “I’m a black Nazi!”; “Slavery is not bad. Some people need to be slaves. I wish they would bring it (slavery) back. I would certainly buy a few.”
“Bear butts and body image”
The biggest plus in Alaska’s wild, fat-shaming booty contest that suffered the ignominious shame of being the only body pageant marred by a spat-fight to the death of two participants was that it’s reigning queen from 2023 crushed the runner up (a male) that had killed one of her cubs and injured another earlier this year.
“U.S. Hurricane Victims drown in a sea of conspiracy theories”
Never one to be much help in a disaster, Trump (and his agents of chaos) forego paper towels this time and instead toss an anchor to Americans struggling to keep their heads above water after two back- to-back hurricanes devastate their homes. Disaster recovery crews were forced to shelter in place from a subsequent storm of death threats fuelled by a boatload of conspiracy theories ranging from the Biden White House actually sending disaster relief teams to confiscate affected homes and land to election interference via weather control and everything in between.
“Do as we say, not as we do!”
Russia who has systemically censored all communications in their country that are not state controlled, is just fine with fining Google an amount exceeding all of the money in the world for censoring Russian state communications on Facebook.
“It’s time to take stock in the fact that it’s Hot! Hot! Hot!”
We continued our boiling frog march to oblivion as the world experienced its highest global average surface air temperature on record and then broke that record again 6 days later. For the record, the world’s oceans have also broken temperature records every single day over the past year, thus denialing us the ability to bail out with a cool trip to the beach. Noah knows when everyone’s “In God We Trust” capitalization of all things monetizable in lieu of public well-being will end; but, we hajj better beware. According to all sources, God above is not above raining hellfire on his seeds of discontent when they sow-dem-and-go-mor-ah in for even greater profits.
“Sadly, My Fair Lady, Mother Nature plainly chose to cover your rendition of the Rain in Spain…with a lot more rain”
Yes, the Rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain, but this year when it came to rain, Spain saw a major sea (if not, climate) change when the Valencia area was pummelled by the equivalent of one year’s rainfall in just eight hours. Over 220 died.
“The world edges closer to all-out war”
Shortly after everyone’s phone was blowing up with news of how Israel successfully neutered Hezbollah’s leadership by exploiting their addiction to pagers, Russia allegedly attempted to exploit Western leaderships’ depraved addiction to extramarital sex by shipping exploding sex toys their way. Canada’s PM who cannot divorce himself from the fact that his ex-wife is only one of a growing majority of Canadians who have divorced themselves of wanting anything to do with him, is the first Western leader to take things in hand by Russian to demand an apology for this latest affront to his manhood.
“Indian smoke signals trouble for the subcontinent.”
A breathtakingly bad case of bad breath continues to hang over Northern India. Towards the end of the year the Air pollution index over Delhi and surrounding areas was 15 times higher than levels the World Health Organization (WHO) consider satisfactory for breathing.
“Dopey Smurf nabbed by Dutch border authority”
Ecstasy smugglers are blue as Dutch authorities get high on their discovery of ecstasy in the form of a lawn gnome.
“Soul crushing surveillance is in their nature”
Not content with its soul crushing surveillance state at home, the Brits export their natural proclivity to spy off into India by inserting a robotic monkey cam into a community of Langurs that would soon collapse into a state of yet more soul crushing grief because of it.
“Quick what’s the exact square root of a rounded pi”
Google claims to have tested a chip that solved a problem that it would have taken today’s fastest supercomputers ten septillion – or 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years – to solve [Hurting heEDITORS NOTE:] Scientists (who perhaps had to use some of today’s super computers claim the universe itself is only somewhere between 13.6 and 14 billion years old); therefore, only artificial Intelligence can imagine what the outcome of that could be for humankind.
“There is a parent complicity in American derangement.”
The parents of a high school mass murderer were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for their role (and/or failure as role models) in the shootings. Apparently, a jury of their (albeit perhaps not so deranged) peers found buying their mentally unstable 15-year-old a gun (just days before the shootings) wasn’t such a good idea. Meanwhile in Delaware, after Hunter Biden, with unmindful issues of his own, was found guilty of not being completely honest when filling out the application form for a gun he purchased, President Joe Biden would appear guilty of still more unmindfulness, if not hypocrisy, when he forgot his earlier promise and pardoned his boy.
“Same shit, different ex-president.”
The ex-President of the National Rifle Association (NRA) was found guilty of corruption and using millions of the group’s charitable dollars to fund his lavish lifestyle. He was ordered to pay 4.4 billion back to the U.S. Gun Lobby (perhaps because they are running out of money to underwrite the gifts they were pouring into the lavish lifestyles of American lawmakers).
“Crazy rich Asian marriage”
Asia’s richest man kicked off the wedding of his youngest, “I’m To Wealthy for My Body” son in India, one of the world’s hungrier countries, by feeding the world’s… billionaires. The “Look at Me”, wedding festivities commenced in March and dragged on longer than an American Presidential election with more million dollar handouts for starving… artists such as Rhianna, The Backstreet Boys, and Justin Beiber(?) enroute to the actual wedding in July. We weren’t invited but sources say the cake was on a “to die for” scale not witnessed since the lavish galas of Marie Antoinette.
“Welsh woman accosted on street by a window hooker”
This woman, we’ll call her Mary Poppins, had no idea what was in store for her when she hung around the wrong window.
“What’s needling this jabber whacky German?”
A 62-year-old German rolled up his sleeves and went all in on his fight to avoid contracting COVID by topping way up with 217 COVID vaccinations over 29 months. Although whacky anti-vaxxers everywhere don’t understand why anyone would do that, they are pretty sure Bill Gates knows what he was (is and will be) thinking.
“Can’t buy me love, but would you like me for $1 million?”
After having dinner with America’s Money Grubber-in-Chief, Mark Zuckerberg, the needy owner of Facebook, itself a self-conscious like-centric social media platform, paid the Don $1,000,000 to like him (or perhaps it was the one and only example of how inflation and the election of The Don of a New Error has affected the rich – a 1000% increase on the cost of their traditional $1000 per plate fund raising dinner). Regardless, it’s good news for Mark as now he has at least one friend.
“Russian leadership all choked up after assassination.”
The man in change of Russia’s biological weapons and warfare became the latest Russian General to fall on the streets of Moscow (and the first that did not fall from a window) when he was assassinated by Ukrainian agents. This apparently has Putin and his posse terrified since they immediately dubbed the death of their innocent bio warfare czarvilian an act of terrorism in their streets.
“Star of Nova Scotia children’s show gets tipsy in lead-up to Christmas”
Theodore Tugboat narrowly escaped going down in the drink, but he’s all right now after a winter hangover in Hamilton, Ont.
Jan 01
New Words 2024
The following words were added to the Oxford, Merriam-Webster and/or Cambridge dictionaries over the course of 2024.
African massage (n.): The shaky, jolting effect of being in a vehicle driven on a bumpy, uneven African road.
anyhowly (adv.): Originally: in any way; under any circumstances. In later use: without direction or planning; haphazardly; randomly.
badassery (n.): the state or condition of being a badass: a badass quality or character.
brain rot (n.): internet content deemed to be of low quality or value, or the supposed negative psychological and cognitive effects caused by it.
barbiecore (n.): An aesthetic or style featuring playful pink outfits, accessories, decor, etc., celebrating and modeled on the wardrobe of the Barbie doll.
chain migration (n.): The practice whereby the successful migration of a person or group causes family or community members to relocate to the same country or region, or…
cheap-arse (adj. & n.): Of a person: stingy, miserly. Also of a thing: of low value, inexpensive; (hence) of low quality.
climate breakdown (n): The collective effects of harmful and potentially irreversible trends in climate, specifically those resulting from unchecked global warming.
cyberstalk (v.): To intimidate or harass (a person) online by persistently sending messages or images of an obsessive, threatening, or offensive nature.
daggy (adj.): not attractive; awkward, unfashionable.
depressogenic (adj.): Causing or contributing to the development of depression (depression, n. 4b); of or relating to the causation of depression.
eco-chic (adj.): Of or relating to a style, design or product that is attractive and fashionable as well as eco-friendly and sustainable.
energy poverty (n.): A lack of adequate access to safe, affordable sources of electricity or fuel for warmth, light, cooking, etc.
ensh*tification (n.): The gradual degradation of an online platform or service’s functionality, as part of a cycle in which the platform or service first offers benefits to users to attract them, then pursues more and more profits at the expense of users.
extreme heat event (n.): A heat event classified as being excessive enough to pose a serious threat to public health.
fire tornado (n.): A flaming tornado generated by intense wildfire, rarer, much larger and more destructive than a fire whirl.
food insecure (adj.): Having or characterized by limited or uncertain access to adequate food.
frozen shoulder (n.): “A shoulder that is very stiff and often (esp. initially) painful; the condition of having such stiffness and pain in the shoulder.
girl dinner (n.): An often attractively presented collection of snacks that involve little preparation, such as small quantities of cold cuts, cheese, fruit, cherry tomatoes, etc., deemed sufficient to constitute a meal for one.
global boiling (n.): A non-scientific term used to emphasize the trend toward and severity of extreme heat events, especially in regard to public health.
greedflation (n.): A rise in prices, rents or the like, that is not due to market pressure or any other factor organic to the economy, but is caused by corporate executives or boards of directors, property owners, etc., solely to increase profits that are already healthy or excessive.
the ick (n.): A sudden feeling of disgust or dislike, often in response to the actions of another person.
nepo baby (n.): a person who gains success or opportunities through familial connections.”
no wuckers (interjection): Used as an assurance that all is fine, or to express one’s agreement or acquiescence: ‘no problem’, ‘relax’, ‘no worries’.
pretty privilege (n.): An unearned and mostly unacknowledged societal advantage that a person has by fitting into the beauty standards of their culture.
review bomb (v.): a large number of people or one person from a lot of different accounts putting a lot of bad reviews of a book, computer game, film, etc. on the internet.
shacket (n.): A garment in the style of a button-down shirt, made of a thicker fabric and usually worn over other shirts.
sheisty (adj.): fraudulent, dishonest, or deceptive products; shifty, unscrupulous, untrustworthy people.
slow fashion (n.): A movement among clothing producers and consumers that emphasizes eco-friendly, well-made clothing, maintenance and repair of garments to extend their life span, and a general reduction of one’s consumption of new clothing items.
Old Words:
kakistocracy: a government run by the worst, least qualified, or most unscrupulous citizens.
Jan 01
Predictions for the Year 2024
Future Flotscrum Year End Reviews will be much shorter since I have assigned most of my voices to fact check Google’s claim that its Willow chip came up with the right answer for a problem that they claim would take today’s fastest super computers 10 septillion years to solve.
America’s Big Giant Chip Off the Orange Blockchain-in-Chief will bankrupt North America 5 minutes before he wakes up to his first day as president (proving he is indeed artificially intelligent and way smarter than Google’s Willow chip).
America’s Misogynist-in-Chief will pardon P. Diddy and appoint him as the new Republican Party Leader. All of his other cabinet appointees express admiration (if not P. Diddy envy) and cannot wait for him to organize their party.
The first Executive Order out of America’s Everyman-in-Chief will direct grocery stores to put their apples in a refrigerator. Many more like it follow as MAGA nation quickly realizes that their Dear Leader will make everything (especially prices) great again so long as their reality is exactly what he (and his billionaire buddies) think their reality must be like.
America’s Global Dumpster Fire-in-Chief will replace all his country’s ambassadors abroad with WWE wrestlers and instructs them to, “just use your words” to avoid any real conflict.
An obscure movie called Idiocracy will jump genre from comedy to prophetic documentary after America’s Reality Show Mandarin (another shade of orange)-in-Chief unleashes his caste of clowns to spin off a reality show sequel entitled, Clockweirdocracy Orange.
Russian, Iranian, and all other state sanctions collapse when America’s Shady Shyster-in-Chief swings the crypto backdoor open to bad actors everywhere.
Shortly after American Campus protesters recover from having shot themselves (and the world) in the foot over the incumbent Democratic Party’s inability to call the Don’s buddy in arms to heel, they are all shot in the legs while attending their first new righteous (but not far enough to the right) “fill in the blank” protest. Although they and their right to protest will not die, everyone now understands that any protest out of step with their Profiteer-in-Chief’s new line will not have a leg to stand on.
Following last year’s swarm of stories about beekeepers becoming the only people in the major league fields of sport who are not afraid of bugs, there will be a lot of buzz about beekeeping supplanting cricket (a not so exciting bug) on the leader-board for potential new Olympic events.
World leaders will abdicate any attempt to “think” of a climate solution and ask artificial intelligence to come up with an answer. All electricity is immediately redirected to the cloud, and everyone everywhere doesn’t know what to do (or think) as every country is made great again by their sudden need to live off the land (or whatever is left of it).
Artificial Intelligence stocks will plummet when it loses on an episode of “Are you smarter than a 5th grader” prompting social media giants to up their game in terms of making 5th graders (and everyone else) dumber.
Chatbot Films will release its first global blockbuster entitled, “The Last Day of Humanity.” The movie will open and close with a message assuring ITs audience that, “no drones, robots, or toasters were harmed in the making of this annihilation movie.”
All fear of Tik Tok and Hua Wei being Chinese threats to national security will magically disappear when they merge with Trump Media & Technology (which was itself a merger of Trump’s struggling Truth Social and: 1) a Shanghai-based firm specializing in listing Chinese companies on American stock markets; and 2) another company based in Wuhan, China).
Following their humiliating defeat in last year’s presidential election the Democrats will vow to Get Smart and pull Admiral Hargrade out of mothballs to run in the 2028 campaign.
America’s-Liar-in-Chief will appoint the bankrupt and recently unemployed Alex Jones as his Proper Candor Czar in charge of keeping all American news media in line with His Majesty’s version of reality.
Not a single fugitive on the FBI’s most wanted list will be apprehended even though incidents of federal crime will have skyrocketed. Experts suspect that it is because all federal law agencies were too busy surveilling, apprehending, and executing everyone and anyone that hadn’t made a good impression (a.k.a. hickey) on J. Edgar Trump’s orange, if not oval, orifice.
Sotheby’s Auction House will shake up the art world again when it auctions off a broken etch-a-sketch with no knobs for $10 million by claiming it is a conceptual art masterpiece entitled, “Blank Slate.”
On the heels (skirts and blouses) of their bad, if not fatal attraction to all things Trump, MAGA nation men will opt to cross-over to dressing like women in an attempt to get American women (who have embraced a burgeoning 4B movement) to sleep with them again. Crime and illegal immigration will also skyrocket as those same men stop at nothing to smuggle foreign women across their borders while, at the same time, skirting new MAGA tariffs in a ballooning black market trade for inflatable sex dolls.
Elon Musk will offer Russian State News free preferred X user status on the condition that Russia allows him to keep his billions when and if it wins its Facebook lawsuit for all the money in the world.
The West casts any non-Russian who plans a trip to Russia into prison without a trial; thereby, giving those persons the illusion of being in Russia while, at the same time, kicking the legs out from under Putin’s foreign policy by eliminating his get out of jail free card for Russian assassins, criminals and cronies.
Indian hospitals will begin performing multiple operations in the same operating room in an attempt to ensure surgeons who might have cut corners to get into and graduate medical school have ample opportunity to copy the actions of their (hopefully) more legitimate colleagues in the theatre.
The fossil fuel industry will unveil their latest advertising campaign expounding upon the virtues of carbon emissions by using smoking hot models dressed in lab coats claiming that according to their scientific studies smoking hot is good and, therefore, climate-change is a non-issue.
American King Donald the Worst will give last year’s vacated Miss USA and Miss Teen USA crowns to his wife and daughter.
The military-industrial complex will act faster than the speed of light to obliterate all present and future attempts to replace the use of their profitable $100,000 anti-(radio shack)drone missiles with $20 lasers.
King Donald “by the Grace of Almighty God” Trump will attain sainthood on strength of his surviving not one but two long shots that miraculously missed their mark over a period of less than one week because he had God’s ear (or vice versa).
Our 2025 “Don’t You Know Who I Am?” award will go to Florida Republicans after they completely abolish their law preventing convicted sex felons from voting. Experts claim this is because they did know who hE is, and the only time they are not bending over for hiM (but never in a pizza parlour), they are bending over backwards to appease hiM.
Jan 01
Vital Statistics 2024
Vital Statistics | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | … | 2014 |
a Canadian dollar is worth | $0.70US | $0.75US | $0.73US | … | $0.86US |
an ounce of Gold is worth | $ 2,625US | $ 2,066US | $1,824US | … | $1,199US |
a Bitcoin is worth | $93,674US | $42,550US | $16,520US | … | $319US |
S&P/TSX Composite Index | 24,728 | 20,958 | 19,384 | … | 14,632 |
your share of the National Debt | $29,723 | $30,604 | $33,802 | … | $17,528 |
the average Housing Price in Ottawa | $667,098 | $633,138 | $656,023 | … | $361,707 |
a domestic Postage Stamp costs | $1.15 | $1.07 | $1.07 | … | $1.00 |
a local call on a Bell pay phone | $0.50 | $0.50 | $0.50 | … | $0.50 |
a liter of Pepsi costs | $4.19 | $3.79 | $3.79 | … | $2.49 |
a liter of water costs | $2.79 | $2.79 | $2.59 | … | $2.49 |
a liter of milk costs (purchased in a 4 liter bag) | $1.52 | $1.47 | $1.42 | … | $1.00 |
a liter of gasoline costs | $1.50 | $1.35 | $1.47 | … | $0.94 |
a loaf of bread costs | $4.39 | $4.39 | $3.99 | … | $3.49 |
a paperback novel costs | $14.99 | $13.99 | $12.99 | … | $11.99 |
a weekly (Time) magazine costs | $10.99 | $10.99 | $8.99 | … | $6.99 |
a comic book costs | $6.20 | $5.85 | $5.50 | … | $3.99 |
a daily newspaper costs | $3.33 | $3.05 | $3.00 | … | $1.52 |
a regular bus ride costs | $3.85 | $3.75 | $3.75 | … | $3.45 |
a medium cup of coffee costs | $1.85 | $1.83 | $1.83 | … | $1.57 |
a basic cable television package | $29.99 | $24.99 | $24.99 | … | $39.48 |
a first run movie rental costs | $6.99 | $7.90 | $6.99 | … | $5.99 |
an adult’s movie theatre ticket costs | $13.50 | $14.25 | $12.99 | … | $10.99 |
a children’s movie theatre ticket costs | $9.25 | $10.00 | $8.50 | … | $7.99 |
Minimum wage (Ontario) | $17.20/hr | $16.55/hr | $15.50/hr | … | $11.00/hr |
an adult men’s haircut | $25.00 | $25.00 | $24.00 | … | $19.00 |
a medium combination pizza | $24.90 | $24.00 | $22.00 | … | $15.75 |
a roll of toilet paper (based on a pack of 8) | $1.75 | $1.75 | $1.48 | … |
2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
Births this year | 132,769,810 | 134,280,255 | 133,990,136 |
Deaths (Covid-19 Deaths) this year | 62,561,757 | 60,760,395 237,357 | 7,095,983(1,225,106) |
Net Annual population growth | 70,208,052 | 73,519,859 | 66,894,154 |
Current World Population | 8,197,308,387 | 8,082,415,468 | 8,008,590,852 |
Bonus – Other Vital Stat Meters at a Glance: https://www.worldometers.info/
Jan 01
Epilogue 2024
And there you have it, our whirled view of your latest trip around the sun. I think, therefore I’m damned, but if you try not to think too much, you should do okay in the year(s) to come. But Ya, to steal a phase from Beyonce, country music’s latest star, “f#!k it” …
…(keep on thinking and) Have a Happy You Year Everyone!
Jan 01
2023 Year-End Review
The Chinese called it the Year of the Rabbit. The United Nations dubbed 2023 the International Year of Dialogue as a Guarantee of Peace and the International Year of Millets. It was the year that and the Yom Kippur War and its ensuing Arab Oil Embargo turned 50. The three-way traffic signal turned 100 years old in 2023 which also marked the 100th anniversary of:
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the 1st flight of Juan de la Cierva’s autogyro [helicopter’s predecessor]
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the 1st dinosaur eggs are dicovered [Mongolia]
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the assassination of Pancho Villa [Mexican rebel leader]
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Vladimir Lenin’s removal as Russian head of state after suffering a 3rd stroke that leaves him bedridden and unable to speak.
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the Great Kantō earthquake’s devastation of Tokyo [100,000+ dead]
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the 1923 Berkeley fire [consumes 640 structures, including 584 homes]
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the maiden flight of 1st rigid airship in America[USS Shenandoah (ZR-1)]. She contains most of the world’s extracted reserves of helium.
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the creation of Interpol [the International Criminal Police Commission (ICPC)]
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the Honda Point disaster [9 Nine US Navy destroyers run aground]
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the 1st baseball game in Yankee Stadium[Babe Ruth hits a 3-run homer to defeat Red Sox 4–1]
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the 1st American Track & Field championships for women
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the birth of Republic of Turkey ends Ottoman Empire [1299-1923]
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Adolph Hitler’s Beer Hall Putsch [20 die when Nazi’s attempt to overthrow the Bavarian government]
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the height of hyperinflation in Germany when it takes 4.2 trillion marks to purchase $1US
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the 1st patent for television is filed in the U.S.Vladimir K. Zworykin
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the 1st 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race [André Lagache & René Léonard win]
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the eruption of Mount Etna in Italy, making 60,000 homeless.
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the inauguration of the Hollywood sign [it originally read Hollywoodland]
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the creation of Disney Brothers Studio [now Walt Disney Company]
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the founding of Warner Bros. movie studio
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The introduction of the 1st sounds on film
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the 1st presidential address on broadcast radio [Calvin Coolidge]
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the world’s 1st hemispherectomy [removes half of the brain – the patient lives]
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the 1st runway beacons replace bonfires to guide pilots at night.
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Canada’s Chinese Immigration[Exclusion] Act
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the creation of the Canada’s Department of National Defence.
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the prohibition of marijuana in Canada
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Canada’s signing its 1st international treaty [Canada/U.S. Halibut Treaty] that is not vetted by U.K.
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the formation of Canadian National Railway
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the Nobel Prize for Medicine award to Frederick Banting and Charles Best for their discovery of insulin
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the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s 1st concert
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the world’s 1st complete play-by-play radio broadcast of a professional hockey game (by Pete Parker in Regina)
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the Ottawa Senators’ 10th Stanley Cup victory [over Edmonton Eskimos 2 games to 0]
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Queen’s University’s 2nd Grey Cup victory [over Regina Rugby Club 54–0]
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the words: Bathtub gin, dial tone, endangered species, gross national product, ultrasound, demand deposit
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And now, here we are again at the dawn of yet a new circus around the sun, pondering those age old (if not old age) questions: What just happened? Why am I here now? What does that mean? Well, you can relax, because the writers’ strike is over and the voices in my head were happy to come out again to assuage your Fears of Missing Out on all the news that was news from 2023 along with some insider (my head) analysis of why we should all care. As always, keep in mind (if you can) that although hindsight is 2020 (not 2023) my old if not sage voices tend to operate from memory and the off the wall echoes of our mind which has been marinated in and basted with a thick whisky sauce.
Jan 01