1) ABC airing constant commercials during each break of Michael Bolton singing in the back seat of a car will haunt me until 2015..
2) Miley Cyrus had a great run in 2013. But with her awful live performance, I can only say I hope she enjoyed it. Dick Clark is rolling in the grave..
Baby it’s cold outside.
But Ryan Seacrest looks so warm his makeup may run…
And Carson Daly? that’s quite the inside fire they have running on NBC.
Sometimes it is better to just watch the ball drop from the safety net of a building with walls to confine warmth. But for those braving cold air under a beautiful clear winter sky, godspeed.
Photo credit:
People look towards fireworks exploding from Times Square’s New Year’s Eve Ball during New Year’s Eve celebrations in Times Square in New York, December 31, 2013. REUTERS/Zoran Milich (UNITED STATES - Tags: SOCIETY ANNIVERSARY)
No matter what you do or try to, you can’t turn back the hands of time.
Enjoy the last few hours of 2013.. as they slip into history, forging a path for a new and fresh start in 2014.
Goodbye unlucky 13.. you’ve been too real for our good.
They are recruiting the homeless to help cleanup radioactive Fukushima! And with the new law that passed there, don’t expect many Japanese news agencies to report a word of this..
TUESDAY DECEMBER 31 2013
The last day unlucky 13..
You have heard enough of the year in review laments by now.. the best and worst.. the nice and bad..
It is interesting that we do this, too.. That one day, New Years day, can mean so much of a difference to us..
The most meaningless place I think you can be tonight is a dive bar.. cowered in the smoky corner —wait can you still smoke in them!?—listening to some awful band try to recreate magic from 1970s tunes… After the party streamers and noise makers get thrown to the side, you’re still in a dive bar. You’re still in a bad place for your spirit and soul. Believe me, I spent some New Years in dive bars. One in particular when I was in my early 20s and either had too much to drink or got sick from the buffet turkey meat that they served at midnight..
Tonight my new years will be quiet.. My wife and I have dinner tonight at one of the most wonderful restaurants in the world, Martin’s in Hazleton, PA.. After that we will come back home and relieve our babysitter of her duty of watching Ayden watch Woody Woodpecker on Netflix. And then watch a new years eve rock without Dick Clark but with Ryan Seacreast. At 11:59 Seacrest will announce ‘13 out’ and we will sing, dance, and kiss our loved ones as the manmade calender switches to a new digit..
And that is how we do it, here on earth. For those keeping track in space above… we celebrate a year that was and make promises to ourselves for the next. And yes, by February those promises are long gone memories .. sometimes by January 2 they are, as a matter of fact..
For the first time, this year, I plan on resolving a few things.. A personal set of mental ailments and roadblocks that have hindered my advancement as a human for a long time… those I want to rid myself of. I am going to attempt to have a clean slate.. and attempt to forge a new path of hope and change. No, I am not running for president. Instead, I am attempting to succeed in this world, change some lives for the better, and add love instead of hate to a planet that is filled with the noise of evil …even though it’s overrun by the quiet of purity and morality.
I hope you stick to your resolution, whatever you choose for it to be.
A friend of mine is a big Jay-Z and Beyonce fan.. I constantly jab him with jokes about her alleged involvement with the Illuminati.. and he doesn’t even want to listen when I try to play him sound files of Beyonce claiming that she channels an alternate personality named Sasha Fierce for her live performances.
Maybe Beyonce would be smart if she blamed some recent actions on Fierce..
She is being slammed by families of dead astronauts and current NASA employees for sampling audio files from the space shuttle Challenger disaster..
For those who remember, Challenger exploded in 1986 only a little over a minute after it took off. With a school teacher on board, it was being watched on live television all across the United States when it happened—school kids were forever scarred by the memory of seeing the space shuttle begin its long death when that disaster took place. Ronald Reagan addressed the nation..
And now Beyonce chose to use sound clips of the final moment of life for astronauts that fateful January day in her new song XO.. the song is about a troubled relationship .. So I guess that makes sense to use a sound file of heroes dying in a horrid inferno. (Sarcasm there.. it does not translate well in text) …
NASA is angry. Former and current space employees aren’t to happy.. families of those who died that day aren’t smiling. And I am just left scratching my Illuminati fearing head. What was Sasha thinking? She says that she wanted to include the sounds of the disaster in her XO song as a ‘tribute’ to those who died that day.. I just cannot fathom the perplexing logic that made her think people would just fine with her decision to use that audio file..
And if Beyonce didn’t get the offensive nature of it, surely Jay-Z would have..?
What are YOUR New Years plans?
This is an important article from FOREIGN POLICY.. the money quote printed here:
Around 1:00 AM on April 16, at least one individual (possibly two) entered two different manholes at the PG&E Metcalf power substation, southeast of San Jose, and cut fiber cables in the area around the substation. That knocked out some local 911 services, landline service to the substation, and cell phone service in the area, a senior U.S. intelligence official told Foreign Policy. The intruder(s) then fired more than 100 rounds from what two officials described as a high-powered rifle at several transformers in the facility. Ten transformers were damaged in one area of the facility, and three transformer banks — or groups of transformers — were hit in another, according to a PG&E spokesman.
Cooling oil then leaked from a transformer bank, causing the transformers to overheat and shut down. State regulators urged customers in the area to conserve energy over the following days, but there was no long-term damage reported at the facility and there were no major power outages. There were no injuries reported. That was the good news. The bad news is that officials don’t know who the shooter(s) were, and most importantly, whether further attacks are planned.
"Initially, the attack was being treated as vandalism and handled by local law enforcement," the senior intelligence official said. "However, investigators have been quoted in the press expressing opinions that there are indications that the timing of the attacks and target selection indicate a higher level of planning and sophistication."
April 16.. .and we find out at the end of December how urgently important and dangerous this situation was..
There is still fear in 2014.. There have been some interesting and unsettling earthquakes in the Canary Islands over the past few days—this has happened before. When it did, there were rumors that a giant East Coast tsunami would occur. That was helped by people like John Moore on his radio program.. Now that the rumbling is happening again, those same rumors are being told. John Hogue is weighing in on the earthquake swarm and potential ramifications if Las Palmas euptions take place..
From livescience.com: “Two years after a new underwater volcano appeared offshore of El Hierro in the Canary Islands, earthquake swarms and a sudden change in height suggest a new eruption is brewing near the island’s villages, officials announced today”
If a big tsunami did occur, it would cause devastation in the aftermath..Predictions that it would be 300 feet high, cover islands.. And here is a map of what it could do to the United States.
And it just so happened that this all occurred around the same time of these warnings of increased volcanic and seismic activity: A strong 5.4 shakes the Canary Islands..
My niece and her friend were at our house this weekend, they’re of the age where they want to just watch mindless horror movies.. I put in Halloween from 1978, I expected them to be as amazed as I was when I was a young teenager like them..
They got bored quickly, and their only commentary on the classic movie was that the star of it now does yogurt commercials..
Yes… Jamie Lee is old now. But not when she fought Michael Myers.
It’s been the traditional way I’ve rung in the new year for a long time now.. Thanks to the SYFY channel (*then SCI FI) for all the wonderful memories of the Twilight Zone you’ve given me each and every New Years Eve..
I have already written down the times of my favorites..
Maybe I can get my wife to actually watch some this year if I tell her there will be advertisements for HER favorite show, LOST GIRLS.
Meanwhile.. the Monsters are Due on Maple street at 8:30 pm, the Shelter is prepped for 6:30 pm, and the Obsolete Man will cry at 1130 pm..
But the best happens at 12:00 am January 1, 2014 when the MIDNIGHT SUN blazes.. that one is my favorite.
Hope you find yours on their schedule.
Another majorly important story about Fukushima that really no media organization is paying any mind to..
Here’s one of the latest model runs for this Thursday.. 2014 may begin with a bang on the East Coast—a bang of snow and winter weather. This is a cold storm, too.. the way the arctic air will settle in beforehand would ensure that anything that falls with this scenario is frozen precipitation.
While local forecasters in the area aren’t scaring anyone to grocery stores yet, this may be one of those storms you’ll want to have a stockpile of pizza and beer, or whatever your vice may be. There could be widespread 10-15 inches of snow over the entire area shaded in blue and green..
Stay tuned. This would happen Thursday January 2, 2014, if it all comes together the right way..
What a weird year it’s been …
We started 2013 hating Vlad the impaler.. Midyear it seemed everyone wanted to boycott the Russian Olympics over the LGBT controversy. And now as the year ends, the world seems to be on his side, hoping he can save the 2014 Winter Olympics from terrorism…
The Winter Games are only weeks away, but this weekend Russia started to look like a war zone..
Security is tightening around the nation, especially near the Volograd—the location of where violence took place.
This is something that may not let you sleep easy tonight..
Imagine traveling down the highway at 65, cool wind in your hair. And suddenly your feel like you hit a truck. But you didn’t.. your car just thought you did.
Your car was hacked..
It’s a serious issue, and as this video shows, just a little data on your location may lead your air bags to deploy, your turns to be manipulated, and your safe ride to be hacked …
The north and south poles of the big star that lights our world have officially flipped. The midpoint of the 22 year process has happened.
Feel better about that?
My niece is a nurse.. she recently linked up this article about nursing, by a nurse, on the site OFCOURSEITSABOUTYOU.COM .. The money quote perhaps that best sums up the article as a whole (though you should still read it nonetheless):
Nursing can be rewarding. But nursing is a fucking hard job. If you are afraid of healthcare rationing, you should know it is already happening. Nurses are unable to give everyone the care they need, so patients with smaller problems may not get the same level of care. A nurse may be pressed to only give the minimum amount of care to a patient if she has 5 or more very sick patients. If you don’t want healthcare rationing, talk to your local hospitals about their nurse to patient ratios. Talk to your doctors. If you hear of legislation to support nurse to patient ratios, vote for it. Support it.
Rationing is happening. And that comes from a nurse.
My father recently had a near death ailment.. and though some fine nurses worked through the wee hours of the night, I saw flaws.. Kinks in the armor of health care.
There are some major issues .. systemic problems.
And for an aging population that’s not something comforting..
So bizarre .. will the people who got all fired up about Obama and those Kenya allegations care about Cruzin for a bruzin from Canada?
I can hear it now.. “Mr. Cruz, did you ever or do you now celebrate Boxing Day?”
Among the most important things I see with this: It’s not printed in United States sources. It’s from the UK GAURDIAN.. foreign press seems to be the only place to go anymore for news about what actually happens in the United States and the effect of our foreign policy on other nations.
Heather Linebaugh’s initial paragraph sets the stage for an important story on drones and their use:
Whenever I read comments by politicians defending the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Predator and Reaper program – aka drones – I wish I could ask them some questions. I’d start with: “How many women and children have you seen incinerated by a Hellfire missile?” And: “How many men have you seen crawl across a field, trying to make it to the nearest compound for help while bleeding out from severed legs?” Or even more pointedly: “How many soldiers have you seen die on the side of a road in Afghanistan because our ever-so-accurate UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicle] were unable to detect an IED [improvised explosive device] that awaited their convoy?”
Few of these politicians who so brazenly proclaim the benefits of drones have a real clue of what actually goes on. I, on the other hand, have seen these awful sights first hand.
Be brave and read this entire article.
And after be honest with yourself..
Do you still support drones..?
And it’s 400 miles from the site of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Russia..
According to report, Russia fears more attacks as the Olympics approach
This is the strawberry that was supposed to be dropped in Harrisburg PA on New Years… Things went very wrong and the strawberry fell and shattered when it dropped..
Now the question: Can they build a new one in time to save New Years?
Around 11 p.m. Christmas Eve, people reported hearing a loud “boom” in Toronto, Newmarket, Aurora, Belleville, Richmond Hill, and Sutton. Not only was the boom heard, but it rattled houses, leaving many to believe that a tree had fallen on their rooftop
When in doubt, blame a ‘frost quake.’ And that’s just what is being blamed for these weird sounds..
Though lots of places have been booming since 2012—and there wasn’t always ice storms that accompanied the strange noises..
I dare make them.
And I cannot even blame it on animals, they only had Jesus and the three wise apples ..should I be worried!?
It was not a bad year. But it just seemed that way.. That does not mean there were any overtly bad things that actually took place, but it was the overall lack of good..
Massive scares took place early on when a meteor almost hit Russia—the explosion was so fierce that it shook buildings and injured people.. From that to the strange days of government shutdowns and the wild world of a health care website that didn’t work.. It just did not seem right in ‘13.
Maybe it was the year. Maybe 2013 brought with it some unlucky times…
We beat the odds back in ‘12 when the Mayan Calender did not spell doom. So we paid the price with a lackluster and mediocre time in 2013..
The Boston bombing this year rattled nerves and killed innocent people. A young child was among the dead.. It was a tragic and horrendous act.. And in the aftermath, an entire city got locked down while police freely broke into homes searching for a teenager bomber that later was shot in the throat but lived ..
The world still seems weary.. The economy seems to be getting better on paper, but in reality there is no hope for too many. Gas prices virtually stayed the same, but it just seemed like they have gone up exponentially. And we did not get embroiled into a war (almost) but warfare is so widespread you’d think it’s going out of style..
The world so desperately wanted a hero in 2013 that it chose to applaud Vladimir Putin for hedging off a Syrian war. Of course it was while he had a Pussy Riot behind bars.
A Cardinal became a Pope in 2013. He chose the name Francis. And his actions celebrating Peter the Roman seemed way too eerily close to the Prophecy of the Popes..
Malala told Obama to stop killing innocent people with drones. The media ignored it..
That is how things worked in ‘13..
Perhaps nothing got worse in 2013—but it did not seem to get better. Little attention was paid to Fukushima. Little attention was given to really important news.. instead we were given Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus. We were fed a steady diet of pop culture of doom, gloom, tongues, and salivia..
Nothing was as it seemed in 2013.
We are weary from a few bad months.
Here’s hoping ‘14 brings with it some good, some bad.. but just some of the typical.
You don’t have to tell me. It’s not going to happen.
It’s no surprise. The site was completely out of touch with reality..
There was one section on the mock budget that left a line for second income—perhaps an acknowledgment that Mcdonalds money alone will not assist you living.
There’s a lot of debate lately about the wages Mickey Ds pays—and the lack of them. I heard some in the debate argue that making more than minimum wage is just too much for flipping burgers—but that argument discounts one important factor, that flipping burgers and the service economy as a whole is the new American job!
There isn’t much manufacturing .. Tech development in the United States is behind so many other nations.. Fast food and restaurant work is here to stay—until the robots take over I guess ..
But it really is a big economic issue.. The fact that so many, often including college graduates, are with left with no jobs besides service work, makes me almost think it propels the debate into an uncharted territory..
I don’t eat fast food much, but I have worked in restaurants most of my life and have a dream of owning one in the future .. (Distant future as I look at my
Bank account).. And I can tell you: One income from a restaurant is not enough to survive.
Get ready to put your tin foil hat on tightly..Some very weird things started happening during an interview on WABC .. host Aaron Klein was interviewing controversial anti-NSA figure Larry Klayman.. the article explains it this way:
Audio clips saved on an independent system played at the wrong time.
Klein’s headphones had massive feedback that could be heard on the air.
At one point, the WABC call screener said, “We lost control of the software. It’s all going nuts.”
The technical difficulties started on the show about 10 minutes prior to the Klayman interview. They subsided following the two segments that featured Klayman.
“In my three years of broadcasting at WABC we never had such a technological meltdown as we are having today,” Klein told the audience.
He continued: “Calls are dropping. We cant get the guests on. Once the guests are on they are dropping. We’ve had several meltdowns. Feedback from the microphone. I can barely broadcast. … However we are going to land this airplane and we’re going to have fun doing it.”
And I know, the source is WORLD NET DAILY.. I took it with a grain of salt … and I have my tin foil cap secured comfortably.
So .. common sense would tell me that these technical glitches are perhaps a part of normal technical glitches or just purposeful chicanery behind the scenes. After all, if someone was being interviewed about gardening and this happened, no one would care..
A great morning! Ninja Turtles pajamas with cereal as his Scooby Doo ‘bad guys’ and Darth Vader look on.. A great Christmas morning for a wonderful son. Merry Christmas to everyone.
With my son’s taste in pop culture icons, I swear he’s a reincarnated kid from the 1980s.. It’s like I am living my own childhood over and over again each day with this bright star in my life..
My wife and I were thoroughly overjoyed by seeing Ayden Morris enjoy the simplest of things this holiday. I was amazed at seeing the magic in his eyes at snow, bows, Santa, and even a music book at church.
It’s true, what other parents have said.. having a child changes everything. AS Ayden gets ready to turn 3 years old, it gets truer by the day.. and this Christmas, a whole new meaning of the season has emerged..
Now it’s time to go play! A Scooby Mystery awaits, and Darth Vader is lurking around.. Battles must be won.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL.. And to all a good day.
Darlene Love plays my favorite Christmas song every year on the LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, ‘Please come Home.’
She performs the song each season on the Letterman show..
I have always loved the 1995 performance the best. Maybe it’s because I remember just being young, staying up late to watch this song and falling in love with it.. Her voice is strong—and it still is now. This may be the happiest and saddest song I have ever heard.. I love it, even though it empties my soul of joy at the same time..
I hope you have a baby that comes home this year.. I hope you have the experience of mistletoe and parties, good fun and food, joy and love, peace and magic.
I hope you are able to regain that Christmas spirit if it left.. and if you still have it, never lose it.
Last night young Ayden had a little bit of a toddler meltdown in the grocery store—I could not explain that he did not need a toy since Santa was bringing him lots tonight.. Nonetheless it became a ‘moment’ …
We talked in the car about it.. Finally, we made an agreement: He can buy a Pez dispenser … That’s ok with me, and only a buck out of pocket..
Afterwards, we made a trip to May’s Drive In (a great diner if you ever find yourself in Northern Schuylkill County) .. Ayden wanted french fries and pizza and I wanted a coke and grilled cheese..
A little Christmas magic happened in the process.
When we were entering the building, Ayden, still weary from his tantrum, saw a man exiting with a cane. Ayden said “I don’t have a cane like you, I have a candy cane.” It was simple innocence and the man responded in kind, “I hope you never have a cane like me.” Then conversation went on.. Ayden explained all about his dog Mutley and how he wants Scooby Doo bad guys for Christmas… The man explained that he had cancer and was on life support, nearly died, but is paralyzed on one side of his body..
It was one of those moments in time that meant something. Ayden, just being kind and pure in thought, brought great joy to someone who, as he explained, had little family or friendship this time of year.
Finally, at the end of the chance encounter, and with a little parental prodding, Ayden said “ho ho Merry Christmas!” as he shook the man’s frail hand…
And with that, I had a teaching event. Something that prevented me from being angry anymore about a two minute temper event. It may not have been a ‘ghost of Christmas’ like Scrooge saw, but it was still something.
This has been a trying month. My father found himself in a medical crisis but he is alive for Christmas. And this man, frail and limping with a cane, hopefully smiled a little more seeing a kind hearted young child wishing him a Merry Christmas..
This is a very special song for my wife. And it is too, for me. I think for very different reasons—but those reasons are somehow what also binds us together..
A song for a winter’s night.. Sarah McLachlan.
Good evening.
