Another year filled with interesting news stories is coming to an end. We saw some history unfold before our eyes, and there was also a buttload of bad news along the way. Here is my rundown on some of the top newsworthy stories of the past year, both local and national, and in no particular order...
10. New York Yankees win World Series - Not good news to me, but it was certainly the best team money could buy. Congrats NY on buying, I mean winning, your latest championship. Now if you could just sell those ridiculously high priced seats behind home plate. Then again, you need to pay for that team somehow, so I guess selling individual game tickets for $2000 or more makes perfect sense...
9. Bonny Eagle senior is denied his diploma during graduation - The principal at Bonny Eagle High School took her power a little too far when senior Justin Denney bowed and blew a kiss to his mother and flat out denied him his diploma, citing an agreement the senior class signed before graduation. She claims he was making a scene, I claim she was off her rocker. I would love to see her tarred and feathered in Monument Square during a busy Farmer's Market, sounds like justice to me!
8. Cash for Clunkers - The government decided to offer cash to people with "clunkers", or older, gas guzzling cars in an effort to ramp up new vehicle sales and help get companies like Ford and Chevy back on their feet. Well, it definitely helped Toyota sell the Prius, and it got a lot shitty cars off the road. Unfortunately for us, another program that didn't help us in any way, thus is life.
7. Airplane lands in the Hudson River - At takeoff the plane hit at least one bird, if not more, causing the plane to drop out of the sky and forced pilot Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger to save the full roster of 155 people on board. Sully instantly became a here, and rightfully so. He did a miraculous job landing an airplane in a river and ushered out the entire crew and all the passengers. I don't care who you are, that's pretty damned impressive!
6. Michael Jackson passes away - At first we were all wondering if it was some sort of odd publicity stunt. I mean, it is Wacko Jacko we are talking about here. He was famous for doing things nobody could understand. Then, when it was confirmed, I remember actually being sad. I have always been a huge fan of his music. The guy was an absolute talent behind the microphone, but a freaking whack job away from music. RIP Michael. We will keep the Thriller dance going in your absence!
5. Mainers vote against allowing same sex marriage - In a close vote, Mainers voted against a referendum that would have allowed same sex marriages in the state. Don't really want to go down this path again, as anyone that follows my blog knows how I feel about this. Still dumbfounded that this got overturned. Come on people...
4. H1N1 flu scares the poop out of everyone - Maybe not literally, but this has been, and continues to be a big scare. Its reach has been pretty spread out, including all over the state of Maine. At one point, my daughter's school had about 12% of the entire student population out sick. The spread seems to have slowed some recently.
3. Tiger Woods and his wandering penis - This story has more twists and turns then a roller coaster at Six Flags. The latest news is that Elin is filing for divorce and moving to Sweden. There is also word that there may be videos and pictures to go along with the text messages and voice mails. Oh Tiger, what the hell were you thinking?! You are the most high profile athlete in the entire world, did you not realize that dipping your manhood in every tramp across the globe would catch up with you?! And lets be honest, Elin beat him with a golf club. We all know it, and you know what, I can't say as though I blame her.
2. Recession, job losses and home foreclosures - It's been a pretty sucktastic year financially for the great US and A. Stock market plunged, housing industry fell into the crapper, jobs were lost at an alarming rate, vehicle sales dropped like a lead balloon and we all know somebody, possible even ourselves, that were affected by it. The unemployment rate is slowly decreasing, jobs are starting to open up, and the stock market has seen recent, albeit small, gains. Let's hope we are working our way out as they say we are.
1. Obama sworn in as first African American president of United States - Like him or not, heck, agree with him or not, this is still the top story of the year. Sadly, I wasn't sure our country was ready to accept an African American president. There is still a lot of racial tension in this country, for whatever reason, and I thought it would hurt Obama's chances. I was wrong, and I am proud to have been a part of such a historical moment in our great country's history. Now, don't jump ship now, he is just one year into trying to help one of the world's super powers get back in order, and that can't happen overnight. Black, white, old, young, Democrat or Republican, let us all work together to make our country a better place.
About Me
- Mark
- I've always wondered if people actually read this stuff. I never do when I'm on other pages. Well, in case, for some strange reason, you find it necessary, I'll give you a little knowledge. I was born in The County. For those of you who don't konw better, that would be Aroostook County. For those of you who do, your jokes won't work on me, they are lame. I'm the son of an investment banker that squandered his every penny on tuna fish sandwiches in the late 80's, and my mother was the lead singer for the Bangles. Neither of those is true, but again, I'm convinced nobody is reading this anyways. I met my wife at a carnival, and we were married by the bearded lady in front of the entire clown brigade. I have a daughter who is training for the 2012 Olympics where she will compete in the Triple Jump and Javelin. We live in a nice little shanty in the woods and are hoping to one day have running water. Any questions?
