So,
I suppose that I should probably write at least one more blog post before I
kick off the "One Day at a Time" reviews that will be starting this
coming Friday. I've already got the
screenshots saved on my iPad and I've watched the first episode a bunch of
times on Netflix to write a detailed review.
I already love the show, and when you write about something that you
love, it becomes easy to write about.
For
instance, I love Ellen DeGeneres. I
seriously love everything about her. I
love that she's a stand-up comedienne, I love that she has hosted her own
successful talk show for fifteen years.
And I love the fact that at nearly 60 years of age, she still looks and
has the attitude of a woman a quarter of her age. I don't know what she has been doing to take care of herself, but
I think I want to know what that secret is because at nearly 37, I look half
dead in comparison!
Lately,
I've been watching her new show called "Ellen's Game of Games". Have you seen it? It's premiere episode was in December 2017, and it has currently
screened six episodes so far. It's
already getting a lot of positive buzz, and it's likely going to be renewed for
next season. At least, I hope so
because it really is a lot of fun to watch.
The
premise of the game is simple. You know
how if you've watched an episode of the Ellen show, how she plays little games
to reward viewers with prizes, trips, and/or cash? Well, she's taken some of the most popular games from her daytime
talk show and supersized them to choose four contestants to compete in the
"Know or Go" round. If they
survive that, then they will play a game of "Hot Hands", and if they
win that game, they will take home a hundred thousand dollars.
A
nice chunk of change indeed!
Now,
one of my bucket list goals is to go on a game show as a contestant one
day. And certainly it would be a lot of
fun to go on Ellen's game show. I could
use an extra $100,000!
But
which games would I want to play? There
are some games that I think I would be better at than others. It's actually something that I have thought
about since the show debut and I think I know what game would be the best one
for me to play.
Of
course, there are some games that I would be excluded from as I have no partner
or spouse. So, "You Bet Your Wife"
and "In Your Face, Honey" are excluded from this discussion.
So,
what games would I absolutely NOT want to play?
For one, "Dizzy Dash" is OUT. I appreciate the concept of Dizzy Dash, and the trivia questions
themselves would not be difficult to answer.
Let's just say that it has been close to twenty years since I last rode
the Tilt-A-Whirl, and I nearly got sick afterwards. My stomach just isn't meant to handle fast moving circular
things, and I worry that I would throw up my lunch all over Ellen before I get
the chance to answer the question.
I also don't think I would do very well with the "Scary Go Round" game. It's not as bad as "Dizzy Dash", but it's extremely physical work to achieve and
honestly, I'd probably pass out after the one minute mark.
"Master Blaster" is another game that I would hope not to play. You might think that it is just another
puzzle building game, and to be honest if it was just the idea of building a
gigantic jigsaw puzzle, I'd have no problem with it.
The
issue is that when you have the added pressure of being the first one to
complete it and if you don't, you get blasted out into the audience on a bungee
cord, it simulates the board game "Perfection". And to this day, the game
"Perfection" causes me to stress out. With "Master Blaster", I would have a full out anxiety
attack!
So
those are three games that I would NOT want to play. Now...which games do I WANT to play? I have four that are on my list.
Obviously
the easiest game on the list is "Make it Rain". I mean, I'm not the Wicked Witch of the
West. I will not melt if I get drenched
with water. Besides, even if I choked
on "Know of Go", if I won the game I would get ten thousand
bucks. That would be worth getting
soaked alone.
"Danger Word" would be another perfect game for me because I have a huge
vocabulary and I would feel that I know enough words that I wouldn't have to
say the Danger Word. Of course, the
only thing that could stop me in my thesaurus would be if my opponent was an
English professor, Margaret Atwood, or an actual electronic thesaurus.
And,
don't forget about "Don't Leave Me Hanging". Sure, the thought of getting launched into
the sky frightens me to death (I hate heights), but at the same time, the
trivia questions that Ellen asks would be so easy that I know I could outlast
everybody else. Well, as long as Ellen
doesn't ask me to name any characters from "Sex and the City". I hate that show!
Finally, as challenging as it can be, I think I
would like to play "Blindfolded Musical Chairs".
There's really zero skill involved at all. You just have to try and find somewhere to sit when the music
stops and the last one remaining wins!
Sometimes, the game can play out in really hilarious ways!
Let's hear from you. What game of games
would you excel in? And which ones do
you not want to play?
And remember...Ellen's Game of Games airs Tuesdays at 8:00 EST on NBC! That's a lot of letters!
Good
morning. Or, afternoon. Or whatever time of the day it is. Welcome to a very special edition of A POP CULTURE ADDICT'S GUIDE TO LIFE!
Now,
at first glance, this might seem like an ordinary blog entry. But this one is important to me. It's a blog entry that has been almost seven
years in the making, and it has been one that I never thought that I would
write!
I
have shared a lot of stories in this blog.
I have shared dozens of pop culture tidbits. I've shared episode reviews.
I've shared pop culture advent calendars. I've shared movie postings.
I've posted many links to many songs and shared personal stories of them
all.
And
if you have been keeping track of all the stories that I have told in this blog
- whether they are small tales or huge essays - you may be surprised to learn
that I have shared 1,999 different moments.
1,999 blog posts mostly dealing with pop culture, but also sharing some
feelings, warm fuzzies, and implementing you to share your thoughts as well.
So,
I guess this makes this my 2,000th blog post!
Now
that is a reason to celebrate!
It's
hard to believe that I have written two thousand of these blog posts. I didn't think I'd make it to two
hundred!
And
what have I learned about myself based on these two thousand blog posts? Quite a lot, actually.
For
starters, I've learned that if I ever appear on the game shows
"Jeopardy", "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?", or
"Ellen's Game of Games", I would probably do extremely well. With all of the research that I have done
for this blog, I am a living, breathing vessel of pop culture history, and I do
feel some sense of pride in that.
Whether anyone else feels that way remains to be seen. Either way, I don't really care.
What else have I learned? Well, I've
learned over the years to pace myself, and to try and not to do more than I can
handle. You might have seen over the
first three years that I have done this blog that I attempted to do a blog
every day. It was a great idea at first
- but eventually I started to run out of topics, and run out of steam, and I
noticed that my blog entries really started to suffer as a result. I've been slowing down the pace since 2015,
and I think it's given me the time I needed to be more creative and think about
what I write about. And that's nothing
to be ashamed of.
I've
learned that sometimes I get it wrong.
There are some rare instances in which some of the information that I
have written in my blog have come from sources that are "fake news". And believe me, I appreciate it when you
point these things out to me (well, unless you're mean about it, in which case,
you're a jerk face - yeah, you heard right jerk face). The point is that I'm not afraid to admit
when I have made a mistake...and in a lot of cases, I leave it as is as a
reminder not to do it again. I can't
promise that it won't, but if anything, it has allowed me to be more diligent
in my fact checking!
Speaking of which, I've learned to steer away from fact based entries in favour
of personal commentary entries. A blog,
after all, is about sharing a part of you with the world. It's not that I didn't enjoy writing
them...I just didn't want the blog to turn into a poor man's version of
Wikipedia. So by sharing more of myself
with all of you, I think I've taken this blog in a new direction which I hope
is appreciated.
I've
learned to incorporate more humour into this blog - and I think that one way
I've succeeded in that is by doing the cartoon reviews that have been a
presence the last couple of years. And,
speaking of which, I think it's time for the...
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!
Okay, maybe to you, it isn't THAT big. But I am happy to report that the episode reviews will be coming
back in 2018! In fact, I've already
chosen the show that I will be featuring and it will be debuting one week from
today!
The catch? I'm not doing a cartoon this
time around. I'm doing a sitcom. And it's a sitcom that is still on the air!
I was so blown away by how good the Netflix reboot of "One Day at a
Time" was that I've decided I will be reviewing every episode of the
series so far! The show's second season
debuts on January 26, but on that date I will be starting off with episode one
of season one. I've timed it, and it
should take me into the summer of 2018 by the time I recap seasons one and
two. So, I hope you'll stick around as
I recap "One Day at a Time" in this blog beginning Friday, January
26! It will be a lot of fun!
Okay...so here's where I end this blog entry - entry #2,000 - by showing you
all my gratitude.
Thank you. Merci. Gracias.谢谢, Kittos,
Ευχαριστώ, धन्यवाद,
Grazie, Go raibh maith agat, Domo arigato, Diolch.
Now,
I don't usually tease with upcoming blog entries, but I do want you to stay
tuned for the next one to come after this one.
I don't even know what it is going to be about, but I can guarantee that
it is going to be a huge one. It is a
blog entry almost seven years in the making, and I hope that it will be worth
it. Again, I can't reveal too much
about what the special blog is going to be about, but I can tell you about a
special feature that is set to debut later this month. I'll give you a hint though. You know the cartoon reviews that I have
done the last couple of years? I'm
going to be doing something a little bit different, but similar.
I'll
have more information on the special blog that will come after this one.
For
now, I want to talk about Roseanne.
No,
seriously. I want to talk about
Roseanne. In an era of everything old
becoming new again, it's no secret that the television series
"Roseanne" is coming back to television. On March 27, 2018, the series is set to come back on ABC - the network
where the show began thirty years ago.
The
whole cast (minus Glenn Quinn who passed away in 2002) is returning for the
continuation of the show. Roseanne
Barr, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, Michael Fishman, Lecy
Goranson, Sarah Chalke, and John Goodman.
It's going to be hard to explain how both actresses who played Becky
will feature (though I'm predicting that Becky has turned into a lesbian and
Sarah Chalke is playing her lover). EDT TO ADD: Actually, Sarah Chalke is playing the surrogate who is carrying Becky's baby - thanks to Railyn M. for the info! And
it's going to be next to impossible to explain how they plan on resurrecting
Dan who reportedly died at the end of the show's ninth and final season. But then again, I try to forget that whole
ninth season existed. When I bought the
Roseanne series on DVD, I purposely hid the season nine discs because I found
that season to be a complete travesty.
There
is a part of me that is curious to check out the new series of
"Roseanne". I was only seven
when the original show debuted, but as I grew older I really appreciated the
concept of the show. It stood out from
all of the other sitcoms that debuted in the 1980s because it featured a blue
collar, working class family as the stars.
I could relate to the struggles of the Connor family more because they
were experiencing the same struggles that my family endured being of a similar
background. It was really interesting
that the set up of the Connor family was exactly the same as my family - two
parents, two girls, and a boy (and the actor Michael Fishman who played D.J.
was born the same year that I was made it even more surreal).
Naturally,
I'm not the only one who is interested in tuning in for the reboot. There's reportedly a lot of interest in the
show's return, and I am sure that the true fans of the series are definitely
looking forward to it.
However,
for all of the people who are willing to welcome "Roseanne" back into
their homes, there are people who are very vocal in wanting to boycott the show
entirely.
Why?
I
think it might have to do with a recent interview that Roseanne Barr gave as
part of the promotion for the upcoming show.
Roseanne states that when it comes down to the show's political views,
they will be addressing politics in the new show. And to nobody's surprise, Roseanne Connor will be a Trump
supporter. I say this because Roseanne
Barr has also made it clear that she voted for Donald Trump in the 2016
Presidential Election.
Of
course, this has prompted some anti-Trump people to boycott her show, claiming
that she's helping the enemy and so on and so forth. And certainly everyone is entitled to their opinion. They have every right to choose to watch or
not to watch. And they can certainly
disagree with Roseanne supporting Donald Trump. I personally have aired my thoughts on Trump myself here, and I
must say that I am not very impressed with his "leadership" at
all. Perhaps if he put the cell phone
away, deactivated his Twitter account, and stopped using his potty mouth to
insult entire nations, maybe I would stop putting the word
"leadership" in quotation marks.
And maybe I'll win eighty million bucks in the lottery.
But
would I boycott the show because I disagree with Roseanne? No.
And truth be told, you shouldn't either. Well, unless you hated the show the first time around - in which
case that would be a solid excuse not to watch.
The
thing is, "Roseanne" was always about a family with low income trying
to find a way to make it in a world that seemingly treats them like they are
dirt. I've lost count of how many times
Dan and Roseanne changed jobs - it's been a long time. But they took on whatever job they could to
provide food for their family and pay the bills. I suspect that nothing has changed in that regard and that the
stupid lottery win plot that kicked off season nine will be just a forgotten
memory.
And
Roseanne Barr is correct about one thing.
It was blue collar people and working class people who were key in
electing Donald Trump into office.
Whether or not they have buyer's remorse now, that's another topic for
another day. The point is that as a
blue collar character, it would seem out of character for Roseanne to cast a
vote for Hillary Clinton instead of Donald Trump. And one thing that "Roseanne" prided itself in during
the first few seasons of the show was the gritty realism mixed in with the comedic
punchlines. So, I do appreciate the
fact that the show in 2018 is trying to reflect the current times in that
regard.
But
perhaps what is really interesting is that Roseanne Barr and Sara Gilbert have
stated that there will be at least one episode in the new series in which there
will be some political divide in the Connor household. I'm guessing that at least one member of the
Connor family did NOT vote for Trump, and just putting it out there, I'm
thinking it might be Becky - though that's just my prediction. But again, the show is portraying a real
issue that is currently happening, as the 2016 elections have caused a lot of
divide between American citizens and some families have ceased communication
with each other because of it. Both
Barr and Gilbert have stated that it was an episode that needed to be
filmed. Gilbert has stated that it
would be a great thing for loving families to disagree on political issues and
yet somehow overcome those disagreements to be a family. The thing is, I agree with Gilbert. If there's any family - dysfunctional as
they may be - who can tell this story idea with the honesty and bluntness that
it needs, it's the Connors.
So, no...I won't boycott the show. Truth be told, I'm interested in seeing what
will happen.
As
I mentioned before (and as you can clearly see from the new banner and new look
that I have implemented for 2018), this is the year that I have declared
"Be Your Own Best Friend Year"!
It's basically another way of saying that this is going to be the year
where I put myself first and taking control of my own destiny in spite of what
others try to tell me.
I'm finished with being a doormat to those who only want to use me for their
own selfish needs and then toss me to the side like they would a worn out pair
of sneakers. Instead, I have found that
I would rather enjoy my own company and get to understand myself better. Once I get secure with my big and bad self,
then maybe it will give me the confidence necessary to interact with other
people better.
(Or, maybe it will make me realize that I'm the only person I can trust to be
my true self around.)
Either way, win win.
Anyway,
one of the goals that I have for 2018 is to really get into my psyche to
understand what makes me who I am, why I have a hard time communicating with
people, and for that matter, why I sometimes act like a curmudgeon towards
people I do not like, or who I find incredibly frustrating and annoying.
And I suppose one conclusion that I've come up with is the fact that I tend to be
one of those "think outside the box" people who more often than not
does everything to go against societal standards. I'm not glued to a mobile phone 24/7, I prefer to write thank you
notes instead of typing them out on a computer, and I have opinions about
social norms that are anything but normal.
And I make zero apologies about it either.
In
fact, I think one of the first things that I want to do for 2018 is to embrace
the weirdness.
You
see, part of the reason why 2017 was such a rough year for me was because I was
trying to be someone that I wasn't comfortable with. I was trying to be more "normal". And it took me until 2018 to realize that I
absolutely hate being normal. Because
let's face it. Stressing yourself out
because you don't feel you are normal enough for society is not normal. Stressing yourself out even more when you
try to conform to society's definition of normal is not normal either.
Have I confused you yet?
Okay, let's demonstrate this using a pop culture reference from the television
series "Full House". And keep
in mind that I will be mentioning some stuff that happened in the last season
of "Fuller House" when driving my points home, so consider this a
spoiler alert. Granted, the whole third
season's been up for three weeks now, but this is more for those who haven't
seen it yet. You have been warned.
So,
if you have ever seen any episode of "Full House", then you are
probably aware that D.J. Tanner and Kimmy Gibbler are best friends
forever. Since they were next door neighbours,
it's hard to see D.J. and Kimmy not being there for each other, even though the
majority of D.J.'s family thought Kimmy was incredibly weird.
Okay, so her fashion sense resembled a box of Crayola crayons after they have
baked in the sun for twelve days. And
she did have a humongous foot odor problem that was much made fun of on the
show. And yeah, she did go a little bit
trigger happy when she accidentally infected Stephanie's ears while piercing
them. But if you can ignore all those
things, Kimmy's loyalty to D.J. remained firm and true.
Of
course, while D.J.'s friendship with Kimmy was stronger than salt water taffy,
Kimmy's relationship with Stephanie was always brittle. Kimmy and Stephanie clashed at every
opportunity with Kimmy bashing Stephanie on how immature she was and Stephanie
insulting Kimmy about how dumb she was.
It was a silly little feud between D.J.'s best friend and D.J.'s sister,
and more often than not, D.J. was always the one who tried to smooth things
over.
It was sort of like D.J. became the Danny, Stephanie became the Jesse, and
Kimmy became the Joey. Which isn't much
of a stretch from the roles they play on "Fuller House".
But as silly a show as "Fuller House" is, I do like one thing that
has stayed constant throughout the show's three seasons so far. The relationship between D.J., Stephanie,
and Kimmy has become firm and cemented despite the differences between
them.
I mean, think about it. You have an
overachieving, overprotective mom, a party girl who often goes to bed when
everyone else is getting up, and an eccentric woman who is stuck in the 1990s
and who wears fashion accessories that look like food. On paper, this combo would never work, but
in "Fuller House", it makes up the unstoppable trio known as "The
She-Wolf Pack".
And perhaps the biggest surprise is how close Kimmy and Stephanie have
become. Mind you, Stephanie dating
Kimmy's brother might have a little to do with it, but the point is that
Stephanie may have taken some time to get accustomed to Kimmy, but once they
started living under the same roof, they started to not only like each other,
but love each other like sisters.
Perhaps the greatest evidence of this is the
fact that Kimmy helped Stephanie when she needed it the most. On the first season of "Fuller
House", Stephanie revealed that she couldn't have children. However, in season two, there was a chance
that she could by using a surrogate.
Initially, the perfect choice would have been D.J., but D.J. had a rough
time with her youngest son's birth, so as a result she was ruled out.
But then Kimmy stepped in and offered to be Stephanie's surrogate, and at the
end of the third season, Kimmy happily reported that the implanting of the
embryo worked and that she was pregnant with Stephanie's child...and her
brother's child, which is a little bit strange, but hey, whatever works right?
The point is that Stephanie was initially dismissive of Kimmy's eccentric ways,
but over time learned to embrace the eccentricity, and now the two are forever
bonded. And Kimmy perhaps - who always
did accept her quirkiness - found a way to accept Stephanie, who initially she
saw as a geekburger.
I guess the whole point of this all is to let people know that it's okay to
accept that you're quirky, or that you're weird, or that you're strange. We all feel like that. Embrace the weirdness. And more importantly, embrace the weirdness
in other people. You never know...the
weird kid who sits by themselves in the corner could be the best friend you've
ever had.
Well,
we're already one week into 2018. How
has it been for all of you so far?
I
have to say that given what happened last year, I see 2018 as a new
opportunity. A new chance to reinvent
myself. To say goodbye to past mistakes
and have the opportunity to create new ones.
(Wait. That came out SO wrong.)
I guess what I'm trying to say is that 2017 taught me a lot about myself. Not only that, but it taught me a lot about
other people.
In fact, I've already declared 2018 to be the "Be Your Own Best Friend"
year.
All
right, all right. Maybe it's only
applicable to me, but I will explain why I have done that - and what exactly
that means.
You see, 2017 was a year in which I saw the absolute best of humanity, as well
as the absolute worst. It was a year in
which several things happened in which I could really tell the difference
between who was a real friend and who only wore the "friend hat" when
it only seemed to benefit them.
Frankly,
I'm over it.
There
was a situation that I can remember clear as a bell. I think I had to have been around thirteen years old. It was just before the band was set to go on
stage at my elementary school, and I was supposed to go on. At least that was until one of my friends
and I got into a disagreement that stemmed from - well, I can't even remember
what we were fighting about now because it seems so long ago and it was that
insignificant.
Of
course, it prompted a classmate of mine named Rob (and yes, I probably won't
ever see him again so I don't mind referring to him by his first name) to
really get in my face about it even though he had absolutely nothing to do with
me or the friend that I was fighting about, and he basically blasted me by
saying that I didn't know what a friend was.
I'll admit that it stung quite a bit, and my reaction was to fake a
stomach ache so I didn't have to play in the concert because I was that
upset.
But
as much as I hate to admit this...all those years later, Rob did make a valid
point. Granted, I still think Rob is a
jerk, but he was right. I didn't know
what being a friend was because I had a hard time finding and keeping
friends. Obviously I made a huge
mistake with Rob because I actually invited him to my Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles party for my 9th birthday only for him to befriend a new group of kids
who absolutely despised me.
But
looking back on it, I think I've had that issue my whole life. I don't have a whole lot of friends who I
can say that I've known since kindergarten and who I am still close with today
- maybe only two people fit that description.
They are clearly the exception to the rule.
It
seemed as though whenever I tried to be friends with someone, it ended one of
three ways. They either moved away and
we never talked again, they found a new group of friends and didn't talk to me
again, or they became my worst enemy.
As a kid, I didn't understand why this always happened. Looking back, I think there's equal blame to
be found. I could have done more to try
and keep the friendship going, but they could have also made up their own minds
and not succumb to peer pressure either.
I
guess it's why I hesitate to call someone my "best friend". I've mentioned that I was leaving 2017
feeling jaded, and part of the reason why is because I feel as though many of
the people I considered friends have bailed on me. Whether it's on me, or on them, I don't know. All I know is that my relationships with
people who I thought were on solid ground felt as though they were hit with a
landslide, and it's made me feel as though I couldn't count on anybody.
I
guess that's ultimately what made me come up with the idea of being my own best
friend. I guess in a way, you can't
really respect other people if you don't respect yourself. And honestly in 2017, I put myself last a
lot. In some aspects, it couldn't be
helped. But in others, it most
definitely could have. I left 2017
feeling incredibly defeated and alone because I didn't think I was good enough
for people to associate with me. And, I
guess on my part, I got fed up with people trashing each other behind their
backs or who gossiped every minute of the hour to even want to associate with
them.
2018
is the year in which I declare myself to be my own best friend because I think
I deserve to have someone positive behind me - even if it is only me. I got to the point where I almost started to
accept toxic relationships for the sake of just having somebody to talk to, and
that is incredibly dangerous behaviour.
Now I realize that I would rather be alone with my own thoughts of
positivity instead of at an entire table of people who will never be true
friends. So, right off the bat, I think
that's a great start, right?
Eventually, I hope that I can use this new outlook on life to experience some
new adventures on my own - even though I have a really hard time trying new
things without someone there to experience them. I'm thinking that once the snow melts (because let's face it -
the winter of 2018 is definitely hibernation weather), I might continue my
"see my hometown through the eyes of a tourist" mindset and showcase
various parts of my community the way that someone outside the box of normalcy
would.
I'm
also not going to count on people to make me happy any longer. If I want to treat myself to a DQ Blizzard
because it makes me happy, that's what I'm going to do. If I want to buy an iTunes card to download
some of my favourite songs, that's what I'm going to do. And if I want to wear underpants that make
me feel sexy even though I feel anything but, then that's what I'm going to
do. Heck, it's not like anyone's going
to see them anyway!
Yeah, 2018's going to be the year that I finally start to treat myself the way
that I deserve to be treated. And if
anybody else has a problem with that, they simply don't have to come and join
in. They can continue along on their
merry little way and I'll bid them a hearty "Bye, Felicia" as they
pass. Even if their name isn't Felicia.
And
maybe...just maybe...if I become my own best friend in 2018, then in 2019, I
can start focusing on finding others who are their own best friends...and then
maybe our best friends will become best friends, and then we'll start a knot of
friendship that is built on the foundation of love, trust, kindness, and
strength.
Now,
if you excuse me, I'm going to spend a night in with my best friend Netflixing
and chilling. In fact, this opportunity
has me thinking of a new feature that I plan to start later this month. But more on that later. For now, it's time to bond with my bestie.
Of
all of the entries for the look back at 2017, I think this one has got to be
one of the most difficult. Mainly
because 2017 wasn't the greatest year for me.
It was a year in which I experienced things that were quite upsetting,
endured things that I wish I hadn't, and came to a few conclusions about myself
that have not only surprised me, but made me realize why I am the way I am, and
why I behave the way I do. And the more
and more I think of it, the more I want 2018 to be a bit of a redemption year.
These
are my personal reflections of the year 2017 - a year that I did not ask for,
nor did I want. But like it or not
(emphasis on the word not), I survived it.
And I learned a lot about myself as a result.
So, let's get the obvious out of the way first. The main reason why I loathed 2017 so much was because my family
experienced a lot of hardships this year.
The most obvious one was the fact that I talked about how I stayed away
for the better part of two months to help take care of a family member that had
an accident.
I'm still unable to talk about the details of what happened, but I can reveal a
bit more about who it was that got hurt.
In October, my mom took a nasty fall and broke her hip. It was a really tough recovery for her, and
while the bone has healed to expectations, the muscles in her left leg were
damaged. As a result of this, she is
walking with a limp and a cane - perhaps permanently. It's still too soon to tell as it only happened three months ago,
but that injury was really a rough blow for her (and for us). Though while I wish that it didn't happen at
all, I am glad that she is recovering.
If anything, I'm relieved this incident has shown all of us how
determined she is at bouncing back.
She's done remarkably well in her recovery and I am proud of her. And I suppose another positive thing about
this incident was that it made my family a lot stronger as a unit. It's a shame that it took this to make me
realize it, but on the whole, we're going into 2018 a lot stronger than we were
in 2017.
And believe me, 2017 has tested my strength in more ways than one. Especially on an emotional level.
You know, when I was coming to terms with the fact that I thought differently
from everyone else in the world, it never dawned on me that I would be
redefining my definition of the word "normal". I always classified myself as the kind of
person who always thought outside of the box.
I was always the one who coloured outside the lines. I was the one who insisted on colouring
frogs purple even though there is no such thing as a purple frog in
nature. And all my life, I've always
had to try and defend myself against people who thought I should conform to be
like them. It was a frustrating
experience throughout childhood, and even more frustrating in my early
adulthood.
It
wasn't until this past year that I figured out one potential cause. Reading up on Asperger's made me realize
that although I haven't been diagnosed with it formally, I do have a lot of the
symptoms of it. It definitely explains
why I have a nearly impossible time connecting with people and why I have very
few true friends. It's why I feel
anxiety and panic whenever I go to a convention, movie theatre, restaurant, or
festival by myself. It's why I have had
difficulty with motor skills to the point where I can't even drive a car. It's why I burst into tears every time the
kids at school threatened to pop a balloon in my face (because yes, sensitivity
to loud noises is a common symptom).
It
has taken me a long time to come to terms with the fact that I was not born
"normal". And I am not going
to lie to you, there are some days in which I wish I could be like everyone
else. But if the year 2017 has taught
me anything, it's how I needed to redefine what the word "normal"
really meant.
I suppose this leads to my next point.
I found 2017 to be an incredibly lonely year for me. I can probably count the times that I was
invited to an event or a celebration or just to hang out with somebody on one
hand. And while I've never really
considered myself to be a social butterfly, I didn't expect that I would see
this year as being one where I didn't do much at all.
Now,
coming to terms with the fact that quite a bit of this is my own fault was
actually the easy part. I didn't really
make much of an effort to do much because I didn't feel like it. And the few times in which I tried to do
something fun by myself I either changed my mind, or had a panic attack change
my mind for me. I suppose in many ways,
I suffer from "stranger in my hometown" syndrome in that I've lived
in this town most of my life and yet I still feel very much like a stranger or
a tourist.
(Though that mentality helped me see the town through a tourist's eyes and
helped me come up with some wicked photo opportunities. I mean, where else can one expect to see a
gigantic rubber duck for Canada's sesquicentennial? Though, part of me wonders what a duck has to do with Canadian
confederation...)
Though,
it's that "see the world through the eyes of someone experiencing it for
the first time" idea that has made me come to terms with a huge revelation
for me. The revelation that I should
never strive to be someone else's definition of what "normal" is. Rather, I should try to make my own
definition.
And
I suppose that part of the reason why I have kept to myself this year for the
most part is seeing how other people's definitions of what "normalcy"
is clashes with how I see it.
I'm
going to be 37 in 2018. That's quite an
age. If I live to be 74, that's exactly
what midlife would be for me. And I
suppose if I had to experience a midlife crisis with personal relationships, 37
would be a good age to experience it.
I've already mentioned that my relationships with my family have improved a lot
over the course of 2017 - which I suppose is one of the highlights of the
year. I also want to say that my
relationships and friendships with my friends from all over the world are also
as strong as ever before. Through the
Christmas cards I was given this year, to the birthday messages posted on my
Facebook page, to the many people who expressed their get well wishes to my
mother, to the friends who helped me choose 750 of my favourite songs to share
with the world...thank you. As 2018
begins, I have no worry in losing any friendships with any of you. Truth be told, even though you mostly live
far away from me, you have been a constant support to me, and you truly have
been my rock in 2017.
Now,
as far as local friendships go...that's admittedly something that I have to
work on. Mind you, the ones who have
stuck by me this year, know that it hasn't gone unnoticed, and I also thank you
for standing by me this year. It hasn't
been the most pleasant of years, and I know that many of you have had a rough
go of it as well, but we all made it together, and here's hoping that 2018 is
better for all of us.
I suppose this goes into the last thing that I have learned about myself in
2017 - and this one has been a bitter pill to swallow, mainly because it best
describes two adjectives that I have for 2017 and many of the people I've
crossed paths with this year.
Bitter and jaded. As much as I don't
want to admit it, 2017 has left me bitter and jaded towards people. And I am hoping that in 2018, I will find a
way to overcome it.
I suppose a huge reason why I've kept to myself this past year is because the
world around me seems to be increasingly hostile and catty. I don't know whether it's the fact that the
economy is up in the air, or because so many bad things happened in 2017, or
Trump's Twitter feed is poisoning the Internet as we speak (which might not be
much of a factor if the worst about the ending of net neutrality comes to
fruition). Whatever the case, I find
myself feeling like I am surrounded by toxic people who do nothing but complain
and whine about others.
And I'm ashamed to admit that I've fallen into that trap on more than one
occasion. A classic case of misery
loving company, if you can call it that.
I guess it also goes back to my idea of what "normal" is. According to my experiences in 2017, the
"new normal" seems to be that you talk smack about other people to
make yourself feel better, you purposely isolate people who don't seem to fit
your social status, or you bury your nose in a cellular phone to avoid having
to start a physical conversation with spoken words, sentences, clauses, and
anything else found within an episode of "Schoolhouse Rock". If that's what "normal" is, then I
don't want any part of that. As far as
I am concerned, people who gossip about others regardless of the amount of
truth that is involved are not people who I find any sort of attraction in
whatsoever. The only problem is that I
am surrounded by those types of people quite often. Worse, I have no idea where I can find people who do NOT do
this.
So, I guess part of what I've learned in 2017 is
to stop caring about those people who get off on making others miserable. Instead, I need to use my energy to boost
those who want to make the world a better place - which might force me to
convert some of my negative feelings into positive feelings.
2018
is finally upon us, and a happy new year to all of you reading this right now!
I can honestly state that 2018 is a year that I am really looking forward
to. After all, eighteen is a lucky
number for me, and after all of the crazy stuff that happened in 2017, I think
most of us can agree that it's a relief that it is over.
I mean, just looking at some of the news stories of 2017, it's a miracle the
majority of us have survived it!
All
right, maybe I'm being melodramatic here, but 2017 was a really scary
year. It may have been designated at
the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United
Nations General Assembly, but it was also a year in which we thought it would
be the end of the world as we knew it.
In a way, it has been with all the natural disasters, terror attacks
(both domestically and internationally), and overall bad news.
But
there has been some moments of brilliance in a year of unrest and uncertainty,
and I'm hoping that I cover those as well.
First
things first though...not all of us made it through 2017 alive. Many of us have lost loved ones throughout
the year (myself included), and I want to pay tribute to those who passed away
this year. So to start this look back
at 2017, let us honour those pop culture icons of the past that we lost last
year.
| January 12 - WILLIAM PETER BLATTY, director, 89
January 23 - GORDEN KAYE, actor, 75
January 25 - JOHN HURT, actor, 77
January 25 - MARY TYLER MOORE, actress,
80
January 26 - MIKE CONNOR, actor, 91
January 26 - BARBARA HALE, actress, 94
February 7 - RICHARD HATCH, actor, 71
February 12 - AL JARREAU, singer, 76
February 16 - GEORGE "THE
ANIMAL" STEELE, wrestler, 79
March 18 - CHUCK BERRY, singer/musician,
90
March 23 - LOLA ALBRIGHT, actress, 92
April 6 - DON RICKLES, actor/comedian, 90
April 22 - ERIN MORAN, actress, 56
April 26 - JONATHAN DEMME, director, 73
May 9 - MICHAEL PARKS, actor, 73
May 14 - POWERS BOOTHE, actor, 68
May 18 - CHRIS CORNELL, singer/musician,
52
May 22 - NICKY HAYDEN, motorcycle racer,
35
May 23 - ROGER MOORE, actor, 89
May 27 - GREGG ALLMAN, musician, 69
June 9 - ADAM WEST, actor, 88
June 19 - OTTO WARMBLER, college student,
22
June 20 - PRODIGY, rapper, 42
July 15 - MARTIN LANDAU, actor, 89
July 16 - GEORGE A. ROMERO, director, 77
July 20 - CHESTER BENNINGTON, musician,
41
July 21 - JOHN HEARD, actor, 76
July 26 - JUNE FORAY, voice actress, 99
July 31 - JEANNE MOREAU, actress, 89
August 3 - TY HARDIN, actor, 87
August 3 - ROBERT HARDY, actor, 91
August 8 - GLEN CAMPBELL, singer, 81
August 19 - DICK GREGORY,
comedian/activist, 84
August 20 - JERRY LEWIS, comedian/actor,
91
August 24 - JAY THOMAS, comedian/actor,
69
September 8 - DON WILLIAMS, singer, 78
September 13 - FRANK VINCENT, actor, 80
September 15 - HARRY DEAN STANTON, actor,
91
September 19 - JAKE LAMOTTA, boxer, 95
September 27 - HUGH HEFNER, Playboy
magazine founder, 91
September 30 - MONTY HALL, game show
host, 96
October 2 - TOM PETTY, musician, 67
October 17 - GORD DOWNIE,
musician/activist, 53
October 24 - FATS DOMINO, singer, 89
October 24 - ROBERT GUILLAUME, actor, 89
November 7 - ROY HALLIDAY, baseball
player, 40
November 9 - JOHN HILLERMAN, actor, 84
November 15 - LIL PEEP, rapper, 21
November 18 - MALCOLM YOUNG, musician, 64
November 19 - DELLA REESE,
singer/actress, 86
November 19 - MEL TILLIS, singer, 85
November 21 - DAVID CASSIDY,
singer/actor, 67
November 25 - RANCE HOWARD, actor, 89
November 30 - JIM NABORS, actor, 87
November 30 - HEATHER NORTH, voice
actress, 71
December 4 - CHRISTINE KEELER,
model/showgirl, 75
December 23 - KENT BLACKWELDER, Big
Brother 2 contestant, 62
December 24 - HEATHER MENZIES, actress, 68
December 26 - JOHNNY BOWER, hockey
player, 93
December 28 - SUE GRAFTON, author, 77
December 28 - ROSE MARIE, actress, 94
Certainly
a lot of famous names there...names that will never be forgotten.
Now,
2017 in the news has been a rather tumultuous year in the world. And as we go through the list of events that
happened month by month, you will see what I mean.
The
year began with the swearing in of the 45th President of the United States,
Donald Trump, on January 20. And
it has been a wild ride ever since. In
just one year in office, Trump's war of words on both Twitter and in his
presidential addresses have caused a lot of fury. When he's not poking the bear with his constant jabs towards
North Korea, he's causing a lot of tension amongst minority groups and women
with his comments - which actually lead to the January
21 Women's
March that took place in 168 different countries in protest. As well, his decision to pull out of the
Paris Climate Treaty on June 1, and his declaration on December 6 that Jerusalem would be recognized as Israel's capital has caused a
lot of tension which I am sure won't go away in 2018.
In
fact, Trump's feuds with practically everybody who is not on his side seem to
be overshadowing any political decisions that he has made. It's hard to say what 2018 will bring, but
at least I can say that it won't be anything but boring. It will also likely be unpredictable with
the rotating door of White House staffers fired by Trump. Sean Spicer, Anthony Scaramucci (after only
a few days), and Omarosa can attest to that.
And given the tension between Trump and Kim Jong-un (leading to North
Korea firing a ballistic missile over the Sea of Japan on February 11 - as well as its most powerful nuclear test on September 3), 2018 appears to be a very pivotal year.
Cyberterror was definitely a concern for the world when ransomware viruses
started infecting millions of computers all over the world beginning on May 12. With reports of Yahoo Mail being compromised
as well as the hacking of the Ashley Madison website back in 2016, it was
definitely a reminder to update your antivirus software.
Of course, terror attacks were sadly a huge part of what shaped 2017. The first indicator happened on May 18,
when a man crashed a car through Times Square in New York City, killing one and
injuring twenty. A more devastating
event took place four days later when a bomb exploded in the lobby of
Manchester Arena on May 22 following an Ariana Grande
concert, killing 22 people. On June 7,
an ISIL attack on the Iranian Parliament Building and the Mausoleum of Ruhollah
Khomeini killed 17 people.
August 11 saw racial tensions erupt in Charlottesville,
Virginia which saw white supremacists show their ugly colours and saw the death
of a woman after she was struck and killed by a car. Even Canada
wasn't spared when an attack on September 30 in Edmonton which saw a man
deliberately crash into and stab a police constable before striking four other
pedestrians.
Domestic
terrorism reared its ugly head on October 1 when a man shot and killed
fifty-eight people at the Route 91 Country Music Festival from his hotel room
at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. October 31 saw a terror attack in New York City when a
man mowed down people along a bike path in a rented truck. And I'm sure the whole world weeped when the
news of the church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas on November 5 broke. 26 people lost their
lives, and it remains the deadliest mass shooting in Texas history.
Natural
disasters were also a major factor in 2017, and with so much devastation in the
world, it certainly has triggered discussion about climate change. In the last week of 2017, frigid cold
temperatures and record snowfall dominated the headlines for most of Canada and
half of the United States with Nova Scotia bearing the worst of it with a December 25 wind storm that knocked out power for thousands of customers. Meanwhile in California, a series of
wildfires charred homes and forests in the southern part of the state. As of January 1, those fires are still
active.
Hurricanes
were also a devastating source of pain for the Southeastern United States and
the Caribbean islands. Beginning with
Hurricane Harvey on August 25, Houston was devastated by
heavy flooding. Parts of Florida were
completely destroyed when Hurricane Irma struck the state on September 10. And Puerto Rico is still
recovering from damage caused by Hurricane Maria, which saw widespread
destruction when it made landfall on September 20. And earthquakes also shook up lives all over the world. On September 19, a powerful 7.1 earthquake
strikes on the 32nd anniversary of the 1985 Mexico City quake, killing 300
people. And on November 12, an earthquake strikes the Iraq-Iran border leaving 530 dead and
70,000 homeless.
And it wasn't just natural disasters that struck. Who could forget the fire at Grenfell Tower in London on June 14
which destroyed the whole building and killed 71 people? Or, the Ohio State Fair disaster on July 26
when a ride called the Fireball broke apart, killing one rider and injuring
seven?
So
with so much bad news going on in the world, could there possibly be any good
news? As a matter of fact, there was.
Now, I mentioned the bombing at Manchester Arena in May...but what followed was
a massive concert event known as One Love Manchester, which took place at the
same arena on June 4. Ariana
Grande returned to perform along with Coldplay, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Liam
Gallagher, Niall Horan, Robbie Williams, Justin Bieber, the Black Eyed Peas,
and many others put on a show to benefit the families of those who died, and it
was recently ranked as the number one concert of 2017.
On October 5, the first news broke out about Harvey Weinstein, and over the next
three months, it has exploded into a major clean-up of the Hollywood
industry. More and more women found the
courage to stand up for themselves and declare "Me Too", and as I
mentioned in my movie blog, I am sure that there will be more cleaning up to do
in 2018.
2017
also saw the old adage of "Cheaters Never Win" come true when Russia
was formally banned from competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics on December 5 following an investigation into doping at the 2014 Sochi Games. And on September 13, the Olympic Committee
announced that Paris and Los Angeles would be the host cities for the 2024 and
2028 Summer Olympic Games.
We
also received good news in the Royal Family, as Prince William announced that
Princess Kate was pregnant with their third child and Prince Harry announced
his engagement to actress Meghan Markle.
The wedding date is set for May 19, 2018.
And
finally, on August 21, many people in the United States and Canada
were treated to a rarity - a total solar eclipse. Here in my area, we only had a partial eclipse, but it was still
cool to view - through special lenses, of course.
So that's a wrap for the news of 2017. What will 2018 bring? It's hard to tell, as we're only fifteen
hours into it. But I'll be back next
year at this time to do a recap.
Tomorrow, what did 2017 mean to me?
Well, I'll tell you. It isn't
going to be all hearts and flowers, but it did change me as a person.