I'm starting to feel like a broken record, but the coming year has got to be better than the last, right?

The legacy of 2025 will be that of a time of transition. I have lived through the coming of cable television and the Internet and social media and smart phones and now AI and the loss of newspapers. More than ever, it feels like the billionaire-run corporations own us, body and soul. It certainly doesn't help that the elected head of our government, the man who is supposed to be a champion of the people, is shattering every cultural and economic norm he can reach.

Take heart that there are a lot of us feeling fed up right now. And, as always, the voices of history can provide some guidance in these troubling times:

Someday, somebody's gonna make you want to turn around and say goodbye. Until then, baby, are you going to let 'em hold you down and make you cry? Don't you know? Don't you know, things can change? Things will go your way if you hold on for one more day.

Can you hold on?

Comments (2) | Leave a Comment | Tags: hold on holidays music new years wilson phillips

In an apt metaphor for America in 2025,¹ I'm ending the year trying to find a bandage that will stick and cover the self-inflicted wound to my scrotum.²

¹ You know what I mean. I have actively tried to avoid posting about current events this year because I've been trying to keep my attention on things that don't make me miserable. The results have been mixed. I've been through four 1.75 liter bottles of Kaluha.

² It's not what you think, unless you think I intentionally stabbed myself with a pointy object. I nicked a tiny skin tag with scissors. Maybe I *should* shave; band-aids would adhere better.

Comments (0) | Leave a Comment | Tags: fuck you america holidays new years walter

Comments (0) | Leave a Comment | Tags: comic strip havanese strip holidays new years poodle strip

Comments (0) | Leave a Comment | Tags: comic strip holidays new years poodle strip

Look, I know 2024 was really rocky but we can do better. I'm probably the last guy who should give an invocation pep talk, but I'd like to share a few words with America to get 2025 started on the right foot:

So take that look out of here; it doesn't fit you. Because it's happened doesn't mean you've been discarded. Pull up your head off the floor, come up screaming, cry out for everything you ever might have wanted.

I thought that pain and truth were things that really mattered, but you can't stay here with every single hope you had shattered. I'm not expecting to grow flowers in a desert, but I can live and breathe and see the sun in wintertime.

In a big country, dreams stay with you (like a lover's voice fires a mountainside). Stay alive.

Comments (0) | Leave a Comment | Tags: big country holidays in a big country music new years

Comments (0) | Leave a Comment | Tags: audrey comic strip havanese strip holidays new years poodle strip

Wow, what a rough year 2023 turned out to be. Domestic political dysfunction, nonstop foreign wars, losing your starting wide receiver, starting running back, starting defensive end, and starting cornerback in a seven day span just before the playoffs in what was looking to be the most promising season since 1993... Ick. Less of all that in 2024, please.

As seductive as it can be to fall into despair, this is hardly the first time global events have seemed to be spiraling out of control. In such circumstances, it is always worthwhile to listen to voices of wisdom.

I'm reminded of one speech in particular:

There comes a time when we heed a certain call, when the world must come together as one. There are people dying, oh, and it's time to lend a hand to life, the greatest gift of all.

We can't go on pretending day-by-day that someone, somewhere soon make a change. We're all a part of God's great big family, and the truth, you know, love is all we need.

Honestly, it can't be said enough. We are the world. The sooner we realize that, the sooner we can make the choice to start saving our own lives.

We are the ones who'll make a brighter day, so let's start giving our all and make 2024 a year to remember proudly.

Comments (0) | Leave a Comment | Tags: dolphins football holidays music new years nfl usa for africa we are the world

Comments (2) | Leave a Comment | Tags: comic strip havanese strip henry holidays louis new years poodle strip

If 2020 was the Year of the Pandemic, and 2021 was the Year the Pandemic Struck Back, then 2022 was the Year that Humanity Paid the Bill.

Inflation, immigration, Ukraine, energy crises, Twitter... we certainly didn't realize how good we used to have it, and we're still in search of determining what our "New Normal" is.

Or, to put it another way,

My world was shattered, I was torn apart like someone took a knife and drove it deep in my heart.

When you walked out that door, I swore that I didn't care, but I lost everything, darling, then and there.

Too strong to tell you I was sorry, too proud to tell you I was wrong, I know that I was blind.

But, darling, if I could turn back time, if I could find a way, I'd take back those words that have have hurt you and you'd stay.

I believe that 2023 can be full of love and understanding. It's time to kick the gypsys, tramps, and thieves who've been promoting discord for their own profit that we are no longer willing to keep living in a house divided. I got you babe!

Comments (0) | Leave a Comment | Tags: cher holidays if i could turn back time music new years

Comments (0) | Leave a Comment | Tags: comic strip havanese strip henry holidays louis new years poodle strip