Zandar's 2012 Predictions

Well, let's see what's ahead for 2012:

1. President Obama wins re-election.  I just think whomever the GOP candidate is, they'll be driven so far to the right they'll get stomped in the general.  And a grand total of none of these clowns can handle Obama in debates.
2. But...the GOP retains one, if not both chambers in Congress.  The most likely scenario is that the Dems lose control of Congress and enough GOP redistricting nonsense locks down their control of the House for two years.  If that happens, the GOP may very well eliminate the filibuster in order to force shutdown/hostage scenarios approximately every 37 seconds, and their demands will not be small in 2013.  I'd love to be wrong about this.
3. The Eurozone finally blows up.  Austerity economics in Europe are finally going to cath up with them in 2012.  European countries will be in recession, and if things get bad enough, it's Global Financial Crisis time again.  It could weigh very heavily on the economy.
4. At least one GOP candidate, somewhere in America, will refer to President Obama with the N-word.  It will happen.  It just has to.  Most likely it will be some state-level douchebag, but I wouldn't be surprised if it slips out at a Congressional or even GOP Oval Office candidate level staffer.  But this, I feel confident of.
5. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will be driven from power.  There's just too much bloodshed and anger at this point.  I'm not sure how long the road will be, and over how many Syrian corpses it will travel, but it will happen.  He has lost the right to rule.
6. There will be a military incident on the Iran-Iraq border.  No brainer, especially with US fighting troops gone.  And the Saudis and Israelis will have kittens when it happens.
7. The GOP will shut down the Federal government.  It may be just a partial one, but it'll happen, especially if there's good economic news and/or POTUS starts pulling ahead in the polls.  They will literally go for broke.
8. 2012 will be a record box-office year.  Just too many good films out for 2012, and a lot of people will be looking for an escape.
9. The push for Sarah Palin as the GOP VP candidate will be massive, but she won't be the choice.  I still think it'll be Chris "Bag O Donuts" Christie, but if the GOP were smart, it would be Huntsman on the ticket for anyone but Romney, and Romney will take Christie.
10. We'll still here end of next year.  Bon and I have been busy as hell this year, and we're both writing for other blogs (and Bon has an awesome side project in Dead Shuffle).  But ZVTS is our baby, and we're going to raise the little tyke right through year four.

We'll see how I manage.  Into the Future files you go.

Parent Of The Year: Epic Fail

Two northern Arizona parents were arrested after photos of their young children allegedly being abused were posted on Facebook.

An anonymous Facebook user reportedly alerted authorities on Wednesday after seeing two children, an infant and a toddler, bound with duct tape around their wrists and ankles in photos posted to the social networking site, Fox affiliate KSAZ-TV reported.

The children's mouths were taped shut, and one of them was hung upside down by some exercise equipment, according to the Coconino County Sheriff's Office in Flagstaff.


"They did indicate that they were simply joking, however, it is apparent through the photographs that this was not a joke. The photos depicted the children's faces in sheer terror," Gilliland said. "Clearly, you can't tape another person's hands and mouth shut -- especially small children. It is clearly child abuse, and they were charged appropriately."

The children, a 2-year-old and a 10-month-old infant, are being taken care of by family members while the investigation continues, according to the station.

You have people so stupid they would do this to kids.  Then they are so stupid they post it on Facebook.  Then they are so stupid they say it was a joke.  The obvious concluison is that these people are too stupid to have kids forced to depend on them for food and shelter.

I had a relative who was nearly this stupid.  He also duct taped my mouth, hands and feet and tickled me until I passed out.  Not from mirth but from lack of freaking oxygen.  I'm grateful for law enforcement, because this brought out a violent "beat some sense into them" reaction from me.  I would beat these people nearly to death, then let them have a break and go at it again.

The Bon is pissed.  Let's hope local law enforcement feels the same way.

My Favorite Time Of Year

So it's time to say goodbye to 2011. It was a good year, for the most part. It was one of the few times I not only met but exceeded my resolutions. That makes me want to up the ante a little, and list my resolutions here where I can compare them a year from now, the eve of 2013. You know, provided the world doesn't end or anything silly like that.

1. I will lose 30 pounds. Oh sure, we always have the weight goal to get out of the way. I'm keeping this modest, because a medicine change will make it likely that I will gain weight. This year I crossed the 100 lb mark, so to keep that off and make any movement towards a loss is a big deal.

2. I will submit no fewer than two query letters or article pitches each week. This is my attempt to increase my productivity in a measurable way. I usually go on benders of progress followed by valleys of Facebook laziness. I have made progress with baby steps, now it's time to be consistent. I will allow two weeks off to be cashed in as needed.

3. I will be published in four different publications. To make this possible, I will actually clarify this to mean accepted rather than published, because some mags publish six months after initial acceptance.

4. I will do one significant or three minor good deeds per month, done in total secret. The good deeds must be something that will actively make someone happier or better off, and I cannot claim any benefit from it but the good deed itself. I accomplished that last year, so to ramp up the difficulty, money cannot be involved directly and no more than ten dollars indirectly. I will have to be creative.

5. I will get through all the scales and test out on them. Meaning, my teacher can say any scale and I will be able to play it in tune, immediately, and instantly know what sharps and flats are part of that key signature. It will not only be a good practice technique, but it will help me master third and fifth position as well and free me up to work on my bowing. I am making a conscious effort to build my musical foundation in solid theory.

6. This year I want to dig into regional history. I will visit six museums or sites that tie into that theme. Fantastic Caverns and the Heavener Rune are among my intended destinations.

As a child I wasn't that into New Year's Day. It was an excuse to order pizza and stay up late. As an adult, I became less enchanted with religious and traditional holidays, and found the new year to be a really exciting thing. It's a chance to set new goals. It's a chance to drop any remaining baggage from the year before and make a clean break. I like the double-sided fun of celebrating the year I am putting to rest while looking forward to the one coming up.

Here's hoping you are all with us a year from now when we compare notes and look back on 2012.

Zandar's 2011 Scorecard

Welp, this is the day of the year I open up my Future Stupidity files and get depressed over how terrible I am at predicting said future.

This year I wasn't even close on my ten.  The GOP didn't shut down the government and allowed DADT to be repealed without a huge fight, unemployment got better, not worse, POTUS technically didn't veto anything, Julian Assange didn't get disappeared, and the Dow ended the year not only above 10k, but 12k.

I was only right on 3 of 10:  California did ask for federal money for a number of programs to close its budget hole, despite the Kindle Fire, the iPad 2 continues to dominate (for now) and I did manage to call the GOP embracing birtherism in 2011...in fact every single candidate did with the exceptions of Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman.

My SCOTUS predictions were a wash as those cases, California's Prop 8 and the PPACA's individual mandate will be taken up in 2012.

At best, I'm 3 for 9.  Still pretty bad.  We'll see how I do with my predictions later today for 2012.

StupidiNews, New Year's Weekend Edition!

• The US and the United Arab Emirates have reached a deal worth $3.5 billion for a missile defense system.
• British law enforcement officials are dealing with a "epidemic" of metal thefts in the UK.
• American energy companies shipped a record amount of gasoline and other refined fuels overseas, helping to keep domestic gas prices at a new yearly average record.
• Verizon has already backtracked on its $2 "convenience fee" for customers choosing to pay online or by phone after a massive internet upwelling.
• A federal court is looking into claims that the federal government worked with the country's largest telecom firm to wiretap millions of Americans.