The End of Days
It's that time of year again. Time to look back on the last 12 months and get all nostalgic
1. What did you do in 2016 that you'd never done before?
Staying up until 3 in the morning reading (and replying to) Donald Trump’s tweets. Not once but several times. No. I don’t have a life but at least I don’t have intelligence briefings that I should be attending to instead.
2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don’t do New Year’s resolutions but I do have a little green book for plotting and planning with deadlines for 3 months, 1 year and 5 years. Of course the map is not the territory and the grand plans are more honoured in the breach than in the observance, but the simple act of doing this ritual 4 times a year does result in some items being almost inadvertently getting completed and draws attention to those that keep rolling over again and again.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No. Not even the neighbour’s cats. They seem to have found greener pastures or maybe got eaten by some rottweiler
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No but sure as hell nearly everyone else did.
5. What countries did you visit?
Only Cyberia
6. What would you like to have in 2017 that you lacked in 2016?
Some grand plan and purpose for existence.
A bunch of book cases to sort the stash
A waist!
7. What dates from 2016 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
There are simply too many to choose from. Some are personal and others are political.
So I picked some days that were a bit of both.
Friday 19th August - the nose job
Saturday 20th August Open Day at the Pawsey computer centre - even a big bad Mummy nose was not going to keep me away from this event. It was a feast for astronomy geeks and nerds in general.
Wednesday 9th November (what the rest of the world call 9/11 ;) )
Spending much of the day glued to the radio listening to live updates and on the phone getting the gossip on a certain election over the pond
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Winning Camp Nano in April and July and the main event Nanowrimo in November
Keeping a dozen or so tree seedlings alive for two years after planting them
9. What was your biggest failure?
Doing nothing whatsoever with all those first drafts and all that stuff learnt in those online courses
Procrastinating Big League on getting the Lair sorted. Especially all the homeless books
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Just the usual serpent insanity and a nasty nose job
11. What was the best thing you bought?
A bright shiny new Moto basic model smart phone. The previous one died a week earlier just days past the one year warranty. That was when I realised that I had become rather too attached to the infernal device - especially the online Scrabble games.
It was sitting all by itself on a shelf in the local post office and had a price tag of $99. A bit decadent for the serpent budget but far better specs and quality than anything else in that price range. So it was a very pleasant surprise to take it to the counter where it came up at the princely sum of $49. Turned out that it was on sale at half price but no one had bothered putting a sign up to that effect. Just as well or it would have been long gone.
Books, books and more books and most of them for 2 or 3 silver sickles. It’s one of the perks of working in a charity shop
12. Where did most of your money go?
The biggest expense for the year were the annual council rates and water charges, Most likely followed by bus fares and lots of pots of tea. Being mortgage free means there’s more left over for the important things in life
13. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The freaky fringe festival
Coursera
This is an online arena for folks addicted to learning all sorts of strange and peculiar things and long may they be of no use to anyone
Nanowrimo
An ounce of achievement beats a tone of entertainment. It’s fun to go unleash the inner beast on a crazy squiggling fest.
And of course - the enormous elephant in the room
The USA election
14. What song will always remind you of 2016?
The Trump Train
And of course Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" especially the Jeff Buckley version.
15. Compared to this time last year, are you:
Older or wiser?
Obviously older and hopefully wiser too
Thinner or fatter?
Fatter. Ask Petunia - that's the only bit of Izzie that she is capable of noticing.
Richer or poorer?
I’ve got everything I need and most of what I want so that makes me much better off than most folks
16. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Gardening and growing things
17. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Lurking on Twitter at ungodly hours.
18. How did you spend Christmas?
At the Dursleys. It was sort of doomy as Uncle Vernon is such a miserable Grinch.
19. Did you fall in love in 2016?
I love to hate Trumplethinskin
20. What was your favorite TV program?
Since the analog signal got nuked I no longer have a television but online I have taken quite a shine to Alec Baldwin’s segments on Saturday Night Live along with the occasional snippet of Samantha Bee’s Full Frontal and John Oliver
Scary that the most accurate news these days is provided by comedians and cartoonists. That’s what happens when the court jester becomes king
21. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Hate is too strong a word. Loathe is more appropriate but looking at last year’s post - Donald Trump was already on the serpent radar so I guess he doesn’t really count.
22. What was the best book you read?
How can I be expected to pick only one?
Non Fiction
Bringing down the house Ben Metzach
This was about a bunch of Harvard geeks running a card counting scheme and making loads of loot out of the casinos. Pity only that I read it BEFORE "The Art of the Deal" or I would have paid more attention to the casinos in Atlanta City. I do hope it was the Trump casinos where they pulled in the most loot.
The Quiet Revolution - Susan Cain
A manifesto in defence of introverts and geeks.
The Happy Economist - Ross Gittins
A Goblin spills the beans on economics and their narrow minded goblin logic and how little light they shed on what really makes life worthwhile.
Fiction
Lazarus - Morris West
The original and the best writer of Vatican intrigue. Accept no imitations. This one is about a very nasty crusty hard hearted Pope who has a Road to Damascus moment. The Cardinals are not amused.
The Appeal - John Grisham
The owner of a chemical company faced with an unfavorable court verdict will do whatever it takes to get it overturned.
A cross between Erin Brokovich, the 2016 Presidential election and the biblical Book of Job.
It was very hard to believe that this was written in 2008 and not last year.
The Art of the Deal - Tony Schwartz with Donald Trump
Entertaining and amusing but for all the wrong reasons.
23. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Jarrad Whyte - a busker with a spooky sad blood curdling voice with an uncanny resemblance to Ed Sheeran.
Divna - the spooky voice of an angel as beautiful as the Celestial Siren herself - Lisa Gerrard
24. What did you want and get?
A bunch of books on the Izzie wish list at bargain basement prices
25. What did you want and not get?
A paid job
26. What was your favourite film of this year?
I’ve only managed to see one
Fantastic Beasts and where to find them.
I absolutely loved it. I want to see more of magical 1920s New York and Berlin would be good too.
27. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I’m pleading the 5th amendment on this one.
28. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
No Job Goblins.
In spite of being an ancient serpent and working more than 20 hours per week doing voluntary work, the government agencies still insist on a whole bunch of ridiculous box ticking and jumping through hoops.
29. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2016?
Fashion is an alien concept to this slobbish serpent. But we are rather partial to green hats, baggy blouses and long skirts to hide all the blubber
30. What kept you sane?
Sane - Izzie sane? Never ever?
31. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Bernie Sanders - the only potential presidential candidate in the US Election that had integrity, purpose and the ability to get things done. He was in it for the flock not the fleece.
First Dog on the Moon
A sick and twisted cartoonist who goes where others fear to tread. Michael Leunig has his adorable ducks and goats. First dog has a whole menagerie of monsters and the very scary Ministry Van.
32. What political issue stirred you the most?
All of them but especially watching the insidious influence that power has on people and the elaborate justifications conjured to explain the complete trashing of a whole bunch of election promises.
But the standout star of the year just has to be Trumplethinskin
The 3 Presidential debates were enlightening but for all the wrong reasons.
The boorish bragging big league bullshit is beyond belief and even worse is the conga line of grovelling arse holes behind him most of whom should know better. Senator John McCain is one of the few who comes out with his dignity and sanity intact
The Dinner with the Devil is just an absolute classic
I was also impressed and amazed by the New Zealand prime minister John Key who didn't get turfed out by the voters or ditched by fellow party members but willingly gave up the top job.
In contrast there is the likes of the scumbag Syrian Bashir Assad who will not relinquish power until he has killed everyone in the country except his own snivelling minions.
33. Who did you miss?
Bella Nina - a gorgeous Italian Nonna who died last year.
34. Who was the best new person you met?
Trish - a mentor from a program run by the Post Office called OWL (Older Working Life)
She is a fascinating character interested in the big picture and big ideas and is even more obsessed with The Trump than this serpent.
35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2016:
I can think of two
It is better to be a fountain than a drain
Habits begin as cobwebs and end as cables
I sussed this one out last year but this year was able to take advantage of the power of habit to put a whole bunch of things on autopilot. Using habits as a friend rather than an enemy is an excellent way of getting stuff done with little effort.
36. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
From a previously mentioned video
Are you, are you, coming to the train,
Led by a man, who wants to break the chains,
Establishment is terrified, they can't control his reign,
Let's meet, this year, on the Trump Train,
It's ever so suitable that they based this song from The Hunger Games
In the story, the song was intended to be a marching anthem by rebels who united against a dictatorial liar who lived at the height of luxury as the people he subjugated through fear, division, and intimidation starved. People sing this song as they march toward almost certain death.
1. What did you do in 2016 that you'd never done before?
Staying up until 3 in the morning reading (and replying to) Donald Trump’s tweets. Not once but several times. No. I don’t have a life but at least I don’t have intelligence briefings that I should be attending to instead.
2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don’t do New Year’s resolutions but I do have a little green book for plotting and planning with deadlines for 3 months, 1 year and 5 years. Of course the map is not the territory and the grand plans are more honoured in the breach than in the observance, but the simple act of doing this ritual 4 times a year does result in some items being almost inadvertently getting completed and draws attention to those that keep rolling over again and again.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No. Not even the neighbour’s cats. They seem to have found greener pastures or maybe got eaten by some rottweiler
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No but sure as hell nearly everyone else did.
5. What countries did you visit?
Only Cyberia
6. What would you like to have in 2017 that you lacked in 2016?
Some grand plan and purpose for existence.
A bunch of book cases to sort the stash
A waist!
7. What dates from 2016 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
There are simply too many to choose from. Some are personal and others are political.
So I picked some days that were a bit of both.
Friday 19th August - the nose job
Saturday 20th August Open Day at the Pawsey computer centre - even a big bad Mummy nose was not going to keep me away from this event. It was a feast for astronomy geeks and nerds in general.
Wednesday 9th November (what the rest of the world call 9/11 ;) )
Spending much of the day glued to the radio listening to live updates and on the phone getting the gossip on a certain election over the pond
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Winning Camp Nano in April and July and the main event Nanowrimo in November
Keeping a dozen or so tree seedlings alive for two years after planting them
9. What was your biggest failure?
Doing nothing whatsoever with all those first drafts and all that stuff learnt in those online courses
Procrastinating Big League on getting the Lair sorted. Especially all the homeless books
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Just the usual serpent insanity and a nasty nose job
11. What was the best thing you bought?
A bright shiny new Moto basic model smart phone. The previous one died a week earlier just days past the one year warranty. That was when I realised that I had become rather too attached to the infernal device - especially the online Scrabble games.
It was sitting all by itself on a shelf in the local post office and had a price tag of $99. A bit decadent for the serpent budget but far better specs and quality than anything else in that price range. So it was a very pleasant surprise to take it to the counter where it came up at the princely sum of $49. Turned out that it was on sale at half price but no one had bothered putting a sign up to that effect. Just as well or it would have been long gone.
Books, books and more books and most of them for 2 or 3 silver sickles. It’s one of the perks of working in a charity shop
12. Where did most of your money go?
The biggest expense for the year were the annual council rates and water charges, Most likely followed by bus fares and lots of pots of tea. Being mortgage free means there’s more left over for the important things in life
13. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The freaky fringe festival
Coursera
This is an online arena for folks addicted to learning all sorts of strange and peculiar things and long may they be of no use to anyone
Nanowrimo
An ounce of achievement beats a tone of entertainment. It’s fun to go unleash the inner beast on a crazy squiggling fest.
And of course - the enormous elephant in the room
The USA election
14. What song will always remind you of 2016?
The Trump Train
Click to viewAnd of course Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" especially the Jeff Buckley version.
15. Compared to this time last year, are you:
Older or wiser?
Obviously older and hopefully wiser too
Thinner or fatter?
Fatter. Ask Petunia - that's the only bit of Izzie that she is capable of noticing.
Richer or poorer?
I’ve got everything I need and most of what I want so that makes me much better off than most folks
16. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Gardening and growing things
17. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Lurking on Twitter at ungodly hours.
18. How did you spend Christmas?
At the Dursleys. It was sort of doomy as Uncle Vernon is such a miserable Grinch.
19. Did you fall in love in 2016?
I love to hate Trumplethinskin
20. What was your favorite TV program?
Since the analog signal got nuked I no longer have a television but online I have taken quite a shine to Alec Baldwin’s segments on Saturday Night Live along with the occasional snippet of Samantha Bee’s Full Frontal and John Oliver
Scary that the most accurate news these days is provided by comedians and cartoonists. That’s what happens when the court jester becomes king
21. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Hate is too strong a word. Loathe is more appropriate but looking at last year’s post - Donald Trump was already on the serpent radar so I guess he doesn’t really count.
22. What was the best book you read?
How can I be expected to pick only one?
Non Fiction
Bringing down the house Ben Metzach
This was about a bunch of Harvard geeks running a card counting scheme and making loads of loot out of the casinos. Pity only that I read it BEFORE "The Art of the Deal" or I would have paid more attention to the casinos in Atlanta City. I do hope it was the Trump casinos where they pulled in the most loot.
The Quiet Revolution - Susan Cain
A manifesto in defence of introverts and geeks.
The Happy Economist - Ross Gittins
A Goblin spills the beans on economics and their narrow minded goblin logic and how little light they shed on what really makes life worthwhile.
Fiction
Lazarus - Morris West
The original and the best writer of Vatican intrigue. Accept no imitations. This one is about a very nasty crusty hard hearted Pope who has a Road to Damascus moment. The Cardinals are not amused.
The Appeal - John Grisham
The owner of a chemical company faced with an unfavorable court verdict will do whatever it takes to get it overturned.
A cross between Erin Brokovich, the 2016 Presidential election and the biblical Book of Job.
It was very hard to believe that this was written in 2008 and not last year.
The Art of the Deal - Tony Schwartz with Donald Trump
Entertaining and amusing but for all the wrong reasons.
23. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Jarrad Whyte - a busker with a spooky sad blood curdling voice with an uncanny resemblance to Ed Sheeran.
Divna - the spooky voice of an angel as beautiful as the Celestial Siren herself - Lisa Gerrard
24. What did you want and get?
A bunch of books on the Izzie wish list at bargain basement prices
25. What did you want and not get?
A paid job
26. What was your favourite film of this year?
I’ve only managed to see one
Fantastic Beasts and where to find them.
I absolutely loved it. I want to see more of magical 1920s New York and Berlin would be good too.
27. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I’m pleading the 5th amendment on this one.
28. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
No Job Goblins.
In spite of being an ancient serpent and working more than 20 hours per week doing voluntary work, the government agencies still insist on a whole bunch of ridiculous box ticking and jumping through hoops.
29. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2016?
Fashion is an alien concept to this slobbish serpent. But we are rather partial to green hats, baggy blouses and long skirts to hide all the blubber
30. What kept you sane?
Sane - Izzie sane? Never ever?
31. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Bernie Sanders - the only potential presidential candidate in the US Election that had integrity, purpose and the ability to get things done. He was in it for the flock not the fleece.
First Dog on the Moon
A sick and twisted cartoonist who goes where others fear to tread. Michael Leunig has his adorable ducks and goats. First dog has a whole menagerie of monsters and the very scary Ministry Van.
32. What political issue stirred you the most?
All of them but especially watching the insidious influence that power has on people and the elaborate justifications conjured to explain the complete trashing of a whole bunch of election promises.
But the standout star of the year just has to be Trumplethinskin
The 3 Presidential debates were enlightening but for all the wrong reasons.
The boorish bragging big league bullshit is beyond belief and even worse is the conga line of grovelling arse holes behind him most of whom should know better. Senator John McCain is one of the few who comes out with his dignity and sanity intact
The Dinner with the Devil is just an absolute classic
I was also impressed and amazed by the New Zealand prime minister John Key who didn't get turfed out by the voters or ditched by fellow party members but willingly gave up the top job.
In contrast there is the likes of the scumbag Syrian Bashir Assad who will not relinquish power until he has killed everyone in the country except his own snivelling minions.
33. Who did you miss?
Bella Nina - a gorgeous Italian Nonna who died last year.
34. Who was the best new person you met?
Trish - a mentor from a program run by the Post Office called OWL (Older Working Life)
She is a fascinating character interested in the big picture and big ideas and is even more obsessed with The Trump than this serpent.
35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2016:
I can think of two
It is better to be a fountain than a drain
Habits begin as cobwebs and end as cables
I sussed this one out last year but this year was able to take advantage of the power of habit to put a whole bunch of things on autopilot. Using habits as a friend rather than an enemy is an excellent way of getting stuff done with little effort.
36. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
From a previously mentioned video
Are you, are you, coming to the train,
Led by a man, who wants to break the chains,
Establishment is terrified, they can't control his reign,
Let's meet, this year, on the Trump Train,
It's ever so suitable that they based this song from The Hunger Games
In the story, the song was intended to be a marching anthem by rebels who united against a dictatorial liar who lived at the height of luxury as the people he subjugated through fear, division, and intimidation starved. People sing this song as they march toward almost certain death.