Vintage Whisky, 2016

We do what we can...

“Dumpster Fire” apparently entered public vernacular sometime in 2008, fittingly enough. However, “dumpster fire” pretty much feels like a permanent condition since 2016.

Let’s get the dismal out of the way.

The election of the 45th President of the USA:

• I called it back in February. Not that I'm happy about it. 
• In May I used simple math to explicate voter emotion.
• In September I meditated on the power of prayer.

And then November:

• I opened with a modest proposal.
• The morning after I had a difficult conversation with the kids.
• And I took a stab at listening to the, uh, optimists.
• Coincidentally, I read We Stand On Guard — pitch-perfect agitprop for the era (alas).

Movies:

• Star Wars: The Next Generation (also: Rogue One)
• Star Trek: The Third Repetition
• I’m listing! Cherished DVDs.

Music:

• Pentatonic scales — 'til the cows come home!
• Metal appeal — what’s it finally about?
• The Rat Pack — revisited.
• RIP, Sharon Jones.

Miscellaneous:

• Two titanic comic book artists died that year: Darwyn Cooke and Jack Chick.
• RIP, Jim Harrison.
• An appreciation of Toronto's Dineen Building.

And finally: Mennonites!

• So you’re Mennonite “in name only”? Good luck with that.
• Stewing over MSM’s obsession with the town of my childhood.
• Maybe all kindness is just a tad complicated?