Notable Events By Month
JANUARY
Kobe Bryant's chopper crashed in the foggy LA mountains to start the year. I viewed this as ominous. It didn't make sense to be flying in those conditions but I guess we were being prepped for a lot of 2020 not making sense. Trump's impeachment trial in the Senate (another illogical event) was transpiring, C-19 was starting to rear its head, and Iran was threatening to retaliate against the US for taking out one of their generals via a drone attack.
FEBRUARY
The Diamond Princess was quarantined in Yokohama port, 3700 passengers on board. As Scooby would say, "Ruh Oh!". SOMEthing was up, what that something was would soon be revealed.
Pete Buttigieg wins Iowa (but the results are delayed due to 'irregularities'). Again, "Ruh Oh!".
Trump is acquitted by the Senate, which starts a snowball rolling downhill. Those august members could have easily stopped what came next. Another "Ruh Oh!". People start feeling queasy and uneasy. Seat belts are quietly fastened across the land.
Bushfires in Australia, snowfall in Baghdad.
Covid cases rise, borders start closing. Little did we suspect, and soon would we miss, being in crowded environments such as bars, restaurants, or sitting in the stands at sporting events.
MARCH
Pete drops out, Amy drops out.
Bloomberg drops out.
Bernie hangs in.
Biden surges, unexpectedly. (Hey, it's 2020. Get used to it)
Warren drops out.
Supreme Leader of China Xi Jinping travels to Wuhan, presumably to lead containment efforts most glorious.
Vlad, next door, gets allowed to be 'President For Life'. "Ruh Oh.....".
Sports events start being cancelled or postponed. Sports fans used to viewing the highlights of the day from their couches cannot. Ouch.
I become one of the 3.3 million Americans filing for unemployment.
Enter Dr. Fauci.
APRIL
Bernie drops out.
The last three cruise ships at sea in the world dock at Marseille, Barcelona, and Los Angeles.
Some Covid countries ease restrictions. US cases climb. The integrity of the World Health Orginization is questioned. "Ruh Oh". (I'm gonna stop using that)
MAY
Michael Jordan's autographed Air Nike 1s trainers from 1985 sell for $560,000 in online auction.
Breonna Taylor's death (March) is followed by George Floyd's. Chaos erupts.
Twitter adds warning labels to some of Trump's tweets.
Hong Kong experiences new security rules. Populace is not thrilled.
I receive unemployment checks for the first time in decades, and marvel at getting them.
JUNE
Trump makes infamous walk to St. John's Church, then holds Bible upside down. Twitter explodes.
Statues across country that stood for decades are taken down.
Kurt Cobain's MTV Unplugged guitar sells for $6 million.
For the first time ever, less than half the working age population is working in Brazil, with 7.8 million losing their jobs in March-May period, according to the Brazillian Institute of Geography and Statistics.
Trump holds poorly attended re-election rally in Tulsa. "Ruh Oh"
JULY
Europe reopens borders to 'safe' countries. US not on that list.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahones inks 12 year deal that could end up being worth $503 million. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times......"
Portland mayor Ted Wheeler criticizes federal policing of protesters in his city, calling it unconstitutional.
Numerous nations launch Mars probes, presumably to establish future bases on a pandemic free planet.
AUGUST
Huge explosion at Port of Beirut due to long neglected shipment of Ammonium Nitrate, a known high explosive, stored in a warehouse there due to corruption by port officials.
New Zealand marks 100 days without community transmission of Covid.
'Derecho' windstorm hits US Midwest, causing the uploads of dozens of fascinating storm videos on You Tube.
Frontrunner Biden announces Kamala Harris as running mate.
California ablaze. Again.
Enter Louis De Joy.
Steve Bannon arrested on yacht off US coast, charged in scheme with others concerning defrauding contributors to the construction of US/Mexico border wall.
Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny gets rushed off plane and into German hospital to receive treatment for possible poisoning.
BTS's new single 'Dynamite' becomes first video to be watched more than 100 million times in 24 hours on You Tube, testifying to too many people's presence at home.
Kellyanne Conway announces she's leaving White House for 'family reasons'. "Ruh Oh"
Kenosha erupts.
Elon Musk unveils pig named Gertrude with coin-sized computer in her brain, part of his Nuralink start-up creating a brain-to-machine interface.
Democratic and Republican conventions happen. Partisan divide is WIDE.
“Mrrp…..Mrrp…..Mrrp”
Sigmund- Unsplash.com
SEPTEMBER
Los Angeles County records highest temperature ever of 121 degrees.
Tour Championship winner Dustin Johnson takes home golf's biggest haul of green, $15 million, while I collect unemployment checks and feel luckier than most.
Wildfires in rainy Oregon. "Ruh Oh"
Push to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg begins, despite her dying wishes to the contrary.
72nd Emmy Awards announces 'Succession' as best drama, 'Schitt's Creek' as best comedy, and 'Watchmen' as best limited series. Variations of all three shows simultaneously playing on political stage.
Trump's tax returns are released, revealing that McDonalds line workers usually pay more.
First 'presidential debate' is held. "Ruh Oh"
OCTOBER
Trump airlifted to Walter Reed after Covid diagnosis, twitter feed falls silent.
Trump released from Walter Reed, populace braces itself.
Copy of William Shakespeare's First Folio sells for $9.98 million. Possible buyer of tome could be Dustin Johnson searching for safe place to stash part of Tournament Player's haul.
Peru announces 'rediscovered' 37 meter tall figure of a cat, completed between 500 BC and 200 AD, in ancient Nazca lines area.
Country of Chile votes to scrap their constitution, drafted during dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet.
50.4% of Americans have already voted a week before election day.
NOVEMBER
'Baby Shark' by Pinkfong becomes most watched You Tube video with 7.04 billion views.
Biden wins, well, maybe.
Covid vaccines start to look promising. By now I am off the dole and back at work. I witnessed the MASH unit bugout as the crisis began, and am witnessing a slow return of business as the crisis (hopefully) wanes. At least that's where we're at where I live, post-election.
Barr approves federal investigations into voter fraud during US election.
Word of the year is 'Lockdown', according to Collins English Dictionary.
Dustin Johnson wins many months delayed Masters Tournament, takes home even more money.
Peru's congress votes in its third interm president in a week, Francisco Sagasti, after violent protests.
US General Services Administration allows Biden to receive transition money, declaring him 'the apparent winner'.
Trump pardons Flynn. "Ruh Oh"
And finally, DECEMBER
All movies released from Warner Brothers in 2021 will stream online the same day they will appear in theaters.
Russia begins vaccinating people with 'Sputnik V' vaccine in Moscow, despite the vaccine not finishing clinical trials.
Japanese spacecraft does other countries one better, not bringing home samples from the Moon or Mars, but rocks from an asteroid.
Breakdancing confirmed an 'Olympic sport' for the Paris 2024 games.
Coca Cola is named the world's number one plastic polluter, in 'Break Free From Plastic's annual brand audit'.
Most of California undergoes second Lockdown (THAT word again)
Former Israeli space security chief Haim Eshed says "Aliens and a Galactic Federation exist and Trump knows about it".
US Electoral College votes to officially affirm Biden as president-elect.
Barr resigns.
China blocks imports of Australian coal, weeks before Christmas.
Grassroots internet referrendum circulates, urging congress to declare 2020 over five days before it officially ends.
NOTABLE PASSINGS:
Neil Peart, Rush drummer. I saw this guy live. He had an amazing drum set.
Kirk Douglas. No one could have played Spartacus better.
Robert Conrad. Fond memories of 'The Wild Wild West'.
Curly Neal. Always positive Harlem Globetrotters player.
Honor Blackman. Also known as 'Pussy Galore' (Goldfinger).
John Prine. Singers/Songwriters certainly took note.
Brian Dennehy. Superb character actor.
Don Shula. Took the Dolphins to the only unbeaten NFL season.
Little Richard. A-wop-bal-a-boo-op-a-wop-bam-boom.
Jerry Stiller. 'Festivus' creator.
Fred Willard. Character actor. Had a great sense of humor.
Carl Reiner. Always a joke up his sleeve.
Ennio Morricone. Composed the soundtrack for The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly.
Charlie Daniels. Original southern redneck rocker. Tilted to the right in his latter years.
Olivia De Havilland. Gone With The Wind belle.
Wilford Brimley. Always played a mustached, wily old curmudgeon.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Smarter than most.
Eddie Van Halen. Still can't grasp the extent of his talent.
Sean Connery. The best James Bond, hands down.
Alex Trebek. I knew him BEFORE he became host of Jeopardy. Class act.
Diego Maradona. Argentinian soccer superstar that transcended the game.
Chuck Yeager. The man 'The Right Stuff' was based upon.
Buck Henry. Wry, talented early Saturday Night Live host.
Of course, tons more stuff happened that you may or may not find significant. Certainly, those who are contributing their viewing time to K Pop stars on You Tube might not have a clue about much of what is contained here but that has become the norm in our fragmented attention span culture.
Suffice it to say that more is to come and though I have not read it, viewed it, or written about it doesn't mean that I'm altogether unaware of it it's just that I have a job now and the rabbit hole is deep, deeper than ever. Hopefully I can find something interesting or significant down there to pull up to the surface when I have time to give my take on it so that people know me as more than a view, a statistic, a visitor to another's page.
It's all anybody can ask these days. Howizit that Trump can be on everybody's mind around the world and truly interesting viewpoints elude us? Talk about domination of the news cycle! Choose carefully lest you be overly entertained and less than informed is my advice to everyone in 2021.
Get a second, third, and even fourth opinion about things then think for yourself. Anybody can put together a webpage but few can put together a newspaper, like they used to do in the old days, something that had editors, fact checkers, trusted sources, and a reputation that you could count on.
Good writing and opinions are gold. Seek that elixer out, disregard the fluff, and
Happy Surfing to all in soon to come 2021!