2016 in Review

     Last year was very unpleasant. This year was maybe worse.

     It was the thirtieth anniversary of the Challenger explosion, and the fifteenth anniversary of 9/11. American Idol went off the air forever. Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton were the choices for President. Grandpa died. I read a ton of depressing literature for classes. Harper Lee, Nancy Reagan, Merle Haggard, John Saunders, and Carrie Fisher all died, too.
     Watched far more of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Girl Meets World than I wanted. (Buffy was for school, and it's so well-made that it's very dangerous. GMW is dangerous because it kills brain cells it's so bad.) And during the Olympics there was far too much men's diving and water polo. SGYC didn't go very well at all, though I enjoyed Ryan's sons tagging along at my heels, and it was good to visit with Alexa and Zach. Kevin Durant left for the Warriors, which hurt a lot more than expected.
     Even our superheroes were fighting; Captain America: Civil War was a fantastic movie, though. Everything people said about Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, not so much. The Full House sequel series Fuller House was far better than expected, which was a nice surprise.

     Played Crick in Tales From Tent City, that was a challenging but worthwhile role. It was a pretty good show, and very thought-provoking. A classmate named Kelsey asked if I would be willing to be the subject of a short documentary she was filming for a class, so that was a strange experience, but it turned out well. Learned how to write scripts and poetry, so that was good.

     The Cubs won the World Series, which sums up how unbelievable this year was. And the Penguins won the Stanley Cup over the Sharks. Peyton Manning retired after the Broncos won the fiftieth Super Bowl over the Carolina Panthers. Las Vegas got an NHL franchise, which will be called the Golden Knights (bleah).

     In movies, Jerry Maguire, Mission: Impossible, Space Jam and Twister all turned 20, while Cars, Stranger Than Fiction and Talladega Nights all turned ten.   .

     It was a lousy year most of the time. But it's over, and maybe tomorrow will be better. (But I doubt it.)