For some reason Sea Shanties take over the internet.
My mom calls, to tell me they found a lump. She asks me to join her at a doctor’s appointment.
The next day, January 6th. Hordes of white people who don’t believe in real democracy were pumped up by a charlatan and decided to ruin their lives, and likely ours in the near future. On January 8th, Twitter closed the barn door after the horse tried to overthrow democracy, banning Donald Trump from their platform.
Two weeks later, Bernie Sanders and his mittens become a meme.
At the end of January mom starts chemotherapy. The type of breast cancer she has responds well to chemo, making surgery after that far more likely to be successful. For the next 6 months I spend a day a week with my mom. The future’s unclear, but this time makes me so grateful that I have this relationship with her, and that I have this relationship with my workplace. In general, I learn that I’m very very lucky, while going through some very unlucky circumstances.
You can only milk a cow so long, then you’re left holding the pail. — Hank Aaron
A bunch of Reddit nerds collude to screw hedge funds that are shorting Gamestop stock. They succeed.
The Muppet Show comes to Disney+. That was THIS year?!
Texas freezes, blacks out, and proves once again that the invisible hand of the free market will gladly murder hundreds of people to keep the quarterly growth target.
Hux has to have foot surgery to repair a really messed up pad from his racing damaged toe. I’d share a picture, but you don’t want to see that. The boy is pathetic when he’s on drugs. Luckily Dr. Gatewood takes good care of him, and he’s back to being SUPER annoying at least once a night.
I’m too old-fashioned to use a computer. I’m too old-fashioned to use a quill — Christopher Plummer
Some guy on twitter, identifying himself as a “Life Artist” tags me in a post of a drawing of a nude dude. Turns out, there’s another DigDoug out there that’s a naturist, and comfortable with things I am not. My notifications are a bit messed up for a day or two until I get him to delete, and repost with the correct account tagged.
Because capitalism hates slack and leaving a margin of error, a ship gets stuck in a canal and messes up the entire world economy. But it makes for some cute memes for a while. I miss that big dumb boat.
We take a road trip to Indianapolis with Hedy, and meet 3 of her puppies. There’s no recognition, but she’s the mom of a semi-famous dog. The University of Indianapolis mascot, Grady is one of her puppies. He’s on Instagram as @uindyhound
Oh, you don’t look like a whore. An idiot maybe, or both. Yes, a Whordiot — Jessica Walters (as Mallory Archer)
A helicopter is on Mars, y’all. First, they name the landing site after Octavia Butler. Then they fly a friggin helicopter on another planet. I buy some stuff from the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum to celebrate. I also built the Space Shuttle Lego Set.
One of the most surprising things that happened in 2021, is a cop actually paid a penalty for abusing his authority and murdering a civilian.
Michelle and I go to our first Post Pandemic Brunch. We eat at a restaurant, with friends, and pay people to bring us food. First time in over a year.
If your heart was as big as your mouth you’d be real. — DMX
Elon Musk hosts SNL. I skip an episode of SNL. Jesus why doesn’t that guy go to Mars already?
The great state of TX reinforces their fundamental founding principle that a cluster of cells have more rights than a full grown human who happens to have a uterus. The US Surpreme Court decides that’s good enough for them.
On the 10th anniversary of my step-father’s sudden death, I’m sitting with my mom, his wife of nearly 40 years at her chemotherapy appointment. We listen to the entirety of Beatles Anthology, my annual tradition to commemorate the day. It’s absolutely lovely.
White people like Wayne Brady because he makes Bryant Gumbel look like Malcolm X. — Paul Mooney
I begin the month going back into the office for the first time in 15 months. It’s very eerie being one of maybe 10 people in a building that used to have 400ish. I still go back 2-3 days a week. Michelle appreciates it more than anyone.
The company behind the Keystone Pipeline finally gives up trying to make a few bucks by ignoring the sovereignty of Native Land.
The Delta variant reminds us all that concerted efforts by selfish morons are more powerful than expert’s advice without incentives to actually give a shit about other people.
Mom finishes her last chemotherapy treatment. She’ll have surgery in a couple of weeks and will have to continue with immunotherapy infusions for several more months. Throughout the 6 months of these treatments, she had one hospital stay due to chemo side effect, and twice her numbers were too low to have her scheduled infusion. That was all expected and dealt with magnificently by the team at University of Louisville.
I’m a perfect example of the grumpy, old man. I’m really good at it. I’m getting grumpier all the time. — Ned Beatty
Jeff Bezos goes to space. Elon Musk still hasn’t gone to Mars. The world would be better off if when you ticked the billion dollar mark on your net worth you were given a trophy for winning capitalism and then fired off into space.
The Tokyo Olympics, remember those? Name 3 people who competed.
Mom has a lumpectomy, and they find no sign of spread. After pathology she’s pronounced cancer-free. Due to the type of cancer and the way it’s treated now, her 5-year prognosis is excellent and basically she got as lucky as you can get while getting cancer.
In the local greyhound group on Facebook, someone posted a picture that included a description of the breed from the 15th century. I used some google-fu and my love of very old books to find the origin:
The Properties of a goode Grehound
A Grehound shulde be
headed like a Snake
necked like a Drake
— “Book of hawking, hunting and heraldry” late 15th century
The Suicide Squad, which has almost nothing to do with the movie of the same name that came out like 2 years ago, premieres on HBO Max. It made us laugh a lot more than either of us thought it would. That James Gunn fellow can tell a weird story in a delightful way.
Mandy Patinkin posts a video in response to a fan asking if it was true about channelling the death of his father for the Inigo Montoya scene. The Internet can be good.
People at my company quit in droves to avoid being forced to go back to the office in September. Some without even lining up another job first. Going back doesn’t happen because of Delta Variant anyway. Then, in November, they decide that a bunch of desk workers probably don’t need to be forced back into the offices. We grew faster than ever before, out performed all plans during this ridiculous year, maybe that wasn’t the magic after all.
I love this band, but it doesn’t mean everything to me, I always think this band is going to fold up all the time – I really do. I never thought it would last five minutes, but I figured I’d live that five minutes to the hilt because I love them. I don’t care if I retire now, but I don’t know what I’d do if I stopped doing this. I’d go mad. — Charlie Watts
Facebook whistleblower proves that management at Facebook are cartoon villains. The world yawns, because that’s just business, innit?
Noodle, the pug, makes us all care if it’s a No Bones Day.
In mid August I received a message on Twitter from the official @AppleTV account. They thank me for sharing my love of Ted Lasso and ask for my address. Six weeks later I receive a “lootcrate” from AFC Richmond (the “football” team in Ted Lasso). A visor, scarf and jersey.
At the end of the day, the king and the pawn go back in the same box. — Michael K Williams (as Omar on The Wire)
Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram go down. They come back up a few hours later, and the world is not freed from this particular yoke, yet.
We take a vacation/anniversary trip to Saugatuck, Michigan. We have a fantastic time along the coast of Lake Michigan. This place is definitely entering the rotation of potential vacation spots.
Experts often possess more data than judgment. — Colin Powell
The federal government begins winding down its stimulus programs. The thing propping up an economy built on popsicle sticks, duct tape and shitty jobs trapping millions of people with inadequate health insurance that probably won’t stop bankruptcy if you have the unfortunate event of getting sick.
A teenager whose mom drove him to a riot is acquitted of murdering two people. His not yet fully formed brain lead to him getting into an altercation and shooting his way out, killing people who actually lived in the area.
Sadly, I reached the conclusion that Thanksgiving is no longer my favorite holiday. Or, maybe it is, and I just don’t like holidays at all anymore.
I prefer neurotic people. I like to hear rumblings beneath the surface. — Stephen Sondheim
Tornadoes destroy Mayfield, KY. I went to a wedding there once; one of my best friends is from there. This one feels so much closer than most natural disasters.
I was going to say something about Joe Manchin here, but c’mon. My only question is how is one, or two, senator with slightly different goals a bigger problem than the lockstep voting of one of the two major parties? One party refuses to actual govern, one party is completely inept at it.
The James Webb Space Telescope is launched, a decade late. It’s currently on its way to one of a handful of Lagrange Points in the Earth-Sun gravitational system, which is fascinating physics that you should totally look up on this here internet.
8-bit Christmas on HBOMax is like a Gen-X retelling of A Christmas Story. Better than it should be. Watch it next year.
Live simply so that others may simply live. — bell hooks
The road to Easy Street goes through the sewer. — John Madden