Month: December 2009

2010 Predictions

I was unusually accurate in my 2009 predictions. I claim wins for predictions 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 9. That’s over 50%. I’m especially thankful that the zombie attack was repelled but saddened over mainstream media’s refusal to follow the story.

On to my predictions for 2010:

1. The turtleneck mu mu will be the hottest women’s summer fashion.

2. Health care will continue not to be free even if Obama-care “reform” gets passed. Political supporters will express shock.

3. Mel Gibson will make his comeback when he takes on his most challenging role ever as the lead character in the screen adaptation of “Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret.”

4. Democratic senators will be ashamed of the practice of taking mega-bribes to pass legislation. They will then climb onto their personal flying pigs for their return flights to their home states.

5. Sick of losing to Facebook, MySpace will launch a redesign in order to become the leading “anti-social” media presence.

6. Milk boxes will start carrying pictures of the missing “millions of saved jobs” credited to the 2009 stimulus package.

7. The publishing industry will suffer from a shortage of books to publish as the Obama administration increases it’s employment of fiction writers to create speeches about the President’s accomplishments.

8. The NFL will consider converting measurements to the metric system in a bid to expand the sport’s global appeal but reject the idea after owners realize they would not understand what “1st and 9.144 meters” means.

9. Cyanide in drinking water will be promoted as being environmentally friendly in an attempt to capitalize on the similar strategies of using bamboo fiber in clothing and mercury in compact fluorescent bulbs.

10. Walking will be the new driving – except for the hundreds of millions of Americans who refuse to quit driving.

What ever happened to “man-friends”?

In a post on men, the “Why I am Catholic blog” asks a good question and makes an observation:

Question: Has an open discussion of homosexuality made it easier or more difficult for heterosexual men to talk intimately? Here’s a provocative statement on the matter:

I think the whole gay discussion has been a huge detriment to men (not bashing homosexual men, just noticing how it affects everyone). A couple decades ago, nobody cared, but now we have to almost prove we’re not gay. We can’t even say homosexual, we have to say gay. Why?…

My answer: Our culture is so over-sexed that society has come to view all relationships through a sexual lens.

I recently saw the movie Old Dogs starring John Travolta and Robin Williams. I remember thinking how unusual the movie was because the plot centered on the relationship between the two main characters who had been friends since high-school. A joke used a few times in the movie was that other characters would look at the two friends as if they were homosexual lovers while the friends seemed oblivious to the suggestion.

There was no sexual tension between the men. They were entirely heterosexual men, each pursuing a woman he desired. Each man had strengths that complimented their friendship and made them successful business partners. Each knew the other’s hopes and fears.

I admit I do not have that type of friendship now. I did have that once with a friend I met while I was in elementary school. Darin and I were especially close throughout high school and into college. People saw us as a duo “Jason and Darin.” I still know him, but I now live in another state and distance has created, well, distance. When we get together, we can take up right where we left off but it isn’t quite the same only because we do not have the opportunity to see each other often.

There are guys who I enjoy spending time with but I wouldn’t say that I’m especially close with them. I thought it was family life, work, and (before last May) grad school that kept me from being better friends. I’m not so sure now. So yes, I think the “gay” issue has made it a problem for men to be close friends.

To be sure, that is not the only problem. My friendship with Darin was built on years of shared experiences. Our transient culture – where people frequently change jobs, find new churches, or move to different states – means that we do not get the years needed to build those relationships.

Between not getting enough time to build friendships and viewing close friendships with other men as being inappropriate, we find ourselves without the friendships that all people benefit from having. And we are worse off for it.

Early prediction

I normally make annual predictions on December 31. This one is a real one though.

In less than a year in office, President Obama has went from an approval rating of about 65% approved/15% disapproved to about 47% approve/47% unapproved depending on the poll. Most polls indicated more people disapprove.

The health care issue has seen the same decline:

Democrats are sacrificing their future in a bid to push through government control of our lives. Election campaigns for November 2010 will be in full force starting at the beginning of January. The pundits I have seen expect Republicans to make significant gains but not enough to take over the house.

I’ll go even better than that. The Democrats are too eager for to pass healthcare mandates that favor lawyers and penalize taxpayers while reducing benefits and oppressive “cap and trade” energy controls that will increase energy costs while the economy is trying to recover. In addition, unemployment continues to climb while the Democrats focus on issues that Americans see as less urgent.

The Democrats are creating a perfect storm. My prediction: Republicans will regain the House of Representatives in 2010. Well, one can always hope.