Friday, December 31, 2010

Top Ten Things I Could Have Lived with Less of in 2010

I secretly love the "Year in Review" or “Top Ten” lists the media puts out every December. No matter what the topic, there is always something there that makes me proclaim “Oh, that happened this year?” In celebration of the coming year, I decided to come up with one of my own.

[Insert drum roll here] Here is my Official Things I Could Have Lived with Less Of in 2010 list.

10. Ninety Degree days. This was one of the hottest year on record. I love the summer. But it’s no fun being stuck in the house with three restless children because it’s too hot to go outside. I’d rather it be cold than hot.

9. Non-Newsworthy News. Being so close to DC, I had my fill of stories about Tai Shan, the giant panda cub at the zoo. Especially when there were more serious things to report. The most recent: people are mad because all the tickets for DC newly-elected mayor’s inauguration ball are gone. Seriously?

8. Sports News. Americans are big on their sports, but I got so tired of a sports drama being the lead story on the news. So what Michael Haynesworth didn’t go to practice? Who cares that about Tiger Wood’s half-hearted confession? LeBron James? Really? Leave the sports in the sports section. That’s what we have it for.

7. Twilight. Being the mother of a teenage girl, Twilight has been the bane of my existence. Robert Patterson is not cute and Kristen Stewart looks like she’s drunk all the time. And don't get me started about the book. I think they were horribly written. I wished someone would kill Bella so the books would be over. And some of the plot lines were beyond credibility (a vampire, who has no liquids in his body, fathering a child. Uh, no.) Sadly, I have to suffer through two more movies.

6. Endless Talk About the Recession. I understand that some people had it tough this year. But seemed like most the talk about the recession was just that, talk. Most discussions were filled with speculation and fear. No one really offered feasible solutions, just more talk about how bad it was. The old saying goes “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Well, I’m going to amend it: If you don’t have something constructive to say, shut up.

5. The Tea Party. Yes, we need government reform but the Tea Party is not the way to do it. But they get an A for effort.

4. Politicians Backpedaling. More than once this year we’ve seen politicians say something really stupid, mainly when they didn’t think anyone was listening, and then trying to offer a heartfelt apology. I’m not fooled. You said exactly what you meant. There’s no explaining that away. How about you be the person of integrity you’re supposed to be all the time? Be consistent. I would rather you be mean and spiteful when you know the microphones are on and the cameras rolling if that’s who you really are. Don’t be two-faced.

3. People grieving more for pets than people. The backlash from Michael Vick was unbelievable, but what about all the unidentified victims of murder this year. No one picketed and protested about that. Not to mention that the deaths of American soldiers got a twenty second blurb but cases of animal cruelty went on for days. For instance, my local news covered a story about a stolen pit pull, accompanied with video footage of the thieves. But then they gave a casual treatment of the death of a teenage girl found in a dumpster in DC. I’m not saying people should care about the mistreatment of animals. I just think we should care about humans more.

2. Sarah Palin and Kate Gosselin. Please, please, I beg of you with all that is pure and decent, GO AWAY! I don’t understand why these two are still news stories. I know there are some die hard Palin fans in the world, but she wrote her interview notes on the palm of her hand! Any high school student knows that if you can’t remember your points, you write them on note cards. Do we want that to run the country? I would run for president before I voted for her. I’m not into folksy charm. I’m into intelligence and efficiency, neither of which I’ve seen displayed in any great measure in Sarah Palin. She quit her job to do what, tour the country, do a reality TV show and promote her books. If she’s elected president, how do we know she won’t bail on the job because something more exciting comes along.

And Kate Gosselin isn’t any better. I’ve only watched Jon & Kate Plus 8 a few times, but seeing the way she talked to Jon, I can’t say I blame him for flashing deuces. No, I’m not condoning his actions either, but she continues to put herself and those poor babies in the media spotlight and for what? At least Jon had the good sense to disappear.

1. Stupid People. I don’t know if there were more stupid people in the world or we just had the pleasure of knowing about more of them. And I’m not just referring to people in the media or entertainment, I talking about people everywhere. Seemed like every time I turned around, somebody did something proving that stupidity is alive and well in America. I don’t know how many times I’ve said, “Did you think about that before you did it” this year. And I’m including myself in that, too. I’ve done my share of stupid this year. The slogan this year should have been: NO NEW STUPID! Maybe we can adopt it for next year.

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