As another year passes, I realize that once again, for me, the most significant takeaways from 2025 were far from our political brouhaha (see=bs) or even celebrity news, but more what happened in the culture at large, fueled/fettered, and almost all in some way hindered by technology or our reaction to it. The hell with being woke, whatever that means. It seems to me that the pandemic now upon us is worse than the pesky little one we lived through a few years before and never got straight answers on (nor will we ever). The reality is that we are becoming ever weaker by the day. This comes as much with how we can’t abide even listening to an opinion different from ours, have to announce/blog/tweet/twat or take a picture of our every step/meal/seeming accomplishment, take to all new fads and discoveries well before they are vetted and consistently paint what’s around us with the wide sloppy brush of presentism that leaves us all but anxiety ridden and triggered at every step.
Here is my list of what I saw, heard, and read in 2025 that I am personally declaring enough of already and don’t want to see in 2026.
The overnight Amazon delivery-This one was made clear to me the other night as my girl and I sat watching TV during a blustery winter’s night, and her phone blipped to alert her to an Amazon delivery on its way. Sure, I know not every place on the planet has the same weather conditions as a December night in Northern New Jersey (although some are decidedly trickier to deal with in the winter). But really, does anybody anywhere need poor Amazon drivers risking their lives trying to get us our cutting boards or the latest Steven King at all hours? Add to this, I know 9:30 pm is even early for some of these deliveries, as an Amazon truck, trying to make its schedule, can drop off anytime in the wee morning hours. Sure, this got-to-have-it-the-next day delivery might have lifted Bezos baby above all the rest, but why have we come to expect, even demand, this kind of service? Can’t we just wait a bit?
Still blurring body parts-I caught a commercial for the new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, and in one of the passing moments, part of the contest seems to be some right baring of body parts. As the commercial scrolled across what will probably end up being one of the upcoming season’s more salacious moments, it showed the performers strutting out topless. But these are drag performers; they do not sport ‘real’ breasts (take the word ‘real’ as you like). So, why did the broadcasts pixilate/blur the nipples of these fake breasts? I have remarked before that the dreaded female nipple, the ass crack, etc. are still pixilated on network viewing, when indeed we can see through the blurring, see lots of the flesh real estate of those body parts actually, and, in the end, what the hell do the program makers and TV censors really think they are keeping from us?
Calculating your “steps” -Just go out for a walk already! Don’t make it a fitness craze or something you need to report on.
Providing an excuse where you were when I leave a message on your cell phone– You were on the toilet, taking another call, immersed in a bowl of pasta…maybe out getting your steps ‘in.’ I get it, we don’t always get the chance to take a call or call back immediately, same with texting. Just because you text or even email somebody and they don’t get back to you ASAP doesn’t mean they won’t, that they don’t like you anymore, or are involved in something dire. All this instant access has made us so impatient. Just chill, ok? And don’t worry about explaining to me where you were. I really don’t care. I barely care where I am most of the time.
The overuse of phrases and words like toxic, triggered, energy, my journey, transitioning, you’re being extra, etc.-All-too-easy spoken phrases or words applied all too often to somebody’s feelings about this or that fall into the ‘I-don’t-really-care-about-your-weak-kneed-reaction-to-this-or-that person-or-circumstance. Cut the person out of your life, don’t do that thing that bothers you; avoid, ignore, move on! Please, stop talking about the bad energy somebody brought into the room or how your ‘journey’ has led you to this or that place. What are you, a hippie?
Farm to table, plant-based-Just give me my meal already!
Worrying about AI-First of all, it is here, whatever the hell it is. We wanted this to be so, so it is so. What will come of it? I don’t care. AI is not going to stop me from writing, playing my guitar, singing, loving the people I love. Beyond that, let Chat GPT have the world. Have you seen the state of things lately? Who cares if we give it all over to the machines?
Keep Your Dog/Pet To Yourself-Be it more people simply not being able to handle their day alone, a left-over from being shut in during the pandemic, or the fact that they might indeed be man’s best friend (but really I am not just talking dogs here) did you know that US pet ownership has increased from 66% of households owning a pet from 56% ownership a mere four years earlier? What I rail against is how many dogs I see accompanying their owners (or maybe the dog is actual the dominant one?) into stores and even restaurants.
In our great state there are no laws that prevent animals from entering businesses, except for ones that serve food…and even then, back patios and porches of eateries can host dogs on leashes if the establishment’s owner allows it (not something I am thrilled with, but hey that’s the law) and if proper food prep protocols are adhered to. But dogs in Home Depot or Barnes and Noble? Why? First of all, the dog is not shopping; the owner is. Secondly, it’s hard enough negotiating crowds in a busy store. Having to worry about tripping over a pet is simply not needed.
Really, can’t you go out without your pooch at your side for a few hours?
Look, there’s plenty more than annoys me. How about all those supermarket bags (fodder for plenty of earlier blogs) I now house in my house? What happens to these things when I try to throw them away? Talk about landfill! I could go on and on. I am just hoping, but I know it won’t come to pass, that we all might grow a little more tolerant of each other and our personal opinions, a little more aware of those around us, and take a breath before we go off over some imagined slight (what they call small world problems) as this new year dawns.
But I don’t hold out much hope that any of us will be taking that kind of a journey.
Hey, Happy New Year everybody!
