Looking forward, and back ...
It's that time of the year again, folks
For many years, around this date, I used to publish predictions for the year to come. Today (December 30, 2022), I’m reviving that tradition.
As I have noted before (including in this video), predictions are relatively easy if you make them very broad. Getting it specifically correct is a challenge — and one that has evaded even the best-known seers in the business.
For example, the predictions of Nostradamus are either regularly re-purposed or only truly understood after the events to which they allegedly refer.
Keep that in mind as you read my collection of predictions. Several have a very chance of being correct, but one or two are a tad risky. If I achieve a 75-per-cent success rate, I’ll do it all again this time next year.
MY PREDICTIONS
+ A well-known political figure, once a major power-broker on the world stage, will die.
+ An international brand will distance itself from a celebrity it sponsors over remarks made on social media.
+ Somewhere in the world, housing prices will collapse, although they will continue to rise elsewhere.
+ A music star will emerge from nowhere, have immediate success with one release, and never reach that level of fame again.
+ There will be a major upset in an international sporting competition.
+ A movie that creates a lot of pre-release buzz will disappoint at the box-office and/or in streaming.
+ Elon Musk will attract controversy and face a setback in one of his high-profile ventures.
+ The music industry will mourn both a huge 1960s pop idol and a rising star who will die in tragic circumstances.
+ A popular uprising will succeed in removing an unpopular leader, but it will not achieve all its stated goals.
+ Donald Trump will face setbacks that make a run for the presidency in 2024 highly unlikely id not impossible.
+ Bad deeds will continue to go unpunished.
EVER ONWARD
It’s no secret to those who know me, or have been paying attention, that I had a pretty sh-tty 2022.
There were some wonderful highlights, of course, but also a deflating episode that I can’t really write about because it has not yet been fully resolved.
In any case, I’m going to go out on a limb for this one prediction: that 2023 will be a better year for me.
And for you, too, I hope.
MONKEY BUSINESS
And finally … Despite the best intentions of some activists, greyhound racing is still a thing. But I bet you don’t remember when the dogs had monkey jockeys.
Apparently, such novelty races occurred in Australia (including in Brisbane) up until the 1950s. As this picture — probably taken in Florida, USA, in the 1920s or 1930s — shows, it wasn’t just confined to Australia.
If you’re interested in the subject, there’s some more information here. There is also a Facebook group called “Bring back the monkey jockeys”, but it hasn’t seen a post since 2009 and has only three members.