Dear world,
Jimmy didn’t do it. He didn’t steal those billions of dollars. Trust me, I know. I am his grandmother and he was with me that whole week a couple of years ago because I had a sore throat and I needed love and attention. That and Jimmy’s special tea with honey. That usually cures any sore throat in just 24 hours. That time, however, it took me a whole week to get better.
NEW YORK – It was worth the hype. Just two days after its launch, “2012”, the latest version of Year, a life experience interface, has collected over seven billion users, making it the most popular Year in history.
Year has managed to add new users in most of its existing markets, a feat not many analysts thought was going to be possible. Also, while Year has dominated the global marketplace, it hasn’t always been embraced by the Chinese, leaving one of the biggest markets untapped, but “2012” seems to have broken that barrier.
The new Year is built on the same platform as the previous version, the “2011”, but users now can make slight modifications, such as opt for better nutritional and workout habits, a feature that the 2011 also initially had, but that disappeared mysteriously in early February in what is suspected to be an attack by the Anonymous.
Hockey’s pretty much a year-round sport these days. Finnish teams, for example, play their first exhibition games already in early August when the rest of the world is still at their barbecues. Today, the players seem to be in shape all the time, August or April, they’re no slackers, and the Mario Lemieux kind of training – “not ordering the fries with my sandwich” – has gone the way of the Bobby Hull toupee.
I’m with Mario, always have been, but still, summer always feels like a new chance to get in shape. I don’t seem to succeed, but every summer, I still try. I even do some of the old conditioning drills back from when I still could. And when nobody’s watching, I try to run up a tree. I always have to get at least three steps up the trunk to feel good about myself.
While I was never one of those guys who could visualize their dream car, their dream house, or their dream woman, I always knew that Rita Hayworth was the perfect woman. You may not agree with me, but in that case I will have to respectfully let you know that you’re wrong. And I will tell you why. Rita Hayworth was the perfect woman because he was the star of my Dad’s favorite movie – which I assume was his favorite because she was the star of it.
The movie is Gilda, a 1946 film about an Argentine illegal casino, its owner, his right-hand man, and Gilda, the perfect woman, and the owner’s new bride who appears to share a past with the right-hand man.
I’ve never understood why John Lennon would sing “another year over and a new one just begun” in a Christmas song. There’s still a week between Xmas and New Year’s and anything can happen.
For example, six years ago, Wife didn’t have any idea on Xmas Eve that a week later I’d propose to her.
Twelve years ago, we wished each other merry Xmas and a happy new year a couple of days before Xmas Eve because I spent that one in Finland, and wasn’t sure if I’d be back for her New Year’s party.
But I decided to come back because I wanted to be with her. That much I knew then, and that much I know now. Everything else has just happened.
The Best of 2011.
1. True Stories
» A loser never quits
2. Hockey
» Stefan Liv
3. Random
» No chicken
The Best of 2011, nummmbbbeeerrrrr 2. If, for any reason, the number one stories of 2011 can’t fullfill their duties during their reign, the first runner up will take over their places.
1. True Stories
» Mother
2. Hockey
» Jarda
3. Random
» It’s a small world
The Best of 2011, nummmbbbeeerrrrr 3:
1. True Stories
» Better than science, fiction
2. Hockey
» There’s that Valeri again
3. Random
» Princes of dorkness
And now – counting down the best stories of 2011 – number four:
1. True Stories
» Noteworthy
2. Hockey
» It’s all in the game
3. Random
» One unique idea
And here we go, counting down the best stories of 2011. Number five:
1. True Stories
» Secret admirer
2. Hockey
» The faceoff circle of life
3. Random
» The one in which he gets a prize
