2004, what can I say? It was the most stressful year of my life. Besides battling a plethora of physical maladies involving both myself and my mother, the added stress of a society divided by the lies and doublespeak of a leader both equally liked and disliked by the American populace turned this year into one I am glad to see go.
2004 also saw problems right here at crazedfanboy.com. From my own disagreements with other writers, which prompted my resignation after the re-election of Bush, to Message Board crashes and ultimately the crash of the web page itself. Could it be purely coincidence that PCR started having these technical difficulties after taking a more political and controversial bent? I picture g-men geeks sitting at their NSA computer terminals plotting on ways to bring down PCR.
In what was no surprise, Time magazine awarded person of the year to George W Bush. Personally, I was voting for Paris Hilton. With the release of an amateur porn video on the Internet she went from “Paris who?” to one of the major celebrity figures in our culture today. I dare you to pick up a magazine or watch celebrity TV without finding mention of this sexed up bimbo.
2004 saw people act shocked that manufactured pop stars like the other Simpson girl and Lindsay Lohan lip sync. In today’s modern studio with harmonizers and pitch shifters anyone can be a star. I happened to catch Kelly Clarkson on TV actually singing and I was wishing for a lip sync performance it was so bad. Kudos goes out to my favorite teen diva, Avril Lavigne, for performing on Regis and Kathy Lite, playing an acoustic guitar and singing. She can actually hit more than one octave. Imagine that.
Our sports heroes once again let us down, with the confirmation that performance-enhancing drugs were being used in baseball. Once again the American populace had its head in the sand and wanted to live in denial. Barry Bonds went from a hero to a bum overnight. California Uber Alles.
Hopefully 2005 will bring an American populace that can bring itself to stop living under the scare tactics of the current political regime and can start thinking for itself. Will it happen? I doubt it but I must have some hope that this country can move ahead. Despite how much of history Bush rewrites, these years are going down as the dark ages. Violence and political and religious divisiveness all over the world do not fare well for the health of mankind.
In the words of John Lennon, "All we are saying, Is Give Peace a Chance".
You can all go back to your soma now.
"Couch Potato Confessions" is ©2004 by Vinnie B. Couch Potato main graphic by Vin Blesi and Nolan Canova. Webpage design and all graphics herein (except where otherwise noted) are creations of Nolan B. Canova. All contents of Nolan's Pop Culture Review are ©2004 by Nolan B. Canova.
