My New Year's Resolution Is To Be Less Serious

Yes, it seems that 2012 is nigh upon us (yes, nigh is a word!). Where did the time go? This year, of course, is the one in which paranoid nutcases seem to think the Mayans predicted the end of the world (though the Mayans couldn't have predicted the coming of the Spanish for some reason, so it's not like they're the best future forecasters, right?)

End times were, of course, on the minds of many this past year, what with that quack Harold Camping predicting the apocalypse not once, but twice. Rumor has it Harry's now sedated up to his eyeballs. It's just as well. There'll be enough paranoid nuts disappointed come December 23rd, 2012, when they realize the world didn't come to an end two days before. It doesn't need more whacked out Camping predictions.

This time of year always brings out the best in the editorial cartoonists, who tend to convey the typical images of the old and new year as the old man and new child. And then mix in whatever political issue of the day. The following are some that I've gotten a laugh out of:

And so as 2011 heads towards its final hours here, we can look back at what's past us, and what's ahead. In America, 2012 will, of course, bring yet another election, though realistically, the campaign already started in 2009. It never ends, does it?

And 2012 continues to see the dark reign of the Lord of the Sith, Darth Harper, here in Canada (hi, Stevie!). We Canadians would like to apologize for the way this lunatic continues to disparage the fine reputation this country once had, and yes, we know, it'll take years to repair the damage he's gleefully doing to said reputation.

To all of my blog readers, I offer you my best wishes for the coming year. Don't drink too much of that bubbly champagne tonight, or you'll wake up with a hangover in the morning. Just remember... I warned you!

Happy New Year!

Farewell And Good Riddance To The Annoying Little Bastard

You may have seen this one coming. The annoying little bastard in question kicked the bucket a few days ago, and North Korea has been in state-enforced mourning ever since. A nominally communist nation which exists with cult-like devotion for a family of despots has lost its second leader since its founding, and the comedians and editorial cartoonists of the world have lost some good fodder for inspiration and punchlines. Yes, Kim Jong-Il is dead.

It's been a bad year for despots. In between getting ousted from power or a bullet in the head through the Middle East, it seems there's a run on tyrants these days. Maybe next year will see the end of other tyrants. Assad, your time is running out, and Hugo Chavez isn't looking too good these days. And dare I hope that something happens to end the reign of terror of one Stephen Harper? Please?

 Unfortunately Kim Jong Il, like his daddy before him, didn't get the justice he deserved (take your pick: 1. Final years in a prison cell 2. Bullet in the head 3. Infection with the Ebola virus 4. Dropped into a volcano). Instead he got to die in his sleep whilst his nation of "devoted subjects" (ie the masses of people he's ground beneath his feet) go out of their way to mourn.

 It's a bit of a strange twist of fate that we learned of his death on the same day as the death of a real world leader, a statesman in the finest sense of the word. Vaclav Havel, the dissident and Czech writer who helped bring down communism in Europe two decades ago, ascending to lead his nation twice, passed away. Now he was a man of principle and integrity. Isn't it just like a certain annoying little bastard to upstage him? 

And so the editorial cartoonists of the world have been busy in recent days saying farewell to the annoying little bastard with the weird hair. Not to mention saying hello to his replacement and son, the next generation of the Kim family to grind the people of North Korea under his boot. Here are some of the best...

A slightly different take on Kim's obituary follows:

Goodbye, Kimmy. As murderous a psychopath as you were, you were never dull....

Oh, and as you've already found out, they don't allow platform shoes in Hell.