From one of the most wickedly funny gals on the blogosphere, Diann Russell of All the Right Snark has for the second year in a row, compiled a list of the 10 Most Tiresome People of 2014.
Diann's photoshopped images are among the most "shared" on Facebook and in email blasts. And her wit? Well, you'll just have to see for yourself!
Here are her picks for 2014, accompanied with her reasons. And because you've enjoyed her take on 2014, here's a look back at her 2013 list of tiresome people.
Best of 2014
Do you like seeing what made the "Best of" lists for 2014? It's a fascinating way to gauge where society's collective heads are. For example, here are the top read news stories for 2014 at USA Today:
1. The grand jury makes a decision about officer Darren Wilson in the Ferguson death of Michael Brown.
2. The death of a comedic genius Robin Williams.
3. Jews told they must register with government in Ukraine trick infuriates the world.
Google produced a video highlighting the top searches of the year on a page that links to the top search trends, asking, "In 2014 we searched trillions of times. What do these searches say about us? Explore the Year in Search http://www.google.com/2014 and follow the conversation on #YearInSearch."
YouTube videos you viewed the most:
1. Mutant Giant Spider Dog
2. Nike Football: Winner Stays
3. FIRST KISS
TIME magazine featured several lists, including:
2014 Top Movies:
1. The Grand Budapest Hotel
2. Boyhood
3. The Lego Movie
Top TV shows:
1. Transparent
2. The Americans
3. The Good Wife
Top Fiction Books
1. The Secret Place, Tana French
2. The Bone Clocks, David Mitchell
3. The Zone of Interest, Martin Amis
Top Non-Fiction Books
1. Soldier Girls: The Battles of Three Women at Home and at War, Helen Thorpe
2. Thrown, Kerry Howley
3. What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions, Randall Munroe
And finally, what were the top headlines of the year on the Drudge Report?
According to National Journal, Quantcast reports that the Drudge Report sees a steady stream of more than 2 million unique visitors daily: "National Journal's product manager and all-around techno-wizard J. Argyl Plath wrote script to pull all the headlines from DrudgeReportArchives.com for the year (for this list, it's Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 15) and then ranked the popularity of the terms in those headlines."
Email security
Came across an article at the Daily Dot titled "How to encrypt your email the easy way." You might want to read it and see if it's for you.
Block their shot!
The Daily Telegraph wrote, "IDIOT do-gooders are faking roadside incidents to block mobile speed cameras from nabbing speeding drivers at some of the state’s worst accident blackspots in an illegal social media campaign that is putting lives at risk."
A Facebook page has been established to provide a social media venue for Brits who resent being surveilled by traffic cameras. Joiners are invited to photograph themselves blocking any one of 45 mobile surveillance cameras' view, and upload the snapshot to the Facebook page.
It's just another way ordinary citizens are using social media to get their voices heard and pressure elected officials.
The human side of the Revolution
I've been reading about the toll the 1775 British siege of Boston brought on those who lived in that city. Personal letters from Paul Revere, John Adams and others in the lead-up to the shot heard 'round the world lift the curtain on the worry, stress and stomach-wrenching panic of those days.
It is nail biting and very interesting to read in their own hand what it was like for these Massachusetts Bay colonists when tensions peaked at the onset of the Revolutionary War. I was especially fascinated by the accounts of Samuel Adams, John Andrews and from a woman's perspective Sarah Winslow Deming, who was left to fend for herself when her husband joined the militia.
From the collection at the Massachusetts Historical Society, these first-hand experiences are recounted in 25 manuscripts (approximately 300 pages of letters, diaries, and documents from the MHS collections) and "give the human side of the American Revolution, a perspective often overlooked in histories that describe the siege as a series of military events."
More than a dozen accounts are written by everyday people like ourselves who were personally engaged in or affected by the siege.
Here's the link if you're interested in reading of the terrifying exodus out of Boston, stories of men, women and children running for their lives with only the clothes on their back and what little they could carry in their hands, while others stayed behind in horrible conditions to protect their property and earthly goods from the marauding Brits.
Ode to Joy!
A reader emailed over the New Year holiday: "As crazy as this world can sometimes be... it's still an awesome adventure. Happy New Year!"
Attached to the greeting was a video of Ana Rucner, a Croatian cellist who has performed the world over. Her style is unique and exhilarating. Watch her perform Beethoven's Ode to Joy to hear and see for yourself. Expect to be surprised. And a happy new year to all!