Welcome 2016. God that sounds so…Bladerunner. I put together random facts about the here and now to look back on.

The state of Kauai, with its tiny population of 70,000 people, is the last place on Earth to ring in the new year. I just spent a week there with my family, and extended family. I’ve got Aloha on the brain.

 

California is in a drought. For the first time in history people have been mandated to stop watering their lawns or receive a fine. While I write today we are in the midst of (hopefully) our first deluge of many rainstorms from our little buddy El Nino –bienvenidos mijito!

We launch into a presidential voting year. Republican hopefuls currently consist of a white, billionaire egomaniac and a black, non-politician with a God-complex. I’m totally not judging. Democratic hopeful is…well, a woman. Yep, you know who has my vote. And we will say goodbye to our history-making (and beloved to many) first black president.

The Gun Control Battle. The US continues to have terrible tragedies with repeated mass shootings here in the homeland. There’s little rhyme or reason to the murderers, aside from being able to easily access guns. As I write, Pres. Obama is trying to work with congress to manage this war against (ourselves, ahem, NRA). Abroad, the world descends on Isis as the terrorist group attacks Paris, and calls for broader and random attacks everywhere. And still, we won’t be terrified.

And speaking of fighting the Dark Side…

The Force Awakens. The first Star Wars movie in a decade. As of this moment, it has generated $1.6 billion worldwide. November and December had a huge amount of hype, and Facebook feeds everywhere were stuffed with images of people dressed up and heading to the theater. My theory is the film meant most to my generation (40-50 somethings) and to our kids (5-10 year olds). Mostly because episodes 4,5 and 6 were terrible, so a few generations in between missed the boat. Not their fault. But with two more Star Wars coming out, maybe their kids will get into the franchise.