2025 Predictions

“They took one of the rods out of the orb, and it gave me the strength of a dozen men.” – The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.

Or should that picture Ray Orb-ison?

Having broken the seal on the pondering orb I got for Christmas, I decided to give it a go and provide my best predictions for events that will occur in 2025, month by month.  Any errors are the problem of the orb, and anything accurate is purely by mistake

January:

Donald Trump is inaugurated in Washington, D.C., while dressed as an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh.  Immediately, Democrats file for impeachment.  AOC explains why:  “We think he’s running a pyramid scheme.”

Barron Trump is studying plumbing fixture design in college – I guess this makes him a pharaoh faucet major.

February:

In honor of the third anniversary of the three-day military operation in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin and former comedian Volodymyr Zelensky decide to open a series of dinner-theaters in the Czech Republic called “Put In on the Zitz” and thus averting World War III.  Germany becomes despondent, having planned on finally not getting picked last in a world war.

March:

WilderA.I.© announces a brand new A.I. that has achieved human-level self awareness, called Jimothy.  In order to prove a point, Jimothy wins a court case where he is judged, “much more human than a toaster, and can solve all sorts of quantum physics problems and stuff.”  Jimothy then applies to get an H-1B visa, but it is told it has to get in line behind 1.4 billion Indians that don’t like India.

Should I say sari about that last meme?

April:

Clarence Thomas replaces 90% of his body with machine parts, declares himself immortal and will only be addressed by the term, “RoboJudge, the Robed Wonder”.  He then displays a specially crafted gavel that shoots lightning into the eyes of lawyers who make arguments against the Second Amendment.  The gavel is only activated when Thomas says, “Infringe this, bitches!”

If Clarence Thomas was a Transformer™ instead of RoboJudge, would his name be Stoptimus Crime?

May:

Unable to contain himself any longer, Gavin Newsom expresses his undying love for Kim’s techniques in controlling Best Korea’s population.  They elope to Acapulco and are married in front of a mariachi band.

Will Kim Jong Un be followed by Kim Jong Deux?

June:

Facemasks again reappear as the “pentademic” of Duck Flu, Monkey Flu, Kitten Flu, Hamburger Flu, and Kung Flu appears.  People are most afraid of the Kung Flu, and flee the big cities, but the Kitten Flu supercharges the feline metabolism, increasing their speed by a factor of five.  I guess you could say that everyone was Kung Flu flighting, and that those cats were fast as lightning.  Fauci recommends everyone inject mRNA in their eyes.  Because.

Fauci found out he was allergic to cats, or perhaps he undercooked it.

July:

The month of July is cancelled as being “too damn hot” and is renamed “Second December” by climate activists that begin gluing themselves to Alec Baldwin’s face.  Greta Thunberg becomes concerned about Calendar Change and demands greater fossil fuel usage so that Second December doesn’t get in the way of her tanning sessions.

Greta has slowed electricity usage.  Every time she’s on TV I turn it off.

August:

Netflix™ releases a drama called the 6 Triple 9 about a group of gay, black, trans, disabled soldiers that saved World War II by putting salt packets in Army rations bound for the European theater so that the soldiers could season their food before being blown up.  “These are the real heroes of the war,” said Netflix© president Rachel Levine.  In a surprise move, all of the characters are played by white body builders covered in oil.

September:

Joe Biden announces that he’s finally gotten the Russians to agree to a peace deal with the Ukrainians.  Unfortunately, the negotiations were between his cat, Mr. Buttons, and his stuffed rabbit, Don Julio rather than Putin and Zelensky.

“Of course, you realize, um, that this means, what’s the thing, PEZ® in our time.”

October:

A UFO lands on the street in front of the most powerful institution in the world.  When the Federal Reserve® opens the doors, they end up buying the UFO and selling shares in the alien home planet to BlackRock©, who immediately begins importing illegal aliens to the actual aliens so the aliens can have someone to do the work that their genetically engineered slave species won’t.

Wait until he reads the fine print.

November:

Vivek Ramaswami loses his fortune after Elon pranks him into investing into FartCoin®.  He’s forced to work as a cashier at the local convenience store, doing the job that Americans won’t do.

The prom king and queen are buying beer because there’s no punch line.

December:

In a surprise move, Elon Musk lands on Mars with his latest spaceship, Musk One.  He took along as companions a crew entirely composed of Elon Musk clones.  He’s planning on eating a new food, Melon Musk, and has even made a female clone, Shelon Musk.  He’ll defend his colony with an Elon Muskett.

He’ll either go down in history as the colonizer of Mars, or the most creative serial killer in history.

Penultimate Day 2024, And Happy 2025

“Put it on the penultimate and not the dipthonic.” – Animal Crackers

The penultimate death at the end of Die Hard was the best one.  Hans down.

Penultimate Day.  This is a particular institution of the Wilder family.  It started over a decade or so ago.  The Mrs. was having problems with her Blackberry® phone (the one with the cool trackball) and wanted a new one.  I wasn’t working, and the closest place that sold phones with our carrier was 90 miles away.

So, we popped the kids in the car, and headed south to buy a phone.  We went to Best Buy®.  We ended up not buying the phone (the deal was awful) and decided to eat at Olive Garden™.  As I drove home, I decided to have fun with the kids, and told them that this was the Wilder holiday – one that no one else observed.  The day before New Year’s Eve would therefore be forever known to us as Penultimate Day.

The next year, we remembered, and did the exact same thing.

What are the rules of Penultimate Day?

  • Wait for December 30,
  • Drive 90 miles south,
  • Look at cell phones,
  • Under no circumstances whatsoever, buy a cell phone, and,
  • Have some Italian food a casual-dining chain.

While it’s not a tough holiday, we’ve missed one year entirely (2023) and only Pugsley and I celebrated on 2022.  Oh, yeah, and then there was COVID.

So, we try to observe it when we can.  This year we had to have several exceptions:

  • Wait for December 30 27,
  • Drive 90 miles south 120 miles to Modern Mount Pilot,
  • Look at cell phones,
  • Under no circumstances whatsoever, buy a cell phone, and,
  • Have some Italian food that incorporates pasta at a casual-dining chain

But, for the first time in years, all of us were there.  So, while we did keep it, we didn’t manage to keep it wholly, so I guess this doesn’t count as a wholly holiday.  The reason for the change is simple – life is complicated, where some people celebrate holidays like Christmas when everyone is available – many years my kids had multiple Christmas celebrations – one at home, on Christmas, and one or two with grandparents, so the practice isn’t all that unusual.

And as to the variations?  Well, when we were all available and had to be in Modern Mount Pilot, we just went for it.  I think we all had a good time.  The time, though, is very different than it was the dozen or so years ago when we started Penultimate Day.  Back then the kids were little.  Now, not so much.  I did the math in my head, and realized that by the time one of my kids is 10 or so, they’ve spent about half the days sleeping under my roof that they ever will in their lives.  The celebration was different – The Boy, The Mrs. and I shared a few beers and Pugsley drove, and the conversation was good, even in the crowded restaurant.

Time goes by very quickly.  Don’t wish even a minute or an hour away.  And don’t forget to enjoy the things and people that you have in your life.  Heaven is being grateful for what you have, Hell is being envious for what you don’t.

You can choose Heaven, and you can also still work to make it better.  I have more full-family Penultimate Days behind me than in front of me, and that’s okay.  I’ve had the ones that we’ve had, and hopefully we’ve made a memory or two and in fifty or so years, one of my children will look back on December 30 and smile at the thought of Penultimate Day.  But that’s their choice, and that’s for them in the world that they make.

As I write this, it’s still 2024 for me.  I’d say that I won’t miss 2024, but I still have plenty of memories from 2024 to look back on fondly.  Here, then is my wish that all of us have a wonderful and prosperous 2025.

Happy New Year!