2006 in review

Here's a quick review of what happened in the year 2006 C.E. Sources: Wikipedia, news from the radio, TV, Internet, newspaper, and magazines

Personal Life
I've been improving at school in terms of my grades and social activity. However, my school disgraced itself with its pathetic Homecoming in 20 October, with a theme of games, and that theme just sucks, no questions asked! Thus, I planned on running for ASB President, but dropped out around 8 December because I wanted to wait till the Battle of the Classes in March to strenthen or destroy my run for Class of 2009 President, or other office position, or to join leadership. In the summer, I attended a summer enrichment prgram in Lawson Middle School in Cupertino, taking classes in writing, debate, and basketball. I got to meet some of the Asian kids who lived in the other side of the South Bay, and realised that they were practically smarter then the Asian kids in my side of the South Bay. Also, they did follow the mass media and shop at fashion store like Hollister, Abnercrombie and Fitch, you name it! Later, in August, I vacation to the Northwest USA, peaking up to Seattle and riding up the Space Needle. Other vacations were in late November to Southern California (Los Angeles & San Diego) and northern Baja California, Mexico (Tijuana & Ensenada) and late December, just last week, to the mountainous southwest USA (including the nat'l parks of northern Arizona, southern Utah, and Las Vegas). When sophomore year began, I met cool new students in EVHS, especialy in my Algebra 2 and English classes. I suppose I'm becoming more popular at school, as I was the one who got the most stainding ovation at the Hip-hop club performance at schol on 15 December. Gee whiz, I must've killed everyone's expactation's, even though I think I sdcrewd up a bit. Still, I'm trying to improve my relationship with this one girl at school (NO NAME MENTIONED DUE TO PRIVACY!!!) 2006 was also the year I patrnoised the underground, nonconformist music world, as opposed to the popular MTV music world, as you've read in my previous-previous blog entry like last-last week. Technologically speaking, in the summer I began using Windows XP at home for the first time, as I'd ben using Windows ME from 2001 to June 2006, and in the winter, I started FireFox over Internet Explorer.

News - if you're not interested, skip this section if you like to be the ignorant closed-minded fool you already are, or read it to open your mind.
Violence continues in Iraq, causing thousands and hundreds of deaths of civilians and soldiers of Iraq and America and other countries of the world, so President Bush creates a new plan to pull our troops outta Iraq, maybe it's gonna fail, given how incompetent Bush was since day One of his presidency. Also, on 11 February, VP Dick Cheney becomes a d**k by accidnetally shooting friend Harry Whittington in the face in hunting trip in Texas ranch, thankfully he's alive, so Cheney doesn't get booted from office or whatever. It could've helped if he did kill Whittington and get in trouble. Grr, Mr Cheney and Mr Bush = the douche bag forces of America. Oh yeah, meanwhile violence continues in Israel and Palistine. Come 19 April, Han Myung-sook becomes the first female Prime Minister of South Korea. Gee whiz, Hilary Clinton, you've got an ally by your side now. On 27 May, Russia keeps homophobic, with a protest for the so-called "homosexual" sci-fi underground cult to get civil rights in Moscow broken up. Now, it's summertime! Tuesday, 6 June, was the "day of the devil", as the informal notation for that day this year was 06/06/2006! 666 - get it? On 29 June, women get to vote for the first time in Kuwait. 1 July: The railway line between Qinghai and Xizang provinces in China opens. But four days' later, North Korea fires 7 nuclear missile! By the end of July, we see Cuban dictator Fidel Castro surrendre power the first time in like 50 years to his younger brother Raul, as Sr. Castro needs surgery inmediatamente, por favor. On 10 August, come a fake British terror plot that gets 21 knuckleheads arrested. The next day ends the Israel-Lebanon conflict that's been going on all summer. Fall comes, and on 7 September, the Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport in Taipei, Taiwan gets renamed to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, to remove the reference to this evil closed-minded dictator. Five day's later, Pope Benedict XVI gives lecture in Germany that link the Islam religion with violence, sparking portests within the Muslim world. Later in the month and enterting October comes some school shootings remininscent of Columbine, in Colorado and two other high school in the USA. In November's election day on the 7th, Phil Angelides loses governor California race to (gag) Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Governator who screwed up California big time from 2003-06! Three more years of his torture! Grr!! But the good news nationwide was that the Democrats took back office for the first time since 1992! HAIL DEMOCRATS! By the end of November, America was relieved at a weaker hurricane season, as no hurricanes hit the United States of America, just some Tropical Storms and Depressions. Compare THAT with the 2005 seasson, ESPECIALLY HURRICANE KATRINA!!!! Also at the end of the month we don't need to hear of stupid old O.J. Simpson anymore, as his book and TV series' If I Did It were canceled at request of his victims and there families. Finally we hit December, with deaths of Gerald Ford and Saddam Hussein and James Brown.

Deaths
- 6 March - Kirby Puckett (baseball player, Minnesota Twins)
- 11 April - DeShaun "Proof" Holton (rapper of D12)
- 2 May - Louis Rukeyser (American TV host of Wall Street Week)
- 7 June - Abu Masid Al-Zarqawi (fmr leader of Al-Qaeda)
- 9 November - Ed Bradley (CBS News)
- 23 November - Alex Litvanenko (Russian KGB spy, radiatino)
- 25 December - James Brown (R&B singer)
- 26 December - Gerald Ford (38th US President)
- 30 December - Saddam Hussein (fmr dictator of Iraq, hanging)

Weather
Gee whiz, what a hot year for the world, as it was perhaps the hottest year on record since 1850, with a five-day heat wave from 22 to 26 July in San Jose, tempertures above 100 degrees all five day's.

Sports
Here were the champions of 2006 in all my favourite sports leagues.
MLB (Baseball) - St Louis Cardinals
NBA (basketball) - Miami Heat
NFL (football) - Pittsburgh Steelers
NHL (hockey) - Carolina Hurricanes
2006 winter olympics in Turin, Italy - Germany wins 29 medals, leading the medal rank

Music
Gee whiz, as the posers and preps of America listened to emo punk and dance-pop and crunk&B rap, I dove to the underground and banged to alternative/underground hip-hop and heavy metal. Here were the best and worst CD's of 2006:
Best:
- AFI - Decemberunderground
- Alice in Chains - The Essential Alice in Chains
- Black Label Society - Shot to Hell
- The Game - The Doctor's Advocate
- Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
- Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
- Godsmack - IV
- Hatebreed - Supremacy
- Ice Cube - Laugh Now, Cry Later
- In Flames - Come Clarity
- Iron Maiden - A Matter of Life or Death
- Jay-Z - Kingdom Come
- John Legend - Once Again
- Killswitch Engage - As Daylight Dies
- Lacuna Coil - Karmacode
- Lamb of God - Sacrament
- Matisyahu - Youth
- MTV2 Headbangers Ball: The Revenge (various artists)
- My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade
- Nas - Hip-Hop is Dead
- Shadows Fall - Fallout From the War
- Slayer - Christ Illusion
- Snoop Dogg - Tha Blue Carpet Treatment
- Stone Sour - Come What(ever) May
- Tool - 10,000 Days
- U2 - 18 Singles
- The Who - Endless Wire
Worst:
- Agoraphobic Nosebleed - PCP Torpedo/ANbRX
- Akon - Konvicted
- Angels & Airwaves - We Don't Need to Whisper
- BarlowGirl - Another Journal Entry
- Beyonce - B'Day
- Birdman & Lil' Wayne - Like Father Like Son
- Bow Wow - The Price of Fame
- Breaking Benjamin - Phobia
- Bubba Sparxxx - The Charm
- Cannibal Corpse - Kill
- Cherish - Unappreciated
- Chingy - Hoodstar
- Christina Aguilera - Back to Basics
- Christina Millian - So Amazin
- Ciara - The Evolution
- Danity Kane - Danity Kane
- Deicide - The Stench of Redemption
- Dem Franchize Boyz - On Top Of Our Game
- Diddy - Press Play
- Dragonforce - Unhuman Rampage
- E-40 - My Ghetto Report Card
- Evanescence - The Open Door
- Fergie - The Dutchess
- hellogoodbye - Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!
- Jessica Simpson - A Public Affair
- Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds
- Juvenile - Reality Check
- Kevin Federline - Playing With Fire
- Kutless - Hearts of the Innocent
- Lil Scrappy - Born 2 Die Bred 2 Live
- LL Cool J - Todd Smith
- Ludacris - Release Therapy
- Nelly Furtado - Loose
- Ne-Yo - In My Own Words
- Nick Lachey - What's Left of Me
- Paris Hilton - Paris
- Pink - I'm Not Dead
- Pitbull - El Mariel
- +44 - When Your Heart Stops Beating
- P.O.D. - Testify
- Rick Ross - Port of Miami
- Rihanna - A Girl Like Me
- Trivium - The Crusade
- Yellowcard - Lights & Sounds
- Ying Yang Twins - Chemically Imbalanced
- Young Jeezy - Thug Motivation: The Inspiration
- Yung Joc - New Joc City
Haven't really heard yet in 2006 but want to:
- All That Remains - The Fall of Ideals
- Bob Dylan - Modern Times
- Deftones - Saturday Night Wrist
- Eminem, et al - The Re-Up
- Fat Joe - Me, Myself, & I
- Incubus - Light Grenades
- lostprophets - Liberation Transmission
- Lyfe Jennings - The Phoenix
- Powerman 5000 - Destroy What You Enjoy
- Rise Against - The Sufferer and the Witness
- Switchfoot - Oh Gravity
- T.I. - King
- Tom Petty - Highway Companion
- Trick Daddy - Back By Thug Demand
- Tupac - Pac's Life
- Unearth - III: In the Eyes of Fire

Overall
2006 was perhaps the best year in my life as I speak. I can't wait till 2007, when I turn 16, take the SAT, take AP Calculus BC, get my girl, I'll name more later!!! In the meantime, everyone have a happy new year, and please don't get in a car where someone's been drinking, as I don't want to find anyone I know missing by January.