RIP, John Young

We lost a great astronaut today in John Young (1930 - 2018).

Young went into space six times, and was one of only 12 men in history to have walked on the moon.

Those alone are some huge accomplishments, yet his most distinguishing accomplishment might have been when he commanded the first space shuttle mission in 1981.

His Wikepedia page also said this of young:

He was the only person to have piloted, and been commander of, four different classes of spacecraft: Gemini, the Apollo Command/Service Module, the Apollo Lunar Module, and the Space Shuttle.

Impressive credentials!

Young had been with NASA for 42 years when he retired in 2004!

He was 87 years old.

2017-18 NFL Playoff Predictions



Image courtesy of marada's Flickr page - Pro Football Hall of Fame: https://www.flickr.com/photos/marada/18349271420/in/photolist-s9jx2h-6WanDm-88EBAf-88EBFW-6Wakz7-6WamJ3-6WavG5-6Wapgd-7AA2Cj-eZaZFx-tXsP7C-ucHyh9-5V94An-8qJEgH-744DSK-ofEBCj-7ZjcnY-4qX6xk

Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/

Usually, I do this a bit earlier, well before the first kick-off is in play, let alone while a game is wrapping up, as the Chiefs-Titans game is doing now. It is still the fourth quarter, but the Titans have come roaring back from a 21-3 halftime deficit, and closed to within 21-17.

I picked the Chiefs, and even though it seems that KC finds a way to choke during each postseason, I will still stick with my pick of them beating Tennessee in this Wild Card game, although admittedly, the rally by Tennessee is making me a bit nervous about the pick.

But what about beyond that?

 

Well, I made my predictions for the season before the year began. I predicted that the Panthers would rebound, which they did, but not quite as strongly as I expected. In fact, I had them winning the NFC, but frankly, the way that they have been playing lately, I would not put money on them surviving this Wildcard weekend.

 

So, who will take it?

 

Well, let me once again go and make my predictions for each remaining game:

 

Wildcard - Chiefs defeat Titans, Atlanta defeat L.A. Rams, Jacksonville defeats Buffalo, New Orleans defeats Carolina.

 

 

Divisional Round: New England defeats Kansas City, Pittsburgh defeats Jacksonville, Minnesota defeats New Orleans, Atlanta defeats Philadelphia

 

Championship Games: New England defeats Pittsburgh, Minnesota defeats Atlanta

 

And my Super Bowl pick:

 

Super Bowl LII: New England defeats Minnesota

 

Yup, I'm sticking with my original pick from before the season began, because New England still looks like the best team in the league, once again. Still have not seen anything that makes me believe that New England will not raise that trophy again at season's end.



NFL 2017-18 Wildcard Weekend Preview

Saturday Games:

AFC: 

Tennessee Titans

vs.

Kansas City Chiefs

Tennessee Titans (9-7) at Kansas City Chiefs (10-6) - The first game on tap this weekend features the visiting Tennessee Titans visiting Arrowhead Stadium to take on the Chiefs. The Chiefs are pretty solidly favored to win this one. Remember when KC dominated the Patriots in the season opener, and followed that up with a mighty impressive 5-0 start? Well, that was a long time ago. The Chiefs wound up losing six of seven games at one stretch, and looked in serious jeopardy of actually losing the division race and missing the playoffs. But they rebounded in a big way, and just in the nick of time, as they won their final four games to clinch the AFC West title, which is how they earned this home game against the Titans. So, the main question seems to be which Chiefs team will show up? Will it be the impressive version, the one that started off 5-0, beating the Patriots up in New England, and finished with four straight wins? Or will it be the more troubled version, the one that struggled on offense, and went 1-6 in the middle of the season? The Titans qualified for the playoffs, but just barely, and have not looked particularly impressive in over one month. They lack the experience and, frankly, the talent, to just beat the Chiefs in Arrowhead. So, it seems like it really is up to KC to get the job done here. And the way that they have been playing leads me to believe that they will in fact get the job done, and earn a playoff win this Wildcard weekend. Whether or not they have what it takes to keep winning, that is another question, but they should have enough to get past the Titans. My pick: Kansas City

NFC: 

Atlanta Falcons

vs.

Los Angeles Rams

Atlanta Falcons (11-5) at Los Angeles Rams (11-5) - The Rams are favored to win this one. However, the Falcons have been pretty good on the road, and they really ended the season on a hot note. That could mean that home field advantage does not work out too well for Los Angeles. Yet, the Rams have a solid offense. They can run, and they can pass. On defense, they could be vulnerable against the run, and the Falcons might be able to take advantage there. Their passing defense is decent, but can they contain Atlanta's potent passing offense, especially if they are on? These two teams did not meet this season. They did meet last season, with the Falcons tearing the Rams up, 42-14, but both teams were in a very different place at that point. For some reason, I have a feeling that the Falcons produce the upset in this one, largely die to the invariable. The Falcons have more playoff experience, and tend to play well in the big games, which goes with the superior experience. The Rams should be well rested, but Atlanta has had their backs against the wall throughout the season, and they won six of their last eight games. That gives me the feeling that they should come out on top in this one. My pick: Atlanta

Sunday Games

AFC: 

Buffalo Bills 

 vs.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Buffalo Bills (9-7) at Jacksonville Jaguars (10-6) - The second AFC Wildcard game on tap this weekend will feature the Buffalo Bills at the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jacksonville are pretty heavy favorite to win this particular contest. Yet, I believe that the Bills have a chance at pulling off a major upset here. First of all, Florida is experiencing uncharacteristically cold weather, but obviously, the Bills are more used to it. That may or may not be a factor, but bad weather would seem to favor the Bills. The Jaguars have been particularly effective running the ball, while Buffalo's defense against the run was relatively weak. That could be a real problem for the Bills, especially if Jax takes a sizable lead early. why? Because the Jaguars have a great defense against the pass, while the Bills rated very poorly as a passing offense. Those times this season when the Jaguars blew out opponents, they were able to use that combination of solid running game and tough defense against the pass to great effect. The Bills are not a great offensive team, so they need to hold the Jaguars offense, keep them in check, and keep this game close. If they do that, they will give themselves a real shot. However, the Jaguars won the division title for a reason. My guess is that they show why in this game. My pick: Jacksonville

NFC:

Carolina Panthers 

vs.

New Orleans Saints

Carolina Panthers (11-5) at New Orleans Saints (11-5) - New Orleans is favored to win a third game against Carolina in this one, even though winning three times against the same team in one season is historically rare. Both of these teams have solid run games, but the Saints enjoy a very dangerous pass offense, as well. The Saints offense is very good, rated just under the New England Patriots overall. Much of their strength was with their running game, but the Panthers have a solid run defense. If the Saints need to rely on their passing game more heavily, that should not be a problem. They have Drew Brees, after all. New Orleans statistically has a middle of the pack defense, although at times, they have played extremely well. There are other variables, as well. The Saints swept the Panthers, winning both of those earlier season meetings. But that was when the Panthers did not have Greg Olsen, who could prove to be a big factor. However, the Panthers looked not just bad last weekend, but truly awful. They bore almost no resemblance to a playoff team, frankly. Cam Newton still adds a dimension of extra mobility and unpredictability to Carolina's offense, but that was not a deciding factor against New Orleans in those other games, or in last week's humbling loss at Atlanta. The Saints were able to put up a decent amount of points in the two previous meetings, and with home field advantage and a more complete offense, I see no reason why they cannot do that again in this game. They should have enough to get past the Panthers in this one. My pick; New Orleans

Don't Like "The Last Jedi?" You Might be a Nazi

About fifteen years ago, I made a big mistake in feeling that there were comparisons to be made between Hitler and George W. Bush. What I saw was a leader who was frustrating me and manipulating the masses, gearing them up for an illegal and immoral invasion of another nation. That felt a bit like Hitler. This man was beginning to juggle with the possibility of allowing forms of torture, and he had opened up some concentration camps, and again, this felt to me a bit like Hitler. Bush had passed the PATRIOT Act, which reduced American freedoms, and he wanted to pass the PATRIOT Act 2, which would have attacked freedoms even more, even making it lawful for the government to revoke citizenship from Americans that it deemed criticized the government too much (and this really was one of the clauses in the proposed but never passed PATRIOT Act 2), and Bush also suggested that Americans had too much freedom. All of these things felt to me a bit like what Hitler had done.

However, Hitler was a maniac on an epic scale, so much so that he is still not only remembered today, but held up as probably the standard for just how much damage truly awful leaders can do. And the things that Hitler did went much, much farther than what Bush had done. This was a man who outright vilified Jews, and eventually set up literally death camps to kill them by the millions. He literally tried to exterminate an entire race of people, he took over a whole bunch of countries so that the master race Germans might have more "Lebensraum" (German for living space), and subjugated millions of people to de facto slavery, because they were not privileged members of his master race. Tens of millions of people on all sides, as well as civilians, died in Europe as a result of the war that Hitler started. The Nazis made a point of torturing innocent people, as well as political opponents, and he even allowed doctors to experiment on some of these people in truly sickening ways. 

So no, there was no real comparison between Hitler and Bush, and I found myself disgusted at my own knee jerk comparison, vowing never to make such easy and unthinking assumptions like that again. It was one thing to disagree, even strongly disagree, with Bush and company's policies. It is quite another to label them literally as Nazis. As bad as they were, they were not quite on that level.

Now, I try to proceed with more caution.

The utter absurdity of making Hitler comparisons became even clearer to me a few years later, when President Obama took over. He tried to make healthcare reforms, of course, and also of course, there were protests. I remember seeing on the news on image of a protester who had slapped a Hitler mustache on an image of Obama, and that felt just utterly outrageous! I mean, think what you will, but here's the thing: Hitler and the Nazis main focus was on racial purity. I mean, do you seriously think that Barack Obama, who many conservatives made such a point of reminding everyone was not white, would subscribe to Hitler's viewpoints on anything?

Yet, it is not only conservative anti-Obama activists who are guilty these days of making comparisons to Hitler. In an article that felt almost like a parody of everyone's worst fears of the excesses of humorless political correctness, there is an article out that appears to be suggesting that people (presumably white males in particular, such as myself) who really did not like the new Star Wars movie are, for all intents and purposes, sympathetic to Nazis!

Honestly, you can't make this stuff up!

There are six reasons stated by this author. Seriously, this is how the first sentence for Reason number 1 begins:

TLJ is not as Nazi-friendly as the original trilogy, which had an all-white team of good guys.

Almost as an afterthought, at the very end of the article, after five very lengthy and highly politically and racially charged reasons as to why I might not have liked this Star Wars movie, it finally suggests that maybe, I just was not into it.

Of course, even the author of this article admits that the depiction of the bad guys in these new movies tends to be "very nazi-esque," Yet, the author has an answer for this, suggesting that "you can’t deny that Hitler would have preferred to break bread with the rebels of the original series than with any of the good guys in The Last Jedi."

So, I did something rare, and left a comment with this article (which is still under review at the moment, as I write this). Here is what I wrote (all in one paragraph):

I used to compare George W. Bush to Hitler back during the whole Iraq invasion chapter, until the realization dawned on me that Hitler went to extraordinary lengths to literally try and exterminate a whole race of people, and killed millions of other people because of the European war that he started, which far surpasses what Bush did. Don't get me wrong, I still view Bush and his administration as war criminals. However, since then, I saw anti-Obama protesters slap a Hitler mustache on an image of Obama, which seemed utterly absurd to me. And as horrible as Trump is, he has not (at least not yet) done anything remotely comparable to what Hitler was responsible for. So, for the author of this article, who's name I could not find anywhere (don’t want to attach your name to such nonsense, I suppose) to literally suggest that Nazi sympathies are the reasons that you don’t like the new Star Wars, with almost an aside (Reason # 6 – the last reason stated) being simply that you just might not be into this movie? This is the kind of divisiveness that is the problem in this country. Yes, obviously racist attitudes linger, and it is a huge problem, and I understand that racism surely helped get Trump into the Oval Office. Since then, he has pushed his racist views on the country, and racism seems to have thrived under Trump. But to compare racist leanings with fanatical beliefs in racial purity, to the point that death camps were set up to kill literally millions of people? Such drivel! Who the hell are you to suggest that people who don’t like the latest science fiction box office smash basically only dislike it because they sympathize with Nazi war criminals? Really? I have written for publications before and know that they usually do not pay much, if anything. But if you make any money at all on this article (which hopefully, you won’t, because it would be totally undeserved), then maybe you should use that money and go buy yourself some perspective! What a piece of trash this article is!

The real reasons you hated The Last Jedi

http://www.actionofmind.com/reasons-you-hated-last-jedi/

Record Cold Temperatures Being Experienced Throughout Much of the United States

I kind of rushed out of my job this morning, because there is only one hour or so in between jobs, and I like to make that time count. So, I went out into the cold without gloves. My right hand was tucked into a coat pocket, but my left was carrying some stuff.

It is maybe a quarter of a mile walk from my building to the parking garage, yet during that brief walk of maybe three or four minutes, my hand was in pain, and it took quite a while to stop hurting. Probably around ten minutes, and even twenty or so minutes later, the tip of one finger still felt strange, almost numb.

All of it went away, but that is an example of how brutally frigid it is outside. We already got more snow than usual here in the northeast for December (five measurable snowfalls in northwestern Jersey to this point, with more expected tomorrow). Now, the brutally low temperatures and wind chill are adding to the misery of what has so far been an unusually bad winter season, with temperatures that have been hovering well below normal.

It has been incredibly cold in recent weeks in the northern half of the United States. 

How cold?

Well, when midnight came on the 1st just a couple of days ago, New Jersey (where I live) experienced the coldest New Year's Day on record. There were warnings that even a mere 30 minutes outside with exposed skin could create frostbite conditions! Wind chill factors made it feel even colder than the temperatures suggested.

And that was just New Jersey! Record cold temperatures were also recorded in various other parts of the country, including Chicago. When the ball dropped in Time's Square in New York City, it was the second coldest on record, and the coldest in over a century. And these are cold weather regions, where cold temperatures during winter months are not exactly strange. But the seriousness of this cold is making headlines, perhaps especially for how early in the winter this cold stretch is coming.

The story is much the same from New England, through the mid-Atlantic states, and across much of the Midwest, and even throughout much of the South. In fact, even Florida and southern Georgia are experiencing below freezing temperatures, and measurable snow is expected to fall there, and all across the East Coast tomorrow. Parts of New England, particularly along the coast of Maine, are expecting up to a foot of snow. 

Yes, this is unusual. We remember the Polar Vortex from a few years ago, when temperatures were even colder. But those patches of days did not last as long as this period has, as we have seen below freezing temperatures in the greater New York metropolitan area now since well before Christmas. 

And so, it seemed timely to add some links to articles about the cold. The first is an article about how to gauge when the cold is starting to reach dangerous levels, and when you just should not really go outside more than you absolutely have to. And the second link is how the East Coast is perhaps being hit by something called the "Bomb Cyclone," which I had admittedly never heard of before. If I understand right, the cold temperatures are expected to at least continue for some time, if not get worse!

How to gauge when it's too dangerously cold to go outside by Hilary Brueck, January 2, 2018:

http://www.businessinsider.com/when-is-it-too-cold-to-go-outside-2018-1

The East Coast Is About To Get Hit by a “Bomb Cyclone” And you thought last week was cold? ROWAN WALRATHJAN. 2, 2018:

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2018/01/the-east-coast-is-about-to-get-hit-by-a-bomb-cyclone/#

NFL 2017 - 2018 Week 17 Review

New England 26, N.Y. Jets 6 - The Patriots took care of business, getting the job done in the regular season finale with a home win against the Jets. It was not a glorious day, not one that will forever live in the memory of Patriots fans. Yet, it was an important win, as this team's win allows them to officially clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs, which is what they might need to make another Super Bowl run. The last two times that they had home field advantage throughout, they not only made it to the big game, but won it, too. As for the Jets, another disappointing season, and a lot of uncertainty and unanswered questions are left, with a long offseason now begins to begin addressing them. My pick: Accurate

Pittsburgh 28, Cleveland 24 - They tried desperately to avoid it,  but the Browns lost this final game of the regular season.  That means that Cleveland becomes only the second NFL team to have gone winless for an entire 16-game regular season. The season began for the Browns with a close but no cigar loss to the Steelers, and it seemed at the time to suggest that this team had made some serious improvements. I'll admit to thinking that, at the time. But since then, they have been involved with close games, with blow outs, and with games that were in between. The one common factor in all of them was that Cleveland was on the short end, every single time. In the past two seasons combined, the Browns went 1-31, which is a record low in terms of winning percentage for two consecutive seasons in the NFL. Let's hope that all of those high draft picks that they have received in recent seasons begins to yield more positive results in the near future, because the city of Cleveland could use some breaks. For the Steelers, they now get a week bye for the playoffs, before they play again in a couple of week. My pick: Accurate

Buffalo 22, Miami 16 - The Bills dominated most of this game, yet flirted with letting it slip away towards the end - and with it, their playoff chances. However, they did just enough to hang on and win with an interception to ice the win. Miami's disappointing season is over, but for Buffalo, they finally see the postseason for the first time since the 1999 season, which ended with them being on the wrong end of the "Music City Miracle" play that gave the Super Bowl-bound Titans the win. An impressive season finally sees the Bills go back to the playoffs.  My pick: Accurate




Minnesota 23, Chicago 10 - The Minnesota Vikings did exactly what they needed to do, and beat the Vikings to end any suspense about who would earn the second seed in the NFC playoffs. They dominated the Bears, rather predictably, and so they earned that playoff bye. Chicago, in the meantime, will head into the offseason with high hopes, as there were signs that they were on the verge of some serious improvements. For Minnesota, though, the future is now. They have a real chance at going deep into the playoffs, with a home game in two weeks, and if they win, they will play the NFC Championship either at Philadelphia against a weakened Eagles team, or host it. Plus, the Super Bowl is at their home stadium, so this could really, truly be a rare golden opportunity. And they seem to be peaking at the right time. Exciting times for the fans of Minnesota!    My pick: Accurate

Detroit 35, Green Bay 11 - The good news for Detroit is that they won, and completed their first season sweep of Green Bay in a long, long time. The last time that they did that was in 1991, which perhaps not coincidentally was the last really impressive season for the Lions, when they finished 12-4 and won the division title, knocked out the Dallas Cowboys of Michael Irving, Emmitt Smith, and Troy Aikman, and went to the NFC Championship Game for the first, and so far only, time in my life. The bad news is that these Lions did not enjoy a season anywhere near as good, and despite the sweep, this game effectively ends the year with Detroit fans wondering what might have been if just a couple of minor things had gone a bit differently. The Lions were so close to a playoff spot, and really, close to rising to the ranks of relative elites. But instead, they beat up on a diminished Packers team in the season finale, and even though they swept both the Bears and the Packers, and finished with an impressive 5-1 mark against NFC North opponents, they will be watching the playoffs at home once again. For the Packers, this is their first mediocre season in the better part of a decade, and this loss kind of was symbolic of their sudden mediocrity and inability to win consistently, but it was also a game that did not matter in any meaningful way.  My pick: Accurate

Indianapolis 22, Houston 13 - The Colts won a relatively meaningless game here. As  a Giants fan, I can say that I am happy about this one, because the Colts earned their fourth win of the season, which meant that despite the Giants win, they "earned" the second pick in the draft coming up. But otherwise, the Texans lost their sixth straight game, and this loss meant a sweep by the Colts, which puts them in third place in the division, and the Texans in the basement - not that it matters too much, one way or the other. The Texans General Manager announced a leave of absence for an extended period of time, which means that they will have to find a replacement. Both teams will have some choices to make for the long offseason that begins now.  My pick: Accurate

N.Y. Giants 18. Washington 10  - This result would actually have bothered me had the Colts lost, and the Giants then lost the second pick in the draft on account of that. However, since the Colts won, seeing the Giants earn what proved to be a rare win for them this season was a refreshing change. This is officially the worst season that I have ever seen my G-Men suffer through, as they finish with a dismal 3-13 mark, which ranks as the second worst mark in the league. Not sure what happened, although the problems on the offensive line, and the injuries with all of those wide receivers early in the season, really took their toll. New York showed some solidity on defense at times, but the problems and limitations on offense probed to be the story all season long for the Giants. But at least they did manage to defeat one divisional opponent, even if it came in the final week of the season, against the weakest of their divisional opponents. It was a long season, but at least the embarrassment of this particular season is done and past them, and they can now focus on fixing these problems during the offseason to come.  My pick: Inaccurate

Atlanta 22, Carolina 10 - The Falcons pretty much did what most of us expected them to do, right? Except that they also completely seemed to shit down the Panthers. I cannot remember Cam Newton looking quite so bad as he did in this game before. To be fair, the Panthers defense played pretty well, keeping that dangerous Falcons offense in check. Following an early touchdown by the Falcons, the Carolina defense held the Falcons to field goals the rest of the way. But Atlanta hardly needed to score a ton of points to beat Carolina on this day. Perhaps it is a shame, because the Panthers really had a shot, as it turns out. Had they won, they would have gone to 12-4, and earned the third seed in the playoffs. As it is, they head to New Orleans coming off their worst performance of the season, and facing a team that beat them twice. Not good.  My pick: Accurate

Cincinnati 31, Baltimore 27 - This one was the real shocker this weekend. Perhaps it is because I am a Giants fan, but it really reminded me of the Giants-Jets game in the final week of the 1988 season. Back then, the G-Men were on the verge of an NFC East title, and a second seed in the playoffs, if they simply beat the lowly Jets. But Gang Green instead handed the Giants a stunning loss, and instead of earning a playoff bye, the Giants found themselves missing the playoffs altogether! The Ravens had everything going for them in this game. They had home field advantage, and they had been a relatively hot team, so they seemed to have momentum. They even had all of the momentum in the second half, and seemed to almost have the game wrapped up. They had the Bengals in a desperate fourth and long situation (they needed 12 yards). And then, just like that, Dalton throws that seemingly impossible 49-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Boyd, and you could just feel the air go out of Baltimore. The Ravens offense looked flat and lifeless, and the fans seemed not to believe. Just like that, the Ravens went from the sure bet for the playoffs, to facing the long offseason with one of the most stunning and stinging losses in franchise history. This one hurts, and will continue to hurt for a long, long time. My pick: Inaccurate

Dallas 6, Philadelphia 0 - That Dallas won is not a surprise. After all, they were a decent team that had already been eliminated from playoff contention, and they were playing an Eagles team that was resting it's starters. That said, for the Eagles to look this flat, to get shut out and lose to a Dallas team that did not muster even seven points, is bad. The Eagles feel like a very vulnerable team right now, and despite having earned the top seed in the NFC playoffs, it feels like they are a team ready to topple. But that will happen when your star player suffers a season ending injury. Philly has mostly looked flat ever since then, so they better use these two weeks to really come up with something good for the divisional round. My pick: Accurate

Tennessee 15, Jacksonville 10  - The Titans absolutely needed to win this one, and they did. Precisely when it seemed like they were destined to be defined by a late season collapse, they come up with their biggest, most important win of the year, and it is enough to earn them a playoff spot! The Jaguars had wanted to recover from the embarrassment in San Fran, but they did not do it. They did tighten up big time on defense, but their offense was largely absent. They will obviously have to play much better next weekend against Buffalo if they hope to advance, and win their first playoff game since the 1999 season. Then again, this is the first time that the Bills are in the playoffs since 1999, and who did they happen to lose to that year? The Tennessee Titans! Strange. Anyway, huge win for the Titans, who now go to KC to visit the Chiefs in the first Wildcard game this upcoming weekend.  My pick: Inaccurate

Tampa Bay 31, New Orleans 24 - The Saints basically blew this one, but they got extremely lucky with Carolina losing out in Atlanta. So, New Orleans backed into a division title. They did lose their chance to be the third seed in the playoffs, but that would have given them a date with the Falcons, who I think are much hotter and more dangerous than the Panthers, the team that the Saints will actually have to face now. As for Tampa Bay, this was a solid win, and a positive note to end the season on. Not the way that the Saints would want to end their season, but they are facing a team next week that also suffered a demoralizing loss, so maybe it balances out in the end. My pick: Inaccurate

 

Arizona 26, Seattle 24 - The Cardinals finally showed a bit of what they were capable of just a couple of seasons ago. And the Seahawks showed how disappointing they seemed to be at home all season. Remember when the 'Hawks used to be almost unbeatable at home? Well, this season, they barely beat Houston and San Francisco when they were really bad, and they outright lost to Washington, to Atlanta, and got slammed by the Rams in a huge showdown a couple of weeks ago. Now, they finish the season, perhaps fittingly, with an embarrassing home loss to the Cardinals, which eliminated them from playoff contention. As it turns out, they would not have made it anyway, as the Falcons won. However, this had to be more than a little demoralizing! My pick: Inaccurate

Kansas City 27, Denver 24 - The Chiefs had nothing riding on this one, yet they came out on top anyway. An impressive win, although the real test for them will be next weekend's showdown against the Titans. The result actually changed nothing for the Chiefs, who could not move from being the fourth seed in these playoffs. As for the Broncos, this was an enormously disappointing season for them, and they have not looked especially good since winning the Super Bowl two seasons ago. So, they need to address some of the key issues slowing them down, particularly on offense, and especially at quarterback. My pick: Inaccurate

L.A. Chargers 30, Oakland 10 - The Chargers did their part in fighting from the 0-4 hole that they dug themselves to begin the season, and clawing their way back to relevance. Needing to win this weekend, they dominated Oakland and avoided the letdown that some other teams in situations where they needed to win this weekend - particularly the Seahawks and the Ravens - failed to do. They gave themselves a shot at the playoffs, but were knocked out because the Titans and the Bills held favorable positions, and managed to win and qualify for those final playoff spots. Still, it was an admirable effort of recovery by the Chargers, who showed what they were capable of when they play at their best. As for the Raiders, just another in a too long list of losses in what proved to be a very disappointing season on the heels of a truly promising one last season.  My pick: Accurate

San Francisco 34, L.A. Rams 13 - The Rams rested their starters, which was somewhat of a gamble. They had already won the NFC West, but this decision to effectively not try hard to win this game might have backfired a little and sent them from the third seed to the fourth. Not sure that it mattered to them, since they seemed so willing to do it, anyway. But in the end, it was a non-factor, as both the Saints and Panthers lost, assuring the Rams of a higher overall seed. As for San Francisco, they got off to a rough start, dropping their first nine. But they recovered in a big way, winning six of their final seven games, and just about looking like the hottest team in the league, or at least one of them, in the final couple of months of the season. During that stretch, they managed to beat three playoff teams - the Titans, the Jaguars, and the mostly resting Rams. Pretty impressive!  My pick: Accurate

Happy New Year's in Languages All Around the World!

AFRIKAANS  gelukkige nuwejaar
AKPOSSO  ilufio ètussé
ALBANIAN  Gëzuar vitin e ri
ALLEMAND  ein gutes neues Jahr / prost Neujahr
ALSACIEN  e glëckliches nëies / güets nëies johr
ARABIC  عام سعيد (aam saiid) / sana saiida
ARMENIAN  shnorhavor nor tari
ATIKAMEKW  amokitanone
AZERI  yeni iliniz mübarək
BAMBARA  aw ni san'kura / bonne année
BASAA  mbuee
BASQUE  urte berri on
BELARUSIAN  З новым годам (Z novym hodam)
BENGALI  subho nababarsho
BERBER  asgwas amegas
BETI  mbembe mbu
BOBO  bonne année
BOSNIAN  sretna nova godina
BRETON  bloavezh mat / bloavez mad
BULGARIAN  честита нова година (chestita nova godina)
BURMESE  hnit thit ku mingalar pa
CANTONESE  sun lin fi lok / kung hé fat tsoi
CATALAN  bon any nou
CHINESE (MANDARIN)  新年快了 (xin nian kuai le) / 新年好 (xin nian hao)
CORNISH  bledhen nowedh da
CORSICAN  pace è salute
CROATIAN  sretna nova godina
CZECH  šťastný nový rok
DANISH  godt nytår
DARI  sale naw tabrik
DUALA  mbu mwa bwam
DUTCH  gelukkig nieuwjaar
ENGLISH  Happy New Year
ESPERANTO  feliĉan novan jaron
ESTONIAN  head uut aastat
EWE  eƒé bé dzogbenyui nami
EWONDO  mbembe mbu
FAROESE  gott nýggjár
FINNISH  onnellista uutta vuotta
FLEMISH  gelukkig nieuwjaar
FRENCH  Bonne et Heureuse Année a tous!
FRISIAN  lokkich neijier
FRIULAN  bon an
FULA  dioul mo wouri
GALICIAN  feliz aninovo
GEORGIAN  გილოცავთ ახალ წელს (gilocavt akhal tsels)
GERMAN  ein gutes neues Jahr / prost Neujahr
GREEK  Καλή Χρονιά / kali xronia
GUJARATI  sal mubarak / nootan varshabhinandan
GUARANÍ  rogüerohory año nuévo-re
HAITIAN CREOLE  bònn ané
HAOUSSA  barka da sabuwar shekara
HAWAIIAN  hauoli makahiki hou
HEBREW  שנה טובה (shana tova)
HERERO  ombura ombe ombua
HINDI  nav varsh ki subhkamna
HMONG  nyob zoo xyoo tshiab
HUNGARIAN  boldog új évet
ICELANDIC  gleðilegt nýtt ár
IGBO  obi anuri nke afor ohuru
INDONESIAN  selamat tahun baru
IRISH GAELIC  ath bhliain faoi mhaise
ITALIAN  felice anno nuovo / buon anno
JAVANESE  sugeng warsa enggal
JAPANESE  あけまして　おめでとう　ございます (akemashite omedetô)
KABYLIAN  asseggas ameggaz
KANNADA  hosa varshada shubhaashayagalu
KASHMIRI  nav reh mubarakh
KAZAKH  zhana zhiliniz kutti bolsin
KHMER  sur sdei chhnam thmei
KIEMBU  ngethi cya mwaka mweru
KINYARWANDA  umwaka mwiza
KIRUNDI  umwaka mwiza
KOREAN  새해 복 많이 받으세요 (seh heh bok mani bat uh seyo)
KURDE  sala we ya nû pîroz be
KWANGALI  mvhura zompe zongwa
LAO  sabai di pi mai
LATIN  felix sit annus novus
LATVIAN  laimīgu Jauno gadu
LIGURIAN  bón ànno nêuvo
LINGALA  bonana / mbúla ya sika elámu na tombelí yɔ̌
LITHUANIAN  laimingų Naujųjų Metų
LOW SAXON  gelükkig nyjaar
LUXEMBOURGEOIS  e gudd neit Joër
MACEDONIAN  Среќна Нова Година (srekna nova godina)
MALAGASY  arahaba tratry ny taona
MALAY  selamat tahun baru
MALAYALAM  nava varsha ashamshagal
MALTESE  is-sena t-tajba
MANGAREVAN  kia porotu te ano ou
MAORI  kia hari te tau hou
MARATHI  navin varshaachya hardik shubbheccha
MARQUISIAN  kaoha nui tenei ehua hou
MOHAWK  ose:rase
MONGOLIAN  Шинэ жилийн баярын мэнд хvргэе (shine jiliin bayariin mend hurgeye)
MORÉ  wênd na kô-d yuum-songo
NDEBELE  umyaka omucha omuhle
NGOMBALE  ngeu' shwi pong mbeo paghe
NORWEGIAN  godt nyttår
OCCITAN  bon annada
ORIYA  subha nababarsa / naba barsara hardika abhinandan
OURDOU  naya sar Mubarak
PAPIAMENTU  bon anja / felis anja nobo
PASHTO  nawe kaalmo mobarak sha
PERSIAN  سال نو مبارک (sâle no mobârak)
POLISH Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku!!!
PORTUGUESE  feliz ano novo
PUNJABI  ਨਵੇਂ ਸਾਲ ਦੀਆਂ ਵਧਾਈਆਂ (nave saal deeyan vadhaiyaan)
ROMANCHE  bun di bun onn
ROMANI  baxtalo nevo bersh
ROMANIAN  un an nou fericit / la mulţi ani
RUSSIAN  С Новым Годом (S novim godom)   Поздравления с Новым годом 2014 (Happy New Year 2014)
SAMOAN  ia manuia le tausaga fou
SANGO  nzoni fini ngou
SARDINIAN  bonu annu nou
SCOTTISH GAELIC  bliadhna mhath ur
SERBIAN  srećna nova godina / Срећна нова година
SHIMAORE  mwaha mwema
SHONA  goredzva rakanaka
SINDHI  nain saal joon wadhayoon
SINHALESE  ශුභ අළුත් අවුරුද්දක් වේවා (shubha aluth awuruddak weiwa)
SLOVAK  šťastný nový rok
SLOVENIAN  srečno novo leto
SOBOTA  dobir leto
SOMALI  sanad wanagsan
SPANISH  feliz año nuevo
SRANAN  wan bun nyun yari
SWAHILI  mwaka mzuri / heri ya mwaka mpya
SWEDISH  gott nytt år
SWISS-GERMAN  es guets Nöis
TAGALOG  manigong bagong taon
TAHITIAN  ia orana i te matahiti api
TAMAZIGHT  assugas amegaz
TAMIL  இனிய புத்தாண்டு நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள் (iniya puthandu nal Vazhthukkal)
TATAR  yaña yıl belän
TELUGU  నూతన సంవత్శర శుభాకాంక్షలు (nuthana samvathsara subhakankshalu)
THAI  สวัสดีปีใหม่ (sawatdii pimaï)
TIBETAN  tashi delek / losar tashi delek
TIGRE  sanat farah wa khare
TSHILUBA  tshidimu tshilenga
TSWANA  itumelele ngwaga o mosha
TULU  posa varshada shubashaya
TURKISH  yeni yılınız kutlu olsun
TWENTS  gluk in'n tuk UDMURT  Vyľ Aren
UKRAINIAN  Щасливого Нового Року / З Новим роком (Z novym rokom)
URDU  naya sal mubarak
UZBEK  yangi yilingiz qutlug' bo'lsin V
IETNAMESE  Chúc Mừng Nǎm Mới / Cung Chúc Tân Niên / Cung Chúc Tân Xuân
WALOON  ene boune anéye, ene boune sintéye
WALOON ("betchfessîs" spelling)  bone annéye / bone annéye èt bone santéye
WELSH  blwyddyn newydd dda
WEST INDIAN CREOLE  bon lanné
WOLOF  dewenati
XHOSA  nyak'omtsha
YIDDISH  a gut yohr
ZULU  unyaka omusha omuhle



These were largely taken from the following website:

http://www.wishesquotes.com/new-year/happy-new-year-in-all-languages



Also, I wrote an article in the Guardian Liberty Voice (GLV) on the history of New Year's Day celebrations, a tradition that actually dates back some 4,000 years ago. This was the last article that I wrote and published for the GLV for 2014, and it took a considerable amount of research. But I felt proud once it was done, and happy when it was published fairly quickly after I submitted it. It was a fascinating and revealing article to write, and I hope everyone will take a look by clicking on the link below:

http://guardianlv.com/2014/12/new-years-in-history/