A personal update and a heartfelt thank-you to end 2021

What to write for my last Cranky post of 2021? Rather than end the year lambasting another dopey TV commercial, how about we spend some time getting personal? Come, Dear Reader, take a peek behind the Cranky curtain — I even promise to put on some pants.

No, that’s not a Jeffrey Toobin joke. The fact is, I just don’t like wearing pants. Fortunately, it’s not a problem for me most of the time. As a full-time freelancer, I’m able to keep my dress code pretty lax. I spend most of my days half-dressed on the couch, pretzeled over a laptop in ways that would horrify, but in no way surprise, my chiropractor.

Even now, in the cold Wisconsin winter, I wear comfortable shorts when I go out, if at all possible.

But let’s go back to that freelancing thing for a minute, because it’s related to something I’ve been wanting to tell you.

If you are a long-time Cranky reader, you may have noticed that I’ve posted less frequently this year. Happily, there’s a good reason for that. Since quitting my job at a direct marketing agency three years ago, I’ve been growing my freelance writing business steadily. I have great clients who are keeping me increasingly busy, and, as you can imagine, it’s the paid client work that I need to prioritize.

That’s the work that keeps the lights on, that keeps me flush in iced coffees and energy drinks, and that affords me the luxury of not having to put on pants outside of the occasional client visit.

Rest assured, I’ll continue to write for the blog — that is, you know, when I have something to say. If you find yourself jonesing to get cranky in between blog posts, you can always visit The Cranky Creative on Facebook. I’m still active there until I get banned or a new and better social network comes along that is not so censorious of the truth.

Now that that’s out of the way, let me share with you some of the fun things I’ve been doing lately to keep my mind off the shit we’ve all been dealing with for these past couple of years.

Lights, controller, action!

This past fall, my wife and I visited nearby Olbrich Botanical Gardens for GLEAM, an outdoor nighttime art event that transforms the 16-acre gardens with large-scale light installations created by local, regional, and international designers.

Lucky for us, the weather was gorgeous on the night we visited and the experience really did feel magical.

Around the same time, we trekked up to Gibraltar Rock near Devil’s Lake State Park, a popular destination for hikers and outdoor lovers that offers some of the most spectacular vistas in Wisconsin. I’ve always been afraid of heights, and the sheer 200-foot cliff makes my heart drop — but it’s worth it, offering a towering view of miles and miles of rolling hills and fields.

In November, we drove to Milwaukee for Beyond Van Gogh: An Immersive Experience. Created by world-renowned audiovisual designers, this light-and-sound extravaganza uses cutting-edge projection technology to tell the story of one of the most famous and influential artists of all time.

Also in November, I got to try out the latest Microsoft Flight Simulator on my new Xbox Series X. This true-to-life flight sim lets aspiring pilots explore the world in amazing detail as they learn to fly a variety of aircraft from light planes to commercial jets. This “game” employs Google Maps data, real-time weather data, and a real-life day/night cycle to deliver incredibly convincing visuals. I’ve had a transcendent time buzzing over the pyramids in Egypt, our favorite vacation spots in Florida, and even my own simulated neighborhood here in Wisconsin.

So far, I’ve stuck mainly to flying a single-engine Cessna, but even those controls are nearly incomprehensible. I can only imagine what it’s like to fly a jumbo jet, but believe me, I plan to find out one of these evenings soon.

On the personal-improvement front, I’ve started exercising and eating right (or at least better) again in an effort to undo some of the damage done by age and a sedentary (no-pants, couch-lounging) lifestyle. “Use it or lose it,” they say, and they are right. I’m going to drop some weight and get back to feeling good again if it kills me.

Lastly, and most importantly, I’ve been taking to the digital battlefield to warn family and friends that the COVID injections are neither as safe nor as effective as we’ve been led to believe. Before you click away, here is Kerry Chant, chief health officer of New South Wales, Australia, recently warning about the rise in cases “predominantly occurring in vaccinated individuals.”

In countries all over the world, news media and heads of state are acknowledging that it’s the vaccinated who are the bulk of new cases and hospitalizations — but you won’t hear that in the U.S.

(Edit: It’s starting to slip out!)

In fact, Big Tech dutifully silences anyone who dares to contradict the establishment narrative. As happened to nurse Jenn, below, whose account was recently suspended on Twitter.

Indeed, the “vaccines are safe” narrative goes out the window as soon as you see the numbers Pfizer submitted to the FDA (surely understated, they include 42,086 “events,” including 1,223 deaths and 11,361 “not-recovered” patients in the first three months of trial data alone) and ask yourself why they would go to court to delay the release of the full vaccine trial data for 75 years.

What on earth are they trying to hide?

Why would vaccine manufacturers deny their injections to migrants for fear of being held liable for harmful side effects, as officials and internal documents have revealed, if the shots were truly safe and effective? (Kudos to Reuters for these accidental acts of real reporting.)

And yes, I personally know, and know of, several people who I strongly suspect have suffered vaccine-related injuries. Sadly, two of them are no longer alive to talk about it.

If you’ve got the stomach to find out what the U.S. media doesn’t want you to know, jump to my blog post, “Brands have no business pushing COVID vaccines.” Published in June and updated with dozens of links, this is still one of the most important compilations of suppressed COVID vaccine information around.

Finally, Dear Reader, a word of thanks

If you are reading these words right now, I want to thank you — for your time, for your attention . . . for being a part of this little blog, and maybe even for sharing a bit of yourself by posting a comment from time to time. A blog is nothing without readers — if not for you, it would just be me yelling into the void — so I’m really glad you’re here.

Let’s put our hearts and minds together and hope for a 2022 that’s better and brighter for all of us, all around the world. I’d love to go back to the days when the latest brain-dead Liberty Mutual commercial was our biggest worry, wouldn’t you?

Merry Christmas, happy New Year, and I’ll see you on the other side!

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