January 2024: The Strange Files Newsletter
It's January, so let's resolve to be the wittiest person in the room
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Here at the Strange Files Newsletter, we are dedicated to making you the smartest person in the room -- or the Zoom -- by filling your inbox the first of every month with wit and wisdom you can deploy to astound your friends and annoy your frenemies.
Since it's the first of the new year, a time when we obsess over goals for the coming 366 days (it's a leap year so we get an extra day), let's start with some helpful hints on how to make and keep your new year's resolutions.
I assigned my crack research team (Mona, Spock, and Fred) the task of assembling the best tips for goal setting. Here they are:
Narrow your goals. For instance, instead of resolving to "lose the pot belly," make a goal to, say, "get down to that 215 pounds I claimed I weighed."
Break each goal into smaller, more achievable parts. Using the weight loss example, break it into, say, fifty smaller goals of losing a pound a week.
And be specific. How will you lose a pound a week? More time walking; less time in the golf cart? Cutting back on the cheeseburgers? Write down what you're willing to do and what you're going to give up to make it happen.
Keep your list small. Achieving even one goal can be a huge boost to most people's self esteem and confidence assuming they're not already a malignant narcissist.
Good luck!
January Milestones
The month ahead promises to be weird and newsy with major events in the world of politics, government, sports, and entertainment. Here are some highlights.
POLITICS
The presidential election season gets into full swing with the Iowa Republican caucus on January 15 and the New Hampshire presidential primaries (both Republican and Democratic) on January 23.
With at least two states already kicking former president Donald Trump off their primary ballots (Colorado and Maine), we'll be tuning in to see if other states follow suit and how the inevitable court challenges play out.
This link will take you to the political calendar through election day on November 5. Among the milestones will be Trump's various trial dates including:
March 4 -- The date U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has set for Trump's trial involving allegations that he attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
March 25 -- The trial over porn star hush-money payments is set to begin in New York City.Â
May 20 -- The date a federal judge has set for special counsel Jack Smith's case over Trump's handling of classified documents. A federal grand jury indicted Trump in June.
TBD -- A judge has yet to set the date for Trump and his 18 co-defendants in the Georgia racketeering case over alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.Â
GOVERNMENT
Congress has a full plate, but the one thing it must get done this month is figure out the federal budget -- assuming they don't need to elect yet another Speaker. Mark your calendar for January 19. That's when House and Senate need to have this hammered out before a partial government shutdown begins.
SPORTS
The Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl will be played today (January 1). The winner of each of these matchups will head to Houston next week to compete in the college football national championship game.
At 5 p.m., No. 5 Alabama will face off against No. 1 Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
Then at 8:45 p.m. in the Sugar Bowl, No. 3 University of Texas will take on No. 2 Washington in the Sugar bowl.
Hook 'Em.
Meanwhile, the National Football League playoffs begin January 13 with the first round of wild card games all leading to the NFL conference championship games January 28 and the Super Bowl on February 11.
ENTERTAINMENT
The annual Golden Globe awards ceremony is scheduled for January 7, airing on CBS at 8 p.m. (ET).
Barbie is the film to beat. It has received 10 nominations in various categories including Best Comedy or Musical Motion Picture. Oppenheimer has received eight nominations including for Best Dramatic Motion Picture.
The 75th annual Emmy Awards will finally air Monday, January 15, after being postponed by the writers and actors strikes. Succession leads the pack with 27 nominations in a variety of categories. Ted Lasso has scored 21 nominations and Abbott Elementary seven. The Last of Us, Yellowjackets, Only Murders in the Building, and the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel are among other programs on the list. The show will air live at 8 p.m. (ET) on FOX.
The Nominations for the 95th Academy Awards will be announced on January 24 with the Oscars to be presented on March 12.
January Milestones
National Hangover Day is January 1, also known as New Year's Day, a federal holiday. Scientists say the best way to avoid a hangover is to abstain from alcohol consumption 24 hours prior to today. Failing that, Harvard Medical School offers these suggestions:
Drink lots of fluids (non-alcoholic).
Get some carbs in your system.
Avoid dark-color beverages when you do drink (they're more toxic).
Take pain relievers (but not Tylenol, which is poisonous to your liver if you have booze in your system).
Coffee and tea, which are stimulants, help.
Take some B vitamins and zinc.
National Science Fiction Day is January 2. Celebrate by reading the latest book in The Strange Files series, Strange Timing, a time-travel, paranormal, mystery mashup.
National Spaghetti Day is January 4, a holy day among Pastafarians, members of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
The Battle of New Orleans, an American victory in the War of 1812, was fought on January 8,1815. Aided by pirates, the U.S. commander, Andrew Jackson, routed the Redcoats. It's also one of the most singable songs in American music history. Click on the image above to hear it.
Martin Luther King Day, a federal holiday, is celebrated this year on Monday, January 15. Dr. King's birthday is always commemorated on the third Monday of January, but it just so happens that this year it is also his actual birthday. He was born in 1929.
National Thesaurus Day is January 18. As a writer, I have to tell you I love, adore, treasure, cherish, prize, idolize, fancy, revere, and worship my thesaurus.
Penguin Awareness Day is January 20. Why does this rate a mention? Because it's a time-tested pickup line. Here's how you do it: Head over to a nearby watering hole, walk up to someone you find attractive, and say: "Hi. my name is (state your name). Did you know that today is Penguin Awareness Day?" You'll be amazed at the reaction you get. It helps to wear all black and white to get into the spirit of the occasion.
National Pie Day is January 23. In a previous newsletter, I asked readers to select their favorite. Oddly, Pickle and Peanut Butter Pie with Yogurt did not win. Favorite pies can depend on where you live. A search of Google data shows that apple pie is the overall fave in 27 of the 50 states. Pumpkin pie, though, comes in second being most searched in 14 states.
On a vastly more somber note, International Holocaust Remembrance Day is January 27.
Kansas Day is January 29. What is it? Honestly, I didn't know until I looked it up, and the history of the event is pretty cool. It started during a history class in the little town of Paola on January 8, 1877, when students learned all about the Battle of New Orleans, which had taken place exactly 62 years earlier. This story excited the kids even though Johnny Horton had yet to sing about it, and they launched this massive Kansas history project. What did the Battle of New Orleans have to do with Kansas? Well, if the British had won, Kansans would have ended up speaking English instead of American. Check out this great story for more.
We end the month on January 31 with National Backward Day. What is it? "The day provides an opportunity to reverse our ways, our direction, or simply our shirt. Dessert for breakfast, perhaps?" So if you struck out with the penguin bit, you can always head out into the world with your shirt on backwards and see how many new friends you make, I suppose.
But that's not all. Ten more zany January observances ...
January 1 -- Polar Bear Plunge Day
January 2 -- National Cream Puff Day
January 8 -- National Argyle Day
January 9 -- National Static Electricity Day
January 16 -- National Appreciate a Dragon Day
January 17 -- Ditch Your Resolutions Day
January 22 -- Hot Sauce Day
January 24 -- Beer Can Appreciation Day
January 27 -- National Chocolate Cake Day
January 28 -- National Kazoo Day
Watch List
It's a challenge to keep up with what's streaming and on network TV these days -- besides Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, which are MUST WATCH television at my house.
Check out this summary in The Wrap for a list of January streaming and network programs to consider including Masters of the Air, Echo, The Brothers Sun, and True Detective.
Also enjoying the space saga For All Mankind. Although it's been streaming for several years, we only recently discovered it (see earlier reference on how difficult it is to keep up). And my wife Sandy and I were entranced with both seasons of The Gilded Age and the incredible performances by Carrie Coon, Louisa Jacobson, Christine Baranski and Morgan Spector. Really, if you haven't tuned into this yet, you owe it to yourself to check it out.
On the Silver Screen, offerings include The Beekeeper, Mean Girls, I.S.S., and Sometimes I Think About Dying. Here's the list.
Reading List
Last month, I mentioned becoming addicted to the Parse Galaxy series by Kate Sheeran Swed. She sent out an email inviting readers to a holiday Zoom with fellow scifi writer Jessie Kwak. While I couldn't make the call, I did download Jessie's Nanshe Chronicles series and thoroughly enjoyed it. Looking forward to the next installment.
While on a science fiction binge, I ran across Skyler Ramirez's The Worst Ship in the Fleet, part of his Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes series. If you like John Scalzi and Dennis E. Taylor, you'll love this.
Words to Live By
"The road to success is always under construction."
-- Lily Tomlin
"Why join the navy if you can be a pirate?"
--Steve Jobs
"Be a fountain, not a drain."
--Christine Clemens
Strange News to Share
Nearly 1,000 new species of animals were discovered around the globe during 2023, which just goes to show how much biodiversity there is yet to discover on planet Earth. Most were insects, which takes some of the shine off the discoveries. However, one of those bugs was a kind of wasp with a colorful metal hue that goes around killing agricultural pests. Scientists, just to prove they aren't as dull as some people might think, named it after the "Doctor Who" characters, the Daleks.
Life imitating art, another scientific trend that emerged last year is going by the name "resurrection biology," and if that sounds ominously like Jurassic Park, you're not wrong. CNN reports that efforts to bring back extinct animals such as the woolly mammoth and the dodo are already underway. Want to know how scary that might be? Check out my latest book, Strange Timing. You'll love the triceratops.
The population of the world grew by more than 75 million people this year. Which means there are now 8 billion humans on Earth. Paradoxically, this population increase comes at a time when...
... sperm counts are falling worldwide. The cause of this rise in infertility? Scientists point to drug use, obesity, the abuse of anabolic steroids, and harmful chemicals in the environment.
Readers Write...
Dear J.C.
Right off the bat in this month's newsletter, you mentioned your research team of Mona, Spock, and Fred. Like we're supposed to know who you're talking about? What gives?
Curious in Chicago
Check out the image in the pocket watch on the cover of my latest novel in the Strange Files series, Strange Timing. That's Mona. She's a pirate mannequin and a member of Alexander Strange's crew. His other shipmates include a cardboard cutout of Spock (yes, that Spock) and Fred, his dog. I'll confess, as a research team these characters have not proven to be the best. But don't tell them I said that.
Dear J.C.
I'm new here. Alexander Strange? Is that supposed to be a play on words, you know, given that you write The Strange Files series? Who is he?
Clueless in Cincinnati
Alexander Strange is America's only journalist covering news of the weird on a full-time basis, and it is from his extensive notes that I have been able to share his varied and peculiar adventures in this series of books.
Dear J.C.
So, you started this off with a discussion of how to keep new year's resolutions. You got any?
Nosey in Nashville
Gotta drop 10 pounds, so my resolution is to lose a pound a week for the next 10 weeks (do the math) by eschewing fried okra.
Dear J.C.
Wait! Don't you famously hate fried okra? Didn't you write about that? So why would you be chewing it?
Dubious in Detroit
Eschewing, not chewing, as in eschewing obfuscation. But, yeah, you caught me. Here's what I said about fried okra in my book Get Strange:
"I'd rather eat sushi than okra, and I'll be starving during the Zombie Apocalypse before I eat raw fish."
Dear J.C.
That's funny. Where can I buy that book?
Reader from Reading
So glad you asked. You can find all of the novels in the Strange Files series on Amazon and other online booksellers. Visit my website, jcbruce.com for more on the books and to catch up with news of the weird.
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Parting Shots
J.C. Bruce is the author of The Strange Files series of mysterious novels (available on Amazon, other fine online booksellers, and at selected libraries). He also writes this free monthly newsletter. He holds dual citizenship in the United States of America and Florida where he has founded a homeless shelter for banned books.
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