Will 2015 be the winter of discontent part 2?

As the title suggests, my prediction for 2015 isn't a positive one. January heralds a new beginning; a chance for us to shed the old and ring in the new. We embark on a journey of self-improvement, whether it's giving up smoking, hitting the gym or simply intending to do more for charity. However, we begin the year with missing planes, royal sex claims, widening economic inequality, threats of another European recession and the dawn of a second civil rights movement. It's not doom and gloom though, Bono reckons he'll never be able to play guitar again!

Christmas ads

So, did you do it? Did you tweet, Facebook, comment or even fall for the plethora of emotional blackmailing ads designed to make you part with cash while feeling altruistic? Well, more fool you.

Frankly, I found Sainsbury’s' depiction of the WWI Christmas football game, between the Brits and the Germans, a disgusting exploitation of a centenary where thousands of people lost their lives fighting for their country. It completely dishonoured the memory of those soldiers who genuinely felt the spirit of Christmas that morning, not through buying the latest games console, but through genuine empathy and a yearning for peace.

Don't even get me started on the event that dominates our December, like it is a visit from the Messiah himself. Monty the Penguin got its own premium price, hash-tag. It bastardised a John Lennon song about love. And it was designed to make the bourgeois feel that through their mindless consumerism; they are in fact helping the world by helping a stuffed penguin find a mate.

Oh how sorry they'll be when their kid wakes up in the middle of the night to see Monty puking in their scout hat after a heavy night spit-roasting Barbie with Buzz Lightyear.

I know Christmas is a huge time of year for retailers. It's the only time of year the whole country is thinking about shopping. They make more profit in that month than they do all year, but do we really need to be manipulated into buying their products? Personally, I preferred adverts like this:

#breaktheinternet

In 2014, Kim Kardashian decided that she was big enough to break the internet. It's an understandable assumption to make given the amount click-bait stories there are about her.

All this adding up to making her quite powerful and profitable. I'm not sure why we're so fascinated by her. Getting her ample bum out and opening her legs seems to be pinnacle of the talent.

I don't think she's attractive, interesting or valuable. Instead, she embodies a new breed of person obsessed by money, adulation and vanity. She is a vehicle used to dumb down the public and distract us from the real news.

If you read the Daily Mail comments, everyone knows the intricate details of every celebrity's life. However, the sheer ignorance in their opinions about real news is frightening. People like her have their place in the world.

The mainstream since WW2 has been on a steady decline of consumerism, capitalism and commercialism. She's a role model for that - the most gains for the least work. And I have to admit, that despite my lefty rhetoric, I'm envious of her.

Adele pooh-poohing Band Aid

Just want to say, I don't blame Adele for not wanting to do this. As with the Christmas ads it's a self-congratulatory act disguised as altruism. And the video is proper cringe. So give a girl with an opinion a break, instead of chastising her for not taking Bob Geldof up on a self-promotion opportunity.

First published on 02/01/2015