Reflections on 2005

As the current year winds down, the media reminds us of the events that have made headlines this past year. These headlines are usually presented through top ten lists. Most of these lists are predictable and uninteresting but I did find one that we may all enjoy.

So the tallies are in and the most memorable phrase of 2005 goes to:

Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job [George Bush]

"Brownie" being the last name of the former FEMA Chief Mike Brown, who resigned amid public uproar over his handling of the aid to New Orleans after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

In sports, especially hockey it is quite common to add an "ie" to the end of a first or last name. So Mats Sundin will be called "Mattie" or Mikael Tellqvist is called "Tellie". In basketball, you take the first initial of your first name and some part of your last name to give yourself a nickname. For example, Tracy Mcgrady is T-Mac.

Suddenly, I now have the following nicknames:

• Ozzie
• Sheikie (She-key)
  
• O-She (Yoshi)

My true nickname/alias is Jose Shake. The first name Jose is because everytime I say my name to someone in the United States, they always interpret Ozair as Jose, since they have never heard of Ozair before and Jose is common. I personally do not think these two names sound similar. The last name Shake because that is the proper way of saying my last name.

Both Junaid and I did have a previous entry about Bushims so I don't have much to add, but I leave off my last post of 2005 with my favorite Bushisms as mentioned in this article.

• "I think I may need a bathroom break. Is this possible?" Bush asked in a note to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a U.N. Security Council meeting in September.
• "This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous. And having said that, all options are on the table," Bush said in Brussels last February.
• "Those who enter the country illegally violate the law," Bush said in describing illegal immigrants in Tucson, Arizona, last month.

Have a happy new solar year and extra leap second.