[Me watching the first few days of the new year]
This year is already proving to be quite the adventure for a host of reasons: the seemingly unstoppable wildfires in Australia as well as the U.S airstrike in Baghdad that killed Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s most prominent military commander but let’s kick off the year with a look at events in January and February — something shiny and sparking and acerbic: the Golden Globe Awards.
January 5th: British comic, actor, and equal opportunity offender, Ricky Gervais hosts the raucous Hollywood Foreign Press Association annual award & the official meal will be 100% plant-based. Tom Hanks and Ellen DeGeneres to receive lifetime achievement awards.
January 6th: NYC – The criminal trial of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein is scheduled to begin in downtown Manhattan. He’s pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and sexual assault of two women.
January 7th: Washington, DC – The U.S House of Representatives and U.S. Senate both resume for the second session of the 116th session of Congress.
January 13th: Hollywood – Oscar nominations are announced. Sadly @CatsTheMovie was quietly pulled as a contender for “your consideration”
January 14th: Des Moines, Iowa – The first Democratic presidential candidates debate of 2020 (and the 7th one to date) on the campus of Drake University. So far, only five candidates have qualified: Biden, Warren, Sander, Buttigieg, and Klobuchar
January 15th: Washington, DC – President Trump said that he will sign a phase-one trade deal with China on Jan. 15 and that he will go to China later on for talks on phase two.
January 18th: Wahington, DC and around the word – Women’s March. What started as a protest against President Trump’s comments about women and just about everything else, has turned into a global May Day of sorts by marching for civil rights, reproductive rights, and LGBTQ+ rights.
January 20th: US holiday – MLK Jr. Day and on the other side of the world, championship tennis kicks off at the Australian Open
January 21st: Davos, Switzerland – It’s like a G-20 except they allow business leaders and other global elite to join the wildly expensive summit. Unlike last year, President Trump is expected to attend.
January 25th: Chinese Lunar New Year (Year of the Rat) and designer Stuart Weitzman has some expensive shoes just for the occasion.
January 26th: The 62nd annual Grammy Awards. Lizzo, Billie Eilish, and Lil Nas X lead the major categories.
January 31st: UK – Brexit. For realz, this time. You know what else is real? The tanking of the British pound.
February 1: USA – Black History Month. This year’s theme is “African Americans and the Vote.” 2020, an important general election year, is also a landmark year for voting rights. 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Fifteenth Amendment (1870) which gave the right of black men to vote following the Civil War.
February 2nd: USA: Groundhog Day, the 54th annual Super Bowl, and the BAFTAs a/k/a British version of the Oscars.
February 3rd: Iowa: The first caucus in the U.S. presidential race as delegates from Democratic and Republican parties vote on their respective nominees. Trump will win the GOP vote but all eyes will be on who wins the Democratic vote.
February 4th: Washington, DC – State of the Union address to U.S. Congress.
February 5th: Rod Stewart, 75 and son, Sean, 39 scheduled to appear in Palm Beach, FL after punching a children’s party staffer on New Year’s Eve according to a police report.
February 6th: NYC – New York Fashion Week. It’s freezing, icy, and snowy but models will be wearing Spring/Summer 2020 collections.
February 7th: Manchester, NH – The 8th debate for the Democratic presidential candidates. Co-hosted by ABC, WMUR, and Apple News at St. Anselm College.
February 9th: Hollywood – The 92nd annual Academy Awards. Meh.
February 11th: New Hampshire holds its primary election. Expect to see lots of live shots as reporters stand in a snowbank to report the first votes of the election season.
February 14th: USA- Valentine’s Day. Buy the flowers and candy the day after – much less expensive.
February 18th: NASA announces name of Mars 2020 rover @NASAJPL
February 19th: Las Vegas, Nevada – Hosted by NBC News and MSNBC, the 9th debate of Democratic presidential candidates.
February 22nd: Nevada State Democratic Party kicks off their caucus and interesting trivia: if there’s a tie, “a game of chance will decide” who gets the precinct delegate. Not to be outdone, Iowa delegates use a coin toss to break a tie!
February 25th: Charleston, South Carolina – The 10th Democratic presidential candidates debate and oh yes, Mardi Gras.
February 29th: Leap Day. According to Irish tradition, also known as Bachelor’s Day, once every four years, women are allowed to propose marriage. If refused, the man was expected to buy the woman a silk gown or, by the mid-20th century, a fur coat. The tradition is supposed to originate from a deal that Saint Bridget struck with Saint Patrick.
