WhItby Fme PreB8, Weclnsdy, Januaiy 4. 1995, Page 7 thiuh Ou New Year 's BUMF Well, hello tothe safe side of the holiday season. By now -you may be, like me, suffering from too much New Year's prophecy. Over the holiday, the media are fîlled with much prophetic bumf. (BUMF is a journalistic phrase meaning: ail that year-in-review and what-the-new- year-will bring stuf) It is not created to satisfyr great reader urginga. Rather, (and I hope I spili no professional secrets) the BUMF fils space., Editors love BUMF only for two weeks at Christmas. In November, editors crank up feature writers to produce much delious BUMF to serve us over the, holiday. _______ Reading ail that stuf has much the same effeet on the mind as too much turkey does on the digestive system. That said, I don't know if there is a cerebral equivalent to flatulence. If there is, much of that also appears in media over the holidays. »____________________________________ Most years, the Christmnas BUMF proves W-à M Mz MN harmless. Often it amuses. At best, it entertains. This year, my mood soured. Perhaps, like Scrooge, I ingested a bad bit of beef. I found the predictions for 1995 depressing. They had, to paraphrase Scrooge again, more of grave than gravy about them. We heard about the need for Russia to win the Chechen confliet. Otherwise, dozens of similar conflicte could break out. Commentators painted pictures of Yugoslavi&"on a global scale." If that didn't eheer you up, look dloser to home. David Lewis Stein of the Toronto Star was-k predicting property tax chaos as more property owners challenge tax bills. Not queasy yet? How's this. MoTe.than one "media expert" has suggested that Bob Rae might get re- elected. ("He has a higher IQ than both Mike Harris and Lyn McLeod combined.") To battle this, then, I offer for our tenth New Year's column, BUMF of a much more hopefuil kind: some general comments on the last haîf of the last decade of the last century of this millenium. Whatever that means. Number one: Computers will become so cheap and so0 easy to use in the next three years that they wilI begin to outnumber televisions and telephones in Canadian homes. This may mean Doug Anderson È wAll .updofaeoeuipent a ePraoPress. But notWnB ON NI,16 province from the election promises of any one 0of from the Thursdav December 31, 1959 edition of the the leaders. Itll be fun to watch. WBTYNEKLY NEWS (Reformers voting Tory, Liberals voting NDP, and 9 Whitby photographer. William Stannett,1s picture of the British frigate H.M.S. NDPers voting Ià beral -and Tory). Whitby ta ken when it visited here last Se ptember, has been chosen for a Royal Number four: A bustling, bristling economy will Navy Cbistmas card. carry enough growth to eliminate both the federal 0 There was no major damnage in Whitby from a Christmas weekend ice storm. andproincal efiits Liera fianc miistr0 Two television sets will be rented by the Public, Sehool Board for use in a teacbing and povinial eficts. iberl fianceeinestement in January. Paul Martin wil buy the Fraser Institute, rnaking it 9 Whtby bas only 10 per cent of the population of Ontario County but pays 25 per acrown corporation. cent o Ihe coats. Number five: Having lost the referendum, Jacques 80 YEARS AGO Parizeau will accept a position as vice-president of from the Thursdayj2December 31, 1914 edition of the the Hong Kong Bank of Canada. He wi]*ll move to WITYGAZETTE AND CHRONICLE Toronto. 0 The W;hitby Christnmas Fair on Dec. 24 was a great succeas. Nuxnber six: Doug Anderson wilî undate 0 Seventy new books have been added to the Broolin library. comutes a th WhtbyFre Prss.TheFP illbe9 The Standard Bank has moved into a new building in Brooklin. deliverd on-tiefreteeyhoei Whitby Fe rs . The Pwllb William Stone Sr., whose son was murdered in the Whitby Junction station on Dec. delieredon-ine reeto eer'yhom in hity. Te1i, bas been arrested for being drunk and trying to choke his daughter. weekly will include updated videoand audio clips, news and advertising s pecials._____________________________________