And just like that, we've come to the end of my 2025 in Review series of posts. To recap, I shared my Top 10 Best Games on Monday. On Tuesday, it was my Top 10 TV Shows. We did Top 10 Songs on Wednesday, and yesterday, it was all about my Top 10 Movies. Today, we'll be looking at a few of the events and people that helped shape the past year from my purview.
The Roman Catholic Church welcomed a new Pope on May 8th. This was following the death of Pope Francis, who died on April 21st at the age of 88. This meant that a new spiritual leader was to be elected during the gathering of cardinals known as the conclave. And after two days of voting, Pope Leo XIV was elected in the fourth ballot, the first American in history to serve as head of the Catholic Church.
I am not a Catholic myself, at least not since I was a little kid, but I've always held this deep respect for the Catholic faith and what the Church represents as an institution, with its various traditions and storied history. So, just like millions of others around the world, I watched and marveled as white smoke finally rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, signaling the dawn of the new papacy.
2025, like most recent years, was rife with civil unrest as protesters took to the streets. In the US, it was the No Kings protests and Anti-ICE riots. The former was centered around concerns over authoritarianism in the current Trump administration, while the latter was a direct response to the actions of that administration's immigration law enforcement agency, ICE, specifically its crackdown on illegal immigrants.
Over on the other side of the pond, we had the Tommy Robinson-led Unite the Kingdom march in London, which took place on September 13th, amassing well over 100,000 participants. The march was driven by fears over free speech restrictions, as well as a loss of national identity under a wave of unchecked immigration into the UK. Plus, it was coming in the wake of a devastating blow to the global conservative movement.
As anyone who frequents the internet undoubtedly knows, it is becoming increasingly difficult to stay apolitical, or worse, not become completely radicalized. We can blame some of that on the clear bias that exists amongst news agencies, out to protect their corporate interests, or the social media companies like Facebook and X, with algorithms designed to funnel and trap their users in respective echo chambers.
But it ultimately comes down to the so-called "useful idiots" who walk among us, those who are quick to signal boost or regurgitate a prescribed narrative without taking a moment to question any of it. I mean, what else would explain full-grown adults going around keying Teslas or firebombing charging stations, the very same adults who, mind you, would claim to be advocates for climate change whenever it is politically expedient.
And we see this sort of two-faced, duplicitous behavior on both sides of the political aisle all the time. So, with all that in mind, rather than fan the flames of a never-ending culture war, I'll do my best to maintain a non-partisan view as we make our way through the rest of this year-end review.
The Roman Catholic Church welcomed a new Pope on May 8th. This was following the death of Pope Francis, who died on April 21st at the age of 88. This meant that a new spiritual leader was to be elected during the gathering of cardinals known as the conclave. And after two days of voting, Pope Leo XIV was elected in the fourth ballot, the first American in history to serve as head of the Catholic Church.
I am not a Catholic myself, at least not since I was a little kid, but I've always held this deep respect for the Catholic faith and what the Church represents as an institution, with its various traditions and storied history. So, just like millions of others around the world, I watched and marveled as white smoke finally rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, signaling the dawn of the new papacy.
2025, like most recent years, was rife with civil unrest as protesters took to the streets. In the US, it was the No Kings protests and Anti-ICE riots. The former was centered around concerns over authoritarianism in the current Trump administration, while the latter was a direct response to the actions of that administration's immigration law enforcement agency, ICE, specifically its crackdown on illegal immigrants.
Over on the other side of the pond, we had the Tommy Robinson-led Unite the Kingdom march in London, which took place on September 13th, amassing well over 100,000 participants. The march was driven by fears over free speech restrictions, as well as a loss of national identity under a wave of unchecked immigration into the UK. Plus, it was coming in the wake of a devastating blow to the global conservative movement.
On September 10th, I woke up to the news that Charlie Kirk had been assassinated while debating students on a US college campus. I had discovered Charlie and his work with Turning Point USA about two years prior, through those very debates and the opportunity for an exchange of ideas that they provided. And I always looked forward to watching them whenever a new one showed up in my YouTube recommendations.
So to say that I was immensely heartbroken by the news does not even begin to cover it. But even worse than the news itself was watching all the people who came out of the woodwork to mock and take a victory lap over it. I mean, how sad and pathetic must your life be for you to celebrate the murder of someone simply because you didn't agree with his political views? The whole thing just reeks of loser behavior in my opinion.
But I guess this is emblematic of the state of the world we are living in, and just how fractured and divided it has become. And the irony here is that those who were seeking to silence Charlie's voice, or miscontrue and deliberately paint his views in the worst light possible, have only succeeded in amplifying his message, at least judging by the overall Google search trends for 2025 and the uptick in his social media following.
Reeling things back home, 2025 was another very busy year over here at the Batcave, even though a part of me still wishes I'd been able to get more work done. For instance, I am no closer to finishing my next book than I was at the start of the year, which is a shame considering how much momentum I'd gained last year. But the purpose of this portion of the post isn't to beat myself up over missed targets.
Rather, it is to reflect on what I did manage to get done and celebrate the little wins along the way. And in terms of wins, I finally hit the 10,000 subscribers milestone on my YouTube channel. Which is wild considering I still feel like I don't even know what I am doing half the time. Yet, the community continues to grow, and I am immensely grateful for all the support and the opportunity to learn and grow as a creator.
To be honest, though, the YouTube milestone I am most proud of hitting this year is my 1,000th video after five years of consistent uploads. This is primarily because this was something directly within my control, and thus the only real goal I'd set for myself from the get-go. So here's to even more years of consistent uploads, because the new goal is to simply keep going while it still brings me some measure of joy and fulfillment.
And finally, I couldn't possibly end this post without saying a few words about a dearly departed member of this Blogger community, P. T. Dilloway. I didn't know you personally or the struggles you must have endured during your fight with cancer. This is why the news of your passing early this year was especially shocking. Your frequent comments on my sporadic posts helped to make me feel like I wasn't talking into a void, and I will always remember you for that.
Rest on, my friend. You are dearly missed. And to anyone reading this right now, always remember to take a moment to appreciate each new day you get to see, and appreciate your loved ones while you can, or more importantly, while it matters the most.
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