The History of the World

By "History of the World," what I really mean is, "History of Things that Happened to Me, or that I Know About." And though I am dimly aware that other things may have also happened (like Asia) we don't have much time, so let's gloss over that. But since a lot of written history is bullshit, let me point out that my version, once complete, is going to piss off everybody – which is how we know it's probably the closest thing to reality.

1920 - 1930 - 1940 - 1950 - 1960 - 1970 - 1980 - 1990 - 2000 - 2010 - 2020

1914/06/28: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria is assassinated, starting World War I.

1915/--/--:

191x/xx/xx: My great-grandmother is born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

1916/--/--:

1917/--/--:

1918/11/11: The Allies win WWI. Austria-Hungary dissolves and Yugoslavia is created.

1919/--/--:

1920/--/--:

1921/--/--:

1922/--/--:

1923/--/--:

1924/--/--:

1925/--/--:

~1920s-50s: My unwed great-grandmother and fatherless daughter serve as housemaids in the United Kingdom and Italy.

1926/--/--:

1927/--/--:

1928/--/--:

1929/10/29: Black Tuesday - the most devastating stock market crash in American history signals the beginning of the Great Depression.

1930/--/--:

1931/--/--:

1932/--/--:

1933/03/04: Franklin D. Roosevelt begins his term as President of the United States.

1934/--/--:

1935/--/--:

1936/--/--:

1937/--/--:

1938/--/--:

1939/09/01: Hitler leads Germany to invade Poland, starting WWII.

1940/10/26: Winston Churchill first assumes office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Early 1940s My well-born Italian grandfather fights for the Axis in WWII but is taken prisoner in Germany when Italy switches sides.

1941/12/07: Japan attacks Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, pulling America into the war.

1942/--/--:

1943/--/--:

1944/--/--:

1945/04/12: Harry S. Truman begins his term as President of the United States.

1945/08/--: America drops atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

1946/--/--:

1947/--/--:

1948/--/--:

1949/05/11: Establishment of the State of Israel.

1950/--/--:

1951/--/--:

1952/--/--:

1953/01/20: Dwight D. Eisenhower begins his term as President of the United States.

1953/06/02: Elizabeth II is crowned as queen of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth realms.

1954/--/--:

1955/--/--:

195x/xx/xx: My father is born in Canada.

1956/--/--:

1957/--/--:

1958/--/--:

1959/--/--:

1960/--/--:

1961/01/20: John F. Kennedy begins his term as President of the United States.

1961/04/12: Russian astronaut, Yuri Gagarin, becomes the first human to journey into outer space.

1962/--/--:

1963/11/22: US President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, marking the beginning of the end of the American Dream.

1963/11/22: Lyndon B. Johnson begins his term as President of the United States.

1965/--/--:

196x/xx/xx: My mother is born in the United Kingdom.

1966/--/--:

1967/--/--:

1968/--/--:

1969/01/20: Richard Nixon begins his term as President of the United States.

1969/07/20: American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first humans ever to land on the moon.

1970/--/--:

1971/--/--:

1972/--/--:

1973/--/--:

1974/01/20: Gerald Ford begins his term as President of the United States.

1975/04/30: The Fall of Saigon marks the end of the Vietnam War.

1976/--/--:

1977/01/20: Jimmy Carter begins his term as President of the United States.

1978/--/--:

1979/05/04: Margaret Thatcher assumes office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

1980/--/--:

1981/01/20: Ronald Reagan begins his term as President of the United States.

1982/--/--:

1983/--/--:

1984/--/--:

1985/--/--:

1986/04/26: Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion releases large quantities of radioactive particles across the USSR and Europe.

1987/--/--:

1988/--/--:

1989/01/20: George H. W. Bush begins his term as President of the United States.

1989/01/30: I'm born 2 weeks late in Canada: a cold, socialist, former British colony then composed mostly of straight, white Christians.

1989/11/09: Fall of the Berlin Wall, ending Communism in Eastern and Central Europe.

1990/11/28: John Major assumes office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

1990/--/--:

1991/--/--:

1992/--/--:

1993/01/20: Bill Clinton begins his term as President of the United States.

1994/xx/xx: My first friend and neighbour moves away when her red house is sold, inspiring the opening sequence of Cherries & Clover.

1995/--/--:

1996/--/--:

1997/05/02: Tony Blair assumes office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

1997/08/31: Princess Diana dies from injuries sustained in a mysterious car crash in Paris.

1998 or '99 Summer vacation road trip to Florida and Disneyland with our cousins.

1998/09/--: I transfer from the public school system to Catholic for 4th grade. I first meet Andrea.

1998/--/--: Terrified by the concept of Hell, I begin reading the Bible every day for six years, planning to become a priest.

1999 Year : I spend 5th grade with the "cool kids" and am often sent to Group Zero. I liked drawing, hockey, and The Backstreet Boys.

2000/03/26: Vladimir Putin is first elected President of Russia.

2000/09/--: I have to make new friends again when I change classes in 6th grade. I liked playing Zelda on Nintendo 64 and making comics.

2001/01/20: George W. Bush begins his term as President of the United States.

2001/09/11: 9/11: The world suffers a stroke when its financial system is destroyed, leading to decades of confusion.

2002/01/01: The Euro currency goes into circulation in the European Union.

2002 Year : Grade 8: basketball, Spider-Man, getting suspended for organizing a "Hottest Girls" Vote. Almost elected Student Body President.

2002/12/25: My brother and I finally get a "decent" computer - best Christmas ever!

2003/09/--: I enter Catholic high school, which I find oppressive, but am inspired by an Einstein-like, globetrotting, absent-minded professor.

2004/02/04: Facebook is launched.

2004/--/--: I become atheist and interested in Socrates. I realize that hanging out with the basketball jocks is not the right crowd for me.

2005/02/14: YouTube is launched.

2005 Summer I run away from home but am stopped by a police officer on the side of some country road.

2005/--/--: I read George Orwell's 1984 and Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead becomes my favourite book. I become more rebellious and artistic.

2005 or 06: I decide not to become a doctor after seeing the live musical, Wicked, but a filmmaker instead.

2006 Autumn Inspired by my new relationship with my childhood friend, Andrea, I write Cherries & Clover in senior year.

2007/01/09: Steve Jobs unveils the iPhone.

2007/--/--: We begin rehearsals for Cherries & Clover. Andrea begs me for a part but I cast actors based on merit instead.

2007 Spring After consulting with my brother, I suddenly break up with Andrea but still take her to the prom, then abandon her again.

2007/08/--: I first try smoking weed, which at that time was still considered weird and dangerous. I also first meet an openly gay person.

'08 Jun-Sep I shoot Cherries & Clover over the summer.

2008/--/--: I become interested in the work of Aubrey de Grey, Raymond Kurzweil and Peter Thiel.

2008/10/31: The Bitcoin whitepaper is published. One BTC costs 3 cents.

2008 Autumn I first try magic mushrooms with my friend, Jaryd, a Theatre major in my dormitory. We listen to Pink Floyd non-stop.

2009/01/20: Barack Obama begins his term as President of the United States.

2009 Spring Twice rejected from the film program for being a white male, despite having the best credentials, I drop out.

2010/05/11: David Cameron assumes office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

2010/08/23: I move to Santa Monica, California with the first of many cross-country roadtrips. See Roadtrip USA 2010.

2010 - 2013 I work on the post-production and distribution of Cherries & Clover.

2011/07/25: Mushroom Trip II with my actor-musician friend, Randy, in California's Calico mountains.

2012/xx/xx: I marry my aspiring actress roommate Blaiz in Las Vegas.

2013/03/xx: My roommate, John, moves into my apartment.

2013/03/14: Xi Jinping is elected President of the People's Republic of China.

2013 Year : I begin learning computer programming and electromechanical engineering and develop the Parking Spot Saver.

2013/08/15: I first promote Bitcoin on Facebook. One BTC then cost $107, now: $22,414 (as of March 5, 2023).

2014 Year : I continue promoting Bitcoin but only my family and one friend listen - all eventually making incredible returns.

2014/01/--: I begin working for a startup in Santa Monica's thriving tech sector.

2014/08/31: I begin discussions with two billionaires, one of whom invites me to join his startup incubator in New York.

2015 Year : I co-found a music streaming platform called Enterprise Sound.

2015/11/xx: My grandfather passes away.

2016/07/01: I fly to Texas to buy Scarlett - my Alfa Romeo Spider.

2016 Summer Blaiz and I get divorced.

2016/07/13: Theresa May assumes office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

2016/10/02: My Norwegian roommate, Ebba, sings for me in our California apartment.

2016 Winter Drinking games with Ebba's younger sister strains our friendship. I ask her to move out after discovering a secret.

2016/11/xx: I'm stranded yet again when my convertible's engine EXPLODES outside Las Vegas after narrowly escaping a blizzard in Wyoming.

2017/01/20: Donald Trump begins his term as President of the United States.

2017/02/xx:

2017/03/xx:

2017/04/xx:

2017/05/xx:

2017/06/xx:

2017/07/xx:

2017/08/xx:

2017 Autumn Bitcoin skyrockets, briefly making me a millionaire at 28.

2017/09/28: I miss my flight to Reykjavik, so go to Moscow instead.

2017 Autumn I meet Stefano in Moscow.

'17 Nov-Dec First fling with Яна in Moscow and Saint Petersburg and I somehow get a black eye on the infamous Dumskaya street.

2017/12/--: I return to California for Christmas; Bitcoin price crashes.

'18 Jan-Mar I move to Tennessee for three months. Bitcoin price continues descent and I shave my head.

'18 Mar-Jun Second fling with Яна in Russia.

2018/07/xx: First trip to Norway. I visit Oslo and Trondheim, meet Negus, then fly to Berlin and Munich.

2018/07/27: I meet Liepa in Lithuania and fall hard for her instantly.

2018 Summer Яна tells me she is pregnant but I tell her to get an abortion.

2018 Summer I buy my first Mercedes-Benz, Полина, in Moscow.

2018 ~Sept: I join Liepa in the Netherlands where she is starting university. I confide in her, not realizing she will exploit it.

2018/11/xx:

2018/12/xx:

2019/01/xx: Liepa and I move into the same apartment building but she ghosts me soon after. I go clubbing in Vilnius.

2019/02/xx:

2019/03/xx:

2019/04/24: I drive to Estonia to rebound with Katarina.

2019/05/xx:

2019 Summer I drive back to the Netherlands to try to get Liepa back and break things off with Klaudija by text.

2019/06/xx:

2019/07/24: Boris Johnson assumes office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

2019/07/xx: I get my license suspended for one year for speeding.

2019/08/xx:

2019 Autumn I fly to London, then head to Manchester and Edinburgh.

2019/11/xx:

2019/12/xx:

2020/01/xx: I get the big apartment.

2020/01/xx: I go to The Louvre in Paris and visit Hebe in London.

2020/01/31: Brexit - the United Kingdom leaves the European Union.

2020/02/xx:

2020/03/11: WHO declares Covid a pandemic.

2020/04/xx:

2020/05/xx:

2020/06/xx:

2020/07/xx:

2020/08/xx: Second trip to Norway.

2020/09/xx:

2020/10/xx:

2020/11/xx: I visit Hamburg.

2020/11/25: I move to Stockholm, though end up staying only a few months.

2020/12/xx:

2021/01/20: Joe Biden begins his term as President of the United States.

2021/02/xx:

2021/03/xx: I get in a bad and mysterious car crash in Latvia. The Benz is totalled.

2021/04/xx:

2021/05/xx:

2021/06/xx:

2021/07/xx:

2021 Autumn I take a third trip to Russia during the Covid pandemic and pre-Ukraine crisis.

2021/11/xx:

2021/12/xx:

2022/01/xx:

2022/02/24: Russia invades Ukraine.

'22 Mar-Sep Living in Kaunas, Lithuania.

2022/04/xx:

2022/05/xx:

2022/06/xx:

2022/07/13: Start of business trip.

2022/08/xx:

2022/09/08: Charles III ascends to the throne as King of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

2022/10/25: Rishi Sunak assumes office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

2022 Autumn My US passport is stolen when shipping it from Lithuania to Nashville so I get a replacement.

2023/03/06: Another important document disappears en route to Lithuania via the USPS. It is marked as delivered (but never signed for).

2023/04/xx: Third trip to Finland.

2023/05/xx: First trip to Japan.

2023/06/xx:

2023/07/xx:

2023/08/xx:

2023/09/xx:

2023/10/xx:

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