8 Reasons October Was 2011's Worst Month

​There was a lot to hate about 2011 as a whole.

And, there are still nine days left for December to make a case for changing my mind about which was the worst month in Orange County this year.

But, from my perch on this ivory tower I call "couch," I'm ready to proclaim October 2011 as the nastiest month of all . . . this year. My reason? Actually, I have eight of them . . .

1) Worst mass killing in Orange County history
​OK, when a heavily armed and armored gunman walks into a bustling hair salon and, by the time he is captured shortly thereafter, he has mowed down eight people and left a 73-year-old woman seriously injured, that day alone is going to taint the rest of the month.

2) Texas plays in the World Series, the Angels play with themselves
​Yes, it would have been worse had the Rangers beat the Cardinals, and there is some poetic justice in taking Albert Pujols from St. Louis (that'll teach 'em). But if the Angels are not in the Fall Classic or there are no Yankees to root against, what's the point in watching? Actually, millions and millions of Americans agreed, based on the ratings.

3) 5 jail inmates convicted in beating death while corrupt jailer walks
​Deputy Kevin Taylor, then working at Theo Lacy Jail, exposed John Chamberlain as a pedophile and ordered his assault by dozens of inmates. All we have to show for it is the conviction of five jailees for Chamberlain's beating death.

4) Random Task's latest random task
​Sentenced a month earlier to life in prison for torturing a Huntington Beach woman on Christmas Eve 1990, former mixed-martial arts fighter Joseph Hyungmin Son, a Hollywood actor who played Dr. Evil's henchman Random Task in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, killed his cellmate in a Kern County institution.