It's New Year's Day. It was Ben Franklin who said, "Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better (wo)man." (Ben forgot the "wo.")
What'd you do this year that you wish you hadn't? What did you intend to do but didn't? Is making a resolution going to make anything any different this year? Maybe, maybe not. What most people don't acknowledge is that they already know full well what they need to do to lose weight, quit smoking, have better relationships, help other people more....and it changes in a moment. We decide who we are and what actions we take, from one minute to the next. You don't need a new year to tell yourself you're going to change, although I suppose if it weren't for New Year's most people would never stop to take stock. It's all about the choices you make from one minute to the next, which is all any of us have anyway, despite our projections.
On a lighter note (I hear you cheering), did anyone catch TV's oddest New Year's pairing on CNN last night? It was clear that Anderson Cooper had no idea what to do with Kathy Griffin as they gave live color commentary at Times Square. Kathy was having none of Anderson's Serious Journalist posturing -- I mean, really, how could he not know that Jamie Lynn Spears is Britney's younger sister? Et cetera, et cetera. Poor Anderson. Although I too was surprised that she is booked for three nights at Madison Square Garden, he maybe could have contained his astonishment. "Three nights? I had no idea you could fill such a big venue!" (Gee whiz, Andy, didn't your mom send you to etiquette class?) This must have been subtle payback for her earlier query: "Anderson, tell me, who in the Bush Administration would you most like to waterboard?"
And so it goes.....the clash of the titans of Serious Journalism and Trash Pop Culture -- very symbolic of our times, and a perfect snapshot of our world as the calendar rolls onward.
