Some links may be affiliate links. I may earn money if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of these links on this site.
Rob Knowlan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Leaping Into 2024
It’s the Tenth Day Of Christmas, so enjoy the 🎄 season 🦌 while it lasts.
🌃 Drop That Ball 🎊
Youth is when you’re allowed to stay up late on New Year’s Eve. Middle age is when you’re forced to. ~Bill Vaughan
We watched the ball drop in Times Square for New Year’s Eve. We found it more entertaining while it was muted.
Somewhere along the line, “they” decided to stop using Robbie Burns’ Auld Lang Syne and start using John Lennon’s Imagine.
Okay, in fairness, nobody knows what the fuck Auld Lang Syne even means. Doing some quick research, it loosely translates as long ago or times gone by.
Alright, we might consider this as a switch from a backwards-looking tune to a forward-looking one.
New Year’s is a mental dichotomy in celebration. It’s a last glimpse of last year and hopeful glance at the new.
The problem we have is that Imagine isn’t actually aspirational, it’s delusional. No countries, no religion, no heaven, no hell, no possessions, no hunger, no greed.
John Lennon lived in a bubble with Yoko Ono after amassing incredible wealth as a member of The Beatles.
The very popular band fell apart after several members succumbed to hippie idiocy. Like many big name celebrities, some of these guys failed upwards.
Communism is not an aspiration. It’s a terrible political philosophy that has borne no fruit over the last century of having been attempted. Hundreds of millions of people have been murdered in its pursuit. It fails everywhere that it’s attempted.
So, using a soft commie anthem as the aspirational New Year’s song is profoundly not great.
I’m not in favor of going back to Auld Lang Syne. It had it’s moment. Guy Lombardo found it meaningful and played it annually for decades.
Like all people and all things, Guy got older and new traditions arose in anticipation of his eventual retirement. This gave us Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, which has been rolling since 1971.
Please be aware that people born in 1971 are quickly approaching retirement. On the other hand, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve refreshes itself continuously. It switched from Dick Clark to Ryan Seacrest in 2008 without changing attribution. Not sure if they’re planning to wait until Dick passes on to make it Ryan Seacrest’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve or if they’ll even rename it then.
We can’t keep doing the same crap forever. We’ve let Auld Lang Syne go. It’s kind of sad to let go of old things, but that poem doesn’t resonate for most people anymore.
It’s time to let Imagine go, too. Communism sucks. It doesn’t matter if an ex-Beatle thought it was great or not. It sucks. Find a new song that’s actually aspirational. Please.
🎊🕛 New Year, New You 🆕🥰
14 Changes To Make 2024 The BEST Year of Your Life
I don’t do resolutions because I know I, like most people, never stick to them.
In the not-so-distant past, I wouldn’t even commit to plans or aspirations for the year because such things are typically actively thwarted. They really are.
When I say, “I’m going to…”, Murphy’s Law comes down like a flaming meteor to ensure I absolutely fucking will not. Whatever it is, it ain’t.
I’m going to have a PB&J: oh, there’s no bread and I’m out of jelly.
I’m going to do _____ this year: bills spontaneously triple to ensure I can’t afford to go anywhere or do anything.
I don’t plan. I don’t aspire. I don’t express. I do what I can with the resources available and hope for enough left over to do something useful with it.
🧙🏻 Visualize And Plan 👨🏻💻
I do not make resolutions for New Year, but visualise and plan things. ~Amala Akkineni
2023 basically sucked. I don’t know anyone who disagrees. This year isn’t looking a whole lot better.
Basically, it’s time to put one foot in front of the other and do what I can, when I can.
I’ve completed Carol’s Christmas in the nick of time. I’ve got to get the book covered, formatted and posted before Saturday (ideally).
Having completed this season’s Holiday Season Serial Romance, I got a good night’s sleep. It was deep and restful.
Waking up, as usual, was excruciatingly painful. I’ve got to find a better pillow.
Once I get Carol’s Christmas set up for publication, I’m taking at least a week off. It’s couch time. I’m going to kick back and do nothing but consume for a while.
I still have plans for The Sentinels, but I have no immediate resources to move it forward. I’ve got to get past a season of bill-paying to see where things stand and what I can manage.
I want a batch of ISBNs. They cost money. The more you buy, the less they cost. Personally, I’m entirely too Scotch to pay $5.75 for what I can get for $1.50. It’s simply not going to happen.
Even if you buy 500 for $5.75 each now and buy more a couple years later, you’re buying 1000. You can buy 1000 for $1.50 each once or you can buy 1000 for $5.75 over two transactions.
Which would you do? Yeah, didn’t think so. Things need to settle down economically so I can scrape my pennies together and do what needs doing.
In the meantime, I got another book done in my seasonal collection and can feel good about that.
These seem like frivolous holiday romances, but I’m sprinkling Sentinels lore and teasers out.
So, even though I’ve got a min-vacation coming up, I’m leaping into 2024.
Work is still crazy with no signs of slowing down. Some big projects have (thankfully) moved beyond my involvement, but I’m sure there will be more coming our way.
Even so, having leapt into 2024, I’m gearing up for a long winter’s nap. I feel like I’ve earned one.
Even if I haven’t, I need one anyway. I’m still tired. That’s a byproduct of both age and mileage.
That’s it. Hope you had a Happy New Year and are off to a strong start. God bless you and your house.