Behind the Blogger: 2015 New Year's Resolutions

New Year's resolutions are a silly tradition. For the most part, we never get started on them. Occasionally, we commit to them. For a week. Maybe two. If you keep it up for three weeks, you've got maybe a 50% chance of going past a month, and if you make it to a month, I'm betting you're in rare company.

That said, in 2011, I gave up smoking as a New Year's resolution. Other than the fact that I picked January 3 as my start date (since that was a Monday that year), it took. I have had zero ciggies since January 2, 2011. Truth be told, I could have given them up on Dec. 31, since I think I rationed out my last pack over two days, and ended up giving the rest to The Other Half (who is still occasionally puffing, by the way). Other resolutions have not been nearly so successful, though I often do make it through long past when others drop out.

Usually, it's lose weight, get in shape. I've done that many times. I rarely ever stop exercising completely, so that one is usually stepping up my exercise. But I often fall off the diet. I'm a yo-yo dieter with a really long yo. I can go 18 months at a good weight, then life gets in the way, and boom, chubbo again. Doggone it. Some people think it's as easy as simple math, calories in, calories out. This doesn't take into account differing metabolisms, differing types of food that either stick or pass on thru, and other factors. And it doesn't take into account that Atkins really works, and you don't have to count calories to do it. It's just bloody boring after a while. But...

My resolutions for 2015:

- Lose weight, 20 pounds or above, keep net 20 off for the year. If I lose 25, and end up with just the 20, I'll take it.
- Keep up and ramp up the exercise.
- No smoking (this one is easy)!
- Keep blogging, even though it's mostly for me. Everyone needs a hobby.
- Grow my business/get a job. One or the other or both will be necessary after quitting my job, and moving cross-country with The Other Half.
- Save political arguments for the blog and online shouting matches. No need to start unnecessary arguments with politically incompatible family members!
- Enjoy the changes the move will bring, don't panic, don't overthink, enjoy.
 

What Happens in Vegas: Will It Snow, Will It Snow, Will It Snow?

Well, it's almost time to retire my What Happens in Vegas feature, along with the year of 2014. In a month or so, I'll officially be a Buckeye again, after a lapse of 20 years. Time will tell if I develop a Useless Nut feature when Greenlee Gazette takes up root back in Ohio.

For now, my soon-to-be abandoned adoptive state and city look to be giving me a going away present: snow on New Year's Eve. It's never happened, at least with anything resembling accumulation, since people have been keeping track of such things. I've been here for a handful of  Las Vegas' very few recorded snow storms, and I'm very much looking forward to this one! If it happens. I know I'll quickly have my fill of snow when I get back to Ohio, but there's something different about it when it happens here. Probably the palm trees.



Yeah, yeah. You've promised this before.
Image from source, LVRJ.com

Still, the tourists from out of town have got to be cursing my enthusiasm. Some years you don't even need much beyond long sleeves on the strip for NYE. This year, you'll freeze your (by now, pointless) 2015 novelty glasses off.

[Excerpt]

It’s gonna snow! Probably.

People celebrating the eve of the New Year in Las Vegas may be seeing more than confetti falling from the sky. The best chance for snow — it’s a 60 percent chance — will come late Wednesday afternoon and early in the evening, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Chris Stachelski. Even though the storm system is carrying less moisture than was forecast Saturday, Las Vegas will likely see between a half-inch to an inch of snow and record low temperatures, Stachelski said. . .

Read more at: Las Vegas Review-Journal

FOX "News" Live New Year's F-Bomb

Words to live by! And a possible new FOX "News" Slogan? "We're gonna fuck shit up!" Heh.

ABBA's Happy New Year

I can't let the countdown start without posting the classic ABBA's Happy New Year, can I? It's hard to believe this song was released at the end of the 1970s, with ponderings about what the 1980s would bring. There have been recent rumblings that ABBA might finally reunite, and all I can say is, they'd better hurry! Good grief, we're getting old waiting!

Happy New Year!

Obviously, I've been neglecting the blog over my extended holiday break. Wouldn't you? 12 days off, and only three or four with planned events? That's good relaxing time! And dammit, wouldn't you know it, there are only two days left. It's been nice, sort of like four sets of weekends bookended. And I have gotten a few things done around the house. But it's never enough, is it?

So, we head into a new year, this one with a 13 on the end, which should freak some people out. I have at least a year to wait to get such an extended break again, though we do have a couple of trips planned. The blog will get back to normal, assuming anyone is still reading it. Oh, who am I kidding, I'll be blogging regardless. It's just always the way of things that when I have (seemingly) limitless time to blog, I find other distractions! So, Happy New Year, everybody. It's almost time to get back to work.

Dick Clark Dead at 82

Image from Huffington Post

Dick Clark is one of those figures who didn't really stand out much in my life, but he was always there in the background. I've seen more than my share of New Year's Rockin' Eve over the years, not to mention the $? Thousand Dollar Pyramid, TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes and many other shows. He was known as "America's Oldest Teenager" from the 1980s forward, for his youthful, sunny appearance. So, it was sad and ironic when a stroke robbed him of that. I was glad to see him in his cameos on the New Year's shows, but it was also kind of depressing. Thanks for the memories, Mr. Clark.


[Excerpt]


Dick Clark Dead: TV Legend Dies At 82 

The 82-year-old longtime TV producer and host had been at St. John's Hospital in L.A. after undergoing an outpatient procedure on Tuesday, according to TMZ. Clark reportedly suffered the heart attack following the procedure and died on Wednesday after unsuccessful attempts to resuscitate him. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

2011's New Year's Resolutions: How'd You Do?

As we close out 2011, we leave a pretty crappy year behind us. But it wasn't all bad. In fact, last year's New Year's resolutions were my most successful ever. Last year, I resolved to

1) Quit smoking
2) Start exercising regularly
3) Lose weight

I quit smoking on January 3rd, the first day back to work. I haven't had a cigarette since.  My exercise plan was always to come later in the year, since January resolvers tend to pack the gym. I started in April. But, the no smoking led to weight gain, despite the regular exercise. My half-hearted low-carb diet plan needed revamping. So, in September, I kept on with my exercise, and hit the Atkins Diet full bore.

Prior to Christmas break, I weighed in at 149 lbs., a full 30+ pound loss from my highest weight. I'm still exercising 5-7 days per week, and even with a one-week "break" from the diet, I'm still at 154 lbs., and re-started the diet today.

So, for 2012, I resolve to

1) Remain a non-smoker
2) Continue to exercise regularly
3) Maintain my weight loss, to at worst below 160 lbs.
4) Use my MacBook Pro to learn Adobe CS5 to proficiency

I'll check in with you in a year to let you know how I did!

Correction: 2011 Glasses Did Happen

Well, I'm not really surprised. 2011 marks the end of any reasonable reason to have novelty glasses with the year on them. 2010 was the last year until 2020 with two holes in the 0s, and even then there will be a fat "2" in the middle. No matter! The glasses apparently sold like hotcakes and there is money to be made! So, let's just slap a lens in the 1, and call it a day. . .

ABBA's Happy New Year

I can't let the countdown start without posting the classic ABBA's Happy New Year, can I? And though it is the end of a decade, just pretend the "end of '89" line (not really the end of a decade) is "end of 2020." Mmkay?

Absolutely Fabulous: Bubble Explains the New Year

Happy New Year!

2010 is ending, and good riddance! It wasn't a particularly good year for a lot of people, your editor included. It wasn't all bad, as several good things did happen. Off the top of my head, some of the positive things were

- "Don't ask, don't tell" was repealed. Or at least pre-repealed. Definitely a positive step.
- The Walking Dead premiered, was good, got good ratings, and got renewed.
- My sister announced that she's going to have another baby.
- I got a new(ish) car.
- Even though Democrats lost big in November, the uber-crazies (Christine O'Donnell, Joe Miller and especially Sharron Angle) lost.
- Election 2010 was nothing if not entertaining.
- The stock market went up (even if my own meager stocks declined).
- I got my first Mac. And didn't get assimilated into the Cult of Mac collective.

Okay, so it's not much of a list. And I did no research. I may tomorrow, if the mood strikes. Hey, I'm on vacation, cut me some slack! Bad stuff doesn't seem like a good thing to dwell upon, though I may visit a little of that too. For now, I'll leave you for now with a couple of observations:

- 2010 is the last year that those goofy New Year's Eve glasses will be credible, being the last year with two zeros in it (without a giant number in the third slot, at least). I have no doubt that the trinket hustlers will try to make them with 2011 and beyond, but they'll look dumber than they already did.
- 2010 is the end of the first decade of the 2000s, but it is also the last decade-ending year of the century that will be viewed that way. 2020 will be the last year of the teens, but will be viewed as the start of the '20s, much as 2000 is included as the beginning of this decade, even though it was not. Which is why you're seeing decade retrospectives this year, rather than last year, and they start at 2001.
- We got through a whole decade without naming it. I suppose this is normal. I'll bet the "gay nineties" wasn't thought up for the 1890s until later (and wouldn't get a name like that today!). But what was it? The oos? The two-thousandsies? The aughts? The lost decade? Or is that to come?

Anyway, have a very happy (and safe) New Year's Eve, and a prosperous (or at least better) 2011 than we had in 2010.

Kathy Griffin Drops F-Bomb on Anderson Cooper New Year's Eve

Oh, c'mon. They hired her again, and people are surprised? If CNN rehired her after last year's dick joke, they really must not care. And Anderson Cooper still seems to be charmed by her, so who cares? And before the calls for FCC fines begin, remember, this is cable TV. The FCC doesn't have jurisdiction. So there!

Happy New Year!

If you've stopped by in the last 24 hours (or the last week, for that matter), you may have noticed a few less posts than usual. Sorry about that. I can't even claim to be busy. Here I am, with New Year's a little over an hour away, sitting at home watching the new year in on telly. Which is about as low as you can go, sweetie. (Thank you, Edina from Absolutely Fabulous)

I just wasn't in the mood this year for revelry, I can't really say why. Part of it is that The Other Half is working early tomorrow, and can't participate. Another is, I dunno, I guess I'm holidayed out. Maybe the February blahs came early to me this year. But I'm here on the blog, and I should have the thing up and running at normal speed in a couple of days. But my "vacation" still has three days left on it, so I might just continue to take advantage of that. But by Monday! Tuesday at the latest. . .

Meanwhile, Happy New Year!!!

The 2000s: Decade From Hell or Best Decade Ever?

Everyone making decade's end lists (including the excerpted article below) are obliged to point out that the decade doesn't actually end until December 31, 2010. Which doesn't seem so weird this year, the 2000s still feeling pretty recent to most adults, and the fact that 10 isn't pronounced teen. But when you get to decades with actual names (Roaring '20s, Fabulous '50s, Swingin' '70s), it just seems stupid to count, say, 1980 as the last year of the 70s. It was, yes, yes we know. We just don't care.

But we have bigger things to worry about than rehashing the same argument we had 10 years ago for Y2K ('member that?). We've got an economy still in the crapper, unemployment off the charts, two (three?) wars, and a political chasm between right and left. We Americans have notoriously short memories, so it is these later things we'll remember about the 2000s, at least for a while. Oh no, we'll "never forget" 9/11, but it would do us well to remember that it did happen in this past decade, and that the previous administration only "kept us safe" for part of their 8-year reign of error.

I'll be honest though, I thought I'd be writing a slightly different column this year. Don't get me wrong, I never thought that Barack Obama winning the Presidency would fix everything. Economic turmoil rarely is fixed that quickly. And while I still support the President, it is through jaded, green colored lenses. For all of the slurs thrown at Obama (from day one, remember. . .no honeymoon allowed), he's pretty far from as liberal or progressive as I'd like him to be. I don't want him to use his all-Democratic government as a bludgeon like the conservatives of recent times did. But I'd sure as hell like to see him use it. Many of the ills of the 2001-2008 calendars have still not been corrected, and may never be addressed. And that may be the legacy of the decade. Well, that and whatever has been put in motion by it.

[Excerpt]

From Google to Gaga, a decade of miracle, wonder

A spate of stories and online postings heralding the end of the aughts -- "Worst decade ever," proclaims Time, "Goodbye (at last) to the Decade from Hell" -- has me in a retrospective mood.

To say that the years 2000 through 2009 have been an eventful 10 years is to state the obvious. But still. The rolling over of two digits on the odometer of years invites us to look back and consider all that's changed in our lives since we last argued about when new decades begin (pedants are quick to point out that it's technically not until Jan. 1 of years ending in 1, so we have another 12 months to prepare to look back on the first decade of the new millennium). . .

Read more at: Chicago Tribune

Kathy Griffin Talks about New Year's Eve

Did you watch Anderson Cooper 360 with Kathy Griffin on New Year's Eve like I did? It was no great shakes, but NYE shows rarely are. And Kathy was funny, if you already like her. And she makes Cooper giggle like a 5-year-old. It's just not a venue that lends itself well to unscripted comedy.

But I love Kathy, and I'm sure she got lots of mileage out of the event for her future shows. Here's a taste of it now, from Jimmy Kimmel's show. . .

2009 Is Already a Crazy Year!

Image from source, Wonkette

Here in Las Vegas, some guy went absolutely crackers (related to the economic crisis), and tried to rob the Boulder Station using a bomb threat. So, a whole casino and hotel full of people had to spend the waning moments of 2008, and the ringing in of 2009 in the parking lot! But that's not the only nutty New Year's behavior, oh no. Want to see what else the year has brung us? Check it out. . .

[Excerpt]

America Greets 2009 By Going Insane

Maybe it’s just that there’s no “real” national news on January 1, or maybe America is collectively leaping off the foreclosed skyscraper of destiny, but the amount of full-on crazy suicidal behavior over this New Year’s holiday is enough to make calm people hide in their basements with a sack full of assault rifles. . .

Read more at: Wonkette

FOX "News" Airs "Magic Negro" Slur on New Year's Eve

Apparently, Kathy Griffin's "oopsie" on air with Anderson Cooper on CNN, New Year's Eve wasn't the only cable news blunder of the night. A special viewer participation event allowed text messages to appear in the crawl at the bottom of the screen. And somebody thought it was a good idea to use the "magic negro" slur for Barack Obama on air. Frankly, I'm surprised anybody watching FOX "News" was offended. . .

[Excerpt]

Fox News Explains "Magic Negro" Ticker Text

During the three-hour UParty 2009 New Year's Eve special, Fox News asked viewers to send in text messages which aired in the ticker. Among the tens of thousands of submissions, this one got on the air. . .

Read more at: TV Newser

Um. . .Did Kathy Griffin Just Say What I Think She Said?

Image from InsideSoCal

Unless my ears deceived me, I'm pretty sure Kathy Griffin just made allusions to Anderson Cooper's fairly open secret on CNN's New Year's Eve coverage. Something about knocking the. . .well. . .objects out of Cooper's mouth. I can't imagine this is going to go over well with Coop. But Kathy will have loads of new material. Video as it comes (and it surely will). . .

UPDATE: OK, after some quick searching, it looks like she was saying that to the crowd, and not to Cooper after all. But I doubt I'm the only one who thought she'd directed that at him. And I'm sure the CNN bosses weren't thrilled with the on-air comment. Still, it's win-win for Kathy.

UPDATE: The Video!

Kathy Griffin with Anderson Cooper for New Year's Eve

I can watch Kathy Griffin doing just about anything. And Anderson Cooper is so cute when he's embarrassed. Nerdiest (and most endearing) laugh ever. Watch. . .