Today

 It's that time of year once again, so I wish you all, whoever you are, a very Happy and Prosperous New Year..........you do realize that this date is just an arbitrary point in the space-time continuum, don't you?

Just for the record

 

No, I did not give them this photo, and no, the guy to the right is not trying to grab her backside, despite what it looks like..

A CHRONOLOGICAL CONUNDRUM: So here’s the thing: Auckland, New Zealand is, as far as I know, the first large city to celebrate the New Year, and Honolulu, Hawaii is the last. The two cities lie some 4,392 miles apart [that’s 7,072 kilometers for those of you of the metric persuasion] and in between them lies the International Date Line, a distance easily traversed today in the era of jet travel. Suppose you decide that you want to double your New Year’s pleasure and celebrate amongst the Kiwis first and then zoom off for Oahu to catch the tag end of the planet's New Year’s celebrations. At some point you will cross the International Date Line and go from the new year to the old year. At that point, what do you say? “Happy Old Year?” Would you have to forswear the singing of Auld Lang Syne since, with your crossing of the date line, the present moment would be the auld lang syne the song goes on about? Could you make an old year’s resolution, content in the knowledge that whatever you resolved to do would be null and void only a few hours after you arrived in Hawaii, and what would be the point if you did make such a resolution? The Wright Brothers have wrought a terrible paradox, I fear.

...AND A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL IN 2009...

This is not actually going to happen, of course, not with The One about to bring back the New Deal in all its expensive and regulatory glory, but we can only hope for the best and pray that something pulls the economy out of the doldrums other than the rise of yet another looney dictator who want to rule the world, which is what got us all out of the last great depression we were in. And on that cheery thought, I am off to eat hot dogs (with ketchup). Enjoy the rest of your day, folks!

THE NEW YEAR: It is not likely that I'll be here tomorrow or the next day, so let me take this opportunity to thank all of you who take the trouble to come by The Passing Parade to see if there's anything new to read. I hope that the coming year brings you everything you hope for and then some. Happy New Year to you all.