Feeling a little irresolute . . .

Nothing like being a day late to start off 2010, but I was too busy with out-of-town company this past week to worry much about compiling any list of resolutions for the new year.

I really don't put much stock in them, anyway.

Probably, because I don't have the greatest record of checking-off the items on them.

But, for auld lang syne sake, I decided to give it one more whirl today.

How sad is it that the most-ambitious-yet-still-achievable thing I could come up with was to clean out my car?!

I mean, I even scratched out the second half of the original draft of that resolution. (Which was, "and keep it cleaned-out!")

I think I'm just gonna set this fruitless task to the side for the moment, and pop in one of the Netflix DVD's that arrived in the mail . . .

Pass the popcorn!

Ready to put 2009 to bed . . .

Have any of ye socks ever returned home to find a beloved pet has converted it into a minor disaster area?

That's kinda how yours truly feels this New Year's Eve about the old year that is drawing to a close.

2009 had some glimmering moments that manage to shine thru all the mayhem. But, for the most part, it is not a year that I remember with any great fondness.

Whether publicly or privately, it seems like there were more people doing worse things than usual.

The socialists felt their oats in DC. The Holocaust deniers in Tehran mocked the ballot box. Professional athletes failed as role models. Sycophants continued to pollute the airwaves via MSNBC. Terrorists attacked us again, this time in Texas and Michigan. Celebritards disrupted award shows. And on, and on, and on.

Fortunately, these things seem to ebb and flow like the tides. If that paradigm holds, 2010 might just be a very good year.

So, who cares who exactly let the dogs out?! Let's just get them back on their leashes until they learn some manners!!

Happy new year, then. But, consider yourselves on notice. You have one more evening of sanctioned bad behavior before the pendulum (hopefully) begins to swing in the opposite direction . . .

Our little local football tradition continues

Ye socks from this little corner of heaven know what happens every New Year's Day at 1pm.

It's been going on every year since 1947.

Of course, I'm referring to our local bowl game.

It's had many incarnations over the years. Originally, it was called the Tangerine Bowl. Then, all the orange and grapefruit growers got jealous and decided to get involved, so it became the Citrus Bowl. And, in 2001, we sold out to a big corporate sponsor: Capital One. I'm not sure how I feel about that last one.

This little bowl with a lot of heart is one of the few long-lasting traditions we have in a metro area full of transplants who aren't keen on such things. It was here in 1977 that my alma mater was humiliated by that hated unmentionable former all-girls school. I was there in 1991 when Georgia Tech beat Nebraska and claimed half of the national championship. And, I was one of the "oh-so-huge" record crowd of 72,940 that turned out to watch the Gators beat Penn State back in 1998. (ORANGE AND BLUE!!)

Actually, it's not such a little game anymore--probably the biggest non-BCS bowl around--and because it picks from the SEC and the Big 10, it always draws a lot of out-of-towners to join in on the fun.

That's what I think I like most about it. You don't have to be a fan of either team to enjoy the experience, from tailgating thru kick-off and the final whistle.

Of course, yours truly generally pulls for the SEC team. Not, that my support has accounted for much lately. They've lost every year since 2004. But, I'm feeling pretty good about Georgia this year. (They were the last SEC winners in the storied history of our bowl!)

We'll see what this afternoon has in store . . .

The orange is about to drop!

Times Square up in New York City may have a Waterford crystal ball to drop at midnight tonight.

But, here in the big O-town, we have a giant orange.

I thought ye out-of-town socks might get a kick out of seeing it, since I doubt the national media is going to cover the goings-on down on Church Street this year.

Ever since Universal built City Walk and Disney did away with cover charges to Pleasure Island, the downtown party scene has really taken a nose dive. Add, the current economic woes to the equation, and I don't think you're going to have to worry about crowds if you decide to witness the orange dropping in person.

They say only about 8,000 people are going to show up this year, most of them out-of-towners getting ready for tomorrow's Citrus Bowl.

Most of us locals, on the other hand, will be having some low-key entertainment in our own homes this year.

Cheers to you and yours, and at 11:59:59 yours truly will raise his glass of champagne to toast ye socks properly!

8 positive notes

Ok, I have been catching a lot of flack recently for my crappy year-end attitude. Almost all of said flack is justified, I suppose. So, I decided to sit down today and post a list of ten good things that happened in 2008.

Well, that was harder than I expected it to be!

I only came up with 8!!

So, here's my 8 for '08, in no particular order:

1. Gas prices dropped to affordable levels in time for the holiday season.

2. Texas Tech's football team finally got some respect beyond the staked plains.

3. Only one minor tropical storm came to this neck of the woods, no hurricanes.

4. Michael Phelps struck gold in Beijing. Repeatedly.

5. The explosion of facebook has put yours truly back in touch with a lot of folks.

6. The Gators won the SEC championship and the right to play for a 3rd national championship.

7. The Disaster in Waiting is still just in waiting.

8. Mike Huckabee got his own show on FoxNews.

It was a struggle to come up with these. Let's hope '09's list is easier to compile!!

Matching resolutions to the resolved . . .

The most annoying thing about this time of year is the resolutions we socks are expected to come up with.

I mean, just about everybody picks one from the big "top ten" list below. To spice things up a bit, I thought I'd suggest someone we all know who should pick each one for 2009.

In the order of popularity of the resolution:

1. Spend more time with friends and family - okay, I'll take this one for myself. Is that cheating? It's the only fun one on the list . . .

2. Get back in shape - After last night: Brett Favre.

3. Lose weight - Phil Fulmer (perennial favorite)

4. Stop smoking - The Disaster in Waiting.

5. Enjoy life more - Hillary Clinton. Lose the sour puss. Do some traveling. Meet new people.

6. Stop drinking - Chyna (the wrestler, not the country).

7. Get out of debt - Just about everybody.

8. Learn something new - Congress. "Bailout" shouldn't be the answer to everything.

9. Volunteer to help others or make charitable contribution(s) - Liberals. See this article for explanation/justification: http://www.twincities.com/ci_11290969?source=most_emailed

10. Get organized - Conservatives. We need to take back our party, and we need to do it quickly.

New Year's Eve reminders

1. All you Florida voters, remember today is the last day to get registered if you want to participate in the primary on 1/29/08. Make sure you get down to your local supervisor of elections office and sign-up so you can vote for the next President of the United States: Mike Huckabee!!

2. All you Gator fans, make sure you wear ORANGE tomorrow to counteract all the Michigan blue at the CapOne Bowl. Kick-off is 1pm tomorrow. If ye socks are fortunate enough to be in the Central Florida area, our favorite Heisman winner will be allowing fans to take pictures with his recently-acquired trophy outside the stadium before the game!

3. Be safe. If you're going to be drinking tonight, do it responsibly. And, if you're going to be out on the roads, use a designated driver. This may seem trite, but it cannot be said enough.

4. Have a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous 2008!!

Hail and farewell

As the year draws to a close, I always like to pause and reflect on those folks who passed away over the last 12 months whose lives touched mine--even if it was in a trivial way. Here are some from my 2007 list:

Yvonne de Carlo - played Lily on "The Munsters"
Art Buchwald - newspaper columnist, he cracked me up!
Dennis Doherty - one of the pappas.
Molly Ivins - an outspoken Texan.
Sidney Sheldon - author (I have a lot of them on my list for some reason!)
Anna Nicole Smith - her "reality" show didn't last nearly long enough.
Arthur Schlesinger - historian (a category right up there with authors!)
Calvert de Forest - better known as "Bud Melman" on Letterman.
Kurt Vonnegut - novelist.
Don Ho - the epitome of Hawaiian.
Boris Yeltsin - the former President of Russia who wasn't afraid to party.
Tom Poston - I will always remember him as George Utley on "Newhart."
Jerry Falwell - conservative religious leader.
Charles Nelson Reilly - comic figure who did his best work on game shows.
Bill France, Jr. - godfather of NASCAR.
Don Herbert - bettern known as "Mr. Wizard."
Kurt Waldheim - the controversial Austrian statesman.
Liz Claiborne - fashionista.
Joel Siegel - that funny-looking movie critic.
Beverly Sills - America's diva.
Lady Bird Johnson - former first lady.
Tammy Faye Bakker - former televangelist, but more importantly played Mimi's mother on the Drew Carey Show.
Ingmar Bergman - filmmaker.
Tom Snyder - I watched way too much of his late show in college.
Bill Walsh - legendary coach of the San Francisco 49ers.
Merv Griffin - I grew up on his talk show and gameshows.
Leona Helmsley - the "Queen of Mean."
Luciano Pavarotti - the greatest tenor of his generation.
Jane Wyman - actress and first wife of the great Ronald Reagan.
Marcel Marceau - iconic mime.
Porter Wagoner - country music legend.
Norman Mailer - yet another writer.
Robert Cade - inventor of GATORade.
Sean Taylor - played safety for the Washington Redskins, died too young.
Evel Knievel - the daredevil I imitated when I was still tooling around on my BigWheel.
Ike Turner - the guy we Tina Turner fans loved to hate.
Dan Fogelberg - an amazing lyricist.
Benazir Bhutto - former Prime Minister of Pakistan.