That New Year Smell

Ahhhh, 8 hours and 44 minutes into 2008 and it feels great! It still has that New Year smell to it. Breathe deep kiddies. It's gonna be a great year.

I contemplated what my resolutions would be for the year as I figure, it's worth at least a try to aspire to improve myself, set some goals. Be a better person when 2009 roles around.

So, let's see.......................

1. Do more crafts
2. Keep trying to finish those projects
3. Clean the house more
4. Read more
5. Drink coffee
6. Get lost in Barnes and Noble at least once a month
7. Buy more shoes
8. Clean out the attic

Ok, I'm gonna stop there. The pressure is already getting to me..............

There is a plus side to 2008. A very very very big plus side. This is the year that we get rid of Commander Coo-Coo Bananas. How can 2008 NOT be a good year? Seriously, think about it. After 8 dark and devastating years in which our country was spiraled down into quite a mess, we will all have a glimmer of hope, renewal, and change. Maybe, as 2009 dawns the world won't think so little of us anymore. We can renew friendships with nations that have had to turn their backs on our stupidity and random acts of terroristic war mongering and bullying. Hopefully the next president won't sanction and encourage torture. Hopefully we can begin to fix all the things that have gone horribly wrong.

The Oval Office sure needs that new office smell.

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Because I love a good controversy and Mythbusters is my favorite show I am exploring a current Urban Legend/Myth. I'm reading the Philip Pullman "His Dark Materials" series. I heard from a friend that The Golden Compass was the story of kids that set out to kill god. And, well, hell, I gotta look into that. I looked at Snopes. And they said it's sorta true but not really. Not in the literal sense of someone setting out to kill the Christian God but rather a false God. Though who that false god is I guess could be open to interpretation. I finished The Golden Compass and nothing in that story really even hints at that. But it's only the beginning of the full story. And the main character doesn't live in our world but a parallel one with some very different realities. Now, there is a powerful church organization in the story but there is not clear right or wrongness discussed.

I'm only at the very beginning of book 2. So I'll let you know how it all turns out.

So far I think they are a really good read. Much like reading Harry Potter I find myself falling into the books and really being there with the characters. I can vividly see everything that is going on. And that is my favorite kind of book. When I have to pull myself out of the pages and back into my own reality. Nothing is better.

The other idea I like is that in the main characters world everyone has a daemon. Which is an animal companion that you are connected with, they are part of your soul. Until puberty the animal can change into any form. Once you reach adulthood the animal takes on one permanent shape. And that shape reflects who you are as a person.

If we all had an animal companion that we could talk to, that kept us warm, made us feel safe, how much better might our world be? How less lonely would we all feel? The animal lover that I am thinks this is one of the coolest "wish it were real" ideas I have ever come across. And what form would our daemon take?

Well, Happy 2009 everyone. Let's make it a great blogger year!