My meta-resolutions for 2010
Posted on January 1st, 2010
Is there any holiday that is less grounded in anything than New Year’s Eve? It celebrates what? The completion of an orbit around the Sun? But every day does that, so we’re really just celebrating having picked an arbitrary day to celebrate. Yay for us. We made it around the Sun again. Good job, Earth!
What a sorry excuse for getting drunk.
So, in the spirit of the season, I offer the following content-free meta-resolutions:
I will make good resolutions this year.
I will follow through on those resolutions.
If I do not follow through on them, I resolve to make better resolutions next year.
There, am I done?
What’s wrong with picking an arbitrary day to celebrate?
It’s celebrating a non-achievement that could be celebrated on any day. Why not have a distributed New Years in which it’s celebrated a little bit every day? Or no New Years? Or the Yay Summer festival where at least we’re celebrating something we like, namely the arrival of summer?
Have a happy new year, King.
I enjoy celebrating the end of a year, as most of them are not that hot, yet somehow i am confident the next one will be better ???
The need to make order (Eco’s lists ???) of time – as we need to make order of things.
This is why we like these celebrations – they give us the sense of time order, of history, of past and future….
When our life was bound to religious celebrations – it was the end of the old cycle of holy books reading and the beginning of the new cycle – something more important than the sun orbiting …
I think the notion and concept of calendar requires further deeper, serious thoughts…
So , while I do not exaggerate on the importance of New Years Eve – I spent it in silence and in historic places – just to feel the ticking of invisible clock …
This year in Cracow, Poland….
So celebrating orbit makes less sense than celebrating the birth of a supposed God child, the rededication of an ancient temple or making a pilgrimage and slaughtering an animal?
Give me the orbit, any time.
i think the third meta-resolution could be deleted, then you are done.
@Howard, I do not get it quite right what did you mean….
I was only referring to cyclical reading of books, that for our culture was more important than cyclical sun …
This blog uses the most garish, ugliest colors i have ever seen. Can’t you use something a little more subtle?
@Bileg – you may select different style from main page.
BTW, Colors are not the things on this blog. The thoughts are :-)
Happy New Year to the author and all commentators !!!
(“What’s wrong with picking an arbitrary day to celebrate?”) “It’s celebrating a non-achievement that could be celebrated on any day.”
Right. And we choose to celebrate it in on Jan. 1.
“Why not have a distributed New Years in which it’s celebrated a little bit every day? Or no New Years? Or the Yay Summer festival where at least we’re celebrating something we like, namely the arrival of summer?”
Those sound fine. Why don’t you organize those? But the answer to the first question, though, is that if everyone agrees on one date, it’s a bigger party. And we are celebrating something we like: The New Year. Just because it’s an arbitrarily chosen date — some people celebrate it in February, others in September — doesn’t mean it’s ridiculous or that we’re all deluded.
Happy New Year.
I’ve looked at all the styles and I don’t like any of them.
King, I didn’t use the words “ridiculous” or “delusion,” but I accept your reading of this, which indicates poor writing on my part. I was only being a little grumpy, partially to explain to myself why this holiday means so little to me and partially for entertainment purposes. I don’t think people who celebrate it (as in fact I do — we watched “Frost Nixon,” which was pretty good) are fools.
Bileg, yes, I have poor taste in colors. On the other hand, if you you saw me in person and didn’t like how I was dressed, would you tell me that I’m dressed in the ugliest, most garish clothing you’ve ever seen and tell me to change my clothes? Why is it different on my blog?
Anyway, I’m not going to redesign my site around your tastes, especially since I already give you a variety of choices. Why not read it in your favorite RSS reader? Or try the Readability bookmarklet.
Ridiculing an arbitrary date complete with worthless resolutions by writing an empty column that’s neither informative or interesting?
Come on, do better than that.
For those of in much of the Northern hemisphere, First Night celebrations would be much more attractive in June or July, since they would lack ice, snow and cold weather.
Happy New Year!
You are probably a poor dresser too.
“You are probably a poor dresser too.”
I take exception to that statement whether it is about me or my brother :) ! Of course, you would not want to see either of us after a jog or a bike ride. In social situations we are both presentable.
Yea, I bet. If this web site is any indication I bet Weinberger is the kind of guy who wears baggy Dockers.
Best New Year’s post yet.
The thing I don’t get is why anyone expects the resolutions to be meaningful. What’s the motivation for following through? The number on the calendar flipped…
For Catholics, something like Lent actually provides a reason for making a resolution. Why would you keep a resolution simply because the date changed?
“Why would you keep a resolution simply because the date changed?”
A grateful nation (world) thanks you for letting them off the hook for the impossible resolutions they made!
I’m old enough (and older than my brother) not to have made any, although I am cleaning up the top of my dresser today.
If that works for you… go for it! Personally I would rather make resolutions that will enhance my life, with the idea of keeping them. Otherwise what is the point?
Good reading,
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