Year End Round Up

It's nearing 6pm here and I'm on a push to finish this post...otherwise the title would be rendered invalid.

For those that don't know this, St. John's is the first city on the North American continent to celebrate New Years. The time difference makes it a bit awkward to watch Dick Clark (whoa, he's 82 now!) and such New Years eve shows on the TV. The ball drops in the Big Apple at 1:30am our time. I've taken out my false teeth and used my walker to make my way to bed long before that.

We've enjoyed the neighbourhood Christmas lights the past few weeks but they will soon be coming down. Except for those who leave them up all year round. My favourite (again) this year is the large display of muted green, blue and purple lights in the trees along the busy boulevard from our provincial parliament buildings to the university. My pet peeve is the dozens of ladders on the sides of homes with fake elves perched on the rungs. Also on that list are inflatable candy canes that light up and those inflatable clear balls with blowing snow and a Santa trapped inside. They remind me of the display at St. Patrick's Church back in London. The big fella and his crozier are proudly displayed on its front lawn encased in a clear plastic cylinder. He seems a bit excluded from the general public, but at least he's protected from snakes.

Where was I...yes, Christmas displays that leave me scratching my head. You see a lot of homes here with those little electric lights sitting on the sills of all the front windows. They look like little menorahs except there are fewer lights involved and they're made of plastic. I'm not sure if they are symbolic of something. Does anybody out there know? Please enlighten me. Finally, have you seen those lit-up deer all over the place. You know the ones...a light metal frame in the general shape of a deer with small, white lights strung all over it. I think they sell them at Costco. Probably every where else as well, going by the number that can be found grazing on the front lawns of houses in this area. I did see a photo of one deer display that showed great humour and a lot of originality. The gutted deer in the picture to the left was hanging from an arbour SOMEWHERE in North America. There's a lot of hunters living here and I'm sure the trend will catch on for NEXT year.

I watched a couple of really good independent movies on IFC this holiday season. The first was a comedy-drama called 'The Station Agent' (2003). It's about a young man with achondroplastic dwarfism who inherits from a friend a small train station in Newfoundland, New Jersey (yeah, that's the name...it's just a coincidence...honest). Fin (an amazing performance by Peter Dinklage) seeks a life of solitude, shying from human interaction. However his neighbours find ways to insinuate themselves into his life. This tale of friendship and lonliness was written and directed by Thomas McCarthy and is well worth your time should you see it in the TV listings (or chose to rent it).

Another thoughtful movie is 'Saint Ralph' (2005), written and directed by Michael McGowan. This story begins in Hamilton, Ontario in 1953 and is about a boy whose mother is in failing condition in hospital. This young man, played with tons of charm by Adam Butcher, is a social outcast and attends a Catholic school. He decides the only way she can be helped is with a miracle and he sets out to train for the upcoming Boston Marathon. The cynical and dismissive headmaster is played with uncharacteristic malice by Newfoundland's Gordon Pinsent. This is a good one to lift one's spirits and has a lot of laughs.

This year has seen me mainly unproductive in the writing world. Even the frequency of blogging has fallen off the past couple of months. It's now 3 hours until midnight. I'd make a resolution to do better if I believed in that sort of thing. I'm of the mind that if one wants to improve they should work on it at any time of the year, not just January the first. I'd like to wish you all the best for 2012. May health and happiness be the order of the day for you and yours, my friends.

Happy New Year!

I figured that for the final post of the year I would dredge up some humour. Couldn't find any. As a result, I again resorted to posting an old photo of me wearing a goofy hat. My mum took this when I was a wee lad, back when Kennedy was still around. I figured my 'girl-fans' would appreciate seeing me in a cool hat and tightie-whities. My 'guy-fans' will just have to avert their eyes.

For most people, New Years eve is about the social gatherings and the eating and drinking. I'm not much into going out for that. I prefer a quieter night at home, watching the Dick Clark Ryan Seacrest and the ball dropping in Times Square and all of that. The new year has never been a big deal for me. Perhaps it's because I try to think of the progress of time as less a cyclical, yearly thing and more a linear progression. Hope that doesn't come across as philosophical.

A lot of people will make promises today on how they will better themselves in the upcoming year. I prefer not to make resolutions. I figure that if you can't make those choices to better yourself at any point during the year, why make them on New Year's eve when you're drunk and silly. Or on New Years day when you are hung over. Here is a list of things that I probably won't do to better myself:

• I shall get more weekly exercise than running about, wheezing for an hour while playing basketball with a bunch of geriatric men svelt athletes. Perhaps I will walk the dog more. Maybe even dig out the old Richard Simmons "Sweatin' to the Oldies" VHS tapes (1 through 5) and my satin shorts from that unmarked box in the crawlspace.
• I shall eat less junk food.  I shall try harder to use a napkin while eating soft ice cream.
• Perhaps 2011 will be the year I throw away that old rotary phone and embrace technology and buy myself a cell phone.
• This will be the year that I stop watching reality TV shows coz there's enough reality in my own life.
• I shall be more tolerant of the kids from the neighbouring Junior High School and try to curse them out less when they throw litter on my lawn or kick over my garbage cans.
• I shall contribute to the #fridayflash scene more with short stories.
• I shall finally start working on that long-term novel project (sighs).
• I shall dry-clean my fez this year. The odour of camel is getting a bit much.
• I shall shave off all of my hair again this year...yeah, right!...I love my silver mane too much. However, my good friend Laurita Miller of Brian Droppings is taking the plunge and participating in this year's Shave for the Brave to raise money (her goal is $2000) to help young people dealing with cancer. A fantastic thing for Laurita to do and a very worthy cause. I believe this link will take you to her fundraising page and this link will take you to the home page for Shave for the Brave.

I have yet again rambled on for too long. I'll close here wishing all my family and friends a great 2011. Health and happiness to you all (Alan toasts you all with his mug of hot chocolate). To steal a line from an old song...this year will be a good one...so bright, in fact, that you'll have to wear shades.

Cheers,
Alan