Welcome to 2007

Okay, as hackneyed as it might be, I am writing a blog "reflecting" on the year past. But, I couldn't even get that right. It is already the 8th of January! So far, I'm feeling that 2007 is better than 2006. I hope everyone else is feeling that way as well!

Okay..... the word for 2006 is disquiet.

Last year, there was a distressing amount of war. It is happening all over the world and I think you can feel it. At the same time, there has been an astounding increase in philanthropy in Americans. I don't think it is enough. I think it is easier to give money than to make changes in yourself and the world around you, but at least people are noticing.

There was a 20% increase in bank robberies in Chicago compared to 2005. Researchers that looked into it have declared it to be a result of the increased number of banks.

Britney Spears, Katie Holmes, and Angelina Jolie all had babies. Nobody ought to care, but there they were.... all over the news.

Dick Cheney shot lawyer Harry Whittington in the face, gas prices continue to rise, there is genocide in Africa, Teri Hatcher almost lost an eye, the Democrats have taken over Congress and are now expected to work a five day week, we can expect to hear very little of Donald Rumsfeld, Pluto is no longer a planet, and we are "staying the course."

The Winter Olympics were this year (I'm surprised I remembered), the Republicans have had a hard year ethically, the real estate boom is over, the NSA has been collecting telephone records on us, Americans no longer eat vegetables since it has been reported that you have to actually wash them, immigration is still an issue, and Pirates of the Carribean; Dead Man's Chest has made the most money.

Speaking of movies though, quite importantly, and as a sign of the times, the following movies came out this year as Americans continue to awaken to what is important: Thank You for Smoking, Fast Food Nation, An Inconvenient Truth, and Final Destination 3. However, in this same year, The DaVinci Code and World Trade Center were released. The DaVinci Code was a fun movie, though the controversy over the ill-written book highlighted some of the strange fanatacism in our day. I think however, that it is cheap and inconsiderate to have already released a movie about September 11th. It was only 2006.

The Omnivore's Dilemma made the New York Times top 10 list for the year. I mention it because I read it and loved it. James Frey's book A Million Little Pieces was touted as spectacular and important, and then, received even more publicity when Oprah announced her feelings of personal betrayal when it was outed as a pack of lies. There is an website on the best space books of 2006 (http://www.universetoday.com/2006/12/20/best-space-books-of-2006/), and Playstation 3 is OUT.

In more personal news, we bought a house. I am now a citizen of Colorado, though my license plates tell you I'm from Wyoming, and my drivers license tells you I'm from Illinois, and am also ugly. I got my green belt in Tae Kwon Do and promptly quit. I have a beautiful Schimmel Grand Piano, a dog who just turned a whole year old, and a pink front door. I got my MTNA certification (its a music teachers thing), visited New York, have a storage unit, and am exasperatingly tied to material posessions. I have zero friends in Colorado Springs, but feel so grateful for the ones outside of it. As I get older, the years get crazier. While this one was nuts, I expect the next one to be eccentric (that means crazy, but with more money).

Happy New Year!