I managed to stay up long enough last night to bid 2007 adieu, but I have to say I was unsettled by the “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” coverage of the Times Square scene. The surreality of an aged, stroke-addled Dick Clark bantering with Ryan Seacrest and what looked to me to be a couple of Hobbits (the internet informs me they are actually “teen sensations” the Jonas Brothers) was nearly too much.

Thankfully I’ve latched on to my own New Year’s Eve / Day tradition: listening to the Mountain Goats’ “This Year” several times. So, as I wrote in this space 365 days ago … “care to join me in celebrating with an anthem of stubborn determination?”

[audio:thisyear.mp3]