Thoughts for 2012

I don't make resolutions. I do my best to make changes and encourage growth all the time. An arbitrary date kind of gets rendered useless when you approach resolution-appropriate-situations as goals. Make a goal - acheive it - mark it off the list.

This past year has encouraged a lot of change in my life. Moving 2+ states. First year of Marriage.

Not to mention the political changes throughout the globe. This is a very exciting time. I hate the term "Arab Spring," but the disappointment of monikers is that people know what you're talking about. "Arab Spring," 3 women awarded Nobel Peace Prize for non-violently leading Liberia to embracing women's rights, deaths of international figures known as both terrorists and benevolent rulers, collapses of several international economies.

In honor of the changed landscape, I thought I'd share some of what I'm thinking for 2012:

I want a puppy. I specifically want a bulldog I can name Puddles.

I think Kim Jong-Il knew very little of what was going on with his son, and that western speculators have better chances guessing what is being served at his successor's table for dessert than they do about how Kim Jong-Il influenced his son.

I should be able to finish several of my back-burner projects in the upcoming month.

Who the hell is running Libya? Has anybody figured that out yet? And, while we're on the subject, what precisely are they doing? Destroying everything The General left behind? Resurrecting former glory? Taping West Wing episodes and jotting notes whenever something seems relevant?

I've never been ice fishing. I should probably get on that.

How is it that Pres. Bill Clinton has not only written a book about how to get the economy back on track, but he's also stunned the world with managing more impressive international negotiations in the past 10 years than other presidents managed to accomplish in a given presidency? I'm not suggesting Pres. George W. Bush was incapable or an international embarassment. Rather, I am merely suggesting that, perhaps, I feel more civic pride in a man who brokered peace in Northern Ireland, brought hostages home from North Korea & is still engaged in everything he possibly can be internationally..... as opposed to a man whose exploits must be actively searched out, because it's mostly golf and 'motivational speaking.' If you have any pull with President G.W. Bush, please ask him to be more engaged: We want to be proud of you. Do something to make us proud?

I need good suggestions for fiction reading.