HAPPY FOCKIN' NEW YEAR TA RAAS

by Andrew Williams

"Well it's 2005 OK/All across the USA/It's another year for me and you/Another year with nothin' to do/Last year I was 41/Didn't have a lot of fun/Now I'm gonna be 42/Say "Oh, my" and-a "Boo-Hoo."--with apologies (but no royalties) to Iggy

As I type this, another year is about to ring down the curtain and make way for its successor. What might we have to look forward to, here and abroad in this unstable world? Here's some off-the-top-of-my-head observations:

*Bad News: Four more years of Bush and his Brown Shirts.

*Good News: Four more years to make fun of Bush and his Brown Shirts.

*Bad News: More and worser wars.

*Good News: More money to be made from McDonnell-Douglas and Halliburton stock.

*Bad News: The cult of celebrity.

*Good News: The increasing bizzareness of the cult of celebrity.

*Bad News: AMERICAN IDIOT--er, IDOL--still on the air.

*Good News: Richard Branson--owner of Virgin Records and financial supporter of the space plane that won the X Prize--still on the air.

*Bad News: Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and the Simpsons (A & J)

*Good News: Little Steven's Underground Garage (check your local listings) and the Simpsons (animated).

*Bad News: Marijuana still not legalized.

*Good News: Many state governors (including those in California and Maryland) support medical use.

*Bad News: Increasing signs of the End Times.

*Good News: Maybe it'll be over sooner than we thought.

*Bad News: The horrible aftermath of the tsunami in Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, et.al.

*Good News: Maybe the US will be too busy helping with clean-up and supplying aid to start any more brush fires.

I'm sorry this isn't much of a column, but I've been busy and my typing fingers are rusty. The next one will be more up to speed. Promise. In the meantime, have a New Year and keep the e-mails coming.