As one prepares to seize new opportunities and resolves to be their own betters, a few happy observations—for what they’re worth—regarding resolutions and remaining steadfast. First the practical bit. Rather than the goal, which is to be sure an important thing to be able to articulate, one should focus on the systems and contingencies that will help formulate it.
For instance, should one pledge to take public transportation more often (a good thing to do for yourself and the planet, surely, and don’t be worried about setting too low of a bar, since this one conscience change in behaviour could cascade into running for public office), a little backwards planning and scheduling around bus and tram days to mitigate frustration will help one overcome the sense of inconvenience and sick to the plan better. Then comes the more challenging part, which I think is the key to enduring change. One importantly needs to stop taking oneself so seriously: it creates emphatic blind spots and one starts to miss a lot and makes it harder to cultivate letting go, which is arguably the most important skill to hone, year in and year out. These are fraught times with a lot of injustice, atrocious people and regressive thinking but we’ve survived worse and at no time in history has society enjoyed at least the potential for greater equality, prosperity and enlightenment. Don’t dwell on the negative but be willing to hold it for however long you feel is needed to understand on several levels and as the other (this is no obligation to study any old garbage—just be receptive to what’s driving others) before letting it move along, already defused of the power it had when it was barrelling down at you. Open you the East door and let the New Year in.
Monday 1 January 2018
open you the west door and turn the old year go
Sunday 31 December 2017
westminster chimes
Our faithful chronicler, Doctor Caligari, notes that on this day, among many other notable events, a BBC sound-engineer ventured out onto a roof opposite the Houses of Parliament to sample the chimes of Big Ben in 1923, and since the following year when the Greenwich Time Signal (the pips) was developed to mark the precise start of the year both have been part of the global television service’s daily broadcasting.
Though not the first nor the only interruption to this routine, August of this year inspired some rather unexpected emotional attachment to the particular peal of the bell when a replacement sound was sought while the tower and the Palace of Westminster undergo some much needed repairs for the next several years. Ultimately, they could find no satisfactory substitute and a recording was settled on instead, never mind they’ll be nothing to toll midnight either. Be sure to visit the link up top to read more on today’s entry plus learn about how this day became the turning point for the new year and about different festive traditions that regale it.
all times are local or dateline: anywhere on earth
As we are preparing for the countdown that marks the changing of the year, it always makes me keenly aware of time-zones and the procession of midnights across the globe, living in Germany and with family and friends in the States and how are festivities start much earlier and our sometimes unenviable jump on the cycle of things with the hegemon of time.
Six or seven hours’ difference is a relatively small one, especially considering how a transatlantic flight can negate that lag depending on one’s direction of travel and shifting up toward the international dateline one arrives at zone, International Dateline West, where the displacement is greatest and a few islands with no permanent human presence are the last to carry over into the new year. Because there are no people on this remote archipelago in the Pacific half way between Hawaii and Australia, Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) does not determine its clocks and calendars but for nautical and navigation purposes, it is twelve hours behind. Both of the named places, Baker and Howland Islands (the latter known for being one of the refuelling stations that Amelia Earhart never made it to on her ambitious round-the-world flight) are United States Outlying Territories acquired under the Guano Islands Act and presently comprise one of the world’s largest wildlife reserves. Another naming convention for this place outside of time is the calendar conceit of Anywhere on Earth (AoE), which for archival and chronicling purposes not tied to a location a period has considered to have expired once any and every place. 31 December is considered a closed matter with its associated deadlines past once it’s midnight on Howland Island, and the convention was established not so long ago by the international Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) for balloting purposes, realising that that they could not privilege the local time and business hours of one member over any other voter.
