On:

It’s the end of another decade, and a time like the late eighties when, if things were to fall together right, the visitors might become a more public presence in our world.

So I have been thinking a great deal about what this may mean. On the one hand, I look back on my own experiences and I reflect that, as hard as it was, I got a lot out of it in terms of knowledge.

I know that, intentionally or not, they have been creating irreconcilable questions in the minds of many millions of people, and that, if they do begin coming into close proximity to these people, the hyperconscious state of mind that I wrote about in my last journal will be activated.
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On:

We all have revelations at the turn of the year when we, like the Roman god Janus, look both forward and back. This was the year I discovered that I am, in effect, homeless.
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On:

And what NOT to! – When you’re planning your New Year’s Eve celebration, remember this: Drinking whiskey will give you a worse hangover than drinking vodka. If you’re a man, maybe it’s best to stick to beer: It’s good for the prostate.

The reason whiskey is worse might lie in the number of “congeners” molecules in it, compared to vodka. Strangely enough, bourbon (although it contains many of the same ingredients as whiskey) did not have the same effect in experiments with drinkers. BBC News quotes researcher Damaris Rohsenow as saying, “While people felt worse, they didn’t perform worse after bourbon.”
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On:

As New Year’s rolls around again, we should all resolve to be happy. But why do so many of us put off pleasure until the future instead of enjoying ourselves now?

Have recent shocks like 911 (note:subscribers can still listen to this provocative show) and the financial crisis made people think they don’t deserve to be happy? Airlines have noticed that millions of air miles expire without being used. This may be because, without a job, it’s tough to pay for the hotel and meals that go along with a vacation. But here’s an even MORE puzzling fact: Many Christmas gift certificates expire without being used (and these are already completely paid for!)
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