New Year's Dilettante

Happy New Year! I couldn't be happier that 2009 is in the rearview mirror. While 2009 wasn't especially terrible for me personally, far too many people I know suffered a lot in the past year. I am hopeful that this coming year will be better.

What do I envision for this feature in 2010? Here are a few guesses:

• I am hoping to feature more writing by people other than myself. I've had a lot of fun helping Benster and Fearless Maria record their thoughts on the passing scene. For the most part we've limited their contributions to outlandish football picks and cultural critiques of very old music, but they have ideas on many other topics and I would like to feature their ideas more in 2010. Our friend the Night Writer has provided us with an excellent example of how this can work. You can get an excellent read on Tiger Lilly, Mall Diva, the Reverend Mother and the Man With a Thousand Blog Names over there. Oh, and you might learn some exciting news, too!


• I'm also hoping that I can convince Mrs. D to post more often. As I think you'll agree, she's very good. And maybe I can convince Stinger to start posting again. I'll try, but his life as a dazzling urbanite man-about-town seems to be pretty time consuming.


• Will we talk about politics here? Yes, of course. Every year I vow to write less about politics, but like Michael Corleone when I think I'm out, events pull me back in. This is an election year and there are a lot of events to cover. It's especially important in Minnesota, as the entire legislative branch is up for re-election and we will elect a new governor. It's crucial we get this right.


• I want to do more in-depth writing. I seem to manage a multi-part series at least once or twice a year and the results are usually pretty good. A worthwhile blog cannot live on snark alone.

Thank you for your continuing support of our efforts to make sense of the world here in the Neighborhood. One last thought -- when I was a kid I always thought Fred Rogers was a sap, but my opinion of him has changed completely. Now, I admire Fred Rogers greatly. The reason he was successful was simple: he was always respectful of his audience and genuinely cared about the people who crossed his path. That's a pretty good way to go through life, I think.