Tag Archives: New Year’s

December 30, 2020

Hope from Above

Happy New Year everyone. Globally speaking, this has been a pretty terrible year and a lot of people are still suffering quite a bit. We can only pray that 2021 is better and do what we can to make it so. I have hope.

Hope from Above

The wind caressed the dress shirt from its rooftop drying rack. It rose into the air, a well-dressed ghost preparing for a New Year’s Eve party. A cross breeze sent it dancing with invisible partners.

Sung-Ho sat listlessly on the curb. Suicide? Why, with no life insurance? Burn down the building? Insurance companies could tell. Start over?

How?

He felt Eun-Ha’s hands on his shoulders. “We’ll get the money somehow,” she whispered.

The shirt fluttered down. Sung-Ho caught it before it hit the ground.

“See?” his wife said. “2021 will bring hope. Even God is sending us his dry-cleaning now.”

25 Comments | tags: 2020, 2021, dry-cleaning, fiction, financial difficulties, flash fiction, Friday Fictioneers, hope, New Year's | posted in Dusk, Friday Fictioneers

January 1, 2015

Happy New Year 1915!

By David Stewart

Happy 2015 everyone! The title is not a typo. Here is a clip from the magazine Current Events, from January 1, 1915. It talks about how to keep peace for 100 years, referring to the peace between Canada and the US after the War of 1812. 100 years later, our world can still use all the peace it can get. Here’s to a peaceful 2015.

3 Comments | tags: 1915, 2015, history, magazine, New Year's, peace, time machine, war of 1812 | posted in Time Machine

December 31, 2014

2015: The Year of the Green-Walled Tower

By David Stewart

So, it’s not quite New Year’s here yet, but we’re counting down the last few hours and although 2014 has been a pretty good year, I have a really good feeling about 2015. I feel like this is going to be a big year for me and this blog, not because of random fortune, but because I am committed to doing a lot of work.

I don’t usually make resolutions for two reasons: 1) I don’t usually have anything I specifically want to do that I think I can accomplish with a resolution and 2) resolutions are treated very cynically these days. Resolutions seem to have come to mean “well-meaning but naive life changes that will be in effect from January 1-15”. I don’t want that.

However, this year, I have made some resolutions which I am 100% committed to keeping. I’m sure everyone says that so I am making them a matter of public record so I can compare this post with another one a year from now. Keep me honest, people.

And finally, the most important and most ambitious.

Thank you to all you who read my blog. Expect good things in the year to come. Happy New Year!

11 Comments | tags: 2015, belfry, blogging, mascot, New Year's, novel, resolution, story, writing | posted in Uncategorized

December 31, 2012

2013 Predictions: You heard it here first

By David Stewart

There is approximately an hour left in 2012 where I am, but instead of looking back, I’m going to look forward to the next year and give you my predictions of what’s going to happen. Don’t get me wrong: I don’t believe in fortune-telling or tarot cards or anything like that. This is based on the much more scientific process I call “a hunch”. I’ll look back at the end of 2013 and we can see how many of them came true. I’m not going to give dates for these things, because you know, I’m not psychic.

1. New ancient writings will surface, predicting that Cthulhu will rise from his watery slumber in R’lyeh in 2013. Shocking to all but the most deranged, he actually will. The twist is that he will turn out to be rather small and for the most part, shy and unassuming.

2. Oil will plummet to $20/barrel after everyone simultaneously just gets tired of going outside and starts ordering everything online. This will not help the unemployment rate, except in the tech support/telemarketer sector.

3. In science, the Curiosity rover will find evidence of prehistoric milk on Mars. When ancient cheese is discovered, scientists throw up their hands and start plans to explore a less insane planet.

4. In the world of entertainment, male celebrity A will marry/cheat on/cheat with/kidnap female celebrity B. It will be a big deal.

5. Microsoft will re-release Windows 95: Nostalgia Edition for those few who are pining to see the Blue Screen of Death again.

6. The Gangnam Style “horse dance”, along with its spin-off dances, the “llama dance” and “dromedary dance” will replace all other forms of rhythmic movement.

7. Morocco will petition to be part of the European Union, on the basis that they can “see it from their kitchen window”.

8. Many universities will add a PhD in Twitter to their graduate programs. There is a thesis requirement, but it’s predictably pretty short.

9. Pizza companies will compete to see which one can draw the best gorilla throwing dice on their pizza boxes. This will continue unabated until the formation of the Gorilla Dice Pizza Company, at which point all the other companies will throw in the towel.

courtesy of David Harding

10. Against all odds and despite all the naysayers, it will be a pretty good year.

Happy New Year everyone. I look forward to seeing you all in 2013 and beyond.

10 Comments | tags: 2013, New Year's, outside the tower, predictions, quirky | posted in Light

December 30, 2012

Visual Fiction – The Blossom Snow

By David Stewart

taken in Gyeongju, Korea

It was a New Year’s miracle, they say, and as far as I know, no one has been able to explain it. New Year’s Eve was projected to be bitterly cold and we bundled up together on the couch, watching the festivities on TV. The wind picked up and I heard the house creak slightly.

“I’m going to go check on the stuff on the porch,” I said. I put on my coat and hat and stepped outside, bracing myself for an icy blast. Instead…I stopped, in shock. The wind was warm, like something you might feel in April, not the last day of December. I stood there, stupefied, and then took my jacket off. The snow was melting, running off in rivulets, opening up dark patches on the lawn and driveway.

“Honey, come take a look at this,” I called after a moment. She came, finally, grumbling a little at being called away from the warm couch, but then stopped short and laughed. We stood there for a long time, marveling and enjoying the warmth.

The wind died and soft whiteness began to fall.

“It’s snowing,” she said. “Isn’t it too warm for that?”

“It’s not snow.” I was looking closely now. It was not until I reached out and caught one on my hand that I realized they were flowers; tiny delicate white blossoms that released a delicious fragrance that made me close my eyes and breathe deeply. We watched, silently, as the flowers covered the ground and trees around our yard.

From the living room, we faintly heard the countdown and shouts of “Happy New Year!”

I put my arm around her and hugged her tight. “It’s going to be a good year,” I said. She nodded.

9 Comments | tags: blossoms, Gyeongju, Korea, miracle, New Year's, photograph, seasons, snow, visual fiction | posted in Visual Fiction

December 2, 2012

Visual Fiction – Moonlit City

By David Stewart

The moon glowed bright above the sleeping city. Below, thousands of people slept, ensconced in cocoons of warmth to keep out of the cold and snow. Each with their own lives, their own stories. For each one, the old year was past and with the rising of the sun, each could start anew.