Fresh Ideas for 2003

It's been quite an inaugural year here at Solonor's Ink Well.

2002 brought our birth into the blogosphere (or blogiverse, if you prefer), our very own URL, some wildly successful projects and some not so... I became a BlogCritic, a monkey devotee and a master of minions. And, most importantly, I met some of the greatest people in the real universe (or meatspace, if you prefer).

So, how the hell am I supposed to top that??

Fortunately, whenever you need something around here, there are dozens of volunteers jumping in to help. If I needed, say, a bunch of bloggers to give me suggestions for New Year's resolutions, they'd be crawling out of the woodwork almost like it's Carnival of the Vanities #15!
(Born at Silflay Hraka, currently on tour around blogland, also seen at BlogCritics.)

The Management regrets the snarky tone of this week's Carnival. Those responsible have been sacked.

TERRORISM ADVICE

Chuck Simmins advises us to watch out for the special interests in the smallpox scare in Follow the Money - I knew this was going to happen. When I saw plans to vaccinate hospital janitors, and hospital unions demanding two days off with pay for their vaccinated members, I just knew. This is the deal, folks. You're contagious with smallpox when you feel awful. Most people will feel so bad that they will not be able to move around. So, they'll call the ambulance. And I'll show up, unvaccinated, along with the fire guys and the cops. And some ward clerk in OB/GYN will have received the vaccine.
I resolve to avoid getting smallpox at all costs in 2003.

Diane at Everything Must Go wonders What would happen if everyone in Israel carried a handgun? - ...the terrorist apparently intended to detonate a small bomb in the supermarket and then blow himself up with the explosive belt when police forces came to the scene...a tragedy that was averted when a woman shopping in the packed supermarket apparently saw the terrorist trying to set off a second explosion and shot him twice in the head from close range.
I resolve to remain the chicken I am and not go to Israel in 2003.

The collaborators at Silent Running pay tribute to Noam Apter, an Israeli army sergeant who lost his life buying precious time for others to escape a terrorist attack, in A True Shaheed - Noam had a pistol, but instead of drawing it and defending himself, he turned his back on the terrorists and locked the door so they could not get through. They shot him in the back. His selfless action saved many lives at the cost of his own.
I resolve to remember there is such a thing as good and bad martyrdom in 2003.

CULTURAL ADVICE

Jim at The Eleven Day Empire reminds me in Who Are We? that for all Europe's whining about invasive American influences, like McDonald's, it's their own damned fault - Hey, it wasn't Americans who made David Hasselhoff a best-selling recording artist. The Germans did that all on their own.
I resolve not to blame myself if the French want fries in 2003.