Change and Changelessness

"The more things change, the more they stay the same." Truer words were never spoken. In the late morning or early afternoon, millions of Australians woke up to the dawn of a new day, a new year, a new era. Most likely, they awoke to find the same familiar hangover and the stale remains of chips uneaten from the night before. This eternal paradox never ceases to amuse me.

There is something very alluring about the prospect of making a fresh start. Perhaps this says something about our hopes and aspirations for the previous year being perpetually unfulfilled and the almost blind optimism that things will be different this year - just as people had hoped for the previous year. At least people are consistent in this respect.

Despite the fact that I believe that a leopard does not change his spots, there is something truly carthartic about making resolutions that you know will be frustrated before the week is out. So in terms of this blog, I've made the following resolutions:

- 18 percent more "short jocular conversation"
- 23 percent less sectarianism
- 3 percent more "maintaining the rage"
- 14 percent less shallow social commentary
- 31 percent more links
- 57 percent less jaded cynicism
- 26 percent more statistics

Remember that these are non-binding targets and are purely aspirational statements. If I spectacularly fail in this respect, then at least I had good intentions.