O.k., lets take a closer look at this bit of mindless programming and go for an upgrade, because what we say has consequences. In this case, "happy" is being used in the context of the opposite of "sad" because it would be rude to say, Sad New Year, have a fuckin' sad new year ya dickheads. But wait. In the interest of the great spirit maintaining balance in the multiverse we find that the consequence of endless repetition of this epithet is the creation of a cloud of Sad rivaling the Delaware size cloud of methane discovered in the south west u.s.. This is "Sad" with no place to call home. Sad without a cause. Sad because a bunch of knuckleheads are throwing happy around  like burgers on a barbeque without a thought for unintended outcomes, as if its gonna make happy actually happen. So this ominous cloud of sad will continue to grow until, at midnight the world round it will resemble the financial bubble of '08 and like some collective tumescent outpouring find its way, by Demonvector (pat. pend.) into the hearts of people whose lives are touched by a gentle and natural way of coexistence, so of course deserve to be enshrined in sadness while the "civilized" world celebrates yet another illusion. Happy new year suckers, have fun walking twenty miles to score some drinking water. On to "New Year". This one implies that we're gonna wake up to all our clothes washed and pressed and smelling like the crown of a babies head, with a brand spanking clean slate to systematically fuck up in the weeks to come. What a magical way to think. The only thing "new" about the year is numerological by nature, in that we go from a seven (2+0+1+4) to and eight (2+0+1+5). In the western mystical tradition this is a shift from the sphere of Venus to the sphere of Mercury, from the pillar of mercy to the pillar of severity, from emotion to thought from victory to glory. That's the kind of info I tend to fill my pipe with before smokin' it because that sort of shift can be profound and deserves a reflective puff. The path that joins these two spheres is attributed to the hebrew letter "Peh" meaning exciting intelligence. The path is also characterized by the Tower card in the Tarot, by the planet Mars and by the element Fire. Make of this what you will. Its a roots kind of thing. My take on an upgrade would go something like, "wishing you a safe entry into a homeostatic state of being". Don't really even need a new year to pass that one on. It is a sentiment which leaves no footprint but suggests the possibility of a life unruffled, calm, peaceful and fulfilled. A self perpetuating process of increasing balance from which wisdom emanates and compassion for the condition is all embracing. So, I'll see your Happy and raise you a Homeoecstatic state of being. Other than that, i can honestly report that the "year" didn't suck all that bad in spite of the usual array of mind boggling, huh what and are you fucking kidding me moments. My intent is to use the entirely of my will to make the upcoming time period suck even less and possibly have that spill over into a parallel universe. Lately as this wondrous journey takes me more deeply into the life of the farm as organism, I feel increasingly like my interaction with the vitality and spirit of the flora and fauna is becoming more of a two way street. Mostly, as I go about my daily designer/observer rounds I have a growing sense of being watched and even "talked" about. Its not entirely demeaning although there is a lot of what i have come to know as sniggering going on. Now, i'm gonna go on record as saying that the white sapotes are the biggest gossips and think of me as lame. The avo's are a wizened group and think of me as giving it the ol' college try. The mangoes don't know what to think. Beautiful fruit, but a bit short on imagination. I've been encouraging them to just let it out, see what happens. This morning, I paused in my wanderings to think about the seamless perfection that one witnesses when looking at an ecosystem approaching climax state. Everything working together. No wasted energy. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, and I thought, wouldn't it be hysterical if human language, rather than being the thing that distinguishes us and makes us the pinnacle of evolution was something that the plant world decided we needed to attempt to keep up with the wonder of existence. So they sent out a squad of mushrooms and taught us how to speak, hoping one day we would see there's no need. I got eyes. Amen Here's a thought. Don't hear about it much, but population is central to all other issues. If we were conscious enough, within two generations, we could cut the population in half without war, starvation, genocide, ravaging diseases etc. and  everyone could still know the joys and heartaches of raising a kid. Do the math. One family, one kid. One last thing. Many moons ago I remember reading about a series of experiments involving plants hooked up to galvanic skin response type devices. There was conclusive evidence that the plants had feeling that could even be transmitted long distances and through solid objects, especially in the case of trauma inducing stimulants. Just read a study the other day concluding that plants "know" when they are being eaten.  So I think about industrial chickens, crammed into cages, under lights, laying their lives away or going to slaughter in weeks, and I think about untold rows of greens and root crops and herbs, packed in to optimize profit and utilize space efficiently. Fed far more than the same plant grown in the wild would require and often harvested by soulless machinery. I've done the chicken deal. Know the feelings, find the balance and thankful for vital food. Don't think the chicken knows when its being eaten. Could be wrong but i've eviscerated enough of 'em to know dead is dead. Don't really get the Vegan perspective. Respect, but think it through. Thankful trumps biased. Have yourselves a homeoecstatic thingy. The more you show, the more we'll grow. Peace, Jp p.s. hands down, hero of the year. Groot