One good thing about the prior year

Originally, I began this post by composing a list of things that were great about 2009. As I attempted to put together a top ten, I started thinking about how everyone seems to have their own list of what was great about the previous year, but someone else always disagrees with them. I did some checking around, and realized that the current mode of thinking has progressed to the point that some have even taken to criticizing the listmaking process itself. It seems that the very act of making a list of things that you like, or want to share with others at the end of the year, makes you somehow inferior to them, due to the unavoidable differences between between your list and someone else's.
I happen to think this is great. I love reading a list of someone's top music of 2009, and then reading the comments below that invariably chastise the listmaker for such transgressions as placing the XX's new cd above the Dirty Projectors in the list, as if they couldn't believe someone could possibly think that could be an acceptable order to place them in....blah blah blah...
So how could I stay ahead of the curve and set myself apart? How could someone like me possibly have a chance to withstand the critisism of the potential tens of readers that may come across my humble "best of 2009" list?
It quickly became apparent to me that I would have to start thinking outside the box. (wait, can I still say that? it sounds so dated) Rules would have to be bent, maybe even broken to achieve my end product. My actions would have to be drastic and carried out with a boldness seldom seen in year end listmaking.
Then suddenly, the idea came to me: If the list itself had become passe, then I had no use for it. I would eschew the list altogether and refine my previous three hundred and sixty five day experience down to it's singularly pointed essence.
So without further ado, may I present to you:
The Top Thing of 2009
(Drumroll, please) (yes, the pun was intended)


I know what you're saying. You just can't argue with this selection, and you're kicking yourself for not being the one that thought of it first. Not just the song, but the very idea behind it. In a world filled with irreverence, the irreverence expressed in this song and it's accompanying video quite simply trumps anything anyone could ever think of that happened during the year 2009. So what if our economy is in the tank, no one (including myself) has a job, or our country is involved in wars that seem to no longer have a purpose? Let's go surfing. So what if you're sick and can't afford healthcare and you're hoping the government can help, or you're so afraid of the government that you are considering building a bomb shelter in the backyard? Let's go surfing. So what if the bank is foreclosing on your house and your car, your wife is leaving you, your dog just bit you on the leg? Let's fucking go surfing.
And if you think about it, that's all there is to it. It's all perception. As bad as it can get, it could always get worse... or it could get better- it's all in how you look at it. So to everyone going through hard times, personally, financially or otherwise: It's going to work out. We sit on the cusp of a new decade now, but it could just as easily be the middle of the year or the middle of the century. There's always going to be something to keep you going, some proverbial glimmer of light in the dark tunnel you may currently find yourself in. You're going to keep heading towards it and I'm going to keep heading towards it, and that's why reaching this demarcation line called the New Year is worth celebrating. For all the work we put in, we're all moving forward whether we realize it or not. And that's one good thing about the prior year: we know where we've been, and that's in the past. Hold on, because sometimes it just takes one thing to turn it all around.