Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

It's too easy to look at Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a sort of "Mission Accomplished" celebration, reflecting on what's been called our "post-racial" society. But one look at life today puts demonstrates the lie behind all of that. While we've made advancements in civil rights in areas of race, gender, and lifestyle since MLK's time, there's still a lot effort that lies ahead. And when we think of improvements down the road, it's helpful to take a closer look back at the struggle that's been necessary in the past. Nothing has been achieved easily.

The second volume of Congressman John Lewis's comics autobiography comes out this week, providing a dramatic cover to display today(the first volume has been out for a year and a half). And, of course, the film Selma dramatizes many of the same events. Looking back to the past can often help us in figuring out how to move into the future. Good luck!

Happy New Year!

I hope your New Year's Eve celebrations weren't quite so dramatic as Ms. Tree's apparently were, but our unseen assailant does make a good point. Now that 2014 is in the rear-view mirror (to which I say, "Good riddance," for the most part), maybe 2015 is a year to start making some noise. My To Do List is already bursting at the seams with new projects and new endeavors that need to get underway, and 2015 is guaranteed to bring its own surprises—good and bad—into the mix. But as a certain voice of his generation wrote a number of years ago, "Time is short and life is cruel—but it's up to us to change this town called malice (ooo-oooh, yeah)." Here's wishing all us a 2015 filled with health, happiness, and fun!