Just a random observation that the phrase I seem to have heard the most in 2009, and don’t recall hearing too often before, is “The perfect is the enemy of the good.” It seems like I’ve been hearing it about health reform recently, but I’ve also heard it in software development workshops, in artistic enterprises and in random conversation. The original quote in French is “Le mieux est l’ennemi du bien.”, from Voltaire’s Dictionnaire Philosophique (1764) Literally translated as “The best is the enemy of good.”, but is more commonly cited as “The perfect is the enemy of the good.”  I feel like that’s as a good a catchphrase as any for a pretty lousy year.

Like most people, I’m glad to see 2009 go away. Far, far away. What a crap year. Once the “Obama rush” wore off we were left with a monumental suckfest of a year. Good riddance to bad rubbish, that’s what I say. [NB: I’m still accepting invitations for NYE, hint hint].

I’m hoping 2010, more than anything, will bring with it a sense of possibility that I’ve been sorely lacking most of this year. And I’m ready for changes in all aspects of my life that will bring excitement, engagement and change. To be honest, I think I’m not alone when I say that I’ve just been hunkering down and trying to get through. I’m ready for a New Morning, ready to reawaken and plunge back into this crazy thing. Maybe even take a risk or two.

But on the topic of the decade, I have to say, it was pretty monumental. Apart from the horror of 9/11 and the ongoing evil of the Bush administration, personally, the first decade of the 21^st century was pretty transformative. The early 2000’s, post-9/11, were amazing. I made tons of friends in the early blogging days, got to co-found the WYSIWYG Talent Show with Chris Hampton and Dan Rhatigan, had amazing unparalleled adventures at PS122. I did several solo shows and ran for Mayor in 2005, I wrote for Nerve.com and other places. I traveled a bit around the world, which was fun. I’d say from 2002-2007 I had a pretty good stretch. And then I got to curate the PRELUDE Festival for three years and, of course, the past few years I have been working exceptionally hard on this here blog, Culturebot.org, and am proud of what we’ve built here. So – 2009? 2009 sucked donkey. But the entire decade? I have to say it was a wild, wild ride with some horrible downs and some transcendent ups.

Here’s hoping 2010 brings everybody whatever they wish for and maybe a few great surprises. A few moments of enlightenment and transcendence would be nice. To get things started on a pop-tastic note, here’s a fun song from the end of the last decade: