well, it's certainly been a roller coaster of a year!  and not the fun whee- let's-go-again type.   to tell the truth, i have never liked roller coasters; actually, i did go on the demon at 6 flags about 25 years ago, twice, and it was fun, but not since then.  however, i digress...i'm sure that, for the most part, this is a year that the majority are glad to see pass and would prefer to (impossibly) forget.  storms; fires; drought; acts of violence, bigotry and hatred, senseless and inexcusable; every day, the media, saturated with a seemingly endless stream of incidents, made the extreme views of the mayan doomsday believers almost logical.  after christmas, it appeared to me, the newspaper became slimmer; except for the never ending loop of articles on the fiscal cliff, the on-going debate over gun control led by the ravings of the nra about the arming of anybody in sight to prevent another sandyhook-style tragedy and the severe weather bouncing across the country.  there were tragedies, like the shootings of four fire fighters by another nut-case or the murder of an on-duty police officer by her jealous husband, that devastated communities deeply but did not touch the world;  but every senseless death diminishes us all.  not to make light of anything or anyone, the year seemed to end on a rather quiet note, and actually had some good news for a change.  the stock market, despite bumps and dips, is reported to have a had a rather good year; the housing market has rebounded; unemployment has dropped (and we hope the trend continues).  of course, i think the popular vote to legalize gay marriage in some states is a beginning of a trend that i pray continues, as more and more people realize that same-sex marriages do not signal the downfall of the human race;  reality shows like "honey boo-boo", "jersey shore", any housewives episode or show that features semi-toothless, barely-english-speaking rural family and presents it as entertainment..these do more to damage what we would like to call western civilization.  i seldom make resolutions, but this would be near the top of my list:  re-evaluate these so-called "reality" shows and put on something that has some true value, that can actually teach us something and not present us with "characters" for us to laugh at and pretend that we are so much better than those we watch, denigrating others to make ourselves feel better off.  but as long as there is someone offering the money, there will be someone willing to make a public ass of themselves.  so, let's hope that in the coming year, we're less enthralled with people because of a name, money, red-carpet frequency or minimal talents and more inspired by those with  common sense, good minds and big hearts.  and let's hope we find these qualities more and more in our leaders; compromise should no longer be considered a flaw and party affiliation should no longer trump public welfare; corporate influence should not be allowed to assert itself above the needs of the people; and fear and paranoia have no place in the advancement of logical discussion.  and as much as so many would like to think otherwise, not everyone is right all of the time.  casting blame is not constructive.  so, like i said, no resolutions..only hopes; hopes that with sincere soul searching we can all find at least slivers of agreement to help make this a much better new year than the old we leave behind, realizing that love and understanding will go a long way in achieving that goal.  i hope that the rants are fewer and farther between...but not too much.  admittedly, it 's fun to kvetch.