Digital City

The 1st day of 2009 is a fresh start for many of us. You'll probably spend the rest of this day recovering from the last night of 2008 but you have a whole new year to look forward to. So get comfortable because there are 364 days left until 2010.

You might still be able to catch the Mummer's Parade in Philadelphia or the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California leading up to the Rose Bowl between Penn State and USC.

Both Paul Revere and Betsy Ross were born on this day many years ago. Also born on this day, J.D. Salinger, Frank Langella, Morris Chestnut, Verne Troyer and controversial Chinese gymnast He Kexin are all celebrating their birthdays.

Chik-fil-A introduced quick-serve customers to breakfast chicken when they added the Chicken Biscuit to their menu. But the restaurant still has an edge up on the competition by guaranteeing that their chicken biscuits are made from scratch. And on New Year's Day, customers will be treated to a free fresh chicken biscuit.

Sometimes I take a break from the Big Apple and go south to see my family. This Christmas, I actually headed to my brother's house just outside of Atlanta. But just because I go on vacation doesn't mean I take a break from drinking good beer.

My first night in town, I went out to dinner with my family to a spot called Village Tavern (a City's Best nominee), and ordered SweetWater 420, a west-coast style pale ale. The beer was tasty with a crisp flavor. The glass was even passed around the table so that everyone could sample a bit. Each sip was followed by agreement that the drink was an enjoyable one.

It surprised me to learn that this clean, crisp brew was pulled from a tap shaped like a fish flopping out of the water.

The 364th day of 2008 leaves us with about 2 and a half days left in this leap year. It's time to make some resolutions but make sure you ring out the new year with a big party.

The 360th day of 2008 brings us to Boxing Day -- a day to relax and just be relieved that the holidays are over and you have a little less than a year to relax before it all starts over again.

I've been thinking this week about the new year upon us. As such, I made some suggestions the other day herein about low-cost, low-stress ways to start prepping for 2009 if you're feeling a bit out of sorts. Some of them involve proverbially flushing things out of your life -- your own personal toilet-cleaning, if you will.

I'm still waiting on your additions to see what you do pre-New Year's to perpare. Do you have a tradition? Something you clean or wear or do? Even if it's radically stupid (but not to you, of course), I will post the best of them with good humor. Here are a few more of mine:

If you're feeling a little fearful this Christmas because generally speaking, things seem to backsliding into a giant turd pile, you're not alone. Many, many people are feeling the sort-of nostalgic, weird grip of the ghosts of Christmases past (or future, if it be a bad one) as they watch their 401Ks turn to peanuts and the college funds dwindle just as fast. It's high anxiety time.