A Happy New Year to One and All

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May our eternal God, who transcends our understanding of time, be with you in this New Year and always

 

Comments

  1. Chefofsinners3 January 2026 at 21:18

    Yes indeed. Happy new year to one and all. Sing with me:
    Should auld Aquinas be forgot and never brought to mind...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happy Jack4 January 2026 at 18:21

      Only if we also forget the Trinity, metaphysics, and why chairs are still chairs!

      Delete
    2. Gadjo Dilo4 January 2026 at 19:12

      Ah, but we'll take a cup of Aquinas yet,
      for auld lang syne... go on go on go on!

      Delete
    3. 雲水4 January 2026 at 19:21

      Aren't chairs chairs because they conform to the eternal Form of a chair?

      Happy new year to you too (although I don't really understand why we celebrate starting a new calendar, bah humbug),

      Delete
    4. Happy Jack5 January 2026 at 10:12

      Well, according to nominalism, it’s only a chair until we stop believing in it—then it’s just a rebellious pile of wood.

      Hmmm .... arbitrary units of time, but do you still accept cake and chocolate on your birthday?

      Delete
    5. Gadjo Dilo5 January 2026 at 10:39

      Up to now we've had the competing Julian, Gregorian and Pirelli calendars, but now maybe it's time for one global calendar so all the peoples of the world can live in peace.

      Delete
    6. 雲水5 January 2026 at 14:25

      When is chair a chair? You'll have to ask Joseph Kosuth.

      My birthday at least marks a full revolution around the sun from a fixed (and most auspicious) date, and I accept cake and chocolate so as not to cause my weaker, temporally-blinkered brethren to stumble.

      Lunar new year is at least tied to natural cycles. It would make more sense for the new year to mark, say, the start of the seasons and begin in spring. Or, in a Christian country, to begin at the nativity. Or the annunciation, as it did in England from 1155 until 1752 (Gadjo, you omitted the Lady Day calendar!).

      Delete
    7. Happy Jack5 January 2026 at 15:39

      Kosuth asks: when is a chair a chair? Metaphysics answers: before the gallery opens.

      Fair points. Still, even Aquinas allowed for convenient signs, and January 1st seems a perfectly serviceable one, if only to keep cake consumption synchronised.

      Delete
    8. 雲水6 January 2026 at 16:13

      I imagine that the Angelic Doctor would not have been averse to synchronised cake consumption!

      Delete
    9. Happy Jack6 January 2026 at 16:30

      Indeed. Ubi communis mensa, ibi pax. One might argue that cake is a natural law; written on the heart, frosted on the top.

      Delete
  2. Ray Sunshine4 January 2026 at 09:22

    Hello again, Chef, and a happy New Year to you too!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Bell4 January 2026 at 17:18

    Happy new year to Jack and all here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happy Jack4 January 2026 at 18:24

      Good to hear from you, Joe. You've been in my prayers. Have a blessed New Year.

      Delete
    2. Gadjo Dilo4 January 2026 at 18:55

      Great to see you back here, Mr Bell, if only to post a brief salutation. Here's to a blessed 2026, somehow or other.

      Delete
    3. Bell5 January 2026 at 10:22

      Thank you, Jack, and everyone else here. Your prayers are appreciated and I hope to be back more regularly in the future.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous5 January 2026 at 11:51

    Happy New Year Jack ! Great pic of the bridge. Didn't venture out watched it on tv. Still a sombre mood about after the Bondi massacre especially for those of us who live in the area. Hope all is well with you and yours. The Caracas moment has put a cloud over things. ...Prayers and more prayers . All we can do is just keep praying for some sanity to re enter the world....Cressie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous5 January 2026 at 12:21

      All the best, Cressie, wishing you a happy new year.

      Delete
    2. Happy Jack5 January 2026 at 15:32

      Happy New Year to you and yours, Cressie.

      Delete
  5. Neanderthal Èireannach10 January 2026 at 10:40

    Happy New Year, Jack and friends!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gadjo Dilo10 January 2026 at 16:50

      Athbhliain faoi mhaise daoibh, Mr Neanderthal!

      Delete
  6. Happy Jack10 January 2026 at 15:37

    .... and Chef of Sinners!

    Happy New Year Irish Neanderthal.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ray Sunshine16 January 2026 at 20:01

    Happy Jack, you'll have noticed that tomorrow (Saturday) it's United v. City at Old Trafford. The bookies are offering shorter odds on City. What are your expectations?

    ReplyDelete

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