I'm not making any resolutions for 2008. Resolve isn't something you make, it's something you have. I have plenty of resolve. Nor do I have any desire to look back at 2007, a year best described as the beginning of the end. The end of what? I don't know. But the feeling is there just the same. The best way to describe it is like being the protagonist in a Steven King novel, or William Shatner freaking out over the gremlin in the Twilight Zone. The wildfires of October only added to the sense of foreboding doom.

Looking back to last year is so last year. Been there, done that, bought way too many t-shirts. This year I'll wax clairvoyant and make a few predictions.

Blue sky bounty is the norm in San Diego County. Looking out over the Batiquitos lagoon, on a brisk winter morning, it's almost possible to forget the world is going to hell in a hand basket, the weather is turning in dangerous directions and heroes I have come to count on are grounded by a writers strike. Looking to the year ahead, I see a winter of discontent a spring of awaking a summer of unrest, and a fall madness centered around the first Tuesday in November.

It doesn't take a Crystal ball to see 2008 is going to be an angry year. A year of brass knuckle politics and fundamental finger pointing, how could it not be? Hillary Clinton is running for President, George Bush has one more year as President, war and recession loom around every corner and the price of gasoline is going up along with everything else.

Personally I don't have a problem with angry as long as it is justified, well directed and aesthetically pleasing. A sense of restraint is also good.

In angry times it is best to be fierce. I'm talking Bette Davis fierce. I'm talking Tina Turner Beyond Thunder Dome fierce. Cunning and calculated, tempered with style, flair and wit sharp enough to sever, fierce. Keeping your cool while things heat up fierce. I'm talking superhero fierce.

Fierce need not be ferocious, savage or cruel when used for goodness. Fierce is a way of meeting the world head on, on your terms. Superheros are always prepared to battle against injustice where ever it shows it's face. Wolverine is fierce, Wonder Woman is fierce, Cher is fierce.

The battle over Don't Ask Don't Tell and Gays and Lesbians openly serving in the U.S. Armed forces has already kicked into high gear. By mid summer the hate and hypocrisy will be flowing like martini's at happy hour. Of course most will come from the Republican side of the duopoly, but you never know, there are still plenty of homophobes giving voice to the Democratic party.

The usual debates over guns, God, and immigration will also be fully engaged just to make sure everyone is pissed off. You can only imagine the amount of anger to be given voice at this summers presidential nominating conventions. I can smell the pepper spray already. It's a good thing I'm not an immigrant gay atheist. Know what I mean?

Needed is a generation of heroes who, mad as hell, aren't going to settle for status quo injustice and inequality based solely on short term gain and corporate hegemony. To paraphrase the immortal Margo Channing, a role model of fierce and feisty resolve, 2008 "is going to be a bumpy ride."

Regardless of what the year ahead looks like, in spite of the abundant feces that is destined to hit the proverbial fan, I plan to rock this upcoming year like no other. This is where fashioning myself as an X-men like being with amazing skills comes in handy. The Superhero strategy relies on not losing your cool or composure, looking good, feeling good, and dressing for success, however you may define it.

Tights and capes are optional...of course.

2008 is not.