Joe Bones sounds off on his personal best of 2005

I have to admit it’s getting better
A little better all the time (It can’t get much worse)
--“Getting Better,” Lennon & McCartney

My personal best:

1) Iraqis turn out en masse to elect a government. With 70% of eligible voters dipping a thumb in the purple inkwell, the December 15th election represented a crucial victory for our soldiers and allies serving in the cause of freedom and a blow to Islamofascists and obstinate leftists everywhere. Best related personal moment: Attending a holiday party in Brooklyn the Friday following the election, being introduced as the only person in the room who voted for Bush, and being greeted with something other than disgust(!). One guy, after several glasses of Martell, confided that he secretly admired me. Whoa. Might the anti-Bush hard line be softening? Hardly. But I do sense more introspection among leftists in their entertaining the notion, what if Bush had it right about Iraq?

2) New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman explores the forces that facilitated the rise of global digitization and lays out challenges for the free world in his highly thought-provoking book, "The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century.” Reading it on the subway, I had passengers approach me twice to tell me what a great book they thought it was. And strangers almost never talk on the subway. A must-read for everyone who senses the world is undergoing the biggest socioeconomic changes since the Industrial Revolution.

3) Paul McCartney remembers he was once a Beatle, hires a producer (Nigel Godrich) who wouldn’t suck up to him and releases his finest, most consistent solo album since “Ram” (1971). On “Chaos and Creation in the Backyard,” the 63-year-old McCartney plays to his greatest strengths—melody and musicianship—crafting a soundscape that draws freely from his own rich musical legacy. He also pays closer attention to his lyrics (“I’ve been sliding down a slippy slope, I’ve been climbing up a slowly burning rope,” he sings on “Friends to Go”), although it’s the music that really elevates this album. Amazingly, ‘Chaos’ is nowhere to be found on The Village Voice “Pazz and Jop Poll.” Then again, McCartney has never rated with hipster critics as a solo act. Why should I be surprised this time around? Their loss. The album is a pop music classic that’ll be around long after many of the records that made the list have faded. To my ears, it’s the best of the Grammy nominees for “Album of the Year.”

4) I finally launched my business, and after going through a few fits and starts and a scary summer drought, it closed out 2005 with a flurry of new jobs and a client list that stands at nine. Not too shabby. I’m enjoying this week off, but look forward to reopening on the 3rd and seeing what I can do to double output by June. In the meantime, I wish I had a million dollars!

5) A niece in Oregon gives birth to her second son, Owen, weighing in at 8 pounds 3 ounces, on November 22. Congrats Lizzie and Josh!

Saturday: Bones reveals his personal worst of the year. You’ve been forewarned.