Attention, independent local business owners: "9 New Year's Resolutions for Small Business Success."

Phantom comeback?

After kicking off the year by allowing the mayor to prattle to the point of sheer inanity amid his Disney-flecked civic dreamscape, without anything remotely approaching a substantive cross-examination (Dear Leader advertises a lot, you know -- follow that money, people), the Jeffersonville newspaper eventually disgorged something of a scattershot counterpoint.

Gahan's loyal subaltern Pat McLaughlin duly mouthed the increasingly exhausted mayoral litany, but I was impressed the most by one small point on the part of Al Knable, as snipped here.

New Albany City Council members say more needed beyond downtown area, by Chris Morris (Coupon Gazette)

 ... (Knable) said he would also like to see a strong downtown merchant's guild.

Yes, we do, and it's something that should be completely independent of Develop New Albany's suburbanite cadres. I'm aware it was tried previously, with less than ideal results. However, times change. With patience, consciousness can shift.

Indie businesses should be coming together to pool their economic clout and community influence, and telling elected officials what is expected of them.

I'm highlighting two of these solid 2018 resolutions for small business people. If you're out there throwing punches, I suggest you click through and read them all.

9 New Year's Resolutions for Small Business Success, by Kimberly de Silva (Entrepreneur)

It's a good time to reflect on your business' progress and plan how you want to grow your business in the new year.

 ... A resolution, after all, is a decision to do something differently to bring about positive change. It’s a good time to reflect on your business’ progress and plan how you want to grow your business in the new year.

1. I will learn how to delegate and do more of it.

As a small business owner, your to-do list probably doesn’t even fit on one page. There are so many things to do, and it’s easy to delude ourselves that we need to do all of them ourselves. You can only work so many hours in a day. As a result, you’re probably exhausted, stressed and don’t have any free time outside of your business. Delegation is the key to a healthy work-life balance. However, people don’t delegate because it takes a lot of upfront effort and requires a loss of control. So how do you let someone else do certain tasks, while making sure it’s done correctly? The answer is simple: communication and training. Make sure your employees are trained enough, to the point where they can take over some of your tasks. The next step is to clearly communicate the objectives and deadlines, so that you don’t end up micromanaging.

And this.

5. I will learn something new.

New year, new skill. Choose something new to learn in 2018 -- it may be directly related to your business or completely unrelated. Learning a new skill will add a dimension of interest to your life that will help to maintain that work-life balance. It will also help you to get out of your comfort zone and meet new people, if you decide to take marketing classes or learn a new language.

THE BEER BEAT: Sunday sermonizing about the arduous path to pints, and union.

“Roger, get a life.”

The electronic notification arrived intact, but before I could reply to the tweet, my critic already had scurried away and deleted it. That’s too bad, because Noel Gallagher’s lyrical retort was ready and waiting, as taken from “The Importance of Being Idle,” a song he wrote and performed with Oasis.

“Give me a minute; a man’s got a limit. I can’t get a life if my heart’s not in it.”

In keeping with Noel's intent, it’s a facetious comment on my part. I have a rich assortment of lives, and my heart’s invested in each one of them. To be sure, the past sixteen months have been emotionally rough, as they’d be for anyone fellow losing his mom, a close friend and too damned many others. Mortality has been tangible, and the many ghosts that haunt me quite demanding.

There have been too many scripts filled with elegies, but memories remain, and at some point the mourning must end. So it will. All in all, the two of us have plenty enough, and I try not to lose sight of so many others who don’t.

I’m looking forward to a fresh start in 2018. I've proven myself adept at going away, and so the time has arrived to come back.

During my previous career in beer, now stirring again after the chosen hibernation, I attended so many (and varied) beer dinners that it’s necessary to loosen the belt two notches just to make room for the cumulative mental reckoning.

Some beer dinners took on the aura of a nobleman’s table-sagging banquets, during which I shared the dais with Falstaff (the model trencherman, not the inferior old-school adjunct lager).

We smashed together immense tankards of ale as platters of roasted beasts circulated through the vast hall, and tuneless karaoke broke out somewhere in the vicinity of the hallway to the urinals.

In short, the “fill ‘em up and send ‘em off approach.”

Other beer dinners were of a more modest and intimate nature, calibrated and careful, with judicious portions of both food and beer, served in the right way, on the right dishes and in the right glass, with attendees enjoying detailed conversation against a backdrop of acoustic folk, chamber music or maybe just the busy crickets during a midsummer’s night.

Or, the extended pinkie stratagem, also completely to my taste.

Most beer dinners I’ve attended probably fell somewhere between these two extremes, and of course, there is no definitive answer as to which format is the best. Whatever the size and scale, I’ve always sought to clean my plate of whichever edibles were being featured, and to drain those drams.

Last Monday evening, several of us attended a beer dinner at La Chasse in Louisville. As I feel compelled to constantly remind readers, La Chasse is owned and managed by Isaac Fox, who cut his teeth in the New Albany ten years ago at the late, lamented Bistro New Albany – among other establishments.

(As an aside, BNA’s Dave Clancy currently runs the kitchen at H. M. Franks, the O’Shea’s pub on Spring Street in Jeffersonville, but that’s a different story for another day.)

Monday evening’s beers came from the extensive list maintained by Dauntless Distributing, the Louisville specialty wholesaler, which employs NABC alumni Richard Atnip and Kevin Lowber. Food and drink were excellent, and a beautiful evening was had by all.

This beer dinner was another reminder of what I miss about the beer business, although in fairness there is an accompanying tally of items I'd prefer to avoid experiencing ever again. In future endeavors, hopefully the high points will outnumber the headaches, although the devil resides in these details. It's all about having a design for life.

Toe, meet water.

It's time to limber up.

If there is any single recurring theme to my life, it's the certainty that the contrarian in me always comes around. Just give it a bit of time, a few books and a well-crafted traditional German lager beer.

During my time as a beer revolutionary, I often asked myself what would happen when the revolution began devouring itself -- and if this isn't a perfect analogy, the question might better be stated this way: What's to be done when the beer world gets crazy, and I can't make sense of it any longer?

Obviously, this is the juncture when one goes back to the mattresses and the basics ... the simple pleasures, the timeless virtues, and the bedrock foundations.

Consequently, having recently spotted a Kroger recipe for Beef Stroganoff in which the grocery chain excitedly advised Hefeweizen as the ideal accompaniment, my first of many New Year's resolutions has arrived.

No, nay, never -- no, nay, never no more -- will I say the words "pair(s) with" -- no never, no more.

Rather, the comment will be "tastes good with," which strikes me as far less pretentious.

This isn't intended as a tease, because there's a staggering amount of work yet to be done, and it isn't clear what my precise role will be apart from assembling a progressively old-school beer program, but you can follow Pints & Union on Facebook and observe the narrative as the pieces of a downtown New Albany pub come together.

In the coming weeks and months, there'll be more to say. Right now, it's a bit premature; I'm a cog in the machine, and grateful to have the opportunity to help a friend achieve his dream. We share a vision of simple beer pleasures, and now comes the implementation. Wish us luck, and stay tuned.

Jim Wright: "So, in 2017, let us resolve to be the people we want to be."

I freely admit to having read many snippets of Jim Wright's writing over the years, while never really bothering to delve any deeper.

This may have been a mistake on my part. First, about the author.

Jim Wright is a retired US Navy Chief Warrant Officer and freelance writer. He lives in Alaska where he watches American politics in a perpetual state of amused disgust. He's been called the Tool of Satan, but he prefers to think of himself as the Devil's Designated Driver. He is the mind behind Stonekettle Station. You can email him at jim@stonekettle.com. You can follow him on Twitter @stonekettle, or you can join the boisterous bunch he hosts on Facebook at Facebook/Stonekettle. Remember to bring brownies and mind the white cat, he bites. Hard.

On Monday afternoon, Wright published these thoughts at Facebook, then later at his own blog. He summarizes the way I'm feeling about Our Lives in a Time of Trump, and so I'm teasing with his conclusion only. You simply must go to Wright's page and read the entire piece, which will be one of my personal touchstones as these thrilling months gather steam.

Resolutions, by Jim Wright (Stonekettle Station)

Author’s preface: This began as a post on Facebook. But the ideals outlined below apply to all of my social interactions, online and off. And because, a) not everybody who reads Stonekettle Station or follows me on Twitter subscribes to my Facebook page, and b) my Facebook page is subject to continuous attack by those who violently disagree with my viewpoint and my right to express such and therefor commenting is perforce limited to less than 5% of the people who follow me there, and because c) there is no such limitation here, I’m reposting this here on Stonekettle Station, expanded from the original Facebook post. // Jim

... We have to be the people we want to be – otherwise there is no point. And it's hard, being that person. No doubt. But the things in life most worthwhile usually are.

If you lay claim to the moral high ground, then you have to hold the moral high ground.

So, in 2017, let us resolve to be the people we want to be.

Let us stand together against the fall of night.

And let us always remember history is on our side if only we have the fortitude to see it through.

Two down, a whole bunch more to go.

With the first post of 2014, the NAC blog odometer resets.

It's back to zero, with hundreds more to come. Of course, it's all a trick of the calendar, and while it may seem daunting, there's a certain continuity over a period of years -- to be exact, a decade come October 2014.

On the morning of January 1, the posts below were the most read during the second half of December. Moving forward, some of the themes will be familiar.

For example, for so long as elected officials in the county, primarily Mark Seabrook and Steve Bush, continue to thumb their noses at the rule of law, NABC will continue to wrestle with the Floyd County Health Department. But the Attorney General's advisory opinion is real, if as yet unpublished, and if Dr. Tom wishes to see it applied in court, to his detriment, it's my pleasure to further his overdue education.

In the city?

Rescuing the notion of "quality of life" from those who consider it a "no brainer" when applied to suburban-think, as opposed to urban living ... building a coalition to call City Hall's increasingly obvious bluff on the future of the outmoded street grid ... touting genuinely progressive antidotes to this city's profoundly regressive habit of suppressing creative thought ... working toward unity of purpose as it applies to downtown New Albany's business investors and indie entrepreneurs ... and every time one of them is seen displaying the uncomfortable body language of a student who didn't do his homework, pressing the point even more incessantly, more firmly, and more loudly.

It's 16 months until the next election, and many of the politicians and planners here in New Albany will be shifting to a prevent defense, hoping that whatever we're asking of them will go away so their brains will cease hurting. They simply don't want to do their homework; the cognitive dissonance is too much for these products of the local schools. The world outside frightens them. Old myths and discredited platitudes from the Eisenhower era imbue them with a warmer glow than even a chain restaurant's frosty margaritas can provide.

Our object here remains as it has been since 2004: Withhold their Tylenol.

Happy New Year.

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New Year's Eve, 2009: "Silvester, but No Tweety."

It is of course customary to observe lines on the calendar and make various resolutions for the coming new year. The older one gets, the more appropriate our most basic of resolutions: To get through it alive.

Speaking more specifically, after a travel drought (see Get Back to Where I Once Belonged, at LouisvilleBeer.com), I'm hoping that 2013 brings a return to the concept of the Baylor Overseas Vacation, perhaps to the UK. The most recent one ended with New Year's Eve of 2009, and following is what I wrote about it.

---

Silvester, but No Tweety. (December 31, 2009)

Here in Germany, New Year's Eve is known as Silvester, and appears to be another handy excuse to close down the shop (whatever it is) and relax. Same goes to a lesser extent on January 1.

Previously, Christmas Eve counted as one such excuse, followed by Christmas Day I and II, the latter corresponding to Boxing Day for those Anglophiles reading, and although I've found two Irish pubs in downtown Bamberg, neither greeted me with the smell of black pudding or the flavor of black gold on the day after the day.

The only other time I spent New Year's Eve in Europe was during the transition from 1991 to 1992, in Kosice, Slovakia, where the most memorable tradition was proof that the warnings of my students not to stroll along the streets precisely at midnight were spot-on, because that's when people began throwing empty wine, champagne and beer bottles out of their windows. One needn't be a practitioner of nuclear physics to grasp the results, especially beneath the stories-high Communist era housing blocks.

Given that it is raining and most businesses are closed, we have not left the apartment today, having visited Spezial's handy bottled beer carry-out window Wednesday night upon returning from a fine session at Schlenkerla with Matthias Trum and his wife, Sandra.

During the course of roaming, we have met a pleasant young couple who run an espresso bar adjacent to the construction zone that marks the spot where a new replacement bridge for the vanished Kettenbrücke will soon rise. It's been open since November 1. We stopped there several times because it's on the direct route home from the Altstadt, and we bonded over professional basketball fandom, as they are fervent supporters of the Brose Baskets. They have invited us to coffee today even though the bar is closed for the holiday. We're told to knock conspiratorially on the door. If only Spezial offered the same option.

We seem to be winding down now as the end of the holiday draws near. The likelihood of time- consuming security checks at Nürnberg for the first leg of the outbound flight compelled us to shift gears and book a room at the airport hotel for tomorrow night. The flight is at 6:30 a.m., and would have required a 3:30 a.m., 85 Euro fixed-rate cab ride, but this way, we're only meters away from strip search after the early alarm sounds. There'll be a chance to spend the afternoon in Nürnberg, and perhaps eat some of the city's famous Wurst.

Excuse me ... I hear the sounds of pre-packing taking place. Is Fässla open today?

Woody Guthrie's "New Years Rulins" for 1943.

Thanks to Union Review and RDS.

Ironies (and straight lines) abound.

Only one day after St. Daniels artfully exposed his sensitive side in a conference call with Hoosier journalists, going so far as to acknowledge "concerns that have been brought up by the residents of Southern Indiana in relation to the bistate bridge project," our newly re-elected State Representative used his weekly Tribune slot to offer professional resolutions for the coming year: CLERE: Session will require resolve from all.

• I resolve to be more accessible. Over the last two years, I have worked hard to be accessible. Still, I know there are some folks who have had trouble connecting with me, and I resolve to find new ways to be even more accessible.

• I resolve to listen ... I want to hear from you. If you live in my district, you will soon receive a survey, which will also be available online, but if you have a question or concern, please don't hesitate to go ahead and get in touch.

• I resolve to do my homework and ask tough questions ...

• I resolve to get more folks from Southern Indiana to participate in the legislative process.

Now, I don't want to sound like a broken record, but I might know of a place to start, and ... what's that? It was written by WHO?

But as Hungadunga is my witness, I thought Matt Nash wrote them!