{"id":44108,"date":"2013-01-02T12:15:40","date_gmt":"2013-01-02T17:15:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/?p=44108"},"modified":"2013-01-29T10:26:54","modified_gmt":"2013-01-29T15:26:54","slug":"happy-2013-from-mark-twain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2013\/01\/02\/happy-2013-from-mark-twain\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy 2013, From Mark Twain"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cNow is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual. Yesterday, everybody smoked his last cigar, took his last drink, and swore his last oath. Today, we are a pious and exemplary community. Thirty days from now, we shall have cast our reformation to the winds and gone to cutting our ancient shortcomings considerably shorter than ever. We shall also reflect pleasantly upon how we did the same old thing last year about this time. However, go in, community. New Year\u2019s is a harmless annual institution, of no particular use to anybody save as a scapegoat for promiscuous drunks, and friendly calls, and humbug resolutions, and we wish you to enjoy it with a looseness suited to the greatness of the occasion.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u2014Mark Twain, letter to Virginia City Territorial Enterprise, January 1863<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cNow is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual. Yesterday, everybody smoked his last cigar, took his last drink, and swore his last oath. Today, we are a pious and exemplary community. 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