Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Above, a shot taken at the Mt. Aso Volcano National Park in Kyushu, Japan in 2007.

For some people, years start out great and end not-so-great. For me, 2008 was the opposite. I started the year on unemployment. However, it is ending on a good note.

I am now working two jobs. At least things a looking better for me financially. I am now contemplating a return trip to Japan next year. That's provided that the money is still flowing in and the currency exchange rates improve. It is now at 1.00 USD = 90.8772 JPY, which is not too hot! Hopefully, the rate of exchange between the dollar and the yen will improve.

As for 2008's highlights, well, they've been few and far between. Each of my presidential candidates in the primaries fell by the wayside. The end result of the November general election was a disappointment, but I'll still remain optimistic.

In July, thanks to J. D. Lees, head honcho of G-FAN magazine and G-FEST, I was able to go to G-FEST XV in Chicago and had a good time. It was great to see the original Godzilla, Haruo Nakajima, get the Mangled Skyscraper Award and to see many friends in fandom. It was also great to meet Don Frye, from Godzilla Final Wars.

It was also great to see G-FAN named among the Chicago Tribune's "Our Fifty Favorite Magazines" list for 2008. It shows that what we do is appreciated and it gives all contributors a nice pat-on-the-back.

Currently, J. D. is doing the layouts for the Travel Guide To Kaiju Japan. It was a project that I started in February and completed in April during my idle days. We hope to get it completed long before G-FEST XVI so we can have it available there.

I hope that we can see the bottom of the current economic mess soon and start heading back upwards to more prosperous times.

Have a happy and safe holiday season and here's a toast to a bigger and better 2009!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!