1999 is not only the end of this arbitrarily-numbered Millennium, but it is also the end of the decade, as well as the end of the century. It's a shame that these milestones have been largely forgotten in the damned Millennium frenzy that by now we are all sick of hearing about.

When you get right down to it, this is only the second end-of-Millennium we've seen, according to the Gregorian calendar. The arbitrariness of the whole thing is clear when you think about why we even use this measure, considering the basis behind our base-10 numbering system is the fact that we have ten fingers and ten toes. If we were quadra-digit creatures, using base-8, the current year would be something like 3752. Also consider that the year 0 is just a guess at the birth date of Christ, and we use BC/AD as a basis for timekeeping because of a few lucky breaks during all those religious wars that have taken place over the past 2000 years.

Another thing to consider is that the span of 1,000 years is a bit too much to be able to define in cultural terms. How can you define a Millennium? A decade, on the other hand, can be defined quite clearly. Look at the war and post-war years of the 1940's. Think of the polyester of the 1970's, or the business greed of the 1980's. And even though there are few survivors, we all know about the roaring 20's.

So what were the 1990's all about? Let's take some time to think about that!

On a larger scale, one can even define a century, even if the events that shaped the century did not span the full 100 years. Think of the enlightenment, the Renaissance, the industrial revolution. Think of this ending century as that of technological revolution, which despite what you might think, started long before Microsoft.

In this century humans took to the air in flight. We brought warfare off of the fields and into the trenches, then back out again. We harnessed the power of the atom and have been regretting it ever since. We've launched a million radio frequencies, and now spend most of our time tapping into them. And finally, we went digital. The result of this, among other things, is the largest middle class the world has ever seen, and stinking piles of pollution to prove it.

What has this to do with Montreal? Well, for one thing, my January 2000 dispatch will be a virtual tour of Montreal software upstarts that have changed the way we go to the movies and are about to change the way we use the internet. Think of this as a primer. Another thing is that I am on a personal mission to promote F2K ("Fuck 2000") in which we celebrate the end of the century, not the Millennium. Come to Montreal and perhaps you'll see some evidence of this campaign.

And finally, if you do come to Montreal for the holidays, you'll be happy to know that bar hours for December 31 have been extended to 8am (next morning) for this day only. Also, public transportation is free on New Year's Eve.

December Cultural Events!