Okay, so I admit it, I’m in Hawaii. I feel guilty admitting this to all of you who are wearing six layers of clothing in sub-zero situations, but there it is. Yesterday I was in a bathing suit, floating in turquoise water, observing a moorish idol, while you guys were shoveling your sidewalks.

Perhaps some of you are now asking yourselves, as you scrape the ice from your windshield, what the hell is a Moorish idol? Well, I will tell you, while you defrost your nose.

A moorish idol is a lovely little fish, named by the Moors of Africa who considered it a sign of incoming happiness. They are all over the place here (the fish, not the Moors), which may explain why the Hawaiians I’ve met seem so happy all the time. (Or maybe it’s because they are not wearing six layers of clothing and shoveling sidewalks.)

You can try to harvest a m.i. and put it in your aquarium so you have a little in-house happiness booster but I’m told the fish are notorious for dropping dead when they get aquariumed, and this could have an inverse effect on your mood, which is probably already pretty wretched due to the fact that your hands are frostbitten and your cat is frozen stiff on the porch.

So, I’m posting here a picture of a moorish idol, in an attempt to electronically send you a little happiness in the new year. Sit back, take off four layers, light a fire since the power is out, and celebrate 2009. If you don’t get a happiness rush from this picture, you might want to go the martini route.