The publication International Living just released its 30th annual Quality of Life Index, which attempts to answer the question, "Where is the best place to live?" Huffington Post writes:

Using what seems to be a semi-statistical reasoning (data is used, but so is personal experience), the countries have been ranked in 10 categories - Cost of Living, Culture and Leisure, Economy, Environment, Freedom, Health, Infrastructure, Safety and Risk, and Climate.

As usual, the rankings have provoked equal shock and happiness from different quarters - Brits seem exceptionally upset, although not surprised, that their ranking has dropped below that of the Czech Republic.

I’ll grant you, it does seem somewhat subjective based on the criteria. But the top 10 is as follows:

1. France
2. Australia
3. Switzerland
4. Germany
5. New Zealand
6. Luxembourg
7. United States
8. Belgium
9. Canada
10. Italy

So there you go. Opine away…

In the final years of the Bush administration, Washington was noted for its lack of substantive action on Capitol Hill. In 2009, many were wishing for a switch back to the previous inaction. In 2010, it’s "are we going to get anything done because we have to get re-elected and we don’t want to make anyone mad?"

Excerpts from a CongressDaily analysis of what’s to come:

House and Senate Democrats plan a 2010 agenda aimed at leaving the second half of the 111th Congress as firmly identified in the public’s mind with economic measures as 2009 was with healthcare reform. In 2010, virtually every bill will be sold as a jobs bill.

That agenda suggests 2010’s legislative output will be far leaner than last year’s, and could once again bode badly for key measures that were shoved aside in the push to pass healthcare legislation.

And if Massachusetts state GOP Sen. Scott Brown defeats Martha Coakley, the state’s Democratic attorney general, in a special election today to give Senate Republicans a 41st vote, virtually every key 2010 initiative, including health care, will be endangered in the Senate. Democrats last year regularly needed 60 votes to move legislation, and Republicans might be even less cooperative in an election year.

Despite a continued push by backers, climate change legislation, which the House has passed, and an overhaul of immigration law appear to face long odds of passage, according to congressional aides and lawmakers.

"It is going to be a very hard year to do what we have to do to meet the needs of the American people and to maintain the fiscal soundness. And that requires some very tough decisions," House Speaker Pelosi has warned.

Pelosi, echoed by other top House Democrats, said she is determined this year to reduce the deficit, which the CBO says hit $1.4 trillion at the end of FY09 and is projected to hit $1.5 trillion for FY10.

But how to pair these seemingly conflicting goals — passing multi-billion-dollar, job-creating packages with cutting spending and reducing the deficit — must await, in part, the president’s budget, set for release in early February.

Many observers speculate Senate Majority Leader Reid will push an energy bill aimed a creating green jobs and improving energy infrastructure without a cap-and-trade provision that Republicans argue amounts to a major energy tax. In a statement last week, a Reid spokeswoman mentioned "clean energy legislation," financial regulatory reform and immigration among priorities for the first half of the year.

Let’s be honest. This year, well, t’was a bit of a downer. But humorist Dave Barry has an amusing take on the last year of the aughts (or perhaps the aught-nots). You should read the entire column, but here’s the intro:

It was a year of Hope — at first in the sense of “I feel hopeful!” and later in the sense of “I hope this year ends soon!”

It was also a year of Change, especially in Washington, where the tired old hacks of yesteryear finally yielded the reins of power to a group of fresh, young, idealistic, new-idea outsiders such as Nancy Pelosi. As a result Washington, rejecting “business as usual,” finally stopped trying to solve every problem by throwing billions of taxpayer dollars at it and instead started trying to solve every problem by throwing trillions of taxpayer dollars at it.

As an artist myself, I find myself drawn (pun intended) to other artists around the world who are doing what they love. The invention of the Web and the prevalence of blogging have made my life easier. Now all I have to do to take in a good gallery exhibit is go to my preferred browser and search.

Over the past two years I’ve been doing just that. I’ve logged countless hours and have lost more sleep than I can imagine scrolling through some of my favorite art blogs. I’ve discovered everyone from a guy who created a skull out of a different material each day for a year to someone who routinely inks an old-fashioned comic strip. In between I stumbled upon someone who is eerily similar to me: he’s bald, sports a goatee and is an artist with a dream.

His name is Terry Border and he lives here in Indianapolis. For about three years he’s been bending the fabric (or wire) of reality. He takes wire and ordinary objects we see around our houses (corks, spice jars, fruit and cheesy snacks to name a few) and literally bends and shapes them into something else, injecting personality and life into them along the way. He then photographs them and posts them for all to see.

Within these photos we get a glimpse of what really goes on behind the cupboard. Why are carrots such great parents? What do people really think of Hamlet? How do you fight a cold? All these questions and more are answered on Terry’s blog.

His site boasts over 10,000 unique visitors per month. Now, he’s put some of his most creative creations into a book. “BENT OBJECTS: The Secret Life of Everyday Things,” was released on October 6.

I encourage those interested in good humor, great art and a desire to support local artists to check out his blog http://www.bentobjects.blogspot.com/ and pick up the book. Or drop him a comment at BentObjects@gmail.com.

Radley Balko, a Greenfield native whose work at Reason I’ve been reading for some time, has scribed a rather interesting piece on how Columbus has become an architectural marvel. He explains how private philanthropy has helped cultivate the structures, which were designed to draw attention and businesses to the town. Read the full article here and see pictures of Columbus’ many creations here:

Columbus, improbably, is one of the most architecturally rich towns in America. The American Institute of Architects ranks it the sixth most architecturally innovative city in the country, after Chicago, New York, Washington, Boston, and San Francisco. GQ calls the burg "an essential destination for the study of contemporary design and planning." Smithsonian says it’s "a veritable museum of modern architecture." National Geographic Traveler recently placed Columbus 11th in its list of the top 109 worldwide historic destinations, and the town now has six buildings on the registry of National Historic Landmarks.

None of this is due to strict zoning laws or preservationism. Little Columbus became an architectural magnet because J. Irwin Miller, a wealthy industrialist and philanthropist, decided 50 years ago to use his fortune to make his hometown a visually interesting place to live. Miller began with the church he attended, then moved on to public buildings, private businesses, and residences.

Miller, who died in 2004, was the longtime chairman of the Cummins Engine Company, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of diesel engines. He first developed an interest in architecture after taking some classes on the subject as an undergraduate at Yale. In 1942 Miller and his family commissioned a new church for their congregation from the Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen. The result, the First Church of Christ, was one of the first modernist churches in the country. Its design included a simple rectangular tabernacle lined with a grid of reflective windows (in which Saarinen included a cross) and a matching freestanding bell tower. Some religious leaders criticized the nontraditional approach, but the church won praise from architecture critics around the world. It’s now the centerpiece of the town’s architectural tour.

In 1954 Miller decided to do something similar for local public schools, whose boring design he blamed for stifling kids’ creativity. So he made a bargain with the city: The Cummins Engine Foundation would foot the architect’s bill (though not the construction costs) for any new school building, as long as the city selected from a list of architects compiled by the foundation. The bargain soon expanded to other public buildings, and by the 1960s Columbus had become a world-renowned magnet for privately financed modernist design. Even the county jail is art: The Cleveland architect Don M. Hisaka designed a round jail with a recreation area capped by a mesh dome. Some of the locals objected to letting convicts live in such an interesting building, until they were assured the place would look pleasant only from the outside.

Travel Leaders recently released the results of a survey of over 600 folks, inquiring about their travel preferences. As we all like to fantasize about such things while at work, let us indulge you. Here are the results:

If you won a trip anywhere in the U.S., which would you choose? (614 responses) 
1.       Cruise - 33.1%
2.       Island Destination - 23.1%
3.       Beach Destination - 18.4%
4.       Resort Destination - 7.8%
5.       Major U.S. City - 6.2%         

• Top “ideal U.S. island destination” was Maui, HI, followed by the U.S. Virgin Islands and Hawaii (The Big Island), HI, respectively.
• Top “ideal U.S. beach destination” was Hawaii, followed by Florida and then California.
• Top “ideal U.S. city to visit” was New York City.
• Top “ideal national park to visit” was Yellowstone. 
• Top “ideal U.S. mountain destination” was Colorado.
• Top “ideal U.S. golf destination” was a tie among Arizona, Hawaii and North Carolina.      

What is your dream international destination? (609 responses)
1. Australia                    
2. Italy                                     
3. (tie) Greece                          
3. (tie) Tahiti                            
5. Germany                              
6. (tie) Ireland                          
6. (tie) New Zealand                
8. Fiji                                
9. (tie) Egypt                            
9. (tie) France  

I doubt I’m alone in thinking the fact that Branson isn’t mentioned once on this survey is a rather stark indictment of society.

Some family, friends and co-workers are getting sick of hearing me talk about it. Instead (or in addition to), I’ll write about it, try to come up with a way to justify it being in this space and move on — for the time being.

It is Ball State University football, the magical 11-0 season (entering Tuesday night’s regular season finale at home against Western Michigan) and where its bowl destination might be. OK, I know it’s not the Golden Domers back in their glory days, the IU hoops (see back in glory days reference, although I believe they will return to prominence in a few years under Tom Crean) or Purdue’s Rube Goldberg contest dynasty, but give us Cardinal fans a break.

Even if the Cardinals go 13-0 (a conference championship game in Detroit awaits if, and only if, a Tuesday win is recorded), the BSU faithful are looking at a return to Detroit the day after Christmas (bowl games are supposed to be a reward, aren’t they), Toronto (nothing against the Canadians, but I’m not anticipating sunny weather up north on the third day of 2009) or Mobile (better, but no New Orleans, Phoenix or south Florida).

Ball State won’t be going to one of the grander destinations because that appears reserved for Utah or Boise State, which also fall in the non-Big Boy category of college football and its allotment of "only one of you gets to come to our season-ending party."

What’s the solution? Don’t know. What’s next? Hope for three more wins, 14-0, more publicity for the university and increased alumni donations (now there’s a business angle).

Or how about this justification: president-elect Barack Obama stirred the pot the night before the election by championing a college football playoff and repeating the wish in his recent "60 Minutes" interview. If the future world leader can take time to examine the college football postseason structure, why can’t I?

Go Cardinals!