Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader, although not Asian himself, does really enjoy celebrating the Lunar New Year. Indeed, he is starting to celebrate today (Feb 8). Why? Well because in Asia it is already Lunar New Year (Feb 9). Indeed, they’re already celebrating in China. And the Big Hominid informs me that celebrations are afoot in Korea as well.

So. According to the Zodiac, this is the year of the Cock. Many people in America choose to call this the year of the Rooster, as Cock has some “other” connotations. But as a person born in a year of the Cock, your Maximum Leader prefers to call it the year of the Cock.

According to various web sites (and countless paper place-mats at Chinese Restaurants) what are some characteristics of people born in the year of the Cock? Let us take a look:

Positive Character traits: Courageous, hardworking, thoughtful (even a deep thinker), shows grace under pressure, shrewd, enjoys learning, independent capable worker, decisive, skillful, enjoys cooking, and would be a successful restauranteur.

Negative Characteristics: Arrogant, reckless, shrewd as a woman, selfish, eccentric, boastful, prone to overcommit, trust only themselves, extremely optimistic, exceedingly self-confident and self assured (cocky), works alone, claims outwardly to like high adventure and danger but is really inclined to avoid risk, will often think up crazy plans.

Humm… Lets see. About the only ones your Maximum Leader would quibble with would be “extremely optimistic,” “boastful,” and “reckless.” Your Maximum Leader is actually somewhat risk-averse in many ways.

And in a final note… According to a number of websites out there, 2005 will be a bad year for people born under the sign of the Cock. So, your Maximum Leader will be on guard. (In that vein, he is keeping a close eye - perhaps he’ll even shoot an evil eye - in the direction of the Smallholder…)

Carry on.