As the great Grand Blanc (Mich.) philosopher Karl Welzein once said, “Why worry about tomorrow when tonight’s already tonight?” Exactly. The economy’s been so crummy for so long that to dwell on the inevitable hangover is an exercise in redundancy. Fun can be had in the here and now; all you need is the proper amount of carbonated libations, and silver linings—Silver Bullets, if you’re watching your waistline—will beckon.

So with apologies to Miller High Life, consider 2012 the Champagne of Years. Don’t let an early Thursday wake-up call prevent you from living it up at tonight’s Best of Seattle Party (Pier 66, 7–10 p.m.). It could be worse. We could be under siege by armed enemy combatants, Greg Nickels could still be mayor (actually, we wish that were the case), and faux-hawks could still be in style. We could, like the rest of the country, be in the midst of an epic, crop-obliterating drought. And, despite our fault lines, Seattle’s yet to suffer its oft- predicted Big Quake.

See, there’s lots to be thankful for. And in this, our annual Best of Seattle® issue, we celebrate the very best people, places, and products our talented, teched-out* town has to offer. You’ll read about what you voted for, and what our staff holds in highest esteem. Taken altogether, this issue makes for a damn fine excuse to celebrate. Tonight, remember, is already tonight. Grab it by the bottleneck and pop its cork. Mike Seely

*Got a Kindle or Kindle Fire? Subscribe to Seattle Weekly now (your first two issues are free) and get this massive Best of Seattle ® issue to keep with you all year, for nothin’.