Goodbye to the '00s

Hello to the Tens. The Teens. The Twenty Teens. Something.

I've been taking a page from Colbert and been calling this year '010. Oh Ten! Or sometimes I take my cue from Dudley Moore and Bo Derek and just call it '10. As in: Perfect Ten. I suspect that Roy Scheider will win the day, and 2010 will grow to common currency. Twenty Ten. Rolls trippingly off the tongue, no?

So, to start off with a celebration (a little late), let's acknowledge that yesterday was Michael Stipe's 50th birthday.

And, lest that just, you know, freak you the f*ck out, drink a toast to Issac Newton's 467th

Oh, and remember what Tony Wilson said: "No one beats gravity." Watch out for falling apples (but don't let them slow you down.)

Happy Year of the Ox

That's right, it's Chinese New Year, a.k.a. Asian New Year, a.k.a. Lunar New Year. No matter how you slice it, it starts today. And if the Chinese Zodiac is to be believed, it's the Year of the Ox.

So, I don't know, have a hamburger, or swear off hamburgers, or something.

Happy New Year Again

The theme of this entry is "Great Ways to Spend New Year's Eve."

For the last bunch of years, I have spent New Year's in one part of New England or another. It's a great tradition, and I love it, as I love the people I visit in Boston, Williamstown, and wherever else I end up visiting. However, this year I stayed in New York to say goodbye to '008 and hello to the New Year. And while I missed those friends that I don't get to see often enough, I had a FANTASTIC time here. Enough so that I'll share with you the headlines as a recipe, in case you're looking for a New Year that is true New York, but that could be approximated just about anywhere.

• We went to see a matinee of Speed the Plow on Broadway (including Norbert Leo Butz in his last-minute fill-in for the thermometric Jeremy Piven) You can't do this everywhere, but I bet there's some kind of live entertainment available wherever you live.
• Went to Gazala Place for a quick snack afterwards - yum!
• Cory had to go back to work, including a stint in Times Square shepherding dance fans through the throng to City Center. This is definitely a New York Only kind of thing, but consider: while there is certainly something very fun and maybe even glamorous about it, it was effin cold out, and it's more work dealing with the cops and the crowds than you want to be doing on NYE.
• While she was doing that, I went shopping for food, booze and movies, then proceeded to prepare dinner.
• When Cory came in from the cold, I greeted her with a cup of Kentucky Chocolate with peppermint marshmallows. Mmmmmmm...
• Then we had dinner - a simplified version of Steak Diane, roast potatoes and sweet potatoes, fresh green salad, pomegranate sorbet with chocolate chips. Rather tasty, if I may say so myself.
• Along with dinner, we had a drink that I thought I didn't like very much, but it turns out I like it very much. Prosecco, in this instance with pureed blackberries. MMMMmmmmmm...
• After dinner we watched Harold and Maude, which if you haven't seen, you should. There's a reason I give it a shoutout in the "description" part of this blog.
• Then we watched the Ball Drop Show on New Year's Rockin' Eve and on CNN, including the getting-on-but-still-kicking Dick Clark, and Anderson Cooper with the spirited (dare I say randy?) Kathy Griffin.
• Midnight Toast with more Prosecco. Eventually we polished the bottle and finished the night not too late, not too drunk - but fizzy and mellow and very happy indeed.

So it was short on insanity, but long on festivity. Couldn't have been happier!

Hope your New Year's Eve was happy as could be too, and that 2009 turns out to be your best year so far!

Happy New Year

Just the quickest entry today to wish a very Happy New Year to all and sundry out there on the internets. To celebrate, here's a shot of my youngest niece Anna on Christmas morning. Little bit of flash-induced red eye and harsh lighting going on, but I think that she and her camera and Hello Kitty still come off as pretty cute.



We worked on that puzzle together until her Grandma and Grandpa came over for the Holiday events. 'Twas fun.

For now - I hope that everyone has a safe and amazingly fun time tonight, and the best 009 imaginable (this is the last year we'll be able to celebrate double-Os for almost a thousand years - make the most of it!!)

Shanah Tovah

Happy New Year everybody.

Me, I'm celebrating with a one-game playoff for the American League Central Division title.

What I am NOT celebrating is Christmas. Not yet. Why would I? It's September. And yet, when one of the VPs brought in some M&Ms to the office today, they were the Green and Red 'Holiday' version. New record for extending the Christmas marketing season, in my experience. Sheesh!

Good things in '008

The Buffalo Tom gig was great - good band, good club, good friends, excellent way to spend an evening. Missed most of the opening bands because we were at an Irish pub watching the Patriots seal their undefeated season (in spite of the best efforts of the Giants.) Sometimes I wish I cared more about football. But not often.

Next night we hit Gloucester for a delicious seafood dinner with one of our old friends who now lives in Seattle. (I've said it before and I'll say it again - the Northwest is calling me. May have to contrive a trip out there sometime in the new year. Also, Iceland is calling me. Which is somewhat... unexpected.) Mmm... lobsters and clams... And magnificent to see Amy.

Held of until yesterday to swing out to Williamstown because of snow in Massachusetts. Helped the hosts prep and decorate, and had a fabulous New Years Eve party with them. This was part of the T-Day crowd and several of their Western Mass. contingent, including peeps from Mass MoCA, Williams College, Bang on a Can, Williamstown Theater Fest., and Jacob's Pillow. Leg of lamb, veggie lasagna, au gratin potatoes (see below re. potatoes), lemon tarts, cheese and jalapeno biscuits, corn bread, ginger bread, sardines, baked brie, salad, on and on. Plus Champagne, beer, wine, egg nog, and a punch that packed a serious punch, thanks to 'overproof' rum. Whoa. Great party - thanks, once again, to great friends

Straight up - there were some pretty hard things about '007 for me. Which isn't to say there weren't plenty of great times and fantastic events, and I'm grateful for them all. At the same time, I'm ready to shift gears. Looking forward to some wonderful developments in 2008.

And I've got some ideas of things to do to make that happen; but mostly, I'm just in a kind of state of readiness for things to open up. For lack of a better way to put it.

Plus: it's the Year of the Potato - which is all kinds of exciting! Think of the possibilities...

New England New Year

Very quick, as I'm in the midst of one of those whirlwind trips through Massachusetts. I'm in Waltham now with Sue and Steve, fighting off a cold and getting ready to go visit Beckett, then into Boston/Cambridge for some grub, the Patriots game (S & S are fans, and it's the big final game of what has potential to be the first undefeated season since '72) and a show by Buffalo Tom at TT the Bear's Place. All of which should be fantastic.

Tomorrow I get to see Seattle Amy, whom I almost never get to see. And either tomorrow or Monday it's off to Williamstown for a New Year's party courtesy Sue and Kevin (all these Sues - it gets confusing, I know).

Happy New Year's Weekend, everybody.