Althouse: What are you doing New Year's Eve?

December 31, 2010

What are you doing New Year's Eve?

Alone? At home?

Not alone? Out?

41 comments:

Phil 314 said...: A little Rufus Wainwright goes a long way.; 12/31/10, 10:14 AM
The Dude said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/31/10, 10:20 AM
Unknown said...: We'll be staying in, thank you. New Year's is Amateur Night, after all. A little sparkling grape juice will do us fine.

We'll also be thankful 2010 is over. Probably the worst I've had in 50 and The Blonde is right behind me.

We end on an up note, however. The Blonde is working (albeit part-time), her bone scan came back good, so no treatments (stuff like Actonel makes her sick), and she's having fun with her latest craze - drawing cartoon animals (thanks again, Ann).

A Great New Year to all the Althousians and, especially, the Meadhousians.

WV "dustess" A female duster.; 12/31/10, 10:22 AM
rhhardin said...: Retire early, unless some interesting project is underway on the computer. Rise at 3am.

Chinese folk song I just put up; having recorded it in 1998 off Radio Taiwan.

Maybe somebody knows the recording, I was thinking. YouTube goes everywhere, unless they've banned it.

It's been through four transcodings, as well as being off shortwave in the first place; but the original has a nice bass line. Video is of transcoding 3 from real audio to mp3. Transcoding from mp3 to wmv was still to come.

Beats Rufus Wainwright.; 12/31/10, 10:24 AM
tim maguire said...: Hopefully, I will assemble the pinhole camera my wife have me for Christmas and go to bed around 11:00 because my daughter doesn't care that it's New Years and will want to get up at 6:00 tomorrow morning just like every other morning.; 12/31/10, 10:26 AM
Phil 314 said...: Key quote for the upcoming year:

Eleven!
Tufnel,Nigel (1984); 12/31/10, 10:30 AM
jungatheart said...: Home alone.; 12/31/10, 10:31 AM
Michael K said...: Some of my children and my grandchildren are driving up to my mountain hideout northeast of Los Angeles to spend the weekend. It is 18 degrees this morning but very little snow. That may change Sunday. Up here the driving hazard is ice, not other drivers, but we will be back home early.

I agree this is the worst year since 1941 and 42.; 12/31/10, 10:32 AM
Fred4Pres said...: Making some pizza. Meadehouse style.; 12/31/10, 10:33 AM
Phil 314 said...: Sixty;
That boy needs to sober up before being taped.

That IS his usual voice.

Though I have to admit I do like this song (maybe its because I like the movie); 12/31/10, 10:34 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Visit with some elderly friends and now ex-clients (84 yrs old average age...one is a Pearl Harbor survivor), have a couple of cocktails with them and catch up on Christmas events. Yes...they still love to entertain in style whenever they can. Finger foods, cocktail napkins,the whole nine yards.

Always a very retro and fun experience.

Then home by 6pm for honey mustard rib dinner (which I am pre prearing now) and early to bed as always on New Years.; 12/31/10, 10:41 AM
rhhardin said...: I may set the backyard bird microphone to record the midnight gunshots before bed, though, if the wind is quiet and the grain elevators shut down for a while.

The shots last for about a half hour; and some guy always starts five minutes early. The clocks are not good out here.

Dogs respond.

It's the Ohio way.; 12/31/10, 10:41 AM
Ann Althouse said...: Here in Wisconsin, we can snuggle up in bed at 10:30 and watch NYC hit midnight at 11. There! Ready for New Year's Day (and the Rose Bowl), feeling great.; 12/31/10, 10:44 AM
jungatheart said...: That's cheating, Althouse.; 12/31/10, 10:47 AM
AllenS said...: Althouse,

Is there anything going on at the U for the Rose Bowl? A gathering of students in a hall or gym to watch the game? I'll bet the local bars will be full.; 12/31/10, 10:49 AM
rhhardin said...: Sydney is already 2011, if you want to get past it for some other activity.; 12/31/10, 10:50 AM
Titus said...: I am driving my parents and a couple of their gray hair friends to the casino at 2:00. Will be out of there by 4:00. Dinner at the Log Cabin in Baraboo at 5:00 and home by 6:30.

Than clumber cuddle time.

Last year I was in Portland Maine with my husband.; 12/31/10, 10:53 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: That's cheating, Althouse.

A few years ago we had "New York New Year" party. So when at 9pm our time, it is midnight in New York and all of us old farts could celebrate and still get home to our cozy beds at a reasonable hour.

:-D; 12/31/10, 10:53 AM
William said...: I volunteer at the McAuley Mission down on the Bowery. Much as other do gooders provide and serve a hearty Christmas meal at homeless shelters, my friends and I work as volunteer bartenders at the Mission. This one day of the year we provide these poor, rum sodded wretches top shelf whiskey and all they can drink. It's little enough sacrifice to make in order to see the joy on their battered faces as they lapse into stupor or tremens.; 12/31/10, 11:04 AM
jungatheart said...: Great idea in your past party, DBQ, I can dig it. Your plans tonight sound delighful :); 12/31/10, 11:09 AM
Anonymous said...: The hubby and I are having wine and cheese night, which is our "thing" that we invented to spend a nice evening together every so often. We go to the "upscale" grocery store, pick out a few cheeses we've never had before, pick out a couple of bottles of wine we've never tried, add some fruit and bread, and have an elegant, simple, romantic dinner, make up fancy-sounding insights on how the different wines interact with the cheeses, and watch the mayhem on TV.

It's always very nice. Going out on New Years always seems like a hassel.; 12/31/10, 11:23 AM
reader_iam said...: Hosting a houseful of kids (oldest is 12) for a New Year's slumber party. Am I nuts or what?; 12/31/10, 11:44 AM
Tank said...: Party at a friend's house, like every year. There will be people there from < one year old to > 80 years old. A very nice group.

Good friends, couple of drinks, make believe we're excited at midnight, kiss the girls, ... home.
Up early, the wife has to work. Me too.; 12/31/10, 12:02 PM
Tank said...: Oh, I forgot.

Happy New Year to all at AA.

Get home safe.; 12/31/10, 12:03 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Early celebration for the preschool set, and early to bed for me.

Running (I use the term loosely. At this point, it's more like jogging slowly or taking minuscule hops with each step while walking.) an 11k tomorrow morning.; 12/31/10, 12:10 PM
howzerdo said...: Party at a friend's house two blocks away. May drop in at a party at our local bar, just down the hill from my house.; 12/31/10, 12:43 PM
Beth said...: educher, thanks for sharing that about your wife. I hope all continues to be well.; 12/31/10, 12:47 PM
Beth said...: We'll brave the weather (flooding, hail and tornado predictions; right now it's sunny, though) and cross the lake to spend the night with our best friends. The nephew of one has just launched a restaurant venture and we have reservations at 8:30, but we'll be at home long before the ball drops.

Maybe some fireworks at midnight.

It's comforting, for some reason, to know that there are idiots elsewhere who shoot off guns for New Year's. Those bullets land somewhere, you know. Out in the country I guess the chances of hitting someone aren't very high but in the city, we've seen people die because some nitwit a half mile away couldn't just set off some firecrackers or a Roman candle.; 12/31/10, 12:51 PM
kjbe said...: We got invited to go out (to West Bend, yohoo!), but declined. Our usual routine is to watch the NYC ball drop, then head to bed.

The next day is more of our style - lots of college football, especially, this year, the Rose Bowl... and lots and lots of h'ordeuvres. Back in the olden days, pre-BCS, we'd set up both tv's next to each other, to not miss a single game.; 12/31/10, 1:30 PM
Peter Hoh said...: Providing some supervision -- and a few snacks -- for my teenage son and a few of his friends as they hang out in the living room, playing video games and chatting with friends via the computer.

Thrills.

WV: ligour, which I won't be serving.; 12/31/10, 2:27 PM
traditionalguy said...: The Inn at Amelia Island has a a New Year's Eve dinner and dance in a large lobby with fireplace and TVs tuned into the Florida State/South Carolina game from Atlanta. We don't care about Florida State but many down here do. I hope Spurrier whips them good.Tomorrow we are teeing off at Noon to be back in time to watch the beloved Horned Frogs play some team filled with midwestern country boys that has lost one game already this year, unlike TCU.; 12/31/10, 4:18 PM
roesch-voltaire said...: Pot luck dinner, dancing and singing with a group of friends to bring peace and love into the world for the New Year, and I wish all here a happy and blessed New Year.; 12/31/10, 5:07 PM
d-day said...: I mouthed off to the boss Thursday morning, so it's work for me this New Years. Already had a sitter lined up, so it'll be easy to transition to booze/pizza/working-in-jammies mode.

Sigh.; 12/31/10, 5:17 PM
Martin L. Shoemaker said...: My boss required me to take a two week vacation: my first in 20 years (and yes, I'm a workaholic). A friend challenged me to spend the time writing my first Windows Phone app, and then try to sell it.

When I haven't been with family for the holidays or driving my mom to doctor appointments, I've been working on the app (a space travel game). It's nearly to the testing point. I'm on a roll, and I've got no plan to stop for a mere coincidence of the calendar.; 12/31/10, 6:49 PM
Michael said...: Years ago in the Bay area I observed the latin tradition of firing guns into the air in celebration of the new year. I was told that the shooters were of the belief that the bullets ascended into outer space and that they were not mindful of gravity and its pull on us all. Happy New Year.; 12/31/10, 7:00 PM
Kev said...: Unless I'm playing a gig, I usually stay in on NYE; it's just not worth it to share the road with the drunken crazies unless I'm getting paid. I got invited to a few parties, but the closest one is about 15 miles away, and the hosts, while friends of mine, are not of the "Hey, can I crash on your couch?" variety.

wv: perspigi. Didn't he write The Pines of Rome?; 12/31/10, 10:36 PM
Moose said...: Power went out about 930 pm while we were over at the neighbor's celebrating NYE. Turns out the entire neighborhood was dark til about 1 AM.

We brought our neighbors over and fired up the backup generator and celebrated at our house.

Be prepared!; 1/1/11, 4:34 PM
Anonymous said...: Firing a gun into the air is perfectly safe, as long as you use a shotgun loaded with birdshot of #6 or smaller size, and maintain an elevation of 20 degrees or greater. I have been "rained" on a dozen times while hunting dove and quail, and it didn't hurt in the slightest.; 1/3/11, 10:16 PM
reader_iam said...: It's an easy choice for us, a (and by "a" I mean "multiple") gun-owning family, not to use them in ways that bring untoward attention for no damn good reason. I mean, sheesh: Keep your targets to your own sloppy, selfish selves!; 1/3/11, 10:35 PM
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