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Home » What are you doing New Year’s Eve?

What are you doing New Year’s Eve?

The New Neo Posted on by

And me? Glad you asked.

Nada, zip, zilch.

Oh, I might visit a nearby friend for a short while and have a sip of champagne, a tiny toast to the end of 2021, a year I’m pretty sure most people are not going to look back on with inordinate fondness. And I’ll toast with a fervent hope that 2023 will be a lot, lot better.

I don’t usually do much of anything on New Year’s Eve. I decided not to publish any long, involved, research-laden posts today, but to resume that come Monday.

Staying up till midnight is no problem for me, since I’m a night owl and always have been. Actually, even when young, I had somewhat of an aversion to New Year’s Eve. To the idea of a night when you were supposed to have fun or else. A reminder of the speedy passage of time. With alcohol drinking. And the obligatory midnight kiss, which wasn’t a fun moment if you didn’t like your date.

Once or twice I went to Times Square to see the ball go down in person and not just on TV. Curiously, those were some of my better New Year’s Eves. Maybe it was the people I was with those nights. We ate at Tad’s Steaks, just for laughs, but Tad’s wasn’t bad at all.

And three years ago the very last Tad’s in New York City closed down. I had no idea any of them had lasted that long.

So let’s drink to Tad’s:

The cafeteria-style chophouse is known for hawking inexpensive meat-and-potato dinners on red trays — meals that cost little more than $1 each when the first one opened in 1957. A steak lunch today can be had for as little as $9.

At its height, Tad’s had eight New York locations out of 28 nationwide. But come Jan. 5, 2020, the red neon sign in the window advertising “broiled” steaks at 761 Seventh Ave. will go dark — as will the vast grill that played host to smoky “steak shows,” where dozens of cuts could be grilled at once during the thick of lunch hour.

Happy New Year, everyone! I’m very grateful for all of you. Here’s to a wonderful 2023, full of love, joy, and good health!

And beautiful music:

[NOTE: Some of this appeared in a previous post.]

Comments

What are you doing New Year’s Eve? — 42 Comments

  1. Happy New Year, Neo! I’ve been reading your blog since about 2008. Regular reader, occasional commenter.

    I’m always amazed at how much of a kindred spirit you seem to be to me. Anyway, my husband and I, for the past 7 years (exception was 2020) have had a very early dinner (5:30PM reservation) at Morton’s The Steakhouse in downtown Portland, Oregon.

    We weren’t sure about going last year (the restaurant was closed because of you-know-what in 2020) because of all the stuff going down in Portland, but the location is still okay. We haven’t been to Portland otherwise in about 3 years.

    We have the same waitress each year, and it’s been fun seeing how things change over the years for her (and us). We’re braving it again this year.

    We get home before the crazies come out and just watch TV and have some vino.

    Happy New Year to all the regulars here, as well!

  2. Happy New Year to you Neo! And to everyone who comes by this blog. I’ve taken a liking to the Chinese New Year’s greeting, I hope you get rich!

  3. When I think of “Auld Lang Syne” and New Year’s Eve, I think of Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians– when I was a kid, that band practically defined the occasion. As for the tune, the Royal Canadians (so named because Lombardo was born in London, Ontario) popularized it as a New Year’s song from the time they first performed a nationwide New Year’s Eve radio broadcast in 1929 up until 1976, their last TV special. My parents always waited until the band started to play the song at midnight before breaking out the drinks, the noisemakers, and the funny hats that adults liked to wear on 1950s-era New Year’s Eves. Those parties were fun because the kids got small drinks too and most of the guests were extended family and the next-door neighbors, so nothing got too raucous.

    Here’s Guy and the Royal Canadians in 1953: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik7ktS3PqEs&t=70s&ab_channel=ChristmasTimeTV

    The band’s sound is a bit syrupy (they billed themselves as playing “the sweetest music this side of Heaven”) by modern standards, but it brings back some good childhood memories for me.

    What am I doing tonight? Staying in and staying off the roads– the NWS has issued a dense fog advisory for the local area– touching base with friends, and giving the cats a special tuna dinner. Wishing Neo and all her commenters a Happy New Year, however you celebrate it.

  5. 2022 has not been a great year – we here at Neo’s all know the problems. Let us all hope ’23 will be an improvement.

    We have to have faith that, though it may not be apparent to us, the universe is unfolding as it should. Happy New Year to Neo and all who read this great blog.

  6. Happy New Year Neo! This is one of the few places on the Interwebs I visit multiple times a day, and read all the comments. You attract great commenters, such is your strength.

    I spent the afternoon making your family apple/sherry/Sara Lee stuffing recipe for tomorrow’s turkey. We’ve made your lebkuchen recipe several times as well.

  7. Hanging with my college senior watching football. He had some very painful jaw surgery right before Christmas. So we’re home with him.

  8. Hurin3:

    Glad somebody’s still making those recipes! I forgot to post them on the blog this year.

  10. Happy New Year to all.

    I actually had Herschel Walker in a class when I was a TA grad student at UGA. So watching the Dawgs tonight then heading to bed.

  11. I second Hurin3. I think I speak for everyone here when I say we all admire your commenters.

  12. Je veux celebrer!

    Just learned that tonight.

    I’m spending a cozy evening with Francoise Hardy and my French lessons.

  15. Did somebody say lebkuchen? Mmm!

    The very word brings back the moment, many decades now past, when I would raid the cooling rack in my mother’s kitchen.

    Such sweetness, somehow still present.

    May like sweetness attend each of you —Neophytes all, like me— especially now, at the turn of the year.

  16. Huxley, you may enjoy Fancoise’s winsome cover of Charles Trenet’s classic “La Mer.” Charming impressionistic lyrics, dashed off, it’s said, as he gazed out from his train on Mediterranean seaside scenes. And of course that utterly seductive melody.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tvLa1rA0yU

    And here’s Rowan Atkinson’s inspired use of Trenet’s own version to conclude his “Mr. Bean’s Holiday” on the happiest possible note. (Come to think of it, what more positive way to see out the year?)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Iykn4mBT9U

    Bonne annee.

  17. Quiet night with a small group of friends. Some food, a couple of funny games, and now home unlikely to see midnight roll on by.

    Happy New Year! Here’s to a great 2023 for all.

  18. Le Mot Juste:

    Gorgeous! I had not seen that. Francoise Hardy had a long and prolific career. I’ve only scratched the surface.

    Reminded me a bit of the Gene Kelly/Cyd Charisse number in “Singin’ in the Rain,” which stopped my heart the first time I saw it.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2ytvJxTjTU

    I regret that the last time I ran into “La Mer” was at the end of the recent Gary Oldman version of “Tinker Tailor,” where the song was used ironically (and stupidly to my mind).

    Bonne annee to all.

  21. It’s 23 years since the year 2000. 23 years before 2000 was 1977.

    1977-2000 passed at perfectly normal speed. 2000-2023 went at least 2.5 times faster.

  22. I second what Hurin3 said at 8:08. I visit this blog several times a day and read all of the comments. Thank you Neo for what you do, and thank you to the commenters!

  23. Today I have caught up with most of the news and blog posts that I had ignored since before Christmas, in preparing for the holidays.
    As a break from reading, I get up and wash another sink full of dishes* from a very small gathering last night, as we & our friends don’t like to be out with the real celebrating crowd on the Official New Year’s Eve.

    I heard some fireworks pop at about 10:30 my time, very short.
    It is cold outside, and the snow from Wednesday night is still very deep and icy on the roads.

    *The dishwasher “retired” itself last year and we haven’t been inclined to replace it, as two of us don’t generate a full load very often. We used real plates and glasses and silverware instead of paper, which is a lot even with just 5 people.

  24. Went to a 1/1/23 wedding so turned in early and listened to various fireworks and firearms throughout the night.
    Wedding was fun.

  32. Woke up in Seattle shortly after midnight to the sound of six or seven rapid gunshots. Spent a few minutes sympathizing with the victim, then recovered my California farm upbringing and laughed as three more pairs of heavier gunshots rolled by. A pistol, then a double-barreled shotgun pointed at the sky and celebrating the New Year, as is common among immigrants from south of the border.

    Los Angeles has reportedly lost a citizen or two due to the rain of descending bullets – NYE sounds like a war down there.

  33. We went out for dinner with friends, then Monopoly. I was in bed by 11:30. Wife stayed up to watch one of the Korean shows she watches.

  34. Very quiet NYE and my wife, who loves college football, had a wonderful day watching the games. I felt sorry for the kid who missed the field goal for Ohio State.

    Happy New Year everyone. I only hope it is.

    And thanks for the blog again.

  35. Spent the evening quietly at home, watching Powell and Pressburger’s “I Know Where I’m Going!” (1945) with a friend.

    Huxley: more Trenet, this time his “Boum”, from 1938:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLBFeoikELo

    Trenet was an original. One of Francoise Hardy’s favorites when she was growing up.

  36. When i was in the Navy i used to trade duty with other officers just to make sure I had duty on New Year’s Eve. The stories in Tijuana-adjacent San Diego practically wrote themselves. The only thing more fun as a duty officer was when we dropped the brow in Subic Bay/Cubi Point. We placed bets on which squadron would have the first Sailor coming back to the ship to submit a special request chit to get married.

    Yes. Junior Sailors had to ask permission to get married

    Anyhow, it was always at least 2 hours before the last Sailor in line had a hope in hell of getting off the carrier

  37. We had a nice time at a neighborhood party we walked to. I so much enjoy this group. Many racial and ethnic backgrounds, all friends, all nice people. We are blessed.

  38. All the San Diego liberty incident reports involved a snot slinging drunk Sailor or Marine turning up back at the border with no cash, no keys, no wallet, and no shoes. That’s the part that always killed me. The Mexicans always stole the shoes.

    Even when we’re not proud of you, Sailors and Marines, we’ll still claim you. My favorite was Airman Favorite. No kidding. I sent the duty driver to pick him up when he crawled across the border. He thought he still had his ID. So he reaches into his back pocket and whips out…

    The switchblade he just bought in TJ. The security police had some fun with him and I had him brought to me in irons

  40. Huxley: more Trenet, this time his “Boum”, from 1938:

    Hubert:

    Boy, those 30s/40s songwriters wrote tight! (I’m also thinking of Hoagie Carmichael.)

    France Gall did a Ye-ye song. I’ll raise you a Boom.

    –“Boom, Boom”
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04nfZ4eWmHk

    It’s about a young woman overwhelmed by her lover. There’s a death in the middle of the song I don’t understand, but in the end she discovers that not only is she overwhelmed but her lover expects children, many children.
    ____________________

    It’s wonderful to live like this
    A crushing love
    But I shuddered when you told me
    “I want lots of kids”
    Rosalie, Lucas boom boom
    Virginia, Francois boom boom
    Julie and Bruno, Janette and Janot
    And then boom boom twins
    ____________________

    I wonder if the song was influenced by Trenet’s.

    The video shows Gall’s 1967 look — blonde bangs cut straight at the eyebrows. I swear Mary Travers of Peter, Paul & Mary copped that look for their ’67 album, “Late Again”, when PP&M were updating their image and sound for the psychedelic era.

  41. My birthday was December 30 but I had a gig so I went out for my birthday dinner Dec. 31 at a local restaurant. Got home before 9PM.

    “Boom Boom”

    Apparently not the one by John Lee Hooker.

  42. Huxley: thanks for the Gall video. Nice. More French stuff for you–black and white footage from behind the scenes on the making of “Les Demoiselles de Rochefort” (1967) with Catherine Deneuve, her even more striking sister Francoise Dorleac (who was killed in a car crash that same year), and Gene Kelly speaking French:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NkoVBXliEk&t=57s

    With subtitles. Very 1960s.

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