2. The 28th annual New Year’s Eve
fireworks spectacular at Grand
Army Plaza .
The free celebration, sponsored by the Brooklyn Borough President’s
Office and held in partnership with the Prospect Park Alliance, starts around
11 p.m. with musical entertainment and hot refreshments. Best locations for viewing the midnight fireworks include anywhere in
Grand Army
Plaza , inside the Park on the
West Drive , and along Prospect Park West
between Grand
Army Plaza
and 9th Street .

3. New Year's Eve at Vox Pop: The Cortelyou Road cafe reopens tonight with a big New Year's Bash.

4. The pub quiz with Scott Turner is just part of Rocky Sullivan's New Year's Eve Extravaganza in Red Hook.

5. Dinner at Bussaco with jazz by Josh Shneider and friends. Second seating includes jazz and dinner. Starts at 8:30 – 11 PM.

6. A full list of special New Year's Eve menus at Fifth Avenue restaurants is on the blog, All About Fifth. 

Overwhelmed by Year In Reviews?  Best Of?  Worst Of? 
Even worse, the prognostications for the coming year?  And worst of
all, the coming year's predicted Year In Review for stuff that hasn't
happened yet — more Shecky Green than Nostradamus.

Even worse, we get a double-dose: Year in Review and Decade in Review.

This ain't no disco, and it ain't my call to make.  The best of the year, best of the decade, is whatever you say it is.

This little summation is just stuff that makes me smile or sticks in my craw — sometimes at the same time.

And what, exactly, is a craw?  It's the crop of a bird or an
animal, or an animal's stomach.  And, idiomatically, the place where
really annoying stuff goes and sticks.  And doesn't come out — not
with the wash, not with scholastic remediation, and not with the
healing qualities Time is supposed to be so good at.

2009…the last year of this terrible decade.  We should've known
it would be bad — any decade that lends itself to the spectacle known
as New Year's Eve Spectacles was bound to go off the rails.

yes, yes…it's a new year AND you can see us!

And it did.  Spectacularly at the outset and grindingly for the rest of the way.  The '00s were mostly the dark days of the Bush era.  Really, really dark.  At the end, the disappointment (thus far) of the Obama administration's
hold-hands-circle.  Dude, you were elected with a huge mandate — end
wars and give everyone health coverage and encourage queer rights and
all the other stuff we talked about!

Also, people now say "dude" more than ever.

Hard to believe this is the same decade as 9/11 and the big tsunami and the end of Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

Since he's still in office, it's sadly not hard at all to believe Michael Bloomberg
is mayor.  It's cruel to wake from the nightmare of W and still be in
Bloomy's New York — like a sci-fi plot where the character opens her
eyes only to discover by the next ad break that she's still in a
terrifying dream.

Assuming he doesn't buy his way into a fourth term, we'll
discover that we can't even afford to leave the Bloomberg's frightful
nightmare — sky-high rents, box-stores, wrecked subway and school
systems, deference to the wealthy, trite initiatives that ignore the
city's real problems.

If Bloomberg's such a "good businessman," how come the city's in
such bad shape financially?  And no, you can't give his alleged
business acumen credit when times were good but, now that times are
bad, blame events somehow beyond the mayor's control.

There were bright spots — political movements and new politicians
that could bend the steel bar enough to make a difference, bands and
movies and t.v. shows we loved, medical advances (though, good luck
paying for them), and technology that has us at the crossroads — this
way, radical new possibilities to improve our quality of life; that
way, a planet so self-absorbedly addicted to Twitter and celebritydom that when we finally look up and see the giant asteroid about to destroy Earth, we won't have time to use all 140 characters to scream.

Of course, humans being humans, it'll be somewhere in the middle. 
It always is.  We somehow always recover from doing terrible things to
one-another.  The worst things possible — genocide, torture, t.v. shows about the Kardashian sibblings — and still we continue.

What we do to each other is one thing.  What we're doing to the
planet…that's another story.  There's a desperate push to name the
'00s.  Could be hard, because we can't even agree on the prosaic
numerical nickname — Zeroes? Aughts? Pre-Teens?.  Still, I nominate
this clunker: The We've Known We're Killing Our Planet And
Destroying Humanity One Hummer Meat-Cattle-Raising Acre Rampant Western
Consumer Thirst Slaked But Not Enough By Emerging Factory States At A
Time And We Can't Get Our Shit Together To Save The Only Home We've Got
Decade.  It's not as catchy as the Me Decade, but at least it's too long for a tweet — and that's a start.

Upon further review, how about the Toxic Decade.  "A lie
told often enough becomes the truth," so the insidious insist.  These
last ten years, lies didn't even have to be said that often before we
caved in and took them at face value.

Michael Bloomberg, China's quest to satisfy Western urges, the Kardashians, Bruce Ratner and Jay-Z, W & His Number 1, Enron – the forefront of the Toxic Decade.  An incomplete list.

We've fought our way through the Toxic Decade.  That says a lot.  We allowed it to become this toxic.  That says a lot more.

The obvious retort here is "Dude, every
decade's been toxic."  True — nuclear proliferation, world wars,
depressions greater than this one, bubonic plagues (that's a lot of
decades ago, but still…).  What makes this last one so toxic is that
by now, we should know better.  Know better than to wage stupid wars,
pollute the planet, build superblock projects and give wealthy
developers public money to destroy neighborhoods, allow fiscal
corruption to run rampant, piss off the world with hubris and
arrogance, and pull cover after cover over our head instead of letting
the warm sunshine of resistance heat us up.

Fact — fighting the power is more fun than DVDing another season of America's Next Top Model.

So onward to 2010.  My one moment of Nostradamual prognostication:

Things are gonna change…

* * * * * * * *

…starting with the best way to celebrate New Year's Eve this Thursday evening:

The Rocky Sullivan's Pub Quiz Quizzin' New Year's Eve Extravaganza!

1.    Observe and Report – While Kevin James’ light mall cop movie was a surprise hit in January, a few months later Jody Hill’s irreverent comedy with Seth Rogen as a disturbed mall security guard was only noticed only for its notorious date-rape joke.  But, for me this was a truly unique work.  It aimed to create a new film experience and I walked out of the theater with that incredibly rare feeling that I had actually seen something I’ve never seen before.  An absurd take on Taxi Driver-like delusional hero redemption, it’s outrageous, satiric, funny, makes brilliant use of music on the soundtrack and gleefully breaks all kinds of rules of cinematic technique and storytelling. 
2.    A Serious Man – Trippy yet dramatic, snarky yet sincere, A Serious Man may be my favorite Coen Brothers film.  They brilliantly build the narrative tension around a story of faith and karma, wonderfully open to both atheistic and spiritual interpretations.
3.    Sugar – When telling an American story, baseball makes the perfect backdrop.  This American tale is a subtle meditation on the migratory pattern of a Domican baseball prospect discovering the promised land’s hard truths. 
4.    The Hurt Locker – I wish it didn’t start with a quote that sums up what the film so perfectly captures.  Still, Kathryn Bigelow’s film about war’s corruption of the human soul is a powerful statement and an incredible artistic and technical achievement, anchored by Jeremy Renner’s outstanding performance.
5.    Up – A cinematic journey that is as imaginative as it is heartfelt, this animated Pixar offering is thoroughly delightful.  One early sequence that depicts Carl and Ellie’s life together is the year’s most memorable, reminiscent of Buster Keaton with its warm comedic touch and aesthetic mastery.
6.    Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire – A film that simply does not get a disinterested reaction, Precious pushes all kinds of buttons, yet it’s ultimately a heartfelt tale of inspiration.  Director Lee Daniels’ stylized mayhem was finally applied with perfection.
7.    World’s Greatest Dad – Death’s false honor is explored in Bobcat Goldthwait’s black comedy.  Robin Williams stars as a failed writer father who exploits tragedy to turn his life around.
8.    An Education – A tacked-on ending enraged me, but otherwise Lone Scherfig’s film is smart, endearing and offers no easy answers. 
9.    Antichrist – While the violence, abuse in all forms and talking foxes got all the attention, Lars von Trier’s attack on the senses feels like the Dutch filmmaker’s most personal work.  Where will he go with these demons now exorcised?
10.    Bad Lieutenant – Port of Call: New Orleans – It may be a weak 10th-slot choice, but this B-movie curiosity piece is full of hammy acting, story dead-ends and bizarre moments. Its lack of quality is somehow also its substance

1.    The Weather Man (Gore Verbinski; 2005) – Critically dismissed and a box office bomb, this study of meaninglessness shocked me with its honest and profoundly sad depiction of how we live our lives today. Brilliantly conceived by screenwriter Steve Conrad, the titular character played by Nicolas Cage is one of the cinema’s most vapid protagonists, a disrespected mini-celeb whose useless existence becomes more and more evident as he balances family problems with a million dollar network job possibility.
2.    Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch; 2001) – Lynch’s techniques, once so secular, are now all over the edges of blockbusters and straight-to-video horror.  But no one does it like the master, probably our greatest living filmmaker.  A meta-mystery, Mullholand Dr. is a bizarre, dreamlike subconscious meditation and a definitive Hollywood satire.
3.    Capturing The Friedmans (Andrew Jarecki; 2003) – In a decade during which the face and status of the documentary changed, none so clearly re-defined my view of documentary filmmaking as Andrew Jarecki’s debut film.  The portrait of an accused pedophile and his family’s spiral amidst the crisis displays formal brilliance and benefits from incredible, powerful archival footage.
4.    Sideways (Alexander Payne; 2004) – Depicting the middle-aged male psyche with painful humor and emotional tenderness, Sideways is a complex character study, superbly performed. Alexander Payne’s film manages to be an entertaining blast and a time capsule of human behavior.
5.    Human Nature (Michel Gondry; 2002) – Months before screenwriter Charlie Kaufman was celebrated for his personal, audacious Adaptation script, this hilarious take on a Brave New World-like scenario was also ignored. One of Kaufman’s strengths is that he shoots for the moon with existential searches and raw exposure of human foibles and failures. Riotously funny and absurd, it is a rare, unique film in many ways, including turning off audiences with excessive leading lady body hair.

Below are some additional 00s favorites, organized by fabricated sub-genres.  I hope you add to your must-see list if you’ve missed them until now:

The Past Reflecting The Present
Far From Heaven
Revolutionary Road

What’s Happening Now?
About Schmidt
Happy-Go-Lucky
House Of Sand And Fog
In The Valley Of Elah
Little Children
Whale Rider

No Escape From Self
Adaptation
Dahmer
A Serious Man

Pure Cinema
The Assassination of Robert Ford By The Coward Jesse James
In The Mood For Love
No Country For Old Men
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
There Will Be Blood

Crowd Pleasers With Depth
Catch Me If You Can
Little Miss Sunshine
Unbreakable

Mindfucks
Apocalypto
Observe And Report
Oldboy
Planet Terror

2009-2010 NEW YEAR'S EVE FUN RUN
presented by
Brooklyn Road Runners Club and Slope Sports

3 MILE FUN RUN
Prospect Park, Brooklyn

DATE/TIME
Monday, December 31, 2009 –
11:15pm start

NEW START/FINISH LINE
Start/Finish line is at the 9th Street, inside the Park

ENTRY FEE
$20 before December 31, 2009 ($15 for Brooklyn Road Runners Club members)
$25 on Race Day ($20 for BRRC Members)
No refunds and/or exchanges. Race will occur rain, snow or shine.

NEW COURSE
3 mile course. Start at 9th Street, down around the Lake, turn Left on
Center Drive. At the end of Center Drive, turn right back onto West
Drive to the Finish line at 9th Street. Runners, please make note of
your times at the end of the race. There will be an unofficial timing
and this is an un-scored Fun Run.

AWARDS

• A free pair of running shoes (value up to $100) from Slope Sports for Top Male & Top Female finisher!
• Running gloves for the first 250 participants
• Hot chocolate from Cousin John's Bakery

RACE REGISTRATION

(1) Print and mail a race application. DOWNLOAD HERE >> CLICK HERE
OR
(2) Online registration at Active.com >> REGISTER ONLINE

REGISTRATION / RACE NUMBER PICK-UP
Slope Sports
70 Seventh Avenue, between Lincoln & Berkeley
Brooklyn, NY 11217
718-230-4686

Wed. Dec. 30th, 11a-7p
Race Day, Thurs. Dec 31st, 11a-5p

Onsite registration: 10:30-11:00p

BAG CHECK
Bag check is provided at registration area as a convenience. Please do
not bring anything valuable since we are not responsible for lost or
stolen items.

Here’s the last refuge for you last minute types.  The Rockwood Music Hall
will be sticking to it’s usual policy on New Year’s Eve.  That means no
reservations.  There’s no cover charge with a one drink per set minimum
(but a $5 contribution for each band is requested).  Not only will they
will have a full night of music, but OTBKB Music fave James Maddock
will be playing during the 10pm to midnight slot.  Not only is James a
great live performer but his album, Sunrise on Avenue C, is on the OTBKB Music Top Ten for 2009.

The only downside is the size of the Rockwood; it holds only about
40 people in the main room, which is where the stage is.  There’s a
back room which holds about another 25 or so, and it does have a closed
circuit TV view of the stage.  So if you want to see James, get there
early, maybe an hour early.

James Maddock, The Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen Street (F or V Trains to Second Avenue, use the First Avenue exit), 10pm-midnight

 –Eliot Wagner