Hello, 2008
NYE was really fun this year! Rosemary and I went to two parties, at Brian's and at Sara's.
Brian's party was at a cute apartment on Passyunk absolutely chock-full of people. Brian works at City Paper, and Rosemary used to intern there, so she saw a bunch of people she hadn't seen in a long time. Lots of funny conversation and fun people. We caught up with Jon, who still was a little tuckered out from his world-famous 24-hour Christmas Eve radio show; extolled the awesomeness of Portland with a woman from that area; played around with poppers and sparklers, drank champagne. We went outside and watched the Penn's Landing fireworks in the short distance, and a crew of folks came up to us from around the corner (one of the girls walked into the street - almost into the path of an oncoming taxi). The cars were honking their horns, we were yelling, fireworks popping ... it was nice.
And what Philly NYE would be complete without poppers? Especially when you open them with your mouth:
After 1 we went to Sara's house a few blocks away on Reed. The whole party was kinda like this:
By the time we got there everyone was already drunk and/or high, but totally affable. Ricky would have been swinging from the chandeliers if there was one. Sara runs karaoke stuff in Philly, so she broke out the machines for everything from show tunes to Pat Benatar to The Beatles to "Space Truckin'" (which inevitably became "Space Fuckin'" among us dirty minds).
Rosemary sang "I Touch Myself," and I went on a journey deep inside the heart of everyone's favorite paean to statutory rape, "Into the Night" by Benny Mardones. "She's just 16 years old, leave her alone, they said" - and they're right, creepy Benny Mardones! I also sang "She's Like the Wind" by Patrick Swayze, complete with sax solo:
Somehow, the theme of the night became screaming "Ass to ass!" like in "Requiem for a Dream." So cries of "ass to ass" went on throughout the night, and made their way into every song. We made it home around 4 a.m., with me quick-stepping down the sidewalk cracks to show I was still very sober to drive.
New Year's Day was good, if totally tired. We went to Neshaminy Mall. Rosemary got some new things at Lane Bryant and some jewelry at Macy's, and I bought this awesome, reversible Ecko Unlimited vest.
We also saw "Sweeney Todd," and I have some bones to pick with it. It was very well made, and Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter did a good job. But the adaptation butchered the ending, and that leaves a sour taste in my mouth. It would be nice to see a fuller cut of the film with more music restored, including "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd." Oh, how I missed that! The show is full of dark humor and maudlin moments, and they cut a lot of the maudlin stuff out. But that's what made the stage musical work, and what made Todd so pitiful even though he's a twisted evil shell of a human being by the time we meet him. Sacha Baron Cohen, however, stole the picture, and his singing was great. It also was a hoot to see Alan Rickman singing.
Rosemary and I spent the night in snuggled up tight, before I had to go back to Connecticut and work and everything. The last time I was free on New Year's Eve, I ushered in 2005 with Rosemary in South Philly. Three years later, we're doing the same thing.