Got fun for ought-one
>>
Alternative foolishness for the big night
by RUPERT BOTTENBERG
"It's the same every year--we get all psyched up for New Year's Eve, it comes and goes, and we're nursing hangovers thinking, "Shit, I shoulda done something unusual this time." Live bands or DJs are all very nice, but where's that something weird that makes it a night to (try to) remember?
For most, huffing opium somewhere in the Golden Triangle or dynamiting sharks off the coast of some tax-shelter Paradise Island are just out of reach, financially. Next year, maybe, but this year we want something to spice up the usual routine of hugs, drinks, fights, drinks, crying jags, drinks and smoked-meat at the Main. Here, then, are a few suggestions to supplement the round of clubs and loft parties.
The mountain: No lineups, no admission charge, BYOB, fresh air. Depending on the temperature, there's likely to be all sorts of strange characters lurking around the upper reaches of our fair city's centrepiece. And that means hijinx! Bring an inner-tube or a roll-up toboggan or something, so if the pigs show up you can pull a fancy Batman escape, zipping down the east face, giggling like an imp.
Live comedy: Laugh in ought-one at Comedyworks, where $50 gets you party favours, a hot and cold buffet, tunes, the MC skills of John Oakley and L.A. comedian Al Lubel. One of the last laugh-getters to play the Tonight Show before Johnny bailed, Lubel's forte is legal matters. He's a former lawyer--and you know what cut-ups that zany bunch are!
The emergency room: Plenty of revellers will be ending up here involuntarily, particularly around 4 a.m. or so. What you do is squirt a packet of ketchup on your arm, have a seat and watch the tragicomic parade of gore and suffering roll past. Boy, glad that's not me!
The Planetarium: They'll be closed in the evening, but at 3:45 p.m. there's a presentation of their Christmas deal, "L'Etoile des mages." Oh, I'm sorry, you have something better to do?
Church: Admission is free, uplifting tunes are guaranteed, and there's free wine and snacks. Glo-sticks and noisemakers are discouraged.
Bonus round: Strip clubs are a possibility, as are corner taverns (the lonely widowers are that much more pathetic, this night). There's also the Krishna Consciousness temple, go-karting, bowling, mai-tais at Jardin Tiki and video poker at your corner dep. Any other suggestions?
|
