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The Rant Shack
(Wherein We Rant)
Mike Says:
(01/01/05)
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Wow, I almost typed "01/01/04" up there. Probably going to be doing that on my checks for a while...
A very happy New Year to all! Hope you had a good one. Me, I'm spending my New Year's Eve sitting home getting over a cold and working on this update. VERY exciting. Usually this is my favorite night of the year, and I always have to be out doing something, but with the torrential rains outside, and with me still feeling oogy, I figure that smart thing to do is write this one off and not get any sicker and risk missing work. You know you're getting old when you make decisions like THAT...
Ah, New Year's Eve. That one holiday without religious connotations for people to fight over, the one night when the whole world comes together (in different time zones, of course) and just forgets all the crap and celebrates. It's the everybody holiday. Guess that's what makes it my favorite.
And I've had some great ones over the years. When I was young, it was all about watching Dick Clark and getting to stay up late. Sometime around my senior year it started becoming a social event. Of course, that was the night that my friend Wayne and I missed our ride to the party everyone was going to, and we ended up stuck at my house with nothing but a single bottle of wine to share (sorry about that, Mom, in case you were wondering where that went...). But, luckily, about 1:00 a.m., people from the party ended up back at my house, so it was a party after all...even if I don't remember much about it at that point (high school lightweight that I was, I was pretty gone...).
Me and Tim on New Year's Eve, 90/91
After high school my main group of friends formed, and the holiday mostly became about what the gang was doing. It started with parties at one house or another, but when we all finally hit 21, things got better. We had this tradition for a while where we'd hit Old Sacramento, and area near downtown Sac filled with bars and restaurants. I'd spring for a couple of motel rooms nearby (I was the only one with money at the time...) nearby, and we'd all hit bars until we decided on the one we'd stay in until midnight. After the big celebration, it was back to the rooms to party on, and the people unable to drive would be able to crash there (or hook up there...yes, this means you, A.T....). It was during this time that I went into my media mode of my life, becoming the official gang historian, so I've got lots of great photos and video of some of the latter years (much to the chagrin of some...).
Kevin, Cindy, Ken, Emily, me, Jon and Jamie on NYE 92/93
For me, New Year's is about being around as many people as possible when the clock strikes midnight, so I like to be somewhere very public. I was thwarted in that for a couple of years when I was living in Arizona and was still with my ex. She and her family were Mormon, so New Year's wasn't about drinking (which was okay, because I had quit drinking during that time anyway). My first New Year's there, she wanted us to go to a party with a bunch of family friends. Sounded like a good idea. It was all couples, and card and board games were played (hey, it's a Mormon thing). Then, finally, midnight came around. The TV was on with Dick Clark. The final 60 started counting in Times Square. When it hit 10, I started counting down with them. And then I looked around the room and realized I was the only one doing it. I watched, dumbfounded, as every other person in the room just watched the TV...no emotion, no excitement. The ball dropped, and it hit midnight. No one in the room cheered, kissed, yelled, or so much as shouted "Happy New Year". They just watched midnight strike and kind of had these looks like, "Hmm. That's interesting." I was stunned. And I was pissed! Back in Sacramento, this night was all about loud and joyous celebration! I told my ex that we were NOT going to be doing that again the following year. So what happened the following year? She got the flu on New Year's Eve, and I spent the evening at her family's house with her. And again, Dick Clark rang in the New Year...and everyone in the house just silently stared at the screen. Thwarted again!!
The original La Casa roommates, Rich, Tim and me on NYE 95/96
Luckily, after I moved back to Sacramento, things got back into full swing, and in an even better way. By then I was sharing a house with several of my best pals, including an artist you may have heard of named Tim Watts (the same house where the Nice Guy idea was born, by the by), and we got to be New Year's hosts. We threw some rocking parties at our house, including two big New Year's Eves. The first, in '96, was our first party at the house, and was a huge success (and included a James Brown dance-off...congratulations, Cliff-Diving Ken!). The next, and last, of the La Casa New Year's bashes was even bigger and badder, and just happened to take place during the biggest storm to hit Sacramento in years. No one seemed to notice. More than just a New Year's party, this was our last hoorah at the bachelor pad, as three of the five roommates managed to all get engaged (traitors!), and we all ended up moving out soon after. My last New Year's in Sacramento took place in a hotel room in downtown Sac, where my roommate Aaron and I spent some time with friends while all of our things were packed up in a Uhaul...and we moved to San Diego the following day.
Aaron, A.T. and me on NYE 96/97, the last La Casa bash
Aaron and Tim smokin' up in the first minutes of 1997
Had some okay New Year's Eve's in San Diego, to be sure. But nothing will ever top New Year's 2000. Y2K, baby. We were about to enter a new millennium (okay, not for another year, I know, you math geeks), and this was THE New Year's Eve of our lifetime. I was working a night shift at the time and didn't get off until 9:30. My roommate was going to a party and had invited me along, but I just couldn't imagine leaving the 1900's behind in a house with 15 or 20 people. I needed to be part of the masses. And there's no better place to do that than down in the Gaslamp Quarter in downtown San Diego. I got off work, drove home quickly to change, and headed downtown. The rain that had been falling all day ceased just as I parked. I didn't go down there with anyone. I just decided to kick it alone and make friends along the way. And I did. I ended up at The Blarney Stone at midnight. Was a crazy, mad, completely joyous celebration. On a night where terrorist attacks or global computer shutdowns were prophesied, the whole world just fooled everyone and partied instead. I wandered the Gaslamp, streaming with endless thousands of people. No fight, no riots. Even the police lined up for extra Y2K security were smiling and having a great time. I was very glad I made the choice to head down there. Met some great people, had a great time, and smoked a cigar that some girls at work had bought me for the occasion.
Me on the Y2K New Year's in San Diego
And now I'm back in Sacramento again, and what do I do on my first New Year's when Tim and the rest of my boys are at a party downtown? I sit home with a stuffy head and a cough and work at the computer. Ah, well. We'll try again next year. That's the great thing about New Year's. If one doesn't work for you, you know another one is just 12 months away.
We miss you, Dick! Get better and get back to rockin', my man.
WITH SPECIAL GUESTS...THE NICE GUYS!
As those of you on the Nice Guy mailing list found out last update, Tim and I were fortunate enough to be invited to speak as special guests at a sequential art class a couple of weeks back. Not long before, Tim and I were down at Streets of London, a pub in downtown Sac, and happened to run into the one-and-only Dan Cooney, another local Sacramento comic creator who you may know from his crime comic "Valentine". Like any good artist, Dan was sitting in the middle of this pub at a table, drinking a pint, watching the Kings game...and inking some of his art. We had a great time that night, and not long after, Dan e-mailed us and asked if we'd come down to the art class he teaches and speak a bit to his students. Hey, we were down.
Art from Dan Cooney's hard-hitting "Valentine"
The class he teaches was literally across the street from where I work, and, ironically, I was the one that was late (thanks to working overtime and getting stuck on a last minute phone call). I finally made it in and Tim had already started talking about the Nice Guy. It was a great time. Dan had us talking about our creative processes, our influences, publishing insights, and taking questions from the group of very nice and talented artists gathered. Very fun hour with a chance to hang out with fellow creators and would-be creators. Thanks again for the invite, Dan! Next round's on us!
DISTURBING INTERNET IMAGE OF THE WEEK
Lost for ideas on what to do to your friends when they pass out this New Year's? Well...
LET'S GET ON WITH 2005!
It's been a fantastic year for the Nice Guy, and we're hoping 2005 will be even better. We've got some big things cooking, and we'll be sure to keep you all informed along the way. And let us take this chance to thank all of you for sticking with us and making The Nice Guy so much fun to do. And once more, Happy New Year, all. Hope it was safe and happy and LOUD and rockin'. See you next time around!
Michael O'Connell - Writer and Websovereign
The
Nice Guy
“Pilot”
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New update in The Rant Shack...with the news on the A-1 Comics Van Fundraiser...and the shocking Tim Watts finger news...
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Update to the Photos page with A-1 Comics shots! Sorry, no shots of Tim's finger...
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