Open Thread – New Year 2011 in Anchorage
Anchorage’s beautiful Town Square Park was put to good use last night as thousands gathered to ring in the new year. It was a gorgeous spectacle with Currier and Ives skaters on the ice, little blue lights twinkling in the birch trees, fire jugglers in the street, families eating kettle corn and reindeer sausage, musicians on the stage by the ice rink, and of course the Christmas tree lit up in all its glory.
Shannyn Moore introduced Senator Mark Begich, and was supposed to introduce Mayor Dan Sullivan, but…. he didn’t show up. What a guy. At least she got to thank all the awesome Party Planners without whom the night wouldn’t have been possible. No word about whether the Mayor’s personal party planner was in attendance or not.
Evelyn “Champagne” King had the crowd dancing, and there was a great fireworks display. The warm temperatures which hovered around freezing made it wonderful to walk around outside and enjoy it all. Thanks to the IBEW, NECA and the Anchorage Downtown Partnership.
Happy 2011 to all. Brought in the year at the bf’s place in Yonkers. He fell asleep early, so I woke him 5 minutes before midnight and we brought in the year kissing. Then, he responded to all the texts. He never texted before he got the Droid; now he does it all the time. Happy new year!
Martha, love you chapter one, please hurry with chapter 2,
Yep you betcha Palin nailed and caught without her wig. She is looking older everyday, just think what she would look like in the WH If she could not handle the Governors job of stress, what makes her think her wig will stay on if she in the WH, Oh yes
a new dust mop coming to our stores soon
Martha, I believe you are right. Apparently she did reach for the blackberry today and managed to tweet the letter T before the blackberry was wrestled from her. 🙂
I’m picturing this scene: handlers and youngest daughter have Palin tied to the couch so she can’t reach her Blackberries or the land line. Todd is drinking heavily because he has only a tad more restraint that the Twit. Her fingers are twitching and flying, but for the moment at least they are occupied with double Crunch Wrap Supremes. Red Bull is right out, her captors say, but she knows they are in the frig.
Her wigs are flung around the room; the unwashed one, the Nellie Mae one, and the slutty Librarian one. Abandoned bumpits are languishing under all the furniture. Her graying hair is frizzy and damp from adrenaline attacks. Her fake glasses are askew, but since they all know she doesn’t really need them no one has bothered to straighten them, or clean them for her.
She must, she must, she MUST reach that tweeting Blackberry while no one is looking so she can misspell some words that will knock those fake Republicans off their high horses and into the mud for daring to criticize her! Or better yet, she must crawl to the studio and close the bomb doors once and for all. They won’t even let her have sharpies to practice her tweets on her hand with – but with a couple of Red Bulls guzzled down once she has broken free, she won’t need her palm prompter because she’s goin’ rogue with her Grizzly gutteral instincts and she’s going live, live, LIVE in very own studio with a broadcast to the world her plan to rule them all!
Chapter 2 coming soon…
too funny MarthUYS! i am thinking the same thing. i believe she is having a little tantrum attack…or that she really is going to throw her wig in the ring.
Pick me,pick me. I want to be adopted to some fun-loving folks from Alaska. I am pretty much house-broke and loyal to a fault. I am afraid of bears of all shapes and sizes. Just feed me on occasion and let me shower now and then and I swear you won.t have Jehovah’s Witnesses around again. I am on disability with a cranky back,after you get used to me you won’t even realize the back is cranky.
What a wonderful sight and to think in spite of all the hot air from SP one can still enjoy the beauty of Alaska and enjoy a wonderful New Years.
IF YOU ARE WONDERING WHY NO WORD FROM SARAH PALIN FAMILY,
Well they are in LA they had a float in the Rose Parade and the float consisted of Children all wearing Sarah Palin face masks, with Animals that appeared to be killed also. Now we know what she has been doing, making herself and her ego . Sarah has no shame if you Tea Baggers do not see thru Sarah Palin by now you better sharpen up your minds, Sarah is truly a sick person. I do not want her near the White House,
Happy New Year world and may it soon see the end of Sarah Palin
Eeewwwwww.
It was a very fun party. We really enjoyed ourselves. Also thought it odd that the Mayor of Hinkyville didn’t show up, but I guess he was scared off by the power of Shannyn and Mark. We didn’t really miss him all that much. 🙂
beautiful pictures. looks like fun. New York on New Year’s eve is not much fun. too expensive and too many people around Times Square. our mayors seem to not care much for people who live here so long as the tourists get to see their Broadway shows. most folks have a few friends over to watch the ball drop, sip some bubbly and eat black-eyed peas or their version of ‘lucky food’.
Anchorage does it right.
Lived on Long Island until I was in my mid-30s and NEVER had any interest in going to Times Square on New Year’s Eve. I DID, however, brave mid-town Manhattan for the Thanksgiving Day Parade and lower Manhattan for the re-dedication of the Statue of Liberty way back in 1986.
My friend and I played tour guide to two French sailors whose ship was in town for the big hoopla. They didn’t speak a word of English and we didn’t speak French, but a French-English dictionary picked up in a SoHo bookstore and a lot of pictures drawn on napkins helped the communication tremendously! Ahhhhhhh…fond memories!
two French sailors + fond memories =Ahhhhhhh. LOL!!!
:]
Yes indeed. Great evening. We took the grandkids down town, stayed all night in a local hotel, and ushered in 2011. I like the fireworks being in the miiddle of a town square. Held little ones on our shoulders as we watched the rockets, etc. We Uhhed and awwwed.
that sounds like so much fun!
Happy New Year! And I loved the pictures – that looks like a lot of fun.
Hubby and I stayed home and then visited with a neighbor when he came home a few minutes after midnight. We had someone in the neighborhood who shot off a lot of fireworks before midnight and a few after. The loudest (and last) was at 4 something in the morning. That was a bit much.
Great pictures and what fun it must have been for all!!!!!
Now, something totally o/t…. has anyone else noticed that SP news is scant the last few days. I believe someone is pulling back because of the awareness of over exposure and the probable (yes, please, please) damage it has done. Just my observation. And, I admit, I am most likely wrong…. Her promoters are smarter than she is…for sure.
See my post at 12.2.1. I think the silence is part of the script.
Auntie… You are right. Did not read any post before I flapped on mine. I believe we are thinking alike. Keep your eyes and ears open. Methinks, hopefully, we are too smart to be flummoxed.
Looks like a really fun celebration. And great nighttime pictures.
I tried to watch the new O channel yesterday and found that I need an additional subscription to see it. What is she thinking? Going from broadcast that gets to everyone to a “pay up” for her stuff. I didn’t watch everyday but liked the shows when I did get to see them. Apparently they won’t be on the net either. Her radio also requires a monthly fee and special satellite receiver. With the free radio stations dominated by RWNJ’s we sure could use her content on the public airwaves.
I remember when she introduced Obama to the nation. Now she seems to have sealed herself off from all the folks who live on a budget. I wonder if she even gets it?
After all, it’s not like she needs the money!
I was in Australia for Christmas and the New Year…and spent both days in my newly aquired Billabong bikini on the beach. No one knew me, so what the heck! And no, I didn’t take photos of that particular spectacle. I’m a little (a lot) jetlagged at the moment.
Came home full of love for my sons whom I hadn’t seen in three weeks, only to discover the house was not in the same condition that I had left it. Muchos sour with my sons at the moment.
Also too, we had rented apartments that were no-smoking (we didn’t have a choice…they HATE smokers in Oz). I am a smoker and so is hubby but we respect that, so I always made sure we had a balcony.
However, the second apartment didn’t have furniture on the balcony and it was windy at night, so we smoked inside the apartment…kitchen only…left all the windows and doors open so as not to leave a smoke smell as we would be fined 300 dollars.
Just to be sure, bought Febreze to spray around. Being the cheapo that I am…having paid for it, I decided to bring it home. The damn stuff leaked all over my newly washed clothes in the suitcase.
I don’t know what the moral of this story is?
LOL. glad you are safe Irishgirl.
I can always count on you bubbles! I didn’t do a sickie!
thank goodness Irish.
I HATE flying…3 takeoffs and landings have taken their toll…nothing but gibberish from me tonight.
“I don’t know what the moral of this story is?”
Maybe it’s time to quit smoking and use the money you’ll save to buy some snazzy new clothes to replace the Febreze-d lot! After all, we need to keep your unique Irish perspective around here on the ‘flats for a long time to come! 😉
Leenie, someone stole my Brian….and that is not funny. How will I break it to austin?
and you are being far too sensible
Dear Irishgirl, please do not fret…Brian is a state of mind as much as a physical presence. If he is in your heart, he will be with you always.
He can be found in the sound of the wind blowing through the willows that he loves to eat. He can be found in the snap of branches in the woods on a snowy day. He can be found in the noisy babble of an Alaskan bar. He can be found in the quiet rush of the breeze gently caressing the tundra.
Oh hell, you can always find a new one at the ‘flats store! 😉
LOL Leenie. Irishgirl treasured that moose ’cause Austin gave it to her. hope he will see this and send her another one.
No new episode tonight! All reruns according to both TV Guide and TLC! What happened to the “finale”?? What’s going on in Wasilla?
Never mind. It is next week. My d’oh.
2 hour finale is next week.
Not sure what’s up in Wasilla but someone must have her bound and gagged up in the turret of the new McMansion. No word from $P or her ghost voices for many days .
Sorta like when the jungle goes dead quiet. You just know something’s up.
Well, she could just be enjoying the holidays with some quiet time with family. Yea, right.
My prediction: Some time this week she will officially proclaim her candidacy and will explain that she spent the past two weeks “prayerfully consulting”. Then a brand new travel and speaking schedule will spring up from nowhere.
Then the two-hour show is going to have long stretches of $P looking pensive. Maybe even some scenes of her talking with Todd about whether to run or not. Watch for backlit shots of $P gazing into a sunset, side views of $P doing yoga at the edge of a body of water, long shots of her running along a winding trail all by herself…. (barf)
The following week she will be hitting the road, starting someplace warm (Arizona?) and we will be subjected to unprecedented screeching for the foreseeable future.
Maybe she’ll get lost on that winding trail.
Or better yet, maybe the news media have finally figured out that all she wants is their attention and they’ve decided to stop covering her. Wouldn’t that be a nice gift for the New Year!
No screeching, no absurd statements, no incorrect political claims, no Obama insults, no whining…it’s been too quiet and I’m waiting nervously for the other shoe to drop.
Perhaps this is a sign that the family finally did an intervention and got her the help she so desperately needs. Maybe she’s celebrating the new year in a cozy little padded room dressed in white cotton jammies with nary a bumpit in sight. Naahhhhh…never happen!
Do we know if any of the flatters from Down Under have been impacted by the floods ? It just seems to be getting worse. One news piece said the area being flooded is larger than France and Germany combined.
I love the final fireworks picture. Looks like a flower. Cool.
And a good time was had by all. Nice.
Beautiful! It was bitterly cold in Denver (zero), but thousands partied downtown anyway. We went to a fabulous a capella concert in Littleton (south burbs) and danced in the aisles. Very fun, and much warmer.
Happy 1/11 everyone!
I had plans to go out but alas, I had to stay home and nurse a cold. First one I’ve had in about 3 years. *hack hack* 😐
I celebrated vicariously through all of you!
How much fun was that???? And what a loser your mayor is!! Who the heck voted for that bum? He has no redeeming social qualities at all.
Love the pictures,amazing photography and you people actually do stuff in town at night. Note to self-there is another life out there and you won’t find it sitting in your living room. I’ll bet they even had stuff going on in Iowa towns and cities on New Year’s Eve. Here’s hoping all have a happier and fulfulling New Year where ever you are.
Lovely!
Had to look twice…three times, even…when I “saw” Shannyn juggling fire in that first photo. 🙂
I had to look twice, three times to figure out it was an elephant carved out of that ice. Or is it a mammoth ? And, whichever it is …. why??
Love the photos and the feel of the celebrating. That’s what I love about New Year’s Eve. Pretty much the entire world celebrates together for one full day and we can peek in to see how everyone else is ringing in a new year and we know that , for that day, ( to me at least ) if feels like we recognize that we’re more alike than different.
Thanks for the photos !
It was a mammoth. It’s Alaska’s state fossil, but I’m not sure if there was another reason.
States have official fossils ? I had no idea !
For those interested in finding yours, here ya go:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._state_fossils
So both NJ and Montana claim the duck-billed dinosaur as the state fossil and Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin all claim the trilobite. We might need a paleontoligist pinky-wrestling tournament to settle things once & for all! 🙂
Well, who knew? Washington has a state fossil as well – the Columbian mammoth. Cool.
I was surprised that Kansas doesn’t have one. The western half was a sea at one time and there are all kinds of fossils there – or used to be before all the fossil hunters dug them out of the chalk rocks and rocks that were exposed when the interstate blasted through them.
Loved the link! Thanks so much!
I thought I was Alaska’s state fossil.
You would have loved the stuff we saw in Oz. very different
Looks better than the Times Square’s Mob (and family friendly). Well Done Thanks!
How beautiful! I hope every one had a safe holiday.
So beautiful! Thank you.
We had some folks on the bluff putting on a display. Which they do for the last few years. Some others were on Bishops beach and we could just see them over the trees. The evening was tasteful in my opinion. But if you were to ask my cats, well that would be a conversation in shivering. Glad i was at home. Anch looked to be beautiful.
Fireworks were allowed in Anchorage, until Anchorage become a sizable city, with multi-family dwellings, and not much room in between. (LIKE Palmer and Wasilla……)
The City, after many an unattended barbeque led to numerous serious fires,
outlawed barbeques on balconies. Well, let’s see how they do with unsupervised explosives, especially on a night when most people are drinking. What could go wrong?
The City’s own Fire professionals (who we pay MILLIONS of dollars, to
recruit, train, retain and equip) are AGAINST this moronic move. Many people I spoke to, in different
parts of Anchorage, said it sounded like a war zone.
If you are interested in reversing this stupidity, please send an email
contact, (with your name and title, if relevant)
to: anch2020@gmail.com.
I am hoping animal lovers, vets, health professionals, emergency personnel, police and fire personnel and peace lovers of all stripe will mount a resistance to the deterioration of
Anchorage’s quality of life.
Also, let me know if you’re available to do some
research. Political affiliations are irrelevant
to this effort. Please leave them out.
Thanks. lkharter
In our neighborhood the fireworks started around 8:30. It was a continuous barrage until well after midnight. The “pop” of the colorful displays was nothing compared to the house-shaking, window-rattling of explosives that sounded like the loudest of mortar shells. These things are evidently just for the “noise”.
For four hours the sound was that of being in a war zone. One neighbor spent $500! The amount of money spent on the fireworks must have been monumental because you could see them everywhere when scanning the horizon.
What fabulous pictures AKM! I was definitely there. I saw it all – through these. Magical and fun.