Spin City Reruns

Greetings TLATL nation. I'm back from my four month sabbatical in the Arctic where I continued the ongoing search for my dignity. I tried to grow a mustache to disguise myself, but no luck.

My most recent travels took me to my roots, The Loop, to ring in the new year. Many thanks to loyal reader Austin and his roommate(s) for opening up their apartment to celebrate another new year. Can you believe it? It's 2009. I don't know karate but I know Caaaarazy!.

Every year we gear up for that big moment. The clock is getting ready to strike 12 and the new year is just around the corner. Ok, let's go live to, I mean, let's role that tape of the Apple thing falling. I'm not sure why this year as opposed to all the others I had a sudden resentment towards a tape delayed new years. Particularly because I had an opportunity this summer to go to New York for the first time ever and I came away amazed. It is truly a great city.

But so is Chicago. And so is St. Louis. And on and on. So why are we watching a tape delayed celebration of New York? Certainly Dick Clark and the tradition of Times Square have a lot to do with it. But now it's Seacrest, Carson Daly and Anderson Cooper. Ahh, not so much.

I think it's time for a Central Time Zone celebration. This is not to try to lessen the impact of New York, but an attempt to celebrate a love new year for maybe the first time ever. In the past couple days, I've floated several ideas ideas in conversation and now I'd like to bring them to the blogging universe.

My first instinct was a Vienna hot dog fall into a poppyseed bun the way the apple falls in New York. I'm ready to roll with this idea, however, this might be seen as too Chicago-centric for our Midwestern friends. How about a piece of pizza finding its way to someone's mouth? Everyone likes pizza right? This would mix Chicago tradition with the Midwest's love of all things pizza. It could be a horizontal progress as opposed to the Apple's vertical. And if the budget isn't sufficient to be in lights atop some building, we'll just order Lou Malnati's and film the slice going into my mouth.

But I think where New York might have us is their ability to pack Times Square with people despite frigid temperatures. Are there enough lunatics in Chicago to do this? I know there are in New York. Our only chance may be to tell Cub fans that they're having a special New Years eve game at 11pm. I'm not sure why they'd come but they will. They (we) always have and always will.

My proposal, stated here on the Loop and the Lou, January 5th, 2009, is too have a New Year's celebration in Chicago next year, with some sort of live televised countdown to take the place of the Apple. Roller, make it happen.