BetterMost, Wyoming & Brokeback Mountain Forum

Our BetterMost Community => The Holiday Forum => Topic started by: Penthesilea on December 31, 2008, 11:03:20 am

Title: Happy New Year 2009!
Post by: Penthesilea on December 31, 2008, 11:03:20 am

(http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m47/Penthesilea06/Banner/happynewyearrl5.jpg)

Happy New Year
to all BetterMostians!
2009
is 365 chances
to seize the day.
Sounds good,
doesn't it?

 :D

I wish you all prosperity
and much love
in your life.

Title: Re: Happy New Year 2009!
Post by: Berit on December 31, 2008, 11:04:39 am

Happy New Year!

Berit

Title: Re: Happy New Year 2009!
Post by: Penthesilea on December 31, 2008, 11:31:24 am

New Year Greetings from around the world. The first word in each row is the name of the language, the rest is the greeting.
I tried to pronounce some of them. Probably totally incompetent, but it's fun :).



Afgani Saale Nao Mubbarak
Afrikaans Gelukkige nuwe jaar
Albanian Gezuar Vitin e Ri
Armenian  Snorhavor Nor Tari
Arabic Kul 'am wa antum bikhair
Assyrian Sheta Brikhta
Azeri  Yeni Iliniz Mubarek!
Bengali Shuvo Nabo Barsho
Breton [Celtic Brythonic language] Bloavezh Mat
Bulgarian ×åñòèòà Íîâà Ãîäèíà(pronounced "Chestita Nova Godina")
Cambodian Soursdey Chhnam Tmei
Catalan FELIÇ ANY NOU
Chinese Xin Nian Kuai Le
Corsican Language Pace e Salute
Croatian Sretna Nova godina!
Cymraeg (Welsh) Blwyddyn Newydd Dda
Czech Šťastný Nový rok (or Stastny Novy rok)
Denish Godt Nytår
Dhivehi  Ufaaveri Aa Aharakah Edhen
Dutch GELUKKIG NIEUWJAAR!
Eskimo Kiortame pivdluaritlo
Esperanto Felican Novan Jaron
Estonians Head uut aastat!
Ethiopian: MELKAM ADDIS AMET YIHUNELIWO!
Finnish Onnellista Uutta Vuotta
French Bonne Annee
Gaelic Bliadhna mhath ur
Galician [NorthWestern Spain] Bo Nadal e Feliz Aninovo
German Prosit Neujahr
Georgian GILOTSAVT AKHAL TSELS!
Greek Kenourios Chronos
Gujarati Nutan Varshbhinandan
Hawaiian Hauoli Makahiki Hou
Hebrew L'Shannah Tovah
Hindi Naye Varsha Ki Shubhkamanyen
Hong kong (Cantonese) Sun Leen Fai Lok
Hungarian Boldog Ooy Ayvet
Indonesian Selamat Tahun Baru
Iranian Sal -e- no mobarak
Iraqi Sanah Jadidah
Irish Bliain nua fe mhaise dhuit
Italian: Felice anno nuovo
Japan: Akimashite Omedetto Gozaimasu
Kabyle: Asegwas Amegaz
Kannada: Hosa Varushadha Shubhashayagalu
Kisii: SOMWAKA OMOYIA OMUYA
Khmer: Sua Sdei tfnam tmei
Korea: Saehae Bock Mani ba deu sei yo!
Kurdish: NEWROZ PIROZBE
Latvian Laimīgo Jauno Gadu!
Lithuanian: Laimingu Naujuju Metu
Laotian: Sabai dee pee mai
Macedonian Srekjna Nova Godina
Madagascar Tratry  ny  taona
Malay Selamat Tahun Baru
Marathi : Nveen Varshachy Shubhechcha
Malayalam : Puthuvatsara Aashamsakal
Mizo Kum Thar Chibai
Maltese Is-Sena t- Tajba
Nepal Nawa Barsha ko Shuvakamana
Norwegian Godt Nyttår
Papua New Guinea Nupela yia i go long yu
Pampango (Philippines) Masaganang Bayung Banua
Pashto Nawai Kall Mo Mubarak Shah
Persian Sal -e- no mobarak
Philippines Manigong Bagong Taon!
Polish: Szczesliwego Nowego Roku
Portuguese Feliz Ano Novo
Punjabi Nave sal di mubarak
Romanian AN NOU FERICIT
Russian S Novim Godom
Samoa Manuia le Tausaga Fou
Serbo-Croatian Sretna nova godina
Sindhi Nayou Saal Mubbarak Hoje
Singhalese Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa
Siraiki Nawan Saal Shala Mubarak Theevay
Slovak Stastny Novy rok
Slovenian sreèno novo leto
Somali Iyo Sanad Cusub Oo Fiican!
Spanish Feliz Ano ~Nuevo
Swahili Heri Za Mwaka Mpyaº
Swedish GOTT NYTT ÅR! /Gott nytt år!
Sudanese Warsa Enggal
Tamil Eniya Puthandu Nalvazhthukkal
Tibetian Losar Tashi Delek
Telegu Noothana samvatsara shubhakankshalu
Thai Sawadee Pee Mai
Turkish Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun
Ukrainian Shchastlyvoho Novoho Roku
Urdu Naya Saal Mubbarak Ho
Uzbek Yangi Yil Bilan
Vietnamese Chuc Mung Tan Nien
Welsh : Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!

Title: Re: Happy New Year 2009!
Post by: Kelda on December 31, 2008, 11:39:34 am

Have a good one, Brokies!

Title: Re: Happy New Year 2009!
Post by: David In Indy on December 31, 2008, 11:54:54 am

Omaka Teca Oiyokipi = Happy New Year in Lakota (Sioux)

That's a very interesting list Chrissi! Thanks for posting it!

Omaka Teca Oiyokipi Bettermost!! :-* :D

Title: Re: Happy New Year 2009!
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on December 31, 2008, 12:20:56 pm

Bert'n'Ernie say Happy New Year--with sheep!   (1:27)
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21OH0wlkfbc&eurl=[/youtube]


Happy New Year!

Title: Re: Happy New Year 2009!
Post by: mariez on December 31, 2008, 03:01:04 pm

Thank you, Chrissi!  All the best in the New Year to you and your family and all Bettermostians and their loved ones  :)

The list is a lot of fun - thanks for the Lakota greeting, David!

And what could be better than dancing sheep?   :laugh:

Marie

Title: Re: Happy New Year 2009!
Post by: optom3 on December 31, 2008, 03:54:56 pm

I wish ALL Bettermostians a very, very happy and peaceful 2009. I look forward to another year here, and take this opportunity to thank all of you(too many to mention) who have helped me survive a very difficult year,

xoxoxo

Fiona

Title: Re: Happy New Year 2009!
Post by: jstephens9 on December 31, 2008, 10:28:06 pm

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE HERE AT BETTERMOST

Title: Re: Happy New Year 2009!
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on January 01, 2009, 12:10:13 am

(http://images.huffingtonpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/771/slide_771_14362_large.jpg)

Classic!
 ;D

Title: Re: Happy New Year 2009!
Post by: Front-Ranger on January 01, 2009, 03:09:26 am

Happy 2009 to all Bettermostians and Brokies throughout the world from Brokie Central in the Rocky Mountains!!!


There are no reins on this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Title: Re: Happy New Year 2009!
Post by: Aloysius J. Gleek on January 02, 2009, 03:35:47 am

I wondered about these guys, after 2010--

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008575545_glasses31m.html (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008575545_glasses31m.html)

(http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/art/ui/seattletimeslogo_inside.gif)

As 2008 closes, so does business for those year-end glasses

The two Seattle inventors of the iconic glow-in-the-dark New Year's Eve glasses that show the year are not able to compete with cheaper knockoffs and are calling it quits after first marketing the glasses for 1991 festivities.

(http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2008/12/30/2008574782.jpg)
Richard Sclafani, left, and Peter Cicero are co-inventors of the patented Glow-Year Glasses they created in 1990.

By Erik Lacitis
Seattle Times  staff reporter
Originally published Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at 12:00 AM

They thought they dreamed up a winner — that night of Jan. 27, 1990, when over some beers at a Ballard apartment, Richard Sclafani and Peter Cicero were doodling ideas on paper.

Their brilliant invention was those plastic, glow-in-the-dark, New Year's Eve glasses shaped like the year.

It turned out that Sclafani and Cicero really had come up with something:

From David Letterman to The New York Times, the two local guys saw their creation publicized, although never attributed to them.

The glasses would become the goofy icon that for the past two decades has been associated with the year-end celebration.

Their first Glow-Year Glasses were marketed for 1991, and since then, Sclafani and Cicero have sold 1.2 million of them.

But this is the last year that they are selling the glasses.

It's a bittersweet ending, their moneymaker now a loser because of cheaper knockoffs.

Glasses from competitors now retail for 79 cents, about what the two guys wholesale theirs for.

And then there is this final insult. They've never gotten proper recognition for their idea — patent number 335,134, "Novelty Eyeglass Frames."

"Nobody knows who we are," says Sclafani.

The next big thing

Still, for a novelty item, it's been a good run.

Says Brett Dewey, owner of WickedCoolStuff, a pop-culture retail Web site out of North Hollywood, Calif., "The key in the novelty business is to be ready with the next big thing, and move on.

"If what you're selling is small and cheap, you're going to have competitors trying to knock you off, unless you have an army of lawyers ready to attack every knockoff company."

Dewey says that the New Year's Eve glasses weren't a product that inspired customer loyalty, even if the glasses sold by Sclafani and Cicero were made of thicker plastic than the knockoffs, and maybe even contained more of the phosphorescent colorant that made them glow.

"The majority of sales happen on New Year's Eve out in events. It's an impulse buy. I don't think people are looking for durable quality that evening," says Dewey.

Now, with the New Year's Eve glasses business winding down, what they have is a lot of memories, mostly good, about their brilliant idea.

Born from a doodle

Sclafani, 60, and Cicero, 58, met at a songwriting group that met monthly in the University District.

They both play guitar and got along. Sometimes they'd get together and jam, as happened on that Jan. 27 in Cicero's apartment in Ballard.

At some point, they put down their guitars, and began doodling on a sketch pad. Just ideas that maybe — maybe not might — make for a novelty item.

Their first sketches were of oversized plastic fly swatters, such as one made to look like a hammer. They decided to go on to something else.

Cicero came up with the New Year's Eve glasses idea, and they filled two pages with ideas for them.

Sclafani was particularly enthused.

"I don't think I slept for two nights," he remembers.

Sclafani wanted to go for it; Cicero says he got cold feet.

Sclafani got together $30,000 from his credit cards and money he borrowed; Cicero contributed another $6,000.

Just an aluminum mold of the glasses, needed by a Bellingham factory they found, cost $15,000.

The men decided that since Sclafani was doing most of the work, he'd get a much greater share of the profits.

Local play on TV

In October of 1990, they had 10,000 of the "1991" glasses. Sclafani went to local gift shops and party suppliers. He sold 5,000 of the glasses, at $1.50 each.

Cicero dropped off some sample glasses at KOMO-TV.

On a newscast, there were Kathy Goertzen and Dan Lewis and Steve Pool joking around, wearing them.

On a New Year's Eve KING-TV show, there was comedian John Keister wearing them.

Sclafani and Cicero got another brilliant idea of what to do with the 5,000 leftover glasses they had.

"We went to the library and got a book listing all of the Washington state schools. We made up our own mailing list, and sent them all a free sample," says Cicero.

Eventually, they had a list of 20,000 schools around the country, many ordering the glasses for graduation days.

Business was good, doubling every year.

Sclafani has a 1998 video he made of a Longs Drugs semi pulling up to his North End rambler — the business was run out of his garage — to load up boxes filled with 14,800 pairs of the glasses.

Their best year was the glasses for 2000.

They sold 541,000 of the millennium glasses.

In New York's Times Square alone, street vendors sold 80,000 of them.

Still, even for that best year, after manufacturing, boxing, shipping and advertising costs were added in, Sclafani netted $80,000, and Cicero got $12,000.

Knockoff competition

A couple of years before the 2000 glasses, however, Sclafani noticed there was competition.

There was a Time  magazine article about the 1997 turnover of Hong Kong from the British to the Chinese.

A photo showed somebody in Hong Kong wearing ... a knockoff of their glasses.

Their New York City distributor later sent them a box with a dozen different knockoff glasses.

"Some people were selling them on the street for 25 cents," says Sclafani. "I always knew we had competition. I didn't know we'd get knocked pretty much out of business."

Then 9/11 happened, and the hotels and casinos canceled their New Year's party orders, orders that never came back.

Only 44,000 of the 2002 glasses were sold, and 20,000 unsold ones were taken to the dump.

For 2009, Sclafani had 10,000 glasses made and has sold only 2,800.

So it's over.

For 2010, Sclafani and Cicero would have to have a completely new mold made that'd cost $20,000.

That's because the "2" and "1" would have to be located higher than the two 0s.

Better to just call it quits.

(http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gawker/2008/12/2010d.jpg)


Sclafani does have income from selling novelties produced by others — most manufactured overseas — such as Elvis glasses, noisemakers, plastic maracas that light up and glow bracelets.

"I get depressed on New Year's Eve," says Sclafani. "It used to be such a thrill to turn on the TV, and there were our glasses! Now, all I see is knockoffs."

He ponders the vagaries of the novelty business.

"If I had to do it all over again, I would," says Sclafani. "We did bring a smile to millions of people."

Erik Lacitis: 206-464-2237 or [email protected] (http://[email protected])

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company


Related:

http://gawker.com/5121460/the-sad-ending-of-the-200_-new-years-glasses (http://gawker.com/5121460/the-sad-ending-of-the-200_-new-years-glasses)

The Sad Ending of the 200_ New Year's Glasses

Title: Re: Happy New Year 2009!
Post by: Ellemeno on January 02, 2009, 03:37:48 am

Wow, they live in my neighborhood, and I've never heard of them or seen a pair of those glasses.  I got a get out more. 

:)

Title: Re: Happy New Year 2009!
Post by: Front-Ranger on January 05, 2009, 02:10:12 am

I've never seen them or heard of them either!! Must be a NY phenom.

Title: Re: Happy New Year 2009!
Post by: David In Indy on January 05, 2009, 02:35:56 am

I've seen those glasses. Not around here. I've seen people wearing them at Times Square on New Year's eve during the broadcast. It's a shame they cannot make them any more.

I'm glad they showed the 2010 glasses though. I was wondering how they would do it.

I also wonder about the 2011 glasses. There is only one hole to look through!

Title: Re: Happy New Year 2009!
Post by: Kelda on January 05, 2009, 03:07:10 pm

Ive seen them in deepest darkest scotland!