One more big one to go!

Greetings Hong Kong Holiday Musickrati!

It's been my first time in the SAR for Christmas, and it was nice to spend a few less insane moments around a few familiar faces, looking back over the year. In sharp contrast to my usual ritual of taking it slow in the Nutmeg State of Connecticut, Hong Kong never really takes it that easy, but people definitely seemed a touch nicer in the usual mad dash of the MTR passages and on the sidewalks.

This week, however, is the big one, and Rob, Joyce, and I would like to invite all of you to Fresco's New Year's Eve party! See below for the scoop; and for this week (Dec 28 - Jan 3):

• Monday: Robbin and his Ensemble are back at Nordic Pillaging with experiments in improv (9:30PM)
• Tuesday: The last open mic of the year gives you your last chance to make good on that promise to yourself to get up on stage in front of a few people for 2008! Now don't skip the easy resolutions - we'll even throw a shot in to help you get started (9:30PM)
• Wednesday: The Soul Crusaders have the organ sound of the 60s, and I hear they're willing to share.. (9:30PM)
• Thursday: The Big NYE is here! Count down to 2010 with headliner Karissa Muse, with just about the only bar without a cover; see below (10PM)
• Friday: National Hangover Day leaves us forgetting exactly who'll be here - but we're open, assuming we're awake by nightfall
• Saturday: Aussie Guy LeClaire is back with his Quartet for a rocking swing on jazz; see below (9:30PM)
• Sunday: Chill Out in the New Year, and share a resolution for the bar wall - anything that makes it on the board will earn you a drink, one resolution per customer; I think I'm going to try to cut back on talking to the Police (well, while they're working, at any rate) (8:00PM)

The Muse Countdown:

The LeClairian Call:

Trivia will be off for the rest of 2009, but here's the answers to last week:

1. Q: Eventually having a global language institute and a complete translation of Hamlet, to what language does Avatar linguist Paul Frommer refer to as "the gold standard of alien languages" after constructing a new language for the Na'vi?
   A: Klingon. And Klingon Shakespeare Restoration Project really did do Hamlet in it.
2. Q: Thought by some to be the final resting place of the lost city of Atlantis, which sea is considered to be the shallowest in the world?
   A: The Sea of Azov.

Live long and prosper,
Guy Cirino
Chief Bacchanalian Officer

along with the People:
Joyce Baker
Chief of Art and Design

Rob Baker
General Manager

• Trivia contest rules:
  1. Limit one entry per person.
  2. Any single serving drink off the bar menu may be selected (bottles of wine and champagne are expressly excluded, normal idea of a "single serving" applies here guys ;)
  3. Free drinks cannot be redeemed for cash, exchanged, or refunded.
  4. This may not be combined with other offers.
  5. The bartender or server may request to see photo ID if they do not recognize you.
  6. Free drinks from this contest will only be given if the winning contestant is physically present at the bar.
  7. The offer for a winning contestant is only valid for 30 days from the date Fresco sends notification that they have won.
  8. Employees of Fresco are not eligible contestants.
  9. Contestants may win no more than once in any four consecutive contests.
  10. Answers must be deemed correct as judged by Peel Fresco Music Lounge staff conducting the contest.
  11. The contest is complete on the Sunday following the day in which the questions are announced. No further submissions for that contest will be accepted for winning consideration.
• Open Source Discount Membership rules:
  
  in refinement - program is active at the register, please mention OSS. At the moment we're only collecting information from potential applicants that think they'll be up to the (unannounced) standards based on the above. Suffice it to say, it'll be something like "verifiable nontrivial commits to projects with any license recognized by the Open Source Initiative" with the rules subject to change as we work out what seems within the right spirit. Joining does include one free geek drink in addition to the usual discount (ever taste a Blue Screen of Death?).