2nd annual Bally Drop!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Last night, after ringing in 10:00 PM (when the ball drops in Times Square) with Becky’s and my traditional milquetoast milk toast, I rang in the actual New Year — y’know, at midnight local time — with a dozen or so Twitter friends, at my second annual livestreamed “Bally Drop.”

Here’s the archived stream of the big moment. (Apologies for the Ustream ad at the beginning.) The 10-second countdown to midnight begins at the 3:00 mark.

That’s actually “Part 2” of the #BallyDrop live broadcast, starting at 11:57 PM. We lost the stream at 11:53 PM and had to start it up again, which separated the archived video into two parts.

Below is “Part 1,” from 11:34 to 11:53 PM. Nothing much happens (aside from Tom Petty songs) until the 12:30 mark of the video (11:47 PM), when I crack a beer. From the 13:00 mark to the 15:30 mark, I explain how #BallyDrop works. Then, the video ends with a reading of “Bally’s Dream” — interrupted, alas, by the stream dropping. (I finish the reading in Part 2, after “Auld Lang Syne.”)

The video at the top of this post, by the way, was not broadcast live. It’s the wide-angle view taken by my HD camcorder, behind me. So, mostly you see my back and my butt (thrilling, must-see footage!), but you can also see the #ballz dropping all the way down to the floor. 🙂

Anyway, again, Happy New Year, everyone! May 2012 be the year when it doesn’t end in a loss!

Original post after the jump.

[BREAKING: Due to Comcast Internet outage, the live stream will ONLY BE AVAILABLE ON TWITTER and the festivities will start at 11:48 instead of 11:30. The Ballys will still drop at midnight.]

Tonight at midnight Mountain Time, here and on Twitter, I’ll ring in the New Year with the second annual Bally Drop. Now with two Ballys!

Stay tuned for more details, and come back here at 11:30 PM MST for the festivities. Oh, and if you’re on Twitter, the hashtag is #BallyDrop.

Here’s last year’s Bally Drop: