Compass A&E

New Year’s Eve is coming up, a time when even those of us who think we’re pretty sensible are inclined to indulge in some superstition and wishful thinking. We will make resolutions and we will make toasts and we will eat “good luck” foods such as hoppin’ john or noodles shaped like coins —or caviar. 

Tom Morrison, of Salisbury, Conn., lampoons the legal world in his first novel, “Torts ‘R’ Us,” published this fall and available at Oblong Books in Millerton, N.Y., and Salisbury Pharmacy.

In contrast to the boisterousness of New Year’s celebrations in the West, the Japanese traditionally greet the new year with quiet reflection.

There is even a Japanese buddhist admonition to “stay at home and drink sake with your wife” on New Year’s Eve.

The Northwest Corner of Connecticut has more than a normal number of well-known artists. Some know each other, some don’t; some work together on feature films or television programs, others never cross professional paths with their peers.

You don’t have to be a super sophisticated user of the internet to know about the “Grumpy Cat” meme, It started in 2012, when photos of a cat named Tardar Sauce got posted online.

One thing we know for sure is that a majority of us will spend this New Year’s Eve at home. 

But there’s no reason why that can’t be festive and fun. No doubt in the weeks to come there will be any number of “virtual” concerts announced for the night of Dec. 31.

I’ve already chosen my concert, though. 

The winter hasn’t been that bad yet (even though it is 2020 and one might have expected this to be the worst early winter in decades). But soon it will be very cold and snowy and we will be quarantined and the conditions will be just perfect for reading the work of Leo Tolstoy. 

The popular holiday shop at the regional high school in Falls Village, Conn., is already pretty much sold out of wreaths and trees, a week earlier than normal. We will leave it to the sociologists to figure out why.