Saturday, December 31: 2022 Wrap Up
T'was the best of times, and occasionally also the worst of times
In honor of the year wrapping up, thanks for joining me on this ride. I’m excited to continue writing and growing the audience, and I’m hopeful that with your help, we’ll find some good stories to tell in 2023. Here are some of my favorite things from the past 364 days (of course, no list would be complete without some of my least favorite things as well).
Some Favorite Things about 2022
Traveling overseas to spend time with family, always gonna be my favorite thing
Exploring and growing my local community and making plans to invest in it further (more to come in 2023)
Joining a labor union & supporting my fellow workers on our collective journey to a better, more equitable workplace
Seeing my family (most specifically, my niece) in the city I live in on a regular basis, no quicker cure for a miserable day
Riding my bike around the city regularly, but mostly just for enjoyment
Watching Messi finally lift the trophy after winning the most thrilling World Cup final I’ve ever seen
Not thinking about Donald Trump every day or even every week, despite the best efforts of the ‘January 6 committee’
Least Favorite Things in 2022
School shootings, police killings, climate catastrophes, all growing unnaturally in their severity
SBF and the continued appeal of crypto scams
Getting injured during physical activities as a 30 year old and finding out my body is actually made of papier mache
Seeing dedicated investment to all things metaverse while also witnessing growing destruction of all things non-metaverse
Rise of man-fluencers like Andrew Tate, Jordan Peterson, and other clueless bozos
Elon Musk’s growing obsession with being the main character
Side Items
Ol’ Babs Said “Wait for me!!”: Hearing the news of the famous deaths yesterday, news anchor and TV personality Barbara Walters also decided to pass away at the age of 93. She was famous for co-hosting the “Today” show back when that was something honorable and noteworthy, and she forever blurred the line between news and entertainment, a sin for which there is no forgiveness
Pope Benedict, Also Dead: Benedict XVI (that’s 16, I counted), the former pope, died at 95. I still remember when he shocked the Catholic world by stepping down from the “papa” role in 2013. 95 years is a long time
A Different Kind of Loss: After much deliberation, and a monumentally shortcoming showing in the World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo has finally admitted his washed status and announced he’s joining Saudi club Al-Nassr. Ronaldo signed a contract until the summer of 2025 and, according to reports, will receive $75 million per year to make him the highest paid player in history…in case there was any confusion about what motivates him
Top TV of 2022
Andor; for sure the best Star Wars spin-off ever created. Great storytelling, lots of action, not an overwhelming number of storylines to keep track of (Disney+)
The Bear: featuring Chicago and some really strong breakout performances, also makes me talk with an accent and throw my hands around like a true Egyptian (Hulu)
The Dropout: Amanda Seyfried with the performance of a lifetime as another disgraced genius-turned-fraud (Hulu)
Abbott Elementary: the feel-good workplace comedy we all needed in 2022 (Hulu)
The Rehearsal: Nathan Fielder’s newest strange attempt at humor (?) I’m honestly not sure if I really enjoyed this or felt mostly awkward and uncomfortable (HBOMax)
Worst TV of 2022
Wolf Like Me (Peacock’s most ambitious feature is also its worst. Every part of this show is bad. You’ve been warned.)
The Midnight Club (the latest entry in Netflix’s “Haunting of Hill House/Bly Manor” series is without question the worst of the franchise thus far)
Am I the only one who hated what’s happened with Stranger Things? Too many storylines, too much drama, not enough child mutant power discovery
Dubai Bling. I promise you this needs no explanation. I apologize to my eyeballs for putting them through that