Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Year-End Top Ten


  











2015 Top Ten List
Everybody else is doing it, so why can't I?

10  Toyota 

For the beauty of Bluetooth and the ostensible "freedom." (I could drive up 95 to see you; I just choose not to. I am a little bit scared and very bored by highways.)

09  Salice Salentino

Surpassingly fun to say and excellent to drink. Seriously, seek it out, even at Trader Joe's. From the boot.

08  Gilmore Girls

I may be personally responsible for its revival; I have that kind of power. In any case, it got me through last winter.

07  Hannah Cohen

Apparently I have yet to convince one person on earth to listen to her. But there's still time, 2016 is weeks away.

06  Facebook

The freelancer's frenemy. I can't quit you.

05  San Francisco

Well, that was an unusual vacation. It felt like I was airlifted out of winter. 70+ degree weather, odd job interviews, and I covered the waterfront. I covered the Haight and the Castro and the Mission and Hayes Valley too. But mostly the waterfront. On bike, by foot... I climbed hills and sat outside and drank a lot of wine. Eventually to Marin and then Napa. Along the way, I forgot that I was 52. And a guy named Robert.

04  Alexandria

Old Town, Del Ray, Seminary Road. All these (fifty) years later, this is still where I feel most at home. Relaxed, engaged, warm, comical. Too bad it's unaffordable. On Monday they found this in a Fairfax park, breaking my heart. That picture at the top is where I first lived, in a small house on Pitt Street with rats.

03  Tennis

This year playing edges watching for the first time in a long time. (Thanks, Earle.) I am now the proud owner of a one-handed backhand. Twitter became important, particularly because of Martina and (of all people) Brad Gilbert. Very much hoping that all hell breaks loose on the ATP and WTA next year. I'll continue with my cheer: "Come on, Roger!"

02  Comedy

I don't have to set the stage:  It was an awful, awful year. So thank god for Key & Peele, Amy Schumer, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Jennifer Lawrence, Tina Fey, The Onion and PARKS & RECREATION.


01  Writing

I actually made most of my money this year in the filthy, filthy trade of words on paper. And I revived this here corpse. And I wrote some poems. And fiddled with my epic short story, "Paddle Tennis." And scribbled down a couple of ideas for novels, plays, screenplays. And...

Thirty years ago, I thought I'd be a writer. I got sidetracked.



5 comments:

  1. 10. Via Google maps, I'm 6.1 miles from I-95. You're welcome for as many days as it would take to get over the drive up (oyster bars, harbor walks, graffiti runs, cruises to islands, drinks in financial district bars, barefoot dancing in hippie churches.

    9. I drove for many days in Italy and drank many bottles of wine (of course, not at the same time). Never to the SE coast, though, so thank you for the new taste. Milo was conceived in Florence. I'll tell you that story some time.

    7. I like a bit of Hannah Cohen, through you. For comparison I submit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_8AEnlvIek, who ran in the same circles I did in New York.

    (and you must show me how to make links appear simple and bold and red.)

    5. Nothing to argue with, and too too much to put down here. Lots of History: worldly (writers, music, gay/activist/beat/hippie vibe) and personally (lovers, friends, visits). No place I'd rather have lived in the past.

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    Replies
    1. PMR, you were a big big boon to 2015 too. I really love Roses Are Not Red, thanks. I'm headed to SF for Christmas. Just a few days, unless...

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    2. I didn't have any summer romance... Seriously!How did I not write this first?

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