One man’s completely idiosyncratic, entirely personal, possibly not even defensible list of the best of 2010:
1.) Michael Bloomberg‘s strirring, eloquent defense of Freedom of Religion generally and of an Islamic Community Center (not mosque) in Lower Manhattan (not Ground Zero).
2.) Writing about the Disunion Crisis for The New York Times
3.) Dinner in London in late July at La Pont de la Tour with Josh King and Nick Balamaci, followed by a spontaneous stroll over the bridge and through traffic and the City. Unexpected fun.
4.) A Big Fucking Deal–A Democratic president and Congress deliver health care reform
5.) Armando Galarraga of the Tigers gets cheated out his perfect game, and a lot of literary-minded sportswriters find some kind of beauty and poetry in the moment, but they’re full of shit. The guy was cheated, the error was correctable, and justice was denied.
6.) Lost in the praise heaped on the film’s female stars, Mark Rufalo‘s portrayal of modern American manhood in The Kids Are All Right was thoughtful and forward-looking.
7.) Father’s Day on Labor Day Weekend at Yankee Stadium. Happiness.
8.) The Social Network, a brilliant film about popularity and society and loneliness
9.) The commentary of Eliot Spitzer. Constantly incisive, and the more incisive he is, the more regrettable is his downfall.
10.) New music: Little Lion Man by Mumford & Sons; Short Skirt/Long Jacket by Cake; Fuck You, by Cee Lo Green; When My Time Comes, by Dawes; Home, by Edgar Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes (left).
Honorable mention: Downsizing on eBay.