The 2023 Tuskies

For my year in review, here are some awards I bestow on the best and worst of the year

I’m not really sure how best to sum up 2023, but here were some of the highs and lows as I saw them, in the form of awards I will henceforth refer to as the Tuskies.

Most annoying political event

There were a lot of contenders, but the DeSantis/Newsom debate just has to be the bipartisan consensus. It was so awful that moderator Sean Hannity came off as reasonable and calm.

Thing we paid too much attention to

Candidate traits, including Joe Biden’s age, Ron DeSantis’ laugh and footwear, Vivek Ramaswamy’s belligerence, Nikki Haley’s even temper, etc. while at the same time we just let slide the fact that Donald Trump’s popularity has stayed the same or risen following his indictments and his explicit promises of authoritarian government.

Thing we paid not enough attention to

The Inflation Reduction Act, one of the largest American investments in climate change mitigation, has been wildly successful, and also likely won’t be nearly enough to stave off massive economic and political disruption due to the environment.

Most absurd academic conference

APSA Los Angeles. This had everything: A union strike, an inconvenient venue, insufferable social media chatter, pricey hotels, poor attendance, Covid…. Somehow the hurricane failed to end the whole thing, but it wasn’t for lack of effort.

Best Trump indictment

It was a year of many indictments of the former president, but you have to hand it to Fulton County, Georgia for its go-big-or-go-home approach. Nineteen people were included in this RICO indictment over election interference, including Trump, Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, and more.

Best cake I made

The Achilles Heel. I made this for my book club, using my own foot as a mold. I really thought it would be more popular although I think a few of my guests were grossed out by it. Also the cake settled a bit and gave me cankles.

Saddest celebrity death

Sinéad O’Connor. She suffered a lot over the years — from mental illness, from the loss of a child, and from the cruelty of those who just weren’t ready to hear about a massive abuse scandal in the Catholic Church and decided to punch back instead — but she was so immensely talented and still had much to teach us.

Best concert

The Bruce Springsteen show I saw at the Denver Pepsi Center in 2016 was one of the best I’ve seen, and I figured if I never saw him again after that it would be okay. But I saw him at the same venue in March of this year and dammit he killed it. At seventy-freaking-three.

Most inevitable downfall

Marie Kondo: Screw it, it’s hard to keep the house clean and uncluttered with kids around.

Weirdest moral panic

Woke M&Ms. It almost makes one pine for the Tucker Carlson days. Yes, his moral panics were cruel and targeted all the usual suspects, but they were also so patently absurd as to undermine the whole enterprise.

Most predictable political outcome

A House Speakership built on a promise of “You can remove me at any time” doesn’t last very long.

Best meal

I had a completely amazing multi-course meal at Girl and the Goat in Chicago in April and am still thinking about it. Runner up: The shrimp taco at Mariscos Jalisco in Boyle Heights.

Best TV episode

A tie:

• “The Last of Us,” Season 1, Episode 3: “Long Long Time.” This was one of the most beautiful self-contained love stories I’ve ever seen put to film. And in a zombie show based on a video game, no less.

• “The Bear,” Season 1, Episode 6: “Fishes.” This is brutally good and hard to watch. And they bring in a bunch of talented guest stars, which doesn’t always work, but really did here. I’d pair this one with the “Forks” episode, which is a much more conventional conflict-resolution-victory story but also gorgeously done.

Best documentary film

The Netflix “Wham!” documentary was a fun, sweet, and surprisingly affecting study of a friendship.

Best dramatic film

It wasn’t close.

At any rate, thank you all for your readership and support during 2023. I looking forward to seeing 2024 through with you all!