Best of 2011

It’s that time of year again when we rate the best and the worst of the New Year. We’ve had three full days to size up everything new for the year: movies, products, celebrities, fads, what’s in and what’s out, and how much underwear we should reveal above our pants.

I thought that might be a funny idea but perhaps not. I normally hate the end-of-year list-making about “the best of” crap although I’m still surprised that Newsweek magazine ranked Un Prophète number one on their movie list for the year. I think I stopped reading Time and Newsweek when I was about 17 and graduated to The Atlantic and Harper’s so I was surprised to see something insightful from that rag. I still think Newsweek sucks but chapeau* to them for this call.

So since this “Best of 2011” idea isn’t really working as a gag I will change course and venture another idea. I will write my “Best of 2011” as the year progresses. I have such a terrible memory that I can barely remember my postal code so trying to recall anything important that happened during the course of a year is difficult at best. This way when the end of the year rolls around I’ll already have my list finished.

I already have one entry in the “Best of 2011” list.

1) The Anti-Smoking Law in Spain

Sorry, fuckos. Head outside if you want to smoke because you can’t do it in here. I would move to the back of an almost-empty café to avoid the smoke yet some old man would invariably sit down right next to me and chain smoke. RIP old man because I now have a restraining order against you and your kind. 

*Chapeau is "hat" in French and in this context means "hats off." A very useful little expression and used by lots of people around Europe who know a little or a lot of French.