The time between Christmas and New Year’s is precious and underappreciated. There’s time to visit with family. The businesses and activities that remain open feel like they’re set to glide mode. All the homies that teach are on break and can meet up–it’s a good time to champagne & campaign.
On the other hand, as someone who consumes a lot of podcasts and blogs, this week is also kinda meh. Year in review episodes, best ofs, reruns, etc. are hit or miss. An exception to this rule is the Stadios, the end of the year award show on the Stadio soccer podcast. It rules, if you like soccer you should go listen to it right now. On my own show, after the trash-fire of 2020, I swore off year-in-reviews.
So instead of recounting 2022, here are some things I’m looking forward to in 2023.
Football in February - In May, Hope and I flew home to visit family during Eid Al Fitr, the festival that marks the end of Ramadan in Islamic culture. Coincidentally (I swear), the Seattle Sounders were playing that week in the CONCACAF Champions League Final at Lumen Field. It was possibly the greatest live sporting experience of my life. Seattle won the continental title for North America and qualified for the Club World Cup, which will be played in February in Morocco. At one point, the tournament was rumored to be hosted in Abu Dhabi but alas it wasn't meant to be. In the tournament, Seattle will be competing against the best teams from each continent, including Real Madrid and Brazil's CR Flamengo.
Travel in February - In the fall, we visited Tbilisi, the capital of the Republic of Georgia for the first time. We enjoyed our time and I fell in love with the region. The Caucuses remind me of Central America and Southeast Asia–criminally under-traveled places that are accessible and deeply affordable. During the trip, we made plans to revisit the region—this time we’re headed to Baku, Azerbaijan. Unlike Georgia, which is majority Orthodox, Azeris are majority Muslim and their state feels a bit more off the beaten path. Dumplings and wine aplenty await.
Reading in June - One of my greatest discoveries of 2022 was the author S.A. Cosby (no relation). He writes Southern noir novels. They’re engrossing crime and heist tales, as if Elmore Leonard could write credible Black characters (yes, that’s shade). I devoured his prior books Razorblade Tears and Blacktop Wasteland last year. Someone who recommended Razorblade Tears compared it to Lethal Weapon or 48 Hours but following the story of the crooks. He writes deep, complex characters and amazing tension filled narratives. His next book comes out in June, All the Sinners Bleed. Here’s the slug:
“After years of working as an FBI agent, Titus Crown returns home to Charon County, land of moonshine and cornbread, fist fights and honeysuckle. Seeing his hometown struggling with a bigoted police force inspires him to run for sheriff. He wins, and becomes the first Black sheriff in the history of the county.
Then a year to the day after his election, a young Black man is fatally shot by Titus’s deputies.”
Football in July - The Women’s World Cup will be in Australia and New Zealand this year. This will be our third WWC. We will be attending the tournament’s opening match, NZ versus Norway, and all the US’ matches in the group stage. All the US matches will be played in New Zealand, so we’ll also make some time for some Lord of the Rings related sight-seeing.
Justice in September - the Tacoma police officers that killed Manuel Ellis are scheduled to go to trial. The case, a shameful travesty of justice, has been repeatedly delayed due to law enforcement obstruction, false statements by police spokespeople, and complicit cowardice by local elected officials.
Dune in November - I recently wrote about my admiration for the book Dune and excitement about the upcoming movie sequel. Shooting wrapped in Abu Dhabi over the break. Part 1 ended right at the point the book gets very, very weird. I’m excited to see how Villeneuve navigates the tail end of the book, the uprising on Arrakis, and the all-knowing-talking-babies.
Recommendations for this Week 2022: After talking smack about year end lists, it’s silly to turn around a do end of year recommendations, but I’m a silly person so here goes:
Best TV show of 2022 - The Bear, FX
Best movie of 2022 - Athena, Netflix
Best podcast I discovered in 2022 - If Books Could Kill
Best thing I ate in 2020 - Khinkali, Georgian dumplings
Best book, fiction - Razorblade Tears
Best book, non-fiction - The Afrominimalist's Guide to Living with Less
See you next week!