2018 was a year that happened
December 29, 2018 1:29 PM   Subscribe

WaPo's Alexandra Petri briefly covers The Year That Was. Sample: "The Parker Solar Probe, seeing how things were going on Earth, demanded to be shot into the sun, and we obliged." (NYT).

MeFi's Own Miss Cellania is busy producing year end lists. Sample: Year-end Lists 2018: Animals.
posted by Johnny Wallflower (10 comments total) 23 users marked this as a favorite
 
I have Petri to thank (via her list of her top 100 Christmas songs) for bringing this into my life in 2018, so there's that.
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:34 PM on December 29, 2018 [5 favorites]


Did you know that there was an Olympics in 2018? Someone reminded me recently that this happened, and I ceased speaking mid-conversation and just sat there with my mouth hanging open. I have lost all track of time.

*groan* Roughly two weeks ago I thought to myself, shouldn't there be a winter Olympics soon? I love the winter Olympics! That's a good thing to look forward to! I need some goodness in my life! And looked up when they were . . . and they were this year. THIS YEAR. And I remember them! I remember lots of wonderful Olympics moments from the last Olympics. But I seriously thought that particular Olympics happened two years ago. And like, Black Panther came out this year but I'd swear it was last year. The Japanese mudslides were just 6 months ago, but I thought that was last fall! The fire tornado was this summer, not a few years ago. And then there's all the political stuff, *gah*. And On and On.

Goddamn this has been the longest year I can ever not remember.
posted by barchan at 2:54 PM on December 29, 2018 [23 favorites]




At the Cotton Bowl

Andy McCullough:
This is horrifying. The eagle let loose during the National Anthem is lost and terrified, flying and landing on random spectators in the crowd.
Old Dang Sigh:
This has been your 2018 year-in-review.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 5:32 PM on December 29, 2018 [5 favorites]


I feel like I might get kicked of Mefi and the internet if I say this (and maybe it is time to button) but a lot of good and even great stuff happened in 2018. A lot of great stuff happened in 2016-2017 too. Great things will happen next year. Every year is not the worst ever. Politics are very bad but they are always bad and I've realized and have noticed a lot of my friends struggling with mental health issues realize too, in 2018, I/we can't (yes, as someone who is greatly affected by them due to marginalization, not a millionaire with my head in the sand) let that rule anymore if we are to continue to exist in this world. The temptation towards a dark, hopeless road that leads nowhere is so, so strong. It's so much stronger than the possibility to look for hope and joy. The very specific triggering pressure on people who are already prone towards that hopeless road is strong right now too.

Sometimes, I hear people talking about how the pressure is to be positive and smile-y and we should be honest about how crappy we feel and yeah, I fully agree, but in my experience if you're not saying the world is a fire bit nihilistic nightmare cage and we should all just give up or whatever, in the days before NYE it's you who is out of step. I don't know what my point is. I'm glad to be alive to see 2019. I was glad to see 2018. I'm glad science has afforded me and my loved ones some once impossible chances to do so. Things get better one winter at a time. Also, there was a Mandarin Duck. I hope y'all have a great New Year full of whatever it is that you want.
posted by colorblock sock at 5:44 PM on December 29, 2018 [9 favorites]


Well, I don’t want to turn this into a US Politics thread, but there’s no denying: many US citizens looking back over the past year would find political issues to be among the most stressful. But as suggested above, there is much to be grateful for, even in politics. I, for one, am grateful for:

1. A massive Blue Wave in the US elections in November (the biggest since Watergate), showing that there is reason to hope, with many state-level offices switching hands to Democrats — including several key Governorships that will be key in the 2020 redistricting — the House of Representatives being regained (led by Nancy Pelosi and with the most diverse incoming class), allowing us to block the worst GOP legislation and initiate some of our own, while initiating some much-needed oversight and accountability, while rooting out the corruptly complicit House Republicans.

2. An extraordinary effort at uncovering corruption, from the various media outlets that have done solid investigative reporting, to the state AG prosecuting the fraud at the heart of Trump Foundation, to Special Prosecutor Mueller, who has investigated, indicted and convicted many key people already, including the President’s personal attorney, campaign manager, and National Security Advisor., as well as foreign nationals involved in tampering with US elections. So much injustice and corruption stays hidden in this world that is gratifying to see that this is all coming out, at last.

3. Seeing the national media, which was mostly complicit with Trump in 2017, grow some sharper elbows as it begins to call out his lies, and the lies of his surrogates, more forcefully. Though it has a long way to go, it’s a huge improvement over a year ago.

4. We managed to avoid a nuclear exchange, despite the insanity surrounding Trunp’s erratic behavior and saber-rattling with North Korea. I recall many of us being quite concerned about that six months ago, but it seems Trump has been distracted from that part of the world recently.

5. I find that my mental state has improved dramatically since November (see point 1, above). I’m actually looking forward to the next two years, and excited to see what 2019 and 2020 will bring. And yes, although there are many evil things yet afoot, I’m very glad to still be alive to hope and be excited about the future.
posted by darkstar at 6:40 PM on December 29, 2018 [10 favorites]


Lest we go down the road of “look it wasn’t that bad” vs “fuck 2018” ad infinitum, here’s a gentle reminder that that your outlook is partially determined by your genes and partially determined by your upbringing, neither of which we have control over. So the “just look at all the good around you” message is likely going to mostly fall flat except on people predisposed to be optimistic anyway. Most of those people are probably not hanging out in the Alexandra Petri Year of Doom thread. My opinion is, let the people who need to vent, vent. Those looking forward to 2019 have posts aplenty, or can make them. I would love to see some “here’s what’s gonna be awesome next year” posts.

(I do not want you to button. Your opinion is very much valid, and I appreciate the optimism, even if I can’t feel it right now. And if we’re getting our wishes, I’d like some semblance of health in the new year. Pretty please.)
posted by greermahoney at 9:10 PM on December 29, 2018 [14 favorites]


The only thing I love more than a year end list is a list of year end lists. Thanks for posting this!
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 9:00 AM on December 30, 2018 [1 favorite]


83 things that blew The Atlantic's mind in 2018 - for a list that's not particularly about the good or bad, just interesting new discoveries from this year.
posted by blue shadows at 11:44 AM on December 30, 2018 [2 favorites]


Alexandra Petri is not only the youngest person to have her own WaPo column, she’s also a national treasure.

One of the few times I genuinely missed living in DC (I was there for the Dubya years, alas I missed Obama).
posted by apathy at 5:58 PM on December 30, 2018 [4 favorites]


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