Our annual Top 10s cover sometimes plays on a theme of the year that’s winding down – humans trapped in a snow globe to mark 2020, for instance – but for 2022 we settled on space. Just … space. We liked its ruminative, blank-canvas quality: open for interpretation, not unlike this year of highs, lows, and ehhhh?s.
Some people thrill to space. I’ve always been a little freaked out by it. Maybe I saw 2001: A Space Odyssey too young? (We mined the murderous HAL for a fun Top 10 cover, too, once upon a time.) In any case, as we were discussing the space cover concept, it dislodged a buried memory of watching a planetarium show at the Griffith Observatory in my 20s that really messed with my head. I couldn’t recall what exactly spooked me, but I knew I’d written notes down about it. (I was a screenwriter back then. Everything was material.) So last night I dug up those notes and rediscovered what had so gotten under my skin: that the film had described the Milky Way as “the suburbs of the galaxy.” In other words, we humans are not the star of the show. (More like an unbilled extra?)
I am 44 now and this makes me hoot with laughter. I don’t know if it’s a universal experience, but the more I age, the more comfortable I get with my cosmic insignificance. It’s a relief, honestly. I prefer this perspective.
In this issue, we put down for posterity our impressions of the year – the food that nourished us, the works of art that moved us, the political developments that dispirited us, and so much more. When you’re done reading it, I hope you’ll find time – after yet another noisy year – to sit very quietly and look up at the stars.
Individual results may vary.
ONLINE THIS WEEK
They Don’t Make ‘Em Like They Used To: Damien Chazelle pulls apart cinema’s golden age in Babylon and talks with Culture Editor Richard Whittaker about casting movie stars to play movie stars.
Freedom House: Local poet and PEN America Emerging Voices Fellow KB Brookins takes Qmmunity on a house tour of their upcoming full-length poetry book.
The End of Jason & Deb: Following last year’s firing of Deb O’Keefe from Austin radio station 101X, fellow morning host Jason Dick’s contract was not renewed by managers Waterloo Media last week.
Shanon Weaver reviews the Austin premiere of Audrey Cefaly’s Lammy-winning play The Gulf at Hyde Park Theatre.
Last Week in Live Music: Check out photographer David Brendan Hall’s gallery featuring Modest Mouse, the Smile, She Wants Revenge, and more bands.
More Food Favorites: The Chronicle Food team doles out more year-end accolades online, including best barbacoa joints, noodle soups, restaurants that are good for special diet needs, and Austin nonprofits working to end food insecurity.
How to Party Hearty Into 2023: From holiday markets and Chanukah-themed pop-up bars to New Year’s Eve parties and New Year’s Day hangover brunches, our listings team has all the deets at austinchronicle.com/events.
This article appears in December 16 • 2022.
