I can’t tell you how many times I’ve completely forgotten
something that’s happened over the past four years and had to consult my blog
archives. Having a blog is the perfect antidote
to early-onset memory loss. The problem is, I then start to believe my own
ravings and I forget my “coloring” of life events. I enjoyed Neil Kramer’s
year-end recap on his popular blog Citizen of the Month. He reviewed his emotional progression through 2008 which he found to be a very difficult year and included posts he felt best reflected where he was at as the year
progressed.
I thought I’d dip into my own archives to get a birds-eye view of what was on my mind this year, including links to a sample post for each month. Yes, this is an exercise in total narcissism but so is every aspect of blogging. So what was I doing in 2008?
January
Dished some fifty-year-old celebrity dirt, debated the anti-Hillary crowd, kvetched about out-of-control cell phone usage, grieved the loss of Suzanne Pleshette, Bill Idelson, Lois Nettleton, and Heath Ledger, shielded my eyes during some gruesome horror films, and started my yearly obsession with the Oscars.
February
Said good-bye to First Daughter Margaret Truman, defended actress Thelma Ritter, interviewed a blogger from Argentina and got interviewed by one from Alaska, was bored silly by the Oscar telecast, and begged Natalie Cole to throw me a cupcake on the red carpet.
March
Headed east to Manhattan, went nuts on Broadway, avoided Hillary Clinton’s Secret Service guards at "Saturday Night Live," made contact with one of my favorite hotties from Tudor England, paid homage to the new 50-year-olds (from Alec Baldwin to Eve Plumb to Viggo Mortensen), and condemned Barack Obama’s ugliest vice.
April
Came clean about my brief stint as a truck smuggler in Germany, spent time with a pre-60 Minutes Mike Wallace, spewed religious venom at the motherfucker who stole my computer, and watched my daughter become a woman.
Seven Weird Facts About Myself
May
Paid a visit to a crazy Technicolor maven, revealed my mother’s private papers, became physically ill from George W. Bush’s stupidity, responded to the sad news about Ted Kennedy, and said good-bye to TV icons Dick Martin, Earle Hagen, and Harvey Korman,
The Most Famous (But Forgotten) Woman in the Movies
June
Trashed the new “Sex and the City,” ordered a white hood for Brigitte Bardot, overdosed on political mudslinging, jumped for joy at the decision in California to legalize gay marriage (if only we’d known), contemplated family secrets, honored the Chairman of the Board, and mourned the loss of Cyd Charisse and George Carlin.
July
Paid homage to Bozo and Jesus Christ, gloated about the effect I was having on Barack Obama’s campaign, sent out a cry for help regarding my wife’s transformation into Bette Davis, predicted the death of the Batman franchise, fretted about American teens, and revealed my sister’s role in the Apollo space program.
Fasten Your Seat Belt, Kendall Hailey!
August
Headed to Chicago for rock concerts and fun, bid adieu to Evelyn Keyes, went to summer camp, regressed to infancy, tried to extricate family secrets from a new stash of memorabilia, attended the resurrection of a former president, and welcomed Joe Biden and Sarah Palin to the party.
Live Blogging Bill Clinton at the Democratic Convention
September
Put the presidents’ wives on trial, spent my 49th birthday with a corrupt politician, revisited the worst experiences of my life, took a two-part course in feminism, thought about white privilege, asked gays what the hell they were doing in the Republican Party, returned to Chicago to attend synagogue, and reluctantly said good-bye to the amazing Paul Newman,
October
Burned out on the presidential campaign, stalked a cemetery, visited a tenement, spent Yom Kippur with my new spiritual leader, admired Neil Young, embarrassed myself in front of Norah Jones, started to worry about Proposition 8, and welcomed the Colbert Report debut of my newest family member, Joffrey Velvet.
November
Declared my support for William Howard Taft, thanked the Good Lord Above for Obama’s victory, marked the anniversaries of Kristallnacht and the JFK assassination, helped our house come out of the closet as a lesbian, crashed another celebrity funeral, started going to the movies with wild abandon, and considered plucking my own turkey.
Election 2008: The Morning After
December
Spewed some anti-holiday diatribes, lusted after Rita Moreno, had a schizophrenic episode involving Van Johnson, solved the economic crisis (in Yiddish), kvelled over my nephew’s debut at Madison Square Garden, exposed Santa Claus as a dangerous carcinogen, enrolled Eartha Kitt in the Witness Protection Program, sent some birthday lovin’ to my daughter, and advised Jennifer Aniston on her troubled career.
And there you have it—all neatly summarized for any future hearings on my mental competency.
I thank all of you who have stopped by over the past 12 months and wish you all an exciting and financially secure 2009! I have a feeling that great things are in store for all of us in the coming year.
Wow! That's a great recap! I have been following your blog faithfully, so recaps don't come as discoveries but I love them all the same, because they actually do shed another light on something we did not read with the same eyee necessarily.
I am all for reviewing periodically and assessing what the time has covered for us, and how we are managing to "integrate" it!
Happy new year to you and your family!
(I am trying to do the same exercice as Neil and you did, and am finding it pretty hard to conduct in a timely manner!)
Posted by: Otir | December 31, 2008 at 04:17 PM
i've been a regular reader for a little over a year and have thoroughly enjoyed your posts...just want to say 'happy new year' and thanks....
Posted by: scooterzz | December 31, 2008 at 06:19 PM
No one can ever say that you are boring, since it is clear from this recap, that you have the weirdest assortment of interests I've ever seen, from Evelyn Keyes to Bozo.
A happy and healthy year to you and your terrific family.
Posted by: Neil | December 31, 2008 at 06:22 PM
Danny, it's been great to spend the year with you in the blogosphere - but really, that's about all that's been great. It's such a crap ending to the year - between the brutal attack on the poor, dense little area of Gaza (thanks to a usa leadership vacuum), the continuing Occupation of Iraq and Americans losing one job every 15 seconds (etc). How wonderful to take a break and dip back into your fine writing and eclectic smarts. Hope 2009 will improve,
Sue
Posted by: Sue Katz | January 01, 2009 at 06:24 AM
Danny,
Fabulous post! I wish you and yours joy and love and much happiness in the new year. Lord (?) knows, we all deserve it!
Posted by: Tamarika | January 01, 2009 at 06:50 AM
Happy New Year and thanks for the blogs!
Posted by: Anne | January 01, 2009 at 07:39 AM
Happy New year! I love keeping up with your blog also. It certainly does seem like another conflicted year with the chaos in Israel, Rick Warren at the Inauguration, and the economy still unsettling. I do pray that we will have peace soon. I also can't believe how long my country computer's dial up takes for me to even get to these comments. No wonder I can't find your blog from last month about movies or was it Nov.? I was interested in whether I read it in your blog about "Slumdog Millionaire" and what you had said about it.
Posted by: Judy | January 01, 2009 at 10:54 AM
Hahahahahahahahahaha. Amazing. Best. Post. Ever.
Posted by: your sister | January 01, 2009 at 02:36 PM
Wow! Where have I been? I should have been there debating the anti-Hillary folks who called me a racist despite the African half of my family --- and I'm serious about that. I could have added a thing or two about the Jennifer Aniston thread - could have convinced you to get in my car and make a secret midnight early morning trip to zingerman's and back to chicago just in time for more family secrets . . . Ohhh, the pain in not knowing you all this time. Here's to '09 and being in the know with your blog!
Posted by: Amadaes | January 02, 2009 at 11:38 AM
What a wonderful year for your blog. Happy New Year, Danny!
Posted by: churlita | January 02, 2009 at 02:00 PM
As I went through your 2008 recap, I realized that your Kendall Hailey / Bette Davis post made the most impact on me this year.
What an amazing, outrageous life you lead, Danny. Thanks so much for sharing!
Posted by: Mary | January 02, 2009 at 07:08 PM
Since I'm relatively new here, this was a great post for me. Now I can go back and read some of the stuff that sounds really interesting. Keep up the good work - I've really enjoyed it so far.
Posted by: geewits | January 04, 2009 at 11:50 PM
wow! you are brilliant danny miller! please rant in the spring show!
Posted by: michelle | January 06, 2009 at 09:25 PM
And this is why I love your blog. You go through the ups and downs and always end up with something moving or funny to say.
Have a great '09!
Posted by: Jane | January 09, 2009 at 10:37 AM
I love this idea. Too lazy to bother to do it this year, but maybe I'll have more energy and steal it for my own blog next year.
Posted by: Emily Barton | January 10, 2009 at 04:09 AM