Our predictions for 2022 and the best tweets of 2021

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12-30-2021 (issue No. 16)

How many novels did I read last year? I’m pretty sure the answer is an embarrassing, mortifying zero, so it will not be particularly difficult for me to realize my 2022 goal to read more fiction.

But I’d like your advice. I’m looking for suggestions for good, engaging reads — books that get off to strong starts and are hard to put down, novels that don’t feel like homework or dutiful sociological excursions meant to make the reader a better person. Nothing dense or overly earnest, in other words, yet nothing trashy or insubstantial.

Tell me the title, author and why it fits my bill. I’ll share some of your suggestions next week.

My resolution is to make fiction reading my 10-minutes-a-day project.

Off and on over the years I promoted in my Chicago Tribune column the idea that a great way to achieve a goal in life is to commit to devoting at least 10 minutes a day toward realizing it. Learn an instrument or a language. Write a book or a play. Knit a sweater. De-clutter a house. Paint. Scrapbook. Whatever you've been wanting to do but have been putting off because you're so busy.

10MaD, as I called it, was an outgrowth of a series of “Someday is Now” group projects I led 20 years ago in which I asked people to commit to spending half an hour a day toward their goals. The success rate was fairly low because half an hour proved to be too much for most people to maintain. But 10 minutes? C’mon!

And know that 10 minutes is the floor, not the ceiling. Nearly everyone discovers that, on some days, the 10 minutes turns into 30 minutes or an hour. That's what's supposed to happen, and what happened to me as I worked on my fiddle playing. The time commitment is deliberately small in order to get you to regularly overcome the inertia that's often the biggest obstacle between you and what you want to attain.

You can almost always carve 10 minutes out of your schedule. A 2013 Gallup Poll found that the average American is awake for 1,032 minutes every day.

If you decide to try this idea, don't sweat it when you have to miss a day. Sickness. Emergencies. Travel. Life happens. Get back on the horse and don't try to catch up by forcing yourself to do 20-minute makeup days.

Other tips:

Find a 10MaD partner. Or get someone else to hold you accountable.

Make it portable. Contrive tasks at least tangentially related to your goal for those days when you're away. For me that was studying sheet music on my travels.

10MaD isn't about trying to tally about 61 hours of effort for one year. It's about gaining momentum. It's about creating a habit that ultimately becomes so ingrained that it tugs silently on your sleeve.

Saturday it begins!

Below: Our predictions for 2022, my fears that it won’t be much fun hate watching Janet Davies and Mark Giangreco this New Year’s Eve, the top 40 tweets of the year, Mary Schmich shares a favorite poem and more.

Last week’s winning tweet

Dumb Beezie @dumbbeezie

Biden is doing his best okay, you try being 80 and running a country full of jackasses

For the contest entry I changed Dumb Beezie’s wording to “almost 80” since President Joe Biden won’t be 80 until Nov. 20, 2022. Scroll down to read my selections for the top 40 tweets of the year and this week’s nominees. Or just click here to vote in the new poll.

Predictions for 2022, yours and mine

Thanks to the nearly 300 of you who filled out the “Predict the News of 2022” poll. We agree on 28 predictions and disagree on just 11:

QUESTIONS UPON WHICH READERS AND I AGREE

The U.S. death toll in the COVID-19 pandemic is currently about 814,000 — more than double the total deaths to date we’d seen a year ago. Will that death toll exceed 1.5 million by mid-December 2022?

The vote: No, 70%

My take: I predicted with my heart instead of my head last year and guessed that the death toll for the year wouldn’t be as bad as some projected and be less than 375,000. Well, there were nearly 500,000 deaths from COVID-19 reported in 2021. But given the advances in therapeutics and the diminished mortality rate of the new strains, I’m going to predict with both my head and my heart that we’ll have fewer than 680,000 COVID-19 deaths in 2022. Under 300,000 is my optimistic guess.

President Joe Biden has a 44% approval rating in the FiveThirtyEight.com average as the year comes to a close. Will he be at 50% or higher a year from now?

The vote: Yes, 57%

My take: Given my predictions on COVID and the economy, I’m guessing Uncle Joe will be over 50% again.

Will the U.S. Supreme Court overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision when it issues a ruling on Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban?

The vote: Yes, 57%

My take: I think the justices will vote 5-4 or even 6-3 to gut Roe and turn the abortion question back to the states. I further predict that this won’t be nearly as good politically for the Republicans as they think it’s going to be.

Which party will have control of the U.S. House after the 2022 elections?

The vote: GOP, 58%

My take: It’s hard to argue with all the pundits who see the House turning red due to a shift in the political mood and the impact of partisan gerrymandering. Democrats would have to win the overall national congressional vote by at least 4 percentage points to have a chance.

Will Mark Meadows be criminally indicted in 2022?

The vote: Yes, 72%

My take: If not the defiant, arrogant former White House chief of staff who is defying the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack, then who?

Will Donald Trump be criminally indicted in 2022?

The vote: No, 52%

My take: The Justice Department under dithering Attorney General Merrick Garland doesn’t have the guts to rile up MAGA world by issuing a richly deserved indictment against Trump.

Which party's nominee will win the race for Illinois governor?

The vote: The Democratic Party, 94%

My Take: At this point, J.B. Pritzker’s reelection seems like a foregone conclusion. Not that he’s been an amazing success as governor, but he’s been adequate and will have almost unlimited money to pour into his campaign against whichever candidate the disorganized GOP throws up against him.

Which candidate will win the 2022 Democratic primary for Illinois secretary of state?

The vote: Alexi Giannoulias, 84%

My take: I, too, see Giannoulias prevailing in the primary (as well as the general election) to succeed the retiring Jesse White. He’s politically experienced, having run two statewide campaigns (winning for treasurer, losing for U.S. Senate) and has been lining up the sort of support that tends to help in primaries.

In 2022, how will the number of homicides in Chicago compare with the number in 2021?

The vote: There will be more, 60%

My take: I reluctantly agree. I see no light at the end of the crime tunnel right now.

Will David Brown still be superintendent of the Chicago Police Department in mid-December 2022?

The vote: No, 54%

My Take: Brown will be one of those who wear the jacket for a crime problem that seems out of control, and in the interest of looking as though she is doing something as her reelection bid looms, Mayor Lori Lightfoot will replace him.

Ald. Ed Burke, 14th, charged with racketeering, bribery and extortion conspiracy, will be ...

The vote: Still awaiting trial at the end of 2022, 55% (Convicted or pleaded guilty, 39%; acquitted/exonerated 6%)

My take: Justice delayed will continue to be justice denied as the pretrial maneuverings will continue and Burke will continue to sit on the Chicago City Council.

Will Fritz Kaegi be reelected as Cook County assessor?

The vote: Yes, 74%

My take: There is some discontent with Kaegi’s unfulfilled promises and the way he has rebalanced the property tax burden, but I don’t detect much in the way of grassroots discontent that would prompt voters to disregard the will of the Democratic Party and oust him.

Will John Catanzara formally enter the 2023 race for Chicago mayor?

The vote: Yes, 59%

My take: He’ll enter the race primarily to raise his profile and have a platform to lob rhetorical bombs at Mayor Lightfoot. It’ll be easy for him to gather the necessary signatures. But I’m quite sure he doesn’t really want the job. And I suspect Chicago voters in 2023 will ratify the view that he would make a uniquely terrible mayor.

Will Melissa Conyears-Ervin formally enter the 2023 race for Chicago mayor?

The vote: No, 62%

My take: Conyears-Ervin, the city treasurer, will flirt with the idea but ultimately decide to take a pass.

Will Arne Duncan formally enter the 2023 race for Chicago mayor?

The vote: Yes, 61%

My take: Duncan, former Chicago Public Schools CEO and U.S. secretary of education, currently heads the anti-violence organization Chicago CRED (Create Real Economic Destiny). Because he seems to be positioning himself to run for mayor of a city where education and crime are two urgent issues, I’m betting he’s in.

Will Brandon Johnson formally enter the 2023 race for Chicago mayor?

The vote: No, 79%

My take: I’m sure many of you asked yourselves “Who?” at this question. But Johnson, a first-term Cook County Board commissioner from the city’s West Side, is going to be a force in local politics down the line. This cycle, however, I expect him to defer to Stacy Davis Gates or another progressive candidate.

Will Joe Ferguson formally enter the 2023 race for Chicago mayor?

The vote: No, 74%

My take: I wish. Ferguson, the former city inspector general, has exhibited considerable integrity and a comprehensive knowledge of how the city should work compared to how it actually does work. It’s a stain on Lightfoot’s legacy that she showed him the door. But Ferguson has repeatedly denied an interest in electoral politics, and I doubt he’d have the fundraising apparatus in place even if he were to change his mind.

Will Lori Lightfoot run for reelection as mayor of Chicago?

The vote: Yes, 89%

My take: She doesn’t seem to like the job much – who would? – but she’s no quitter.

Will Carlos Ramirez-Rosa formally enter the 2023 race for Chicago mayor?

The vote: No, 64%

My take: I doubt any sitting member of the City Council or incumbent elected city official will jump into the race unless, in the case of the aldermen, he or she is drawn into a very difficult new district.

Will Paul Vallas again formally enter the 2023 race for Chicago mayor?

The vote: Yes, 58%

My take: Vallas, 68, has been pawing the ground for another run even though he got just 5.4% of the vote in the 12-candidate field in 2019.

Will Willie Wilson formally enter the 2023 race for Chicago mayor?

The vote: Yes, 73%

My take: Wilson, 73, finished in a creditable fourth place with 10.6% of the vote in 2019, and his desire to hold a high public office seems indefatigable. My advice to him would be to start with a run for alderman and then demonstrate some actual policy bona fides before aiming for a big job. But then again, Lightfoot, Bruce Rauner, J.B. Pritzker and Donald Trump are examples of those who ran successfully for big offices as political rookies.

Will former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan be criminally indicted in 2022?

The vote: No, 52%

My take: If the G had the goods on Madigan it would have indicted him by now. My guess is they see a lot of smoke but not enough fire to sustain a conviction. Madigan’s out of office now, so how much do we care anymore anyway?

Will Steven Spielberg's critically acclaimed remake of "West Side Story" win a major Oscar — Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress or Best Screenplay (adapted or original)?

The vote: Yes, 66%

My take: Though this updated version of the 1961 classic has done disappointing box office, critics and those audience members who have seen it have been generally enthusiastic.

Which team will win the college football playoffs?

The vote: Alabama, 53%; Michigan, 27%; Georgia, 16%; Cincinnati 4%.

My take: Though I am a Michigan alum whose parents both taught there and still live in Ann Arbor, I sadly, reluctantly agree. Though Alabama looked very beatable in at least three games this season — the loss to Texas A&M, the overtime squeaker over Auburn and the one-touchdown victory over unranked LSU — they’re loaded with five-star talent and won’t have any off days as they plow through the four-team tournament (if it escapes a COVID-19 cancellation).

Will the Chicago Sky repeat as WNBA champs?

The vote: No, 60%

My take: It’s seldom a smart wager to bet on a pro sports franchise to repeat. The WNBA hasn’t had a back-to-back champion since 2002 when the LA Sparks pulled it off.

In 2022, will the Bears finalize an agreement to move to Arlington Heights?

The vote: Yes, 54%

My take: I think the Bears are serious and the prospect of an ultra-modern, retractable-domed stadium complex in the suburbs will prove irresistible. Remodeling Soldier Field was Chicago’s mistake by the lake. The facility is not built for the future of the NFL, and the team’s going to move.

Will Aaron Rodgers leave the Green Bay Packers?

The vote: No, 55%

My take: Success will have smoothed over the rough spots in the quirky superstar’s relations with the Pack and he’ll finish his career with the team.

Will Tiger Woods make the cut in any of golf's four major championships in 2022?

The vote: No, 76%

My take: Golf at the highest levels is physically demanding, which is why Woods’ knee and back problems put significant crimps in his game even before the February 2021 car wreck in which he sustained compound leg fractures. Plus he will turn 46 on Thursday (Dec. 30), an age after which even much healthier golfers struggle to compete.

QUESTIONS UPON WHICH READERS AND I DISAGREE

Which party will have control of the U.S. Senate after the 2022 elections?

The vote: GOP, 57%

My take: Though the GOP needs to pick up just one seat to control the Senate, the Democrats will win. Political prognosticators see four potentially vulnerable Democratic incumbents in 2022 — Mark Kelly in Arizona, Raphael Warnock in Georgia, Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada and Maggie Hassan in New Hampshire — though the field of Republican challengers for those seats so far looks weak.

And there are five states in which Republican incumbent senators are retiring — Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Alabama, and Missouri — and two more, in Wisconsin and Iowa, where Republican incumbents have yet to declare their candidacy.

How many currently sitting Republican U.S. senators will be replaced by candidates whom Donald Trump endorses in the primary?

The vote: Zero to two, 72%

My take: Right now it looks like Trump will have five chances to back winners in open seats now held by members of his party — Pennsylvania Ohio, North Carolina, Alabama, and Missouri — and I expect him ultimately to back winners in primaries in three states. His grip on the party remains strong.

Will Donald Trump give a deposition or other testimony under oath in 2022?

The vote: No, 62%

My take: It seems impossible to me that he will be able to dodge and delay for another 12 months.

The current rate of inflation is 6.8%. Will it be greater than 3% in mid-December 2022?

The vote: Yes, 66%

My take: This surge in inflation is a blip. We’ll return to normal for the years 2010 through 2019, when the average inflation rate was 1.78%

Will Jussie Smollett go to prison for lying to police about staging a hate crime against himself?

The vote: No, 70%

My take: Prior to Smollett’s recent trial, I thought there was no way he’d get prison time if convicted of the probationable offense of lying to the police. It’s a minor, nonviolent offense, and given that his once-promising entertainment career is in shambles over the disgrace this incident has brought upon him, one could argue that he’s suffered enough.

But since he took the witness stand and lied and lied and lied some more, he deserves, and I predict will get, a short but symbolic stretch in the pen.

Who will be the Republican nominee for governor of Illinois?

The vote: Adam Kinzinger, 31%; Darren Bailey, 13%; Bill Brady, 12%. No other possible candidate over 10%.

My take: If Republicans valued integrity, they would indeed select never-Trumper Congressman Adam Kinzinger, who has the respect of many moderate, independent voters, even those who don’t agree with his mostly hard-line conservative stances. But if we’ve learned anything about the Republicans in the last few years, it’s that they don’t value integrity and are in the thrall of the con man from Mar–a-Lago. Accordingly I look for rascally state Sen. Darren Bailey of Xenia to emerge with a plurality of the vote in a hotly contested primary.

Will ground break on a Chicago casino complex?

The vote: No, 59%

My take: Generally I’d be with readers on this since all the permitting and environmental studies and other ground-pawing always seem to take forever when it comes to big public projects. But given the urgency all around to get gambling money flowing into governmental coffers, I expect everyone involved to fast-track the process and get shovels in the ground before the end of 2022.

Which of these numbers will be greater in the 2022 baseball season?

The vote: The number of White Sox wins, 74%; the number of Cubs losses, 26%

My take: There will be no joy in Wrigleyville. The Cubs will lose more games than the Sox will win.

How many playoff series will the Chicago Bulls win?

The vote: Just one, 40%; two, 31%; zero, 20%; three, 7%; four, and the NBA championship, 2%

My take: They look likely to be a 2 or 3 seed in the East, meaning they’d probably face the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round where I have come to like their chances. The Bulls will survive the second round and fall in the third round.

Will Stacy Davis Gates formally enter the 2023 race for Chicago mayor?

The vote: No, 70%

My take: Davis Gates is the vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union and an impressive figure. I suspect she’ll enter the race if only to keep the issue of education front and center.

Will Raymond Lopez formally enter the 2023 race for Chicago mayor?

The vote: Yes, 51%

My take: Ald. Lopez, 15th, is a leading critic of Lori Lightfoot but will put his energies into another progressive challenger.

News & Views

News: Janet Davies, Mark Giangreco to join NBC 5’s New Year’s Eve show

Robert Feder reports:

In February, Davies was cut after 37 years as entertainment reporter and program host at ABC 7.

And in March Giangreco was forced out after 27 years as sports anchor following a complaint by news anchor Cheryl Burton that Giangreco referred to her on the air as someone who could “play the ditzy, combative interior decorator” on a do-it-yourself show

View: Three years ago I wrote about the tradition in our house of hate-watching “Countdown Chicago” on ABC-7, a live New Year’s Eve broadcast.

The show is bad — a hot mess of cringe-inducing silliness that rivals for sheer inanity reports from taverns after local sports teams win championships — but in such a compellingly daffy way that it’s become appointment viewing for us when, as often happens now, we’re home on the evening of Dec. 31. …

The degree to which the show is deliberately, knowingly campy — crafted with a huge wink to the sober folks at home — and the degree to which it is witlessly excruciating is a mystery I prefer to leave alone.

In the following years, though, it increasingly seemed that Davies and Giangreco were playing jesters rather than acting like fools. When they appeared to be in on the joke, the show became something of a parody of its former self. The most ominous line in Feder’s report is this:

While the countdown to midnight will be live, segments featuring Davies and Giangreco will be taped.

Taped? Prerecorded? Sanitized for our protection? This leads me to fear that we’ll be seeing ersatz cringe, packaged, scripted shenanigans well off the live-TV high wire.

That will make for a not so happy new year.

News: Gov. J.B. Pritzker texted Mayor Lori Lightfoot: “Texting probably not the best way to communicate. You should call me when you can.”

View: The fruits of Tribune reporter Gregory Pratt’s Freedom of Information Act demand for Lightfoot’s text messages with aldermen and other high-ranking government officials included (and illustrated) this nugget of all-purpose advice.

Texting is a great medium for exchanging information, making plans, engaging in badinage and so on. But it’s a terrible medium for working through serious disputes or conducting arguments.

Lightfoot may or may not be more brusque and thin-skinned than her predecessors. I’ve certainly heard the argument that the way critics are policing her rhetoric is sexist. But her words come off as particularly chilly and defensive when she types them with her thumbs.

News: Illinois becomes first state to require Asian American history to be taught in public schools.

The bill decrees that “beginning with the 2022-2023 school year, every public elementary school and high school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the events of Asian American history, including the history of Asian Americans in Illinois and the Midwest, as well as the contributions of Asian Americans toward advancing civil rights from the 19th century onward.”

View: My mixed mind of this and many similar curriculum requirements handed down from Springfield is that they usually promote very laudable goals but I’d rather leave such decisions to local administrators and teachers.

Notably, though, the bill doesn’t define a “unit,” saying that “each school board shall itself determine the minimum amount of instructional time that qualifies as a unit of instruction.” Also: “A school may meet the requirements of this section through an online program or course.”

In other words, there could easily be more symbolism than substance in this new mandate.

The top 40 tweets of 2021

As a public service, each week I collect and present online a list of the best quips that cross my Twitter feed. Readers then choose the winner in a click poll.

But despite the legendary discernment of my audience, the winner is seldom my personal favorite. So once again I am asserting curator's privilege and offering, in no particular order and lightly edited in some cases, the 40 best tweets that showed up in my feed in the past year.

Why 40? Because that’s how many used to fit in the column space I was allotted at the Tribune, and I’m keen to keep traditions alive.

The writer who appeared most often on the list of finalists and earned the coveted title of Funniest Person on Twitter 2021 was @RickAaron.

@RickAaron

1. If you’re a baby, don’t even think about playing peek-a-boo with me. You will lose. — @Cpin42

2. My boyfriend is so loyal he doesn’t even watch porn with girls in it. — @bIiccy

3. "Sarah Huckabee Sanders" sounds like something your grandmother yells instead of swear words. — @louisvirtel

4. I went to Burger King and asked to speak to the real Burger King. The cashier said there is no actual Burger King, then the manager came out and said "excuse us" and she took the cashier to the back and I heard two gunshots then the manager came back and said the Burger King is very busy. — @GrahamKritzer

5. Begin all replies in job interviews with, “if you must know.” — @kipconlon

6. My son asked me where poo came from. I was a little uncomfortable but gave him an honest answer. He looked perplexed and stared at me for a minute then asked … and Tigger??? — @mariana057

7. I'm sorry I didn't respond to your text message sooner. In my defense, I don't value your time or your feelings. — @lmegordon

8. This holiday season, remember that no matter what language a person speaks, what their skin color or gender identification is, or what political or religious views they hold, everyone just wants the same thing: for you to check out their podcast . — @tammygolden

9. There is no ‘i’ in gaslight. — @neat_hot

10. When someone asks what I did over the weekend, I squint and ask, “Why? What did you hear?”— various

11. When you see a donation from "anonymous," that was me. — @Cpin42

12. I sign off with “kind regards” but, secretly, all my regarding is malicious. — @spaziotwat

13. The priest put the ashes on my forehead in the shape of an "L." — @RodLacroix

14. The size of the gates in Jurassic Park suggests they were always planning on letting the dinosaurs out. — @TheAndrewNadeau

15. One day you're young and wild and then suddenly it's: "When did the grocery store start playing such good music?" — @ozzyunc

16. Mansplaining is when a man explains something to you that you already know. — @DurtMcHurtt

17. I’ll make sure my house is clean when you first come over to visit. But after that I don’t care because you’ve seen it clean once. — @Kateness8

18. If Fox News had been around in 1955, we’d still have polio. — @HelenKennedy

19. Idea: An app that lets you book a house without the owner’s permission. Call it AirBnE. — @riot4rach

20. Therapist: So, picking up where we left off, you said you feel like a whiny bitch. Patient: I never said that. Therapist: Oops, my notes. — @AmishPornStar1

21. My retirement plan is "cross that bridge when I get to it and hope it's not a toll bridge."— @RickAaron

22. Yes Carly Simon, he sounds like a narcissist. But it seems gratuitous to repeatedly call him out for thinking the song was about him when the song was indeed about him. — @MelvinofYork

23. The labor shortage is so bad they are now encouraging long haired, freaky people to apply. — various

24. Mama: Another monkey fell off the bed, what should I do? Doctor: I feel like we’ve been over this already. —@YSylon

25. You know what makes this pineapple on my pizza taste even better? Your disapproval. — @KusCourtney1

26. Most people can be deceived with flattery. Except you. You’re too smart for that. — @JaredATullos

27. WORK TIP: If a coworker doesn't answer your email in the first five minutes, show initiative by sending a follow up email saying, "What's your problem?" — @Home_Halfway

28. Reese Witherspoon’s favorite dairy snack is yogurt. Reese Withoutaspoon’s favorite dairy snack is Gogurt. — @girlwit0filter

29. Investor: so it’s like a spoon going into a baby’s mouth? Orville Wright: But in the air, yes. — @TheAndrewNadeau

30. I don’t think anyone actually hates to break it to you. — @mack44_d

31. Just sold my homing pigeon on eBay for the 22nd time. — @mariana057

32. Sir Mix-a-lot likes big butts and cannot lie. His twin brother does not like big butts and cannot tell the truth. You may ask one question. — @ranjit

33. The five stages of climate change: 1. Denial. 2. Guilt. 3. Depression. 4. Acceptance. 5. Drowning. — @TheTweetOfGod

34. When you don’t want to teach kids about slavery but want to preserve confederate monuments, that’s called hypocritical race theory. — @OhNoSheTwitnt

35. Hate is a strong word. Maybe because I’ve been giving it quite a workout. —@UnFitz

36. I don't understand why I, an American, have to wait at red lights. — @Prof_Hinkley

37. Just helped my neighbor bury a rolled up carpet in the woods. Her boyfriend would have helped, but he was out of town. — @mariana057

38. I’m starting a gourmet restaurant that serves exclusively dishes you’d only have after midnight at home. Our signature dish is a handful of shredded cheese you eat leaning over a sink. — @TheAndrewNadeau

39. “Why are people so willing to believe unscientific nonsense?” ask the editors of newspapers that publish horoscopes. — @JohnLyonTweets

40. Not knowing much about Greek mythology is my Achilles' Horse — @MatthewPCrowley

List of annual winners

• 2021 @RickAaron

• 2020 @WilliamAder

• 2019 @wildethingy

• 2018 @AndrewNadeau

• 2017 @AmishPornStar1

• 2016 @SamGrittner

• 2015 @Home_Halfway

• 2014 @Longwall26

To read the top tweets of the year going back to 2014, see this post on my personal website.

Land of Linkin’

• A bouquet of pharmacy roses by Katie Prout in the Chicago Reader is an extraordinarily well-written, well-reported and depressing look at the life of a homeless drug addict in the Loop.

• Jake Malooley’s Unmaking a Murderer in Chicago Magazine is a definitive look at the questions surrounding the case of Chester Weger, who was convicted of a 1960 triple homicide at Starved Rock State Park and is now out on parole fighting for his exoneration.

Mary Schmich: The Three Goals

My former colleague Mary Schmich posts column-like thoughts most Tuesday mornings on Facebook. Here is this week’s offering, posted very late Tuesday night:

So. For the first time in 6 months (OK, maybe the second) I missed my Tuesday Morning Post. It's because the thing I wanted to post isn't ready and I'll post it on Friday. But because I am a creature of deadline I feel I have to post something while it's still Tuesday. As all journalists know, meeting deadlines is a form of honor, a test of character, proof of....something.

So here's a poem I suddenly remembered today, with a photo I took of the snow in Eugene, Oregon, where it's been snowing like crazy for two days.

The Three Goals

by David Budbill

The first goal is to see the thing itself

in and for itself, to see it simply and clearly

for what it is.

No symbolism, please.

The second goal is to see each individual thing

as unified, as one, with all the other

ten thousand things.

In this regard, a little wine helps a lot.

The third goal is to grasp the first and the second goals,

to see the universal and the particular,

simultaneously.

Regarding this one, call me when you get it.

Minced Words

On this week’s Mincing Rascals podcast we said goodbye to our long-time producer Elif Geris — pictured top left — and discussed COVID-19 developments, testy mayoral texts and how the communications teams for elected officials are usually dreadful (though we name some notable exceptions). To hear a sample of Elif’s music on YouTube, click here.

Subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. Or bookmark this page.

Re: Tweets

This week’s nominees for Tweet of the Week:

• I really enjoy the end of “Love Actually” when the movie ends and it's over and I am not watching it anymore. — @awkwardphaser

• Celebrating a new year while COVID-19 is still going on feels like getting a Facebook birthday alert for a friend who’s dead. — @OhNoSheTwitnt

•  BREAKING: CDC Sets Quarantine Duration To Seven Mississippi. —@ADHDeanASL

• If anyone needs a New Year’s resolution, I can loan you one from the long list my wife gave me. — @TheBoydP

•  The CDC said existence is a prison and the only escape is death. — @Cpin42

•  If the virus can keep becoming a new version of itself, so can you. — @LeahsLounge

• Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, we’re still well below my average. — @SentenceReduced

• Dear kids, There was no channel 1.  We never knew why.  There just wasn’t.  You start at 2 and question nothing. — @robin_991

• I was born a male.  I identify as a male.  But according to Kraft Macaroni & Cheese I'm a family of four.— @BobGolen

• The older I get, the more I begin to realize why old people drive slowly: Going places is bullshit. —  @LemmingDad

Click here to vote in the poll. For instructions and guidelines regarding the poll, click here. In supporter-only editions I’ve been sharing with readers my favorite visual tweets. Upgrade your subscription here for more laughs:

Today’s Tune

I’m a sucker for Tom Paxton’s “How Beautiful Upon the Mountain,” and in the full knowledge that many of you will find it excessively corny and earnest, I offer it today as a thought for 2022.

God knows the courage you possessed

And Isaiah said it best:

How beautiful upon the mountain

Are the steps of those who walk in peace

Happy New Year!

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