I feel like the term “dumpster fire” could be used to describe the last few years. We went from a 4-year period led by an unqualified, egomaniacal president to a worldwide pandemic that has claimed the lives of millions.
2021 tried hard to be the worst of the worst, beginning with the Jan. 6 insurrection of the U.S. Capitol, the above-mentioned president trying to undermine our voting system, COVID variants making their way around the world and James Corden getting to host the “Friends” reunion.
But 2021 wasn’t all bad. There were several things that were fun, joyful and dare I say exciting. So as we wrap up our final issue of the year, I want to take my final desk to mention just a few of my favorite things.
First and foremost, I loved vaccines this year. As the pandemic continued to chug along, science gave us our best weapon to fight COVID and our newly sworn in president gave us the access to them. Thanks Obama, I mean Biden. For the record I am three shots in and see no reason to stop now.
And don’t @ me about Biden being the one who gave us access because I won’t get it thanks to my second favorite thing this year, I left social media. Not 100% left because the world we live in requires me to have Facebook for my job but I did get rid of Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat, and I only watch YouTube on my television, which doesn’t let me read comments and the comments section is where the danger is. I do still have TikTok but this unplugging from social media is hard and is done in baby steps.
Favorite things three and four are television shows, namely “Ted Lasso” on Apple+ and “It’s A Sin” on HBO Max. I stayed away from “Ted Lasso” when it initially came out in 2020 because the hype behind this show had expectations so high that I knew I was going to immediately not like it. Thanks to Watermark publisher Rick Todd for slapping me back to reality and making “Ted Lasso” required viewing because it lives up to the hype.
And if you haven’t watched the miniseries “It’s A Sin” yet, watch that now and then “Ted Lasso.” “It’s A Sin” is a five-part series on the HIV/AIDS crisis in 1980-90s London and it is heartbreaking, soul-shaking and should be required viewing for our community. Get tissues because you will cry a lot, then watch the warm hug that is “Ted Lasso” afterwards to help you with the tears.
While we are on the topic of HBO Max, number five on my list of 2021 favorites was HBO Max’s same day release of Warner Bros.’ theatrical releases. Some were great (“The Suicide Squad” and “King Richard”) and some were terrible (“Space Jam 2” and “Mortal Kombat”) and the rest fell somewhere in between – but they all were accessible from my living room. I know that almost everyone in Hollywood outside of Warner Bros. executives hated the idea but the movie watching audience loved it and I am a big supporter for giving people options who won’t or can’t get to a theater.
2021 was a year of change and the man-child inside me was no exception. That brings me to my sixth favorite thing this year. I got away from collecting Funko Pop figures and got into LEGOs, more specifically the ones based on TV shows. It started with our Watermark holiday party last year when Ole Saint Nick (AKA Dylan Todd) drew my name in Secret Santa and got me the “Friends” Central Perk LEGO set. While I have always been a “Friends” guy (again don’t @ me), I was never a LEGO person before that night but the set opened me up to a new hobby that not only scratches that pop culture bite but it gave me something to do outside of the noise of the world – just me, a bottle of wine and building with LEGOs.
This year, I went back to the “Friends” world with The One With Two Apartments. I built Jerry’s apartment with the new “Seinfeld” set and I got a makeover with the Fab 5 Loft from “Queer Eye.” I also ventured away from TV sets and built three Batmobiles, the LGBTQ-inclusive Everyone is Awesome and Winnie the Pooh’s treehouse from the Hundred Acre Wood.
Needless to say I had to sell off most of my Funko Pops to make space, which brings me to my seventh favorite thing, Mercari, which is an app that let’s you sell your crap. It’s like a yard sale for the digital age. It started with selling my Funko Pops and moved on to me selling all the stuff I collected during the pandemic. Quarantining away with only the computer as your window to the outside world will make you buy some random stuff at 2 a.m.
Finally, my favorite thing in 2021 is the same thing it has been every year since I started at Watermark, being able to be a part of the team that helps to tell your stories. In this issue, we look back at some of those stories with our annual year in review.
I hope you enjoy this issue, and may you all have the happiest of new years.
