2025 in Shakespeare, Simpletons, and One Particular Snake Oil Salesman
But life went on. Many cultural landmarks turned fifty: Jaws, the musicals A Chorus Line and Chicago, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the documentary Grey Gardens, Fleetwood Mac’s self-titled album, and Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run. Oh, and Saturday Night Live.
Deploying AI became a way of life. While I never, ever use it to compose these posts, I sometimes ask it to weigh in when debating two headline options. I also love posing impossibly subjective questions, like what to get Joe for his birthday (answer: a "Joe is a legend" mug) or what my favorite color is (as a late boomer, I am likely to favor Cerulean blue).
As is always the case, many greats died: David Lynch, Giorgio Armani, Robert Redford, Diane Keaton, Gene Hackman, Ozzy Osbourne, Sly Stone, Roberta Flack, primatologist Jane Goodall, and architect Frank Gehry. Rob Reiner, the actor and film director, was murdered by his schizophrenic son on December 14th. Each was a legendary original.
Without further introduction, here is my subjective, selective, scathing, silly year-in-review, presented month by month.
January
The year was three hours and fifteen minutes old when a terrorist struck Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
On the 6th, Congress certified Trump’s victory without any rioting.
Wildfires began destroying much of the Los Angeles area on the 7th.
Beloved Today host Hoda Kotb retired on the 10th. There wasn't a dry eye in the house. She would be back in November, though, to co-host The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
January
On the 6th, Congress certified Trump’s victory without any rioting.
Wildfires began destroying much of the Los Angeles area on the 7th.
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| Hoda, verklempt |
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| Our cruise ship, The Sun Princess |
Joe and I took a dubious Princess cruise around the Gulf of Mexico, which had not yet been officially renamed.
And contrary to the spirit of New Year’s resolutions, I canceled my personal training sessions for the entire month.
February
Trump’s White House unleashed a barrage of executive orders that undermined democracy and highlighted criminality. In the history of kakistocracies, this would be the most kakistocratic.
On Valentine’s Day, in a cruel irony, a remarkable London hotel, The Chiltern Firehouse, where Joe and I stayed just four months earlier, went up in flames. Word is it will reopen in two years.
We took a walking tour of Palm Springs’ Movie Colony neighborhood, which was once home to Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson, Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe, and Joe DiMaggio. Unfortunately, we could only view the exteriors of the homes, and we struggled to peer past the gates and landscaping.
The philistine-in-chief held the first meeting of the Kennedy Center board, which included a debate on which atrocious '80s musical was better: Phantom or Cats.
April
On the 10th, The Great Gatsby turned 100. I detected similarities between Fitzgerald’s great novel and the TV hit The White Lotus.
In one giant stunt for womankind, as the Times put it, Blue Origin launched six female demi-celebrities into space for eleven minutes.
Pope Francis, the people’s pope, died on the 21st, a day after meeting with a devil, JD Vance.
A jumbotron camera captured a couple having an affair. Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and Kristin Cabot, the company’s HR director, got close at a Coldplay concert on the 16th. To which I say, how stupid can you be?
On the 17th, Stephen Colbert announced that CBS was canceling The Late Show—sad news for a vocal Trump critic; even more unhappy news for our country.
After 232 years of circulation, the last pennies in U.S. currency history were produced in Philadelphia on the 12th. Ironically, the cost to make a penny had increased to more than three cents, and not even penny candy could be bought for a penny.
On the 6th, I shared an elevator ride with 83-year-old media mogul Barry Diller at his residence, New York's Carlyle. I would have loved to ask him about the great films he greenlit at Paramount in the '70s, his creation of "the movie of the week," Fox, QVC, or match.com (which is how Joe and I met), or what it was like to be an out gay man married to a woman who lives in another part of town – but he had a grouchy, standoffish vibe.
On the 7th, Trump further debased culture by presenting the Kennedy Center Honors to the only remaining "cultural figures" willing to accept an award from him: Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss of KISS, Sylvester Stallone, George Strait, Gloria Gaynor, and Michael Crawford. The ceremony, which was televised on the 23rd and emceed by Trump, was the lowest-rated ever.
At 79, Cher has earned the right to blatantly lip-sync her own song, which is exactly what she did while performing "DJ Play a Christmas Song" on SNL. She looked phenomenal in a blonde wig and custom Chrome Hearts. It was nothing short of a Christmas miracle when she went brunette and delivered a more convincing, though still lip-synced, performance of "Run Rudolph Run" in the second musical segment.
Trump’s White House unleashed a barrage of executive orders that undermined democracy and highlighted criminality. In the history of kakistocracies, this would be the most kakistocratic.
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| Fire at the Firehouse |
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| "Isn't that special?" SNL turned 50. |
Saturday Night Live celebrated 50 years of mediocre comedy with a never-ending TV special that aired on a Sunday night. I remember watching the original season in my parents’ family room.
March
At least we had insurance.
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| The compromised pergola |
March came in like a ferocious lion when a tree crashed down, destroying a pergola near our front door. At least it didn’t hit the house.
At least no one was sitting outside!
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| "CG" stands for Cary Grant |
The philistine-in-chief held the first meeting of the Kennedy Center board, which included a debate on which atrocious '80s musical was better: Phantom or Cats.
April
In one giant stunt for womankind, as the Times put it, Blue Origin launched six female demi-celebrities into space for eleven minutes.
Pope Francis, the people’s pope, died on the 21st, a day after meeting with a devil, JD Vance.
May
On the 5th, the first Monday, Stevie Wonder rocked the ancient Temple of Dendur by blasting “Higher Ground” at the Met Gala.
I skipped yet another high school reunion, this time my 45th. I am just not cut out for reunions.
Constructed anew, the pergola in our front courtyard was back, better than ever.
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| Stevie at the Met Gala |
I skipped yet another high school reunion, this time my 45th. I am just not cut out for reunions.
Constructed anew, the pergola in our front courtyard was back, better than ever.
June
On the 26th, 77-year-old Anna Wintour stepped down as editor-in-chief of Vogue while maintaining full authority over all of Condé Nast.
On the 27th, celebrities I once believed had more class, like Oprah and Bill Gates, attended Lauren Sánchez and Jeff Bezos's wedding at their $53 million ceremony in Venice. The jokes wrote themselves. Bezos married her for two reasons. Congratulations to the happy pair and Jeff Bezos.
Trump’s dunderheaded flunky, the drunk simpleton Pete Hegseth, announced plans to remove the name of gay rights pioneer and San Francisco Mayor Harvey Milk from the Navy ship named for him, just in time for Pride Month.
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| Happy Pair and Bezos |
July
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce were spotted lunching at JoJo’s Bar and Grill in nearby Chagrin Falls on the 1st. It later turned out they were house-hunting here. Neighbors?
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| Swift and Kelce in Chagrin Falls |
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| CEO and his Side Squeeze |
On the 17th, Stephen Colbert announced that CBS was canceling The Late Show—sad news for a vocal Trump critic; even more unhappy news for our country.
August
On the 2nd, a long-overdue, super-tacky Superman statue was unveiled here in Cleveland, where the Man of Steel was created. But could there be a non-tacky Superman statue?
On the 4th, And Just Like That, the universally despised sequel to Sex and the City, brought Carrie Bradshaw’s story to an unwitty, shitty end – literally.
We spent a miserable 12.5 hours at Reagan National Airport while attempting to return from a family trip to a beach house.
At the end of the month, I finally saw one of my musical heroes, Neil Young, in Chicago. At 79, he is still rocking, though in a less free world.
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| Cleveland's new Superman statue |
On the 4th, And Just Like That, the universally despised sequel to Sex and the City, brought Carrie Bradshaw’s story to an unwitty, shitty end – literally.
We spent a miserable 12.5 hours at Reagan National Airport while attempting to return from a family trip to a beach house.
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| Neil Young in Chicago |
September
On the 15th, I had my first and hopefully last root canal. Maybe they’re not as bad as their reputation, but the drilling sound is enough to raise the dead.
Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show was put on an “indefinite” hiatus for less than a week. Those days shook the foundation of our First Amendment and, in the shadow of Colbert’s July cancellation, revealed the fragility of the rights Americans hold dear.
October
I took a Mah Jong lesson at my sister Missy’s house on the 8th. By the 9th, I was ordering tile sets and was hooked on my new hobby.
On the 10th, Trump was passed over for the Nobel Peace Prize in favor of a Latina woman. He took it with characteristic class and acceptance.
During a daylight heist, robbers escaped with $100 million worth of priceless jewels from the Louvre on the 19th. We learned that the password for the Louvre’s security system was “Louvre.”
On the 20th, Trump took a wrecking ball to the White House’s East Wing, wiping out both its architectural history and the locus of first ladies’ influence.
November
On the 4th, Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York. Democrats also won big in other places. Could this finally be a rejection of Trumpism?
On the 10th, the Supreme Court, for once, did the right thing. It refused to revisit its 2015 decision in favor of same-sex marriage, and Kim Davis—she of the tragic hair and dress crying out for a gay stylist—was permanently banished to the oubliette of history.
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| My Maj Jong tiles |
On the 10th, Trump was passed over for the Nobel Peace Prize in favor of a Latina woman. He took it with characteristic class and acceptance.
During a daylight heist, robbers escaped with $100 million worth of priceless jewels from the Louvre on the 19th. We learned that the password for the Louvre’s security system was “Louvre.”
On the 20th, Trump took a wrecking ball to the White House’s East Wing, wiping out both its architectural history and the locus of first ladies’ influence.
November
On the 4th, Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York. Democrats also won big in other places. Could this finally be a rejection of Trumpism?
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| Kim Davis |
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| It cost a pretty penny to mint one |
After 232 years of circulation, the last pennies in U.S. currency history were produced in Philadelphia on the 12th. Ironically, the cost to make a penny had increased to more than three cents, and not even penny candy could be bought for a penny.
December
On the 3rd, as we attended a TV taping, I found it surreal to be sitting eight feet away from the royal "spare," Prince Harry, during a gag appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, despite my being largely unimpressed by the Sussexes, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Harry played along, pretending to audition for the role of a prince in a Hallmark Christmas movie.
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| Stephen Colbert with Prince Harry |
On the 6th, I shared an elevator ride with 83-year-old media mogul Barry Diller at his residence, New York's Carlyle. I would have loved to ask him about the great films he greenlit at Paramount in the '70s, his creation of "the movie of the week," Fox, QVC, or match.com (which is how Joe and I met), or what it was like to be an out gay man married to a woman who lives in another part of town – but he had a grouchy, standoffish vibe.
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| A rogue's gallery of has-beens: 2025 Kennedy Center honorees |
Also, this month, the Kennedy Center's "board" voted to rename it the Trump Kennedy Center.
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| Cher on SNL |
Now, I'm going to peace out until 2026. I'll be back on January 1st—have a Happy New Year, and stay out of the news unless it's for the best possible reasons.
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Don't go anonymous: Please type your name after your comments. It's as simple as that.
Great walk down memory lane. Here's to 2026!
ReplyDeletethanks dear peter
ReplyDeleteOne for the books. Sandy
ReplyDelete