2019 saw an abundance of world-class palindromes, and for that we are grateful. As I have made clear in earlier posts, a palindrome is a word or phrase that reads the same forwards and backwards. Famous examples of palindromes include: “Madam, my name’s Adam” and “Was it a cat that I just saw? I hope so, I like cats.”

It should come as no surprise that some are calling 2019 “The Year Of The Palindrome” and “A Most Wonderful Year For Palindromes.” After all, what other recent year has gifted us with so many words or phrases that read the same whether perceived going forwards or backwards?

Let’s close out this year’s installment of my lists (my wonderful lists, that is) with a celebration — and a remembrance — of “the year in palindromes.” Here are the TOP TEN PALINDROMES OF 2019:

10. Mayo man on a yam

9. Is it Star Wars? A la Saran Wrap, ’tis I.

8. Pelosi is eloping!!!

7. He got a toga, eh?

6. Manafort’s on an ant farm

5. 024: Reefer referees see reefer! (420)

4. Impeachment? “To each his own”

3. (TIE) Dallas, Texas is a sexy salad / Sexy salads in Dallas, Texas

2. Eels sleep in peepee

1. Wow in 2019

And with that, we take our leave of my year-end lists! I wish you a happy new year and look forward to seeing you again next year with my lists on this web site.

Podcasts are where the art of conversation meets the art of podcasting. This revolutionary new form of entertainment and information (podcasts) has never been hotter, and 2019 is the proof. There were more podcasts made and listened to in 2019 than ever before … and some say podcasts are better than ever!

Here are the TOP TEN PODCASTS OF 2019:

10. Pop-culture podcasts that inform and entertain

9. True-crime podcasts that draw us into a web of intrigue

8. Entertainment podcasts that talk about pop culture

7. Sports podcasts that entertain

6. Comedy podcasts that make us laugh

5. “Hennnry!” “Yes, dear?” “Did you listen to the new episode of my podcast yet???” “Ummm”

4. (TIE) Podcasts with sponsors / Controversial podcasts

3. You can upload your podcast to iTunes

2. Listening to podcasts in 2019

1. The best podcasts one has ever heard in this life or the next

We will, perhaps, never know what inspires Man to travel. To go from one place to another using a plane, boat, or simple old-fashioned feet (walking) is an impulse as old as time itself. Perhaps it arises from the ancient history of traveling to market in order to sell grains and to buy a new ox and hear the news from distant provinces and/or lands. In any event, travel expands our horizons and makes our world just a little bit smaller — and quite a bit more interesting.

2019 was a great year for travel. From the castles of Europe to the architecture of Asia and even America (skyscrapers), this was the year we traveled as never before. Many languages were spoken and many new cultures were appreciated as we set off on our various journeys: Vacations, work trips, and explorations too numerous to mention can all be attributed to “the travel bug of 2019.”

In honor of that insatiable wanderlust, I am happy to present the TOP TEN TRAVELS OF 2019:

10. Foreign travels

9. Travels close to home

8. Family vacations

7. Extreme tourism for only the toughest of all men

6. Safaris

5. Travel TV shows

4. “May I have the pleasure of this travel”

3. When you travel to Thailand and see a monkey in 2019

2. Pilgrimages of all sorts

1. The greatest travels, always to be remembered

Imagine … you enter a restaurant in 2019 … the ambience is wonderful, the music is perfectly inviting … you have a hunger inside you, and only one thing can satisfy that hunger: FOOD. 

Or, instead, imagine this … you stand in your kitchen, finally home after a long day at work … you’re hungry for a meal, but you don’t feel nervous or worried … because you went grocery shopping earlier in the week … which means your cabinets and your fridge are full of exactly what you crave: FOOD.

Finally, imagine this … you are walking down the street in 2019 … it’s a sunny weekend afternoon … you feel a pang in your stomach that can only mean one thing … (that you are hungry for food to eat) … you see a figure approaching … you are so distracted by hunger it takes a moment to realize the person is your friend … “Hey there man,” your friend says … “You look hungry, wanna take a look in my bag?” … your friend opens their bag, and what do you see inside but exactly what you desire: FOOD. 

Food is a constant of our human experience, but let’s face it: When it comes to food, some years are better than others. Fortunately this year (2019, which is almost behind us) was a memorable and significant year for food. From trendy restaurants to must-have fruits and vegetables, sometimes it seemed that everyone was eating good food in 2019. This is a fact worth celebrating — a fact worth feasting upon in the mighty dinner party of my lists!

So let’s cook up a royal dinner and sup heartily upon this list, a celebration of all things food. Here are the TOP TEN FOODS OF 2019:

10. Organic produce

9. Artisan meats

8. Modern smoothies

7. (TIE) Dairy products / Phenomenal salads

6. New rice

5. The most talked-about dishes in town

4. Delectable desserts to tempt one’s palette … and one’s naughty side

3. Food that kept us satisfied in 2019

2. Delicious forms of nutrition

1. Perfection (food)

Toilets are everywhere. Every American bathroom has at least one … and when you run the numbers, you quickly realize those numbers add up to a huge number (of toilets). Indeed, when it comes to using the bathroom (or, more delicately, “going to the bathroom”) toilets will always be “front of mind” — ready to work, and sometimes, ready to be cleaned. Every year is a great year for toilets, and 2019 was no different. Indeed, this year saw multiple innovations in C.T.T. (Contemporary Toilet Technology.) Never heard of C.T.T.? Get your head in the game: THE TOILET GAME.

Here are the TOP TEN TOILETS OF 2019:

10. Filthy toilets

9. Porcelain toilets

8. Potty

7. Using the toilet perfectly in 2019

6. “I’m on the toilet. Call me later.”

5. Well-engineered toilets

4. Innovative toilets that inspire and excite

3. Some of the best toilets

2. Cutting-edge toilets

1. Award-winning toilets, a testament to the perfection of toilets

In 2019, it seemed you couldn’t pick up a tabloid at the grocery store or read an entertainment news site without encountering the latest celebrity gossip. What accounts for our fascination with the scandalous lives of rich, successful, and beautiful people, including even the most famous celebrities? We may never know … but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun learning about them!

There was an abundance of celebrity gossip in 2019, some of it juicier and more explosive than we would’ve thought possible in years past. Perhaps it was because of the overall nature of this year. On the other hand, it could be due to the fact that we find ourselves in a cultural moment that demands celebrity gossip in a way we haven’t seen before.

Regardless, whether you’re a Hollywood insider or just a curious onlooker obsessed with the latest “tea,” you were sure to have had your fair share of celebrity gossip in the past year. And for that, we can all be thankful. After all, what’s a little fun in the grand scheme of things? “A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down,” as Mary Poppins always says in the movie about her life. So let’s enjoy some sugar, spooned directly from the refreshing bowl of celebrity gossip that amused, shocked, and bemused us in 2019!

Here are the TOP TEN CELEBRITY GOSSIPS OF 2019:

10. Unusual celebrity gossip

9. Hollywood power-player celebrity gossip

8. Celebrities behaving badly

7. (TIE) “They did what?!” (They slipped and fell in a restaurant) “They said what?!” (They said “Dammit!”) / Cutting-edge celebrity gossip

6. Youtube gossip

5. Cancellations

4. Incidents involving two or more celebrities

3. Powerful people acting “powerfully stupid” (tee-hee)

2. Gossip about celebrities you love to hate

1. Celebrity gossip so juicy and wonderful it just makes you feel good

Memes are quite interesting. They are the lingua franca of the online world. Simply put, if you want to thrive online you must know about memes. While our parents used to stay up-to-date via reading newspapers, our generation keeps its finger on the pulse of the world via memes. The fact is, if you aren’t aware of the latest memes, you just aren’t part of the conversation.

What are memes, exactly? Memes are units of information that travel across the internet at the speed of thought. They can be little pictures with words written on them. They can be phrases like “Okay Boomer” or “Deez Nuts.” They can even be animated gifs from TV shows. Such a simple concept, yet the results can be surprisingly powerful. Best of all? In our connected world, the latest memes are just a click away.

We’re going through a cultural moment in which memes have never been more important. When people are too busy on their phones to read a magazine article, or check out the latest book, it’s not uncommon for a helpful meme to explain everything there is to know. That’s the power of memes … the power of knowing … and it’s a power that’s here to stay in 2019.

2019 was no different in this regard. It was indeed the “Year of the Meme.” So log on, click through, and enjoy the TOP TEN MEMES OF 2019: 

10. Classic memes

9. Viral content

8. Animal makes a funny face, you think “Damn that li’l guy is acting almost human — I can relate”

7. When Jim from the Office looks straight into the camera

6. Selfies

5. Computer questions

4. “Hennnry!” “Yes, dear?” “Did you see those memes that Martha sent us?”

3. Inscrutable memes

2. Mainstream memes

1. The memes we need in times such as these

We define our world by the ideas we have. From the stories of our lives, to the grand sweep of history across nations, to scientists looking through microscopes, ideas help us understand what we see. Indeed, ideas define the thoughts inside our minds. They allow us to conceptualize Who, Where, and Why we are in the world we are in.

2019 was the year when we realized the power of ideas. The power of ideas is that they can change our world. A single idea, like a single spark, can start a flame that illuminates new ways of being and entirely new realities. Remember: There was a time when even a simple lightbulb was just an idea in someone’s mind. Now look around: Lightbulbs are everywhere. There was a time when people thought the sun orbited around the earth. But thanks to someone’s idea, now we think the earth orbits around the sun! To which we can only say, “Thank you, ideas, for your help in this life.”

Here are the TOP TEN IDEAS OF 2019:

10. The mental pictures of life

9. Refreshing ideas

8. Playful concepts

7. High-tech ideas

6. Simple wisdom from the mouths of the elderly

5.(TIE) Controversial ideas / When you say “Any ideas?” and the new guy says, “Boss, I think you have the best idea!”

4. Billion-dollar business ideas that will never fail

3. Award-winning ideas

2. Can animals have ideas

1. Ideas so complicated yet so simple in 2019

When you press the button to turn on your television, you’re actually turning a key that unlocks a different world. That world could be a sophisticated drama, or a top-class cooking show, or an informative news special. It could be an animated comedy that takes no prisoners, or a bleak dystopian tale that makes you think. Regardless, when you turn that key (i.e. press the button), you can be sure you will never be the same … for each exposure to television leaves us enriched: More engaged, better informed, and truly entertained.

2019 was a good year for television. In fact, some might say it was the best year for television in many decades. We are lucky to be able to enjoy so many great TV shows. If they were to make a TV movie about the great shows of 2019, they would have no choice but to call it: AMERICAN TELEVISION STORY: WONDERFUL SHOWS OF THIS YEAR.

Here are the TOP TEN TV SHOWS OF 2019:

10. Historical dramas with fabric costumes

9. Detective whodunits with three or more clues per episode

8. Sassy young comedies that shock and amuse

7. Game shows

6.  Cable news specials featuring expert analysis

5. Intellectual property that cannot be defeated

4. “Hennnry!” “Yes, dear?” “What happened to my favorite shows?” “They’re better than ever, dear.” “Oh, I suppose you’re right! Okay, I’ll keep watching them.”

3. When you turn on a new show to see what the buzz is about and then you realize it’s a pretty good show and you’ll probably watch it in 2019

2. Once-in-a-lifetime live TV events

1. Cable TV shows

Whether you think toads are frogs, or something else entirely, 2019 was the year we all agreed: Toads are getting it done like never before! These amphibians are, simply put, terrific.

Here are the TOP TEN TOADS OF 2019:

10. Grumpy old toads

9. Toads in the garden

8. Hopping toads

7. Friendly toads that look kind of green and brown

6. Toads that go viral online

5. Big-bellied toads, a pleasure for all who observe them

4. City toads

3. Toads that make ya go “Hmmm?” about the toads

2. Wonderful toads in 2019

1. The best toads that have ever lived