2009 Was a Very Good Year

Elliott Wilcox (www.trialtheatre.com) reminds us of the virtues of 2009. It was the best year for movie box office in history. Captain Sullenberger reminded us that professionalism, preparation and-- most amazing of all-- modesty are not dead virtues. Susan Boyle showed us that angelic beauty may be all about us unawares. Brett Favre showed that old school folks can sometimes school young whipper-snappers.
A blog about writing could not pass without mentioning what appears to me to be the great screenwriting achievement of this year- Roberto Orci's and Alex Kurtzman's play for Star Trek. I am reminded of Calvin Trillin's simile for a difficult task- like walking a slack wire in open galoshes- when I think of all the possible missteps they could have made.
No real seismic shift in the law in '09. No Heller for this year. SCOTUS did not pick up the gauntlet in Holder. Probably the biggest change in the law this year was Arizona v. Gant Tucson cops arrested Rodney Gant for driving with a suspended license, cuffed him and stuffed him, and then searched the car he was in, finding cocaine in his jacket in the back seat. They didn't have a warrant. The Supremes held, in essence, that after the officers were safe, they did not have any business searching the car that Gant had been in except as to his suspended license charge.
Most importantly, wooed and won my wife this year. Love is grand. It is also terrifying.