2012: The Year in Almosts

I tend to share Emily Nussbaum’s skepticism about the annual “Top Ten list” ritual and the sketchy sausage production it entails.  That said, I just posted my year-end list on The New Yorker‘s site this evening, and it was, in the end, a fun exercise.  You can find my round-up — of 2012′s “Almosts, Half-Starts, and Nearly-There’s” — here, along with a stand-out list of Mexican cartel’s outlandish feats by Patrick Radden Keefe, a handy cocktail party survival checklist by Jane Mayer, and more.  (Quick preview: my list deals with drones, Republican rape gaffes, and the war on drugs. Oh, and everyone’s favorite Ikea monkey in his shearling coat.)