2008 - What Not To Hate

As the year's winding down, I thought it might be fun to reflect on a few top 8 lists of things that didn't suck this year. Often times, this will be reflective of how I spent my time. Light, simple and 100 percent my opinion. Take it or leave it. (Important to note: these are not ranked best to worst - and only account for things that I have personally experienced.)

8 Movies:

1. Batman, Dark Knight - No disrespect to Christopher Nolan (who is a genius in his own right), but If Michael Mann were to do a superhero flick, this is what I would expect. Best seen on an iMax screen (thanks Marneus). RIP Heath.

2. Iron Man - I had huge expectations for this one. It delivered, while still leaving plenty of room for improvement in the sophomore effort. Don't let us down Marvel Studios.

3. Zack & Miri Make A Porno - Elizabeth Banks and Seth Rogen channel a twisted, Kevin Smith-flavored updated turn on When Harry Met Sally. Definitely one for the library.

4. Rambo - You'd have to see it to believe it. More death and gore than in any zombie film, and with equal regard for human life.

5. The Bank Job - A complete surprise. A throwback to the great heist films of old. Statham and Burrows steam on the big screen.

6. Run, Fat Boy, Run - We knew we could expect great things from Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, but who knew that a David Schwimmer/Simon Pegg pairing could bring something of equal magnitude?

7. Wall*e - You can't put animated films into the category of kids' movies anymore. In a just world, this would bring home the Oscar for best film.

8. Tropic Thunder - I don't think I laughed so hard in the theater all year. Stupid fun, heralding the return of Tom Cruise.

8 Musical Artists/Releases:

1. Weezer, Pork & Beans - My official summer anthem.

2. The Cardinals, Cobwebs - What would a year at The Chophouse be without some love for a Ryan Adams song.

3. M.I.A., Paper Planes - The Pineapple Express trailer (which was much better than the actual movie, but that's for another list) imprinted this on my brain, and I could never get it out. Never thought The Clash would be fodder for such effective sampling.

4. The Stooges, Down on the Street - An oldie, re-discovered in 2008. As previously noted, this is my theme song.

5. Kings of Leon, Only By Night - Sex on Fire (the single) has thus bar been the most visible of this sticky bunch of tunes from the kings of southern rock boogie. I haven't removed this from the car's disc player since I bought it.

6. Brandi Carlile, The Story - Sadly, I can't remember which auto manufacturer featured this song in their commercial during the 2008 Olympics, but the song still resonates.

7. Vampire Weekend, Self Titled - New band of the year for me, and I'm really not sure why. They're actually pretty derivative. I hope they can continue to deliver.

8. Caitlin Cary & Ryan Adams, The Battle - Not new, but discovered in 08. His most "Whiskeytown" song since Whiskeytown (and that's a good thing).

8 Porq Culture Phenomenons:

1. The Hirp Wedding - Most fun trip. Most fun event. Most fun people to be around. 'Nuf said.

2. The Presidential Election - I've never been politically minded, until this year. Don't let us down Mr. Obama.

3. Skrawg's 40th Birthday - Vegas. Poker. Sports book. 3-5-7. Good friends. Repeat.

4. Employment/Working from Home - Glad to be back in the game, with an industry leader. Mostly upside on working from home. The commute puts this over the top on the not to hate list.

5. Tina Fey/Sarah Palin - Dubious media darlings.

6. David Cook - In addition to having a personal connection (two degrees of separation), if I was going to have to watch American Idol, it was nice to have someone to root for.

7. NCAA Basketball Championship/Final Four - How 'bout them Jayhawks? (let's not talk about this year)

8. Facebook - This probably belongs in another category, but this has provided a conduit for reconnecting with folks I haven't spoken with in years.

8 Cool Things Our Kids Did:

1. First trip to the zoo - I can't adequately describe that is the greatness of the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska. This also represented our first stay in a hotel and some great times spent with old friends. We'll definitely be back in 09.

2. Going off to school - The kids are "all growns up" now. As the kids had plateaued at home, we felt like it was time to ship them off to pre-school. They are now thriving in the presence of other children.

3. First movie - We made a great choice for the kids' first big screen movie. They made it two-thirds of the way through Wall*e before we felt like we were becoming a distraction in the theater. Snausage thought it was magical.

4. Riblet talking in earnest - It's nice to finally hear our daughter stringing words together with purpose. Her sweet voice can warm my heart on the coldest of days. Hopefully Snausage isn't too far behind.

5. Making friends - After a few years of parallel play and completely ignoring one another, the kids finally seem to be making friends on their own. Yet another thing that can provide a little extra bandwidth for mom and dad. Ah...

6. Singing and music - As much as daddy was into music, I was hoping the kids would develop a love for it on their own. They've taken to it like ducks on water. Can't wait to gift one of them my electric guitar.

7. Fourth of July - I thought the kiddos would be freaked out over the fireworks, but they LOVED them. Definitely my kids, despite their attractiveness.

8. Trip to Paradise Park - Another outing with the Hirps and Dr. Suessmans. We stayed on the "education" side, but this place absolutely rocks. Who would have thought that something in Less Summit could not suck.

8 Cool New Media/Technology Purchases:

1. Left 4 Dead - Hands down the most fun I've had playing video games since Halo 2 and the early Madden days. Addictive, co-op, bloody... and chock-full-o-zombies!

2. MacBook - I waited and waited to upgrade my 4-year-old 12 in. G4 laptop, and Apple finally game me reason this fall with the aluminum shell MacBook upgrade.

3. HTC Touch Diamond Pro - MadHattress works for Sprint, and we've got a sweet deal on service through Hirp, so this was my "best option" from Sprint for iPhone-like capabilities. Nowhere near the third party application support, but I dig this phone.

4. Wii - Mario Cart and Boom Blox - I still think Wii Sports is the "most fun" game for the Wii, but if you're going to spend money on anything else, pick both of these up.

5. Apple TV - A lot of potential with this one if Apple continues developing. I'm currently using it more for photo and picture streaming, but things may change when I get Boxee installed.

6. Canon Rebel Xsi - Not nearly as user-friendly as the point and shoot digital cameras, but the SLR capabilities have allowed to actually capture the kids in frame (as opposed to an arm or leg as they run off).

7. Flip Video - Would to upgrade to the 720p version, but this video-on-the-go device enable you to actually "do" something with all that content you capture. I prefer Vimeo to YouTube for the Web client side.

8. Time Capsule - A wireless router plus hard drive. So simple, yet so crucial to allow access to a single media library from multiple computers. Apple does it again.

There you have it. Look for me to close out the year with a similar list of clunkers.