BEST OF MPF 2010

BEST DAY: May 12. We closed on our new house. (We moved in a week later.)


WORST DAY: Hundreds of bandwagon jumping fans crowded the trains and downtown to attend a rally for a minor sports team (sometime in June I think).

BEST NEWS STORY INVOLVING A CAT: Scientists gave a cat named Oscar new back feet after they were severed in a farming accident (June 24).

BEST SHOW: David Gray and Ray LaMontagne at Pritzker Pavilion (Aug. 25). Runner up: Elvis Costello at the Chicago Theatre (Dec. 20).

BEST SONG: "The Fixer" by Pearl Jam. Runners-up: "Beg Steal or Borrow" by Ray LaMontagne.

BEST VIDEO: "This Too Shall Pass" by OK Go. Most people would pick the Rube Goldberg video, but I preferred the version with the Notre Dame marching band.

NEITHER BEST SONG NOR BEST VIDEO BUT BEST COMBINATION OF THE TWO: "Tighten Up" by Black Keys.



BEST RECORD: "Band of Joy" by Robert Plant.

BEST PICTURE: Our morning DJ, Lin Brehmer of XRT, finally got to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at Wrigley (Sept. 3). Later he posted this:


BEST BOWLING GAME: We joined a bowling league this year. On the first night of league play, I rolled a 200 game (Jan. 21).

BEST MOVIE: I didn't go to the movies in 2010.

BEST TV SHOW (AND EPISODE): "Lost" and the series finale (May 23).

WORST SUPREME COURT DECISION: Citizens United, which allows corporations to make unlimited donations in elections (Jan. 21).

BEST TIME IN WRIGLEY: Not a game but Residents Appreciation Day, where we got to walk around on the field, run the bases and sit in the dugout (Oct. 2).

BEST CUBS GAME: A 7-6 win over the Brewers, on the second home game, before the season went to hell.

BEST FOOTBALL GAME: Notre Dame beat Purdue (Sept. 4). This wins by default becuse every other game I went to, my team lost.

BEST STREET FEST: St. Nectarios Greek Fest in Palatine. Great food, good music, neat culture. Overall a lot of fun.

WORST AD CAMPAIGN: Anheuser-Busch went monosyllabic--It's What We Do, Here We Go, Grab Some Buds--with predictably stupid results.

BEST/WORST ROAD TRIP: Going to Tucson, Arizona, for the Iowa-Arizona football game was memorable for mostly the wrong reasons, but I'm still glad I went. (Sept. 17-19).

BEST DINING EXPERIENCE: Lowrys Prime Rib, celebrating my parents' 40th anniversary (Aug. 21).

WE'LL MISS YOU: Musician Alex Chilton, 59, on March 17; all-time Cub Ron Santo, 70, on Dec. 2. Read Paul Westerberg's remembrance; watch Pat Hughes' eulogy.


As most of you know, this is my annual year-end "Christmas letter." May this find you in good spirits and hopeful for a happy and peaceful 2011. God bless you and your family.