BEST OF MPF 2012

BEST DAY: Feb. 28. It started with an early afternoon doctor's appointment and ended with our first child being born, around 11:30pm. Any other year the winner would be Aug. 24: I went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the first time, then to a Cleveland Indians game.

BEST PICTURE: All year I figured it would be this one, taken minutes after her birth:

But I just love this one too:

BEST AD: (tie) AT&T aired this Olympics ad several hours after the event in the commercial actually happened live in London. Amazing use of technology to capture the viewer's attention. Co-winner: This ad that makes fun of people who stand in line to buy a portable telephone. Hilariously dead-on.

BEST NEWS STORY INVOLVING A CAT: This cat is mayor of a small Alaska town.

BEST AMATEUR ATHLETE: Manti Te'o, linebacker, University of Notre Dame. Runner-up: Missy Franklin, swimmer/lip-syncher, America.

Manti Te'o, after beating Michigan.

BEST MOVIE: Argo (dir. Ben Affleck).

WORST MOVIE: The Dictator (dir. Larry Charles). Not that it was awful, but I only saw two movies in 2012.

BEST TV SHOW: "Louie" (FX).

BEST NOTRE DAME GAME: We saw the 17-14 win over BYU on Oct. 20.

BEST BASEBALL GAME: The Indians game I guess. We did not go to any Cubs games.

BEST WEEK: Chicago week on Conan O'Brien's show. (June 11-14).

BEST CAREER MOVE: Accepting a new position, then getting laid off (with severance) from my old job before I could turn in my notice. Yes, this really happened. (Aug. 22)

BEST ALBUM:

BEST SONG: "We Take Care of Our Own" by Bruce.

WORST/CATCHIEST SONG: The "red, yellow, blue" song on the baby's exersaucer. Runner-up: "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen.

BEST ROAD TRIP: To Cleveland and Buffalo (Aug. 23-27).

BEST CONCERT (OUTDOORS): Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at Wrigley Field (Sept. 7).

BEST CONCERT (INDOORS): Ray LaMontagne at the Chicago Theatre (Dec. 1). Runner-up: Alejandro Escovedo at the Prairie Center for the Arts (Apr. 21).

Thanks for reading my year-end review. I hope 2013 finds you happy and healthy and at peace.