My Best of 2008 List

My Best of List for 2008, mostly at Kate's urging, but I did have fun thinking about these things. And now on, with no further ado.

Best Film: Dark Knight- This was a worthy successor to Batman Begins. I have a soft spot for Batman anyway, and Christian Bale makes him that much more drool-worthy. Heath Ledger was spectacular and left an unforgettable Joker etched in all our memories. Aaron Eckhart was a very strong Harvey Dent, and the cinematography and all Batman's new toys were amazing. Fingers crossed for at least a couple Oscars for this film, including a very much-deserved Best Actor awarded posthumously to Mr. Ledger.

Best TV Show: Jon & Kate + 8- Currently TLC's highest rating show, this follows the family life of the Gosselins, who have a pair of 8 year old twins, Mady and Cara, and a set of 4 year old sextuplets, Alexis, Hannah, Aaden, Collin, Leah, and Joel. Very realistic, and no touchy subjects avoided. We get to see the sweet moments, the tantrums and meltdowns, and even fights between Jon and Kate, not to mention opinions and insights from the adults and older children...even a bit from the little ones, now that they're able to articulate thoughts and feelings. Very refreshing to see a real family that you can agree and disagree with and not feel like you're stepping on toes.

Best Anime: One Piece- I've seen plenty of anime that are way better than One Piece, but since I first started it this year and enjoyed it way more than I expected to, it gets the honors. My original opinions were formed by the 4Kids dub, which was frankly horrible, but FUNi got hold of it and made vast improvements. I'm dying to find out what happens next, and also interested in starting the manga, if I can afford it. Honorable mentions: Shin Chan and Baccano! Neither of these won for various reasons, but again, I enjoy them and am looking forward to seeing more.

Best Manga: Fruits Basket- I know I've been reading this for some time, but it takes the top over any of the other things I've read in the past few years. From a somewhat silly story about people changing into animals under unusual circumstances, it's become a powerful and heartfelt story of love, trust, betrayal, and very real people trying to deal with all this on top of their zodiac curse. There are two issues left in the English release, things are starting to fall apart for the Sohma family, Tohru is caught in the thick of it, and I'm so worried about Kyo's fate that if it goes the way I don't want it to I'll be throwing things. I just wish the anime could get this far and hadn't stopped after the most minor of all the dramatic moments of the series.

Best Book: The Harry Potter Series- Again, not the first time I've read any of these, and certainly not something new from this year, but since I've been reading so much literary criticism and studying them so intensively with the intention of writing a critical paper on them as part of my entrance package for grad school that I've come to love them on a whole deeper level. A powerfully written story of the classic hero's journey with memorable characters, magic, mystery, and real emotion that lets you relate to the characters to a point I've rarely experienced without reading an autobiography. Honorable Mention: JRR Tolkien: A Biography- Heightened my respect for my absolute favorite writer of all time, and realizing his very strong ideals and values and everything that he's been through that led him to create Middle-Earth and the races and situations that make me long to be an Elf...nuff said.

Best Sports Moment: Cruz Pedregon's NHRA championship- He started the season not doing so well, making adjustments to new aspects of his car and getting a feel for those adjustments as a driver...you could say he started out in a rebuilding year, not expecting to shine. First an inconsistent car, and then an inconsistent driver were definitely against him. He made it to finals several times, but until right before the end of the season he hadn't won any, though he was still sixth in points. Three wins and a couple of key losses by points leader Tim Wilkerson put Cruz in a place he hasn't been for 18 years: Points leader and championship winner for the year. Looking forward to another great season by him and his brother Tony!