Here are OnMilwaukee.com publisher Andy Tarnoff's favorite things of 2008.

Movie -- I saw a bunch of bad movies in 2008. From "W." to "Pineapple Express" to "Step Brother" to "The Happening," almost every film I had high expectations for turned out to be a stinker. So I was pleasantly surprised with "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," another Judd Apatow classic. No, it wasn't "Superbad" super-good, but the sentimental dude's love story was touching and funny. As of press time, I haven't seen the new James Bond movie, "Quantum of Solace." From what I hear, that could take the cake.

Music -- "Modern Guilt" by Beck. Anything that Beck puts out is guaranteed to be great. Honestly, some albums are greater than others, and not every release is an instant masterpiece. As for "Modern Guilt," I had to listen to it several times before all of its many layers revealed itself to me. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Beck is a musical genius.

Book -- I know this pick is a little lame, but I spent most of 2008 preparing for fatherhood, and the single best book to get me there was Armin Brott's "The Expectant Father." A month-by-month look at what's going on with dad, mom and baby gave me enough -- but not too much -- advice for the ever-changing process of pregnancy. New dads can rest comfortably knowing that if they read just one book while their wives are expecting, this one is perfect.

Gadget -- As I've written before, it's not without its shortcomings, but I remain so impressed with the 3G iPhone. It needs a few important tweaks, like copy and paste, a native word processor, a better-working keyboard and the ability to send/receive MMS messages -- but this $200 phone is close to being a fully functioning mini laptop. Every other device is just playing catch up.

Beverage -- I guess I've never picked a "beverage of the year" before, but I've gotta give the prize in 2008 to Robinade. Basically, I'm supportive of anything and everything Robin Yount does, and if he won't be sitting on the Brewers' bench in 2009, at least I can drink his tasty lemonade. And with a portion of proceeds going to charity, so why not?

Concert -- I saw two great shows in 2008, and both were absolutely hilarious. Louis C.K.'s standup show at the Pabst on Feb. 8 was perhaps the hardest I've ever laughed in my life. Right behind that was Flight of the Conchords at the Riverside on May 11. FOTC sounded just great in person, but the incessant and drunken heckling from the audience took a little of the shine off of an otherwise amazing show.

TV -- I understand how silly this sounds, but I watched some really great TV in 2008. For a medium that panders to the lowest common denominator, a few excellent shows rise above. Among them are "30 Rock," "True Blood," "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad," though those are just a few of the best. Plenty has been written about "30 Rock" and "Mad Men," but perhaps you haven't seen HBO's new vampire show, "True Blood." Check it out. And very few people watched the first season of AMC's "Breaking Bad." That's a shame, since it was excellent, touching and thought-provoking. Brian Cranston (yes, the dad from "Malcolm in the Middle") richly deserved his Emmy for best actor in a drama series. I hope season two comes in HD.

Event -- Hands down, the event of the year (for me) was the birth of Mara Vivienne Tarnoff on Sept. 8. All the anticipation and preparation didn't adequately set me up for the rush of emotion and excitement when my daughter entered the world. Now, I realize that most of our readers don't know or particularly care about this event, so here's a more widely-recognized event: On Sept. 28, the Brewers defeated the Cubs, and the Marlins beat the Mets, to send the Crew into the playoffs for the first time since 1982. I went to both home playoff games, and while that Saturday game was the most thrilling game I've ever seen in person, the victory that sent us to the postseason was a memory that I will cherish forever. Surrounded by my closest "Brewers friends," we doused each other in champagne and danced around like giddy idiots. Former Packers GM Ron Wolf would probably call the 2008 Brewers a "fart in the wind," but for me, that day was as good as it gets.

Person -- My daughter Mara takes the cake on this one (see above). Little babies don't have a ton of personality yet, but in a weird way, Mara is already making an impact. My 91-year-old grandmother broke her hip last summer, and that's often a terminal condition for an elderly person. But my grandma literally rehabbed herself back to health so she could see the birth of her first great-grandchild. Watching the effect this little baby has had on our entire family is truly transcendent, and while these wonderful side effects are just icing on the cake, part of me thinks that Mara, the person -- not just the random baby -- has something to do with it, too.