It's not a just a body part, or a dance, or a movement, it's a world-wide phenomenon.

Well, another year has come and gone, and what do we have to show for it. The earth's a little warmer, the dollar's a little weaker and Roger Clemens is a little angrier. As for me, outside of being poked 42 times and the Helen Mirren restraining order thing, mine was pretty uneventful.

But ever since Sister Barbara passed wind in study hall, I've known if I don't have anything good to say, I should keep my friggin' mouth shut. So why not focus on the positives. Like...like all the stuff I learned. Yeah, come to think of it, 2007 was a really educational year.

Why, in just the past twelve months...

- I learned a wizard, a Senator and no one in Iran is Gay.
- I learned the world is round, but microwave popcorn sales are flat
- I learned maps and copies of origin of the species are in short supply.
- I learned bees are disappearing, but I think it's just because they heard Rupert Murdoch wanted to buy them.
- I learned LA has a soccer team.
- I learned thousands of former home owners are as good at math as I am
- I learned that as good ideas go, Fox News producing a comedy ranks up there with Mrs. Spears producing another child.
- And a writer's strike is never a good thing, but if there's a prairie dog with a menacing glare left in the world, I'll be ok.

Yeh, I learned a few things. But why am I wasting my time with this petty stuff? The things that really made me stop and think were the trends I watched develop over time. When I can piece a few isolated instances together and notice a pattern...well now I think I've learned something important. Well, these are some trends I noticed in 2007. You may disagree with some, but I think they all did a little bit to make 2007 stand on its own as a pretty interesting year. And so, I'd like to point them out.

There are 16 “major” candidates in the 2008 presidential race, but there are plenty more “minor” candidates. The only requirements, after all, are that you be a natural-born US citizen over 35 years old. You don’t even have to be a registered voter. mental_floss has 12 Presidential Candidates to Keep Your Eye On. I can’t decide which is my favorite: the self-proclaimed princess, the fugitive campaigning from his exile in Italy (he can’t vote, but he was on the New Hampshire ballot), the homeless woman running to encourage the use of clotheslines, or the vampire. And those aren’t even the strangest!

Yeah, I wrote this article. I’m not above shameless self-promotion.

I can laugh, because he’s not MY kid.

Today on BrewTube - Office Lip Dubs

Saw a commercial for this National Geographic show, yesterday. Dr. Brady Barr, field specialist and hippo wannabe makes himself a hippo suit and starts hanging out with the real thing. He faces hydrolic-press level bites and projectile dung showers, all in an effort to collect the sweat off their backs. Makes perfect sense to me.

Undercover Hippo airs on January 20th. Set the DVR now.

Here's an interesting article. Remember the show, ThirtySomething? Well our little kids have grown up, and they've apparently become some of the more powerful people in entertainment. Ken Olin, Peter Horton, Polly Draper and Timothy Busfield have executive produced some of the most successful shows around...who knew?