The Shame of It All

Contrary to what a few ex-girlfriends would say, I'm not big on disappointing those who have faith in me.

That said, I'm going to have to let a few people down by admitting that there's just no way I'll be able to crank out the 2007 year-ender I promised a couple of weeks ago. This is due not only to the fact that I've had a hell of a time at work lately (at my paying job) what with Iowa becoming the all-consuming nightmare I had quietly feared it might, but also because I honestly have no desire to look back on the ridiculousness that was 2007.

In just the first few days of the new year, Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Mike Huckabee and our glorious Commander-in-Chief have already proven that 2008 will likely be no less shameful than the year preceding -- a seemingly impossible feat mitigated only by the unlikelihood of Anna Nicole Smith rising from the grave, then collapsing dead yet again at a Seminole Indian hotel off the turnpike in Broward County, Florida.

I dubbed 2006 "The Year of the Douchebag," and in spite of the ascendancy of über-dingbat Criss Angel this past year I still think it remains that. As for 2007? It was the year of the All-American Embarrassment, with examples simply too numerous and time-consuming to list.

Unfortunately, 2008 already looks as if it's shaping up to be more of the same.

So, we press on.

God help us all.