The Year End looks ahead

Over here at The Coffee-Soaked Mind, we've been pondering what to do for our final top ten list of 2006. Sure, we could talk about the Top Ten Breakfast Cereals of 2006, or the Top Ten Worst Soda Flavors, but we want to be different. We want to break ground. And, since we've got our weekly awards coming up tomorrow, we've decided to try a new approach. With that said, we now present to you all:

The Top Ten Things to Look Forward to in 2007

10. Academy Award Candidates for 2008
Yes, we admit that we're looking over a year in advance for this one, but we've got a sneaking suspicion that, in an attempt to keep Martin Scorcese from winning an Oscar, the cabal of Spielberg, Howard, Columbus and Eastwood will release approximately seven movies apiece, with the releases falling anywhere from the beginning of October to the end of November. The bigger shock will be when the Best Director Oscar is awarded to first-time director Jennifer Love Hewitt.

9. It's not an election year
True, people are already drooling at the prospect of voting more people out of office, but you have to admit that 2007 being an off-year for campaigning is something to look forward to. The best reason behind this? The lack of political commercials.

8. Cadbury Creme Eggs
You know you look forward to those every single year. Why should 2007 be any different?

7. The New Fall Schedule
Watch as the networks try to figure out how to capitalize on what worked in 2006, only to either simply fail, or to inundate the airwaves with look-alike shows. Expect CBS to continue their trend of fairly pathetic traditional sitcoms, interspersed with reality television, while NBC announces a new game show, where contestants are superpowered individuals competing against lawyers in an attempt to appear on a show within a show.

6. Justin Timberlake
You scoff. Don't deny it, because I can hear you scoffing from over here. And yet I'm here to tell you that JT may just be one of the people you need to watch in 2007. After all, he did single-handedly bring "sexy" back (as he'll tell you), and then was confident enough in its recovery to allow others to finish easing it back to life. In 2007, expect Timberlake to bring back "suave" and "Jell-O pudding pops", while Jared Leto attempts to bring "androgynous" back.

5. Insert Local Sports Team Here
We all know that every new season, there's a revitalized interest in local sports. Every year, the fans believe that the team will be the best its ever been, and that a championship is within their grasp. And, by the end of the season, most of those hopes have been utterly destroyed, causing most fans to curse the names of their hometeam's biggest stars. But have faith... a new season is just around the corner!

4. Sony vs. Microsoft vs. Nintendo
Now that all three console makers have their next-generation machines on the market, a true battle royale can begin, allowing gamers to decide who reigns supreme. The obvious winners? Pepsi Cola and Frito-Lay, for making Mountain Dew and Doritos respectively.

3. That awkward conversation in April
Whether this is with a coworker, family member, close friend, or just some person on the street, you can truly enjoy this conversation for what it holds; a long, uncomfortable pause, followed by one or both parties trying desperately to explain their position while slowly losing more ground with the other. You'll laugh about it. Eventually. Like while drunk in July.

2. KFed suffering crushing defeat
No, I'm not talking about the match scheduled for WWE's Raw on January 1. Ok, I'm not just talking about the match. I'm talking about the concept that everywhere KFed goes, little pieces of his previous life will continue to fall away, until he is left the nothing he was before we ever knew he existed. Somewhere, there's a picture of Kevin Federline, and it just keeps getting more talented as time goes past.

1. The end of 2007
By the time that everything mentioned above has come to pass, or been skipped over because someone stepped on a butterfly, causing all of the future to change, you'll be hoping and waiting for the beginning of 2008. Why? Because every New Year's Day is a chance to start over and go in a new direction, and, just like every previous year, you're going to want to take that chance and embrace it. At least until February.