Time to kiss 2007 goodbye, and what better way than to look back and see who died over the past year? This isn’t meant to be a comprehensive list, so if I’ve missed your favorite dead guy or gal, feel free to add them in the comments.

Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was killed in a drive-by shooting in on Jan. 1. He was 24 years old. Steel guitar virtuoso “Sneaky” Pete Kleinow, an original Flying Burrito Brother, died on Jan. 6 at the age of 72. He was also an award-winning animator and special effects artist. Suffering from Alzheimer’s, he died in a nursing home in California. The next day, NASCAR driver Bobby Hamilton died at the age of 49, of cancer in the head and neck. Film producer Carlo Ponti died at the age of 94 on January 9. His films included “Doctor Zhivago,” but those of us of the male persuasion are most grateful to him for discovering a teenager by the name of Sophia Loren, who he also wound up marrying (despite being threatened with bigamy charges and excommunication from the Catholic Church). Well, who could really blame him?

On the 13th, we lost half of the Brecker Brothers, as sax player Michael Brecker passed away at the age of 57 from leukemia. Lung cancer got former taxi driver and NASCAR legend Benny Parsons on January 16. He was 65. On the same day, actor Ron Carey (the short cop with a chip on his shoulder from Barney Miller) died of a stroke at the age of 71. A day later, Pulitzer prize winning columnist Art Buchwald died at the age of 81. He’d decided to quit dialysis treatments almost a year earlier, and checked into a hospice where he was expected to die within weeks. Instead, he came back home and wrote a book, and died in his own bed, surrounded by loved ones. On the 19th, Denny Doherty – one of the Poppas from the Momas and Poppas – passed away at the age of 66. Watergate conspirator E. Howard Hunt died of pneumonia at the age of 88 on January 23. Among his other accomplishments are the orchestration of a military coup in Guatemala, and helping to mastermind the Bay of Pigs operation. Tige Andrews (Capt Greer on the Mod Squat) died on the 27th of a heart attack at 86. Author Sydney Sheldon died on January 30th, and the great Molly Ivins passed away at the age of 66, after a long battle with breast cancer.

The Spinners’ Billy Henderson passed away from complications due to diabetes on Feb 2nd. He was 67. The same day, Funk Brother Joe Hunter died at the age of 79. Actress and singer Barbara McNair died on Feb. 4 after battling throat cancer. She was 72. Another singer, Frankie Laine (“rollin’ rollin’ rollin’, keep them dogies rollin’. Rawhide!”), died on Feb 6th at the age of 93. Anna Nicole Smith passed away at the age of 39 on Feb 8. She was equally exploited in death, as she had been in life.

Thomas Eagleton, who was forced to resign as George McGovern’s running mate because he’d once been treated for depression, died of a combination of heart, respiratory and other problems on March 4 at the age of 77. Two days later, wine guy Ernest Gallo passed away at the age of 97. Boston’s lead singer, Brad Delp, passed away at the age of 55 on March 9th. The next day, comedian Richard Jeni apparently committed suicide at the age of 49. Director Stuart Rosenberg (“Cool Hand Luke”), died of a heart attack on March 15, as did former baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn. Singer Luther Ingram (“If Loving You Is Wrong I Don’t Wanna Be Right”) died at 69 of heart failure on March 19. The same day, Calvert “Larry ‘Bud’ Melman” DeForest, died at the age of 85.

Former Grambling football coach died at the age of 88 on April 3rd. Daryl Stingley, who’d been a quadriplegic since a preseason football injury in 1978, died on April 5th. He was 55. BC cartoonist Johnny Heart passed away on April 7 at the age of 76. So did actor Barry Nelson, first person to play James Bond. He was 89. Actor Roscoe Lee Browne died on April 11 from cancer at the age of 81. That same day, we lost the great Kurt Vonnegut, who was 84. Don Ho died of heart failure on the 14th, and Kitty Carlisle died at the age of 96 on April 18. Boris Yeltsin died at the age of 76 on April 23rd. So did journalist David Halberstam. Bobby “Boris” Pickett, who gave us the “Monster Mash” in 1962, died of leukemia on April 25. He was 69. Jack Valenti – who gave us the movie rating system – had a stroke and died at the age of 85 on April 26. ongtime Tonight Show Band member Tommy Newsome passed away on April 30 at the age of 78. Actor Tom Poston died the same day. He was survived by his wife, Suzanne Pleshette.

Astronaut Wally Schirra – the only man to fly on the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo spacecraft – died on May 3 at 84. Moral Majority founder Jerry Falwell died on May 15th. He was greatly surprised to find out that God is gay. Lucky for him, he went to hell. Yolanda Denise King (MLK’s oldest child) died the same same day. New England Patriots defensive end Marquise Hill died on May 27 at the age of 24, after a jet ski accident on Lake Pontchartrain. It was the same day that Charles Nelson Reilly died of complications from pneumonia. He was 76.

One of my personal heroes, Don “Mr. Wizard” Herbert, died of bone cancer on June 12, at the age of 89. He inspired me to blow up all kinds of shit. Former UN Secretary General, Austrian President, and Nazi, Kurt Waldheim, died of heart failure on June 14 at 88. Keyboard player and songwriter Richard Bell – member of Janice Joplin’s Full Tilt Boogie Band, among other things – died of multiple myeloma June 15 at 61. Pro wrestler Chris Benoit strangled his wife and smothered his 7-year-old son. Then he hung himself on June 25. The next day, Liz Claiborne died of cancer. She was 78. Film critic Joel Siegel died at the age of 63 on June 29th of colon cancer.

Well, that’s a recap of some of the deaths in the first half of 2007. I’ll have look at who died in the second half of the year (along with any last minute entries) tomorrow. For now, it’s time to get ready to watch some Twilight Zone, which starts at 8:00 Eastern Time. Whatever you do, be careful out there tonight.

Sunday already? Shit, I’m glad I don’t have to go to work tomorrow. I’ll really be pissing and moaning this time next week. Speaking of pissing and moaning….

On Press the Meat this week, Timmy Potatohead hosts Huckleberry Huckabee, and the pisser and moaner of hope, Barack Obama. Whoopdie freakin’ doo.

Things look a bit more promising over at CBS, however, as Bush buddy Bobby Schieffer hosts John Edwards (the Obama true believers – at east the ones that comment on TPM and DU – really, really seem to hate Edwards, for some reason).

Over at Fux News Sunday, Grampa Fred Thompson gets out of bed early to yuck it up with Weaselface Wallace, and the Des Moines Register’s David Yepsen is on to tell us who’s gonna win the Iowa Caucasoids Caucuses. And of course there are the usual Fux News Fuxheads, including the NY Times latest liberal columnist, Bill Kristol. Yep, like that asshole needs another platform to spout his fascist drivel.

On the Goebbels network, George Snufalufagus boasts an exclusive with Saint John McCain, and another exclusive with John McCain in drag, Hillary Clinton. Plus, there’s a roundtable of NY Times asswipe David Brooks, political mastermind Donna Brazile and George :jerk: Will.

Over at CNN, Wolf Blitzer’s Late Emission includes Chris Dodd, Senator MBNA, Joe Biden, Sam Nunn of Georgia, and former Sec Def, Bil Cohen.

Looks like another week of recycled stories on 60 Minutes, as Scott Pelley tells us about megafires out west, Morley Safer does a story on Pot Shops, and Steve Kroft reports on how the Geeks shall inherit the Earth.

At 8:00 Eastern, you can catch the Giants vs. the Patriots on NBC, CBS, AND the NFL Network (which I, personally, would opt for – assuming I were allowed to watch it – since it’s the only one of the three I get in Hi-Def). I really, really hope the Giants win, since I’m really sick and tired of the Patriots. Then again, if they lose in their first playoff game, that’d be even better. Oops. Guess I was a day off on this one. See what happens when you get married?

Anyhow, whatever you have going on today, enjoy.

I had something really interesting and prophetic that I was gonna write about this morning. But I forgot what it was. Well, that’s not true. I remember what it was, but it’s gonna take a lot of time to get it out of my head, into my fingers, and onto the computer. And then it probably wouldn’t turn out to be very interesting or prophetic after all. So, fuck it. I’ll just say, have a nice Saturday.

Finally, Friday’s here. This has been one long week, and I have a feeling today is gonna feel about half a week long, at least. We’re less than 500 comments away from 100,000 here. Back in the good old days, we’d have had that nailed before 2008 rolls around, but not anymore, I guess. Anyhow, let’s get this goddamn day over with already.

So, back to work again today. What a revoltin’ development. I have a feeling this is gonna be the longest two day week in history. Well, the only way to get it over with is to get it started, I guess. Have fun.

There’s nothing quite so depressing as having to go to work on the day after Christmas. Fortunately, I had the foresight to take the day off. Of course, it’ll mostly consist of doing laundry and wishing I didn’t have to go to work on Thursday, but at least it’s only a two day week, followed by a four day weekend. Have a good one.

And so this is Christmas…. I don’t know what that means to you. I don’t even know what it means to me, to be honest. I kinda sorta remember what it felt like when I was a kid. Lots of anticipation over Santa’s arrival (I pretended I believed in Santa for a lot longer than I actually did, so I wouldn’t lose out on any presents; my parents must’ve thought I was kind of a simpleton or something), either going to relatives’ house, or having relatives come to ours, which was kinda fun. Turkey and pumpkin pie were always my favorites, and the fact that you got to have them twice in about a month was pretty cool. Plus you got a lot of time off if you were a kid in school, and that was great. Ah, to be a kid again. All the fun, with none of the bills.

Now, it’s just nice to be able to take a few days off, maybe spend some time with family and friends that you haven’t connected with for a while, and get ready for the Twilight Zone New Year’s Eve Marathon.

Whatever you have planned for today, have a good one.

It’s nice not to have to go to work on a Monday. I have the place to myself today (not everybody here is off, I’m afraid), so, outside of taking the dog out to the park, I reckon I’ll just hang out and not do much of anything. Oh, I need to bake some cookies to leave out for Santa, too. Better get busy, I guess.

Another week, another bunch of boobleheads. On Press the Meat, Timmy Potatohead has Ron Paul. I really don’t get what people find appealing about Ron Paul, but he seems to be a god to some of the folks out there. But, whatever. He’ll also have Chuck Todd and John Harwood on pass along some conventional wisdom (and ignore John Edwards, no doubt).

CBS is being coy about who’s on Faze the Nation this week, and I’m not really motivated enough to do more than look at their website to find out, so fuck ’em.

Fux News Sunday has General Betrayus and Weaselface Wallace will also chat with Joel Osteen, pastor of the Lakewood Church. There’s also the usual collection of Fux News Fuxheads, and this week’s “Power Player” is Morrill Worcester, who gives wreaths to veterans on holidays for some reason.

There’s a big, big thrill for everyone on This Weak, as George Snufalufagus has Guidi Ruliani. Plus, there’s a roundtable of EJ Dionne, former Pentagon spokesbitch Torie Clarke, Cokie “the hag” Roberts and George :jerk: Will. And Caroline Kennedy will be on to hawk her new book.

CNN’s Late Emission has, well, it has Wolf Blitzer; what else do you need to know?

Later, on 60 Minutes, I think it’s a bunch of recycled stories as Joel Osteen pops up again, Lesley Stahl does her DNA to track your ancestors story, and Steve Kroft talks to Steve Brady.

Enjoy your Sunday.

Hey, Happy Solstice and shit. Finally, the days can start getting longer again. At least, here in the Northern Hemisphere. You folks down under are just heading in to the summer. I think I’ll go back to bed now. Carry on.