The James Logan Courier

By Julie Hinds
Detroit Free Press (MCT)

DETROIT — "Don't tase me, bro."

Much like the guy who yelped that phrase as he was dragged from a John Kerry event, we're leaving 2007 feeling stunned and a bit silly.

The past 12 months have zapped us with issues of substance— war, climate change, little things like holding on to a house or a job.

But there also have been jolts of amusement, tingles of optimism and a few buzzing scandals — a celebrity melting down here, a media figure mouthing off there — just to remind us our own lives aren't so bad.

And now, the awards for the sanity-saving distractions of the year.

The Seattle Times (MCT)

With the New Year upon us, our thoughts turn to bubbles and the year that was.

To many observers, 2007 was a cork-popper on par with the last tech bubble, which had its influential and enduring byproducts — Google, foremost among them — and many more flashes that quickly faded. Kozmo.com ring a bell?

So, what of 2007 will have a lasting impact and what will drift quietly into obscurity?

By Etan Horowitz
The Orlando Sentinel (MCT)

ORLANDO, Fla. — On Christmas morning, Lisa Addy's Orlando house resembles an assembly line. Her 5-year-old daughter unwraps a present, then hands it to Addy or her husband to open, a task that increasingly involves tools more suited for an electrician than a child.

"The worst I have found is the Barbies or any doll packaging," said Addy, 39. "Because they sew the hair to the box. You have to cut out the plastic things, so you get your wire cutters. And they have a wire wrapped around each wrist and ankle and sometimes around the body of the doll. I don't understand what the point is."

By Carol Polsky
Newsday (MCT)

MELVILLE, N.Y. — It's official: The White House Christmas tree is "green." So is the tree at Rockefeller Center.

Those trees will glow with light-emitting diodes — or LEDs — rather than the traditional bulbs of incandescent lights. Like driving a hybrid car and using recycling paper, stringing up LED Christmas lights is becoming a de rigueur gesture of eco-friendliness and environmental responsibility.

Retailers from high-end specialty shops to Home Depot and Target said the lights are also selling steadily. This year, customers have more LED offerings to choose from, and many seem willing to pay their extra cost in exchange for their energy efficiencies, vivid colors and longer lifespan.

By Bill Lindelof
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

Nick Burnett has eliminated live lectures in one of his presentational speaking classes this semester at Sacramento State.

He gave all the lectures this summer in a studio, where they were recorded and launched onto iTunes. And in what Burnett believes is the first such large-scale experiment at California State University, Sacramento, 224 of his students will be able to hear him only by downloading his lectures onto their iPods or MP3 players.

By Sanyika Calloway Boyce
Young Money magazine (MCT)

The content of your MySpace page can hurt your future job opportunities.

MySpace, FaceBook, LiveJournal, Bebo and Xanga are just a few of the most popular social networking sites that have become a virtual mecca for everyone from aspiring musicians to everyday people wanting to connect with a larger world.

By Mike Marando, Communications Director
California Department of Motor Vehicles

SACRAMENTO ‑ Are you a teen with questions about how to get your provisional driver permit or California driver license? Do you have questions about general driving related requirements like registration or insurance? The California Department of Motor Vehicles has answers. For more information, visit the DMV Web site for teens at
www.DMV.ca.gov/teenweb.

Q: In my driver training class, the instructor gave us statistical information on teens and driving. I was talking about it with my parents, but couldn't remember the specific numbers. Do I have access to that information?