It's that time of year again!
Barbara Walters has revealed most of her 10 most fascinating people of the year, to be profiled on her ABC special December 9.
And once again, Walters' picks prove her cracker jack producing team have paid attention to who people are talking about, because I highly doubt Babs finds half of these people actually fascinating.
This year's list is a who's who of pop culture centre pieces, among them Justin Bieber and the cast of Jersey Shore.
What's fascinating here is not the people themselves, but the flurry of fanfare and attention that surrounds them. I'm sure even Bieber would admit he's fascinated that his floppy hair and prepubescent boyish looks have shot him to superstardom.
The Jersey Shore cast, meanwhile, is positively too stupid to understand the word fascinating, so don't even ask them about it.
Sarah Palin's on the list for the second year in a row. Replace the word fascinating with frightening, and sure, she belongs.
Admittedly, I'm still in awe that Sandra Bullock somehow swept award season with her god awful performance in the god awful movie the Blind Side. So, I'll accept her as one Babs' picks. Even more so, she's had some headline-grabbing challenges in her personal life this year, and come out laughing about it. That I can respect.
At 88-years-old, Betty White's had one of the busiest years of her career and hasn't missed a beat. Maybe now that she's being proclaimed fascinating she'll feel okay taking a break.
And, uh, Jennifer Lopez is on the list. She might be fascinating, but she's been out of the spotlight for so long I have no idea what would merit such classification.
NBA star LeBron James makes the cut, and I'm just going to defer to Barbara and assume he's fascinating because I don't know anything more about him. Was he on Dancing with the Stars this year? Did cell phone pics of his penis hit the internet at any point? Let's say the answer to both questions is yes, and move on.
Finally, Babs tapped Kate Middleton for the special -- pre-engagement to Prince William. She's on the cover of British tabloids a lot, right? Must be a big deal.
The final two picks for most fascinating won't be revealed until the special.
Off the top of my head, I'd give one spot to Mark Zuckerberg. Maybe not the real guy, but definitely the guy as portrayed in the major motion picture the Social Network. That guy's a fuckin' dick, and it's fascinating that I'm still willing to share so much of my life on his website.
And just for fun, let's give the last spot to Kellan Lutz, because his portion of the special could consist of a fan-made YouTube video of the actor/model in his Calvin Kleins.
Your Turn: Who are your picks for most fascinating people of 2010?!
[Side note: look how comfortably chummy Babs looks in the above photo with the Jersey Shore cast. I actually am fascinated by that image.]