2008 may have arrived as a rat, but apparently in its young life it has evolved into many, many other things. This eighth year of the International Decade of a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World (which raises the question, does the International Decade of a Culture of War and Violence for the Children of the World begin in 2011? And, if so, what can we do about it?) is not only an election year and a leap year. It's also a time of sanitation and intercultural dialogue, among other things.

Coming next year

It's the Year of Gaming—because, clearly, nobody cares about web 2.0 and mergers.

It's the Year of Convergence. Convergence of what? Why, broadband, broadcast, and web-TV, of course.

If you're more interested in food, then 2008 is the International Year of the Potato, which is "raising awareness of the key role played by the 'humble tube' in agriculture."

And if amphibians are your thing, we're currently in the year of the frog, which will not raise, but generate, public awareness of "the amphibian extinction crisis which represents the greatest species conservation challenge in the history of humanity."

Now that the fall is upon us, however, we may want to start preparing for 2009, the year of condensed soup. Awareness of canned minestrone undoubtedly will be raised.