The buzzword of the year, according to Time magazine, is cougar. No, not the powerful cat that lives throughout the Western Hemisphere and dines largely on large mammals. The new definition of cougar, says Time, is: “older woman who romantically pursues younger men; offensive to some, the term is considered by others a positive acknowledgment of these women’s sex appeal.” If this were a spelling bee and you wanted us to use it in a sentence, we’d say, “The hot older women on ABC’s reality dating show Age of Love were called cougars.” And then we’d add, please don’t call us sexist for using the adjective “hot.”

Now cougars are excellent predators in the wild. But really, is this the best term to describe foxy older women on the prowl for young himbos? We think not – and here’s why:

1.    Real cougars live only 8 to 10 years in the wild (though 20 years or more in captivity). Yet human cougars are said to be in their late 30s or 40s. Discuss amongst yourselves.
2.    Cougars like to be alone except when mating. So, no cougars at crowded singles bars.
3.    Cougars know how to swim but don’t like to get wet. At a pool party, then, cougars would be at a clear disadvantage.
4.    Cougars catch their prey by stalking, then jumping on the back of the intended victim, holding the animal down with their claws, and sinking their teeth into its neck. This is rarely an effective way to land a date.

Pop Omnivore’s choice of buzzword of the year, in case you were wondering:  canary. Because just about every story we’re read (or written) about a suffering animal uses the term “canary in a coal mine.”  Whether they’re suffering because of climate change, habitat loss, pollution, or depression because the TV writers' strike will mean no new episodes of Desperate Housepets, they’re all just like lil’ yellow tweety birds facing extinction in the Giant Coal Mine that is Planet Earth these days. And a word of warning to all of Earth’s canaries: Watch out for cougars!

But really, what do we know? Pop Omnivore readers – what’s your pick for the best buzzword of 2007?

-Marc Silver

The movie The Golden Compass, based on a book by Phillip Pullman, is set in an alternate world where humans have visible souls that take the shape of animals. A little girl named Lyra finds herself on an adventure to the frozen North to find out why children have been disappearing. The answer to that question is quite unpleasant, although not nearly as unpleasant as the book's ending, which is cut entirely from the movie. But excision of nasty parts aside, I am happy to report that I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. It's gotten wishy-washy reviews, but like the book (ok, I'm a fan), the movie is a lovely wander through fantasy versions of England and Norway, populated by colorful characters and talking polar bears. Nicole Kidman turns in a perfect performance as a polished, scary ice queen; Daniel Craig is a polar adventurer with ulterior motives. The polar bears and other critters are computer-generated, but convincingly real-looking; CGI has come a long way since the days of Jar Jar Binks.

In this parallel universe, the names of people and places are familiar but somehow not quite right. Norway becomes Norroway; the coastal town of Bergen becomes the very Norwegian-sounding Trollesund; the gypsy-like people who help Lyra along the way are called gyptians. The immense polar bears have a kingdom in Svalbard, an archipelago to the north of Norway. They are known as panserbjoerne, after the Norwegian words for "armor" and "bear," because they make suits of armor out of iron from meteorites that land on their islands. This armor makes good protection when one armored bear has a run-in with a troop of crossbow-bearing Tartars.

If this inspires you to visit the Svalbard of our world, rest assured that the polar bears there do not usually attack humans, nor do they wear armor. Norway banned hunting on the bears in 1973, and now thousands roam the islands. One-on-one encounters are rare, but just in case, locals are trained to use weapons, and guidebooks advise visitors to carry a gun (or travel with a gun-carrying guide) whenever they leave a settlement.

-Helen Fields

OK, it’s not like we watch America’s Next Top Model religiously, praying for something to blog about—like, say, the so-called environmental theme (which pretty much went up in smoke when a photo shoot was staged next to a burning car) or the fact that the models’ (and host Tyra Banks’s) modern-day weaves can’t compare to the awesome mummy with a weave. But really, how can we not watch? This show is a cultural touchstone! Don’t take our word for it. This week, the New York Times profiled Heather, the contestant with Asperger’s Syndrome.

Anyway, there we were last night, tuning in for the penultimate episode in this sorry cycle (because really, Tyra, kicking Heather and Lisa off—what are you thinking?), and the models are in China, which is a topic of interest to National Geographic. And the show gave the impression that China's Great Wall can be seen from space.

Now it sure would be amazing if the Great Wall could be seen from the space, or specifically from the moon. That lunar claim has been made at least since 1923—and in National Geographic Magazine!. But according to NASA’s Web site, when astronauts went to the moon in 1969, they couldn’t see the Great Wall at all. Nor does the wall readily pop up in photos from the International Space Station.

A NASA spokesman explains: "In fact, it is very, very difficult to distinguish the Great Wall of China in astronaut photography, because the materials that were used in the wall are similar in color and texture to the materials of the land surrounding the wall.”

But there are exceptions. In radar photography from space, the Great Wall is visible. As Tyra might say, “I have in my electronic hands, a picture of Mongolia, taken from the International Space Station in 2004 (image above). The light was just right, the wall was set off by snow. If you squint, you can make out segments of the Great Wall.” (The arrows help). And if you squint even harder, you can see Tyra’s weave.

— Marc Silver

Photograph courtesy NASA