It has been reported far and wide that the most recent Hello Kitty license deal is with Beck’s Beer. Now Hello Kitty puts their cute characters on a remarkable variety of products. The Hello Kitty vibrator jumps to a lot of pervy minds, but you can also get everything from a Hello Kitty umbrella to an embossed Hello Kitty soup pot to boil your ramen in. So it is plausible that there would also be a Hello Kitty brand beer deal. Beck’s is not my favorite beer, but it is decent and I favor the pilsner of the various Beck’s brews.

Unfortunately there appears to be some evidence that Blingee or a similar online design service was used to mock up art for what appears to be a six plus one of Hello Kitty Beck’s beer. Which is too bad as Hello Kitty branded booze might make an entertaining party favor.

Anybody have any idea whether Hello Kitty beer is a fictional fantasy or an actually available Sanrio item for purchase?

So a lot of magazines and sites and television shows are doing top ten lists right now. I had planned to post a Blue Blood list of the top ten sexiest men and women of the past year. Unfortunately I ran out of gas after thinking of Anderson Cooper and Vladimir Putin. I didn’t even think of any women before writer’s block set in.

For those of you who do not get CNN in your cable TV lineup, Anderson Cooper is a crystal-eyed honey who helms a show called Anderson Cooper 360. He also had a New York Times bestseller come out this year titled “Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival.” He looks like that, he is intelligent, he is curious about the world, he gets involved, and his fashion sense makes it clear he is a Vanderbilt. I could justify why it is terribly goth to be attracted to Anderson Cooper, but, trust me, it would be tasteless, so I’m just going to say he makes the list with flying colors.

Next on my abbreviated countdown is Economist coverboy Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. I know, I know, Putin arguably made some inroads against hard-won Russian democracy after the Beslan school tragedy and a bunch of war stuff in some country Americans don’t pay attention to. His gangster politics are thought by many to be bringing heinous and creative poisoning back in vogue and making it difficult for global corporations to reap the rewards of their investments in helping the Russian oil industry. But sometimes bad boys are hot. Sometimes you just want someone who is dangerously bad for you. Putin is a former spy who rose to rule a nation. That’s like being a badass cross between James Bond and Caesar. Totally fine.

All right, now that I’ve probably horrified thousands with my sorta top ten list, who did you find sexiest in 2006? I told you my answers, so nobody needs to be bashful.

So you’ve probably heard of Cristal. I personally have kinda middling tastes in champagne. The first time I had Dom Perignon was at my maternal grandparents’ 50th wedding anniversary. When it comes to Moet & Chandon, I actually prefer White Star. I’m a Philistine, I know. Lately, I’ve developed a taste for Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Demi Sac, although I don’t like to order it in restaurants because I can’t pronounce it.

But you don’t tend to hear platinum rappers extolling the virtues of Moet and Veuve. They generally give props to Cristal. Cristal is pricey and not necessarily better tasting at a level commensurate with its cost. Nonetheless, the hip hop community tended to pick Cristal as the expensive item to conspicuously consume by either tipple or floor spillage.

According to an article called Bubbles & Bling which ran in The Economist, however, Frederic Rouzaud, who is the managing director of Louis Roederer Cristal champagne, publicly said he found raps about the beverage to be peculiar unwelcome attention and he suggested that there were some less expensive brands which might suit that community better.

Multiplatinum megastar Jay-Z once lead the pack in supporting Cristal, but, according to PR Week, he has now pulled service of it from his 40/40 Club in New York. He is also apparently going to replace the shoutouts to that particular bubbley in his lyrics in performance and reissues.

I kinda think that the country club set is composed of two demographics, when it comes to this issue. Firstly, there are people who like their hip hop, as well as their golf, and are more likely to drink Cristal if Jay-Z says it is great. Secondly, there are people who like their Cristal and don’t follow rap at all.

Way to throw out a whole lot of free endorsements, Frederic Rouzaud. Frederic Rouzaud needs to learn that cool does not mean lacking in clout. Somebody hook that boy up with some extra business school. And kudos to Jay-Z for not taking fighting words lying down.