2006 Year

The arbiter of Australian English, the Macquarie Dictionary, has declared "muffin top" the word of the year for 2006 -- even though it's two words -- choosing it over "affluenza." "Muffin top" refers to the fold of fat around the midriff that spills over the top of tight-fitting pants or skirts on overweight people.

It was only about a year ago that "Brokeback Mountain" was making grown men weep. Eric Bana's hero in "Munich" was conflicted and tormented about killing Arab terrorists.

Investment research firm Morningstar Inc. on Wednesday picked its 2006 "managers of the year" in mutual funds, and gave a nod in the fixed-income category to Jeffrey Gundlach of Los Angeles-based TCW Group Inc.

Fashion is an industry built on planned obsolescence, which means that much of what was breathlessly touted in 2006 will be forgotten in 2007. There will be no need to fret about leggings, wide belts, sweater coats and the various expensive handbags -- the Chloe Edith, Chanel's Coco Cabas -- that once seemed so essential.

When the irreverent music blog Idolator reveals the results of its inaugural critics poll on Friday (www.idolator.com), it will be watched in the music/media world with more than passing interest.

The year 2006 was the deadliest on record for journalists and media workers worldwide, with at least 155 homicides and unexplained deaths, the International Federation of Journalists announced in Brussels.

The Real Estate section tracked trends near and far in 2006. Where in the country were there bargains still to be had? Was it the year to walk away from the Las Vegas table and perhaps say "Hola!" to Mexico's real estate market? And closer to home, we watched the city deal with the McMansionization of some of our favorite neighborhoods and mobile home parks going condo.

Here in the nation's second-largest market, a phrase the NFL has forced us to commit to memory, we have a saying that the nation needs to learn, because this was us in 2006: We're No.