13 Famous Rats
1. Today, 2008, starts the Year of the Rat, according to the Chinese calendar.
2. Rats are charming, passionate, charismatic, practical and hardworking.
3. William Shakespeare, and Mozart were born in the year of the rat.
4. More modern famous rats are Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Affleck, Samuel L. Jackson, Carmen Electra, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Avril Lavigne, Kelly Osbourne, Bono, David Duchovny, and Hugh Grant.
5. Let's not forget about the rats in the the movie and book "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH". . .
6. . . . or Templeton in "Charlotte's Web" . . .
7. . . . or Rizzo the rat from The Muppet Show . . .
8. . . . and especially Ron Weasley's rat, Scabbers, in the Harry Potter books who turns out to be the big rat Peter Pettigrew (aka Wormtail).
9. The newest rat on the scene is Rémy, a rat that would rather be a chef in the movie, Ratatouille.
10. The last Year of the Rat was a very good year for movies. 1996 was the year of Jerry Maguire, Fargo, and my favorite, The English Patient. It was also the year for Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, Independence Day, Twister, and Mission: Impossible.
11. The Year of the Rat, 1984 was a very significant year. The first MTV Video Music Awards are held in Radio City Music Hall, New York City. It was the year of Ghostbusters, The Karate Kid, and Footloose . . .
12. . . . . and when Happy Days finally ended after jumping the shark.
13. In 1984, Andy Kaufman made his final performance.
