It's Team Edward on the top of our Christmas Tree!

It's become a tradition in our Crazy family to annually grace the top of our Christmas tree with a beloved figure of pop culture. Last year, we did Baby Stewie from The Family Guy. In years past, we've welcomed to this honored place in our home Napoleon Dynamite, Wile E. Coyote, and Darth Vader.

This year, we debated putting angel wings on Sarah Palin (our national savior, right?), but we decided to hop on the Twilight craze. I raced to Walnut Creek's Target and tried to find two special Twilight Barbies: vampire Edward and werewolf Jacob. We intended to have both on top of our tree, but I could only find Edward. Maybe the Jacob dolls were sold out?

Well, it worked out because my son happens to detest Jacob. He complained that the Jacob sections of the Twilight books were long and tedious and that Jacob whined far too much.

So, there you go: We're with Team Edward in this epic battle. Oh, and what's cool about this Edward doll is that, in certain light, he sparkles!

Thursday Night Fever: Roller Skating and New Moon premiere

Night Fever, Night Fever... Lots of things shaking Thursday in and around the Creek.

Those kids at Walnut Creek Intermediate had their skate party at Golden Skate in San Ramon. You can see the after-effects of this massive party for suburban middle schoolers, in the form of kids' rented roller skates piled up on Golden Skate's rental counter.

And lots of older kids and young adults were lined up, and camped out later Thursday night--outside the Century 14 movie theater in downtown Walnut Creek. They were there, presumably waiting to snag tickets and seats inside to see New Moon, the second cinematic installment in the Twilight teen vampire saga.

It was a pretty, brisky, autumn night out. Not the worst night to be sitting out with friends, in jackets, mittens, camp chairs, and blankets, waiting to get into the theater to see the big showdown between Edward versus Jacob. And Edward versus the Volturi and Bella versus her own sulky, melancholic fixation on men she can't have...

THE pressing question of the day: Are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?

Hey, if you're the parent of a 13-year-old girl, you probably know that New Moon, the second cinematic installment of the Twilight teen vampire series, opens tonight.

(First show at Century 14 in downtown Walnut Creek is at 9:30 p.m. tonight!).

Hey, if you're the parent of an 11-year-old middle school boy, you probably know that as well. Because, a certain boy I know wants to see it, too. And, true confession, so do I.

Yes, I read all the Twilight books, because my son was into them. Not great literature, but, story-wise, they definitely--uh--sucked me in. They do present a fascinating case study of female longing, adolescent and otherwise. Also, there was a little controversy at my son's elementary school last year, after the librarian issued a warning to parents saying some of the subject matter might not be appropriate for kids fifth grade and under. I wrote about that mini-controversy back in April.

But now it's November 19, opening day for the hotly anticipated New Moon. And now, to the big question of the day. Forget the health care debate, Afghanistan, or whether Sarah Palin is the savior of the Republican Party or even of all of America!

The big question to Twilight fans--male, female, straight and gay) is whether you align yourself with Team Edward (the dreamy vampire played by Robert Pattinson) or Team Jacob (the very buff werewolf played by Taylor Lautner).

My son claims that lots of girls he knows will vote for Jacob. (And, a lot of those girls, he says, have giggle a lot.) He, himself, found the Jacob sections of the books to be annoying, because Jacob was doing "lots of whining." I tend to agree that I thought those sections, particularly from Jacob's point of view, lagged.

My son's vote: Team Carlisle.