Just a quickie from the Weird File, here, folks; truth be told, there isn't all that much drama-wise going on at the moment, so this seems like a decent time to clue you in to the latest unsolicited celebrity iPod endorsement that came to our attention. You know the drill by now: the iPod commands such slavering devotion from those it's drawn into its clutches that every once in a while you'll catch someone famous on a talk show or something just spontaneously going on and on about how amazing the iPod is, how it changes one's total perspective on the universe, how the very thought of life without an iPod is enough to drive one to plunge shrimp forks into both eyes, etc. When it happens, it's a nice testament to the sheer grooviness of Apple's tuneful wonder and a healthy dose of free advertising, to boot.

But the latest celeb to gush about his iPod may strike you as somewhat atypical; whereas we're used to hearing iPod raves from the likes of, say, Shaquille O'Neal, faithful viewer Gabriel Fishman informs us that an interview in this past week's New York Times Magazine includes some choice iPod comments from Ol' No-Eyebrows himself, retiring Representative (and veteran of many a Democratic presidential primary) Dick Gephardt of Missouri.

Yes, Dick Gephardt. Wanna make something of it?

Seriously, it's cool; the squeaky-clean Gephardt (how did this guy ever think he could be elected president without even a hint of scandal in his past?) says this about his new iPod: "Oh, I love it. It's the best thing that ever happened to me." Praise doesn't come much higher than that. So what's he listening to? "I like Josh Groban. I like Tony Bennett." Okay, fair enough-- the guy's 63, after all. But then he tosses a curve: "I like Nelly. He's from St. Louis. He's a very good rapper. I like Eminem. I have his album... I don't listen to the lyrics. I just like the music. I like the beat."

Quick, someone paint this guy black and stick him in a silhouette ad! We're thinking he can bust some serious moves.

Oh, sure, you think we're being sarcastic, but we'll back the mad dancefloor skillz of Gephardt any day over those of, say, Raven-Symone. You know her-- she was that overcute wee tot "Olivia" from the latter years of The Cosby Show, and now she's a 19-years-old-this-Friday actress/recording artist with her own show on the Disney Channel and three CDs under her belt. But does she have enough funk to face up to the Gephardt groove thang? Not even. Because as faithful viewer My Best Friend Brad pointed out a while back, in a Fox News interview from a month and a half back, Raven-Symone admits that she doesn't have an iPod. That's right, people, she's less cool than Dick Gephardt. Ooooh, that's gotta hurt.