Quick break from the world of 1970s and 80s pop culture for a little something from 2007. When I got home tonight, I fixed some dinner and turned on the tube, hoping for an hour of Big Brother 8.

The finale is Tuesday. My vote is steadfastly with Dick. Better player. Better game. This should be a cakewalk.

However, Sunday football forced 60 Minutes to come on late, late enough that it spilled over into my 7 to 8 p.m. scheduled DVR recording. Well, color me lucky because I got to see one of 60 Minutes' most intriguing profiles in years -- on Alan Greenspan.

I had always known how influential the former Federal Reserve Chairman was, but I never realized how much of a geek he was. When he first started dating NBC's Andrea Mitchell in 1984, their first date consisted of READING.

The man loved Clinton as president, and he's a lifelong Republican.

And, Greenspan faithfully follows baseball, even scoring games when he goes.

Sure, this profile was part of a promotion for his new book, called The Age of Turbulence, but I have to admit that I kinda have a man crush on this dude.

He's a total geek and revels in his geekdom. He loves baseball. He plays jazz, and seriously, he's pretty much the most important political figure of our lifetime. If nothing else, he is one of the three most influential economists of all time, likely joining Smith and Keynes.

Greenspan revealed that he wrote this book originally in longhand while relaxing in his bathtub.

Sorry, but I'm glad I missed Big Brother in this case, and as soon as I can find a cheaper version of this book, I am most certainly, 100 percent buying it. It'll take me three years to read, but I'm just not up to Alan's level yet.

***

Another quick side note. As I've been writing tunes this past week, I've mentally positioned myself to explain a new tune as not being country because I "don't really consider myself a big country fan."

I'm not sure why I lie to myself there when there is quite a bit of country I like, and I particularly like songs from country music's female set. To me, there's nothing sexier than a small town country girl. Period. End of story.

So, I leave you with a song from a CD that rates about as high on metacritic as I've ever seen from a country artist. Miranda Lambert's "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" will be a serious contender for Grammy's "Album of the Year," come Feb. 2008.

And this song should get some consideration for Song of the Year. It's called "Famous In A Small Town."