The Fairest of Them All.

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I really thought that I will be giving myself a break from blogging today. Since last week, I already had a line-up of about twelve topics, men and women to write about for the next two weeks. I congratulated myself last night that I was right on track, having written the last seven topics as I intended. I was supposed to resume writing on Monday and finish the roster that piled-up during the holiday break when I veered away from the computer.

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But I opened my e-mail today and I received a newsletter from AskMen that it has finished the tabulation of its 99 sexiest women for 2008. I participated in the survey that the site performed late last year and I was eager to find out how my bets ranked.

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Katharine Heigl tops this year's list of 99. It was quite a surprise for me. I thought the omnipresent Angelina Jolie would top the list. Or maybe even Jessica Alba (who is my choice for sexiest woman of the year, see my January 3 blog). But, hey, hey, it's Heigl.

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Maybe the fact that Angelina already has Brad Pitt by her side made her lose some votes. Or that Jessica Alba's pregnancy caused automatic deduction of some points.

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I have no objection to Heigl's win. I like her and she is the only reason why I sometimes endure a few minutes of Grey's Anatomy while waiting for the next program (Brothers and Sisters, to which I'm hooked). And she had a great year too. Her role in the medical drama already earned her an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama. She also starred in the sleeper hit Knocked-Up.

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The announcement of Heigl as the sexiest woman of the year also has perfect timing. Her new movie, 27 Dresses, is still showing in theaters. Early reviews of the film were not favorable so AskMen's survey is a positive press release that is sure to pique interest on the movie.

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Heigl is a To Bi For (#06) honoree in this blog. Other To Bi For women who concurrently made it to AskMen's list are: Desperte Housewives' Eva Longoria, Jessica Alba, Carrie Underwood, Eva Mendes, Christina Aguilera, One Tree Hill lead Sophia Bush, Brooke Burke, Spanish actress Penelope Cruz and singer and actress Jennifer Love Hewitt.

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The other women in the list that I also truly adore are: Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, Brazilian model Adriana Lima, American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee, Naomi Watts, Salma Hayek, Transformers star Megan Fox, Heroes' looker Ali Larter, Keira Knightley of The Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, Scarlett Johannson and Chinese export Zhang Ziyi.

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Notably absent from the list, however, are: perennial favorite Jennifer Aniston, Esquire's sexiest woman, Charlize Theron and Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon.

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I was most disappointed to find out that Rachel Bilson did not make it to the list. This really made me wonder considering that I hardly recognized the names and faces of a number of the women in the list. And Lindsay Lohan and Kristen Bell made it. How could they be adjudged as hotter than Bilson? It's an injustice.

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Anyway, kudos to Heigl, Alba and Mendes for being among the top five in AskMen's list.

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