Not to be outdone by People Magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" issue, Salon has put its own spin on the concept to come up with a thinking woman's version list of sex symbols.

This is not to say that all of People's picks are shallow. Yes, George Clooney seems like an easy choice for any number of reasons, not the least of which is that he's a smart, articulate progressive with a wicked sense of humor who doesn't take himself at all seriously. But for me, the odd thing about Clooney is that he manages to look like a 1930's movie star without being the least bit sexy. And yes, I HAVE seen Out of Sight.

The problem with the People list is that, predictably, it revolves almost solely around looks to the point where they all look alike, and even some of those choices make me scratch my head. I mean sure, Ashton Kutcher gets points for not being hung up on a woman's age, but sexy? I don't think so. Yul Kwon, the hot Korean guy on Survivor this season may participate in challenges with his glasses on, is so far playing a completely honest game, is intelligent and is edited as a genuinely good guy, but I may be the only woman in the world who finds the six-pack abs just a tad off-putting.

I've always had a pretty firm grounding in reality, and really haven't pined over a celebrity male since I was a "Paul girl" devouring magazines devoted to the Beatles when I was nine years old. But even girl geeks have things that they find attractive, and I can get on board with much of Salon's list -- Stephen Colbert, of course, and Alan Rickman. But Sacha Baron Cohen? Yes, a sense of humor is wonderful, but the man is just a tad too scatalogical for my taste. And perhaps a bit too Jewish. For like those Jewish males (Billy Joel, anyone?) who gravitate towards California blondes as the ultimate other, my celebrity crushes have tended towards blue eyes and Englishmen (not mutually exclusive), for all that I married a half-Italian, half-German American guy.

I'm on board with most of Salon's list, though while I respect Philip Seymour Hoffman's body of work, I wouldn't call him sexy; and Bruce Springsteen has never floated my boat. But I would like to make a few additions to the Thinking Girl's Sex Symbol list.

1) Mr. Brilliant. WHY HE'S HOT: He's tall, he's gorgeous, he smells nice, but most importantly, he still makes me laugh after 23 years together. And while his fondness for Mythbusters, programs about geology, and the last three Star Wars movies is a mystery to me, my relentless blogging and passion for politics is equally a mystery to him. But you want to know what's sexy about him? While he has that primal male thing about big-breasted babes like any guy, his idea of a fabulous woman is Emma Thompson. Not only does that show a discerning taste, but hell, I'd fight him for her.

The rest, in no particular order.

Keith Olbermann. WHY HE'S HOT: The words. The voice. Yes, I too read about the ditched babe who says he's a dud in the sack. Ask me if I care. I'm not interested in fucking him, I just want him to come into my home every evening at 8 PM, provide me with a sane spin on the news, and once a week come through with one of those beautifully-written comments that his bosses now expect him to crank out like a V.C. Andrews novel. Olbermann is sort of like David Letterman -- or Max Headroom, for that matter -- in that he appears not to exist outside of his TV show. But if you hear him on radio with Dan Patrick, you realize that this is a real "guy's guy" -- someone you wouldn't really want to know. So just listen to the voice and hear the words, and that's quite enough.

Sam Seder. WHY HE'S HOT. The voice. The passion. The humor. One of the rare good decisions that Air America Radio has made of late is the decision NOT to jettison Sam Seder. Where Al Franken has become ever-more unlistenable on radio with time, Seder has become arguably THE must-listen air personality on the struggling network. Seder manages to have only the best parts of Jewish Intellectual neurosis. He's smart, articulate, passionate, occasionally funny, and his 15-month old daughter, whom he suspects is a budding Republican because she can be bribed (albeit with a cookie, but still...) looks as if she'll provide comedic fodder for years to come. You may be shocked at the absence of Marc Maron from this spot, but I'm still angry with him for the "fat marshal" bit he did on Conan O'Brien's show a few months ago. I'll get over it in time.

John Mayer. WHY HE'S HOT: The voice. (Are you seeing a pattern here?). The talent. Yes, I know you're supposed to hate him -- the floppy hair, the bags under the eyes, the Mark-Ruffalo's-homelier-kid-brother looks, the huge talent he seems to fritter away on love songs and ditties, the preposterous level of success in a tough music industry when he's not even out of his twenties yet, which probably explains Jessica Simpson. Sure he's easy to ridicule -- I mean, look at this soulful poet pose. So what is it about John Mayer. It's the voice, dude. It's that Dave-Matthews-by-way-of-Otis-Redding thing. If you have to ask, you just don't get it.

Naveen Andrews. WHY HE'S HOT: Well, LOOK at him. And he appreciates older women. OK, NOW we get to the English guys. Sure, you know him as the tough, inscrutable, yet oh-so-romantic and sensitive Sayid on Lost. But Naveen Andrews has the irresistable combination of soulfulness and bad-boy -- combined with an on-screen charisma that blows everyone else in the scene to smithereens. Go rent Bride and Prejudice sometime and you'll wonder what the hell Aishwarya Rai saw in that pale idiot. Oh yeah -- and he's been with Barbara Hershey for nine years -- and she's almost two decades older than he is.

Terence Stamp. WHY HE'S HOT: Because he gets better looking every year. The voice. The talent. The ability to poke fun at himself. Terry and I go way back, back to the late 1960's. Stamp is a case of the rare English actor who's actually aged well. He was a gorgeous, if scrawny young man, who becames a gorgeous older man. You don't see him much anymore, and when you do, it's in crap like My Boss' Daughter or Elektra -- which is a shame, because as an actor, he's gotten better with age. If you need an old guy who's mysterious, inscrutable, or creepy, he's your man. What's less known is that he can also be funny and poke fun at his own image, as he did in My Wife is an Actress -- and that he has a line of gluten-free foods marketed in the U.K. If you only know him as General Zod in Superman II, check out his screen debut in Billy Budd, then rent The Limey.

Howard Dean. WHY HE'S HOT. The brains. The savvy. The passion. The confidence. Screw Rahm "tippy toes" Emannuel. For my money, this guy's got what it takes. In 2004, he was completely ahead of his time in opposing the war, indeed in opposing the entire Bush agenda. When he decided to take the helm at the DNC instead of forming a third party, he laid the groundwork for this year's Democratic victories. A man of deadly serious purpose, he too is able to laugh at himself. And when he does, see how nice-looking he is. He's not tall, and he's balding, and he's dumpy, but Dean screams for me.

That's just a few of them. Who are YOUR thinking person's sex symbols?