• New York Times, Friday, November 19, 2010 10:55 AM

We didn't see this story until after our deadline yesterday but must say that after copious contemplation we are but a wee bit closer to understanding the phenomenon of Kim Kardashian.

Says Robert Passikoff, the president of Brand Keys: "You would have had to be living in a cave in Nepal to have not been exposed in one way or another to the celebrity ilk of Kim Kardashian."

Says she: ""I really do believe I am a brand for my fans."

Say they, who appear to be mostly young women in their 20s: "She represents fashion"; "The average girl"; "She reminds me of Sophia Loren" "She is natural and curvaceous." Is she, then, whatever you want her to be, a shape-shifting mirror upon which young women can project their fantasies? Or aspirations? Or whatever? We will settle for whatever for now while yielding to the reality that, as of yesterday, she has roughly 5,299,900 more Twitter followers than we do.

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