Surf’s up, critters. Animals are riding high on our Cultural Barometer wave of popular products this week.

We know how much dogs love food, but they rarely talk about it. But one poor dog speaks his mind as his owner taunts him with delicious food in the ultimate talking dog video. And almost overnight, a canine star was born – and now he could even wear one of his own talking dog t-shirts…or if he feels like sharing, get one for his owner. As long as he shares the maple bacon.

Normally penguins are cute and cuddly, but don’t piss them off…like the bad penguin, which topped our seller charts this week. He’s got a gripe about something – don’t let it be you. And he’s not the only evil penguin on CafePress – he has company in the form of a penguin demotivational poster.

Assuming Darwin was correct about survival of the fittest – this trending T-Rex t-shirt may explain why the deadly dino is now extinct. After all, if you can’t pass the pushups portion of your physical fitness test, you may be out of luck.

With the maddening billionaire NFL team owners reaching an 11th-hour (4^th and long?) agreement with the infuriating Prima Dona multi-millionaire players, it looks like the professional football season is set to kick-off as scheduled. Now that the ink is dry on the lock-out (or lack thereof), designers and buyers are sprinting towards the goal of a grid-iron celebration.

It looks like the American public is in a forgive & forget mood, as we’re seeing a huge up-swing in football-themed merchandise in the CafePress marketplace. Chances are fantasy football gear will be hot on its tail.

Not to be overshadowed by such a fall-and-winter-centric activity as football, the summer season is still sizzling just like your grill. With the mercury soaring across the nation, sun worshippers are temporarily chilling in their air-conditioned homes and offices, making, sharing and buying Summer-themed products. You’ll see them on the streets again soon, sporting fun white t-shirts celebrating El Sol.

People are weird. Period.

Of all the quirks that make you who you are, you bring them with you everywhere you go, including the Apple Store. Sometimes that means a grumpy pout. Sometimes that means your pet goat.

And the Apple Store is OK with this – just ask comedian Mark Malkoff, who put this idea to the test in a recent video to assess the boundaries of absurdity our favorite fruitful store would put up with. Malkoff visited various Apple stores in the NYC area and held a few interesting “experiments” with the stores and their employees – including getting a pizza delivered, dressing up as Darth Vader in need of assistance with a broken iPhone, and bringing in a pet goat.

We LOVE this video for many reasons. And, we also figured that since goats and the Apple store are cool with each other…why not adorn your beloved iPhone with a humorous goat iPhone case or other delightful goat gifts? Just don’t let them near the hardware…you know how they love to snack.

The 4th of July is all about the Fs: family, food, and founding fathers.

School’s out, vacations are planned, and the 4^th kicks off the official barbecue season of the summer. There’s just something about those blurry heat waves you see coming off of a hot grill that get me all giddy and melty on the inside like the top of a juicy cheeseburger. Or maybe it’s just the though of that juicy cheeseburger.

Hot dogs and cheeseburgers aside, the 4th of July has significant meaning to our country and its history– it was the day that our ancestors decided to go their own way in the world, away from the ruling monarchy of Great Britain of the time. And now, 235 years later, here we are. From Tea Parties past and present, to independence and opportunity, we’re celebrating the only way a proud country knows how – with great family and friends, great food, and the most important F of the day to acknowledge: freedom. So toast to Ben Franklin, Washington, Jefferson and all our founding fathers today with a tip of the old hat, a hot dog in hand, and enjoy your Fourth festivities.

As part of our spirited design department, Gail knows a thing or two about eye-catching graphics. Not to mention what it takes to create a well-rounded design that appeals to both the eye and the mind.

In short, nothing boring is going to make it on her radar. You can see this in the fun CafePress designs that have created a spark in her eye. In Gail’s own words:

“You have to love the fact that we live in an era where half naked men on horses, Rebecca Black and sparkling vampires are part of our daily culture. I’m a designer, meme follower, free speech believer and a behaviorism fangirl. Designing for Cafepress is all about communication. Telling your story, speaking your mind and letting the world know who you are and where you stand in your beliefs in a T-shirt, mug or bumper sticker. I love seeing products that drive discussion and proudly make a statement.”

More specifically:

Real Hope. Real Change Decal: Real Hope. Real Change. A great reference to pop culture and Shepard Fairey’s art, this bumper sticker is sure to give your cars bumper attention.

Born This Way 2-Sided T-Shirt: Born This Way is a great play on the bar code as an icon and the incredibly fast moving social changes going on in the country.

Schoolgirl Mini Button: 22.88 million people would appreciate this button’s love of the smart and the goth.

Carpe Bacon T-Shirt: Carpe Bacon. Meat lovers unite and seize the bacon!

When Newsweek published “American’s Top 10 Dying Cities” article in January, Grand Rapids, Michigan clocked in at #10.

What did the city of Grand Rapids have to say about it?

Well, first off, they’re still alive and well. And here’s the proof – the citizens of this bustling metropolis made a video to prove they’re still not only breathing, but fiercely proud of being from their town, and want the world to know it. From local news anchors and the fire department and police, to members of football teams and the orchestra, the hundreds involved in the video lip sync to Don McLean’s “American Pie,” supplemented by guitars, parades, and yes, even fireworks. A week after its debut, the viral video already has almost two million views and the numbers are climbing rapidly.

Not going to lie, but seeing that much time and effort put into proving the death of a city wrong, I’ll go visit. They made it look pretty awesome.

CafePress partnered with Rob Bliss, the mastermind behind the video, to bring you the official Grand Rapids LipDub shop, where you can find witty Grand Rapids designs, and proceeds from the shop go towards Rob Bliss Events, which puts on free public events within the city of Grand Rapids for community engagement. I heard one such event involved a giant water slide in the downtown area. I propose a giant chocolate fountain and a statue made of strawberries to eat.

Politics continues to trend high at CafePress. With Herman Cain announcing in 2012 Presidential candidacy, the Georgia Republican (and former head of Godfather’s Pizza) is generating new designs and sales. Ditto for Barack Obama, Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich.

There’s also a lot of activity around the May 21 Rapture Day prediction by Harold Camping. He has now sharpened his pencil, redone the math, and revised the date of the rapture to October 21, 2011. Stay tuned.

With school bells ringing for their final time this year, graduation 2011 and class of 2011 themes are seeing a spike too. Not to mention teacher gifts, which are obviously popular this time of year.

We like to push the boundaries of personalization.

The figurative and literal boundaries, because after all, we’re all about printing here at CafePress.

We have some new capabilities to take personalizing products to the next level. When shopping at CafePress, take “personal” to the next level with our personalizable designs on everything from business cards to t-shirts. On select products you’ll see the option to modify the text, image or photo. The “I Heart Joey” t-shirt can now say “I Heart Danny” if Danny is who you love! Products eligible will be marked with a Personalize icon so be on the lookout. For those of us (like myself) who were not graced with the graphic design gene, this is a perfect option for choosing a great design and adding a unique element to it at the same time. The best of both worlds in one shebang!

If you’re using CafePress to shop for anything from stationery and business cards to funny t-shirts, and you come across a design you really love, but want that extra pizzazz that screams your name (without hurting your vocal chords) – add your own personal touch. Here’s something to chirp about:

In this example, you can add your own text, and voila! Use this tool to put on your creative cap and make imaginative and professional business cards, birth announcements for your bun in the oven, or save the dates for that special day coming up. Meanwhile, we’ll keep pushing the limits of personalized printing!

Once the most widely-recorded TV show in America, ABC has sadly pulled the plug on All My Children after 41 years. Loyal soap opera fans from Pine Valley to Manhattan are flocking to CafePress to purchase Erica Kane-themed gifts and other sentimental reminders.

Easter-themed products are also hopping, with parents creating adorable baskets for the April 24th holiday. There’s going to be a lot of smiles come Sunday morning (at about 6:00 a.m., yawn).

No surprise, the Japan relief effort is still on people’s minds and opening their hearts (and pockets) to help. As the number of casualties and suffers continue to rise, so does the sales of merchandise showing support.

Hot off the press, we’re whetting your appetite with the coolest designs trending this week.

It’s pretty amazing to see how people come together to aid others in their times of need. Our community continues to support Japan relief with inspiring designs, which speaks volumes about lending a helping hand for those who cannot reach out themselves.

As Autism awareness month continues, we’ve seen and heard an outpouring of education and advocacy through true stories from some of our own shopkeepers – take a look at their unique stories and their shops, which has some amazing designs in them.

We have a soft spot for geeks-turned-mafia men. And so do a lot of CafePressers – this week the beloved kooky character of Damian Spinelli of General Hospital fame got a lot of attention. Who doesn’t love a computer hacker who talks in code and is best friends with the most powerful troublemakers in Port Charles?