While east coast earthquakes and high-profile reality TV weddings may be a blip on the brains of some, the 2012 election season is certainly coming to a head – well, many heads – in the form of potential candidates planning their campaigns to run against President Obama. And CafePress users are following and creating the trends.

Take Rick Perry, the Texas governor who made his intentions of presidential proportions official this month – and soon after his announcement, Rick Perry gifts were as popular and plentiful as his state’s beloved longhorn.

And also making a splash on Cultural Barometer scene: enter Ron Paul. No stranger to the Republican race to the White House, the House representative has a strong following with Ron Paul Revolution gifts after formally announcing his candidacy back in May of this year.

Politics is already heating up for 2012 – and its only August. I wonder if all those politicians wearing suits in the summer heat has anything to do with it…

Sum sum summertime. Fun-filled vacations, grilling and BBQs, and of course, that warm weather that embraces shorts, summer dresses, and the ultimate freedom for your feet…flip flops.

CafePress now offers custom flip-flops for men, women and kids! Don your favorite footwear or design your own custom flip flops. Not only can you give your feet some breathing room from the constriction of tight shoes, but you can also choose or create your favorite design that will give your feet an extra pop of color and pizzazz. Dreaming of a Hawaiian sunset? Channel your inner beach bum with some tropical flip flops. Monet on the mind? Find some cool art flip flops to slip into.

And now for the best part – for TODAY ONLY, we’re offering 20% OFF* our entire collection of our flip-flops: but hurry, because this flash sale only lasts until midnight PST tonight! Use coupon code FLIPTOIT at checkout to walk off with some sweet savings.

So get your foot fetish on…and I’ll dream along with you about that beach in Hawaii. Mmmm, mai tais…

* Save 20% off flip flips from CafePress.com, excluding shipping charges, gift wrap charges and  applicable sales tax.  Excludes bulk orders. Coupon code FLIPTOIT must be entered at check out.  Promotion starts on August 23, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. (PST) and ends on August 23, 2011, at 11:59 p.m. (PST).   All orders must be from the CafePress Marketplace. Offer valid online at CafePress.com only, cannot be combined with any other coupons or promotions and may change, be modified or cancelled at anytime without notice. This promotion cannot be applied to past orders.

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.