[Brad]

I do this to, but as so to prevent some mess:

PHP Code:

$loo_show = array(); // this array holds your custom show info
$show = array_merge($show, $loo_show); // merges custom show info into regular show array 


Also everyone should be aware that array_merge changed in php version 5:

From php.net comments

As you know, guys, because of fixing bug #25494, starting from PHP 5.0.0 Beta2 the function doesn't accept scalar values as secondary arguments. It means if you try to run <? array_merge(array('array'),'scalar'); ?> the function throws a warning and returns <? NULL ?> instead of <? array(0=>'array',1=>'scalar');?>. If you want the old behavior of the merge function, use this instead:

PHP Code:

<?
function array_merge_php4($array1,$array2){
   $return=array();
   foreach(func_get_args() as $arg){
       if(!is_array($arg)){
           $arg=array($arg);
       }
       foreach($arg as $key=>$val){
           if(!is_int($key)){
               $return[$key]=$val;
           }else{
               $return[]=$val;
           }
       }
   }
   return $return;
}
?>

Good stuff Michael.