'10 under 10'

TOP UNDER 20 LIST ... A recent issue of The New Yorker had a "20 under 40" theme. A recent issue of The New York Times had this, by Craig Welter.

" ... the literary community has turned its attention to even younger emerging talent. Here is that next generation:

Rachel Besculides’s second collection of letters to Justin Bieber, “No One Loves You Like I Do,” was published in January.

Emma Bryant’s biography of Jennifer Costawicz, “Jennifer Costawicz Is Mean and Fat and Is Not My Friend Anymore,” is available in paperback."

Read the rest here. They're funny.

Meow!

BAD HAIR DAY ... Last week Carly Fiorina, the U.S. Senate candidate in California, said mean things about the hairstyle of her opponent, Barbara Boxer. We like Barbara Boxer's hair. So does Emily's List.

Baa-haa-haa!

For couples setting out on long journeys together (literally): helpful advice from The Wall Street Journal.

Car clashes got so bad for Jim and Danna Narnish that they resorted to an extreme measure: A finger puppet lamb. Named Arnella.

When Ms. Harnish feels that her husband is driving too fast, following too close to another car or not turning on the windshield wipers when they are needed, she pulls Arnella out, snuggles the toy up to his neck and—in what she calls "a little delicate girlie voice"—makes the lamb tell her husband what to do.

"Instead of me nagging, it's Arnella nagging," says Ms. Harnish, 65, a retired camera saleswoman from Bend, Ore. "She has saved our 45-year-marriage." ...

Mr. Harnish agrees that the lamb ploy works. "When I hear her whiny little voice, I just say to myself: 'I know what's going on, you don't have to say anymore,'" says the 67-year-old retired middle school vice principal. "Who am I going to argue with—a little lamb on a finger?"

Calling Miss Manners ...

From the April 28, 2010, front page of The New York Times:

"Sir, I beg to disagree"
As the Ukraine Parliament passed a deal extending Russian use of a naval base, proceedings on Tuesday degenerated into fistfights and the throwing of eggs and smoke bombs.

Reportin' from Dogpatch

From the Wall Street Journal, which should know better:

"Late on Monday, Gizmodo provided a full account about how its source got ahold of the phone."

Do not use "ahold." Ever.

Headline of the Week (…or probably even the year)

"I Tickled Aide, but That Was All, Massa Says"

Here's the story, about a U.S. Representative from New York. Not surprisingly, he has resigned from Congress.

Old news ...

HO-HUM ... All of a sudden everyone is in a lather about the identity of the mystery man Carly Simon wrote "You're So Vain" about. It's David Geffen. Big deal. Back when the song came out, that was well known. I don't know why, and when, it became a "mystery." Maybe Geffen was bashful? Litigious? Anyway, I have a clip from a newsmagazine, circa 1970-something, ID-ing Geffen. I keep it in my Trivial Pursuit game box. (The original, and best, version of Trivial Pursuit, by the way.)

Proud as a ...

For the crazy-wish list: the Peacock Chair designed by Dror Benshetrit, and made by a company called Cappellini. It's made of felt. It comes in peacock-feather colors - peacock blue, peacock purple, peacock green. And it costs $6,406.

Bird Brains

Here's how Harold E. Ford Jr. described U.S. Sen. Kristin Gillibrand of New York recently: "Understand that you're not elected to the United States Senate to be a parakeet or to take instructions from the Democratic leadership." Ford, who is considering whether to run against Gillibrand, later elaborated on that. Voters want to elect representatives who show some independence. Like bluejays.

Three's Apparently Not a Crowd

Everybody's already seen this, but it's still funny, so here it is: The wedding announcement last month in The New York Times, with Ricky Bobby hovering behind the happy couple. I can't believe an editor said okay to this. But good work!

Beauty Sleep

It was an unwelcome wake-up call: One morning about five years ago I looked in the mirror and discovered that the wrinkles on my face bore an eerie resemblance to the wrinkles on my scrunched-up bed pillow. Ever since, I've been preaching to friends and family about the need to become a back sleeper (easier than it sounds).
No on really listened. Maybe now they will, since MORE magazine has published this item in an article titled "Want Skin Like a Skin Doctor?":

Fetal-position snoozers, take note: A surprising number of doctors believe that smashing your face into a pillow leads to permanent creases—so they try never to do it. “Sleeping on your face not only etches wrinkles into the skin, but fluid pools on the side of the face that’s pressed against the pillow, stretching out the skin,” Lupo says. Rodan went so far as to buy herself a Therapeutica Sleeping Pillow ($79 to $110, depending on the size; therapeuticainc.com), which is contoured to cradle your head and neck, making it easier to lie on your back. “The connection between wrinkles and how you sleep is no joke. I can look at 80 percent of my patients and tell you which side they sleep on,” Rodan says.