Fabulous at 50! You go girl

Barbie Millicent Roberts is turning 50 on March 9th. In those years, she has done every job from rock star to astronaut, but the one thing she did not do is grow old.

For years, the woman with more shoes than Imelda Marcos has caused controversy. Some say we're idealizing an unrealistic ideal of a woman.

Barbie certainly gets credit for longevity, outlasting a lot of toys.

Exactly how much plastic surgery would the average woman need to look like 50 year old Barbie?

If you'd like to know more about her extraordinary life, you can find it here.

Do you doodle?

A recently published study finds that people who doodle during boring meetings remember more of the meeting later.

The author of the study, Jackie Andrade, Ph.D, notes, "This study suggests that in everyday life doodling may be something we do because it helps to keep us on track with a boring task, rather than being an unnecessary distraction that we should try to resist doing."

Perhaps by engaging both halves of the brain - one half for the dry facts being presented, one half for the creation of amusing doodles - we remember more.

Wholesome Vermont image gets a makeover

When people think of Vermont, images of pristine mountains and lakes may come to mind. For more than 60 years, The Vermont Country Store has upheld that image for many with its catalog. The company's website says it's the 'purveyors of the practical and hard-to-find.'
Recently the company added some new items to its familiar catalog. 600 letters of complaint later and the new products are still in the catalog. The reason, people are buying them.
What's all the hoopla about? The Vermont Country Store is now offering 'intimate solutions' for older people. Products like 'pleasure gel, arousal cream and DVDs like fun over 40.'

Did they drink too much Vermont maple syrup? What do you think?

Caffeine is good for your skin

If, this summer at the beach or poolside, you find yourself wondering why that guy just poured his Starbucks Americano all over himself, or why that woman is hooked up to an IV drip of Diet Coke, look at their cancer-free skin and remember that caffeine is good for the skin in two ways. First, it prevents UV-damaged cells from multiplying and becoming cancerous. Second, it acts as a sunscreen.

This is not to detract from the well-established role that regular sunscreen plays in preventing excess sun damage to our skin.

Kelloggs...oops

It's the bong hit seen from Beijing to Baltimore. A picture of Michael Phelps smoking a bong. Was it the end of his career? Kellogg's dropped Phelps from its Ad campaign. Vanno, a company that tracks the reputation of 5,600 companies says Kellogg's rating has nose dived. Kellogg's rating went from #9 to #83. During the peanut butter scare, the company's reputation took a hit falling to #16, but Phelps may have been a harder blow than the company expected.


Phelps did not lose every endorsement. Subway kept him. Did Kelloggs make a huge mistake? Should the company cry over its soggy cornflakes?

First Dog Search Narrowed Considerably

In a selection process that's generating more attention than the search for Commerce Secretary, Michelle Obama has said that they've decided to go with a Portuguese Water Dog (left) which looks sort of like a poodle. Like poodles, Portuguese Water Dogs don't shed, a consideration for Malia Obama, who is allergic to dogs.

Jimmy Orr at Christian Science Monitor notes that "this breed is known not only for having webbed feet and being a favorite of Jacques Cousteau, but they usually pay their taxes on time and rarely back out at the last minute."

Of the various hypoallergenic dogs they might have chosen from, I rather wish they'd gone with a Pomeranian. So cute.

(pictured: a Pomeranian puppy. Aww.)

Hospital may not release octuplets

Nadya Suleman says the hospital may not release her eight babies to her unless she finds a better living situation. They're worried that the unemployed mom's home is too small for 14 children and 3 adults. It sounds like if the hospital thinks the home situation is not fit for the children, then they call Child Protective Services.

Clearly, this woman needs some cash fast if she wants to find a huge home for her family. Maybe she can go on 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire.' She had some time to think about this large family before giving birth. She already had 6 and lets say she was only adding 4 as opposed to 8, Suleman had to have know that 10 or 14 kids would be a lot in a small home that's on the brink of foreclosure. Was she even thinking about these children or just her own needs?

This is zit, sugar!

Good news... and bad news.

Good news: It appears that chocolate doesn't give you pimples.

Bad news: Sugary foods - those with high Glycemic Indices - might.

So if you want to avoid pimples, you might rethink that doughnut-filled white-bread sandwich with potato chip-parsnip-watermelon salad on the side.

Truly Snail Mail

In this day of instant messaging, we are reminded how truly slow snail mail can be. The post office prides itself for delivering the mail regardless of weather conditions. For one woman, the post office delivered, but it was 22 years late. The Oregon woman waited that long to respond to her nephew's high school graduation party invitation. Her family wondered why she did not say anything about the graduation party, but they figured she is too far away. How rude though to not even send the kid a card. What a terrible aunt. She's officially not a bad person, she just never got the invite.

The U.S. Postal Service says the delay was a "very unusual."
How about you, do you still prefer paper invitations? The post office is talking about cutting back on mail delivery. Would you miss snail mail?

Woe is me

Here is Blog Contributor Patrick Baldwin

Why is it always a bigger story when the person who can’t pay his bills has too much money to begin with?
The latest “woe is me” celebrities are New York Yankees Johnny Damon and Xavier Nady. Apparently all their finances were frozen due to the Stanford Scandal.
Excuse me, but both of these guys will get more than enough in their next paycheck to cover groceries. After all as one esteemed blog reader (and former blog model) points out, “what he makes on one(1) paycheck is what we working stiffs take a whole year to make.”
On an interesting side note, is there one celebrity or group of celebrity you feel could stand to lose their credit cards for a while?