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 Listening to: The Grateful Dead's "American Beauty"--1970.
Try
playing "Box of Rain" when
you're feeling grumpy. It's audio prozac.
Perfect for: Cleaning the house and organizing impertinent
kitchen drawers and marinating ahi tuna steaks in lime, ginger and sesame oil.
Inspired to buy: These groovy, beaded gladiator sandals by Jeffrey Campbell, $88 at urbanoutfitters.com. Who can resist an Irish-Navajo hippie girl who serves seared tuna and Pinot Grigio at sunset?
photos: Jim Marshall for Rolling Stone; Urbanoutfitters.com.
When Victoria Beckham received just a cake and a few lavish dinners for her recent birthday, who didn't think she deserved more? Well, her husband David, apparently. The soccer star has purchased a Napa Valley winery for the perpetually pouting pin-up and deemed it "Chateau Posh." Look out, Chateau Lafitte! The wine will not be available to us -- just reserved for the Becks and their pals like Tom and Katie.
Thirsty? Try Roberto Cavalli's red wine blend, which Wine Spectator described as "Very ripe with exotic fruit character and coffee, dark chocolate undertones." It's a partnership with his son Tommaso and from the looks of the leopard-print case and goblets, it should come with a waterbed and edible panties too.
Photos: Roberto Cavalli
 How is it that Britney Spears can't muster up the sanity to appear in probate court, but she can guest-star on TV shows and shop and party? (There has also been talk lately of Spears taking the role of Sandy in Broadway's "Grease.") Her attorneys said that it could be "harmful" for her to participate in proceedings because her treatment is "fluid." Um, yeah. Court sucks.
Here's Spears at a birthday party last week in Los Angeles. Hmm. The Rage can't serve jury duty because it could be "damaging" and besides, there's a sale at Saks.
Photo: Todd Williamson, WireImage
 Back in grammar school, the Rage had no interest in being a cheerleader. It looked really exhausting and irrelevant and besides, she could only master a slanted cartwheel. Often, she seemed like the only one who didn't yearn to put on a polyester pleated miniskirt and shout, "Go team!" Lately, this whole "Sex and the City" tsunami has her feeling the same way.
Am I the only woman who doesn't care about Carrie Bradshaw?
Around the office, women and men approach and say, "Have you seen it yet? "You must be so excited for the clothes!" (Makes sense, as style is my beat.) Still, I shrug and shake my head. "Not yet. Not sure when I will see it." The response to my utter ambivalence about the Manolos and the cosmos is typically met with suspicion. Their looks seem to say: "What woman isn't dying to see Carrie and the girls again?" or "Are you, like, a dude or what?"
Look, I love fashion for all its foppery and foibles. I also prize my female friendships more than Pinot Noir and cheese plates and puppy dogs. But frankly, I could give a flying Choo about these four women. And somehow, in a bizarre backward step for womankind, they have come to represent gender pride to such a degree that I am questioning my X chromosomes.
The crossover marketing has been relentless: "Are you a Miranda or a Samantha, when it comes to your lingerie? " Um, I sometimes fall asleep in my clothes. And shoes. "Win a chance to nab Carrie Bradshaw's wardrobe!" My closet is too disorganized for all those shoes and dresses. "Should Big marry Carrie?" Only if he doesn't mind sharing a bed with Matthew Broderick. Oh, and I loathe martinis polluted with fruit juice. Give me a straight up, extra-dirty vodka marti or an empty glass.
Newspapers and the blogosphere have been drawing lines between the sexes with this movie too. One online headline read: "Sex and the City: Why women love it and men love to hate it." Guess what? This woman doesn't love it or hate it or even think twice about it.
Anyone else feeling ostracized for her anti-Carrie stance? Care to join me in a slanted cartwheel?
Photo: New Line/Warner Brothers
 When Sharon Stone commented to a Hong Kong TV channel at Cannes that the earthquake in China was some sort of karmic retribution for the country's policy on Tibet, you could feel the tremors at Dior headquarters. Stone had just said that a possible death toll of 70,000 people could be chalked up to bad vibes, in essence. In the Financial Times, Dior said this: "We absolutely disagree with her hasty comments and we are also deeply sorry about them ... We will never support any opinion that hurts the feeling of the Chinese people."
Clearly, Stone isn't paid by the fashion house to double as a spiritual or political pundit. She's paid to wear the makeup, wear the watches and look pretty. Mouth shut. But celebrities and models are human and often, their rants and escapades (Kate Moss) can affect a company's image. After Moss was caught on film flirting madly with a pile of cocaine, cosmetics giant Rimmel kept her on as its face -- as did Burberry -- and it didn't dent sales. But Moss wasn't hurting anyone but herself -- and whomever went in on the coke, which she was hogging.
But when an actress makes a statement so silly -- as a crisis continues to unfold and paralyze an entire country -- she doesn't deserve to be a "brand ambassador" for any company. Isn't it ironic that Stone is considered a brand ambassador for Dior when she could probably start a few wars in a matter of moments, if given the chance to mouth off.
Stone apologized and Dior has dropped her ads from running in China, but shouldn't they dismiss her for making such a thoughtless comment?
Photo: Christian Dior
 Yes, the Rage is getting overly dramatic here and generalizing about the bias of an entire paper when just one blogger loathes our fashion. Here is precisely what reporter Elizabeth Spiridakis had to say on the NYT's The Moment blog: "The ‘L.A. Look’ needs to go away forever, please. If they banned fedoras, tacky sunglasses, blazers over T-shirts, leggings and Kitson, Los Angeles would become a nudist colony."
Apparently, Spiridakis doubles as a myopic seer and a blogger. Too bad she can't see beyond the tabloids and pins her appraisal of the city's sartorial aesthetic on a shot of Paris Hilton. Everyone knows that Kitson has become the "it" store for Midwestern tourists -- not natives -- and fedoras trump headbands (the New York equiv) for daring and dash. Tacky sunglasses? Right on. The Gray Lady might be more upbeat with a few blond highlights.
photo: from "The Driver's Seat," IMD Films.
 It's a slow news day indeed when the conservatives attack Rachael Ray for wearing a kaffiyeh-style scarf in a Dunkin' Donuts ad.
Even more disquieting is the fact that Dunkin' Donuts quickly yanked the ad. Boston.com reports the controversy -- including Fox News commentator Michelle Malkin, who spewed: "The kaffiyeh, for the clueless, is the traditional scarf of Arab men that has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad."
Um, for Malkin -- who is beyond clueless -- the kaffiyeh has been worn by many a Parisian grad student and dozens of celebrities -- including Colin Farrell, David Beckham (above), Kirsten Dunst and both Olsen twins.
The scarf even showed up on the Balenciaga runway (right) and later sold for more than $1,000. That doesn't strip the scarf of its political origins, but it shouldn't be deemed a symbol of jihad fever either. Guess the Rage had better retire her khaki "Castro" cap before some silly right-winger calls her a "fashion don't" and a "commie."
photos: Rachael Ray, courtesy of Dunkin' Donuts; Beckham, Getty Images; Balenciaga, Chris Moore, Getty Images.
 WHY BUY: This Chloe sandal is like a shot of Tabasco sauce for any outfit, especially a little black shift or a flouncy white dress for summer. Or wear them with a pair of black dressy shorts, a fitted Sonic Youth tee and an accent necklace.
LIFE SPAN: The scarlet patent leather, paired with a snakeskin panel and an architectural heel, will make this shoe age as gracefully as Sophia Loren. If you take care of these sandals, they will gladly saunter with you into the next few seasons without looking like yesterday's fashion news.
ORDER NOW: There are limited sizes left, selling for $416 (down from $595) on Net-a-porter.com. photo: Net-a-porter.com.
 Finally, after a nauseating amount of press that might have had you wishing you were born a dude and could avoid the hype... "Sex and the City" premiered last night in New York and the four ladies look, well, over it. (And really shiny.) Who can blame them? Cynthia Nixon -- who comes across softer and decidedly less lawyerly with a cascade of butterscotch curls -- wore a simple, old-Hollywood style Narciso Rodriguez and her expression says, "Mom, are we there yet?"
Sarah Jessica Parker, who the Rage has adored exponentially ever since her turn as a gal geek on "Square Pegs," opted for a princess-y platinum Nina Ricci  gown and a boatload of jewels by Fred Leighton. (BTW, metallics can look too reflective on more than a dozen pleats. A softer pastel would have suited her better.)
Kristin Davis, too, chose a dress that shimmered like coins in a fountain. Her gold  Donna Karan shone with soft folds at the shoulders and a cinched waist. It's more flattering than Parker's dress because of the color and feminine draping.
For Kim Cattrall, a green metallic Vivienne Westwood did the trick. Great dress: sexy, adult and unique. But again, what's with all the metallic? The Rage wonders if the foursome have stopped talking -- why else would they all wear the same hue? Oh, maybe because it's the color of money. And with all the  endorsements going on, this project has often become about the couture and the ka-ching.
Lastly, let's hear it for Patricia Field -- who actually looks like she is having a ball. Maybe it's because the hoo-ha is finally over? Field, the costumer and designer who was originally credited as the sartorial Svengali of Carrie Bradshaw, has barely made a peep during this movie. (Rumor has it that Parker eclipsed Field because she wants to solely take credit for all fashion decisions. She does have a clothing line, remember.) Field has her own brand and partnership with Barbie. Her kooky purple minidress feels more like a Carrie Bradshaw 11th hour pick than Parker's Ricci dress, which is more suited to a socialite. Somebody, give Field a Cosmo quick.
photo credit: Kevin Mazur/ Wire Image
 What does a suave 40-year-old rapper know about the juniors market? Ask Sears, which just announced in WWD that LL Cool J will be designing a line of casual clothes for young boys and girls. The hip-hop vet and actor happens to have three daughters and hence, he thinks that he knows what a girl wants. He told WWD: "My main concern with juniors is to make sure the fit is right. The fabrics have to feel nice on a woman's body, but sizing and fit are very important. I know that if she comes in, puts it on and it doesn't fit, she won't come back. Clothes have to make a woman feel good, relaxed and sexy. We are going to be constantly looking at fine-tuning the fit and we'll get it right." (This shot of him in beret -- his trademark -- and pocket square shows that he has some unique sartorial style, thankfully.)
But, um, what's all this talk about "women" and "sexy," LL? These clothes are for tweens and teens, not those ladies you rap about.
Photo credit: Steve Granitz/Wire Image
Word has it that Chloe Sevigny will design a menswear line for Opening Ceremony that includes haberdashery for women. But look no further than this Blondie video for "Sunday Girl" from 1979 for your own inspiration. Twenty years ago, Deborah Harry went cross-gender and could not have looked more sexy. (Check out the excellent selection of skinny ties at Urban Outfitters in the mens accessories section right now.) Today, the Rage has paired one of her husband's skinny ties with a striped Sonia Rykiel pullover in homage to Blondie. Hell, maybe she should ask for a raise too.
Would you man up with this look?
 "It" bag? Check. "It" shoes? Check. "It" muesli? You get the point. Christian Dior has just unveiled its $5,000 phone, which comes with a clip-on mini talkie that you can attach to your purse instead of fumbling inside for the main phone. The second one is called the "My Dior," and for $5,000, it should double as a TV remote and a garage opener. But it doesn't. Prada and Dolce & Gabbana already offer phones, though neither is nearly as sleek or expensive as the Dior version.
photo: Dior
 The Rage left Cannes before the annual AmfAR event, but managed to have a look-see at the fashion upon her arrival home. How nice to glimpse bright hues and varied cuts and designs. Sharon Stone, ever the proud cougar, chose leopard print for the event that benefits AIDS research and gets almost as much buzz -- if not more -- than the film festival itself. FYI: Sharon Stone epitomizes Cannes -- she's glitzy, bold, self-righteous, often inappropriate and a tough bird. The French adore her because she acts like an old-time movie star and works that red carpet like no other. Try and eclipse Stone, and she'll attack like a rabid mongoose.
On to Madonna. The melon Stella McCartney dress that she wore is an odd choice and reminiscent of 1979, but it's great to see Madonna wearing color and an actual frock that doesn't highlight her killer biceps and body builder thighs. She looks like that cool guidance counselor at the school dance who sneaks rum in her punch and then starts to flirt with the wallflower freshmen.
 Natalie Portman, wearing white Givenchy, looked like a blossom just picked from a nearby garden. The architecture of this dress contrasts well with its flounce and makes it both admirable and adorable in design. Portman was spotted by yours truly on the Croisette, the main drag in Cannes, wearing a short trench coat and cute flats. She looked like a modern day Jean Seberg and very European. (Many actors opt to travel by armored car from event to event, so it was particularly refreshing to see Portman, who is a juror for the festival, strolling casually.)
The Rage also liked that Dita von Teese ditched the 1950s retro pinup girl get-up for once and decided to wear a more sophisticated Jean Paul Gaultier. (Is anyone else tired of seeing Dita's 14-inch wasp waist and eager cleavage?) She has all the makings of a modern day Ava Gardner if she does hang up her garter and start acting.
photos: WireImage.com
The Rage arrived in Cannes on Wednesday night, just in time to hit a panoply of opening night parties. At the Chopard/Alberta Ferretti bash -- imagine a beach decorated with chic white leather Chesterfield chairs -- Juliette Lewis deejayed old school rock and roll like the Stones' " Miss You" and James Brown's "Sex Machine." Cate
Blanchett, wearing earrings by Chopard that could finance a year at Yale, sipped Champagne alongside the designer hosts. Meanwhile, just a few steps away, the after-party for "Blindness" raged on a pier with three bars and a deserted VIP area. Danny Glover and director Michel Gondry--along with Gael Garcia Bernal (who is as compact as a Citroen) -- opted to circulate with the masses. Here in Cannes, sequestering yourself with other celebrities is considered bad form. The attitude is very laissez-faire, with many guests arriving late with the excuse, "So sorry! I got stuck on this yacht..." Margherita Missoni co-hosted an intimate soiree aboard the boat, Pegasus, on Friday night. Guests had to check their shoes on the dock and one party goer hesitated before saying: "I just know someone is going to steal my Pradas." (In the end, she tucked them into the crook of her arm and cradled the pink platforms like an infant.) FYI: The Rage has seen many a bandaided heel and crimson toes here in the South of France. The smart set carry their flats and only don killer heels just before making an 
entrance. Luckily, she picked up these Lanvin sandals with a practical chunky heel just before leaving and can attest that they are perfect for hobbling along cobblestone streets at midnight.
Tonight, the premiere of Woody Allen's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" screens at the Palais. Afterward, there's a party on the plage -- again, Cannes is no place for high heels.
photos: Wire Image; Barneys.com.
 Right about now, "Project Runway "is operating a lot like backstage at the New York shows, two minutes before Marc Jacobs shows his collections--WWD reports. There are important decisions to be made--will Nina Garcia, far left, stay at Elle as a contributor and continue her role as judge? Will another magazine--like, say, InStyle -- step in as sponsor? (Elle's circulation jumped, thanks to its exposure on the hit show. Other mags would love a slice of that hot mess.) Garcia is also rumored to be in talks with Marie Claire to sign on as an editor. If the Weinsteins wield negotiations on who gets to co-sponsor, there will be plenty of back-and-forth on how to divide up this pie. They are notorious for leveraging their partnerships. Then, there's the issue of the show moving to Los Angeles for season six--a rumor that ired enough New Yorkers to fill an F train. The Rage thinks "Project Runway" set in Hollywood could be a boon for our fashion community. Maybe the contestants can be challenged to teach some women on Rodeo Drive how to dress age appropriately and come up with an alternative to the flip-flop. Seriously, it would be nice to see local talent like Rodarte, Magda Berliner and Louis Verdad get some love.
photo: Bravo.com
 IT'S NOT a boy. Nor is it a girl. Not yet anyway. That's a ways down the road. But seeing as baby showers are the "it" event right now, I feel like I should plan ahead.
So who wants to host this sucker?
FYI: Online site Baby-Shower.com suggests you create a 10-week timeline. Hmm. Let's make it 12 weeks. After all, you'll need three months to come up with a hip theme, hire a live band and concoct a signature drink -- the "infantini" or a "gin 'n' colic," perhaps?
"Baby showers are becoming as sophisticated as weddings," says celebrity party planner Mindy Weiss, who worked with Nicole Richie on her "The Wizard of Oz"-themed shower at the Beverly Hills Hotel, which featured stuffed Totos and ruby red slippers as centerpieces and a yellow brick road edged with candy. "They're not homespun and low-key anymore."
Neither are the registries. Last December, Jennifer Lopez tailored a wish list with local baby shop Petit Tresor that would make Santa squirm. A $3,495 enameled Silver Cross Balmoral stroller topped her registry, along with a $289 suede play mat and $349 cashmere outfits. Jessica Alba -- like Isla Fisher, Christina Aguilera and Naomi Watts -- all registered at ultra-chic Bel Bambini in West Hollywood for the $249.99 Svan high chair. Sign me up too. (I can hang my clothes on it in the meantime.)
But, hey, let's also think outside of the jack-in-the-box. Strollers are cute, but someone has to push them. How about a Moto Guzzi motorcycle instead? Don't laugh. Kim Porter -- mother of P. Diddy's twins -- requested an $88,000 R-Class Mercedes-Benz for her registry back in 2006.
And don't think I won't know who might shaft me with a measly breast pump or a burping blanket. I'll have someone taking names and making notes, and we'll have plenty of time. "Right now, it's a big deal to open gifts and pass them around and ooh and ah, " says Weiss, who estimates that a baby shower typically runs about three hours if the mother-to-be wants to play games, open gifts and eat.
 In that case, Beyoncé’s little sister Solange's baby shower probably lasted three days because she had 300 guests. Weiss recently planned a shower at which a gift display table shaved a good hour off the event. I like that idea. We can spend those 60 minutes doing the hora and the hokeypokey.
On to invites. According to Michelle Black of L.A.-based Lehr & Black -- who created Britney Spears’ baby shower invites -- ribbons, buttons, glitter and crystals are in vogue. "People are steering away from those traditional blue or pink invites," she says. As they should. Pastels are so passé. I'm thinking python pop-up cards. People are also ponying up about $35 to $45 per invite. And by the way, Richie had hers hand delivered to guests. What if we had mine delivered by llamas?
Of course, there's no reason to outdo ourselves on the shower. Before you know it, we'll be ordering 14-karat gold-leafed balloons for baby's 1st birthday party. Last month, Suri Cruise had live butterflies, Wolfgang Puck food and a four-tiered cake for her 2nd birthday party.
Is it too early to book Cirque du Soleil? For the backyard?
photos: Silver Cross; Mindy Weiss; TheCookduke.com
 In June's Harper's Bazaar, photographer Peter Lindbergh visually documents the dissolution of a marriage after a public sex scandal. Clearly, the story echoes the Eliot and Silda Spitzer story, right down to the model's loyal stance at a press conference.
But in this photo essay, the jilted wife eventually dumps her sex addict politician hubbo for a young buck with floppy emo hair. Oh, and she trades in that matronly updo and conservative Hermes scarf too. Poor Silda. Imagine flipping through a magazine while getting a manicure and seeing your painful life story reduced to a fashion spread.
photos: Peter Lindbergh for Harper's Bazaar
Our travel reporter Susan Spano blogged recently from Rome on the Daily Travel & Deal site about the must-have
Italian footwear in Italy. Not Gucci nor Fendi nor Missoni. It's Superga sneakers --originated in 1925 -- that you will find on the feet of chic hipsters.
Spano gives some background and the link to get a pair of your own.
photos: Paramount; superga-usa.com.
 What happens when the designer for Lanvin suits up to launch a collection of denim for the hottest brand out of Sweden? Um, you're wearing Alber Elbaz of Lanvin for Acne jeans, baby. And that's a mouthful.
WSGN (subscription required) reports today that the dapper designer will create a high-end--and high-priced--line that will debut next year. At right, a shot of Acne's Spring '08 collection. Can we expect denim with ruching, artillery adornments and other touches he showed in his Fall '08 line, at left?
Meanwhile, Hedi Slimane (of Dior Homme fame and slim cut suits that made many a man skip a second helping) is in talks with Diesel to launch a premium label called Red. It's all so very meta -- designer-designer duds.
photos: Kirk McKoy/Los Angeles Times; acnejeans.com.
 Stop insisting that you don't look good in hats, darling. No one really cares what you think. The floppy hat -- imagine Brer Rabbit meets a chic hippie chick with nary a care -- has firmly planted itself as a spring essential. Marc Jacobs, a lover of all things unstable, showed them in his 2008 resort line (see left), as did Oscar de la Renta. Which one is right for you?
Right now, there are plenty of floppy hats. At Net-a-Porter.com, a Missoni stunner, at right, is on sale for $265 (reduced from $530). This multicolored hat is for the woman who still smokes long, skinny cigarettes on the beach and refuses to apply SPF to her prized, bony clavicle. "You can't get clavicle cancer," she shrieks, with a throaty laugh.
 At left, we have the more subdued blue floppy straw hat from Urbanoutfitters.com, which sells for $28. This one suits a woman who shops at farmers markets and can pick the best fennel bulb in the bunch. Her laugh is like the tinkle of a shattered Champagne flute and she speaks very softly so that people have to get very, very close to hear. Warning: She often cancels plans at the last minute with whispered complaints of feeling "out of sync."
Now, this humdinger on the right is no hat for the leery. It's bold, ultra floppy ($38 at anthropologie.com) and the right fit for a woman who can snatch a boiling lobster from a pot. This gal can pull off black tie with scuba fins and a crimson pout. She was not a debutante -- maybe even hails from Newark, N.J. -- but doesn't care a whit. Andy Warhol would have loved her; she would have found him clingy and annoying.
photos: Marc Jacobs; Net-a-Porter.com; Urbanoutfitters.com; Anthropologie.com.
 SO WHAT if a good man is hard to find? No one seems to be looking anymore. The real search -- as any woman knows -- is for the ultimate and loyal BFF.
Recently, Victoria Beckham caused a froth among tabloids and gossip blogs when she celebrated her 34th birthday over dinner with Eva Longoria Parker and Kate Beckinsale. Why didn't she invite Katie Holmes, a nation wondered. The absence of Holmes -- Posh's BFF with matching bob and gargantuan sunglasses for the last year or so -- was widely reported and analyzed and over-analyzed. It was the snub heard around the world. Forever just isn't forever anymore.
"In society, women's friendships are always thought to be steadfast and impervious," says Liz Pryor, author of "What Did I Do Wrong: When Women Don't Tell Each Other the Friendship is Over." "We have these images of great girlfriends like Lucy and Ethel and Thelma and Louise."
Nowadays, the notion of link-armed Laverne and Shirley has been replaced by Paris glaring at Nicole. Or Heidi Montag refusing to be photographed within spitting distance of ex-BFF Lauren Conrad. Lindsay Lohan reportedly snapped at Ashley Olsen with the ferocity of a lioness last week in New York, when the starlet approached Lohan's new BFF, Samantha Ronson. But perhaps it's all for the better. Maybe these feuding and fiercely protective friends make more accurate role models than those musty, bygone tokens of sisterhood.
Haven't you ever bickered with a bestie? Or felt the sting of a friendship ulcer when you introduce two pals and later find out that they're planning a road trip to Baja and forgot to include you? ¿Qué?
 Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned -- for another woman. Why else would there be dozens of soothing, pastel pink and purse-sized books geared to keeping BFFs from becoming BEEs (bitter eternal enemies)? Last year saw the publication of "The Friend Who Got Away: Twenty Women's True-Life Tales of Friendships that Blew Up, Burned Out, or Faded Away." Add that to the arsenal of self-help manuals like "Secrets and Confidences: The Complicated Truth About Women's Friendships" and "Between Women: Love, Envy, and Competition in Women's Friendships." There's even a "The Friendships of Women" workbook. What's next: "Gal Pals for Dummies"?
Oh, and apparently, men don't need to read up on making nice with their friends. They get angry at each other, throw a kidney punch and call it a day. Compared with the plethora of literature for women, only one somewhat recent book -- "The Company You Keep: The Transforming Power of Male Friendship" -- explores why dudes need dudes. (Interestingly enough, a 2005 study by the Pew Internet Project found that men tend to use the Internet mostly for news and jobs, while women are more apt to rely on it to maintain friendships and form new ones.)
"Women go into relationships too fast and too furiously with other women," says Pryor. "They need to slow down."
But slowing down could have its consequences. A study from Harvard Medical School found that the more friends a women has, the less likely are her chances of developing physical impairments as she ages.
Oh, dear. That means Paris Hilton could live forever. Right now on parisbff.com, thousands of people are vying to befriend the socialite and land a role on her upcoming reality series, "Paris Hilton's My New BFF." Got great listening skills or a knack for bolstering a pal with the blues? Forget it. Casting directors at MTV are seeking "hot" babes and "Fabulously Fierce Guys" who are "at least the age of 21 and appear under 30" for the show. Well, so much for friendship.
That's OK. We'll always have the upcoming "Sex and the City" movie. Watch Carrie and Miranda coo over wedding dresses. See Samantha make Charlotte choke on her frittata with her dirty talk. Girlfriends! Who's ready for another round of Cosmos? Wait. Could it be true that these actresses squabble like hungry chinchillas behind the scenes?
She who is without fault can cast the first Choo.
photos: Holmes and Beckham, Wire Image; Book cover, Free Press.
 Your computer may be grimy and yes, those are barbecue potato chip particles in your keyboard. But now, you can dress it up with a themed Google bar by Dolce & Gabbana, Oscar de la Renta (above), Tory Burch, Nigo or another designer.
You can even set the function to rotate different Google themes, which is a bit like changing outfits every hour. The Rage thinks the D&G leopard print logo (above) is rather uninspired, but the Oscar de la Renta theme actually feels like a swatch from the runway. Same goes for Diane von Furstenberg, who used patterns from her dresses as themes.
The Todd Oldham bar is fun: kind of like Frank Stella meets Starship Enterprise, (below).
To get one, go to Google and start downloading. It's the only time you'll ever get a free Oscar de la Renta.
Photos: Google.com
 In the old days, women supported the troops by sacrificing the nylon for their stockings to be used for parachutes. Now, ladies can salute our soldiers by wearing Manolo Blahnik camouflage suede pumps ($555 at neimanmarcus.com). Call the Rage a patriotic frump but it feels disrespectful to teeter about in camouflage heels when U.S. troops are wishing to hell that they could get out of Iraq. The Paul Smith camouflage bucket hat ($90 at saks.com) for men affects her the same way. If you had just returned home from Baghdad and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, would you be thrilled to see some chick skip by in her camo Manolos?
Weigh in, vets and troops.
Photos: Neimanmarcus.com; saks.com
The Mirror is reporting that Mariah Carey -- newly engaged to actor Nick Cannon -- is sporting what looks to be the very same ring he gave to his former fiance, model Selita Banks. See it here. So far, everyone from Perez Hilton to every other celeb gossip blogger has cried, "Tacky!" But quite frankly, it's really rather eco and in good taste. People infuse way too much sentimentality in a diamond ring, which is really just a symbol. The Rage says bravo to Mariah for being secure enough to accept a beautiful ring that may have been worn on someone else's finger. (It's not like it's a thong, people.) In a way, it's her acceptance of Cannon's past and that's both mature and more valuable than any amount of carats.
FYI: The average price of an engagement ring jumped to $3,200 in 2007, up 16% from $2,750 in 2006 -- according to IDEX (the International Diamond Exchange, which did alter its study to include Internet purchases for the first time.)
Photo: Fox Broadcasting
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Listening to: The Grateful Dead's "American Beauty"--1970.
Try
playing "Box of Rain" when
you're feeling grumpy. It's audio prozac. 
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Men's fashion critic Adam Tschorn has been covering men’s wear since 2004 and wearing it much, much longer than that. He holds degrees in philosophy and journalism, which perfectly prepares him to watch fashion shows and ask: “Why?” He covers the runway shows in New York, Milan, Paris and Los Angeles.
Emili Vesilind is a staff writer for the Image section, covering retail, beauty, street style and the intersection of music and fashion.
Melissa Magsaysay is the Fashion Market editor and assistant style editor for Image. She covers trends in fashion and accessories and produces and styles the section's photo shoots.
Staff writer Erin Weinger covers shopping, fashion news and trends for the Image section.