Lipstick & Magazines #8: Thinkers

This week, a couple of items to make you go hhmmmmmm - errr?

Cosmo sex quizzes could be written by monkeys. Hey, I love monkeys, but if I can figure out by the second question that picking all "B" answers will make me seem really outgoing, then it's not really worth the time. Enter the BBC's Brain Sex ID quiz - take about 20 minutes, includes word questions, visual and perception challenges and more, and then the computer will tell you if your brain is primarily male or female. Or hermaphroditic. Fascinating.

Want to make real money bets about the future of the written word, computer intelligence, or the next presidential race? If you want to both stretch your mind, and see what some of our current "great minds" predict will happen over the next decades and centuries, check out Long Bets, which describes itself as a "public arena for enjoyably competitive predictions, of interest to society, with philanthropic money at stake."

Lipstick & Magazines #7: Household

Utilitarian household items are becoming totally glam.

Witness:

* Hello glitter spatulas.

* Hot little toasters.

Lipstick & Magazines #6: Smirk

SHOCKING though it may seem, I was a very, very, very sarcastic teenager. Though surviving in the working, and social, world has required tempering that a bit, I still enjoy a really wicked website. I imagine some of you who embrace the juicy side of pop culture will take as much gleeful pleasure from these sites, but if your sensibilities are tender, you might not laugh as much.

The ladies at Go Fug Yourself write ravaging commentary about fugly-dressed celebrities. Endlessly funny, especially the B. Spears section. Oh, Britney.

Diana Goodman, who also makes some funky crafts, comments on postings to baby name websites at Baby's Named a Bad, Bad Thing. If you wonder about why people name their children after liquor and cars, this is a good site for you.

And to wash it all, down, Television Without Pity is the site to visit when you want to pretend you don't care about "bad" TV, but still want to know what's going on. Or maybe you fully 'fess up to watching bad TV but, tragically, had to miss an episode of, say, America's Next Top Model. Funny, funny writers, and they also cover "good" shows like, mmmm, Lost and Alias.

Lipstick & Magazines #5: Flicks and Reads

Sometimes the perfect movie or book recommendation comes at the exact right moment. Other times, you can flounder for awhile, starting and stopping books you hate, watching boring and/or just terrible films. While a personal recommendation from someone whose taste you trust is best, here are a few of the cool tools available for finding ideas when your other sources run dry.

Flicks

Rotten Tomatoes compiles movie (and video game) previews and reviews, and then ranks films as either *fresh* or *rotten* tomatoes. Their movie database features more than 100,000 films and the site has a really good look too,

Google (ah, google) has recently added a movie search tool, so if you vaguely remember something about a film, but not the name or any of the actors, you now have the best shot of finding the movie (and compiled reviews, links to theaters in your area, etc. etc.) Just type, for example, "movie: french kids" (or whatever you remember, even a quote) and see what comes up.

Netflix has also added a new *Friends* tool for members, so that you and all your special friends can see how each other ranks different movies. You can also store suggestions for each other.

Books

Boldtype used to be a Random House newsletter but has been (thankfully) taken over by the ever-cool Flavorpill. They send out a really good monthly e-newsletter full of current book recommendations, each of which has a quick synopsis, a review, and a bunch of related links.

Books We Like describes itself as "collective intelligence and activist e-commerce." People recommend books, and assign tags/keywords, so that you can browse by topic or recommender, and everything grows organically as more people come to the table. If you join in, you can also store a reading list.

As for my personal recommendations, I'm raving about Case Histories by Kate Atkinson, a mysterious, and very smart novel that weaves together a few sneaky story lines: perfect for cold nights. Also, a new-on-DVD documentary My Architect: A Son's Journey about a man trying to discover the real story of his father, architect Louis Kahn, who died when he was 11 years old.

Lipstick & Magazines #4: Kiss and Read

Finally, some true love goes out to our namesake topics, lipstick and magazines. What would I do without you my friends, my little pick-me-ups?

Lips

At 27, I might be old enough to claim MAC's Paramount as my signature color, but I don't want to get stuck in a rut. Without a doubt, Mac lipsticks are some of the best. Once you buy a $15-20 quality lipstick, you won't turn back, and unlike some of the truly frightening and intimidating make-up counter people out there, MAC seems to hire a nicer breed.

For gloss, check out Lip Medic. I was recently looking for a coconut-banana flavor I used to be able to find at my neighborhood hippie bath store. On Lip Medic, you can search by flavor and find some truly cool glosses. Who knew there were more than 5 banana-flavored glosses? They also have a gloss/balm of the month, which would be a nice gift for that specific special someone.

Mags

Never, ever subscribe to a magazine without doing a little price research. Net Magazines has a 5 for $30 subscription package which I used to rave about, but they've lost some of the cooler titles. Still worth a visit. I recently subscribed to a few titles through Shopper Values. First you become a member (ummm, enter your name and email, and unclick all the spam), then you can find Budget Living for $5 a year, and Dwell Magazine for less than $10. Also, if you're looking for a particular title, always search eBay. Magazines obviously benefit by having high subscriber numbers, so these wholesalers can sell subscriptions really cheaply.

Lipstick & Magazines #3: Brain Break

Whether you are a jammie-wearing freelancer, a drowning student, or an office-bound corporate kid, there's always that moment during the day (for me it's 3pm), when a brain break is absolutely required. I'm a huge proponent of breaks of all kinds in fact, and when going out for leisurely cuppa tea is not an option, sometimes visiting a website that you haven't visited ten million times before is the best you can do. Here are a few sites that do it for me, starting at brain "lite" and moving a little deeper:

* Ferry Halim's Orisinal features some of the most charming and original computer games. Catch an egg in a floating basket! Make the kitties move and stop moving! Bubble bees! Really though, these are so beautiful created and a great way to chill out for 3 minutes - check them out. (*Hidden treasure - under "Misc," second box offer is a link to a "Make You Own Flower Bouquet" e-card. Absolutely free and totally sweet)

* 10x10 is updated every hour with words and photos culled from international news sources to create, as the site describes, a "snapshot of our world." Reading about how the site works is fascinating; seeing the final resort change over time, even more so.

* Identity Theory has some of the best author interviews, as well as a bunch of smarties, funny writers, serious writers and others talking about literature, culture, life, and a little bit of everything else. A great browsing site...and they are currently looking for people who want to blog about the books they're reading.

Lipstick & Magazines #2: Write Me

I would like to be a better, and more consistent, letter-writer. As a little girl, I had penpals in Pittsfield, MA, and Finland. I received long letters written in crayon and Finnish chocolate and Christmas ornaments. Now, I have one penpal who is owed a woefully late response (sorry J!). My dirty little secret is that I have tons of beautiful cards. I buy them, get attached to them, and then can't let go of them. Ridiculous!

So, my next plan of attack is stationary and card SETS. This way, I can always save just a little bit.

Here are some options I'm eyeing:

* Jack and Lulu note-sets available online at Fred Flare - sweet, simple stripes and dots

* One Creative Girl - adorable fabric-patterned cards

* Snow & Graham - sweet, sweet letter-press cards. Not available online, but in mass quantities at expensive stores in Hayes Valley!

Lipstick & Magazines #1: Cuties

Sushi is probably on the outs as far as In Style trendy goes, but I really don't care. Real sushi is delicious, and as artistic inspiration, it has limitless potential. I'd seen sushi erasers, bags, even knit sushi, but this is the most beautiful sushi candy I have ever seen. I've never tasted it, so I can't vouch for the flavor, but for now it's good enough as eye candy.

* Find the goods: Kooki Sushi

While homeownership is not in my imminent future, I can still entertain myself with dreams about appliances. I hadn't really had any yet, but Big Chill Fridge is breaking me in. Green Apple, Pink Lemonade, Buttercup Yellow. No I'm not talking about nail polish or lip gloss. We are talking the most drool-worthy refrigerators you have over seen. If you buy one, lemme know so I can come over and touch it

* Find the goods: Big Chill Fridge

Lipstick & Magazines #0: Sampling

I used to save up my $ and buy grab bags from the Hello Kitty store in downtown SF, big paper sacks, bulging with Sanrio stuff, stapled up. The excitement was almost too much to bear. I would always try to peek inside to get the best one, but I think they were onto my game. The staples were pretty close together.

Home of the Sampler is taking an idea we all love (small, free things) and throwing in that delectable element of surprise. Marie in Berkeley, CA, who runs the site, is now offering a sort of clearinghouse for crafty people and those who love their goods. Subscriptions for sampler bags are full at the moment but will be opening up for the March sampler on Monday, January 31 at 11am. Feast your eyes on the treats that were sent out over the past few months and let the anticipation begin. And if you're a nifty craftster yourself, becoming a contributor is the perfect opportunity for spreading your wares to people all around the world.