Can you imagine if a U.S. government official cried outrage that the very fabric of Americana culture is under threat because an American Idol contestant sang in Spanish?

As any shoe junkie or "Sex and the City" fan knows, a magnificent pair of heels can spark rhapsodic fits, lift the clouds from the gloomiest of days, alter the course of life, heck, maybe even end world strife.

The HBO hit Big Love is a fixture on our TiVo, in part due to the brilliant casting. Among the crew is the curvy bright-eyed brunette who plays the youngest of the sister wives, Ginnifer Goodwin.

Aside from the endless sunshine and the palm trees, life in L.A. also means putting up with the city block-sized trailers filled with makeup artists and editing docks that are squeezing the streets and blocking businesses and homes in the name of the glamorous hometown commerce.

Is it any surprise that every fashion player worth its marketing budget was salivating for a moment on the big screen with Carrie Bradshaw and her gal pals?

The vexing factor about the Los Angeles Opera is not the caliber. Friday night’s gala celebration marking four decades of involvement by resident general director-star tenor-conductor-fundraiser and all-around knight in shining armor Plácido Domingo casts an auspicious glow on the city’s role internationally.

Just as the temps are soaring, allowing insouciance to creep into dressing, it seems reminders are everywhere not to let those sparkling baubles or glossy red lip tubes collect dust (just read my prior postings).

At the risk of inspiring gossip that I’m on the payroll or sleeping with the wildly waggish Simon Doonan, here he appears, yet again, in less than week and because of his newest book "Eccentric Glamour: Creating an Insanely More Fabulous You." Consider this brief exchange a reminder that he’s very much alive and in person today at a book signing from 5 to 7 p.m.

What must be the chicest-and freakiest (in a good way)-cookware ever debuts this week at the Milan Design Fair, Tord Boontje’s Witches’ Kitchen for Artecnica.

The ink isn't dry yet, but it appears French actress Audrey Tautou will replace Aussie Nicole Kidman as the new face of Chanel's iconic No.

Whether she really does finally tie the knot with rock star beau Jamie Hince (guitarist for The Kills), who cares? It was just revealed this morning that teveryone’s favorite fashion icon Kate Moss will be donning (scant) white lace as the body of Agent Provocateur’s bridal collection.

Woke up to this reponse from Sir Doonan regarding my late-night post on his book, "Ecclectic Glamour":

Am coming to LA to do a book signing at Barneys on APRIL 17th from 5 to 7pm
If you are in BH geeting a wax or a peel, come by and shriek at me,
love
SD

That would be Barneys New York on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills.

It's not bad enough that I'm lying here on the sofa, groggy and feeling like I've swallowed knives. I'm feeling even more miserable over having to miss out on a secret Prince show this very minute at the Green Door in Hollywood.

Tuesday night I found myself in an open living room, appointed with a crocodile head and plenty of art and offering a twinkling view of Hollywood, among friends and strangers, watching a black man on the small television talk of his incarceration in the same South African prison as Nelson Mandela and the path that got him there and where it has took him since.

Sometimes a photograph isn't just a photograph. That comes through in the work of lensman Stefano Paltera, whose portraits always reveal something more than face value.

Dear Friends….so sorry for the long lapse in postings! Spent the week in Big Sur and thereabouts, showing family in from the UK the sights, and it seemed where ever I went in search of WiFi, there was one technical glitch or another.