Hit me with your best shot

I’m afraid of smelling bad. So much so, in fact, that I tend to go overboard on my perfume application. The upside of going through a bottle of body spray every month is that my scent has seared a memory of me into my friends’ brains. Case in point: An ex-boyfriend and a good friend were walking through a mall a couple of years ago. Whenever they passed one particular shopper, they kept thinking of me but couldn’t figure out why. After the fourth time seeing her, they stopped the woman as she paid for her purchases and asked what perfume she was wearing. Sure enough, it was what I wore, and the mystery was solved. They had a chuckle, then immediately called me.

Outing History

Brady Commons on MU’s campus: It’s just a place to eat, shop, cash a check or grab a cup of coffee before rushing off to class. It’s a place bustling with activity all day long, yet few know about Thomas A. Brady’s “long and distinguished service” to the university, the reason the Board of Curators passed a resolution in 1966 naming the student commons after the former dean.

Conflicting Interests

Television attorneys settle a theatrical case in the time it takes to eat dinner. And they make it seem so easy. In 40 minutes, they yell, cajole, quarrel and insult for the sake of convincing the jury and sinking their opponent. With the exception of, perhaps, heavy-weight champions, attorneys are the ultimate symbol of conflict on the job.

Strangers behaving badly

At the ’Berg during happy hour, the server repeatedly forgets to bring the ranch dressing. At the movie theater, you try to maintain healthy personal space but get pushed back in line by cutters. We’ve all been there. Conflicts with strangers can get resolved or go to hell. You can decide whether to cause a scene, make a graceful exit or maybe settle things without mincing words.

Fans ask: What’s that smell?

I have an unhealthy obsession with celebrities. I devour celebrity magazines, spend more time than I care to admit on celeb Web sites and feel better informed about the lives of my favorite musicians than those of my friends. But purchasing a celebrity fragrance is a bridge I have not crossed. Upon learning that even the anti-metrosexual Gene Simmons had joined the fragrance phenomenon, I decided it was time to investigate six scents with the help of my equally cynical friend, Mallory.

True trademark style

During the 1940s and ’50s, Hollywood starlets were encouraged to let their individualism shine through. Just the name “Marilyn” conjures up gorgeous, iconic images of the blonde bombshell with voluptuous hourglass curves. Lauren Bacall was the girl with the sultry, sensuous beauty coupled with a husky voice and a hard-as-nails façade.

Letter to an atheist

There is no excuse not to read Sam Harris’ latest book, Letter to a Christian Nation. It is a slim 96 pages and can be read in one sitting, it deals with current issues, and it teems with comebacks for MU’s most vocal religious advocate: Brother Jed.