Say it ain’t so! Coke’s new ad campaign asserts that the company’s flagship fizzy contains no artificial flavors or preservatives. What a bummer. For Coke’s allure lies not only in its flavor. In this age of conspicuous organic consumption, gulping down brown sludge of an indeterminate nature — out of a red aluminum can, no less — is practically
a countercultural act — a legal fuck-you to your health, if you will, that’s delish and contains a caffeinated kick. Then again, the really fun, lowercase kind of coke is naturally occurring too. Think that ingredient has secretly snuck its way back in?

Forget, for a moment, all the style stars left off of Vanity Fair’s fairly harmless 69th International Best Dressed List — Gwen Stefani and Rachel Bilson (seriously!) come to mind — and let’s ponder the whopping average age of 42.5 years for the ladies. Weird, right? On the one hand, kudos to Amy Fine Collins and Co., for the absence of the Olsen twins and other stupid tots. On the other, all the oldness dovetails with all the boringness on display. Seriously, who gives a hoot about a Belgian princess who claims to be 35, but appears to be a 45-year-old whatev?

Is LVMH publicist Katherine Ross gunning for Molly Ringwald’s role in the sequel to “Pretty in Pink”?

Who are the poor slobs reading Glamour who actually think a salad dressed with cream, croutons and breaded chicken is a dietetic endeavor?

New York Magazine takes a break from its typically cynical, often exploitative, treatment of city kids. Hooray! In a terrific column by Justin Davidson, the classical music critic writes about giving his 10-year-old son an education in Beethoven, the Berlin Philharmonic and “South Pacific.” Even if you aren’t interested in classical music — I am a classically trained pianist and I certainly am not — Davidson’s words resonate: “If we want to be part of our children’s aesthetic world, then why do we equivocate about bringing them into ours?” And really, when you think about it, doesn’t it totally suck that we are all so fully apprised of Miley Cyrus, while tweens have no idea of the import of Duran Duran?