Barbie

Barbie's giving up the keys to her dream shop in Shanghai. Two years after opening it to great fanfare, Mattel Inc. has closed the company's sole stand-alone store dedicated to the iconic American doll. Tucked in a downtown district filled with foreign retailers and luxury brands, the six-story, 36,000-square-foot Barbie store was drenched in pink neon light and featured a cosmetics department, a spa and a bar designed by one of Shanghai's premier restaurateurs. A $10,000 Vera Wang wedding dress was on display when the store opened.

Navigating the American International Toy Fair is like plummeting headfirst at warp speed into a kaleidoscopic netherworld designed by a hyperactive 6-year-old Jackson Pollock. There's hardly a muted color in sight. Giant, voiceless plush mascots roam the halls, veering toward photo-seeking fans. The sounds of squealing robots, jingly children's music, whirring motors and beeping buttons waft through the aisles. Stacks upon shelves upon piles upon hangers of toys - spinning tops, dolls with artificial intelligence, computer puzzles turned board games, spa kits for 6-year-olds - crowd the hundreds of booths.

Valentine's Day shocker: Barbie and Ken are back together again. Who knew they were ever apart? ( Entertainment Weekly ) For a single, shining moment, the Grammys seemed cool last night when they gave album of the year to Arcade Fire. ( Los Angeles Times ) But mostly, the Grammys were about stuff like Lady Gaga showing up in an egg. What? Lady Gaga did something strange? ( Los Angeles Times ) No surprises here: The Brits awarded the top BAFTA awards to "The King's Speech.

Need more pink in your life? The new Barbie Cafe in Taiwan has more than enough to spare. The eatery is exactly what its name implies -- a temple to the 54-year-old doll, erected in Taipei's Da'an shopping district and doused in fuchsia, blush, rose and likely several shades of pink previously unknown to man. Licensed by El Segundo toy giant Mattel, the eatery features chairs modeled after tutus, complete with frills and lace-up backs....

Environmentalists have launched a global campaign against Mattel Inc., the world's largest toy company, as part of a decade-long effort to force multinational corporations to purge their operations of any links to rain forest destruction. On Tuesday, Greenpeace activists in turquoise vests rappelled down the face of the company's 15-story headquarters in El Segundo and hung a giant banner depicting a frowning Ken doll with the message: "Barbie: it's over. I don't date girls that are into deforestation.

Regarding Susan Spano's critical comments on the exhibit at Nixon Library ("Show of Barbie Doll 'First Ladies' Stirs Mixed Feelings," April 23): Our 6-year-old granddaughter enjoyed the beautifully sewn replicas of the first ladies' inaugural gowns. We appreciated the portraits and a painless history lesson. Also not mentioned in her article: the display of the Nixon daughters' wedding gowns and the lovely gardens surrounding the library. PATRICIA MEURSINGE Downey

Beauty video blogs have been gaining in popularity. Which are the best to watch? The 10 here have topped YouTube charts in the beauty category in 2012, with the most number of views as of mid-December. The star vloggers (video bloggers) range from Los Angeles YouTube veteran Blair Fowler to a nameless Russian woman dubbed "4Oxygene" to rising personalities Venus Palermo of Britain and Anastasiya Shpagina of the Ukraine, who make themselves up daily to resemble dolls. Two clear trends emerge from the pack: The continuing popularity of braided hairstyles and a new enthusiasm for "living doll" makeup tutorials.

Strong Christmas sales of Barbie and other toys helped push Mattel Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit up 86% compared with the same period a year earlier, the nation's largest toy maker said. The El Segundo company has been working to rebuild its performance after months of frugal consumer spending. Its image also took a hit after a spate of high-profile recalls in 2007 related to excessive levels of lead and harmful magnets. A year ago, Mattel said it would aggressively cut costs and improve its supply chain; on Friday, Chief Executive Robert A. Eckert said those moves bolstered the company's fourth-quarter and full-year results.

Ken Carson, always something of a stiff, is loosening up. On the eve of its 50th birthday, the doll that defined boyish American urbanity is working on a comeback, proclaiming on billboards in Los Angeles and New York his love for Barbie. Critics raved about his appearance in "Toy Story 3. " And in a new reality TV show, "Genuine Ken: The Search for the Great American Boyfriend," eight clean-cut real-life contestants vie to be judged worthy of Barbie: a guy with style who knows how to listen, cook, surf and spoil the material girl with displays of affection.

Wasp-waisted Barbie, she of the anatomically impossible contours, is irreverently lampooned in Rebecca Hughes' "Plastica Fantastica" at the Actors' Gang El Centro. (In the play, the pouty protagonist's name is 'B***ie'--the asterisks evidently intended to forestall legal action from M***el). Let's not ponder too closely the point that, whereas little boys have action figures, little girls have . . . well, Barbie.

Beauty video blogs have been gaining in popularity. Which are the best to watch? The 10 here have topped YouTube charts in the beauty category in 2012, with the most number of views as of mid-December. The star vloggers (video bloggers) range from Los Angeles YouTube veteran Blair Fowler to a nameless Russian woman dubbed "4Oxygene" to rising personalities Venus Palermo of Britain and Anastasiya Shpagina of the Ukraine, who make themselves up daily to resemble dolls. Two clear trends emerge from the pack: The continuing popularity of braided hairstyles and a new enthusiasm for "living doll" makeup tutorials.

Good girls go to heaven and bad girls go everywhere, but Bad Barbies may just go to jail. New York law enforcement officials unveiled new charges against Trinitario gang members whom they believe to be responsible for a spate of bloody turf battles with rival gangs over control of drug trafficking in upper Manhattan and the Bronx. They accused the suspects of belonging to smaller Trinitario factions with names like the “Bad Barbies” and “El Combo," although the defendants are predominantly male.

Barbie joins Princess Fiona and the "Shrek" clan as the latest kiddie character to invade Royal Caribbean International cruises. The iconic doll from Mattel will become the centerpiece of a "cruise experience" for girls 4-11 on the entire 22-ship fleet starting next year, the company said. The Barbie Premium Experience starts with staterooms decorated with Barbie pink everything -- pillows and blankets, toothbrushes and tote bags. Then there's a dress-up fashion show, mermaid dance class and a Tiaras & Teacups party featuring pink pastries and pink lemonade.

Twenty years ago, Charles Ray Walker saw green bamboo shoots sprouting along an industrial mosaic of steel, concrete and dirt by the Los Angeles River in Boyle Heights. When the property owner told the homeless Texan he could stay if he kept the wedge of land clean, Walker's mind exploded with possibilities. "It was like, 'What do you want to do? What do you want to change?' " he said. "To have the ability to have this property to do whatever I want, but to do it in a good way, it was like, 'Whoa!

ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. - California's delegates to the RNC began trickling into their balmy beachfront resort here Friday, finding gift bags full of swag upon their arrival. Among the contents: rice, walnuts and olive oil from California producers, a campaign Barbie, a flag pin in the shape of Mickey Mouse and a red T-shirt sporting a large sequined elephant. And some practical aids to get them through the next six days that will include not only official Republican Party business but many, many parties - packets of Ibuprofen and vials of 5-hour Energy.

At Mattel Inc.'s headquarters in El Segundo, Bryan Stockton, the new chief executive of the toy giant, presided over the redesignation of its design center to honor company founders Ruth and Elliot Handler. The Friday fete's guest of honor was Barbie -- not the 11.5-inch plastic woman, but rather Barbara Handler Segal, who is the Handlers' daughter and the flesh-and-blood namesake and inspiration of the iconic doll. "They would be so proud. My mother would be loving this," Segal said as waiters walked through the crowd toting sliders and other hors d'oeuvres.

It's hard to comprehend the message T. J. Simers was trying to convey in his article about LPGA golfer Natalie Gulbis [April 6]. After spending several hours with her playing golf, what does he tell us? The first third of his article dwells on the fact that -- get this -- a pro golfer has calluses on her hands! Wow, there's a scoop. From there, Simers goes downhill. After a brief, almost passing and clearly reluctant acknowledgment of her talent, the remainder of the article seems determined to disparage her by unfair comparisons to Anna Kournikova and castigating her for her good looks.

Barbie is coming. Paris-based designer Billy Boy is arriving May 1 with his two extraordinary Barbie collections--one of 300 Barbie dolls dressed by world-famous designers (Mary McFadden, Bill Blass, Sonia Rykiel, Guy Larouche, you-name-it), the other of 400 of his own dolls representing the history of Barbie, 1959 to au courant.

Toy giant Mattel Inc.reported a 53% decline in profit in the first quarter, sending its stock down more than 9%, after higher production costs, slower sales of Barbie and Hot Wheels and a recent acquisition affected its bottom line. For the three months ended March 31, sales totaled $928.4 million, down 2% compared with $951.9 million in the same quarter last year, the company said Monday. Profit dropped to $7.8 million, or 2 cents a share, from $16.6 million, or 5 cents. The results fell below analyst expectations of a profit of 7 cents a share.

Danielle Pepers is such a fan of"The Hunger Games"that she had the book's unofficial mascot - a mockingjay - tattooed on her right arm this month. But her intrigue with the books and movie, which hit theaters Friday, didn't stop there. On a recent Wednesday, Pepers, 27, was shopping for T-shirts and jewelry at Hot Topic, a teen-oriented chain store at the Glendale Galleria that sells pop-culture ephemera. A mound of movie tie-in merchandise greeted her at the door. There were knee socks, pillowcases and nail polish.