Vanity

WHILE READING your commentary in "Grossman v. Polito: Late returns just in!" (Editorial, March 24), a thought occurred. Why even suggest, as state Treasurer Steve Grossman has done, that Karyn Polito auction her Red Sox license plate off to benefit charity? It certainly isn't something anyone with a modicum of common sense or intelligence would want to display on their automobile after the 2011 implosion. Leonard J. Zavalick

A retired Rhode Island judge seeking his own special license plate will likely have to pay for it himself. The Providence Journal reports ( http://bit.ly/HnylSY) that a state lawmaker has revised his proposal to give former Family Court Chief Judge Jeremiah Jeremiah a "chief judge emeritus" license plate to ensure Jeremiah pays for the plate himself. If lawmakers approve the plate for Jeremiah, he would pay the same as any motorist seeking a vanity plate. Fees for vanity plates for passenger vehicles start at $67.50.

LOWELL -- For the many boomers who despair before the glib egotism of their children, help is at hand. Everything they've ever wanted to say to their spoiled spawn, W. Somerset Maugham crafted into "The Breadwinner," his 1931 play now in a smartly realized production at Merrimack Repertory Theatre. Of course, catching this gem means a hike to Lowell, but it's worth it; sometimes the best show in Boston simply isn't quite in Boston. Maugham is enjoying a revival these days, and it's easy to see why. Although the form of his well-made plays feels dated, the ideas...

WHILE READING your commentary in "Grossman v. Polito: Late returns just in!" (Editorial, March 24), a thought occurred. Why even suggest, as state Treasurer Steve Grossman has done, that Karyn Polito auction her Red Sox license plate off to benefit charity? It certainly isn't something anyone with a modicum of common sense or intelligence would want to display on their automobile after the 2011 implosion. Leonard J. Zavalick

I AM appalled that the Globe wrote an editorial opinion in support, even admiration, of Amber Miller's running a marathon just before giving birth ("Pregnant marathoner: Run, mommy, run," Oct. 21). This act by Miller ranks as one of the more vain and self-absorbed things I've ever heard. Why in God's name would someone risk any harm to an unborn child by doing such a thing? Only two things could have happened in this case: nothing, or something bad. Couldn't Miller have waited to run the marathon until after giving birth?

NEWBURY - As we drove along a narrow, sandy, one-way street on Plum Island, passing houses magnificent and humble, our eyes were drawn to the sparkle of thousands of round glass nuggets in shades of blue, exploding with the light of the afternoon sun. Pulling into Blue and stepping onto paths made of glass and sand, we sensed that this inn experience was going to be different. Blue, "the Inn on the Beach," takes full advantage of its oceanfront setting on this barrier island. Behind a glass counter in the lobby a live "ocean cam" displays the surf.

A retired Rhode Island judge seeking his own special license plate will likely have to pay for it himself. The Providence Journal reports ( http://bit.ly/HnylSY) that a state lawmaker has revised his proposal to give former Family Court Chief Judge Jeremiah Jeremiah a "chief judge emeritus" license plate to ensure Jeremiah pays for the plate himself. If lawmakers approve the plate for Jeremiah, he would pay the same as any motorist seeking a vanity plate. Fees for vanity plates for passenger vehicles start at $67.50.

In her debut novel, “The Longshot,’’ Katie Kitamura delivers the reader into the exotic, bruising, and hypermasculine world of mixed martial arts with startling economy and even more startling insight. Full-contact MMA, sometimes called ultimate fighting, is a blend of ju-jitsu, kickboxing, and wrestling defined by quick, brutal moves, lightning takedowns, and jarring pain. “The Longshot’’ is the story of Cal, a gifted, laconic fighter; Riley, his even more withdrawn coach; and Rivera, the self-contained champion Cal is to meet for a rematch after four years.

NEW YORK — There's an uncomfortable question that rears its sleekly pomaded, well-moisturized, and immaculately trimmed head throughout Morgan Spurlock's new documentary "Mansome," and the answer is not pretty. Are men more vain in 2012 than any previous point in history? The answer: A resounding yes. "We've created this society where what you project externally matters, almost more than anything else," says Spurlock after a screening of "Mansome" in New York last month.

The dream Champions League final, in pure soccer terms, would have been Barcelona vs. Real Madrid. But the world's two best players, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, both fluffed penalty kicks in the semifinals, leaving us with the thinking fan's final, instead. Which isn't to say that Bayern Munich against Chelsea is a dull second-best. European club soccer's most coveted trophy and, in some ways, its soul — not to mention UEFA boss Michel Platini's ambitions for the future — will all be in play when the sober Bavarian and glitzy west London...

Boston actress Ari Graynor (above) was at the Vanity Fair and Juicy Couture "Vanities" party in Hollywood, Calif., earlier this week. The host of the event was "The Descendants" actress Shailene Woodley.

Take eight Ferraris, a Lamborghini, three Mercedes-Benzes, and two Toyotas, run them into each other, and what you get is the unusual 14-luxury car collision in Japan on Sunday that has provoked an international outpouring of schadenfreude. Nobody was killed or seriously injured in the accident, but the owners of the cars suffered losses of around $4 million. The convoy of status symbols had been roaring past other drivers before the crash - and continued to annoy them for six hours afterward as it was cleaned up. The driver of the Ferrari that...

I AM appalled that the Globe wrote an editorial opinion in support, even admiration, of Amber Miller's running a marathon just before giving birth ("Pregnant marathoner: Run, mommy, run," Oct. 21). This act by Miller ranks as one of the more vain and self-absorbed things I've ever heard. Why in God's name would someone risk any harm to an unborn child by doing such a thing? Only two things could have happened in this case: nothing, or something bad. Couldn't Miller have waited to run the marathon until after giving birth?

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff The FBI today doubled the reward for Catherine Greig, the girlfriend of James “Whitey” Bulger, and announced they have created a new public service announcement targeting women for new tips about the two fugitives. Bulger and Greig have been on the run for more than 16 years since Bulger was indicted on federal charges alleging he participated in the murders of 19 people while also serving as an informant for the FBI. Bulger is on the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted list and is the subject of a $2 million reward,...

THE WORLD ACCORDING TO PARIS On: Oxygen Time: Tonight, 10-11 First of all, you’re welcome. You don’t have to watch a single moment of “The World According to Paris,’’ a new Paris Hilton reality show. I pre-screened Oxygen’s weekly, hourlong series, which premieres tonight at 10, and I am here to report that the least repulsive thing about it is … Wait, give me a few minutes. Second of all, oy vey. At the beginning of the show, in her ongoing voice-over, Hilton tells us, “I’m turning 30 this year, and it has made me think it might be time...

The terrorist (Édgar Ramírez) strides into the conference room where his band of radical leftists have taken hostages. He shoots a minor functionary to death without batting an eye, then addresses the crowd of 60 OPEC ministers: “My name is Carlos. You may have heard of me.’’ The date is Dec. 20, 1975, the place Vienna, and for the briefest of moments the image that the terrorist carries in his head finally jibes with reality. He’s the rock star of the international revolution.

‘Darling Companion" is about and for an audience that really doesn't get enough respect: women of a certain age who love their dogs too much. It's far from a great movie — an overwritten, underplotted vanity project that's a distant echo of what director Lawrence Kasdan ("The Big Chill," "Grand Canyon") could do in his prime. But it has Diane Keaton, and that's enough. Keaton plays Beth, the well-to-do wife of an officious Denver back doctor named Joseph (Kasdan regular Kevin Kline)

FB? That's the best they could do? The company that changed how politicians raise money, dissidents start revolutions and parents keep tabs on their kids announced its stock ticker symbol Wednesday. And it used about as much creativity as liking someone else's status. This was Facebook's place on the ticker, the electronic river of American commerce. This was a chance to make a statement, assert an identity — a choice as fundamental as picking blue for the ribbon at the top of the screen.

In her debut novel, “The Longshot,’’ Katie Kitamura delivers the reader into the exotic, bruising, and hypermasculine world of mixed martial arts with startling economy and even more startling insight. Full-contact MMA, sometimes called ultimate fighting, is a blend of ju-jitsu, kickboxing, and wrestling defined by quick, brutal moves, lightning takedowns, and jarring pain. “The Longshot’’ is the story of Cal, a gifted, laconic fighter; Riley, his even more withdrawn coach; and Rivera, the self-contained champion Cal is to meet for a rematch after four years.