One of the few New Zealanders to make it in Hollywood, Lucy Lawless, the warrior princess turned shattered noblewoman on the Starz series "Spartacus: Vengeance," can confirm the benign stereotypes about her homeland: tropical, rustic, worry-free. And, as suggested by her turn on "Curb Your Enthusiasm," it's a place where Jews are considered exotic. "I remember wagging school" - Kiwi slang for ditching class - "at 13 to watch "Yentl," and I just was like: "Oh, yeah, they're hot. I got to get me one of those." " The Flint Hill Public House and Country Inn in Northern Virginia has two dinner menus - one for you, and one for your dog. "We much prefer the European model, where dogs often sit at the foot of the table in cafes and restaurants," the inn's co-owner William Waybourn told me over dinner as my dog devoured the "pooch stew" (ground beef, carrots and rice). The human food was pretty good, too. I get why Democrats are appalled by the millions of dollars being poured into Republican campaigns by a handful of super PAC donors. But back in 2004, they didn't seem at all troubled when a couple of billionaires - George Soros and Peter Lewis - threw more than $50 million into their own independent groups to try to unseat George W. Bush. The laws keep changing, but one rule of human nature stays the same: Money is corrupting only when it's helping a cause you don't believe in. Dharma and Greg That turquoise iBook Orrin Hatch for president Talk magazine Stifler's mom The rest of Destiny's Child Tuesdays With Morrie Technically, the millennium doesn't start until 2001 One of the worst red tides in Texas history has receded at last, after devastating the state's oyster industry and killing 4.4 million fish. Recent droughts may have induced this red-algae bloom, but the scourge is not new. Many scientists believe the ancient Nile was afflicted when, according to Exodus, the fish died and "the river stank" because the water "turned to blood." Jonathan and Drew Scott are the Vancouver-born twins and hosts of "Property Brothers," a reality show on HGTV in which Drew (a real estate agent) persuades a couple to buy a fixer-upper, and then Jonathan (a contractor) overhauls it. While the program was originally set in Toronto, the Scott brothers now live in the U.S., where they maintain their hunky image in ways befitting their provenance and their professions. "I have a bit of scruff," says Drew, the agent. But it's not quite as bad as Jonathan. What began as an unlikely dream of a center-right French politician may become a reality. When Yves Jégo announced his ambition, last month, to build a Napoleon-themed amusement park - including a re-creation of his disastrous retreat from Russia, with "frozen bodies of soldiers and horses" - few believed it would happen. Now a feasibility study is under way. Jacques-Olivier Boudon, president of the Napoleon Institute in Paris, isn't surprised. "In France there's still a lot of ambivalence surrounding Napoleon, sure," he says. But in times of crisis, people can become attracted to the idea of a savior, of a providential leader. In tough times, career experts advise going back to school and sprucing up your résumé. And so Tyra Banks recently completed Harvard Business School's Executive Education Owner/President Management program. Though the executive recruiter Andréa Colabella isn't quite sure what Banks's new credentials offer "from an opportunity standpoint at this stage in her career." She does note, however, that Banks may be able to "reach out to the H.B.S. alumni network." If she can persuade Jamie Dimon or Hank Paulson to appear in a coming season of "America's Next Top Model," then it will be worth the tuition. One who promotes patriarchy. Never a menabler, Sara made her son Swiffer the house each week. See also: Menclave (male-only meeting); malefeasance (act of misogyny); menopoly (exclusive male control). SUSANNA WRITES: My husband claims we met in a bowling alley. Not true. Our second date was in one. But he told his grandma he met me while I was "throwing strikes." So she challenged me to a duel. Now we have a daughter. I think she deserves the truth.Because I appreciate your insistence upon accuracy, and your hatred of poetic license, your husband may now say only that he fell in love with you in a bowling alley. But if you want to inherit your grandmother-in-law's secret golden pins, you had better bowl against her. Name an island nation in seven letters. Remove the second, fourth and sixth letters, and the remaining letters in order will spell an exclamation. Hint: No man is an island. Not even J. Edgar Hoover! See bottom for answer. Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think by Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler: Maybe, we'll see. Eisenhower in War and Peace by Jean Edward Smith: Magisterial. There are people for whom this is the first illness they've had; it's devastating. I understand that, but as an athlete, I was just like, "I'm going to treat this like another injury." Just figure out how to do what the doctors tell you, and hope for the best. The Road to Linsanity By Adam Leff and Richard Rushfield "Macarena" + "Who Let the Dogs Out?" + Google = Richard from "Survivor" + "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" = Crocs + Pat O'Brien's coke binge = lonelygirl15 + "A Million Little Pieces" = Tom Cruise on Oprah's couch + The Beijing Olympics = Octomom + Susan Boyle = Balloon Boy + Pippa Middleton = "Bridesmaids" + Weinergate = Linsanity Brain Twister Answer: England, egad