When the going gets tough, bankers use drugs. It's not what you think. New York Magazine is reporting that the Botox business is booming in Gotham during this economic downturn.

The story is based on comments from "socialite dermatologist" Lisa Airan (is that like an "activist slacker"? "incarcerated tri-athlete"? "bailout victim"?). Airan says "We're actually busier...people feel like they have to find a job, or they want to feel good about themselves, so they want to look as good as they can."

Really? Should shareholders of Allergan

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[AGN  Loading...      ()   ] be celebrating? Well, not every part of the country is plumping out lines and losing the ability to move eyebrows.

I was at my dermatologist's office yesterday as part of my skin-cancer prevention regimen--that's what happens when you're mother is Irish-American and you have blue eyes and you live in SoCal. I asked him how business is going. He said, "I'm not going to be able to retire soon." He says while insured visits (like mine) continue apace, the cosmetic visits are way down. What surprises him, though, is that they haven't disappeared completely. Still, he gave me the old sales pitch: "What better time to invest in yourself?" He argues that taking ten years off my face could help me get another job. But I have a job. For now. Hmmm...

Does it really work that way? Socialite dermatologist Lisa Airan says putting a new face on an old employee has been a smart move on Wall Street. "When things first started happening at Bear Stearns, months ago, some of those people came in," New York Magazine quotes her saying, "and they did find jobs." I wonder where.

THE OBAMA TAX BREAK AND LEFT WINGS
KFC, part of Yum! Brands

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[YUM  Loading...      ()   ], says that based on its T-shirt sales, the Left Wing has won the election. For months, the fast food chain has been selling shirts that bear the slogans "Left Wing", "Right Wing", and "Left Wing, Right Wing: Tastes the Same to Me". Sales figures show that 41 percent of buyers chose the Left Wing shirt, compared to 29 percent who went Right Wing, and 30 percent who embraced both. Sales go to KFC charity helping college students--not Wall Street banks--with financial aid.

But how about some financial aid for little ol' you? Check out the calculator on this web site which claims to tell you what kind of tax break you might get if Barack Obama becomes President. Ok, I bit. The answer for me? "You will probably not get a tax cut under the Obama-Biden plan." Well, it's honest! No word on whether I'll get a tax hike under Obama-Biden. I'm still looking for that calculator.

THE CHIPS ARE DOWN
The Las Vegas Hospitality Association is holding a summit today to discuss tourism in Sin City. The press release notes, "that a drop in conventions and the number of people attending them drove Las Vegas tourism numbers down sharply in August, and that it was the sixth month this year that tourism decreased from 2007." Panelists include the head of Corporate Events for Allergan (see Botox story above--will showgirls use this downturn to invest in themselves?).

ONE MORE FAKE CEO APOLOGY--SHORT AND SWEET
From Marc Isikoff: "I'm $orry!"

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