How are cosmetics manufacturers planning to get you to invest in very expensive bottles of new skin cream next year? By promising that they contain substances that "induce positive moods" and "improve sleep quality," naturally. [Independent]

Raj Rajaratnam, the hedge fund billionaire who stands accused of masterminding a massive insider trading ring, was incredibly competitive and a ruthless boss. Of course you sort of have to be if you're planning to claw your way up to the top of the hedge fund pyramid. But it turns out he was a pretty wacky boss, too, as today's Wall Street Journal illustrates.

Lindsay Lohan shopping at Intermix on Prince Street yesterday afternoon with her sister Ali (and causing a bit of a scene in the process) ... Angelina Jolie talking on her cell phone during a break from filming Salt ... Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz walking in Midtown with son Bronx ... former NFL player/coach Tony Dungy walking in Central Park on Sunday ... Scarlett Johansson signing autographs after a performance of A View From The Bridge at the Cort Theatre ... Jonah Hill walking up Broadway ... Tim Robbins watching a Rangers game with his son last week ... and Eva Longoria cheering on her husband at the Knicks-Spurs game at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night.

• Fashion designer Georgina Chapman and her brother Edward, who serves as chief executive of her Marchesa fashion label, have paid $1.7 million for a condo at 99 Jane Street. Needless to say, it's highly unlikely Georgina and husband Harvey Weinstein are making plans to move into the two-bedroom condo, especially since they occupy a much larger townhouse nearby. It's believed Chapman either helped her brother buy the apartment, or they're planning to use it for visiting friends and family. [NYO]
• The Park Avenue apartment of late society staple Alice Polk Rutherfurd has been sold. The two-bedroom co-op at 1088 Park, which went on the market for $2.55 million in October, sold for $2.5 million to Marc Packer, a partner at Skadden Arps, and his wife, Caroline Packer, the vice president for public relations and special events at Saks Fifth Avenue. [Cityfile]
• Restaurateur Kiwon Standen, who co-owns Bar Blanc in the Village, has paid $2.38 million for a three-bedroom apartment at 31 West 12th Street. The co-op first went on the market for $3.35 million in September 2008. [Cityfile]

After last week's thwarted terrorist attack, you'd heard that airlines and airports had stepped up security, and you can expect a friendly TSA employee to give you a good pat-down the next time you catch a flight. But prepare yourself for some ridiculous questions, too. Says one passenger: "They were asking us what we had for lunch." [NYP, CBS News]

• You know that New York's crime rate is at an all-time low (or it's just a really slow news week) when NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly injects himself into any investigation involving Jon Gosselin that doesn't include the reality TV trainwreck's murder. Kelly says the NYPD has yet to determine whether someone really ransacked Jon Gosselin's Upper West Side apartment last weekend, or if it was just a big publicity stunt carried out by Gosselin and/or girlfriend Hailey Glassman. But the investigation continues, he says, so rest assured a few more of your tax dollars will be spent getting to the bottom of things. [NYDN]
• The call that Charlie Sheen's wife, Brooke Mueller, made to 911 on Christmas Day has been released. According to a one report, the couple's argument—in which Sheen allegedly pulled out a knife and said he'd kill her, thus landing him in the clink—was all over a Christmas present. [People, Us, E!]
• You knew Michael Lohan wasn't the world's best father or ex-husband. But he sounds like a pretty horrific fiancé, too. In newly filed court documents, Michael Lohan's ex, Erin Muller, says Lindsay Lohan's dad repeatedly abused her during their relationship, once beat her up for having a male friend on Facebook, and even kicked her "in the vagina" on one occasion. [TMZ]

Yesterday was Sienna Miller's birthday, and now it's Jude Law's turn: The actor, playboy, and NYU foe turns 37 today. Actress Mary Tyler Moore is turning 73. Ted Danson is 62. Paramount chief Brad Grey is 52. Actress Patricia Clarkson is 50. Matrix director/writer Andy Wachowski is 42. Cable news staple Ashleigh Banfield is also turning 42. Real estate marketer Michael Shvo is turning 37. Writer Paul Rudnick turns 52. Mekhi Phifer is 35. Singer Marianne Faithfull is 63. And actor (and father of Angelina) Jon Voight turns 71 today.

• Closings/bankruptcies: 20-year-old Kitchen Club in Nolita will serve its last meal on New Year's Eve; after 64 years on the UES, Gino will close its doors at the end of January; and Mama Mexico's UWS location has filed Chapter 11.
• A roundup of restaurants opening in the next few weeks. [TONY]
• New York's 2010 "Where to Eat" guide by Adam Platt is online. [NYM]
• Foodies weigh in on the top newcomers/standbys of 2009. [Eater]
• The number of clubs and bars fined for smoking was down this year. [NYP]
• The CEO of Whole Foods gets The New Yorker treatment this week. [NYer]

[December 26. Photo: Flickr/carlmikoy]

• Sad news, Tyra fans: This season will be her last, she says. [People]
• Avatar was No. 1 at the box office this weekend with $75 million in domestic receipts. The movie has raked in $617 million globally thus far. [THR]
• The game of chicken between Fox and Time Warner Cable continues. [USAT]
• MSNBC's new schedule will focus more on "the day's big stories" and less on "personality-driven programming"—during daytime hours, at least. [AP]
• Get ready for lots of remakes of old TV shows in the year ahead: Charlie's Angels, Hawaii Five-O, and The Rockford Files are all in development. [NYT]
• Also: Get ready to pay for lots of online news in the near future. [NYT]
• What else is in store for the media for 2010? A handful of predictions. [LAT]
• Tiger Woods' advertising partners haven't fared well in recent weeks. [WSJ]
• Director Roman Polanski, now under house arrest at his Swiss ski chalet, has issued his first statement since his arrest back in September. (He's really thankful for all your support and warm wishes, just so you know.) [Reuters]
• As rumored last week, TMZ is branching out with a sports site. It's also smarting from an "exclusive" this morning that was actually a hoax. [NYT, TSG]

David Paterson isn't taking any chances, apparently. According to the Post, New York's exceedingly unpopular governor now has 200 state troopers assigned to protect him, a force larger than the one currently patrolling all of Long Island. [NYP]

The 2009 holiday shopping season turned out to be slightly less depressing for America's retailers. Consumer spending rose 3.6 percent between Thanksgiving and Christmas compared to the same time period last year. [AP, WSJ]

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt picking up a few things for the kids from a street vendor on Park Avenue ... Lindsay Lohan leaving Century 21 with an armful of bags last week, and sitting in the stands at a Rangers game at Madison Square Garden on Saturday ... Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick carrying their twin daughters in the West Village ... Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz shopping at the Union Square Greenmarket on Thursday and leaving their apartment on Saturday ... Liam Neeson walking his dog in Millbrook, New York ...and Natalie Portman going into a building late last week with her dog, Charlie.

• The neo-classical landmark at 70 Broad Street has been given a steep holiday discount. The 15,218-square-foot building, which hit the market for $45 million in September as an "office, mixed-use property or private residence," was reduced by $15 million over the weekend, and can now be yours for $30 million. [Cityfile, BHS]
• Beach Boys lead singer Mike Love and his wife, Jacquelyne, have put their renovated three-bedroom apartment at 300 East 93rd Street on the market for $2.35 million. [NYM, Corcoran]
• The townhouse at 19 East 70th Street that currently houses the Knoedler Gallery has gone on the market. The mansion, which was built in 1909 and features multiple terraces, eight fireplaces, coffered ceilings, and its original staircase, is listed for $59.5 million. [Curbed, Sotheby's]
• Richard Pesin, an EVP Bruce Ratner's Forest City Ratner Companies and the real estate firm's director of retail development has paid $4.1 million for a penthouse apartment at The Prime on West 14th Street. [Cityfile]

So much for the theory that economic downturns fuel crime waves. Unless something totally crazy happens between now and the end of the week, New York City "is on track, for the second time in three years, to have the fewest number of homicides in a 12-month period since 1962." [NYT]

• Robert "Joe" Halderman, David Letterman's alleged extortionist, may be close to taking a plea deal. Halderman has reportedly offered to accept a one-year prison sentence in exchange for pleading guilty, although his lawyer is denying it, and any deal probably won't be finalized until incoming Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr. takes office in January. [NYP]
• Charlie Sheen and wife Brooke Mueller say they're heading to counseling following Friday's arrest of Sheen on domestic violence charges. (He allegedly threatened Mueller with a knife and told her he was going to kill her.) Sheen, who was released on bond on Christmas night, also says he plans to enroll in "anger management counseling," since he's hoping to keep the marriage together. Rest assured, though, that somewhere Denise Richards is screaming, "I told you so!" [TMZ, NYDN]
• Ivana Trump was booted off a flight from Palm Beach to New York over the weekend after she cursed out a group of rowdy kids on the plane and then lashed out at several flight attendants. [P6, MSNBC]

Sienna Miller turns 28 today. Denzel Washington is turning 55. John Legend is 31. Gayle King turns 55. Saturday Night Live's Seth Meyers is turning 36. Judge Alvin Hellerstein is 76. Media tycoon Phil Anschutz is 70. Former AOL exec turned new media investor Bob Pittman is turning 56. Artist Robert Storr is 60. South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson is turning 63. And American Idol runner-up David Archuleta is 19 today.

We're off tomorrow for the holiday. In the meantime, if you have some info you'd like to share, feel free to email. Happy Holidays!

[December 24. Photo: Flickr/jglsongs]

A few years from now, someone will mention the name "Rachel Uchitel" in passing, and you'll have to rack your brain for a few minutes before it occurs to you that the person is referring to one of the women who helped bring about Tiger Woods' downfall. (Remember Jessica Hahn? How about Donna Rice?)