A recent Frisky meeting almost came to blows when it came to the subject of Ivanka Trump and her new business book, The Trump Card. In one corner, there was me—I get enraged like a Pamplona bull at the slightest whiff of nepotism. Donald Trump‘s daughter has a lot of nerve writing a business advice book, coasting through life with the last name “Trump”! But in the other corner we had sweet ol’ Catherine who said she really likes and respects Miss Trump. Ivanka may have been born Donald Trump’s daughter, Catherine said, but she’s still worked hard of her own accord! I wasn’t buying it.

I’ll eat my words today, though, after watching a clip of Ivanka on “Good Morning America.” I still think it’s silly that she wrote a business advice book, but I have more respect for Ivanka knowing she’s serious about following in her dad’s real estate footsteps. In this clip she explains how Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue, called her up on the eve of her graduation and offered her the job “a million girls would die for” at Vogue ... which Ivanka turned down.

Still ... way to keep the torch of nepotism burning, Anna.

Tiffany Trump isn’t a name you hear too often, even though she’s the offspring of Donald Trump, who is always in the news for one thing or another. Back in the early ‘90s, you couldn’t escape the scandal turned marriage that occurred between Donald and then-wife Marla Maples, who is Tiffany’s mother. But when Marla and Donald divorced in 1999, she and her daughter sunk into relative obscurity. In this day and age of hyper-celebrity, it’s rare for an attractive, 16-year-old daughter of a celebrity to keep a low profile, especially when her über-wealthy father has his own reality show and pageants and has placed another daughter, Ivanka Trump, into the spotlight. I did some digging to find out what Tiffany has been up to and it came as no surprise that she’s already planning her business future.

You know how people who like to do pageants always say things like, “It’s not just about beauty. It’s about poise, speaking ability, and talent!” Well, that’s not exactly the case at the Miss Universe Pageant, which crowned Miss Venezuela last week. One of the show’s choreographers said shortly thereafter that, before the competition even begins, Donald Trump selects the top 15 contestants based on ... looks. “At all the shows, [Trump] pops up the day before the telecast and we line up all the girls in alphabetical order,” Schwandt said. “[Trump] basically walks by and has an assistant who takes notes on all the girls. And it’s just kind of common knowledge that he picks six of the top 15 single-handedly. His reason for doing so, as he told me and he’s told the girls before, is that he left it all up to preliminary judging in the past, and some of the most beautiful women, in his opinion, were not in the top 15, and he was kind of upset about that.”  [NY Post]

It seemed like a dirty little behind-the-scenes secret had been revealed. Only, now Trump is saying it’s not actually a secret.

“Celebrity Apprentice” winner Joan Rivers claws her way to the top “Live with Regis & Kelly.” Which is more plastic: her face, her personality, or her jewelry? [NYC, 5/11/09]

The Who’s legendary guitarist, Pete Townsend, just got dumped by his wife of 40 years.  She stood by him through drug addiction and child porn accusations, but now that the 63 year old rocker has got a 35 year old girl friend, wifey Karen Astley can finally see he’s beyond help. While we bet Grandpa Pete can still play a mean pinball, now he’s looking more like a pinhead for dating a woman who is younger than his own daughters. SCORE bro- um, NOT!  But skeezy Papa Pete isn’t the only 60-something who has robbed the cradle for coochie.  Here are some other famous old farts popping Viagra like their girlfriend’s have to pop zits…[DailyMail]

The older a man is when he gets married, the more likely it is that his bride will be significantly younger—even if he’s poor—according to new Stanford University research. Men in their 40s tend to marry women who are an average of seven years younger; for men in their 50s, there’s usually an 11-year age difference; and if a guy’s in his 60s, his wife will be about 13 years younger.  “In first marriages, men are typically a couple years older than women,” said Paula England, co-author of the study. But, “the older men are when they marry, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s a first or a second marriage, the more years they marry down.”