Anderson Cooper isn't the only delicious thing featured in New York magazine this week -- Adam Sternbergh has a creamy and delicious feature on the bitter rivalries behind New York's cupcake emporia, all of which go back to Allyson Torey and Jennifer Appel, founders of the Magnolia Bakery, and subsequently Appel's Buttercup Bake Shop after the partnership split (Appel is referred to as "the Don Corleone of cupcakes," and certainly an offer of a delicious frosted treat is an offer I can't refuse). For the record, I think the Magnolia cake is a little dense and the icing a little much; I had cupcakes from Sugar Sweet Sunshine just yesterday and they were quite scrumptious. Also good: the orange-iced confections at Cast-Iron Cafe on 6th between 19th & 20th. The burritos are overpriced though. Point being, cupcakes are delicious. [NYMag]

Blogs, Books and Beauty: Congratulations to our homegirl Jolie, aka Nadine Haobsh, who just signed a two-book deal with William Morrow, a HarperCollins imprint, for a novel (work in progress on a lovely young thing in the beauty industry) and a nonfiction book about beauty. Jolie, is it bad for our skin to eat two cupcakes and half a hunk of yellow buttercream cake before bedtime? Wait, don't tell us. Congratulations, Jolie! [JolieNYC]

...and 91% of Newsweeklies Like To Poll Americans: Both Time and Newsweek run in-depth polls this week. Time asked respondents if the U.S. should cut back spending in Iraq to help pay for Katrina damage; 61% said damn straight, and 58% want to bring some troops home to help with recovery (Dems, at 77%, are more down with this than Republicans, at 39%). 52% of respondents said the government (all levels) did a bad job prepping for Katrina. Newsweek, wondering this week about race in America, says that 65% of minorities believe that reace was the reason for the slow response ( and 47% says it was a "major reason"; 64% of whites say it "was not a reason at all." Gleep. Not the best indicator, that. (NB Brian Williams has his doubts; see Friday's Daily Show recap). They've got Bush's approval rating at 38% (52% of respondents don't trust Bush to make the right decision in a crisis) and 57% have lost confidence in the government to handle another natural disaster; Time's respondents agree, with 57% nervous that the government won't be able to help them if it were to happen to them.

And speaking of the "Wait! What about us?" mentality: Apparently, a hurricane could strike anywhere, from San Jose to Salt Lake City to North Carolina to...here! Check these handy Google listings to see if your community is threatened. Don't worry, it is. Which is why you should totally eat your cupcakes and be happy. [Google]