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These Rules We Can Keep

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Fox TV may have taken us back to the Dark Ages of gender relations this week with its insipid program “Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?,” but there are people in this world who are still keeping the feminist flame alive, thank goodness.

Pam Nelson’s L.A. publishing house, Girl Press, has at long last come out with its answer to “The Rules: Time-Tested Secrets for Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right,” from Harriet Nelson clones Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider.

The 1996 self-help guide to dating advised women to digress to pre-feminist mind games to bag men, but “The Real Rules for Girls” (Girl Press, $14.95) by Mindy Morgenstern teaches women to stand up and fight for what they want in relationships and in life.

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Fein and Schneider “helped women feel bad about themselves again, and took away any power we had,” said Morgenstern, who is a writer for children’s television programs. “I wanted to write a book about the real rules, things I wished I had known when I was growing up.”

The 1996 “Rules” advises women not to talk about themselves too much on dates and not to accept an invitation for Saturday if a man calls you after Wednesday. Morgenstern hopes her version helps women realize self-esteem is the best way to win at the dating game.

Words of wisdom about family, work, self-esteem and money include “jobs will suck along the way”; “it never hurts to kiss up”; “compliments won’t pay for the Porsche. . . . While you’re at it, ask for double the raise”; and Morgenstern’s personal favorite, “other women are not the enemy.”

“Some women have the attitude that they have fought to get to the top,” so they’re not about to give a helping hand to a woman on the rise, she said. “It’s shocking that we aren’t mentoring other women, and that we are considering them our enemies.”

Skylight Books in Los Feliz will host a party for “The Real Rules for Girls” and Morgenstern Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m. Info: (323) 660-1175.

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Who needs to go to the Grammys when you can get the official program at home? Officialstuff.com (https://www.officialstuff.com), a Web site that sells official programs for sporting and entertainment events, is guaranteeing those who order the Grammy program by the end of today will have it in their hot little hands by Wednesday night.

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It’ll cost you $34.95, but that’s a small price to pay for being able to fool your friends into thinking you went to the Grammys, right?

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Wesley Snipes, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Katie and Natasha Wagner are expected to join fashion designer Adriano Goldschmied at the 2000 “Denim Art” charity event tonight at miauhaus in L.A.

During the event, members of emerging artist collective Warp & Weft will paint jeans, jackets and other denim pieces from Goldschmied’s spring collection to be auctioned off later in the evening. (Goldschmied has created denim designs for DKNY Jeans, Diesel, Replay and the Gap’s 1969 collection.)

Proceeds from the auction will benefit Gen Art, a New York-based group that promotes emerging stars in fashion, film and other arts.

Admittance to the party is by invitation only, but there will be a live simulcast at https://www.IncredibleArt.com, where users can place online bids for the items.

Booth Moore can be reached at booth.moore@latimes.com.

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