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Look, no one expects a hard-hitting interview for the Women of the Year feature - it's meant to be a tribute and an informational Q&A. Nevertheless, I couldn't help but giggle when Katie said - and I paraphrase - "You invited young girls from the D.C. public schools to meet with strong female role models at the White House: Why did you do that?" (Also inadvertently goofy was, upon asking Obama the standard "who would you choose to have dinner with?" Couric added, sympathetically, "it is a hard question, I must say." )

You can probably guess the reason behind the White House meet-and-greet: Obama spoke extensively about the importance of mentoring, a new mentoring initiative she's starting for young women, and the extent to which people in her own life affected her. Other hot topics were nutrition and diet ("Maybe You Should Write A Cookbook!" exclaimed Couric) and the importance of healthcare for women.

Throughout, Obama was gracious, articulate, and definitely on-message - in classic First Lady mode, and wearing it nicely. She was eager to identify as a woman, a wife, and a mom, making the point that,
"we have to remember that it's usually women who handle healthcare decisions." One very interesting moment, I thought, was when Couric added, "You must have learned a lot about this in your previous life as a hospital administrator," and Obama replied, "I've learned a lot in my life as a mom." Message received! When Couric, referencing the scrutiny applied to Obama's appearance, led with, "Do you ever want to say to people, 'Get a life?'" Obama's denial was swift: "Oh no," she said. "It's part of the job." (Since we're on the topic, the First Lady looked lovely and her hair was very, very tall.)

Towards the end of the interview, Couric read a few questions from Glamour readers - things about "juggling," "having it all," and, yes, dating. These spontaneous answers were the interview's highlight. On the subject of keeping sane, Obama said this: "I put my kids first and myself a really close second. One thing I've learned from watching male role models is that they don't hesitate to invest in themselves."

But best of all was her answer to the question on "how you landed such a good guy." "Did you know that Mr. O. was a great catch," asks the reader, "and what advice can you give a 26-year-old young professional" about how to land her own? Not shockingly, Obama says the POTUS "was special in terns of his honesty, his sincerity, his compassion for other people...cute's good, but cute only lasts for so long." And then this, which should really just replace the dating portion of Self-Help:

Look at how the guy treats his mother, what he says about women, how he acts with children he doesn't know. And more importantly how does he treat you? When you're dating a man, you should always feel good...you should never feel less than...you should never doubt yourself, you shouldn't be in a relationship with someone who doesn't make you completely happy or make you feel whole. And if you're in (such a) relationship, don't get married, and find that person who brings you complete and utter joy.

@katiecouric: Michelle Obama [CBS]

While we kind of like that Weaver refuses to be told how to conduct an interview, if this is actually a look into the average smart kid's mind, well, huh. (Although, we gotta say, we're kinda feeling for the kid: I mean, where do you go from interviewing the president? It's gotta be a letdown.)

Thanks to Feministing for bringing this doozy to our attention! After drawling her love for gay men and penchant for marinating in monsters and playgirls, Gaga gets feisty. Asked whether her sexuality "distracts from her music," she fires back,

You see, if I was a guy, and I was sitting her with a cigarette in my hand, grabbing my crotch and talking about how I make music 'cause I love fast cars and fucking girls, you'd call me a rock star. But when I do it in my music and in my videos, because I'm a female, because I make pop music, you're judgmental, and you say that it is distracting. I'm just a rock star.

But, when asked if she's a feminist, she replies, "I'm not a feminist - I, I hail men, I love men. I celebrate American male culture, and beer, and bars and muscle cars..."

Because, yes, young people of the world, feminism = man-hater. Also, beer-hater. Now, if she wants to "hail" them while they stride around in togas and laurel wreaths, well, then, I guess she may indeed have legitimate philosophical differences with the rest of the community. But as Feministing's Vanessa Valenti sagely puts it, "Good on Gaga for making a feminist statement, but bad on her for not owning it as one." Now, I'm not saying Gaga should be regarded as a feminist icon, but it would be nice to see someone in the public eye - with, by the way, obvious feminist views - use her pulpit to correct misconceptions rather than perpetuate them. She's right, though: her sexuality doesn't distract from her music. Her Rainbow Brite wig? Maybe slightly.

Why Lady Gaga, Why? [Feministing]

Lady Gaga Feels Pre-Judged By Norwegian Journalist (09/07/30) [YouTube]

Because it's impossible to go a single day without contributing to the Mad Men Frenzy, here are some quotes from a new interview with Elisabeth Moss in the new Black Book. There are no big huge revelations, but I like how you can almost hear her speaking in her careful, measured way. As usual, she sounds very smart and very down-to-earth. I just wish they had asked her about her relationship with the Church Of Scientology, because I think a lot of fans are curious about that aspect.

On Peggy Olson and Don Draper not having (yet) done it:

"On any other, lesser show, you would have had that happen on the first season, but with us, it's touched upon in the very first episode-and then completely buried in favor of a far more interesting sort of friendship, more protégée-type relationship."

On AMC being unlike any other network (that I've heard of, at least):

"We know everyone at the network; we're actually friends, and we've seen them and hung out with them and been with them from the beginning, so it feels like it's a much more familial relationship."

On what she wears in real life. It's almost anarchic!:

"I'm a huge proponent of Urban Outfitters-I adore them and adore their website and consider it my personal closet much to the detriment of my checking account. I don't have a lot of time to go shopping honestly, and when I do, I'm not a huge designer girl. I'm very like I like the Gap and J. Crew and Urban Outfitters."

On her movie with Sarah Jessica Parker:

"I've done two films this year. One's Did You Hear About the Morgans?- it's a romantic comedy, I play Sarah Jessica Parker's assistant. It really fun to do that kind of comedy, which I've never really done-very light, snappy, you feel like you're in an old 40s movie. I'm a huge fan of Sarah Jessica Parker's, so that was a dream come true to work with her. "

On working with the Apatow gang on Get Him To The Greek:

"Mad Men is so minimal, and nobody ever really says anything-you have five lines, and it's all very quiet. Then you go to doing 10-minute takes of something that's so comedic where everybody's improv-ing and coming up with ideas ... it was so black and white."

And the part that bugged me!:

Black Book: "Before season two of Mad Men started last year, I was talking to costume designer Janine Bryant; at the time, she described Peggy's look as a "schoolgirl in the office" who is "buttoned up" due to her conservative nature. One of the questions I asked her about each character in turn was what she thought a contemporary version of that character would wear. What she said for Peggy Olson was "Marc Jacobs ... Maybe a little bit of Burberry."

Elisabeth Moss: "Oh, that's very good."

Black Book: "What else would the Peggies of 2009 wear?"

Elisabeth Moss: "I could not possibly improve on that. Maybe a little bit of Calvin Klein mixed in ... just the sort of simplicity and professionalism of it, but that's wonderfully put. In fact, there's a dress that I wore this season that seriously could be Marc Jacobs. You could sell it off of the rack."

Ugh to that part. First off: Peggy Olson is in no way known for her sense of style in the world of the show (remember that totally ridiculous gay guy makeover scene?), and since the show took place before irony, she couldn't have been doing that trying-to-look-frumpy-on-purpose Marc Jacobs thing. It's just a really circular argument. Marc Jacobs is inspired by dowdy ladies from the 60's, not the other way around! But it's not like she could disagree with the show's costume designer. Anyway, I love that Elisabeth Moss, the famous movie star, shops at The Gap and Urban Outfitters and J. Crew, and I actually believe in this case it's not a sneaky celebrity trick to sound relatable.

When I first met celebrity's name, she was adjective dressed in a designer's name article of clothing, looking both adjective and effortlessly adjective, as always. She'd already ordered—a meal that she adverb pushed around with her fork, smiling as she discussed her latest project. [Ed. note- if this interview takes place in the 1990s, make sure the meal is a chicken Caesar salad. If it takes place in the early 00's, make sure it's an egg white omelet. If it takes place now, make sure it's a frittata with whole grain toast.]

At first , she appears adjective when discussing her role as historical character. "I see a lot of myself in her," she says, "she was a woman faced with many challenges. She also had a vagina, which is another thing we share. That's just so adjective to me. I mean, it's really a role I was born to play."

But the Oscar buzz surrounding title of movie isn't nearly as strong as the buzz surrounding her latest fling with actor. I try to get her to say anything about this actor, even something like, "I don't want to talk about it," so I can justify putting "We ask actress all about her steamy relationship with actor!!!" on the cover of the magazine, which I'm going to do anyway, because it's the only reason anyone will even bother buying this fluff piece, probably, because I mean, really, how many times can you sit down and read about actress eating a meal and talking about playing a type of role as if it's the most fascinating thing you've ever heard? She eats and she acts! She eats, and she does her job! Celebrities! They're just like us!!! It doesn't matter that actor is just as boring in interviews: together, they will sell magazines!

"Where do you see yourself in ten years," I ask her, as she stares adverb out the window, pushing her adjective hair behind her adjective ears, displaying her adjective designer earrings. "You'll have to wait and see," she smiles, before getting up and heading out the door. And just as adverb as she came into my life, she is gone, off to her next noun, to play the role she is perhaps best suited to play: herself.

Feel free to post your interviews in the comments!

On her character, Blair Waldorf:

“I loved the character and the script,” says Leighton, “I just understood Blair – she’s seemingly flawless but has the same problems and the same issues as anybody else has at that age. I feel like that’s why people find her so intriguing.”

On how she and her castmates are all BFFs:

"Everybody lives within a five-block radius” of one another. “Work is how I meet people,” she explains. “When you’re friends with somebody who does what you do, it’s easier. It’s the same thing when you’re dating somebody.

She also claims that Ed "I'm Chuck Bass" Westwick is her "favorite actor to work with" and that she and him have "really good chemistry." Leighton, you seem like a nice girl, but you might want to shy away from saying you have "chemistry" from a guy who comes off as a bit of a self-obsessed sleeze in interviews where he repeatedly calls the interviewer "baby."

On headbands:

I don't wear headbands, ever.

ZOMG. We can think of a few Blair-worshipping gals who will be a little upset to hear that.

It is also claimed that she is "totally comfortable" with the photo-snapping crowds that swarm around the GG cast while they are filming in NYC. Funny, we remember her being a wee bit camera shy.

Safe interview aside, we're still fans. What can we say? She/Blair Waldorf are the best part of Gossip Girl.

Cover Girl Leighton Meester [Teen Vogue]

"No one lounges around cuter than Kate Hudson." Yes, these are deep thoughts from the actress who is pushing the film Bride Wars co-starring and produced by Hudson. Hathaway, who is still smarting a little from her breakup with Raffaello Follieri, her boyfriend of four years, also has trouble shopping for loungewear: "This is harder than I thought," she confesses. "I haven't done this yet. I don't know how I want to look when I lounge around." Although she claims the relationship was over-ish before her dude was busted:

"I was a 21-year-old kid when I met him. It wasn't a huge, dramatic breakup. We were in the process of winding it down when he was arrested. I don't talk about this, except when I'm asked. It's not a part of my life anymore. It's a complicated situation that has the ability to define me in ways I am not comfortable with."

Here are some other things Hathaway utters which, frankly, sound typical of someone who has just gone through an awful breakup:

"I'm proud of myself when I'm deep in a squat, pulling from my core."

"I realized that the past five years of my life had been spent accumulating things I like but never asked if I love."

"I'm looking for a pared-down truth."

Oh, and be sure and watch the video, in which someone asks her if she is okay or something and Hathaway says, "It doesn't matter whether or not I'm dying, I'm on the cover of Vogue."

Lastly, when Hathaway tries on a Diane von Furstenberg dress, she muses: "I can go on a date in this. Oh, my God. That's such a weird thought."

The Awakening [Vogue.com]
Related: Beauty Moment [Vogue.com]
Behind The Scenes With Anne Hathaway [Vogue.com]

Writes Binelli:

In person, Pitt is warm and funny, but is also, at least while he's being interviewed, an extremely fidgety guy. He paces. He musses his hair. He tears little pieces of dried apricot into smaller pieces before popping them into his mouth. He rubs his knee so intensely it brings to mind Lennie from Of Mice and Men petting a rabbit. All of this might have to do with the fact that, despite his repeatedly proven talents as an actor, Pitt remains, for a large number of people, a creature primarily of tabloid fascination. Did he cheat on his ex-wife with his current partner? Will they have another biological child? What war-ravaged destination might they visit next? Does the mustache make him look hot or porn-y?

As for the interview, Binelli gets Pitt to spill about his work, his life, and his thoughts — and there are some revelations.

On Pitt's crappy movies, like The Devil's Own and Meet Joe Black:

"I got lost in the wilderness of fame a bit. There are all of these opportunities you're supposed to be taking. And I got really discombobulated."

On growing up in a religious community:

"I just found it so stifling, my religion. I know it's very comforting for other people. And it was too much of what you shouldn't be doing instead of what you could be doing. I get enraged when people start telling other people how to live their lives. It drives me mental. This Prop. 8 thing just drives me mental."

On his new film, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button:

"I find Benjamin is about those universal things we all share — that 95 percent that makes us all the same, wherever we are in the world. Our loves, our hopes, but also the loss that we all walk around with and hide very well, and the ultimate notion that we're all expendable. To me, it's a counterstatement to this divisive period we've been in, where we focused on the two, three, four, five percent of ways in which we're different."

On the future:

"I have this fantasy of my older days, painting or sculpting or making things. I have this fantasy of a bike trip to Chile. I have this fantasy of flying into Morocco. But right now, more and more, it's about getting the work done and getting home to family. I have an adventure every morning, getting up."

One has to wonder, is this a man who gets bored easily? Who loves being on the go? Who dreams of never slowing down? Who dreams of never settling down? And with six kids — and possibly two more on the way — is his family "adventure" enough?

Brad Pitt: The Rolling Stone Interview [Rolling Stone]

Whereas for years we've been in a dress-code limbo forcing us to balance "professional" with "creative" with "young" with "mature" now - except in the most creative of industries - a suit no longer feels stuffy. Says one headhunter, in these competitive times, “We are back to a time when every company expected both women and men to wear suits and we didn’t have a Casual Friday..They are looking for a sharper style. I recommend a strong suit that says you are collected and ready to work.” (Here's hoping Mad Men's smart suits are a contributing factor.) Sure there are those stalwarts who bought a suit straight out of high school and dutifully dressed up like a mini exec whenever they wanted to be taken seriously, some of us - especially those who are prone to looking young anyhow - always felt uncomfortably like we were dressed in business costumes.

I remember the agony of dressing for interviews, and the discomfort of feeling overdressed in a room full of jeans, like I had "Interview" written across my forehead. As such, any dictate like this, however arbitrary, is a boon. Of course, there's still the issue of skirt or trouser; color; underpinning (in fact in my opinion the article goes on to list so many variables that it's more confusing than ever) - but really the expectation of conformity is comforting. For my own part, I can't wear a suit and not look like an ass, and so swear by a good jacket and an A-line (I do have a couple of vintage suits, suitable for church etc.) And whatever you wear, remember, this is key:
T-tailored to fit you
L-lint-free
C-clean.

The rest is all gravy. And yes I just invented that. Believe me, we're going to be covering all this in my Arbitrary Guide to Style Mostly Inspired by Vintage Career Romances, coming soon. "Shrimp-colored knits" figure prominently, I do assure you.

The Return Of The Interview Suit [New York Times]

MEGAN: Good morning, sunshine! Ready for another day of this?

KAY: You know it.

MEGAN: Well, first let us discuss the definitive proof that Olbermann is not in the bag for Obama: he named him the 3rd worst person in the world yesterday for forgetting how long he'd been married to Michelle. I'm going to guess he'd better have come home with more than a box of Russell Stovers.

KAY: Actually, I'm usually the one that forgets birthdays and anniversaries, so it makes me feel better that Obama does too. (See that Sarah Palin? Obama can get in touch with Real America, too.) Of course, Obama probably has a few more things on his mind than I do.

MEGAN: I'll admit, I suck at birthdays. Ask anyone. If my phone doesn't go off to remind me that there is a birthday, then I'm up shit creek. On the other hand, he remembered the anniversary, just not how long they'd been married. Anyway, I mostly just thought it was funny, being as it was coupled with Hannity trying to spin Dick Morris that McCain won last Friday and Karl Rove insisting that Palin was "over prepared" for her interview — given that one of the two gaffes that CBS is not airing is her sitting in utter silence when asked to name a Supreme Court case other than Roe v. Wade. You'd think little Ms. Second Amendment could pull Heller out of her ass, let alone Hamden since her running mate crapped on the Supreme Court for that one despite his supposed anti-torture stand. Hey, how about Brown v. Board of Education? Plessy v. Ferguson? Griswold? Bueller?

KAY: Yeah, I think my favorite part of that was this quote:

There was no verbal fumbling with this particular question as there was with some others, the aide said, but rather silence.

Don't worry, though, she's pretty much requested a do over with Katie Couric.

MEGAN: OMG, did you see it last night?

It was terrible! Terrible! Like, it was like she brought her dad with her to the principal's office and when the questioning got too tough, she let him defend her in a complete bullshit way. My parents were dumbstruck at her stupidity. At one point my mom — who, notably, is not political — said "Why won't he let her talk?" And my dad just sat there and shook his head in awe at the spectacle.

KAY: I know. No wonder the McCain campaign kept her under wraps for so long. I mean, Biden is known for gaffes too, so maybe tomorrow night will be a gaffe-off.

MEGAN: Well, I think before then we'll see plenty of opportunities for the McCain camp to roll out their new talking points, which is that this is all "gotcha" journalism, so that they can attack Gwen Ifill for the questions she asks and the commentators fact-checking at the end and try to mitigate the disaster for Palin they obviously expect it to be. Obama's camp isn't going around trying to convince anyone that The Big Bad Media is out to get Biden.

KAY: So true. The McCain camp is doing some mad lowering expectations lately. I do like, though, how Biden's strategy for Thursday is to pretty much let her screw up on her own and not call attention to it. Because you know Big Bad Media will have that taken care of. Maybe "gotcha" journalism wouldn't be a factor here if there weren't any mistakes to catch.

MEGAN: Ha! Like that's even possible for there not to be mistakes to catch? I was catching some just listening last week, so it's not hard. It just apparently takes The Big Bad Media 4 days to do the same if it's something complex and important like taxes. That said, I actually don't think that the McCain camp is trying to lower expectations because can people's expectations of Sarah Palin get any lower really? What they're attempting to do is redefine the outlines of the game, to make any mention of her gaffes off-limits, to make questioning her on foreign policy off-limits. They're trying to use public pressure to reign in the supposedly free press so that she can do whatever and they won't fact check or call her on it out of some kind of fear. That's sort of the brilliance, from the media's perspective, of having Katie Couric and Gwen Ifill be the meanies, because at least then the McCain camp can't call sexism.

KAY: So true. Although I've definitely met some pretty sexist women in my day. But the weird thing is that Couric is not known for being an unusually tough interviewer. Quite the opposite, in fact, and that's why so many people thought her transition to evening news was so weird. But in the end, it was her, not the media stalwarts, who came across looking tougher.

MEGAN: Well, I don't know that she came across looking tougher, because when ever she got tough, she always cocked her head, slowed down and spoke in an extremely sensitive tone of voice as she was grilling Palin. She only actually seemed annoyed when McCain accused her of gotcha journalism. It was very Barbara Walters of her.

KAY: So does this mean Couric will get a spot on The View later?