Fallon promised them he'd try to keep it down and, to express their thanks, they gave him a treat... from under their blouses. Clip at left.

In the first photo, a woman who appears to be Prejean wears pink panties and looks over her shoulder while holding her breasts. Pop Crunch reports that Alicia Jacobs, a Miss USA pageant judge who criticized Prejean's views on gay marriage after the pageant, has seen all six photos and says the others are more revealing. She thinks the photos may have been taken after Prejean's breast augmentation, which the Miss California USA organization paid for.

Prejean, 21, originally said the photos were taken of her when she was 17 (which would make them child pornography) according to the clip from The Today Show below:

In a statement released this morning, Prejean didn't emphasize that she was a minor when the pictures were taken, but said, according to E!:

I am a Christian, and I am a model. Models pose for pictures, including lingerie and swimwear photos. Recently, photos taken of me as a teenager have been released surreptitiously to a tabloid Web site that openly mocks me for my Christian faith. I am not perfect, and I will never claim to be. But these attacks on me and others who speak in defense of traditional marriage are intolerant and offensive.

The text posted along with the photo on TheDirty.com does describe Prejean as a "self-proclaimed bible thumper," and concludes:

So much for being a good role model for the state of California Carrie. Looks like your Dirty photo shoot makes you a sinner too.

Though the site makes jokes about Prejean's religion, it seems the intent was to attack the hypocrisy of her presenting herself as the poster girl for squeaky-clean traditional values, rather than mocking her belief in God. If Prejean were any other Christian Miss USA runner up, it's unlikely the photos would have generated much national interest or focused as much on her religion. But, if photos of another state pageant winner came to light, that woman's most likely response would be to apologize and relinquish her crown in disgrace. Though Prejean's attempt to frame herself as the victim of religious persecution is somewhat ridiculous, the pictures were obviously released to discredit Prejean by revealing that she's an ignorant slut because she's posed for a half-dozen semi-nude photos! (Uh, like many young women her age?)

Prejean has already proven through her words that she's a poor spokeswoman for the anti-gay marriage movement. Posing for vaguely racy photos doesn't mean Prejean couldn't have an intelligent or articulate point about gay marriage, but not knowing much of anything about the policies she's advocating does. Christian conservative groups like the National Organization for Marriage have already shown they are willing to tolerate her ignorance on the issues, but it remains to be seen whether they will accept a spokeswoman who doesn't fit their view of how a "moral" woman should behave.

Exclusive: Miss California Carrie Prejean Exposed [TheDirty.com]
Miss California Nude Picture - Carrie Prejean Naked Photo Scandal [PopCrunch]
Miss California Denounces Racy Photo Leak [E!]

Earlier: Who Needs A Scholarship When You Can Get Sponsored Breasts?
Miss California Opens Mouth, Exhales Inanity
Celebrity Missives About Miss California Make Us Wish For World Peace

Parks and Recreation is about Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), deputy director of the Parks and Recreation Department in Pawnee, Indiana. She loves her job but none of her coworkers share her enthusiasm. Tom (Aziz Ansari) constantly mocks her behind her back and her boss Ron (Nick Offerman) hates all government projects. In the first episode, town resident Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones) complains about an abandoned pit in her neighborhood. She just wants the pit filled in, but Knope decides to build a park on the site. She hopes a successful project will help her fulfill her dream of moving on from local government and becoming the next Hillary Clinton.

The show, which premiers tonight on NBC, was originally thought to be a spinoff of The Office, but it actually has no connection to that show's universe. However, critics say it's hard to get over the similarities, since the show has the same producers, it looks like it's being filmed by an unexplained documentary crew, Amy Poehler's character is similar to Michael Scott, and Rashida Jones is best known for playing Karen on The Office. Below, the critics weigh in on Parks and Recreation.

San Francisco Chronicle

Maybe if NBC and the people behind Parks and Recreation weren't so hell-bent on telling everyone it's not The Office and just embraced the fact that - one more time for clarity sake - it's The Office, viewers wouldn't be put off by the comparison. They would opt in if they were already fans of one of television's finest sitcoms. And let's face it, if viewers don't like The Office - which has never been a ratings hit despite the critical acclaim - then they will not go in for Parks and Recreation. Why? Because it's the same show, with different people in a different location.

Variety

The producers of The Office have hewn a little too closely to that show's template in Parks and Recreation, which despite a few amusing moments winds up feeling like that established program in drag.

What Parks would appear to need, more than anything, is a stronger human component (think the romance between Pam and Jim) to ground its eccentricities. There's a vague hint of that in the character of Ann (The Office transplant Rashida Jones), but even she's saddled with a good-for-nothing boyfriend, and there's nothing else initially to counter-balance Poehler's overwhelming presence.

USA Today

Thanks to Poehler, Leslie comes across as sweet and well-intentioned, a public servant who is able to view being yelled at as "people caring loudly at me." And yet the show merrily tortures her, pushing her in the pit, belittling her efforts, letting the deeply unlikable Tom undercut her with knowing, sarcastic glances to the camera, as if she were Michael from The Office. Parks never expends enough energy to even approach funny, but even if it were more amusing, that sour whiff of gratuitous cruelty would still linger.

Reuters

It's Poehler who owns the show, and she proves instantly that she's got the comic intelligence to carry a series like this one, which draws its energy from character interactions rather than broad punch lines. She's awkward but not alienating, and she's eager without being repelling. Most of all, there's a genuine heart to her that gives the comedy a balance and lets it be mocking without resorting to cruelty.

The New York Daily News

All this soon turns Parks and Recreation into a summer camp for lightweight one-liners, the kind of banter that might sustain an occasional SNL skit, but may have trouble supporting a whole sitcom. Unlike her SNL colleague Tina Fey, whose success with 30 Rock NBC would dearly love to replicate, Poehler just doesn't have the material to do it. Clueless, oblivious characters are a foundation of most sitcoms, but this show needs more of a humor base than a wall mural that shows Pawnee's first white settlers massacring the natives.

The New York Times

The show looks a lot like The Office, but there aren't many female leads on television quite like Leslie. The closest ones are women who volunteer to look foolish on reality shows like Bravo's Real Housewives of New York or TV Land's coming, self-explanatory dating show, The Cougar. There is also, of course, reality: Leslie in some ways recalls Katherine Harris, the former Florida secretary of state who became infamous during the 2000 election recount for her dim understanding of the law and clear love for the trappings of office.

Leslie is a classic ditz, which is to say that she is ridiculous and endearingly obtuse. What makes Ms. Poehler's star turn a milestone is that ditzes are traditionally supporting characters, like Jenna on 30 Rock and Karen on Will & Grace or, reaching back, Edith on All in the Family and Georgette on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. It's hard to think of many actresses since Lucille Ball who have been as wacky in a leading role on a network sitcom.

The Los Angeles Times

Like The Office, it does its work quietly — too quietly for some, I'm sure — and it is no more about actual small-town politics than is the Adult Swim cartoon Tom Goes to the Mayor. But it has a kind of sunny charm, a premise fit for a novel, and is built upon a pair of strong female leads, a rare enough thing in sitcoms. Poehler and Jones have a nice, contrapuntal rhythm. I stamp this show: approved.

A source tells the New York Post, "Everything was filmed. The birth, everything. Then [Suleman's people] said negotiations would start at $1.2 million for the video and pictures, which is when producers from Oprah Winfrey, ABC and CBS left the room. NBC stayed." The source believes that NBC made a "donation" to Suleman through an intermediary, though NBC vehemently denies the claim. "NBC News does not pay for interviews," said a network representative. "We did not pay Nadya Suleman, or anyone who represents her, for our interview ... Not a dime."

But of course, the network did profit from Suleman's interview with Ann Curry. The Washington Post reports that the Dateline interview attracted 11.3 million viewers Tuesday, delivering the news magazine's highest ratings since Matt Lauer interviewed Princess Diana's children in 2007. For comparison, NBC's broadcast of the Golden Globes drew 15 million viewers last month, and the network's election-night coverage had 12.3 million viewers.

Whether NBC made a "donation" to Suleman for the interview or not, she is now collecting money through her website. As CNN explains, the site features pictures of the octuplets and says the "proud mother of octuplets" is accepting donations using Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and PayPal. There is also the option to leave a comment, though none of the wishes people have left for the family are displayed.

California taxpayers would probably have some choice comments for Suleman, as news that she will be receiving even more assistance from the state has provoked an angry response from residents. CBS News reports that Suleman has already been using public assistance to help raise her six previous children, receiving $490 per month in food stamps and Social Security disability payments for three of her children. One of Suleman's previous six children is autistic, and two have undisclosed disabilities. In California, a low-income family can collect Social Security payments of up to $793 a month for each disabled child, with three children adding up to $2,379. Suleman said in her interview with Ann Curry that she does not consider the aid a form of welfare and doesn't intend to be on it for long.

But, the hospital where the octuplets will spend seven to 12 weeks has requested reimbursement from the state Medicaid program to care for the premature babies. The figure has not been disclosed, but in 2006, the average cost of a premature baby's hospital stay was $164,273 in California and the average cost for just one cesarean birth was $22,762. Using these figures, the cost of caring the premature octuplets would total nearly $1.5 million dollars before they even left the hospital.

This news, in addition to the fact that Suleman paid for her fertility treatments using $165,000 in disability payments, supported her children with student loans, and plans to enroll in California State University and rely on the school's day care to care for her children, has not gone over well with California taxpayers. Los Angeles Times columnist Tim Rutten says that the Suleman story is "grotesque," and said, "it appears that, in the case of the Suleman family, raising 14 children takes not simply a village but the combined resources of the county, state and federal governments."

NBC And The Octomom [The New York Post]
Mother of Octuplets Delivers Ratings, Too [The Washington Post]
Octuplets' Mom Seeks Online Donations [CNN]
Octuplets Mom Enrages Calif. Taxpayers [CBS News]

• Wanna see Posh's designs, complete with lampshades and elephant-trunk headpieces? Check out the new commercial for her fashion line. [Fashionista]
• "The video sees various models taking inspiration from Posh’s own ads for Marc Jacobs last season by hiding themselves all over a large mansion – behind drawers, in carrier bags, hanging behind doors, turning themselves into lamp shades and transforming themselves into an elephant." [Sassybella]
• Says Posh: “Being in the Spice Girls, fashion-wise probably didn't open any doors. If anything it shut doors and I've had to bang them down.” [Times Online]
• A New York bridal shop is knocking off the Vivienne Westwood wedding gown in which Carrie Bradshaw was jilted. [New York Post]

• Notify jeans classifies butts into three categories. [Guanabee]
• Apparently Katie Holmes is surrounded by a whole gaggle of other moddles for her ballyhooed Miu Miu campaign. [New York]
• Uniqlo beats the odds, is up 32%. [WWD]
• This, we like: Kate Moss is teaming up with Liberty to use their classic floral prints in her next Top Shop collection. [WWD]
• "Liberty are already working with Topshop on a lingerie collaboration, which launched in stores yesterday, though exactly how Moss will use the London store's iconic prints is still under wraps." [ElleUK]
• Michelle Obama's Vogue cover's not a sure thing. Neither, apparently is Anna Wintour's job! [New York]
• Meanwhile, Michelle continues to boost young designers: the latest beneficiary is Jason Wu. [WSJ]
• Oh noes! J. Crew and Bloomies knocked out on a prime shopping day by website malfunctions. [Crains]
• So why is the entire payroll of NBC in this batch of holiday Gap ads? [Jossip]
• Luxury luggage gets extra-ridiculous to woo reluctant jet-setters. [IHT]
• Zara's founder is funding alternative energy solutions in Spain. [Business Week]
• Pre-fall collection peeks for Versace, DKNY, Alexander Wang, Armani, Missoni! [WWD]
• Supermodel Miranda Kerr has been replaced as the face of Australia's oldest department store. [AdAge]
• The “2009 Shop with a Conscience Consumer Guide" is a cheat-sheet to apparel made under ethical conditions. [WWD]
• Helena Christensen's line for Pilgrim jewelry is "typically, ethnically-inspired and feminine, in both delicate orchid-pastels and strong, spicy colours, priced between £10 and £100." [Telegraph]
• Victoria's Secret tries to go higher-end with a new flagship, "a level of elegance that casts the flirty and frilly lingerie and romantic beauty products in a softer, luxurious light." [WWD]

Washington Post:

What's wrong with "The Baby Borrowers," NBC's new domestic reality show? For starters, everything, and then again nothing — nothing that isn't wrong with most reality shows of similar bent.

Once you accept as givens the many foibles and failings of the format — exploitation and humiliation packaged as entertainment — "Baby Borrowers" is not without value, and value beyond whatever ratings it might earn for NBC, king of the have-no-shames. Insights into human behavior, particularly stress-driven behavior, are not beyond possibility. And at a basic, manipulative level, the show is bound to have you rooting for some of the contestants while hissing and booing others.

The New York Times:

Only one of the young women, Kelly, a student at Auburn University in Alabama, demonstrates a real knack for parenthood. She is horrified when Morgan, a fellow mother-in-training and a surfer from San Diego, changes a diaper without wiping the baby’s bottom first. Morgan, who is blond and sullen and dismissed by her boyfriend for her laziness, seems consistently surprised by the digestive habits of the very young. She constantly wears an expression of confusion, as if to say, “I auditioned for ‘The Hills’ and still don’t understand why I never got a callback.”

The experiment, which can get repetitive, also tests the solidity of each relationship. Morgan and her boyfriend, Daton, acknowledge their shakiness upfront, but the other couples seem to assume that they are strong enough to withstand the stresses of regurgitation and tantrums.

Los Angeles Times:

With its emphasis on the domestic, "The Baby Borrowers" has the potential to be that rare animal — a show for the whole family. Even the youngest children can appreciate a baby spitting out food or how gross it is to change a poopy diaper, teens will like seeing their peers mouth off and mess up, and parents, of course, will emerge feeling victorious, validated at last for all their unsung heroics.

But the take-away is probably sweetest for women over 30. All the young women on "The Baby Borrowers" are lovely to look at, with their flawless skin and unlined faces. But watching them whipsaw between independence and petulance, confidence and narcissism, those of us who have reached adulthood with our faculties intact can exult in the fact that, no matter what else happens in our lives, we will never, ever, have to be 18 again.

USA Today:

And that's the mind-boggling question at the center of NBC'sThe Baby Borrowers, TV's latest life's-a-joke assault on the boundaries of bad taste: Who in heaven's name would lend their infant out as a reality-show challenge? Yet there they are, five babies given to five teenage couples in a "groundbreaking experiment" that, as the show progresses, will find the same couples caring for toddlers, pre-teens, teens and, in the end, senior citizens.

Tonight at 8 ET/PT, Baby Borrowers wants to have things both ways, teasing you with the quickly dismissed possibility that the babies might be at risk while ignoring the cold, hard fact that they are at risk, no matter what safeguards exist. If the borrowers drop those babies, how could the show's "shadow nannies" catch them before they hit the floor? And even if the babies aren't in danger, what is the upside for them in this arrangement? They certainly don't seem very happy about it.

Variety:

As a consequence, viewers who endure the first few episodes will probably find themselves pulled along if only for the final crawl to see which couples survived the experiment.

At one point, as a toddler drives one couple to distraction, the kid's real mom — watching a monitor — wryly muses that this is the point where the pseudo-parents "run screaming for the condom aisle."

Newsday:

The conceit, and joke, of "The Office" is the idea that a documentary on office life is an absurdity wrapped in an inanity. What happens in an office? Well, people push paper around, and gossip, and go out after work, and ... In a sense, "Baby Borrowers" has embraced this conceit without embracing the absurdity. What is it like to raise a baby, whether you're a teen or adult? Well, it's really hard work, and babies burp and cry and you don't sleep much, and ... Yes, this is life, and yes, as subject matter for television, this is also boring. NBC clearly has serious intentions here (producer Tom Kelly, a "Survivor" alum, is a master of the form). Teenage pregnancy does exist (have you heard?) and this show wants to serve, on some level as a reality check. Such checks are fine. That doesn't make them watchable.

NPR:

Realism just isn't Baby Borrowers strong suit. The show's idea of simulating pregnancy is having its teenage contestants don fat suits. And even such a simple challenge is enough to drive a wedge between one couple, Kelly and Austin. [audio of Austin making fun of Kelly in a "suit like a pregnant lady," Kelly throwing a tantrum because he laughed at her and refusing to wear the fat suit] Yes, there is plenty of crying, whining, and whimpering on this show. And sometime you'll hear from the babies as well If poor Kelly can't deal with a fat suit, can you imagine her attempting breast-feeding?
[...]
A show like Baby Borrowers should really function as a gut-check for any teenager contemplating early parenthood. But too often it just goes for silly sight gags like dirty diapers.

"The Baby Borrowers" premieres tonight on NBC at 9/8 c.

• God bless Vivienne Westwood for being so undeniably herself. Says the fashion designer-cum-philosopher: "I'd like to do less, but there are people dependent on me now. My thing has always been, just let me finish this pair of trousers and then I can read my book. We've all got to wear something, I suppose. So my advice would be to buy quality. Choose well. I think there's a certain status in seeing someone wearing the same thing over and over again." [Vogue UK]
  
• God bless Heidi Klum. She's just so wise: "[Take] time out for yourself so you can engage in an activity that you really enjoy. [Also, don't] neglect the romance in your life. [And] wear pretty lingerie if you don't want to feel schlumpy." [Vogue UK]
  
• God bless Donatella Versace for saying at the Times Talks on Sunday that her fashion motto is "Don't let the rappers wear more bling than you do!" and that she hopes to be reincarnated as Maya Rudolph. [Fashion Week Daily]

• God bless Agent Provocateur co-founder Joe Corre (who is, incidentally, also the son of Vivienne Westwood) for making his brand's latest advertising campaign, fronted by Kate Moss, actually about his feelings of disdain regarding the Vatican and Catholicism. The apple clearly does not fall far from the tree. [NYMag]
• God bless the Project Runway producers for sticking to their guns and maintaining contracts with NBC rather than following their bastardized show to Lifetime. [Yahoo]
• God bless Burberry for not using Agyness Deyn in its next advertising campaign. [Fashionista]
• God bless Jack White and Karen Elson for seemingly non-stop sex. [Globe and Mail]
• God bless model/tsunami survivor Petra Nemacova for making big money in real estate. [Page Six]
• God bless Margerita Missoni for deigning to look at apartments in Alphabet City, NYC. [Fashionista]
• God bless Giorgio Armani for sorta slighting the Met when talking about last night's Costume Institute Gala: "The superheroes theme is both topical and modern and will, I believe, attract a wider audience than usual to the Costume Institute. I am looking forward to welcoming everyone." (Let us not forget in his first press conference regarding the exhibit, he managed to insult Anna Wintour.) [Vogue UK]
• God bless alice+olivia designer Stacey Bendet, who is reportedly pregnant with baby number one. [Page Six]

Over on The View, it's always been about women, but Ms. Stanley claims that since Rosie O'Donnell left, the show lacks the "unhinged energy" it had. "The discussions have turned more sedate and predictable," she complains. And of Today, Ms. Stanley says the changes have "smoothed out some of the more interesting quirks, making the new format seem even longer than four hours." In other words, a woman finds the programming for women downright boring. Where did the producers go wrong? What do women really want out of morning television, anyway, if not handbags, diet tips and Whoopi Goldberg? News and weather?

Morning TV Veers From News To Frills [New York Times]

The "African-American community" has $850 billion to spend, and women control 62% of that. Which means black men only control 38%. The reporter, Rehema Ellis, admits that the reasons for such disparity are complex, but does note that some complain of schools that give up on young black males at the elementary level, and of a society that celebrates the "bad boy" image made popular by the likes of 50 Cent — making dropping out seem cool.

Meanwhile, the complaint about the NBC series is that there's a "constant burden of negatives with little or no solution or context for the reasons for the disparities."

The Monday segment compared black women to white women and comparing black women to black men — a pattern in news media that makes the black consumer cautious and hesitant about the motivations of the media. As Essence Editor Angela Burt-Murray said in an online comment, that segment may make a black woman want to shoot herself in the head.

NBC Stirs Controversy With 'Black Women' Series [Advertising Age]
African-American Women And Where They Stand [NBC Nightly News]

This Happened [Fast Hugs]
NBC: 60th Anniversary Celebration-Dreamgirls "Family" [YouTube]
Related: Age Of Love [NBC]

• George Clooney, champion of rich folk with vacation homes everywhere!, protests new construction developments in a small Northern Italian town. Where he has a home. Because he fears the new developments...would turn it into a tourist trap? And then his pretty movie star home wouldn't be a pretty movie star home any more. Boo hoo. [USA Today]
  
• And at the first day of the Glastonbury Festival...it rains. Lucky for festival attendees that Kate Moss, like, practically invented wellies! (That would be galoshes to we American folk.) [BBC]
  
• What? Dick Cheney tried to strong-arm and then do away with people who wouldn't do what he wanted in regards to some classified information? File under: totally blowing our mind right now! [CNN]
  
• Tee hee: Perez gets sued. [ABC News]
  
• The Smashing Pumpkins are back! [E!]
  
• Pres. Bush's advisers think (crazy, we know!) that maybe the prison at Guantanomo should be shut down sooner than later. Yet we sorta have a hunch (crazy, we know!) that Bush is going to continue to disagree. [NYT]
  
• What's more awkward and contrived than Paris and Nicole's break-up? Why Paris and NBC's break-up, of course! The Peacock Network swears it was never a done deal with Paris and that they totally never offered her money. And Paris has only had sex with two guys! [TMZ]
  
• 4 U.S. casulaties identified. [DoD]
  
• About seven people informed us that the New York Post had picked up on our ingenious handwriting sample idea. [New York Post]