Oprah's story begins in 1957 on Easter Sunday, the momentous day on which two church ladies with folksy speech impediments prophesy her rise to fame. Though Oprah is standing under a cross, she looks like she's possessed by the devil. Since this is an illustrated biography, maybe the best way to convey that she's a "beautiful young child" would be to draw her that way.


The thing the author decides to "get out of the way" on pages 2-3 is Oprah's entire adult life, or the part in which she actually does remarkable things. Think about the highlights of Oprah's career, then decide if you'd put Kirstie Alley in a bikini in the top 13.


Let's jump back 50 years and learn a little more about the woman who will grow up to interview Kirstie Alley about her (temporary) weight loss. It seems spending a few years with her loving grandmother has only made little Oprah scarier. Since her mom is busy trying to climb out of the panel, a giant telephone has to step in to break up the angry staring contest between Oprah and her baby sister.


After a brief interlude at her dad's house, where Oprah is treated well, she's returned to her mom. Like much of the comic, this page is sprinkled with excerpts from Maya Angelou poems. Tastefully portraying childhood sexual abuse in a comic book is a tall order, but this is pretty well done. Though, the illustrator does make it look like Oprah is literally locked in a cage.


To deal with the pain of having a "self-absorbed" mother and attending a school where someone forgot to draw many of her classmates' legs, Oprah "runs wild." This entails hooking up with some guy in an alley and dressing like she's in a Britney Spears video.


This page cleverly illustrates Oprah's transformation from tube top-clad hussy to buttoned-up bookworm. It would probably be easier for Good Oprah to read those Photoshopped books if she opened her eyes.


The illustrator has an "ah-ha" moment and decides to draw himself into the story to justify skipping important chunks of his subject's biography. Who knew Female Force comics are written by Eminem?


In 1998, Barbara Walters presents Oprah Winfrey with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Daytime Emmys (video evidence proves Barbara actually hadn't been attacked with pepper spray that night.) The last few pages of the comic just show Oprah greeting fans along with quotes lifted from her acceptance speech.


Finally, Oprah fulfills her life's mission by single-handedly getting Barack Obama elected, which was certainly a triumph for "truth, justice, and the American way." Still, the comic book would have been more entertaining if Oprah's "female force" involved moving things with her mind or shooting lasers out of her eyes.

[Tokyo, October 25. Image via Getty]

As Joy pointed out, "Dr. Orly Taitz Esquire" was just fined $20,000 by federal judge Clay Land for filing frivolous lawsuits. Land said, "The absolute absence of any legitimate legal argument, combined with the political diatribe in her motions, demonstrates that Ms. Taitz' purpose is to advance a political agenda and not to pursue a legitimate legal cause of action. Rather than citing to binding legal precedent, she calls the president names, accuses [Land] of treason and gratuitously slanders the president's father." Taitz told Joy that Land is "a delusional and corrupt judge," but in contrast to her ranty appearance on MSNBC, she seems to have learned to attract flies with honey. She grinned, she played with her hair, she showed us "legal" documents.

Although, as Joy pointed out, "it doesn't matter, they can't read it anyway."

Taitz trotted out the discredited argument that one is only a "natural born citizen" if both parents are citizens. But at least she did it with a smile — and some kind of binder. (Shades of Betsy McCaughey!)

Joy really summed up my reaction to Taitz's whole shtick: "This is crazy! No one agrees with you!" Undeterred, Taitz said some shit about Social Security numbers.

Following Taitz's segment, Wonder Woman Lynda Carter came on to throw her Lasso of Truth around Taitz's craziness. "I think it's her fifteen minutes of fame," she said. I'm looking at my watch.


Lawyer Of The Day: Orly Taitz [Above the Law]

Margaret was an interesting character before she started working for CNN: She was born Margaret Wilson, but changed her name because, she explains, in every class she was in, "there were at least three Margarets" and "there were always other Margaret Wilsons." She continues:

"One day thought, you know, women, we inherit our father's names, then you get married and have a husband's name. I thought, well why should I have to live with my father's name? Why can't I have my own name?"

She chose "Moth" after a Tiger Moth — a plane she used to skydive out of. Margaret was the first "cameraman who was a woman" in Australia and New Zealand. Various friends and colleagues agree: She was fearless, unafraid to get as close to the story as possible, even if that meant getting close to armed militia men. CNN's Christiane Amanpour calls her a "larger than life character" who slept with her combat boots on.

In July 1992, Margaret was in Sarajevo when she was wounded by sniper fire — shot in the face. When she was in surgery, doctors said that even if she did survive, her life would be "very different" due to the injuries to her face and throat. "It felt like my face was falling off," Margaret recalls of the shooting. "I remember… I was trying to hold it on."

After more than a dozen surgeries to rebuild her jaw and the base of her tongue, Margaret returned to the war zone in Sarajevo in 1994. Wearing a bullet-proof vest.

Former CNN President Tom Johnson says he was reluctant and worried about sending Margaret back out. But, he explains: "I could just see her getting shot again, and all the cries — why in hell did Johnson and CNN permit her to go? Well it wasn't a permit deal: Margaret was determined to go."

Today, Margaret says: "I think some people are really brave people. Some people are cowards. Most of us sort of fit somewhere in between, and I guess I just think of myself like that."

She also says: "People say, 'Ah, people like you — you have a death wish. And it used to make me so angry. I thought, don't you dare insinuate I have a death wish. I don't know anyone who's enjoyed life more or values my life more."

Two and a half years ago, Margaret was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She told a colleague: "If I had had an uneventful life, I would be in a panic."

This piece ends with Margaret saying: "To me, it's no different if I did in six weeks or in 20 years. I don't think it matters how long you live as long as you can say that I've gotten everything out of life." She is currently in a hospice.

Battle Of CNN Camerawoman [CNN]

Peggy Orenstein, who deconstructed the fascination with little girls being princesses three years ago, wrote in Sunday's New York Times Magazine about how pleased she is that, at age 6, her daughter has lost interest in Disney Princesses and entered a superhero phase. But, Orenstein discovers that there aren't many masked avengers for girls to look up to. She writes,

Little girls these days have lots of real-life role models, lots of ways they can be in the world, but they still have precious few larger-than-life heroes, especially in the all-important realm of fantasy, where they spend so much of their free time. And that's a shame. Superheroes, according to Danny Fingeroth, onetime editor of the Spider-Man comics and author of "Superman on the Couch," give kids (read: boys) a way to feel in control in an arbitrary world, where adults appear to make on-the-spot rules that they're forced to obey. "And then they look at the larger picture," he adds, "and see war and plague and people abusing authority. The idea that there's this superhero who uses the means of evil - violence - in a restrained, smart way to do good: that's appealing."

But clearly young girls want to feel in control of their world too, and as Orenstein explains, superheros may be even more necessary for them than for boys:

In the end, that is the true drama of the superhero: the ordinary Joe who discovers that he has a marvelous gift, something that sets him apart from everyone else, simultaneously elevating and at least potentially isolating him, forcing a series of moral choices about the nature of might and goodness. It's a story writ large about coming to grips with power: accepting it, demanding it, wielding it wisely. Those themes are rarely explored in the fantasy culture of little girls, yet given how problematic power remains for adult women - in both fact and fiction - perhaps they should be.

As there really aren't that many compelling female superheroes, Orenstein's daughter winds up playing Wonder Woman, just as her mother did in the 1970s. But many women who grew up in the 1980s may remember another heroine: She-Ra, who was introduced as a He-Man and the Masters of the Universe spinoff in 1985 as a cartoon series and toy line. Though the show only had two seasons and wasn't even shown in reruns after 1989, She-Ra fits Orenstein's description of a worthwhile character for girls, even though she was a "Princess of Power."

The first season of She-Ra: Princess of Power has just gone up on Hulu, and both seasons are available on DVD. The plot of She-Ra is essentially a rip off of Star Wars, which makes sense, since He-Man was created to cash in on the film's popularity. According to the book Mastering The Universe by one of He-Man's creators, the character was invented so Mattel could compete with the toy company that made Star Wars figures. Thus He-Man was one of the first children's cartoons created solely to promote an existing toy line.

Two years after He-Man premiered, She-Ra launched with the revelation that He-Man had a long-lost twin sister who shared his superpowers. She lived in the parallel world of Etheria, where a band of rebels was trying to fight off the Evil Horde empire (not unlike Princess Leia). As the introduction explains:

But even before Adora (She-Ra's Clark Kent persona) discovers she's a "Princess of Power" and breaks the spell forcing her to work for the Horde, she's pretty feisty and isn't afraid to take on a sword-wielding maniac wearing only underpants. In the first episode the only most sexist comments come from He-Man, but, as the clip below illustrates, he also makes clear that he doesn't think Adora deserves special treatment because she's a female, as he's perfectly willing to hurl a sword at her chest.

Adora is intelligent and brave even before she transforms into She-Ra, but the sword gives her superhuman strength and the ability to communicate telepathically and heal animals (as well as a slightly deeper voice and longer, more brushable hair).

Her sword is the same as He-Man's (with the addition of a jewel), but neither of them use their weapon for maiming evildoers. Mostly the sword reflects laser shots or turns into a lasso. In the typical fight sequence below, She-Ra is shown to be as powerful as her twin and capable of defeating various bulked-up monsters on her own.

She-Ra frequently has to rescue her "special friend" Bow, who grows so used to being the series' "damsel in distress" that by the time he ends up on a Horde slave vessel he takes his captivity in stride. He casually composes a song while imprisoned, knowing She-Ra is on her way to save him.

That hug is about as racy as their relationship gets, perhaps because Bow's kind of incompetent and silly. Most of the characters in the series are women, who each have unique powers. While She-Ra's friends often assist her, there's no band of girlfriends she has to combine her powers with to fight an enemy; She-ra is clearly the sole hero of every episode.

Like her friends, She-Ra's enemies are both male and female. Hordak, the main villain, is a vampire/cyborg-like male monster that was actually supposed to be He-Man's nemesis, but wound up on She-Ra. Not that the show avoids the cat-fight cliche completely. According to the toy line, She-Ra's greatest foe is the "jealous beauty" Catra.

In fact, the She-Ra toys didn't match the show's tone and were far more sexist. She-Ra and her friends look like 5" Barbies and came in a wide variety of skimpy outfits and hair-colors. Though having scorpion claws for hands was commonplace in She-Ra's world, she didn't meet anyone with darker skin until the second season (and she was evil). But He-Man, who could flex muscles that human males don't even possess, probably did more damage to the body image of little boys than She-Ra did to girls. Her action figure wasn't quite as curvy as Barbie and pantslessness was the norm in Etheria.


[Image via He-Man.org.]

Every doll came with a brush and a comb and the accessory sets were entirely pink-hued, from She-Ra's talking horse to her Crystal Castle.


[Image via Stuff From The 80s.]

Though on the series She-Ra was usually only seen in her red Adora leotard or her white minidress and cape, there was also a line of She-Ra fashions that ostensibly doubled as armor, including Hold On To Your Hat, with this description on the box:

"This is a great outfit! It turns any party Catra attends into a surprise party. When Catra starts in with her tricks, is she in for a surprise! My sparkly hat becomes a light-blinding shield. And the pretty parasol is really a cover for my sword!"

Veils Of Mystery included a phallic sword holder:

"Don't you love surprises? I do! That's why I love this dress. Underneath these layers of veils, underneath the shimmering trim, is a special secret sword. So when trouble tries to take me by surprise, I can surprise it in return!"

[Images via Ghost Of The Doll.]

Though She-Ra's entire universe was ridiculous and she was only created to sell merchandise, the same could be said of male superheroes. Little girls who played with her probably focused on brushing her hair and running around their backyards with a cape and a sword rather than the show's empowering theme, but She-Ra is still a rarity among the characters marketed to little girls. She-Ra may not be the ideal feminist superhero, but she wasn't just the male superhero's side kick or love interest. The character was strong, smart, and independent, and even if they didn't realize it at the time, she let little girls imagine how they'd use their superpowers.

What's Wrong With Cinderella? [The New York Times]
Wonder GIrl [The New York Times]
She-Ra: Princess of Power [Hulu]

• Twilight clothing is happening — it's only surprising it took so long. The duds go on sale at Nordstrom in October. Selina Khan, on the right, looks like she just doesn't care about Edward or Jacob, bless her heart. [People]

• Amazon.com is acquiring Zappos.com. The cost? $847 million. [NYTimes]
• Wonder Woman Lynda Carter will be live in person at Talbot's for Fashion Night Out, a night of special sales and events designed to encourage consumers to shop at the start of New York Fashion Week. Carter will be at Talbot's Madison Avenue store to promote her new CD, "At Last." [WWD]
• Meanwhile, France is one step closer to allowing shops to open on Sundays after the bill was narrowly approved by the senate. Mon dieu! [WWD]
• Barney's New York took down a disturbing window display that featured bloodied mannequins, posed as though they were struggling against assailants. And here we thought Simon Doonan's judgment was impeccable in all things. [NYDN]
• The actress Melissa George has invented a new product which she calls "HemmingMyWay." Geddit! The Grey's star, along with her business partner Kara Harshbarger, plans to sell clear adhesive strips with snaps affixed that allow a wearer to quickly adjust the length of her pants when she changes from flats to heels. Look, it even has a Facebook page! [WWD]
• Amy Winehouse's father wants her to license her name to a perfume house for £500,000. [Telegraph]
• And Lily Allen is doing a line of jewelry. "I love jewelry, always have done," explains the pop star. [Vogue UK]
• A 1994 Arte documentary about Yves Saint Laurent, Tout Terriblement, is being released on DVD. [WWD]
• In London next Thursday, a Chanel-themed flash mob has been announced. Anyone wearing Chanel, or Chanel-esque outfits should meet like-minded sartorial souls at St. Pancras International Station at 6 p.m. [UK Elle]
• 19-year-old Georgian Sean O'Pry topped Forbes' list of the highest-earning male models. There are pictures. [Forbes]
• Retail executives' pay fell last year. The 10 top-earning executives compensation packages decreased by 9.4%. [WWD]
• Could Fabiola Beracasa really be developing a reality show in the style of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, where she flies around the world looking for...unusual fashion? [P6]
• Daniel Vosovic, Santino Rice, Korto Momolu, Sweet P, Jeffrey Sebelia, Uli Herzner, Mychael Knight and Chris March are the designers returning to Project Runway for a second helping of Tim Gunn's soothing drone and Heidi Klum's adenoidal exhortations. Project Runway: All-Star Challenge will be broadcast as a two-hour special before the show's sixth season premiere. All we want to know is whatever happened to Andrae? [People]
• Jeremy Scott is yet another designer heading to London Fashion Week this fall. Though based in Los Angeles, Scott normally shows in Paris. [WWD]
• MAC cosmetics is ending its sponsorship of fashion week, and instead holding its own competing roster of shows at Milk studios in Chelsea. Proenza Schouler, Erin Fetherston, and Alexander Wang have already committed to slots in the lineup. [NYTimes]
• Alex Wang on his day off, according to his friend Ryan Korban: "We do a lot of driving around - he loves driving. So we drive out to Brooklyn and just kind of cruise around. He's always got the music blasting and he's singing. It's surprising, but he's a really good driver. He's screaming and the music is to the max and he's drinking an iced coffee, but he's completely steady." [W]
• Esteban Cortazar is out at Emanuel Ungaro, WWD is reporting. The young Colombian designer had clashed with the house's management over advertising and the brand's direction; his collections met with mixed reviews, and at last month's resort show, the Ungaro CEO refused to say if Cortazar would be kept on. No successor has yet been named. [WWD]
• The quirky downtown gallery Partners & Spade got written about in the Times. Oh well — nothing good lasts forever. [NYTimes]
• Ozwald Boateng, the Ghana-born, London-based all-round spectacular menswear designer and tailor, made two suits for President Obama and hand-delivered them to the American ambassador to Ghana during the president's recent visit. If Obama wore Boateng's suits, nobody would call him frumpy, ever. [WWD]
• Another story about Crocs and what they mean. [LATimes]
• The New York Economic Development Corporation-run industry site NYCFashionInfo.com, which collates insidery arcana like designer showroom contacts and market week dates, might start accepting advertising and publishing more "lifestyle content" because it only attracts 2,000 visitors a month. [WWD]
• Apparel sales in England in the month of June rose by 1.2%. [FT]
• Skechers lost $5.9 million in the second quarter. The result was actually better than analysts had expected. [WWD]>

Wasn't that a really annoying, condescending way to start an article? Imagine an entire article written the entire way, with the idea that every woman attending Comic Con this year will be there simply to stake out the likes of Jake Gyllenhaal and Johnny Depp. Can't imagine it? That's OK! The Los Angeles Times has already written it for you!

Is it so hard, in 2009, to accept the fact that women enjoy comic books/sci-fi novels/television programs/films/video games/etc. not because of the "studs" who appear on the screen or on the page but because of the actual content? I know it may be hard for some people to believe, but women do have interests that go beyond shoes and eating poop-inducing yogurt. "The Girls Guide To Comic Con" isn't a guide at all, but a rundown of the "hotties" who will be appearing in some form or another at the convention. Because, as the tipster who sent this article in notes (sarcastically, of course) "Oh, us GIRLZ, all we want are to look at those handsome menfolk and vampires!"

Come on, LA Times. If you really want to write a Girl's Guide To Comic Con (and I'm not sure it's necessary to split Comic Con into gender specific guides, but that's another story altogether) you could have at least had women who know what they're talking about write the piece. Like, say, the awesome ladies of io9, for example, who would probably have much more to say about the convention than "Women will be rushing the stage, offering to do star Jake Gyllenhaal's laundry on those washboard abs that he acquired for the film, since he spends much of it fighting, shirtless or both." Blargh.

The Girls' Guide To Comic Con [LATimes]

Luckily, the early buzz is good: EW's Ken Tucker calls it "a satisfying version of the Wonder Woman origin-story that ought to please both hardcore fans and newbies." He claims the flick is not about WW being a "Barbie-doll fanboy-fantasy" but a "shrewd warrior."

WW is voiced by Keri Russell, who watched the Lynda Carter version on TV when she was a kid. She tells the L.A. Times that she had "a certain feeling of responsibility" about playing the iconic superhero:

"She was the strong female among all these male heroes and for little girls she was an important symbol, so I do take it seriously." Although she finds the Amazon's getup questionable: "It's a bikini, and she's jumping around and fighting? I'm glad it was a cartoon."

The L.A. Times notes that even though this flick is animated, it is not for kids: there are "saucy" scenes and violent beheadings. That said, there's still a sadness in Wonder Woman being animated and going straight to DVD, when Batman, Spider-Man, Superman and the Hulk get huge summer releases with big-budget, non-animated movies and fast-food toys.

The question now is what to do? Do we sulk because Hollywood won't back a female superhero flick? Do we support this animated Wonder Woman, with hopes that loads of interest will prompt producers to revisit the project? Or do we ignore the film in protest of a strong woman being shoved in an animated, straight-to-DVD ghetto?

'Wonder Woman,' A New DVD: Snap Judgment [EW]
"Wonder Woman's" Keri Russell Is 'A Tourist' With A Tiara [LA Times]

Earlier: Wonder Woman Trailer Released

It's really tough to decide which is more awesome: The Indiana Jones who's been amputated at the waist? The "extremely articulated" Batman, whom one could misread as being "extremely articulate"? Sorta loving Dumbledore and his phoenix, but the best thing here is definitely the Ark of the Covenant business card holder. Thou shalt not gaze upon my fax number, or thy face wilt melt!

Surely you have a friend who hasn't let go of her My Little Pony love? Wouldn't she dig a diner? Or a pony with brushable hair and her own radio-controlled scooter?

Perhaps you have an evil little sister for whom this would be an appropriate present?

Severus Snape! Unfortunately, he looks like a nun with a bad (drug) habit.

Whether you know someone who loves Hitchcock or hates Barbie, this will be the right peck pick.

Twelve inch talking David Bowie from Labyrinth? Want! Love the part in the movie when he says, "Fear me. Love me. Do as I say… And I will be your slave."

So many choices here. Over on the left, there's Power Girl, who is "realistically proportioned." Here on the right there's the Barbie Wonder Woman. But down below, there's Amazon Warrior Wonder Woman, who comes without the cumbersome cape and bears a battle-ax and shield instead. Fierce!

Tons and tons of Beatles stuff says "Love, love me do."

Dude. Everything Lebowski-inspired except the white Russian. And stuff for Dexter fans, too!

Think you it odd, spending over $100 on a Yoda figure? Believe not in the force, you do. Understand not the awesomeness.

A fully-functioning R2D2 that guards your room and follows you around? Must-have.

It's unsettling that this figure allows you to take Heath Ledger's head off, no? Maybe this "fan" stuff goes too far. And the price is rather high.

Ah, yes. The Santa dreidel, "sure to confound and confuse both Jews and gentiles," makes everything better. And it's priced to move.

Entertainment Earth [Official Site]

• In an apparent attempt to rob the Costume Institute of gravitas, Sarah Jessica Parker will be doing the audio commentary for the Met's latest exhibit. The SATC tour bus frantically adds a stop. [ElleUK]
• Says the curator, “Walking through the galleries listening to Sarah Jessica Parker’s narration will bring a sense of discovery and delight to the experience.” [WWD]
• Prince Charles is apparently inspiring British menswear! [FT]
• Having watched Stylista, we're sure Christy Turlington is eminently qualified to be a Marie Claire editor. [Fashionista]

• Robert Verdi on Michelle Obama's Narciso Rodriguez: "She looked like a lava lamp and we all know that. I didn’t like that light bright dress and I think she could have made a better choice. I like that she wore an American designer, I think she should continue to wear American fashion and speak the style of the nation in her public appearances and then move towards an international flavor." [FabSugar]
• What does the savvy recessionista drive? Why, the Hermès smart car! "The Fortwo édition Toile cars, manufactured by the Como group, are available in 10 colors including gold, indigo and the luxury house’s signature orange. Each is fitted with Hermès leather-covered steering wheels and gear levers, with colors including fuchsia and lime, along with the brand’s original canvas toile." [WWD]
• How better to transport your Christopher Kane radio! [VogueUK]
• "On the surface, the similarities are striking; they were both princesses born in the 1940s in a foreign land. Young and beautiful, the long-haired brunettes soon fell in love and followed their men to the United States where they built a reputation for steely determination and strength." That would be Diane von Furstenberg and Wonder Woman. Obvs. [CNN]
• Lauren Bush — oh, sorry, Pierce — "has been hard at work on her capsule collection of environmentally sustainable clothes since early 2008." [W]
• The all-important vintage couture bubble has yet to pop! [Forbes]
• Apparently Yves Saint Laurent collected stuff from China's Opium Wars. Now it's being auctioned. For a lot of money. [NY Mag]
• Remind me to avoid this Uniqlo stunt: "On Nov. 18 at Military Island in Times Square, a team of Heat-Techies dressed in silver bodysuits will be scanning pedestrians with a thermograph that reveals the coldest parts of the body. The consumers can then walk over to a giant human vending machine that dispenses free products. Press of a button for men’s or women’s clothing sets in motion models inside the machine, who dance a choreographed routine and dispense a package of Heattech innerwear." [WWD]
• Uh oh. Cosmetics, normally recession-proof, are feeling some pain. [FT]
• The Casual Male group is benefiting from Europe's rising obesity rates. [IHT]
• Apparently both PR designers Laura Bennett and Chloe Dao (yes, who won!) will be selling their lines on QVC tonight. Which is good, right? Right? [Blogging Project Runway]
• Following the success (?) of Model.Live, Conde Nast has the video bug. [Fashionista]
• Laetitia Casta is the latest Vuitton muse. [Sassybella]

[Beverly Hills, October 30. Image via Splash.]

• P.U.M.A. hunter Katie Halper put together a campaign commercial for John McCain so that his female supporters all understand what they're voting for — including unequal pay, a lack of reproductive choice and half-assed health insurance coverage. Politics starts at home, ladies. [Katie Halper]
• Actual McCain staffers and Sarah Palin are trying to convince John McCain to open up Wright debate again because — as Sarah said yesterday — they've got nothing to lose. McCain, however, still likes his dignity some, so they're sneaking around behind his back to find other people to fund it. [Politico, CBS]
• Yes, of course, Obama is totally prepped to talk about Ayers tonight. He's probably prepped to talk about Wright, too, if it comes to that. [Chicago Tribune]
• McCain's been prepping, too, if this leaked debate prep video is anything to go by. Join in on my liveblog (thread starts at 7:30 ET, I start blogging at 9:00 ET) to see if he takes any of their advice! [The Jed Report]

• Wonder Woman Linda Carter thinks Sarah Palin is the anti-Wonder Woman, calling her "judgmental and dictatorial" and suggesting that Hillary Clinton is more the W.W. archetype. Go Linda Carter! [The Hill]
• Apparently, since Colin Powell is now a confirmed African-American, having announced it at a rally in Africa, Fox News is ready to guarantee that he's going to endorse Obama. There's nothing racist about that, though, nope, not at all. Don't you know all black people do everything together? [Washington Independent]
• Kansas Senator Pat Robert's Democratic opponent, Jim Slattery, has a new ad that makes it look like Wall Street is pissing on us little people. That's kind of what it feels like some days. [Attackerman]
• With another stock sell-off on Wall Street, today was one of those days. [NY Times]

By Mark Bloodworth
By Amy Pronovost
By Simon Gane




Upper left image by Wendy Pini

• Apparently emboldened by last week's success in Milan, Bruno — aka Sacha Baron Cohen — crashed Stella McCartney today. "With his red thong clearly visible above his jeans, the comedian — who was virtually unrecognisable in a flamboyant leather gilet, with his slicked-down hair dyed blonde and brown — sucked Tampax, clapped along to the music and generally disgruntled the front row by continually pushing aside those sitting in front of him for a better look at the models." He then delivered a "lone standing ovation." [VogueUK]
• In total radness: DVF to design a comic book in connection with her Wonder Woman-inspired collection. Really hoping she has to make the rounds of the comics conventions. [Fashionista]
• Chloe Sevigny gets into menswear. Well, Gallo will wear it. [Nylon]

• Andre Benjamin's clothing line is for the modern fop. "To create a persona for his fashion line, Mr. Benjamin combined his surname with that of Bill Bixby. The character is a world traveler whose wardrobe includes things like a $995 cotton corduroy blazer, a $350 felted waistcoat and a $95 newsboy cap." [NY Times]
• Whoever wears that will surely be the intended demographic for "J. Crew's first book." "Written by Max Blagg and illustrated by Hugo Guinness, What a Man Should Know is a collection of 50 (very) whimsical tips for the modern male. So what should you know? Chess, wine, and figure-drawing." [Men.Style]
• Some people claimed Heidi stole the Project Runway premise — aka the same setup every single competition reality show has ever had ever. A judge, not surprisingly, dismissed it. [wwltv]
• Michelle Obama sports H&M on the campaign trail. [BlackBook]
• Lagerfeld video. Nuff said. [NY Mag]
• Scary Spice Mel B wants a Project Runway-style reality show. Get in line, kid. [E]
• Rather than going bargain basement, Target courts recessionistas. [Business Week]
• More on Miss Sixty's woes. [BBC]
• Sorta It-Girl Cory Kennedy to replace Kinda It-Girl Daisy Lowe as the face of Docs. [Fashionista]
• Levi's tries way, way too hard: "The San Francisco company has launched a new viral effort it hopes will attract young men to pass along videos of customized "beasts" emerging from the button-fly of Levi's jeans. At Unbuttonyourbeast.com, visitors can choose from nine different animated characters with names like Trout Troutman, Paul the Pincher and Sock Nasty, then customize the beast's message by calling a toll-free number. The effort, unsurprisingly, is geared to young men just out of college." The emails are titled, "Do you dare to unbutton my beast?" [AdWeek]
• India eases the way for the burgeoning luxury market. [IHT]
• Guy Ritchie's first hit since hooking up with Madge: a Nike ad gets big on YouTube. [Telegraph]
• Naomi Campbell's gonna walk for Hermes; everybody flips out. [Fashion Week Daily]
• I wish these celebs would stop calling their mix tapes "albums." Anyhoo, Heatherette designer Richie Rich's, "Celebutante," is about to drop. [Fashionista]
• "If there were a gold medal for marathon modeling, Shalom Harlow would surely win it for the Viktor & Rolf fashion film that will begin today on the Dutch duo’s Web site. 'It was like the fashion Olympics,' said Rolf Snoeren, who, with Viktor Horsting, reenacted a high-tech version of 'Funny Face' to showcase their spring collection. 'It was 14 hours a day on high heels, but she was a champion.'” [WWD]
• 80's power shoulders are big (sorry) on the Paris runways. [WSJ]
• That gold statue of Kate Moss was just unveiled. [Mirror]
• UGGS are like cockroaches: all that will be left after a nuclear holocaust. While everything else is foundering, UGGs is way up! [WSJ]
• The Lauren Conrad line forlorn and unbought. [Page Six]
• Bossy new bikini has "decorative beads" that change color when UV rays grow dangerously high. [Telegraph]
• Screw Jimmy Choos. Cheap shoes make more sense for actual walking. [Daily News]
• "Margherita Missoni, meanwhile, has experienced some teasing for wearing vintage sparkling Harper’s Bazaar frames — due to an eye problem. 'Suzy Menkes says it’s my Sarah Palin look,' she laughed. 'It is definitely not inspired by her.'" [WWD]

• Tara Reid looks like she has no longer been ridden hard and put away wet! The former winner of Miss Hot Mess 2002-2007 is dating fashion executive Julien Jarmoune and apparently fending off marriage rumors. A pal of the couple says, "It looks like she's finally gotten her act together!" [E! Online, AHN]
• Someone who has decidedly not gotten her act together: Amy Winehouse. She was spotted stumbling out of a Camden pub at 3:30 this morning, looking a fright. [Daily Mail]
• The Olsen twins are causing dramz in the West Village: their partying habits are bugging the neighbors near the W. 13th Street apartment they're renting for $12,000 a month."Plenty of other celebrities around this block [Sarah Jessica Parker, Liv Tyler, Gisele Bundchen and Julianne Moore] are good neighbors and blend in with the neighborhood - but these two are invaders," a source says. [Page Six]
• One half of the gruesome twosome, Mary Kate, was spotted at fashion week with a new boyf, artist Nate Lowman. [Perez]

• Even too-cool-for-school New Yorkers are gaga over Michael Phelps, who is currently in town to host the season premiere of SNL this weekend. At Blue Ribbon Sushi on Monday, "It was funny to see jaded New Yorkers, who always see celebs around town, act like excited schoolkids," says a witness. "People kept sending over bottles of champagne and sake! Never seen anything like it." [Page Six]
• Daily Show funnyman Rob Corrdry and his wife Sandra are expecting a second daughter! Rob says, "We have a short list of names that we are considering. My 2-year-old (daughter Sloane) is pretty set on the name 'Freeka.' She also likes 'Laurie Berkner,' but that sounds weird in front of Corddry. We may just go with 'Baby the Entertainer' in case she grows up to be a black comedian." [People]
• He said, she said, on their nude scene in the upcoming film The Duchess. Dominic Cooper: "I knew there was a scene in which I had to get naked. It wasn't gratuitous, but still quite overwhelming. There were a series of devices I was offered to wear which protect my [naughty] bits. And I gave Keira the choice in a very gentlemanly way, 'You can chose either the furry soft, the pink diaper or the Spandex." Keira Knightley: "I don't remember choosing. I think he's making that up. Unless I was feeling particularly malicious, I don't think I would have chosen to put a man in a skin-colored diaper. I could have been feeling particularly malicious, however, that's entirely possible." [ People]
• Oooh!! Britney might have a new album ready for Christmas! The plan right now is to release the single in November and then have the LP out in December along with some live shows. Don't pressure the girl, she's just getting her sea legs back! [The Sun]
• Matthew McConaughey: "When I'm lucky enough to be in a place where I don't have to wear a shirt and shoes, I don't." No, really? [People]
• Lynda Carter, aka Wonder Woman, had this to say about Sarah Palin being referred to as "the new Wonder Woman." "Don’t get me started. She’s the anti-Wonder Woman. She’s judgmental and dictatorial, telling people how they’ve got to live their lives. And a superior religious self-righteousness … that’s just not what Wonder Woman is about. Hillary Clinton is a lot more like Wonder Woman than Mrs. Palin. She did it all, didn’t she?" [Philly Mag]
• Um, so apparently, Viggo Mortensen is always being detained by airport security because the favorite tea that he carries with him looks like pot. "And it doesn't help that Mortensen, who grew up in Argentina, drinks his tea with a pipe." That isn't a joke. [Showbiz Spy]
• Ugh, Hugh Grant is such an old skeeze! He was spotted in London hitting on women at a club for 18-22 year-olds. [Perez]
• Oprah is atop the list of Most Generous Stars. Also in the top ten: trumpeter and A&M records co-founder Herb Alpert, Barbra Streisand, Paul Newman, Brangelina, Michael Jordan, Canadian ex-hockey player Eric Lindros, Lance Armstrong, and though it pains us to tell you, Rush Limbaugh, who gave $4.2 million to children of marines and law-enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. [Reuters]
• Queen Latifah on her status as Jenny Craig spokesperson: "If anything, I was worried about alienating my big girls. I didn't want them to think, Hey, she's leaving us. But if I can be an example of loving yourself regardless of what you look like, I can be an example of loving yourself and being healthier." [Reader's Digest]
• Rob Lowe's recent sexual harassment issues with his nanny have been hurting his wallet in more ways than one. “Since the headline that a second nanny sued me for sexual harassment, I have been passed over for at least three commercials, any of which could have ultimately resulted in income of over $1 million," he said. [MSNBC]