J.C.: You know what you should do? Some deeper analysis of polling. I feel like there's a need for it. Maybe throw in some semi-nude pics to juice your hit count.

N.S.: I'm surprised, quite honestly, that there wasn't more analysis going on before. There are probably as many hard-core politics geeks as there are baseball geeks, and there was tons of analysis in the latter, but very little in the former.

We did have a picture of Miss Virginia up the other day, by the way.

J.C.: Yep, everything I've been reading about polls before 538 has been crap.

N.S.: Well, there was Chuck Todd, and Jay Cost, and Chris Bowers. But not a lot to look at, certainly. And the Pollster.com guys. Can't leave them out.

FWIW, I think I might have cursed the Cubs, since I was sort of like "if they're going to win the World Series, does it have to be in an election year?"

J.C.: My friends have always (and still do) posed questions to me pitting my Michigan-football loyalties against my political loyalties — i.e., would you rather Michigan win the national championship or Bill Clinton win the White House? This year feels like I somehow made one of those horrible choices.

N.S.: Well, having the Cubs win the World Series and the black guy win the presidency would probably be too much change in one year.

J.C.: Let me throw out another question: How are you going to spend election night — your setup, your mood, your company? I kind of see you in a NASA commandlike room with scores of computers and monitors.

N.S.: I'm going to be on set with the HDNet people in Washington. But I'll be in some kind of war room with lots of computers and Red Bull. No John King–style maps though, unfortunately.

J.C.: Will you be sweating?

N.S.: Have you ever been inside a studio? It's usually like 40 degrees in there.

So what's your gut feel here? Big Obama win? Small Obama win? Nail-biter?

J.C.: I say Obama by five. Can't give you a reason, though.

N.S.: That sounds about right. Races like this usually do tighten down the stretch run.

On the other hand, sometimes I look at the early voting numbers and think the pollsters may be missing some sort of turnout wave.

And sometimes I remember that Democrats have a track record a lot like the Cubs in the clutch.

J.C.: Hmm. I do have a problem seeing any registered African-American, anywhere, not voting. By which I mean don't you think turnout among the registered black voters will be close to universal? How can it not be?

As for early voting, it's higher, but is it that much higher than 2004?

N.S.: I know a lot of Obama volunteers who are heading down to Gary, Indiana, every weekend, and the joke there is that Obama is going to get about 105 percent of the available votes.

Re: early voting. I haven't done a side-by-side comparison, but it looks like the numbers are maybe 50 percent ahead of their pace from last election in the battleground states.

J.C.: For me, I want to take my kids to the polls, bring a camera — the history of the occasion is not going to be lost on the black community.

N.S.: No, it won't be, and I think people forget that there's actually a difference between winning the black vote 89-11 and 95-5, especially if you're also increasing their turnout by 10 to 20 percent. If both those things happen, that's worth something like three points nationally.

J.C.: Another topic: Doesn't it seem like anecdotes and reporting are making Palin out to be a bigger liability than shows up in her polling? It feels like 10 percent of the electorate switched from McCain to Obama because of her, based on what you hear anyway. Her numbers don't make it look quite that bad.

N.S.: Well, in the NBC/WSJ last week, Palin came out as McCain's biggest liability — bigger than even his connections with George W. Bush.

J.C.: You're right. I'm referring more to positive/negative numbers.

N.S.: The thing is, I think she's a double whammy. There are people that simply don't like her. And then there are people who like her well enough but think she reflects poorly on McCain's judgment.

I'm definitely in the camp that thinks that she's not an especially talented politician. I think she's more of a vessel for the way that certain conservatives want to see themselves.

J.C.: Have you heard that Palin demanded the McCain campaign send her to Iowa, to help for 2012? It's a crazy rumor, but how else do you explain that they keep going to Iowa?

N.S.: The Iowa thing is really bizarre. It ought not to be a difficult state to poll; it's relatively homogenous, very high turnout. So even if their internals have them doing a bit better there, I'm not sure I'd trust those internals.

J.C.: Can you explain internals? My understanding is that the point is to test messages and get deeper info. They can't be for the purpose of getting another top-line number on who's ahead by how much, right?

N.S.: At this stage of the cycle, the campaigns definitely are looking at the top-line numbers. Especially in states like, say, Indiana or Georgia, where the electorate might look very different than it did four years ago and the public polling might be erratic.

J.C.: Why not freeload off the public polls, hire their own Nate Silver to make sense of them?

N.S.: The Obama people are very data-driven, so I wouldn't necessarily assume that they aren't looking really deeply into the numbers. The McCain campaign seems very right-brained, on the other hand.

J.C.: Right-brained is a kind term. But you raise an interesting concept — an election pitting reason versus intuition, two contrasting styles of looking at the world. It goes deeper than campaign tactics.

N.S.: I don't disagree, but arguably one of the problems for the McCain campaign is that they ultimately bucked the candidate's intuition, especially on the V.P. pick.

McCain, Mark Salter, and Mike Murphy all seem to understand one another … that would have been a formidable team.

J.C.: You think they wish they stayed in Georgia now? For the Senate race if nothing else.

N.S.: It does seem like they got a fair number of people registered when they were there over the summer.

Obama could probably draw 80K people in Atlanta. Would that look bold and confident, or hubristic?

J.C.: I think the fear of the GOP right sitting out is misplaced. Far as I can tell it's never happened. They would have kept the base even if they nominated Lieberman. They're all voting against Obama the socialist/terrorist anyway, not for McCain.

But you should examine the history of the GOP base sitting out. Every time the GOP loses, conservatives say it's because they moved to the center and the base stayed home. I have never detected this result, but I'm using pretty crude measures.

N.S.: The thing is, I don't really think they were left with much choice. Even if the base does turn out, McCain still would need to win independents by something like seven, ten, twelve points to win the election, and/or maybe pick off a significant number of Clinton Democrats.

J.C.: Exactly. McCain's failure to move to the center is mystifying. The poll you cited showing the overwhelming majority think McCain is for the rich crystallized that failure.

N.S.: What was especially weird is that he spent February and March and April running to his base, even after he had the nomination locked up. And this was at a time when Obama and Clinton were still trying to out-liberal one another on issues like health care.

There are some policy failures too. His health-care plan is a complete mess, and it's surprising that he didn't find a way to undercut Obama (literally) on middle-class taxes.

J.C.: He's surrounded by operatives who, in their gut, think Bush was a good president whose only flaw was to spend too much on social programs. They believe their own propaganda about how it's a conservative country, and misapply whatever truth there is in that statement.

N.S.: Well, if you saw that Frontline special last week, it was portrayed as though Steve Schmidt was sort of Bush's parting gift to John McCain. But really he was more of a poison pill, maybe.

N.S.: The other thing about Schmidt, etc., is that they forgot that the strongest part of the Rove operation might not have been the messaging, but rather the terrific turnout operation.

J.C.: Rove was good at picking a caricature of his opponent and sticking to it, not going from naïf to flip-flopper to celebrity to snob to socialist.

N.S.: I do think Obama is a difficult guy to attack. But perhaps if they had couched their attack in more concrete terms — tying his flip-flops to his inexperience, etc. — they would have gotten more mileage. Obama got a complete pass on his flip-flops in June and July.

J.C.: Disagree on the flip-flops. That was a major media theme for about a month, and I think it hurt Obama.

N.S.: I think it hurt Obama in the sense that he wasted a lot of media cycles that could have been spent more constructively. I don't think they had a good summer, really. But then again, the summer is the preseason, and they were always playing for the long haul.

I think there have been like 36 new polls out since we started this chat, by the way.

J.C.: We're almost out of time, so let me just throw this out: Records show that you paid no income tax in the years 1990 through 1997 and have no public position on whether squirrel mutilation is a good thing.

N.S.: My tax returns were handled by Rezko & Associates. Are you saying there was some sort of problem?

J.C.: Can America really trust Nate Silver?

N.S.: I did live in Hyde Park for four years.

J.C.: P.S. — if Obama loses, we're coming after you.

Earlier: Dahlia Lithwick and Ayelet Waldman on Michelle Bachmann and Why They’re So Worried About Voter Suppression

For a complete and regularly updated guide to presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain — from First Love to Most Embarrassing Gaffe — read the 2008 Electopedia.

'HSM 3' Commences at No. 1 With $42M

‘Californication’: Hank Back on the Slutmobile

Dumped by Karen, Hank hooks up with a hot mess of a TV chef (Dawson's Creek's Meredith Monroe). Charlie becomes Daisy's agent but needs to bankroll a porno flick to get the producer (Dawson's Creek's Hal Ozsan) to cast her. Inspired by the movie's — and episode five's — title, we try to find an excuse to say, "Forget it, Hank, it's Vaginatown."

Family
Hank's not taking the breakup very well. His convertible is filthy, he stinks of vodka, and he tries to pick up Becca at school on the wrong day because he has no idea what day it is. But Karen is a good sport: She lets Hank take Becca out for ice cream. Because who wouldn't let the kid drive off with her vodka-slopped dad? We'll see if Marcy can be as supportive now that she knows that Charlie has sunk $100,000 of his savings into Vaginatown, impressed as he was by "the wall of cock sequence alone"; at least he'll stop trying to help out at her waxing joint.

Fornication
There's only one solution to Hank's emotional pain: sex, ideally quick sex with a stranger. Luckily, Hank's new landlord, Ashby, has a line on that. He invites celebrity chef Chloe Metz to the mansion to bonk Hank, which she does, immediately, because evidently in L.A. you can order TV hosts the way New Yorkers order food. She likes chocolate sauce — and Hank. And complete chaos. When the trio goes for a ride later, she also likes Ashby's female driver a little too much, and the driver quite literally kicks her to the curb. Hank, always the gentleman, gets out of the car and waits with her by the side of the highway for her forgiving husband to pick her up, while they enjoy an awkward conversation about how Hank doesn't want his daughter to end up slutty like her. It's touching.

Alone, Hank looks out over the city. He tries to call Becca, but Karen tells him she's out on a date, if not a slutty one. Unbeknownst to Hank, Karen's painting a family portrait, letting us know that their inability to let each other go will remain an active plotline.

Video: How to Get Frankenstein’s Makeup in 30 Minutes

Halloween is Friday so you have only four days to get a costume together. Sure, Lindsay Lohan and the rest of the world are going as Sarah Palin. But what about the classics — devil, fairy, or Frankenstein getups that consist of more than a bra and panties? If you don't have time to cook up a clever idea, these are easy to achieve with little planning. We went behind-the-scenes at Young Frankenstein on Broadway to learn how award-winning makeup artist Angelina Avallone transforms mortals to monsters. It just takes a little green foundation, fake blood, and 30 minutes. Click on to learn how to get boo-eautiful.

Lydia Hearst on a Possible Anti-Hearst Agenda at the ‘Post’

Earlier today, Guest of a Guest told us that Lydia Hearst had quit her job at Page Six Magazine over some comments about Hearst Corp. that she said were inserted into her column. (The October 24 column said: "People are getting tossed out of their homes and kids are losing college money. And yet on any given night, promoters are throwing heaps of events. Hearst Corporation, which my family owns, continues to host parties even as it folds magazines like CosmoGirl. From an objective point of view, it seems excessive.")

I have always written my column, and as every writer I had an editor. People at the Post have recently been posing a lot a questions about the Hearst Corporation and the recent market crash. Hearst is a private company and I do not work for them, therefore have no comment regarding their business. Admittedly I was alarmed to discover that items had been added to the column regarding a Christmas party and the family company upon reading "Blood Dispute" in Friday's NY Post. It comes down to a matter of character and integrity. If I wrote something I would stand behind it (as I have always done), but I now have to take the heat for something which was added to my work and that I did not write. I have no hard feelings toward anyone [at] the NY Post and I do not regret my decision to leave. I loved working with them and I will continue to read Page Six and their magazine, but it is time for me to move on. This was an amicable separation. Thank you

We believe Lydia. We contacted editors at Page Six Magazine for comment and they didn't get back to us, but Lydia promptly did. Granted, she may have a little more time on her hands now, but still, how could editors of a weekly magazine possibly be as busy as an award-winning, world-renowned supermodel? Plus, hair like that does not lie.

Lydia Hearst Quits Page Six Magazine After Dispute Over Article [Guest of a Guest]

Russian artist Oleg Kulik

Vivian Girls and Woods Make for Nice CMJ Surprise

Friday night's showcase at Cake Shop featured the prototypical CMJ Marathon lineup: a few acts you've maybe heard of, a few you definitely haven't, and at least one you're enticed to check out on name alone (Viking Moses). It was the type of indie-rock grab bag where headliners Vivian Girls — a punk-rock trio who released their self-titled lo-fi debut this year — have, relatively speaking, something like star power. We came toward the end of the night, wisely it turns out, as Woods, the last band before Vivian Girls, accidentally filled the packed basement with endless peals of feedback while setting up. We braved it, our heart going out to all the poor souls who subjected themselves to the surely countless number of such awkward CMJ moments. But when the band finally got their shit together, we found their shambling and folksy tunes, with choruses full of ooh-woos, to be joyful little treats. (And it didn't hurt that the singer dressed like early-nineties Beck but sang like a girl alone in her backyard.) Complemented by a fun and loose Vivian Girls set — the band churned out their quick-burst jams, pausing just long enough for mumbled banter and swigs from a shared beer bottle — the night turned out to be another kind of typical CMJ experience: the pleasant surprise.

The Investment Analyst Still Getting Over the Ex From Three Years Ago

Once a week, Daily Intel takes a peek at what your friends and neighbors are doing behind doors left slightly ajar. Today, the Investment Analyst Still Getting Over the Ex From Three Years Ago: 26, Female, UES, Straight.

DAY ONE
6:15 a.m.: Wake up to phone call from Chris. He's a guy I met a few weeks ago — he's in a band, hot, very laid back. Just like my ex. He's drunk and still partying, wants to come over. I'd love to get a little action, but I need to get to work early.
6:20 a.m.: Showering and thinking about how I've been officially single for three years since getting my heart stomped on by live-in boyfriend. Currently occupying my nights with Gavin, an Irish finance type who I've loved/hooked up with/dated for six months. Problem: He lives with his girlfriend.
6:25 a.m.: Shower and shave … everything. I know I won't have time to come home after work, and I'll probably end up coming back with either Gavin or Chris.

9:15 a.m.: Have awkward solo run-in with co-worker in elevator. We sort of dated a few months ago, but then he got weird about it and just stopped talking to me. Such a shame, he had a huge dick.
1:15 p.m.: "Aqueous Transmission" by Incubus plays on my iPod. Feeling very horny and thinking about how I'd like to have sex with that playing in the background. Plot how to make it happen without it being too obvious.
3 a.m.: After a few drunken calls from Gavin, determine he is too wasted to hang out. Arrange to have Chris come over and pick up condoms. Feeling a little disappointed, Gavin is better in bed.
4:15 a.m.: Chris tells me how happy he is to have met me and we have a very open conversation about pasts. Deep stuff. Makes me strangely uncomfortable, as I can't even fathom being totally vulnerable with someone after my ex.
7 a.m.: Finally get to having sex. It's a little kinkier than usual, but nothing crazy. We do it doggy style, which I like, but I can only come if I am able to touch myself a bit … for some reason he won't let me. WTF?
7:25 a.m.: Lying in bed unsatisfied while he's fast asleep.
7:27 a.m.: Masturbate quietly.

DAY TWO
11:30 a.m.: Wake up and have sex. I get off this time. Feeling much happier. We go out to get coffee and part ways. Glad to have the rest of the day to myself.
11:30 p.m.: Meet up with a girl, Kathy, I volunteer with. We go to a laid-back bar in the East Village to hear a D.J. I'm really into. Attempt to get some coke.
1 a.m.: Find out the drug dealer got pulled over. Bummed out.
1:30 a.m.: Go to a club in Soho, even though I REALLY don't want to. Feeling drunk and lots of contempt for all of the obnoxious finance guys there. Decide to roll the dice and text Chris and Gavin.
1:45 a.m.: Am slightly weirded out when I realize Kathy may be hitting on me. She's sitting next to me with her hand on my thigh and head on my shoulder. I don't know her well and am not sure how to take it. Kathy is a pretty hot girl, but I'm pretty sure this is not an experiment I want to undertake.
4 a.m.: Go to bed drunk and sexually frustrated. I didn't hear back from either Chris or Gavin.

DAY THREE
11 a.m.: Wake up and see text from Gavin that says, "morning sunshine." For some reason it makes me absurdly depressed. I respond, "I'm not your biggest fan right now."
3 p.m.: After hours of pouting and feeling like crying, text Gavin, "okay, I'm over my angry hangover … we're cool now."
4 p.m.: Go to CVS to buy toothpaste and a normal box of condoms (instead of those annoying three-packs). Remember that I once hypothesized that whenever I buy condoms, I don't get any for a really long time.
9 p.m.: Gavin replies, "Crazy." I'm used to him saying that. He's the one person I act completely myself around, but I get the impression he is amused by my insanity/anger issues. Decide to go to bed early as to avoid feeling depressed. I hate men.

DAY FOUR
8:15 a.m.: Work Gchat conversation with my friend in London. We have so much in common and he is a great guy, but I'm just not attracted to him. Spill my guts. We come to the same conclusion as usual. I need to leave New York and go to grad school.
11 a.m.: Avoid doing work for hours and invite friends to Chris's show tomorrow night. There will be open bar, and most of my friends are alcoholics like me. This will work out well.
4 p.m.: Stalk Gavin's girlfriend on MySpace. Since we aren't "friends," I can't get a good look at her profile, but it makes my day when I see her mood says "sad" or "frustrated." Now why does he call me crazy?
8 p.m.: Doing some position in yoga class where we lie on our back with our legs spread wide open. All of sudden I imagine that Gavin is there … get extremely horny.

DAY FIVE
7 a.m.: Decide to wear a super-hot red dress. I want to make sure I look good at Chris's show.
8:15 p.m.: Leave my weekly volunteer commitment with Kathy and head to her apartment so she can change. We're meeting her live-in friend/green-card-marriage husband at a restaurant in Soho.
9:30 p.m.: Totally hit it off with live-in friend/green-card-marriage husband and make plans to go running during the weekend. Hope I'm not stepping on Kathy's toes.
10:30 p.m.: Get to Chris's show. They're great as usual, and I think he looks so hot onstage.
11:15 p.m.: Chris gets offstage and some blonde makes a beeline for him. As a brunette, I hate blondes and immediately become jealous.
12:15 a.m.: After some shadiness, Chris tells me he has to head out and isn't feeling well. I'm furious and on the verge of tears but manage to keep it together. Decide that I'm done with him.
1:30 a.m.: Chris calls to apologize. Says the blonde was his ex and that he wasn't expecting her to be there. I tell him it was very off-putting and I feel as though he only thinks of me as a booty call. He swears up and down that it's not the case but that he can't commit to a relationship. Decide that I am definitely done with him.

DAY SIX
7 p.m.: After my company's soccer game, we all head to a bar. A co-worker, Dean, that I interned with years ago (and hooked up with a few times) is hitting on me hard-core. Feeling confused but interested.
10 p.m.: After many shots and beers, we end up alone in a hallway of a bar and we make out. I resist, knowing it's a terrible idea since my other co-worker that I've slept with is there. Dean subsequently says he wants to date me. WTF?
11 p.m.: Other co-worker catches wind that something is going on and tries to run interference. I tell him nothing will happen. He apologizes for being weird a few months earlier. Feeling drunk and annoyed, I walk away from him. I don't need to hear this right now.
11:30 p.m.: Dean walks me home, and we make out outside my building. We make plans to go to the park on Saturday since the weather will be nice. He suggests I let him come inside. I know better … I go in alone.

DAY SEVEN
9 a.m.: Work is surprisingly normal, though everyone is hung-over. No mentions of the night before.
11 a.m.: Gavin texts me suggesting that I apologize. Confused, I look at my old texts. Apparently I sent some pretty mean and nasty messages in my drunkenness. We argue back and forth and decide to talk in person later.
9 p.m.: Gavin has been at happy hour near Grand Central for a while and asks why I'm being emotional. I immediately start crying, and he tells me he's coming over.
11 p.m.: After much crying and talking, I try to get him to tell me that he doesn't want to be with me and that it's the only way I'll get over him. He tells me it's not true and he can't say it. He says that I'm his best friend and he only wants me to be happy, and if it means me being with someone else, so be it. It breaks my heart. We've resolved nothing as usual, and I know we'll be sleeping together again within two weeks.
11:30 p.m.: Remember my hypothesis about buying condoms. It's
totally true.

TOTALS: Two acts of intercourse, one with orgasm; one act of masturbation with partner in bed; one makeout session with co-worker in front of other co-workers; one not-resolving-anything conversation with sex-partner-with-a-girlfriend.

How Bruno Got Into Paris Fashion Week

When Sacha Baron Cohen tried to invade the Versace show during Milan Fashion Week as his alter ego Bruno, Italian fashion authorities were pissed. Security blocked him from Versace and the Italian Chamber of Fashion sent out a press release urging designers not to let anyone affiliated with his production company into their shows. When he managed to walk the runway at Agatha Luiz de la Prada's show, security chased him down and the lights were dimmed. This was clearly not a joke to the Italians.

But it was to the French! Bruno met a far different fate in Paris, easily infiltrating Stella McCartney and Jean-Charles de Castelbajac's shows. McCartney seemed to be in on the joke, though she pretended she wasn't. "I love his work in fashion," she told WWD. Bruno's production company called De Castelbajac the day before the show and told him Jude Law was coming. Alas, Bruno showed up clad entirely in leather.

“When my security asked if he should be removed, I said, ‘No, let him do his film,’ which turned out to be kind of a cool performance. He was part of the show, a superguest,” de Castelbajac said. The designer was impressed by his models’ unblinking demeanor in the face of Bruno’s attempts to interrupt the action.

The French seem to have a greater sense of humor than the Italians, God bless them. Bruno is reportedly off to Moscow Fashion Week next. We hope he runs around clad entirely in Swarovski crystals.

Defining Moments: International Male [WWD]
Related: Sacha Baron Cohen Storms the Runway in Milan (Updated with Video!)
You Won’t Believe What Sacha Baron Cohen Did at the Stella McCartney Show Today
Video: Sacha Baron Cohen Wreaks Runway Havoc Again!

Mystery of Greenpoint Chimes Solved

A few weeks ago, we posted about the mysterious chiming that was baffling Greenpointers. Well, the source has been found. Apparently it's some kind of feedback from the PA system at the hood's sewage-treatment plant. (Yeah, the one that's a cluster of huge onion domes.) But fear not, mystery lovers, because there's still an unidentified ringing sound coming from Bay Ridge! [Brooklyn Paper]

'Love Child' examines family and onstage mayhem (AP)

AP - One of the funniest plays-about-a-play that you will see involves two men literally spinning from one character into the next.

‘Dexter’: Cops, and Writers, Start Connecting the Dots

At one point during this week's oddly titled episode, "Turning Bimenese" (because Dexter goes to Bimeni to kill this guy on a cruise who, oh, never mind), Dexter notes that his fellow cops are finally starting to connect the dots. And finally, thankfully, gloriously, this show is starting to connect this season's dots as well.

Dot One: Dexter's rising anxiety about being a parent. This episode offered the most deft use yet of this occasionally clumsy metaphor — instead of hokey dream sequences in which Dexter worries about Junior slitting Cody and Astor's throats, we get some somber ruminations on taking life and creating it. Also, Dexter goes AWOL during Rita's miscarriage scare because he's busy killing … oh, the irony … a serial wife killer. But what potential father hasn't worried about giving up his awesome pad? Or bridled at a loss of independence? Except, in this case, it's the independence to run off on a moment's notice, chop some guy up, and toss his body parts out a porthole.

Dot Two: "The Skinner"! Yes, our serial killer has a nickname. Cool! And he's claimed another victim. Except not! Looks like this murder was just another run-of-the-mill Miami case of killing someone and cutting out her incriminating tattoo. (Note to murderers: This isn't going to work, unless every one of your victim's relatives and friends is an amnesiac.) Either way, this switcheroo sucks for the newly contrite but still bullet-headed Ramon, who was looking to nose his way back into the Freebo investigation. Sorry, Ramon!

Dot Three: Seriously, what's up with Quinn? Deb is getting increasingly agitated with–slash–suspicious of her underminer of a partner. Previously, he was just suspiciously dashing. Now he's cutting suspects loose! And call us crazy, but given that scene where some unknown person was malevolently eying poor Wendell through binoculars, we think Quinn now has to go on the short list of potential "Skinners." Think about it! A past full of terrible secrets? A penchant for loosing damaging witnesses? We're not saying he's the Skinner. We're just saying: Get on the short list, buddy.

Dot Four: Miguel and Dexter are now BFFs for real. This is exactly where we hoped this story line would go. Miguel all but acknowledges Dexter's taste for off-the-books snuffing of bad guys and gives him a hearty thumbs-up. The teaser for next week's episode suggests that Miguel might yet double-cross Dex, rather than essentially hire him on as a one-man legislative-loophole cleanup crew. In the meantime, though, we're putting Miguel on the Skinner Short List. And Ramon too. And maybe that C.I. Deb has a crush on. And, what the hell, Masuka. Hey, it's a short list, but it doesn't have to be too short.

Zaha Hadid and Karl Are PUMPED About Mobile Art

Zaha Hadid on the Chanel Mobile Art exhibit, currently open in Central Park: "You know, it’s something to do. I’m not expecting hedge funders who lost everything to come here, but ordinary people have to have a life.” And Karl Lagerfeld: "[Zaha] liberated us from the ugly Bauhaus that covers the world today … The pavillon is the most exciting. Whatever may be in there — that is not my problem.” [NYer]

New Taylor Swift Song Is Guaranteed Spoiler-Free

"I used to be in high school where you see [a boyfriend] every day. Then I was in a situation where it wasn't so easy for me, and I wrote this song because I could relate to the whole Romeo and Juliet thing. I was really inspired by that story. Except for the ending." —Taylor Swift on her new single, "Love Story" [LAT]

"It's an unhealthy habit to say that life is what you make of it, and if you want to be happy, then you can be happy. That's just rubbish, basically." —the happy-go-lucky Mike Leigh [A.V. Club]

"There's nothing written that's not autobiographical. By that, I mean Transformers too." —Charlie Kaufman [LAT]

"You know something, I'm not religious. But I'm very Jewish in my heart." —Jessica Walter [LAT]

"Since then I've thought it's positive, it's not as if they're throwing bottles at you. But it did become a bit of a joke. Girls would run to the front even when I'm doing a ballad. You're trying to create a mood, doing the 'Green, Green Grass Of Home,' and underwear lands straight on you, and everybody laughs." —Tom Jones on having underwear thrown at him [Guardian]

Tom Ford’s $9,240 Fur Boots

Leave it to Tom Ford to design like the whole economic-downturn thing never happened. Ranging from $4,470 to $9,240, his new collection of fur boots for men is "calculated to appeal to wealthy glam junkies and luxury ski freaks in places like Aspen and Gstaad." The chocolate-brown kid-fur boots are the cheapest at $4,470, the silver and tan natural-fur boots (pictured) are $5,250, and "somewhat dressier" otter-fur boots are $9, 240. (You can also get a badger-fur hat for $4,510.) And those warm toes? Priceless. [Luxist]

Eminem explains public absence in memoir

How’s ‘Dollhouse’ Coming? Great, Claims Miserable Joss Whedon

The squabble between Joss Whedon and Fox over his upcoming Dollhouse has officially been upgraded from kerfuffle to fiasco! As you'll recall, the network had previously asked Whedon to shoot a new pilot, and production on the show was recently shut down for two weeks while he reworked a few scripts. Apparently things have not improved.

According to a post yesterday on Whedonesque, after repeated tries to salvage it, the show's original pilot (which was to become its second episode) has been scrapped altogether, and a host of the network's demands ("Up the stakes, make the episodes more stand-alone, stop talking about relationships and cut to the chase. Oh, and add a chase") have been incorporated. "Basically, the Network and I had different ideas about what the tone of the show would be," Whedon writes. "They bought something somewhat different than what I was selling them, which is not that uncommon in this business." Whedon says that he's still happy — happier, in fact! — with the way Dollhouse continues to take shape, but at this point, is there any reason to believe it'll make it to the end of its first season?

What happened when the lights went out. [Whedonesque]

Earlier: Uh-oh! Production on ‘Dollhouse’ Shuts Down
Joss Whedon Shooting New ‘Dollhouse’ Pilot; Is It ‘Firefly’ All Over Again?

`Wacky Packages' showcases the early age of irony (AP)

The Struggles of Christian Siriano

Is everyone over Christian Siriano? Though his spring 2009 collection was critically acclaimed, he's having trouble selling those $650 pants and $2,500 dresses. Economy be damned! Intermix will carry a few of Siriano's pieces in two stores, one in New York and one in L.A. High-end retail buyers from places like Bloomingdale's and Saks wrote up orders for the collection but decided not to place them. The fashion director at Bloomingdale's told The Wall Street Journal they decided to buy collections from Milan and Paris, which limited the number of new labels they could bring in.

Siriano won $100,000 from Project Runway — but he had to spend $40,000 of it on his runway show. So how does a budding designer bolstered by reality-TV exposure make a living these days? Endorsement deals! Just like the Hills cast does all the time! Siriano signed a six-figure deal with LG Electronics (the same company that makes the Prada cell phone) to promote one of its phones and design a scarf to hold the phone. But he's turned down other deals to maintain his image, including a $20,000 offer from Bertolli to design an oven mitt. In total, he's passed on $120,000. He also gets $10,000 to $20,000 to appear at events and make speeches, but he recently lamented his schedule was far from booked. "I am like, 'Am I out? Is everyone over me?'" he said. No, darling. We're not over you. But maybe it's just that no one can afford you.

Project Siriano [WSJ]

Craig Lucas gets 2 off-Broadway productions (AP)

AP - Off-Broadway is having a mini-festival of Craig Lucas plays this season.

Dov Charney Headed to Court?

Woody Allen's lawsuit against American Apparel founder Dov Charney is likely to go to court this month, since a judge just ruled the case ineligible for mediation. Allen sued the megabrand for $10 million in March when it used an image of him dressed as a Hasidic Jew (a scene from Annie Hall) on billboards in New York and L.A. without his consent. [WWD]

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