Running a campaign on character in a time when diplomacy is desperately needed may be risky for McCain, as examples of his legendary temper accumulate. No stranger to the F-bomb, his record includes such memorable incidents as chewing out a former Arizona governor in front of his staff, relentlessly pursuing a grudge as he tried to get a state employee fired from three subsequent jobs, and pushing a woman in a wheelchair after barely resisting popping her one. Some believe it’s McCain’s way of getting the job done, but others worry that his big temper could also be a big liability, especially in the area of diplomacy. As one commentator so aptly put it, “In the nuclear age, you don’t want someone flying off the handle, so it’s a critical question: Can McCain control his temper?”

The heroine of all those trying to escape their Catholic upbringing did it again when she dedicated her rendition of “Like a Virgin” to Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday when her ‘Sticky & Sweet’ tour bus stopped in Rome. No stranger to controversy with the mother Church, she adds this latest antic to her mock-crucifixion in 2006 and the religious stage decorations at another show the Vatican called “one of the most ’satanic shows in the history of humanity.’” As one Roman reporter noted, “Madonna didn’t miss the opportunity for a provocation that will certainly be discussed.” Way to state the obvious.

The latest prescription drug craze isn’t haunting the halls of the nation’s high schools, but the corner offices of executive suites. Workers in professions where staying sharp and staying awake are the keys to success, are using drugs such as Ritalin, Provigil and beta blockers to keep their edge into the wee hours. Rumor of the use of the sleep drug Provigil in Silicon Valley was broken by blogger, Michael Arrington, whose article “How many Silicon Valley startup executives are hopped up on Provigil?” triggered a flood of commendations and condemnations of the practice. Medical ethicists worry bosses could coerce employees into using the drug to boost performance despite side effects and possible dependence. Way to set a good example, folks.

Time to invest in Windex stock, because the city of the future has an awful lot of surface area to keep streak free and squeaky clean. The ‘Ziggurat,’ designed by Timelinks of Dubai, is being promoted as the city of the future with the capacity to house a million people and leave nary a carbon toeprint. Powered by wind turbines, the population of this glass house would be whipped around by horizontal and vertical monorails, and the complex would occupy a mere 10% of the space of comparable cities of today. With any luck, it also comes with those snazzy Star Trek outfits…hmmm, Jean Luc Picard in a unitard.

There’s something fishy going on off British coasts, as evidenced by the increasing number of young porpoises washing up on beaches. It appears that bottlenose dolphins are attacking vulnerable porpoises over what scientists believe is a shortage in their food supply, and smaller bottlenoses are being increasingly sought by predators. One victim was a rare Risso’s washed up on one of the Scilly Isles, bearing marks of an adult bottlenose attack. The dolphin’s agility, intelligence and size make it a formidable opponent, and experts say that attacks have been on the rise in the last 20 years. Today the dolphin, tomorrow the pug…is anything safe anymore?

The ladies from the ’70s band, Heart, are not exactly jumping for joy at the use of their song for “Barracuda Sarah.” The band members recently sent a “cease-and-desist” letter to Republicans demanding that the song be pulled, although the McCain campaign asserts they received all the necessary permissions to use the number. Ironically enough, the band’s former guitarist, Roger Fisher, says play it all you want: he will be throwing his royalties to Obama’s campaign. There’s a bite in the butt for ya.

Female fans of Daniel Radcliffe — the actor who plays Harry Potter for those living under a rock — who bought front row tickets for the show Equus won’t be getting the view they might have anticipated. To prevent distractions from overenthusiastic fans, the Broadway theater raised the stage level seats by two meters to create a barrier for the actor’s protection. No sneak peeks at the wand, ladies.

Breath a big sigh of plague-free relief Americans, because the good news about global warming is that the Black Death shouldn’t be a problem in the future. Drier conditions cause fewer meals for rats, and heatwaves spell bad news for fleas, so the bacteria that causes the disease loses its carriers. Areas such as central Asia who can look forward to moister conditions won’t be so lucky, scientists say, as warmer conditions move north. Sorry, Canada.

The assumption that a person’s musical taste says a lot about them isn’t a new concept, but a recent study reveals some pretty surprising results as to what musical taste reveals about the personality of the listener. That guy listening to heavy metal is probably a pretty gentle person despite the tough exterior. That sensitive indie fan listening to the slightly off-tune white guy? Not so gentle and low on self-esteem. If you’re looking for a hard worker, the pop and country fans should be your first stop, but for a creative approach, look for a little Miles Davis or Mozart on the iPod. And if you hadn’t gotten the hint that you’re making less than the guy in that obnoxiously expensive sports car, his blaring music won’t let anyone miss it.
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Saying he’s offering “a gift to my fans,” filmmaker Michael Moore confirmed that he’s premiering his new documentary via free online downloads. The Sept. 23 release of “Slacker Uprising” is billed as “the first major feature-length movie by a noted director to debut for free on the Internet.” Moore, of course, was the unwilling giver of free downloads of his last movie, “Sicko,” when the docu was leaked before its release and made available via BitTorrents.

The bells and whistles on Heather Thomson’s Yummie Tummie lingerie might turn a few heads, but model the line on pole dancers and whiplash ensues. The designer held auditions for women of all looks and sizes in high end strip clubs around Manhattan and narrowed the field to eight specially skilled models for the show, which took place near Times Square. Known for its shaping abilities, the designer’s work has been lauded by Oprah Winfrey among others. Good to see Olympic gymnasts with time on their hands have a couple more options now.

You may want to rethink the term “dumb jock” in light of new research from the Human Research Lab at the University of Chicago. Taking a phrase such as “It’s a hard grounder to third that he takes of the short hop and fires a bullet to first for the final out,” and studying the brain activity of sports players and fans as compared to those unfamiliar with the sport indicated that the players and fans were using a completely different section of their brain when picturing the scene. This link between language comprehension and learned motor skills causes fans and players to use more of their brains when listening and they process the information faster than had the descriptions been of everyday tasks. So when you’re dozing in front of the college games on a beautiful October Saturday, pat yourself on the back: you’re working the most important muscle of all.
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Even top models tumble (think Naomi Campbell at Vivienne Westwood) and every fashion week, onlookers secretly hope for a catwalk spill just to mix up the monotonous strutting, strolling and sashaying. The first fashion week fall came a bit earlier than expected this year, as model Arlenis stumbled towards the beginning of the BCBG show. Likely not a total wipeout, but we have another seven days for that!

Rumors swirling around Russell Crowe’s role in Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes flick had the brooding actor playing anyone from Holmes’ sidekick Watson to landlady Mrs. Hudson (well, not really, but you get it.) The latest buzz indicates Crowe has entered talks with Ritchie about playing the famous detective’s big brained arch-nemesis Moriarty. Robert Downey Jr. has already agreed to light up a countless number of pipes as Holmes and Ritchie has reportedly offered Gerald Bulter the role of Watson.

The catwalks lit up Friday for New York Fashion Week’s kick off and with eight days of shows and schmoozing, the fashion fest is expected to generate $233 million in visitor spending for the Big Apple and attract 116,000 attendees to the filled-to-capacity tents in Bryant Park. Organizers anticipate 70,000 out-of-towners will arrive for the shows, booking hotel rooms and dropping cash around NYC. The entire week will haul in about $391 million for the city.

That pretty woman walkin’ down the street may be revealing more than you think. What scientists had previously believed to be a connection between muscle blocks, specifically in the pelvic region, and problems reaching the big O appear to be confirmed by a new study conducted by Scottish and Belgian researchers. Greater stride lengths combined with vertebral rotations indicated women who had a greater tendency to orgasm. Sexologists also note that this more confident walk could also be the result of a more satisfying sex life and better relationships, the link between orgasms and mental health already having been established. Now where’s that study on foot size?
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Before gracing the front lines of political protest, Susan Sarandon was just an innocent girl seeking shelter from the storm in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. With MTV’s announcement of the cult classic’s remake, though, the actress is asking, “Why?” “Certainly people could sing better than I could — that could be something that could change…But part of the charm of it, I thought, was that it was done sort of low-budget. So unless it’s done huge and very different I don’t know the point of remaking it.” Anyone else just wondering whether or not to bring toast?

With Banned Book Week quickly approaching, this might be the time to take a closer look at one of the newest VP candidate’s executive actions first discussed in a recent article in Time. Following complaints from some Wasilla town folk regarding inappropriate language used in several library volumes, Palin approached the town’s librarian to find out “…how she could go about banning books…” and when refused, attempted to fire the librarian. Hmmm, strong leader or strong-arm leader?

Rack this one up to child stars gone wild, part 62517: Jeremy Jackson, who frolicked at the beach as Hobie on “Baywatch,” reportedly is the star of sex tape currently making the rounds in Hollywood. Yes, the kid who played David Hasselhoff’s son made a naked video. Not any naked flick though, as it also stars porn star Sky Lopez who allegedly wanted the tape back so badly, she threatened physical harm to the former child actor. The 45-minute skin flick has not sparked much interest yet, as no buyers have snapped it up.

The modeling industry has never pretended to represent real women or the real world for that matter, but will the fashion industry make an attempt to bring diversity to its catwalkers? At February’s Fashion Week, black models only accounted for 94 out of the 1,584 models strutting down the runways or about six percent. Latinas grabbed just seventeen spots, a paltry one percent. Some designers complain agencies don’t provide a diverse selection of talented runway queens, but others, like Pamella Roland, say they have noticed this season’s show packages feature a strong mix of ethnic models. Yeohlee bucked the whitewashed runway trend by selecting girls from Venezuela, Korea, Somalia, China, Sudan, Tunisia, Denmark, Hungary, and Malaysia.

Car fans worldwide (myself included) have watched in excitement as the Lexus LF-A supercar has grown from concept to prototype. It seemed as if the project was full steam ahead until recently… Rumor now has it that the LF-A project has been cancelled. A number of factors play into this, most importantly the rumored $225,000 sticker price, and the doubt that customers would be willing to drop that kind of dough on a car made by a company renowned for it’s luxurious, yet boring cars. Only time will tell whether anything will come of this rumor.

Part of the humor in most of Spade’s roles has been his seemingly pointless pursuit of beautiful women, but low and behold, it’s not just a persona. The former SNL star is now the father of a beautiful baby girl with Playboy playmate, Jillian Grace. Earlier this year, the actor said he would claim any resulting offspring of their brief relationship, and he plans to visit his daughter as soon as his current gig on “Rules of Engagement” takes a break. Score one for the little man!

If you’re beginning to feel as though the separation of church and state has about as much relevance as the tooth fairy in today’s political scene, you’re not alone. For the first time in ten years, a majority of Americans think houses of worship should keep their focus on God and leave the politics to Caesar. You may want to sit down before you read this next part: the biggest change has been with conservatives. One half of conservatives now believe religious organizations should stay neutral as opposed to 30% at the last election. “The change of mind…is most apparent among people who are most concerned about the very issues that churches and other houses of worship have focused on [including abortion and gay marriage], and among those who fault the parties for their friendliness toward religion.” Well, slap me with a feather and call me Bertha, who would’ve guessed?
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A feisty female duo from Amsterdam wants you to revisit the 1980s. Well, maybe not you specifically, unless of course you want to trade in your current kicks for a pair of L.A. Gear high tops. Yep, L.A. Gear has a comeback in the works thanks to Club Zonder Filter, a Netherlands-based production company set on reviving the brand and turning the bright orange sneakers complete with pink bows into the “must have” item of the year.

Olympics all-around gymnastics champion Nastia Liukin landed on a Wheaties box, but the girly fashion plate likely sees her latest perk as a bit more exciting than an old cereal box. The gold medalist will sit in the front row at the New York Fashion Week shows of Peter Som, Isaac Mizrahi and Cole Haan. Tennis champ and hero of Liukin’s, Maria Sharapova, invited the pint-sized flipper to join her at the shows. Liukin has inked a deal with Vanilla Star jeans to create a line of clothes, so maybe she will gain a bit of fashion expertise via osmosis. Forget osmosis, that girl has the golden touch and a great set of gams on top of that!