In my puff-piece about The City today, I wondered who this "Erin" was. The show's star Whitney is crashing on her couch. She was called a hooker. But who is she? A tipster has told us!

Join us in looking back at the trends, names, faces, places and unhinged absurdity that made our Defamer Decides 2008 coverage an unparalleled historical record of American presidential politics at its finest.

Rod Blagojevich just had an awesome press conference announcing his selection of Roland Burris to the US Senate. Now no one knows what will happen.

Robert Jaffe, a VP at Cohmad Securities who hooked up Palm Beach socialites to Bernie Madoff's awesome investment scheme, was a fashionable gentleman—"at one time named [high-end clothier] Louis Boston’s best customer," reports WWD. Now?

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Mostly worst. As 2008—the shittiest year on human record—winds down, we've collected for you some of its most shameful moments, caught on video.

New Year's Eve—the most important drinking night of the year—is almost upon us! What kind of party are you going to? Only five types exist, which I will detail for you after the jump.

Of all handler subgenus, perhaps none is taxed more thanklessly than flackus mendacitus, or the garden variety publicist.

To the expert eyes at photo agency Vanderbilt Republic, the above two-page New Yorker ad looked odd. Why is only the white girl "heavily retouched to give her perfect skin and rosy cheeks?"

Well, waiting in a vestibule with him. Muscle-bound Scott decided to casually introduce himself to a young lady, and me being a lameo, I eavesdropped. It was kind of sad.

Cover Awards notices that Angelina Jolie got "duped" by German Cosmopolitan, because she looks weird. Well, she also got duplicated, as a tipster points out to us.

Earlier today we fawned over Barack Obama's newly cut physique. And it got us wondering what other shirtless pics of presidents exist.

That crazy Duggar family from the reality show 17 and Counting was on the Today this morning. Because mom just gave birth to baby number 18. Why are we encouraging these people?

Aliona Doletskaya has been hailed as potential successor to Anna Wintour atop U.S. Vogue. But there's a side of the Russian editor's life you didn't read about in the Times.

Voice your choice! Earlier we showed you three of the year's most annoying TV ads; now we've added two more, and made a poll—of infamy. Vote below for the year's worst ad:

Jeremy Piven quit his Broadway show three months early because of an overexposure to mercury. Sounds serious! And fake! So who's treating him? A celebrity doctor with a shady past named Carlon Colker.

Throughout the morning we've been receiving URGENT REPORTS of DIRECT ACTION by STUDENT ACTIVISTS at fancy NYC college New School. They've taken over a building! POLICE CLASHES and EXCESSIVE FORCE! Join the struggle:

Our supercool, smokin' President-elect has already inspired ironic T-shirts, lawsuits based on those T-shirts, and now a classic "this thing looks like that thing" post, all in one week!

We've already enjoyed a hearty laugh at Variety's expense for confounding the two crazy Tracys. A slightly gaucher gaffe, however, comes to us via EW.com, who accidentally went live with Lena Horne's pre-written obit.

Our new press secretary and our president-elect's campaign media strategy get the Times Magazine treatment this Sunday. There is, frankly, nothing all that revealing. But there are amusing anecdotes!

The recession affects all of us. Not wanting to appear insensitive or out of touch, it's become fashionable among the wealthy to moan about the sacrifices they have to make, too. Only problem?