Stocks were pummeled once again today with the Dow shedding 500 points and the S&P falling to its lowest level since April 21, 2003. Normally at a time like this, we'd direct your attention to the blog Sad Guys on Trading Floors, or even the more recent Brokers With Hands on Their Faces. In the spirit of diversity, though, we thought we'd mix it up and introduce you to a brand new photo feature, which we're officially calling Sad Arab Traders Wearing Kaffiyehs and Holding Their Hands to Their Faces. More pics after the jump.

Here's another quasi-useless application powered by Google Maps: HookupMaps.com plots out the "casual encounters" section of Craigslist, so you can now see precisely where all the ugly people are getting busy in real-time. As for the person looking for a little excitement at Ground Zero, it's a "BBW looking for West Indian man," just in case you're interested and you meet the criteria. [HookupMaps via CNET]

How are companies like Google and Goldman, Sachs keeping employees calm during these tough economic times? They're offering up meditation programs and classes to soothe frayed nerves. But it doesn't just keep workers from jumping off the room. "Meditation helps develop your abilities to focus better and to accomplish your tasks," says the founder of Green Mountain Coffee, who also points out that shares in the company have climbed 267 percent over the past four years. [Bloomberg]

♦ Frank Bruni reviews Allegretti this week and gives it two stars: "Although some dishes are overwrought, with an ingredient or two too many, and a few utterly miss their mark, more are executed with finesse and with a wicked sense of indulgence." [NYT]
♦ Alan Richman is pleased with Paul Liebrandt's Corton, reserving special praise for its sous vide chicken. [GQ]
♦ A report on how restaurants across the country are coping with the downturn. [NYT]

More cheerful symptoms of the recession: Based on the number of prescriptions filled in the first eight months of this year, people appear to be scrimping on their medications in order to save money as they're increasingly forced to choose between gas, meals and drugs. But the pharma companies aren't panicking just yet: The US still spends around $286.5 billion on prescription drugs, more than any other country in the world. [NYT]

You won't find former AIG chief Martin Sullivan in a very good mood today: His former employer has agreed to Andrew Cuomo's demand that the company suspend $19 million in payouts that Sullivan was supposed to receive. The insurance giant also agreed to withhold more than $600 million in bonus payouts to senior execs. [NYT]

Real estate prices may be headed south, but that isn't stopping Courtney Sale Ross, the widow of late media mogul Steve Ross, from putting one of the most expensive apartments in Manhattan on the market. Max Abelson of the Observer reports that Edward Lee Cave is now "quietly taking offers" on Ross' 32-room duplex at 740 Park Avenue. The price? Over $60 million. [NYO]

Portfolio may be struggling to keep current during these dark economic times, but editor Joanne Lipman pulled a clever maneuver when she dispatched a cute, young reporter to meet up with Salman Rushdie at the luxe resort in Mexico. The famed author took the trip to Las Ventanas al Paraiso in Los Cabos, Mexico to promote his new book, The Enchantress of Florence, and was given free plane tickets and accommodations in exchange for showing up at two dinners and a cocktail reception. It doesn't seem like the deal was much of a success for the hotel company: A total of eight paying guests turned up for the two dinners. But that gave Rushdie plenty of time to open up about really important stuff, like Dancing with the Stars, Kim Kardashian, and his busy social life.

♦ Bill O'Reilly has signed a new four-year contract with Fox News worth $10-12 million a year. There is good news, though: His radio show may be coming to an end. [NYDN]
♦ More bad news for Harvey Weinstein: A handful of senior execs at The Weinstein Co. have announced their departures. [THR]
♦ How are monthly business magazines keeping up with the financial crisis? They're not, really. [NYO]
♦ The offices of the New York Times received an envelope this morning containing a "white granular substance." [Radar]

Matthew Broderick riding his bike in Tribeca ... Keri Russell crossing the street ... Gavin Rossdale signing autographs outside ABC ... Kelly Ripa jogging outside for a TV segment ... Ugly Betty's Becki Newton and Michael Urie hugging on the sidewalk ... Alex Rodriguez leaving a parking garage in Midtown ... Kelly Cutrone in Soho, screaming on her cell phone ... Nastia Liukin on the set of Gossip Girl ... Zac Efron, Ashley Tisdale, and Vanessa Hudgens leaving lunch at Serendipity 3 on East 60th ... Katie Holmes getting out of an SUV outside the Schoenfeld Theatre ... and Tom Cruise and Suri boarding a helicopter.

Stylista debuts tonight, and all the mildly-enthusiastic reviews reveal something more important than whether or not the show is actually worth watching: Apparently, we live in a world so ironic, where the line between reality and fiction has been trampled on to such an extent, that we can't even watch a woman pretend to do her job and dole out abuse to eager victims on a set created to resemble an office without suspending our disbelief for one second. Stylista's star, Elle's fashion news director Anne Slowey, is playing a part, you see, and although she's playing it quite well, that won't stop everyone from pointing out that she's doing Meryl Streep doing Anna Wintour:

Have you heard about a little site called Wikipedia? Aged gossip Cindy Adams has, and she doesn't like what she sees. It seems her Wikipedia page is filled with all sorts of "inaccuracies," which were placed there by "a ragtag assortment of contributors." So she did what most people do when they spot mistakes on Wikipedia: She dialed up company founder Jimmy Wales to demand that he edit her page. Unfortunately, Cindy reports today, Jimmy has thus far failed to correct the mistake. "He ultimately agreed to a re-edit. That was two months ago. He did nothing. So much for the truth." And so much for teaching 78-year-olds how to use the Internet.

Former Morgan Stanley co-president Zoe Cruz is back. Or she might be! Demonstrating once again that timing is not her forte, she's now thinking about "possibly raising money to start a hedge fund." Or she might just take another job at big company because "she enjoyed being a high-level manager at a large prestigious firm." A large prestigious firm? Those don't exist anymore, silly! [TheStreet via Dealbreaker]

♦ Hugh Jackman has reportedly gone into contract on a triplex apartment at 176 Perry Street for more than $25 million. The 11,032-square-foot spread, which was originally listed for $40 million and later dropped to $33 million in April, is owned by Sun Microsystems co-founder Bill Joy. [NYO]
♦ Tech exec/art collector Roy Judelson and his wife Mary paid $10.5 mil. for a four-bedroom spread at 33 East 70th Street. Their new neighbors will include Joan Didion and Marina Rust Connor. [Cityfile]
♦ Now that he's settling in at 15 CPW, Dan Loeb has put his carriage house at 7 MacDougal Alley on the market for $7 million. The 4,000-square-foot home features a roof deck, media room, and wine cellar. [Curbed]

They waited until now to release this news? A report issued today indicates that even before the current financial crisis started, Americans were punching their own tickets in increasing numbers. The survey reports that the suicide rate for white, middle-aged men jumped 17 percent between 1999 and 2005. [Bloomberg]

Designer, author, and reality TV host Todd Oldham is 47 today. Director Spike Jonze is turning 39. Catherine Deneuve is officially a senior citizen (at least in the U.S.): the actress turns 65 today. Composer Marc Shaiman is 49. Legendary venture capitalist Alan Patricof is 74. Carlos Mencia is celebrating his 41st. Actor Christopher Lloyd is turning 70. New L&O castmember Jeff Goldblum is 56. The rapper Shaggy turns 40. And Jonathan Lipnicki, the little boy from Jerry Maguire, is 18.

♦ Jennifer Aniston is pregnant with John Mayer's baby. At least that's what the always-reliable Star is now reporting. [Star]
♦ Remember how Donald Trump said he'd help Ed McMahon by buying his home out of foreclosure? Seems like it was just a publicity stunt at McMahon's expense, although Ed's newfound career as a rap artist should pay the bills for now. [P6]
♦ Your daily dose of Madonna-Guy news: Madge says her husband lived "like a king" off her money and she's insisting the kids be with her during the holidays ("Christmas doesn't exist in the Madonna household because of Kabbalah"). For his part, Guy may already have a new girlfriend. [Daily Mail, Mirror, Page Six]

♦ Bad day ahead? Stocks fell sharply in Europe and Asia overnight and ugly corporate earnings have investors worried. [MW]
♦ Wachovia, which is being acquired by Wells Fargo, reported a third-quarter loss of $23.9 billion. [Bloomberg]
♦ Yahoo says it will lay off 10 percent of its work force. [NYT]
♦ Federal prosecutors looking into the collapse of Lehman have subpoenaed other firms to find out if their analysts were misled by Lehman execs. [WSJ]

What has Mark Penn, the scandal-plagued strategy guru for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, been up to as of late? He's back to doing what he does best: conducting useless marketing research. The "2008 Presidential Image Power Survey," conducted by Penn, Schoen & Berland and Landor Associates, asked voters to associate the presidential candidates with various brands, including "fictional spies, retail outlets, snack foods and cars." The answers? Voters connected Obama to BMW, Google and Target, while Mr. McCain was compared to Ford, Wal-Mart, and AOL. Translation: Obama is associated with cool stuff; McCain makes people think of a car company about to go bankrupt, a big-box retailer that abuses its employees, and an Internet company that peaked 11 years ago. [AdAge]

♦ The election, the economy, and Madonna and Guy all faded into insignificance last night when MTV aired the first clip of The City, and we saw our girl Whitney stepping inside Diane von Furstenberg HQ and getting ambivalently eyeballed by Olivia Palermo (who seems to have a weirdly strong screen presence). [NYO, NYP]
♦ The sixth season of Project Runway has wrapped: Rebecca Romijn, Eva Longoria and Lindsay Lohan reportedly make guest judge appearances, although regular judges Nina Garcia and Michael Kors earn less airtime than before. Yet due to legal issues we can't wrap our mind around much less summarize, no one knows when or where the show will air. [WWD]