Wyclef Jean has been busy stumping for Obama as of late, but perhaps he'll find time to take a short break today to celebrate his 36th birthday. Others who may (or may not) indulge in cake today: Socialite Debbie Bancroft is 54. Artist Ryan McGinley is 31. Chicago director Rob Marshall is 48. Legendary newsman Jimmy Breslin is 79. New Yorker staff writer and author Ariel Levy is 34. Film critic Richard Roeper turns 49. Eminem celebrates his 36th. Ziggy Marley, the son of Bob Marley, is 40. And Kirna Zabête co-owner Beth Buccini is 37. Weekend birthdays after the jump.

Just in time to catch the last few consumers in denial about the economy and still willing to pay unnecessary amounts of money for the privilege of having a designer logo on their cellphone, both Porsche and Prada are coming out with new phones next month: Prada's has a first-of-its-kind slide-out qwerty keyboard, but Porsche's has an auto-focus video camera. As if there weren't already enough tough decisions to make right now! [WWD]

The Obama campaign posted a little instructional video featuring Jay-Z yesterday. Who knew Jay was so familiar with voter registration laws? We look forward to his explanation of how the electoral college works next week. In the meantime, the video is below.

♦ Madonna and Guy Ritchie's divorce wasn't a huge revelation after months of rumors. But now it turns out the couple hadn't even been on speaking terms for months, and had been communicating through their assistants. Also: Guy may lose custody of his sons if Madonna decides to leave London and settle in NYC full-time. [Us, People]
♦ The namecalling has started: Madonna called Guy "emotionally retarded" at her Boston concert on Wednesday night, and now Guy's father is calling Madonna "beastly." [The Sun, Telegraph]
♦ Peter Cook and Diana Bianchi aren't happy about the leak of their sex tape. Who's to blame? Peter is blaming Diana. Diana, meanwhile, says it couldn't have been her since she didn't even know he was taping them having sex in his Southampton office. [P6, ET]
♦ Did Tea Leoni have a fling with Billy Bob Thorton while she was still with David Duchovny? [Extra, E!]

♦ Prosecutors have subpoenaed a dozen Lehman executives, including Dick Fuld, as part of three grand jury probes into the bankruptcy of the investment bank. [NYP]
♦ Warren Buffett has faith: "Buy American. I am." [NYT]
♦ Andrew Cuomo met with AIG's new CEO yesterday, who assured the attorney general the insurance giant would account for excessive executive compensation and will also cancel upcoming conferences. [NYT, Bloomberg]

♦ Anna Wintour attended the presidential debate last night at Hofstra. In Hempstead. On Long Island. Also: Is it just us, or is her hair getting lighter and lighter? [The Cut]
♦ Next week, five hundred lucky students will attend Teen Vogue's Fashion University, where for three days they'll access the wisdom of Tory Burch, Phillip Lim, Peter Som, Nanette Lepore, Monica Botkier and Cynthia Rowley. [NYDN]
♦ No, the day could not pass without Marc Jacobs being in the news for some reason: He's inked a licensing deal for swimwear, which will launch in spring '09. [WWD]

They're already wrapping subway cars with ads and covering tray tables with marketing messages. Why not just cover every square inch of planes' interiors with pitches for Claritin and Tide detergent? Why not, indeed. A handful of US carriers are now planning to increase revenues by putting ads on bathroom doors and overhead bins. [AP]

Guys: Were you under the impression that sticking needles into your face in an attempt to stave off the inexorable march of time was just for the ladies? Still buying into the myth that for men, aging confers a distinguished authority? Well, the manufacturers of Botox and their willing footsoldiers, cosmetic doctors, would like to remind you that staying on top professionally in this economic climate is a young man's game, and don't you want to be competitive? A certain "45-year-old publisher of a New York-based magazine" does: He confesses to the Times (on condition of anonymity!) that he's been getting Botox for years.

This whole Wall Street thing is pretty big news, right? So how did Condé Nast's struggling business mag respond to the biggest economic story of a generation? They put Dov Charney, the founder of American Apparel, on the cover of the November issue. [Gawker, previously]

♦ Table 8 inside the Cooper Square Hotel isn't expected to open for another two months, but that didn't stop chef Govind Armstrong from giving a preview to 60 guests at hotelier Klaus Ortlieb's Tribeca loft last night. [NYO]
♦ The opening night of Tom Colicchio's Tuesday Dinner, went off without a hitch: Tom prepared a nine-course menu for 28 guests without breaking a sweat, and his wife showed up for moral support. [Forbes]
♦ Is 1OAK over? Richie Akiva and Scott Sartiano's club is now sending our email blasts asking to host your next party. [NYO]

JPMorgan chief Jamie Dimon and Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit don't like each other much: In one widely-reported encounter between the two men earlier this year, Dimon told Pandit to "stop being such a jerk" on a conference call of Wall Street CEOs. It looks like Dimon is getting the last laugh. Not only did Citi announce another huge loss today, and embarrass itself last week with its failed bid to acquire Wachovia, now Dimon's JP Morgan has officially surpassed Citi as the largest bank in the US. If it's any consolation, Vikram, you do live in a nicer apartment building.

Medusa Hair Salon in Brooklyn is now offering a "Updos for Obama" special: You come in and get a Palin-like hairstyle, and they'll give the $75 price you would have spent at the salon to the Obama campaign. Less partisan (and much more stupid) is what the Westin Times Square has cooked up: Between now and Election Day, the hotel is giving a free glass of champagne to women who come in with a business card bearing the title of "vice president." [TONY, HotelChatter]

Just as it is often said that plastic surgery advanced dramatically after World War II when doctors treated so many wounded soldiers, in the future people will look back on the Great Crash of 2008 and say: That's when the hoards of emotionally battered traders helped us truly understand how the brain behaves when subjected to total, utter and continual freakouts! Today Time devotes some attention to the amygdala, the little part of the brain "that takes over when we are frightened."

♦ Last night's debate attracted more viewers than the first, but not as many as last week's debate. [MediaPost]
♦ Dan Rather will be covering the presidential elections for a French TV network. Does he speak French? [Variety]
♦ Fox's 24 will command the highest ad rates this season. [AdAge]
♦ PBS has decided not to air a documentary about Bush administration torture tactics until after the election. [NYT]
♦ Britney Spears is back in print to hype her latest fragrance line. [AdRants]
♦ Steve Carell will play a French soldier in Brigadier Gerard. [THR]

Naomi Watts riding on the back of a Vespa with Liev Schreiber ... Angelina Jolie inside the Today show studio ... Jon Bon Jovi and his wife Dorothea walking in SoHo ... Katie Holmes leaving her apartment building on East 13th ... Sarah Silverman outside her hotel ... Sandra Bullock leaving a pet store with her puppy ... Sarah Jessica Parker leaving a deli in the West Village ... Uma Thurman getting ice cream with her son Levon ... and Michelle Williams and Spike Jonze munching on popcorn before a screening of his new film at the Loews 19th Street theater.

The Smoking Gun has the complaint filed in US District Court against Mathias Guerrand-Hermès, who was arrested on a flight from Paris to New York on Tuesday for attacking the crew and grabbing the pilot's crotch. [TSG, previously]

Islam Karimov is the autocratic leader of Uzbekistan and a man routinely described as one of the worst dictators on earth by the likes of Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. (The group Common Dreams once suggested he's so bad that he made Saddam "look good.") Since taking over the oil and gas-rich country in 1989, he's plundered billions, held fake elections to keep himself in power, censored the media, and tortured those who dare to challenge him, often using some of the most barbarian methods to do so, like submerging them in boiling water. And now he's coming to visit New York! Not really. But we wondered: What would happen if one of the most evil tyrants did decide to come to New York. Would he receive a warm welcome from the local political establishment? We wanted to know. So we did what you'd probably do in such a situation: We printed up some official-looking letterhead and sent out letters to various City Council members and local congressmen to see if they'd take the meeting. And guess what? Lots of influential politicos have no objection to sitting down with one of the worst men on earth. Details on the people we duped—with audio of their calls to Karimov's "office"—after the jump.

New York was kind enough to follow up on our post on Tuesday about the most gruesome townhouse the Upper East Side has ever laid eyes on. A reporter headed over and knocked on the front door—and it turns out the place isn't owned by a crazy person after all! It belongs to financial adviser Richard Medley and his wife Dorinda who, along with their three kids, compete is some sort of Halloween decorating competition with Marc Lasry and his family every year. [NYM, previously]

The Hong Kong-based clothing retailer Giordano International—"the Gap of Asia"—has a new line of crisis-themed t-shirts planned for Halloween. Think it's in poor taste? Not at all. It's supposedly designed to cheer you up. "Giordano has chosen a brainy way to lift spirits with 'Halloween HalloTees' that are equally stylish, casual and spooky," the company said in an official statement.

Remember former Tyco chief Dennis Kozlowski, the face of corporate greed circa 2004? An appeals court this morning upheld the convictions of Kozlowski along with his former financial chief, Mark Swartz, both of whom remain in prison serving out sentences for fraud. [Reuters, WSJ]