Because we first fell in love with Rachel Maddow by hearing her voice on Air America and then seeing her all dressed up in suits on MSNBC, we had no idea what she dressed like in her downtime. Now, because we saw her today in Denver, we know that the real Rachel Maddow actually kind of looks like Ira Glass. We dig it! Especially when you consider that Bill O'Reilly off-camera pretty much looks like Bill O'Reilly, and without makeup Chris Matthews looks like Martha Stewart. It could be much worse.

Still, we're not sure about her neon Emerica skater kicks. Thoughts?

Earlier: Why We're Gay for Rachel Maddow

Today at noon, employees at Lush Cosmetics citywide dropped trou and strutted, naked but for aprons, outside their places of employment. The stunt was cooked up by the British Columbia–based company in order to promote their "naked" bath products — they are made from organic fruit and vegetables and sold sans plastic bottles — and it certainly got them attention. Over by the Lush store in Herald Square, tourists and salarymen went wild at the unexpected midday display of flesh. "Take them off! Take them off!" the crowd shouted at two twentysomething guys in boxers, one of whom eventually complied. The publicity stunt, a spokesperson explained, was the company's idea, but employees chose whether to comply. While some clearly reveled in the attention (see above), as the crowd grew larger, others seemed to be feeling regretful about their choice. We asked store manager Jennifer Paulson, who kept herself firmly pressed against the store wall, why she had chosen to go naked. "Because we keep our products unpackaged so nothing goes to the landfill," she said like a good employee, then worried aloud: "Someone was videotaping so now I'm worried I'm going to be on YouTube!"

Brooklyn-based, board-certified gynecologist Leon Nitkin not only gives mammograms and pap smears, he can also pull a pair of turtle doves out of your vagina. Call now!

And Sometimes Words Fail [Pistols and Popcorn]

We've been obsessing over Suri Cruise a little bit lately, which we realize is a little bit unfair. Suri isn't technically a New York kid — she's just visiting while her mom is on Broadway. And we have our own celebrity tykes here! Like Liv Tyler and Royston Langdon's baby Milo, Kate Hudson and Chris Robinson's baby Ryder — not to mention dozens of other half-famous children. But the child most famous in her own right is Matilda Ledger, daughter of the late Heath and actress Michelle Williams. So we went to look today for pictures of Matilda in her element: Brooklyn. And we were not disappointed. Look at the above picture! Is she not adorable? And does she not look exactly like her father? We know we just said that we can't tell which parent a baby's supposed to look like, but Matilda is almost 3! By the time she's in high school, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is totally going to be bribing her to go on a date with Julia Stiles. Just you wait and see.

Earlier: Suri's Just Cruising Around Town

Over at Gawker, they're ogling Barack Obama's shamelessly spectacular 47-year-old pectorals, but we can't help but be distracted by another set of photos, from his trip a Hawaiian beach yesterday. Images like the one above, of Barack bodysurfing in the waves, appeared in newspapers across the country. Look at the angle of this one, in particular. It almost evokes all of those swimming pics we see every day of Olympic hero Michael Phelps. Is Barack Obama — like NBC before him — hoping to take advantage of the positive feelings Americans have for Phelps in order to get a bump for himself? After all, it's not like John McCain is going to be splashing around in the surf anytime soon.

If that's the case, though, we have a small bit of advice for Barack. When trying to evoke images of Michael Phelps in the water, it's best not to look like you're about to drown.

Apparently, beer does not make your bones stronger. The above picture shows distributor heiress (and potential Republican First Lady) Cindy McCain brandishing the new cast and sling she's been forced to wear after an overenthusiastic supporter shook her hand so hard that he sprained it. "We had a great luncheon fund-raiser and I shook hands and it was a very enthusiastic supporter and it got me the wrong way," she told a crowd yesterday afternoon. "It’s — I’m absolutely great and this is a precautionary thing. So I’ll be fine." What's amazing is, this isn't the first time this has happened! During her husband's campaign for the presidency in 2000, a different supporter broke her wrist. We always knew Republicans had firmer handshakes than Democrats (because Democrats have limp wrists because they are gay, get it?), but this is ridiculous.

She actually looks like she's hurting kind of badly in this photo and the other ones we've seen. But don't think she's a wuss — remember that when stuff like this happens to Cindy, she probably can't use any prescription painkillers to deal with it. But she sure can accessorize! Loving the cardigan, Cind. Next stop, capelets!

Cindy McCain Injures Wrist Shaking Hands [Political Radar/ABC News]

There are all these solitary pictures of Suri Cruise in New York yesterday on Getty Images, and they're all matter-of-factly captioned, "Suri Cruise is seen on the streets of Manhattan," like she was just, you know, hanging out on her own. How weird: At 2 years old, Suri is already a Personality. Before even growing her first teeth, she has become so famous that no one needs to explain that she is the daughter of two famous people. Oh, and in other obvious news: She's super cute. That is all.

This afternoon, on a lark, we decided to look to see whether there were any recent pictures of Madonna out there looking normal after those weird, terrible shots of her showed up in the Daily Mail one week ago. After all, we've been thinking about Madonna's face a lot lately. And lo and behold, there are pictures of the pop star looking like her regular lovely, zero-fat self — from five days ago. The singer was snapped with Michael Moore in Michigan at a screening of her film I Am Because We Are, a documentary about orphans in Malawi with AIDS.

Now, to be fair, we haven't checked everywhere, but we haven't seen these photos on many of the Websites that ran the original pictures, which were often accompanied by questions over Madonna's health and fitness regimen. And yet these were taken a mere two days after. Clearly, as we suspected, the original bad photos were nothing new: just another round of bad pictures of a celebrity without makeup.

Related: The New New Face [NYM]
Have age and stress launched a shocking attack on Madonna's face? [Daily Mail]

In our mind, the picture at left, taken this past weekend by photographer Paul O'Reilly captures one of two possible events: (1) Either God himself was schining his light upon Julian Schnabel's Palazzo Chupi, because he was giving a sign to a spiritually inclined billionaire contemplating purchase of remaining units, or (2) more likely, the rainbow was actually emanating from the pink palace, and was, in fact, the physical manifestation of the passion of the current residents of the Gesamtkunstwerk. Said residents were so stimulated by the visual and sensual appeal of the cool rain falling upon the hot Pompeii red exterior that Saturday, so thrilled to be held in the safe embrace of the Chupi while outside, the rain beat down on the rest of populace's hastily procured $2 umbrellas, that they could not contain their emotions, which subsequently burst through the imported plaster and terra-cotta tiles in rays of colored light. Even later, when the rainbow faded, the building continued to pulse softly, along with their hearts. That's what we think happened, anyway.

Somewhere Over the Schnabel Window [Gothamist]
Intel's Coverage of the Palazzo Chupi

Well-loved Times scribe Jenny 8. Lee gave herself a numeric moniker in high school because she wanted a middle name, and because the eight is a lucky number in Chinese culture. Readers of the Gray Lady have become used to the unusual byline over the years, but this particular story — about Chinese couples planning to marry at 8 p.m. on August 8 for maximum good fortune — really jumped out at us. Isn't this a conflict of interest or something?

Marry Me at 8 on the 8th, O.K.? [NYT]