Following what she considered a disappointing election night, “The Hills” starlet Heidi Montag was spotted continuing about with her business in Los Angeles on Wednesday (November 5).

Looking sexy in a longsleeve black top with skinny jeans and coffee in-hand, Miss Montag ran a few errands with her co-star boyfriend Spencer Pratt tagging along for the outing.

Making the most of her trip to the States, Kate Moss was spotted out shopping it up in West Hollywood on Wednesday (November 5).

The sexy supermodel sported a bright patterned longsleeve top with almost too short to be seen jean shorts as she combed the racks at the trendy Fred Segal boutique.

Enjoying a final few days off before getting back to work, Natalie Portman was spotted out walking her pet pooch in the West Village on Wednesday (November 5).

Doing her best to thwart paparazzi efforts, the “Star Wars” sweetheart bought a newspaper and tried to block the photographers on-hand from taking her picture.

Enjoying an afternoon away from the many projects tying up her schedule, Ashley Tisdale was spotted out and about Los Angeles on Wednesday (November 5).

The “High School Musical” hottie first stopped off to get an iced coffee and a pastry at a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf store before visiting a friend’s house for a little gal pal time.

Playing the role of the doting father, Ben Affleck was spotted out in Santa Monica earlier today dropping off his daughter Violet off at preschool.

The “Good Will Hunting” stud had his hands full, carrying his 2 ½-year-old in one arm, and a bevy of school supplies in the other, while Violet held a note from her mom Jennifer Garner that read “Mama will be right back.”

newVideoPlayer("/joan.flv", 506, 423,""); · We think it was Sterling Cooper's resident alpha-lioness Joan Holloway who once said, "Sometimes when people get what they want they realize how limited their goals were." Good thing Christina Hendricks saw beyond Everclear videos. [Thanks, Videogum!]
· You know what? We're really starting to open our minds to the many useful applications of that CNN hologram machine thingy.
· Paul Rudd admits his manhood is a rhombus. So's ours!
· Universal Soldier 3 is a go, and Jean-Claude Van Damme has committed. He's just not sure if its a theatrical, home video, or Straight to Flopz™ release.
· Cursebird is a "realtime feed of people swearing on Twitter." So fucking check it out, fuck!

Having already dodged one crotch-burning close call this week, Robert Downey Jr. wasn't about to set himself up for another one for the sadists at MTV. In an interview this afternoon, the Iron Man star hewed close to the Marvel party line when asked about the expulsion of co-star Terrence Howard from geek Eden in favor of an allegedly less-difficult Don Cheadle:

When asked if he had anything to do with the Howard/Cheadle switch, Downey immediately responded, “I had nothing to do with that decision. I love Terrence very very much. That’s all I’ll say because I haven’t talked to him yet.”

Furthermore, the Iron Man star makes it clear that he will not play favorites between the two equally talented actors, so if you’re looking for a juicy “good riddance” quote from Downey [...] you won’t find it here.

“I’ve always admired Don [Cheadle],” said Downey. “It’s one of those situations where I still don’t quite know what happened or why. Here’s what happens too: things happen and you wind up commenting on them before you’ve actually talked to the people and it’s in poor taste.”

Of course we're nothing if not helpful, so here's Howard's account, and here's Marvel's (we think). Please file your response in the comments below; we have a rally to get to!

• EXCLUSIVE: Robert Downey Jr. On Terrence Howard/Don Cheadle ‘Iron Man 2’ Swap [MTV]

Here's a warning to anyone who voted to strip gay Californians of their rights to wed, and 18,000 already-married same-sex couples of their licenses: You don't want to see a ticked-off Mr. Defamer. His eyebrow arches even higher than usual, and he's been known to accidentally fumble that intern-monitored mug of 140 degree chai latte into a nearby face. We, meanwhile, are busily polishing our pitchforks and stocking up on 99 Cents Only-brand torches for tonight's Prop 8 protest rally (7 p.m. on San Vicente Blvd between West Hollywood Park and the Pacific Design Center).

After the jump: Could an earlier Milk release have made the difference?

L.A. county has already suspended the issuance of marriage licenses and civil marriage ceremonies for gay couples, saying in a statement "based on the Secretary of State's Semi-Official canvass results from Election Night and the California State Constitutional provision that states '(a) proposed amendment or revision shall be submitted to the electors and if approved by a majority of votes thereon takes effect the day after the election.'" The war, however, has already begun. Multiple legal challenges have been filed to subvert the measure—including one from high-volume feminist firebrand Gloria Allred on behalf of Couple Zero, Robin Tyler and Diane Olsen—arguing that this vote amounts to nothing more than an illegal constitutional revision.

In Contention, meanwhile, asks a very good—if difficult to hear—question regarding Milk. The movie itself is about the legendary SF board supervisor's crusade against 1978's Prop 6, which would have banned gays from teaching positions. The parallels are impossible to ignore. Couldn't an earlier release of Gus Van Sant's film have pushed public opinion in this incredibly narrow vote onto the No side?

I can’t help but wonder what “Milk” might have meant for today’s cause, if anything, had it landed in the marketplace last month...Consistently, Harvey Milk (Sean Penn’s career-best portrayal) makes the point, to paraphrase, “We have to make them understand that they know us.” That message, I think, might have carried a lot of heft if voters had made it to the polls four weeks later.

But I’m not a studio head and I don’t make these decisions. A studio’s priority is, of course, to shareholders, and “Milk” is likely to make more money in its current release plan than something earlier in the season. But you can’t help but wonder what might have been. And you can’t “give ‘em hope” after the fact.

Focus president James Schamus has already defended his efforts in his angry rebuttal of THR's slam-piece on the Milk marketing campaign. But the question remains: Could this have been pushed back to October? From a business standpoint, it was a month overstuffed with other releases, and a November bow would have given Penn some nice breathing room from his Oscar competition. In any case, there's no point in looking backwards now, and the movie will do a lot more for the cause in the long run than Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa ever will.

• Could an earlier ‘Milk’ release have killed Prop 8? [In Contention]