Politicians and celebrities are the most photographed people in the world, so it figures that somewhere there would exist pictures of both politicians and celebrities together. Some of these chance encounters are less glamorous or remarkable than they are downright weird. After the jump, in honor of the 2012 campaign season, we’ll take a look at some meet-ups between famous figures that are guaranteed to make you do a double take.

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1. During last night’s State of the Union address, President Obama decided to top that awkward salmon joke from last year with a bit about spilled milk that was just as groan-worthy; as to be expected, political observers’ immediate response to the cringe-inducing moment on Twitter wasn’t exactly kind. [via Daily Intel]

2. Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming film project Side Effects has lost its financing — apparently the director’s rumored casting of Blake Lively is part of the reason why, but Haywire’s weak box office performance might also be a factor. [via The Huffington Post]

3. Vanessa Paradis insists that rumors that her 14-year marriage to Johnny Depp is over are totally false: “All this is, I don’t know, because the Queen of England didn’t lose her teeth this week and there’s nothing happening.” [via People]

4. There are now two Beauty and the Beast-related TV projects in the works for next season. The CW is moving forward on an update of the 1980s CBS drama that starred Linda Hamilton; meanwhile ABC just announced a version that will go the classic fairytale route. [via THR]

5. “I’ve been talking to [Dave] Chappelle a lot. Been trying to get Chappelle to go on tour. You know I’m not the hard one, but I’m trying to make that happen. After seeing Kanye and Jay-Z, I was like, ‘Me and Dave should do this.’” — Chris Rock gets our collective hopes up during a conversation with Vulture at Sundance.

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Last week, the world was treated to the very first presidential letter to have ever been Instagram’d, courtesy of Zooey Deschanel. The New Girl darling tweeted, “I am SO EXCITED!” upon opening a special envelope from President Obama, who took to some White House stationery to send his warmest wishes on her 32nd birthday. Jealous? Yeah, we are too. Zooey’s not the first celebrity to receive a letter from an admiring president — check out some fan letters, get-well-soon cards, thank-you notes, and party invitations after the jump.

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1. We had no idea President Obama had such a lovely singing voice. Here’s a clip of him serenading the crowd with some Al Green at a fundraiser held last night at the Apollo Theater.

2. In the wake of yesterday’s Megaupload shutdown, Anonymous attacked several government and entertainment industry websites, including the homepages for the FBI and the Department of Justice, as well as the Recording Industry Association of America, the Motion Picture Association of America, BMI.com, and Universal Music. [via EW]

3. Need more proof that Bridesmaids 2 isn’t happening anytime soon? Kristen Wiig is in talks to star opposite of Ben Stiller in his forthcoming remake of the 1947 comedy classic, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. And that’s just one of the many projects that she’s currently tied to; there’s also a Sean Penn movie and an Errol Morris drama. [via Slashfilm]

4. “I have now been informed by intelligence sources in Maharashtra and Rajasthan that paid assassins from the Mumbai underworld may be on their way to Jaipur to eliminate me. While I have some doubts as to the accuracy of this intelligence, it would be irresponsible of me to come to the festival in such circumstances.” — Salman Rushdie has decided to cancel his upcoming appearance at Asia’s largest literature festival.

5. Apparently Game of Thrones author George RR Martin has a livejournal where he writes some interesting things about the show and his dealings with Hollywood. [via Gawker]

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In an alternate universe, Barack Obama and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez don’t just get along — they make out, as do Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Although Pope Benedict XVI is about as anti-gay as it gets, here he is, locking lips with Ahmed Mohamed el-Tayed, one of Sunni Islam’s most important leaders. Hell, even Kim Jong-Il and his South Korean sworn enemy are getting in on the action. These are the bold and potentially controversial photo manipulations that make up the UNHATE Campaign, a Benetton-sponsored project that kicks off today and seeks to replace the “culture of hatred” with a vision of love between the world’s nations, cultures, and religions. Read more about UNHATE at its website, and check out its first, arresting images after the jump. Read More »

Sounding more like an episode of The X-Files than official government news (or maybe it’s not that crazy after all … ) comes confirmation from our political leaders that there is ” … no evidence that any life exists outside our planet, or that an extraterrestrial presence has contacted or engaged any member of the human race.” Awesome. The White House responded to several recent petitions that called for a formal statement regarding U.S. government contact with alien beings. The request was signed by thousands of people since ” … more than 50% of the American people believe there is an extraterrestrial presence and more than 80% believe the government is not telling the truth about this phenomenon.” The petitions stem from an Obama administration initiative called “We the People” that assigns White House staffers to answer questions for the general public. 25,000 online signatures are required to take action — a number bumped up from its former 5,000 requirement (for obvious reasons). [via TIME]

Lady Gaga. Justin Bieber. Katy Perry. You might expect to see these names on, say, the list of big winners at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also, it turns out, the only people in the world with more popular Twitter accounts than Barack Obama — who edges out famous-for-being-famous divorcée-to-be Kim Kardashian by less than 150,000 followers, according to new stats compiled by Twitaholic. The remainder of the top 10 includes four pop stars (Britney Spears, Shakira, Rihanna, and Taylor Swift) and Ashton Kutcher. Friends, you’ll have to scroll all the way down to #23 to find a news organization (CNN Breaking News). Also depressing? Perez Hilton has more followers than The New York Times. See how many followers each of the 10 most popular tweeters has racked up after the jump, and then visit Digital Media News if you think you can stomach the entire top 100. Spoiler alert: In case you’re still laboring under the illusion that Twitter users are still elite, media-savvy types, this is all the evidence you’ll need to convince you that those days are long gone.

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Barack Obama has a Tumblr. It’s not too unusual since the President already maintains a Twitter and Facebook account, but his acceptance of social media — in this instance, for his 2012 re-election campaign — continues to be impressive regardless. “We’d like this Tumblr to be a huge collaborative storytelling effort,” the welcome message on his Tumblr reads. Readers are being encouraged to re-blog and submit their own content through the website’s submission feature, allowing a more interactive experience on the popular blogging platform. Obama isn’t the first famous face to create a Tumblr, however. Hit the break to find 15 more well-known names on Tumblr. Some you might care about, while others have spectacle appeal. Who do you tumble for? Let us know below.

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These aren’t the paper dolls you remember from childhood. Ranging from morbid (headless historic figures) to creepy (childhood classics go steampunk) to just plain ol’ strange, these paper dolls put a unique spin on cultural icons and famous works of art. You’ll see Princess Leia on Spring Break, a date-ready Michelangelo’s David, Lady Gaga with a wig of spilled lo mein, and notorious 19th-century New England murderer Lizzie Borden, with that infamous ax in hand — not even Betty White is safe. So grab your scissors and check out our roundup of the Internet’s weirdest paper dolls, after the jump.

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1. Keifer Sutherland is returning to Fox this spring in a new show from Heroes creator Tim Kring called Touch. The drama will tell the story of a man with a mute 11-year-old son who has “the ability to see things that no one else can and the patterns that connect seemingly unrelated events.” Sounds promising! [via Slashfilm]

2. Despite that boycott called for by hardcore fans, Star Wars: The Complete Saga has already made $84 million worldwide, making it the highest-selling and most preordered Blu-ray title ever. Somewhere, George Lucas is chuckling to himself, rubbing his hands together, and plotting his next re-release. [via Deadline]

3. Apparently Lady Gaga thinks that she’s meeting with President Obama next week to discuss a potential anti-bullying campaign, but his people are saying that they don’t know anything about it, and that he hasn’t set aside any time for a private sit-down. Awkward. [via Vulture]

4. Speaking of presidents, Bill Clinton has a new book coming out in November called Back to Work, and in it, he “will make the case for why government matters, explaining his ideas on energy, job creation and financial responsibility.” [via ArtsBeat]

5. A previously undiscovered painting by Francisco de Goya has been found hidden underneath another one of his masterpieces at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum thanks to a new X-ray technique; officials believe the artwork, which may portray Napoleon Bonaparte’s brother, could have been covered up for political reasons. [via BBC News]

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