As every news outlet in America has already told you, The Wire returns to HBO for a final season Sunday night. The focus this time? The media—in tribute to the show's biggest fans, perhaps—and dammit if it ain't worth watching anyway.

Too much excitement for you? Check out NBC's resurrected American Gladiators, also debuting on Sunday. Evidently, there's a water tank.

Here is the second Iowa dispatch from Ian Osborne, London public relations executive
and caucus first-timer:

To a newcomer, it's striking how seriously Iowans take their famed caucuses: As we arrived at the Valley High School half an hour early, more than 2000 voters were gamely queuing to voice support for their candidate. The local volunteers, known as precinct captains, were all seeking to bribe caucus goers with copious food and drink. Team Hillary were offering sandwich platters (they had been prohibited from laying on three-course dinners), but first prize went to the Edwards camp for their iced Edwards08 cookies. At least until Frank Luntz, pollster extraordinaire, announced that he was about to throw up moments after wolfing down a fair few of them.

The contrast between the Republican and Democrat caucuses couldn't have been more pronounced: The GOP faithful were older, white, conservatively dressed, spoke in hushed tones and disdainful of the media. Eyeing a group of Romney supporters, Weekly Standard editor Fred Barnes joked that "they look exactly like the people I went to prep school with." Democrats, on the other hand, were of all ages and festooned with their candidate's T-shirts, buttons, stickers, baseball caps, and anything else they could lay their hands on. There was one exception to the Republican conformity: Mike Huckabee attracted the kind of supporters you rarely saw in the smarter camps—plenty of 350-pound good ol' boys in cowboy boots.

Later we raced around the assorted parties to see the candidates celebrate or commiserate. Few were inclined to admit defeat. You have to admire the chutzpah of these politicians. Hillary's event, her dismal third place finish notwithstanding, was billed as a "victory" party. Still, you could sense the disappointment at Hillary HQ in the early hours of this morning. The bar was closing, and our (incongruously rowdy) party decamped to the deserted restaurant, where we stumbled across her top strategists in a crisis meeting. Among the sour faces we spotted Mike Henry, Clinton's deputy campaign manager, who wrote a leaked memo last spring arguing for Hillary to skip Iowa and focus her time and resources on other key states. How she must wish she had listened to that sound advice...

So who's Gemma Arterton? Someone without a $10-million-per-picture price tag, for one thing, and a 21-year-old Brit who beat out 1,500 other women for the "nice-sized role," for another.

[The Hollywood Reporter via Defamer]

This just in: The Lodge, Virgin Limited's new outpost in Verbier, is set to open this weekend, following a roughly $5.5-million face-lift from its new owner. Sir Richard seems to have gotten his money's worth: The nine-bedroom chalet now offers guests access to 250 miles' worth of ski runs, chauffeur service, and even a private ice-skating rink, as well as the usual amenities (fireplaces, Jacuzzis, 50-inch plasmas). It ain't cheap—the weekly rate would buy you about ten Tom Ford suits—but at least they throw in free booze.
Chemin de Plenadzeu 3, 35,250 euros per week (currently about $52,000), Verbier, Switzerland, 027-775-2244, thelodge.virgin.com

This is pretty out there, admittedly, but we can't stop ourselves from wondering whether Britney Spears' recent troubles might have a hidden upside for...Van Halen. Think about it: The news that California cops put K-Fed's babymama into a "5150 Hold" might well lead to a resurgence of interest in the 1985 album named after—if memories of the fifth-grade rumor mill aren't too foggy—the "California police code for the criminally insane"? So far, it's only a theory, with 5150's Amazon sale rank holding steady in the 10,000s. But if you hear "Why Can't This Be Love" blasting from some jukebox tonight, don't say we didn't warn you. Attempts to reach Sammy Hagar for comment were unsuccessful.

The movie's not bad, either. And now you've got no excuse to say you haven't seen it: Starting this weekend, There Will Be Blood is finally showing on more than two screens in America.

Speaking of killer performances, do yourself a favor and check out Viggo Mortensen in David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises, out this week on DVD.

Following in the fine tradition of Clooney for Nespresso and Brad for, well, you name it, Bruce Willis has allowed Cesare Paciotti to dress him up in jewels for this ad in the Italian fashion mag Flair. Either that or they went and Photoshopped Bruno's head on some random thumb-ring model.

That's the conclusion drawn by Portfolio blogger Lauren Goldstein Crowe, citing a couple of reports (one from the Chicago Tribune, the other from the WSJ) about how the mortgage crisis will affect the way people shop. Long story short: Rich folks feel bad for their suffering friends, so they'll buy logo-free luxe goods—a way to keep their expensive purchases hidden from their less-well-off friends. Good news for Raf, bad news for Ralph.

BlackBerry has teamed up with Slingbox on a client, available for $30 later this year, that will let you send Web videos to your smartphone. Exact availability should be unveiled at CES next week, so we'll keep you posted.

[Engadget]

Arthur Babadzhanov based the design of Reamir & Co. on the barbershop his dad ran back in the U.S.S.R.—not exactly a haven for fussy haircuts—and his debut line of grooming products is similarly old-school, emphasizing substance over gimmick. The collection features both shampoo and shave stuff, including a cream ($16) that smells good without being girlie—impressive, considering it's made in part from marigold oil (we assume that bit wasn't Soviet-inspired). The timing's decent, too—we can think of at least two guys in need of a shave.
Reamir & Co. grooming products, $14-$22, 303 Columbus Ave., NYC, (212) 877-4255, also available at reamir.com

This blog usually restricts itself to "stuff that matters," but we're taking a break from the
latest gadget and car news to publish a bulletin from Iowa, where some kind of political
event is apparently taking place. Ian Osborne, a partner in a London public relations
firm and caucus first-timer, reports:

It may be just six degrees outside, but the world's largest concentration of political operatives is to be found late at night trading gossip at 801, Des Moines' upmarket steakhouse (complete with New York prices). To the uninitiated, it's amazing to see the camaraderie among rival campaign chiefs after the brutal exchanges of the last few days.

At times, it's hard to believe these are adults we're talking about. Last night, war broke out between Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul staffers in downtown Des Moines. The rival Republican candidates have Iowa campaign offices next door to one another, and an initial clash over usage of the communal bathrooms quickly escalated into a high-intensity battle. Armies of supporters took to the street and exchanged shouted insults, much to the amusement of passersby.

"Meanwhile, we ran into Tim Russert, who forecast that Ron Paul will finish ahead of Giuliani—which, if it transpires, would be a major upset for "America's Mayor"— and Maureen Dowd was spotted lingering in the Marriott bar long after last orders were called."

It became apparent very quickly that the official uniform of consultants and reporters is jacket and tie (necessary for the cameras) with jeans and hiking boots (for doing battle with the snow and ice). I'm exposed as a first-timer by my woefully inappropriate wardrobe. Somehow my handmade John Lobb shoes weren't cut out for traipsing cross-country on frozen farmlands.

We pay a visit to Rudy's campaign HQ only to find the standard-issue phone banks staffed by kids. Quite literally kids: The oldest can't be a day over 12. One nine-year-old girl confidently asserts her candidate will beat Ron Paul tonight. Take that, Russert. Back in the convention center, the second-tier candidates are making their final rounds in front of the TV cameras, hoping to persuade us somehow that a seventh-place finish tonight doesn't represent the end of the road. Well, they're trying...

So says Top Gear's Piers Ward. Well, kind of—he adds that this is only true because "if you've got a blog to write, nothing else gives you as much to say as this car does." And what does he have to say? Read the rest of his spot-on review here.

Elsewhere, it's a good day for fans of pony cars: Our friends at Autoblog have spy shots of the 2010 Mustang and the 2009 Camaro.

Take this collection of more than 200 travel posters from the fifties and sixties, recently posted to Flickr by some dude named Hamish Grant. Our favorite: this stereotype-laden ad from Trans-Canada Air Lines. Something tells us those "You Rule" ads won't be remembered as fondly.

[via BoingBoing]

According to WWD, rumor has it Jude Law will play the late, great Halston (left) in an upcoming biopic produced—in a very 2008 feat of synergistic cross-platform brand extension—by current Halston owner Harvey Weinstein. In related news, the U.S. Air Force has agreed to name its next fighter the Z-14.

Two top brands unveiled new models today. Lenovo's sleek new IdeaPad line is intended as a budget alternative to the ThinkPad. Shipping next week, it includes options both light (the 11-inch, 2.3-pound U110) and powerful (the Y710, pictured, comes with Dolby sound and an optional secondary hard drive). More specs and pics are available here.

HP, meanwhile, has updated its Pavilion line with the revamped HDX Dragon, a media-centric notebook that supports both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD-formatted discs—and it comes with a 20.1-inch (that extra tenth of an inch ought to really come in handy) monitor on which to enjoy them.

[CrunchGear]

Netflix and LG just announced they're creating a set-top-box, due this spring, which will let you watch streaming movies on your television. The content would come free with your Netflix subscription, and the device is rumored to include a drive for both HD-DVDs and Blu-ray discs. The price is TBA, though LG currently sells a hybrid HD player for 800 bucks. We're thinking—okay, hoping—they'll go a little cheaper, but we'll keep you posted.

[WSJ]

If you just got a really big briefcase for Christmas and are looking for something to fill it up with, check out the new Dahon MuXXV. At 16.6 pounds—roughly 10 pounds lighter than aluminum models—the magnesium-framed ride is (so the L.A.-based manufacturer claims) the lightest folding bike in the world. Only 250 will be available, which helps explain its heaviest component: a price tag of $3,300.
Dahon Mu XXV, $3,300, in stores this spring, dahon.com

...is just one thing you'll find on the 2001 CFDA winner's new site. (Surprise—the Louisiana native, left, likes him some Southern rock.) More to the point, BillyReid.com also sells the designer's full line of menswear, from leather jackets and bags to calfskin shoes—all without requiring a trip to one of his four stores, which are located in Texas or Alabama.

Last month, JetBlue began offering free limited Wi-Fi on flights, and now Virgin America and American Airlines are following suit. No official launch date yet, but it should hit American's entire fleet before March, with Virgin getting it shortly thereafter. Naturally, the service ain't free: It'll cost users ten bucks per flight.

Late night is back—Letterman, Conan, Leno, Kimmel, and, um, Ferguson, all return to the air tonight, despite the apparently endless writers' strike. Only the gap-toothed guy (and, um, Ferguson) will actually have their scribes in tow, so expect O'Brien to rely on jokes about his beard and Leno to be both less funny and more compelling than usual—not unlike a train wreck.

Also worth watching is Born Ready, a new weekly online documentary about Coney Island high school basketball phenom Lance Stephenson. Imagine a young Stephon Marbury, but even cockier.

The compact disc version of In Rainbows is finally on sale. The nonnegotiable asking price? Eight bucks at Amazon. And since you were probably otherwise occupied on New Year's Eve, here's the band's live-in-the-studio holiday webcast, dubbed "Scotch mist" and (very accurately) subtitled "A film with Radiohead in it."

Could be: Murray Moss and Philippe Starck have teamed up on the Bazaar, a "store without walls" opening in March at Starck's new SLS Los Angeles (formerly known as Le Méridien Beverly Hills). Located in the hotel's lobby, the spot will offer dining and "lounging" as well as shopping. It should also whet travelers' appetites for the full Moss experience, available eight blocks away at his four-month-old L.A. boutique.

[WWD]

Today, our friends at DNR take a look at the upcoming year's top stories. Among the highlights: Michael Bastian's debut as creative director for Bill Blass; Jay-Z's upscale Shawn Carter Collection; Black Fleece's post-Browne future; and the launch of Harvey Weinstein's Halston Men (he's the backer, not the muse). And don't worry: Tom Ford's on there, too, but you can check out the rest here.

Also, Justin Timberlake will be featured in Parfums Givenchy's 2008 ads, according to WWD. (Insert joke about bringing stinky back here.)

And finally, Isaac Mizrahi is set to debut New York, a new line of high-end suits ($3,000-$4,000), next fall. He'll also sell an eponymous diffusion collection of suits for $1,000 or less—not Target prices, but a comparative bargain nonetheless.

[DNR]