It’s never fun to talk about your exes. But I thought Taylor Swift handled the subject well on her latest visit to the Ellen show. I was impressed that Ms. Swift had such a good sense of humor about what has become a national fascination on the heels of her new album. Even when Ellen handed her a cow bell to confirm her relationship status with several rumored suitors—Zac Ephron, Danny DeVito—who flashed on the screen.

Last night’s Alfred E. Smith dinner provided a nice reprieve from intense he said he said of the presidential campaign. Both President Obama and Mitt Romney gave funny monologues at the annual fundraiser and both used the opportunity to joke with each other.  Romney also poked fun at himself, saying “usually when I get invited to gatherings like this, it’s just to be designated driver.” SEE VIDEO

Mental Floss one of my favorite websites. I mean seriously, where else can you be schooled in cockroach anatomy (Amazing Mental Floss Fact: The Cockroach can live up to two weeks without a head because its “brain” is spread throughout its body.); the history of NBC sitcoms (Amazing Fact: NBC executives originally wanted Paul Giamatti for the role of Michael Scott on The Office, but Giamatti wasn’t interested.); and intimate details about the lives of celebrities? (Amazing Fact: Donald Duck’s middle name is Fauntleroy.)

Which is why I’m so psyched that the good people at Mental Floss have decided to collaborate on a trivia throwdown to get people in the “spirit” for my upcoming Ultimate Halloween Pop Culture Night at The Bell House on October 29th.

Today’s Starbcks Alter Ego comes from a man named Anibal. He writes on Twitter:  Actually, I’m surprised it has taken this long. Maybe they just saw my inner muppet.

The Northern Lights are so intense this fall that they have been visible in northern US states. Normally we Canadians have an exclusive on this.

A funny thing happened on Twitter yesterday…Aileen Gallagher summed it up nicely: This morning @emilynussbaum was just discovering “In the Papers” and by bedtime was Twitter pals w/ @patkiernan. Only on the Internet.

I read a tiny blurb in the New York Post this morning about something called a fruit salad tree, which grows several different kinds of fruit, all on one tree. Part of me didn’t believe it, so I went investigating. And apparently, it’s legit.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal’s Ralph Gardner Jr. came down to the NY1 studios to research a column about NY1’s 20th anniversary. His column was included in my In the Papers round-up that morning, so naturally, I had him give his own synopsis on air. Gardner devotes much of his column to the uncomfortable experience of being put on the spot and hearing about it all day from those who watched.

You’ve got to check out this very cool behind-the-scenes explanation of how LA Times photographer Gary Friedman got this amazing shot of the space shuttle Endeavor. Friedman shows us his entire contact sheet and says “the juxtaposition between shuttle Endeavour and the Hollywood sign seemed fortuitous.”