Sideshow: With this ring I thee dazzle

Olivier Martinez, who on Sunday confirmed he's engaged to Halle Berry, sealed his proposal to the American beauty with the most exquisite emerald ring ever beheld. Reporters reportedly fainted at the sight of the bauble, its emeraldine sheen so perfect it was probably forged by the god Thoth himself. Verily viridian, the four-carat rock comes from "closed-down mines in Muzo, Colombia, and the color is perfect," its creator, Paris jeweler Robert Mazlo, tells People. Two diamonds keep the emerald company in a yellow-gold setting forged according to ancient Phoenician tradition. As if that weren't enough, the inscription is legible only to those versed in the two lovers' private hermeneutics.

"The ring is textured and contains codes and symbols which you cannot see . . . only the person wearing it can," Mazlo tells People. "The symbols and codes represent [the couple's] story and only they can interpret it."

Neither John McCain nor Sarah Palin had a chance to watch HBO's Game Change this weekend, but the GOP leaders seem to hate the political biopic, about their 2008 presidential run. Palin, 48, who is portrayed by the lovely Julianne Moore, tells Fox News the pic is "based on a false narrative." She adds, "I believe my family has the right priorities and knows what really matters. For instance, our son called from Afghanistan . . . and that's what matters. Being in the good graces of Hollywood's 'Team Obama' isn't top of my list."

McCain, 75, who is portrayed by Ed Harris, tells Fox News he's peeved at the film's suggestion he picked Palin as his running mate merely because she's a woman.

"I have been told I am portrayed as using an exceeding amount of coarse language," he says. "I have a larger vocabulary than that." Of Palin he says, "I thought she was the best-qualified person."

Donald Trump seems to get his kick firing celebrities from stupid fake jobs. His sons, on the other hand, apparently dig bloodier pastimes - as in big-game hunting.

TMZ says Donald Jr. and Eric Trump have come under fire from animal-rights activists after posting a YouTube clip showing off their trophies from a hunting outing in Zimbabwe, where they bagged an elephant, crocodile, kudu, civet cat, and waterbuck. One clip shows Donald Jr. with an elephant's tail in one hand, one end all bloody, and a knife in the other.

"My sons love hunting," dada Trump tells TMZ. "They're hunters and they've become good at it. I am not a believer in hunting and I'm surprised they like it."

Judith Jamison, the Philly-born dancer, choreographer and artistic director emerita of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, is one of four individuals being honored for lifetime accomplishment by Delaware's Common Wealth Awards. The awards have been presented for 33 years through a trust created in the will of Ralph Hayes, a business executive and philanthropist.

The other recipients this year are former secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright, CNN political anchor Wolf Blitzer, and designer and philanthropist Kenneth Cole. They'll be recognized for their work at the Common Wealth Awards for Distinguished Service ceremony April 21 at Wilmington's Hotel du Pont, and will share the $300,000 prize.

- Howard Shapiro

What makes you feel fetching? The right gown? A face-lift? Pearl earrings?

None of those things matter, says recently single Project Runway boss Heidi Klum. She says it's her children - Leni, 7½, Henry, 6½, Johan, 5, and Lou, 2, - who make her feel beautiful inside and out.

"In my job, people tell you [you're beautiful] all the time: 'This shoot was great. You look amazing,' " Heidi tells Elle. "But you never know what they say when you turn away," she says. "But the kids don't edit anything. When they kiss you and tell you they love you and say, 'Mama, you're the best' - that's really the only thing you care about."

Klum, 38, says her life revolves around her kids now that her marriage to Seal has disintegrated. "I'm a lioness," she says. "I have four cubs. I'm a mom. I want to take care of my kids and protect them."

In more news about the salutary effects of having children, Matthew McConaughey, 42, says his two kids have helped make him a better actor. "It is more fun, because the kids remind you to play make-believe every day," the Killer Joe star tells People.

MM, who has two children with gf and Brazilian model Camila Alves - son Levi Alves McConaughey, 3½, and 2-year-old daughter Vida Alves McConaughey - adds, "more things sound more fun to do, because the kids remind you to play make-believe, and that's what we are doing. If we do it well, we make you believe."

Whitney Houston's daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, 19, told Oprah in an emotional chat Sunday night that her mum, who died last month at 48, continues to comfort her.

"I can hear her voice in spirit talking to me, 'Keep talking to me. I got you,' " said Brown, whose dad is Bobby Brown. "She's always with me. I can always feel her. I can always feel her with me. She always asked me, 'Do you need me?' And I caught myself, out of nowhere, I didn't even know I said it, I said, 'I'll always need you.' "

The OWN TV special, in which the big O interviewed members of Houston's family, drew 3.5 mil viewers, more than doubling OWN's previous ratings high of 1.6 mil (for another Oprah special), says USA Today.

Showtime has set Sept. 30 as the return date of two of its biggest hits. The critically acclaimed Damian Lewis- and Claire Danes-starring terrorism thriller Homeland will be back for its sophomore year, while the serial-killers-are-people-too drama Dexter will enter its seventh blood-spattered season. . . .   For the second time, self-taken nude photos of Heather Morris (Glee) are online. (The first round was in 2010.) Perez Hilton says Heather's cellphone was hacked. Well, stop taking nudie pics of yourself, pretty starlets of the world! . . . On Friday, John Mayer announced on his blog he's taking "an indefinite break from live performing" to let a granuloma on his vocal cords heal. Bad luck, since his new single, "Shadow Days," is now on iTunes, and his new album, Born and Raised, is out in May.