• Less than six months after giving birth to daughter Honor, Jessica Alba is is pimping Campari in her skivvies. [People]
• First he loses the prestigious Sexiest Man Alive designation to Hugh Jackman, and now George Clooney is allegedly miffed because he wanted to direct Frost/Nixon but the honor went to Ron Howard. Frost/Nixon scribe Peter Morgan says, "I expect I will spend the rest of my life making amends to him - and my wife - and to everybody about my decision. Now I will never have him ringing me again, asking to do my work." [Daily Express]
• Kanye West has "taken a very public fancy" to "glamour model" Sophie Howard. Howard, 25, won Loaded's Most Beautiful Breasts poll. She does sound like a winner. [Mirror]

• Coldplay had iTunes best selling album of the year. Viva la Vida sold 500,000 copies through iTunes, keeping Gwyneth knee deep in Goop until at least 2010. [Independent]
• Speaking of Coldplay, apparently Chris Martin downs vitamins with Jameson's before going on stage. "At least a dozen pill bottles litter the floor next to Martin's yoga mat," according to Rolling Stone. What if he OD's on fish oil? Think of the children! [Rolling Stone]
• Oprah received $5 million for her South African girls school from a fervent McCain supporter, Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons. Sure, Simmons donated a lot of cash to the Swift Boat Veterans, but that doesn't mean his money can't buy books for poor kids. Fox News is painting this as hypocrisy on Oprah's part, but is it really? [Fox News]
• Remember that bar brawl that Josh Brolin and Jeffery Wright got into in July down in Louisiana? Well they're seemingly settling out of court and will likely avoid having to trek down to Shreveport to deal with it. [E! via Yahoo]
• Elvis Costello is still pissed that filmmaker Jared Hess co-opted his "Napoleon Dynamite" alter ego without attribution. "The guy just denies completely that I made the name up... but I invented it," Costello tells Spin. "Maybe somebody told him the name and he truly feels that he came about it by chance. But it's two words that you're never going to hear together." [Daily Express]
• Notorious tree hugger Daryl Hannah has joined an anti-whaling mission in Australia to "pursue Japan's Antarctic whaling fleet." Sounds swashbuckling! [Daily Mail]
• Mischa Barton's nekkid scene in Closing the Ring was named top boobie flash of the year. What an honor! [Daily Express]
• Kate Winslet is another actress who has no problem with nude scenes. "Every time I've been asked to do nudity on screen, I've always believed in the scene," sayeth Kate. "I think it's important that women on screen are portrayed as real women. I'm comfortable in my own skin and I'm comfortable with all the imperfections that I have." [People]
• John Mayer has found his inner domestic diva: he's really into baking cakes now. Does this mean he's a cake boy? [The Sun]
• A mere 3.9 million tuned in to watch Britney: On the Record, a number which falls far short of MTV's expectations. According to Perez, "Tila Tequila's season one finale of A Shot At Love scored 6 million viewers." Ouchie. [Perez]
• M.I.A. says pregnancy makes her more mellow. "When I sing, I have to be aware that someone can hear me inside…It's really strange. I definitely feel less angry." [People]
• In other pregnant lady news, hot Brit chef Jamie Oliver says his wife Jools has some bonkers cravings now that she is with bebe: "She’s basically an eating machine. Jools has gone mad on retro foods like fish paste and Marmite – stuff from her childhood. She dips bananas in Marmite! She even gets hot water bottles to chew on the rubber. It’s weird!" [Mirror]
• Patrick Swayze is striking back at tabloids reporting that he's on death's door. "It's upsetting that the shoddy and reckless reporting from these publications cast a negative shadow on the positive and good fight I'm fighting. For me, my family, and those close to me, it amounts to downright emotional cruelty. That makes me angry when hope is so precious," the Swayze says. [People]

• Did Nicole Richie rip off the idea of shilling crappy-looking headbands from Mischa Barton?! A "source" says yes! “Mischa is furious...She feels like Nicole completely copied her idea.” [PopCrunch]
• Kim Kardashian's shoe line takes celeb designing to a new level of annoying! "All you have to do is fill out a survey then her staff will continue sending you 5 cheap pairs of shoes each month until you beg for mercy. If you decide to keep a pair it’s $39 otherwise you just have to go through the trouble of reboxing them, going to the post office and mailing them back to Kim." [The.Life Files]
• Addressing the serious dearth of news about celebrity designers, Hayden Panettiere's design for Dooney and Bourke was "inspired by her astrological sign, Leo." [New York]

• Tom Ford takes a measured approach to cosmetic surgery: "I hope to have the eye to do it in such a way that I still look my age but maybe not have my neck swinging around when I go jogging." [New York Post]
• He could learn a thing or two from Diane Von Furstenberg: "I know that a lot of people look at me and think, 'Why doesn't she do something to that face?' But I made a decision. I do yoga and I hike, but I won't do Botox... know if I start doing things I will get insecure. You wear your own face. It is a little bit of your history, a little bit of who you are." [VogueUK]
• The fashion industry cuts back on the fab in an effort to retrench. Think smaller expense accounts. [WWD]
• For some reason, though, Miss J has sold a book: Follow the Model: Miss J's Guide to Unleashing Presence, Poise, and Power, which, is supposed to "boost self-esteem." Have these editors watched Top Model?! [New York Observer]
• "Chiconomic" recessionistas are boosting thrift stores and outlets. [Financial Times]
• Kate Moss flies to New York, learns her shoot is canceled, flies back to London, is pissed. [Mirror]
• Only the good die young! Holly Dunlap's very cute Hollywould shoe line is kaput. [New York Post]
• For the self-serious punner on your Xmas list: Kenneth Cole's new book, "Awearness: Inspiring Stories About How to Make a Difference" "It's a collection of essays from influential types intended to encourage readers to get involved in service and volunteerism in their communities." [CNN]
• If Anna Wintour's daughter is worried about finding work, where does that leave the rest of us? “I finish in May, and I’m really nervous about the fact nobody’s hiring right now...I think everyone’s going to have trouble finding a job. I know a lot of people graduating early, and they can’t get anything.” [New York]
• Ann Taylor's slump continues. [WSJ]
• An email hoax doesn't help! [WWD]
• In case we haven't mentioned it, the Australia costumes are going to be good. [Telegraph]
• Donatella Versace: "We sell a lifestyle, so to own one piece of Versace is like to own a whole outfit of expensive things. That's why we do many different things." Or like...owning one expensive thing? [CNN]
• Liz Hurley becomes the face of fur company Blackglama; guess who's none too pleased? "It’s shocking that she’s taking money to wear baby minks, who are skinned at six months old for Liz’s luxuries...Her wardrobe is now as dead as her film career." says a PETA rep. [Daily Mail]
• Is Hot Topic getting...chic? [BlackBook]
• Marc Jacobs lives in the moment, ink. “I really have a good attitude about tattooing. When I first got one, two years ago, I was like, ‘I’m not going to overthink this or what it means, or what it’s going to be like when I’m 80. I want to get tattooed today, and in five weeks, I’ll get a SpongeBob tattoo.’ Will I regret it someday? I don’t know, but I’m not going to deny myself this pleasure today because of what I don’t know in the future.” [Rolling Stone]
• Men are wearing slippers outdoors. [Financial Times]

• Jennifer Garner has obtained a court order protecting herself from a man she believes is endangering her family. She claims Steven Burky has been "stalking and harassing" her, sending "packages and letters containing delusional and paranoid thoughts and following me around the country." The guy showed up at her house and said, "God has sent me a vision of you being persecuted in some manner that may result in your death." Burky has a blog called Satanic Panic, on which he wrote: "Are multitudes of adults resorting to human sacrifices and then repressing this information from fear of Christ..." [TMZ]
• Lindsay Lohan "sobbed in the street" after her fight with Samantha Ronson, and this report claims it was physical, with Sam "throwing punches" on the dancefloor when she saw LL dancing with her ex Calum Best. [The Sun]
• Madonna and Guy Ritchie have reached an agreement regarding their divorce! Guy is refusing to take a single penny, and they'll share custody of the kids, except Lourdes, who will stay with her mom. [This Is London, Times of London]

• Everyone loves picking out clothes for the new First Lady! The Michelle Obama Style Guide will come out in the Spring; former Mademoiselle and Shop Etc. editor Mandi Norwood is writing it. Norwood says: "Not since Jackie O have we had a first lady become a fashion icon. Michelle Obama will be one of history's most vibrant first ladies; she has a distinctive style that every American woman can aspire to, whether the consumer is a Target shopper or some one more likely to be found on Miracle Mile." [Page Six]
• How does Angelina Jolie feel when people refer to her and Brad Pitt as "Brangelina"? "Honestly, I don't have a thought either way," she says. "Although on the set of Changeling, Clint Eastwood was calling us 'Clintelina'. I think that sounds funnier." Oh, and Angelina hasn't seen Brad's new movie, Benjamin Button yet. But she says, "Brad looks good ageing backwards. And no, I've not been on the set of Inglourious Basterds. This is a Tarantino film, so we're thinking, 'What's a good day to bring children on set?'" [Telegraph]
• Winona Ryder had her stomach pumped at a hospital in London after a suspected accidental overdose on a British Airways flight. She has a fear of flying and may have taken too many Xanax pills — this report claims she "collapsed twice" in first class. (How do you collapse when you're in a first class seat on a plane?) In any case, she's been discharged from the hospital. [The Sun, Mirror, Telegraph]
• Rosie O'Donnell says Barbara Walters wanted everyone on The View to act like they got along: "I'm not saying they loathe each other, but the fact of the matter is, there was not a lot of camaraderie off camera." Rosie also says her new show will not be like The View: "The job description here is to entertain. It will be an hour of fun, laughter, singing and dancing. No politics. No arguing. No talking about controversial things. That, to me, is what is needed now." [LA Times]
• Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman showed up arm-in-arm to the GQ Men of the Year party, and held hands at the event and were spotted kissing, so it's looking like it's on. [Yahoo News]
• Kelly Osbourne: Engaged! Boyfriend Luke Worrell asked Ozzy Osbourne for permission to propose, awww. And brave! [The Sun]
• Brooke Shields says the world has got to save Lipstick Jungle. "NBC is now flooded with lipstick. Women are in uproar over this…they’ve tried to kill us before and we have refused to die." And writer Ilene Rosenzweig says: "There are no other female-driven dramas on television, and if this one goes, it will have been the last. But women are so sick of reality TV and want to have a place where they can turn for escapism and frivolity, but also to confront the real struggles that powerful women face in the workplace and at home." [Daily Beast]
• It's official: Britney Spears did write a song for Adnan Ghalib, called "Mmm Papi," and the lyrics are: "You love it when I'm freaking out / Things get rough and there's no doubt / You will always be there for me." [Perez Hilton]
• Okay, she didn't write the song for Adnan. It's just a song. [Perez Hilton]
• Michael Jackson could be forced to fly to the High Court in London to testify in a case being brought against him by the King of Bahrain's son. [Telegraph]
• Oh, wait: Michael Jackson is intending to go to court, his lawyers claim. [Yahoo News]
• Jennifer Aniston watches Friends, and says "there are times when I laugh my rear end off." Nothing more amusing than watching yourself be amusing, huh? [MSNBC]
• Why Forbes has an annual list of "Hollywood's 10 Hottest Tots" is a question to ponder, but know this: Suri Cruise is number one. Shiloh Jolie-Pitt is in second place after coming in first last year; Zahara Jolie-Pitt, 3, is in third place; and Pax Jolie-Pitt, 4, is fourth on the list. [Breitbart]
• Another Forbes list: Hollywood's Top-Earning Couples. "Jay-Z and his new bride, Beyoncé Knowles, collectively raked in $162 million between June 1, 2007 and June 1, 2008." [Forbes]
• Paris Hilton and Benji Madden have broken up, you guys, but no one cheated on anyone: Vanessa Fontana from that BFF show says "Paris and Benji were loyal and faithful to each other. I love Paris, and I just want her to be happy. I think that they'll be better as friends." [Yahoo News via E!]
• And yes, Paris was "all over" her ex, Stavros Niarchos, earlier this week. A source spills: "Benji didn't like it that she spent the evening with Stavros. He blew up and Paris felt victimized. He gave her a lot of grief about that. She felt she couldn't cut loose and party. He doesn't drink and doesn't think she should either. She felt too fenced in." [Star Magazine]
• A different person says Paris and Stavros were just having a friendly conversation. "In no way are they romantic, nor do they want to get back together," the source says. [People]
• Mark Hoppus from Blink 182 says the plane crash has him speaking to Travis Barker again, after the band's messy split in 2005. "We're just reconnecting as friends after four years of not talking," he says. "It's a good thing." [Reuters]
• Additional info about the crash that injured Travis Barker here. The pilot of the jet warned air traffic controllers that his plane was "going off the end" before it crashed, killing him and 3 others. The cockpit recordings have been released. [CBS News]
• You'll enjoy this: NeNe has written "5 Ways Real Housewives Of Atlanta has Changed My Life." She says: "I’m not surprised that Anderson Cooper is talking about me! Wouldn’t you talk about me? I’m not surprised. Anderson Cooper is gorgeous. He is THE silver fox, and I just wish he’d come over on this side of the street. And come over here and talk to me!" [People]
• Fifty-eight year old Bill Murray was spotted having a fancy dinner in Chicago with 27-year-old Miss USA, Crystle Stewart. Nothing lost in translation there! [Perez Hilton]
• Kevin Spacey is in a new flick called Men Who Stare At Goats. He plays a "psychic guru." George Clooney is in the film, too and, presumably, some goats. [io9]
• Noted author Pamela Anderson has written an open letter to Barack Obama. She has suggestions! Free Leonard Peltier, castrate sex offenders, legalize marijuana, promote vegetarianism, stop animal testing, and bring the troops home safely! Now where's her cabinet position? [Perez Hilton]
• Film students! James Franco wants to be in your movie. "I haven’t acted in any student films yet," he says. "You would think that more people would ask me to be in their movies, but they haven’t." Franco is studying directing at NYU. Please, guys. Cast him. [NY Mag]
• Oh! James Franco's next role after Milk will be gay poet Allen Ginsberg in the movie Howl. Back-to-back gay roles "don't make any difference to me," Franco says. [Rush & Molloy]
• Julia Stiles was in a play that required her to utter these words about her "first time in bed with a black man": "He came over to borrow a highlighter. Next thing I knew, my panties were off and I was sitting on his face." [NY Mag]
• People are bidding £1 million for the house where David Beckham lived as a baby. Similar houses in the area were sold for £250,000. WTF. [Yahoo News]
• Whoopi Goldberg shows Liz Smith her tattoos: She has two dragons and a little Woodstock. [WowoWow]
• Tom Jones sang on the sidewalk in London to raise money for a cancer charity. He belted out "It's Not Unusual" and people did double takes; he performed four songs for the British Busking Challenge run by the BBC's Culture Show. [News.com.au]
• Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green are still engaged. And the wedding will be small, which means you're not invited. Sorry. [People]
• Back in August, Jackson Browne sued John McCain for using his song, "Running On Empty." Now McCain says Browne complained so he could get press to promote his new album, which came out a month later. McCain also argues that he can use whatever song he wants, since he's running for office and not trying to make money off of the music. What will the court decide? [TMZ]
• Michelle Hurd, who plays Eleanor Waldorf's assistant, Laurel, on Gossip Girl, says she bought her mom a vibrator for Christmas: "I actually got my mother the Rabbit last year," she says. "She was quite shocked and turned red instantly, but probably a month later she very quietly thanked me." [NY Mag]
• Actor John Turturro has great things to say about Barack Obama: "I think it's very interesting that he wants to surround himself with people who are strong and good. That's what Lincoln did—he put his adversaries, people who were on the other side, into his cabinet." But! Turturro, born and raised in Brooklyn, doesn't mind if Hillary Clinton moves to Washington: "I don't consider Hillary Clinton a New Yorker. I consider her a Senator from New York, but I don't consider her a New Yorker. She is from Illinois. A lot of people in New York aren't from New York, but she hasn't been here long enough for me to consider her a New Yorker." [Observer]
• Usher's mom maybe didn't pay her limo driver, boo. [TMZ]
• Is Kirk Cameron — who says civil marriage is not susceptible to any change because it is ordained by God — one of the "American Taliban"? [The Atlantic]
• Brit band Take That has a song inspired Amy Winehouse: Lyrics include, "All this noise and all these lights/All this talking through the night. All this expectation now it’s making me neurotic/ Tell me have I seen your face before? How did it come to this?/ How did it ever come to this?" [The Sun]
• Homecoming time! James Van Der Beek went back to Wilmington, NC — working with some of his former Dawson's Creek crew — for a guest appearance on the CW's One Tree Hill. [AP]
• Is anyone sorta tickled by the Bob Hope postage stamp? Thanks for the memories… [Yahoo News]
• Ivanka Trump's writing her first book! A "motivational title for women of her generation" with personal experiences in life and business, and lessons learned from her father and other business luminaries. Look for it in fall 2009. [PW]
• Adrien Brody was interviewed by gay magazine The Advocate, but refused to answer the silly questions asked of him, explaining that he is a "serious person." [Perez Hilton]
• Mischa Barton's official web site is live. Not that you care. [Socialite Life]
• Rita Wilson tried to buy a Beatles poster for her husband, Tom Hanks, but the seller couldn't provide a certificate of authenticity. Wilson declined to make the purchase and the seller "became belligerent" and now the mess is in court. Can't buy me love? [TMZ]
• Rod Stewart's son Sean is being sued by his personal trainer. Pay your bills! [TMZ]
• Four words: Monty Python YouTube Channel! [Telegraph]
• Mel Gibson's marriage is not on the rocks, even though there's "a dark-haired beauty named Oksana" who hangs around his movie set and "no one is quite sure what her role is." [Rush & Molloy]
• "She packs for me with beautiful notes in my luggage that I discover. She's always doing sweet things." — Seal on Heidi Klum. [People]
• "I like writing songs about boys and relationships. And when someone breaks up with me, I like to write about it, because I feel like I have the last word. That's the fun part. I have no issue with naming names. My personal goal is for my songs to be so detailed that the guy the song is written about knows it's about him." — Taylor Swift. [Rolling Stone]
• "She's a technically amazing singer, obviously — if she wasn't a star, she could always make a living with that voice, because it's like an instrument. But it's also such an original voice — as soon as you hear it on any track, you know exactly who it is. A great singer is somebody who makes you believe what they're saying, and you always believe what Annie is telling you… I also have to be superficial for a moment and point out that she is this unbelievably hot chick — and she has stayed hot to this day." — Rob Thomas on Annie Lennox. [Rolling Stone]
• "Well there's no doubt that election night was a bittersweet night. But in some ways, these kinds of setbacks allow for a bigger fight, more challenges, and eventually we're going to get it right. Eventually the American public will figure out that it really isn't right to deny citizens basic civil human rights. And we can no longer allow that to happen." — Kevin Spacey on Prop 8. [HuffPo]
• "Travelling with the family is fun… The other day, when we flew from LA to Germany, all of us had terrible jet lag. The children kept waking up, so we all got up, turned on the TV, made snacks, and were up until 4am. We laughed our heads off - the kids are some of the funniest people Brad and I have ever met. So more [children] sounds like a great idea, as much as it's hard work. It's just worth it." — Angelina Jolie. [Telegraph]
• "This is nothing new for me. When I got married, it was an act of civil disobedience as much as it was a love story. There is not any person in the country who doesn’t know I’m for gay marriage. I'm not vocal enough? I got married before anyone else did. I’ve been living it and living it for a very long time." — Rosie O'Donnell, to critics who question why she's been "absent" from the uproar over Prop 8. [LA Times]

• More from Jennifer Aniston, whose Vogue interview has been leaking all over the internet: "There is more to me than just a tabloid girl. This whole 'Poor lonely Jen' thing, this idea that I'm so unlucky in love? I actually feel I've been unbelievably lucky in love. I don't feel like I'm supposed to be any further along or somewhere that I'm not. I'm right where I'm supposed to be." Oh! And she also says: "I never liked Sex and the City, the kind of thing where women only feel empowered once they find the Man. It is just not up my alley. I don't believe in it. There is nothing you can control about love." [Perez Hilton]
• Oh, Jen also says when it comes to John Mayer, "People need to mind their own business." But! She gushes: "I deeply, deeply care about him; we talk, we adore one another. And that's where it is." [People]
• You know how Jennifer Aniston has a cleavage-baring red dress on for her Vogue cover? So did Angelina Jolie, for her January Vogue cover. Also? They both posed on sand! (Click to see both covers.) [The.Life Files]
• Paul Sculfor, who previously dated Aniston and is now Cameron Diaz's boyfriend, is taking Cammie home to the UK to meet his family. Christmas in England! [Daily Express]

• George Clooney on Prop 8: "At some point in our lifetime, gay marriage won't be an issue, and everyone who stood against this civil right will look as outdated as George Wallace standing on the school steps keeping James Hood from entering the University of Alabama because he was black." [E!]
• Daniel Craig doesn't hold the umbrella over his girlfriend when it rains. [The Sun]
• "Quantum of Solace is not a great movie. It's full of explosions and set pieces, and reminds everyone who sees it of the "Bourne" movies. But as a James Bond movie? It ranks far below the usual standards." —Roger Friedman. [Fox 411]
• BREAKING: A dead body was found outside of Paula Abdul's house. [TMZ]
• By the by, Mark Ronson is still sad that Amy Winehouse couldn't get her shit together enough to finish their Bond theme. [Daily Express]
• Baz Luhrmann admits that Australia isn't finished yet! "I'm going back to the mixing desk to finish it in 24 hours," he said Tuesday, just before he left for the airport. Hurry! [Reuters]
• Brad Pitt's bodyguard had to protect him from a gaggle of paparazzi at the premiere of The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, and Brad says: "Though they [the paparazzi] were exceptionally more aggressive than usual, breaking through a security barrier and into a private holding area, ultimately just another day in the life." [Yahoo News]
• Three years after the incident, Suge Knight is suing Kanye West over a shooting and the loss of a diamond earring. [TMZ]
• Donald Trump has been housing Jennifer Hudson and some of her relatives at the Trump International Hotel & Tower free of charge. "She's a great girl. And we're protecting them well," Trump says. "They are very safe." Wow, dude did a good deed. [People]
• Ouch: Jesse Metcalfe fell 40 feet, down two flights of stairs, and was knocked unconscious. He broke his leg, but an MRI shows no brain damage. This happened right after the World Music Awards, so one can't help but wonder if he was drinking… [The Sun]
• The story about Lauren Conrad throwing a fit at the airport? LC says it's false. "While it is a very entertaining story, I just don't think that highly of myself." Neither do we, dear. Neither do we. [People]
• Dear all you people who watch How I Met Your Mother: What is up with your show? First Heidi and Spencer, now Kim Kardashian. No, really. [E!]
• Kim Kardashian and boyfriend Reggie Bush love playing video games together. Zzz. [AP]
• Kevin Federline's lawyer says there won't be a hearing in family court to investigate his son's health. See, little Jayden got sick in Louisiana due to a "terrible allergic reaction" the first time Britney was allowed to take her kids out of the state since losing custody earlier this year. [People, E!]
• Mischa Barton was hounded by paparazzi outside of a club in L.A. and was very annoyed; the story takes the stance of "shouldn't she be glad people are still taking her picture?" but when you watch the video of aggro guys swarming around her, you get it: It's annoying. [E!]
• Warning: There will be full-frontal nudity in Sacha Baron Cohen's flick, Bruno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Male. Cohen auditioned gay "adult" stars recently. [Rush & Molloy]
• UK TV presented Cilla Black says she once talked to Jennifer Lopez's then-husband, Chris Judd, and Lopez "started fuming." "She was screaming to her entourage: 'What's that woman doing with my man? Get rid of her.' It was so funny.'" [Daily Mail]
• Christina Aguilera says her son Max inspired her music: "I talk about being a super girl in the song 'Keeps Getting Better' and really that's due in great deal to the fact that I've had a complete new appreciation for women in general, for what we're capable of doing, of what our bodies are capable of undergoing, and creating." [People]
• Josh Brolin swears he heard George Bush saw W and "liked it very much." Karl Rove, on the other hand… [CNN]
• Blast from the past: Small Wonder, the robot girl sitcom. [BoingBoing]
• David Beckham has the best-selling calendar in the UK, yawn. [Mirror]
• LOL at this picture of a lady in curlers gazing upon Barack Obama. [Concrete Loop]
• Elton John and Billy Joel: On the road! Dueling pianos? Elton says: "It's two for the price of one. Our ticket prices are the same as anyone else's, but there's two of us. In this day and age, we hope to be getting people value for their money." [Mirror]
• The finale episode of TRL happens this Sunday. A huge finale show is planned; Justin Timberlake, Snoop Dogg, Kid Rock, 50 Cent, Fall Out Boy, Christina Aguilera, Travis Barker and Beyoncé will appear. [MTV]
• Joe Jonas and Camilla Belle: It's on. He's 19, she's 22. [TMZ]
• Headline of the day: "Jason Priestley on Brenda Walsh's Rumored Illness: 'That's Awesome!'" [E!]
• Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis is developing a series for HBO based on his unconventional, rock 'n' roll childhood. His dad, Spider, sold drugs and hung with rock stars on the Sunset Strip. Get a hot hottie to play Spider and this sounds like a show worth watching. [Variety]
• Spotted: Billy Corgan leaving the White House, on the same day as the big Obama visit. Secret mission? [Washington Post]
• Will Russell Crowe replace Heath Ledger in a flick called Dirt Music? Isn't that taking the casting in a really different direction? [Daily Express]
• Word association with Tracy Morgan: Waffles, vampires, Michelle Obama. Etc. [Comedy Central]
• Natascha McElhone was spotted with her newborn baby, just five months after the tragic death of her husband. Sadness. [Daily Express]
• Have you seen this Elizabeth Peyton portrait of Michelle Obama yet? [LA Times]
• News you can't use: Katie "Price" Jordan and husband Peter Andre are going on vacation, where, Jordan says, "All we are going to do is have spa treatments, relax, have sex, eat and sleep." [The Sun]
• Melanie "Scary Spice" Brown renewed her wedding vows in a four-day extravaganza in a plush Egyptian resort. There was a swimming pool with disco lights, glitter confetti and belly dancers. A low-key affair. [The Sun]
• Martina Navratilova will be on UK show I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here. She'll totally win any tennis challenges! [Mirror]
• A Rolling Stone poll has deemed Aretha Franklin "the greatest singer in the rock era." All hail the queen! [Reuters]
• Brooke Shields is trying her very very best to be optimistic about the future of Lipstick Jungle, despite the fact that the show recently moved to kiss-of-death night, Friday: "You know, people get very nervous when they see a show that switched nights. For us, it's a positive thing. Especially with the economy — more people are inclined to stay home on a Friday night or watch television live. Or moms are more likely to stay up and watch a 10 o'clock show if they don't really have to get up with the kids. Well, kids don't sleep on the weekends, either. But at least they don't have to rush to get them to school. So I think that that's … there is that audience." Sure, sure. [NY Mag]
• Adam Sandler's wife welcomed their second child into the world, a girl named Sunny Madeline. [ET]
• Did you know that Lindsay Wagner, aka the Bionic Woman, is working on some kind of acupressure project that helps people deal with negative experiences with inner healing? [The Star]
• Paul McCartney: Revealing details about the real-life Eleanor Rigby? [Daily Mail]
• A dude who illegally posted Guns N' Roses songs online is pleading guilty of copyright infringement, uh-oh. He could get three years in prison. Welcome to the jungle! [Reuters]
• Roger Moore on the new Bond: "I'm sad that it has turned so violent." [Reuters]
• "In the middle of an orgasm, do I think 'do I have too much flab around my middle?' I mean when you are really in an ecstatic place and you look at your child’s face and you are completely happy and you have your family around you – you certainly don’t think about that!" — Susan Sarandon. [The Sun]
• "Everyone tells me that there will never be a good time, that I will always be busy, but I just think when the stars are aligned it will happen." — Janet Jackson, on having a baby. [Daily Express]
• "I write a lot of my songs for women. A lot of the songs are about things that we need to hear. Things I wouldn't really say, or I wish I could say. I'm kind of a voice for a lot of young women. I feel that women understand men a little better. I really don't feel that men understand women as much. And it's something that we go through all the time. But I also feel like we learn a lot from each other, and when we're connected it's amazing." — Beyoncé. [Telegraph]
• "Apparently she wants to be directing and that's what she'll be doing. Two directors in the family is never going to work." — Christopher Ciccone, on sister Madonna's future. [The Star]
• "I grew out of my leading boy days. It's good. It's the natural progression of things… What you can achieve on television now, and I sound like an ancient man when I say these things, but what you can do on TV now is worlds away from what we could even think of doing 10 years ago." — Josh Jackson, talking about his role on Fringe versus his time on Dawson's Creek [The Star]
• "I think she should keep her head down, work really hard and learn about governing. But I'm not anyone to give advice to anyone about anything." — Katie Couric on Sarah Palin. [Page Six]
• "Coco will probably follow in our footsteps, unfortunately. She has a really strong personality. She’s a funny, quirky kid. But she doesn’t like people laughing at her so it should be drama!" — David Arquette, on his four-year-old daughter (with Courteney Cox) getting into show biz. [Daily Express]
• "I've got to tell you, it's so vague at this point, it's so faraway in my mind, I can't even remember the darkness. I mean, in the end, we really had an amicable split. … And pretty soon after we separated, we got on the phone and we had a long, long conversation with each other and said a lot of things, and ever since we've been unbelievably warm and respectful of each other." — Jennifer Aniston, on Brad Pitt, in Vogue. [Perez Hilton]
• "Three and a half years ago a man came along and said, 'I'm going to take you to Tennessee. And he took me down there and he said, 'I think you deserved to be loved. Let me love you, let me give you a home, and let's make a baby.' So thank you, Keith Lionel. I don't believe that you can [have it all]. But I believe you can have balance. Three and a half years ago I had a wonderful career, I had two kids, I had movie offers, great directors offering me things, but I wasn't loved." — Nicole Kidman. [People]
• "I am not darker, angrier or moodier these days. In fact, it's just the opposite. All that's happened is that I've given up on trying to find a way to use unwanted media as a form of entertainment. (It still was worth a try.) A walk to the car isn't the best time to try and analyze my mood or disposition, so you'll probably always get a bad read from it. Things have changed a bit, and the decision to slide on and off your radar isn't so much my own anymore. But I'm too young to stomp my feet about it. All I can do is concentrate on keeping my heart and soul correct and then redecorate around it." — John Mayer. [People]

[Los Angeles, November 2. Image via x17]

[Los Angeles, October 29. Image via x17]

Hollywood, CA, October 17. Image via Filmmagic.

[Los Angeles, Octobert 13. Image via x17]

• Amy Winehouse is doing fine, says her spokesman, whom she pays to say such things. Despite tabloid rumors, she is not on a suicide watch. [People]
• Also, Amy's mom says Amy is a good influence on her goddaughter, Dionne, who wants to be a singer. [Daily Express]
• Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman: Back on. [People]
• Michelle Rodriguez was staying at a fancy hotel in Coconut Grove, FL but she must have had a fight with the ladyfriend she was traveling with: Guests heard two women yelling at 9am Sunday morning and one saw Michelle in the hallway, banging on the door, hollering, "If you don't open up, you're not getting your [pleasure toy] back." Then the door creaked open. [Rush & Molloy]
• Nick Nolte suffered smoke inhalation and abrasions during a fire at his home in Malibu. The blaze seems to have started in the bedroom due to an electrical problem, and when firefighters arrived Nolte was trying to put it out himself with a garden hose. [UPI, AP]

• Travis Barker is still in a burn center in an L.A. hospital. His condition has been "up and down." [E!]
• Travis tells Us Weekly: "I hate planes. My biggest fear ever is to be involved in a plane crash, so when that happened… well, I'm just thankful to be alive! I'm just grateful to be here at all. I am doing the best I can possibly be. I'm so anxious to get out of here. I've just been in surgery after surgery. I have third-degree burns basically from my feet up to my waist and both hands. One of my hands has second-degree burns and one has third-degree burns. I'm trying to have a quick recovery and play the drums again and be able to hold my kids again." [AP]
• Britney Spears may have to go to trial over driving without a valid license. This case stems from an August 2007 charge after she hit a parked car and left the scene. [USA Today]
• Jennifer Lopez and Leah Remini were attached at the hip at the Elle Women In Hollywood event: They even held hands when they went to the bathroom together. And yeah, Leah is a Scientologist. [E!]
• Natalie Portman has discovered microloans through Queen Rania of Jordan and says she's learning to curb her "accumulation mentality." When "you meet people who have one shirt," it makes you stop and think, Natalie says. "If I have 40 shirts, why would I ever buy anything more?" [Newser]
• It's official: Salma Hayek will be on 30 Rock, maybe shooting in the next few days. That show is the new Love Boat. [E!]
• Kanye West to Ellen: "You have really great style." [People]
• Ted Casablanca on Kanye and Ellen: "It's really refreshing to see a tough rapper so at home with the gay stuff." El oh el at "tough." [E!]
• Billy Ray Cyrus calls Miley's boyfriend, 20-year-old Justin Gaston, "a good kid." This was the one with the bible, you'll recall. [People]
• Meanwhile, a Hannah Montana co-creator is suing Disney over a percentage of the profits from licensed merchandise. Up against The Mouse in court? Good luck! [Perez Hilton]
• Penn Badgley, aka Dan Humphrey from Gossip Girl, has a crush on Parker Posey. [NY Mag]
• Josh Kelley is "always trying to impress" Katherine Heigl, if you care. [People]
• Eva Longoria will be a guest judge on Project Runway, not that we know when it will ever come back. [ONTD]
• Paris Hilton gets presidential advice from fake prez Matin Sheen. [Funny Or Die]
• Madonna wore Clark Kent-style specs at her NYC concert, and this Brit tab accuses her of stealing them from Lourdes. [The Sun]
• Maggie Gyllenhaal will be shilling Duracell batteries by becoming the spokesperson for the Power A Smile campaign, in which young ambassadors to deliver gifts to patients in children's hospitals this holiday season. [BrandWeek]
• Speaking of Gyllenhaals: Maggie and Jake's parents are calling it quits after decades of marriage. Does anyone stay together? Ever? [Perez Hilton]
• Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal are reportedly househunting in London. Sigh. [Daily Express]
• Jamie Lynn Spears and her baby daddy Casey Aldridge are on the cover of OK! magazine with the cover line "I'm No Cheater." More on this in Midweek Madness… [Perez Hilton]
• Scarlett Johansson wears red white and blue on the kookily patriotic cover of CosmoGirl!. [PopSugar]
• Bad news for Eddie Izzard fans: The Riches has been canceled. [UPI]
• Could The View win an Emmy if Elisabeth Hasselbeck left? [LA Times]
• Janet Jackson may or may not have vertigo. [Perez Hilton]
• Lily Allen may have a new man, since she was photographed in the vicinity of some random dude. [The Sun]
• The Iranian actress in Leo DiCaprio's new flick, Body Of Lies says: "I had a lot of problems because of this movie. (Iranian officials) took my passport. The intelligence service interrogated me several times. In the end, the judge said, 'We have to see the movie and then decide what we're going to do with you.'" She is afraid to go home to Iran and is living in France with her husband since the incident. [Daily Express]
• Whee! Slash action figure! [UPI]
• There's a picture of Paul McCartney in a McDonald's in Liverpool, but he's been a vegetarian for 30 years. Sir Paul is pissed. [The Sun]
• A bouncer asked Stephen Dorff to smoke outside and he yelled, "Do you want a piece of me? You don’t know who you’re messing with." Yeah, probably not. You're an actor, right? [The Sun]
• A post-divorce Bill Murray is looking for renewal. He says when his ex-wife filed papers alleging that he abused her and was addicted to alcohol and marijuana, "That was devastating. That was the worst thing that ever happened to me in my entire life." [AP]
• The new Bond girl was born with six fingers on each hand. [Newser]
• Dancing With The Stars' Derek Hough is living with girlfriend Shannon Elizabeth — as is his entire band. [People]
• Love, LOVE this artwork for Cadillac Record, starring Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright and Beyoncé. [Concrete Loop]
• Things you never wanted to know about Rob Lowe's nanny: She allegedly only dates black guys because of their cocks. She bragged that her boyfriend's penis was "the second largest black cock in the NBA.'" [TMZ]
• Brody Jenner has found "the one" and she is a 22-year-old Playmate named Jayde Nicole, of course. [Perez Hilton]
• "I'm not the ... pervert that I've been painted to be." Peter Cook, Christie Brinkley's ex, to Barbara Walters in an interview that will air Friday on ABC's 20/20. [People]
• "[Society wants women] on anti-depressants so they are no longer creative or fierce. They dull your rage. People don't like angry women so they say, 'We're going to have to drug that bitch to get her to shut up. We will humiliate her and disenfranchise her, but first she has to shut up.'" — Roseanne Barr. [Guardian]
• "She calls herself feminist but she's not. She's a careerist. I had a time in my life too when I didn't stay at home with my kids because I was on a bigger mission. She'll pay for it later though. She'll get her karma… In the 60s we used to say if a woman ruled the world there would be no war. But that's not right. What we mean is a thinking, conscious woman, and there's no place for any of us in this world. To make it in a man's world takes a certain kind of woman. Sarah Palin is the kind of woman they want right now." — Roseanne Barr. [Guardian]
• "By denying the responsibility of man in global warming, by advocating gun rights and making statements that are disconcertingly stupid, you are a disgrace to women and you alone represent a terrible threat, a true environmental catastrophe." — Brigitte Bardot, in a letter to Sarah Palin and John McCain. [Yahoo News]
• "In my opinion, Stephen King is without question our greatest writer. No one tells a better story than Stephen… I set out to write a good story with The Notebook, one that would sell 10 million copies and make me rich… and I did." — Nicholas Sparks. [Page Six]
• "Posh doesn't strike me as particularly stylish. I don't think she's a good example of British style at all." — Mischa Barton. [The Sun]
• "I won't respond to that. That doesn't even deserve the dignity of a response. I don't know the details of that. It is absolutely ridiculous… This from the Guardian? I don't believe it! It is insulting that you would even bring it up! My God… I turned down the Mail to do this!" —Faye Dunaway, on the rumor that she threw a cup of urine in Roman Polanski's face when the director refused to allow bathroom breaks on the set of Chinatown. [Guardian, via NY Mag]

[Beverly Hills, October 6. Image via x17]

(All images via Bauer-Griffin.)

[London, September 18. Image via Bauer-Griffin]

• "I'm really happy," Lindsay Lohan tells Marie Claire. She and Sam Ronson have matching tattoos. "Samantha has a bunch of stars, so I got that," LL says. Then, pointing to a little heart, she says, "she got this." And! She is looking to buy a home "with someone." [People]
• Lindsay's MySpace message: "I love yams." Yams rhymes with Sam? [PopDirt]
• Sam Ronson maybe told a bunch of people: "By the end of this year, my love will be Mrs Ronson." [Daily Star, The Sun]
• Just months after she gave birth to his son, Anthony Kiedis has dumped his girlfriend, Heather Christie. His new lady is Laura Freedman, who owns a jewelry store in Santa Monica. [Page Six]

• Usher and his wife Tameka are expecting a second child, 11 months after the birth of their son, Usher V. [The.Life Files]
• Mariah Carey's new manager is Mariah Carey. [E!]
• Britney? Being shot for Vogue? Really? But not for the cover, right? [ONTD, via NY Post]
• Anne Hathaway is profiled in the new issue of W. She wears a locket with a vintage lottery ticket inside around her neck. "I figure if it was a winning ticket, it would not have been discarded," she says, "so essentially I walk around with an unlucky lottery ticket around my neck." She also talks about life after her con man boyfriend. "I have to find a place to live," she says. And she weeps a little. "It’s a situation where the rug was pulled out from under me all of a sudden. But just as suddenly, my friends threw another rug back under me… I’ve been shown such kindness. Not everyone gets that. A lot of people go through tough times alone." [W]
• Anne Hathaway also says after she found out about Raffaello Follieri's arrest, "I spent a week in shock." [ET]
• Kate Moss's house has been infested with fleas. She's forced to spend some time on the island of Ibiza with her boyfriend, poor thing. [Mirror]
• Major drama involving Oprah's mom and debt. [Rush & Molloy]
• A New York judge has thrown out a bunch of lawsuits by unsuspecting people who interacted with Sacha Baron Cohen in Borat. [E!]
• Forbes has a list of Hollywood's most overpaid movie stars: Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Garner, Jennifer Lopez, Jim Carrey, Nicolas Cage, Drew Barrymore, Will Ferrell and Cate Blanchett. This is all based on dollars earned, not acting chops; for instance: Cammie Diaz's flms returned a lowly $4 for every dollar Diaz earned. [Forbes]
• Hilary Duff's dad is out of jail. (He was arrested last month for contempt of court and selling assets without Hilary's mom's consent.) In an interview with Inside Edition, Bob Duff says: "Susan [Hil's mom] was very consumed with the girls' careers…We simply grew apart." And! "I was unfaithful to our marriage. I feel very badly about that and the effect that it had on the girls." So wait, whose fault is it again? [Perez Hilton]
• So remember how Josh Hartnett allegedly got all hot and heavy with a young lady in a hotel and the staff watched he whole thing on closed-circuit TV? Not true, says Josh. In fact, his legal team is seeking damages against The Mirror for reporting a "complete fabrication." [E!]
• Mary-Kate Olsen requested a seat between Gossip Girl stars Chace Crawford and Jessica Szohr at the Rock & Republic fashion show. Why are you trying to come between Nate and Vanessa? [Rush & Molloy]
• Paris Hilton thinks the documentary about Paris Hilton is pretty good. [AP]
• Michael Phelps is taking the $1 million bonus he earned from Speedo at the Beijing Olympics and donating it to charity. [Socialite Life]
• Poor James Franco is being ogled by freshmen at Columbia University, where he's enrolled in a Master's program. [Page Six]
• Ex-Beastie Boy Adam Yauch has gone from rapping to filmmaking and his company, Oscilloscope, is releasing Flow, that horrifying-looking documentary about the world's dwindling water supply that some of us totally want to see. [Jossip, NY Times]
• Alec Baldwin seems really interested in running for office. But if he knows the US government has long been run by men with Anglo Saxon names. "I'm going to change my name into a Muslim-sounding name," he jokes. He goes on to say: "I hope [Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama] wins or it's close because if it's close, that says something. A growing number of Americans are ready for the nontraditional. Where I would fit into that, I don't know." [Reuters]
• Alec Baldwin either did or didn't ram his car into a limo as he left the US Open on Saturday night. [Page Six]
• Ashton Kutcher launched a website called BlahGirls.com in which three animated teenage characters — sorta inspired by Ashton's step-daughters, Rumer, Scout and Tallulah Willis — gossip and comment. It's funny-ish, but some of the comments would get these girls banned here. [Reuters]
• This piece says that just because Britney Spears was on the MTV Awards and is making a new alum doesn't mean she is mentally sound. [Guardian]
• Mischa Barton and Rooney frontman Taylor Locke: Dunzo. [Perez Hilton]
• 90210 catfight? Shenae Grimes maybe called Shannen Doherty an "effin bitch." [ONTD]
• Teri Hatcher wrote a column for British Glamour and it was misrepresented and taken out of context in the media so that it seems like she is advising her 10 year old daughter to have sex. [ET]
• Amy Winehouse was so smashed after a festival gig that she couldn't manage to walk to the car and had to be wrapped in a duvet and smuggled out of her hotel. [The Sun]
• Kevin Smith talks about hot he got "the shit shot" approved by the MPAA for his new movie, Zack and Miri Make A Porno. [Salon]
• Beyoncé's new album drops November 18. One of first tracks is called "Single Ladies," but, um, she is married now, right? [Concrete Loop]
• Blind item! "Which music mogul treats his superstar wife like she's a servant? But she doesn't mind. 'She's Southern and thinks men should be the boss,' laughs one friend." [Page Six]
• You know Devendra Banhart, Natalie Portman's boyfriend? His new album gives him panic attacks. [Rolling Stone]
• The Veronicas performed at the MTV Awards but it got fucked up. [News.com.au]
• The Wiggles are Australia's richest performers, with more cash than Kylie Minogue and Russell Crowe. [Reuters]
• Ever wonder what the boys from Hanson think about the Jonas Brothers? Wonder no longer. [Perez Hilton]
• Hugh Grant had his birthday dinner with his ex-girlfriend and it made headlines. [The Sun]
• Lisa Simpson is divorced. [TMZ]
• "Great sex with someone may or may not really mean something. But it's a hell of a lot better than bad sex!" — Candance Bushnell to Cosmopolitan. [Page Six]
• "She is really very very very disinterested in fashion. She doesn't care. She wears her gym clothes from when she comes back from the gym until night. Sometimes she puts a jacket over it if I really beg her to, but she doesn't really care very much." — Susan Sarandon's daughter, Eva Amurri, on her mom's style. [AP]

• You know how we said yesterday we were kind of over hockey player Sean Avery's novelty Vogue internship? Yeah, now they might make a movie out of it. Devil Wears Prada meets The Cutting Edge?! [Reuters]
• Naomi Campbell wants to be a mother. FYI. [Daily Express]
• Posh's line of gowns is...not too bad. Says Posh: "The collection was inspired by the femininity and sophistication of the midcentury silhouette...I’ve always been drawn to intricate, seam-detailed designs, as their structure enhances the flattering shape of a woman’s silhouette.” Silhouette. Just to make it three! [IHT]
• Whoa whoa whoa. JLo to guest judge at Runway finale?! [NY Mag]
• Another one bites the dust: Viveca A. Fox is launching a clothing line. [USA Today]

• NYC Fashion Week Screws London Fashion Week. CFDA mediates. [WWD]
• Is anyone else incredibly weirded out by all these designers making luxury houses in Dubai? Ferragamo joins the pack. [Elle]
• Hot on the heels of her bag line, Mischa Barton follows Paris into the world of hair accessories. [WWD]
• Alice Dellal is the new Kate Moss indeed! "For the socialite model, who boasts high profile friends including James and Elizabeth Jagger and Leah Wood, is pictured in a series of curious photographs with what appears to be drug paraphernalia." [Daily Mail]
• Braced for disaster, New Orleans retailers heave a sigh of relief, re-open. [WWD]
• Oddly, the Japanese company that manufactures Sarah Palin's rimless specs is seeing a boost in sales. [Breitbart]
• Army sells out historic logo to Sears; angers some vets. [Politico]
• Not only is Kate Moss's new Top Shop collection apparently the best yet...we can get it STATESIDE!!! "Drawing on the rock chick look which has been her signature style ever since she turned 30, Moss's new collection features skinny jeans, fake fur gilets, slouchy knits and a raft of the tea dresses which have proved so popular each season with London’s army of Moss-alikes." [Daily Mail]
• Not surprisingly, Jill Stuart's uber-flowy collection was inspired by ballet. [Elle]
• Guessing a ballerina didn't inspire the following blooper from her show: "In between the floaty, wannabe off-duty ballerina layers and blush tones (except for the all black outfit worn, appropriately, by Karlie Kloss), one of the models had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction. As in, a really, really bad one that she didn't seem to be aware of, leading her to continue down the runway jiggling away anyway." [Fashionista]
• Either LiLo's weight is seriously yo-yoing or she's a diva: she asked seamstresses to take in 14 dresses while staying at the Bowery Hotel. [Page Six]

[Los Angeles, July 29. Image via x17]

• It's not just for the cameras! Bad Cop Project Runway judge Nina Garcia queen bees it up at MarieClaire, reups for Runway. [WWD]
• Oh I'm sure this wasn't staged: watch Heidi Montag's 'Heidiwood' clothes fly off the racks at the Kitson boutique while Heidi preens, poses and signs autographs in front of a conspicuous sign announcing that the Lauren Conrad line is half off. Then LC just happens to walk by. Cameras follow them both, natch. [TMZ]
• French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld could give a toss what PETA thinks. Well, except that she just did a whole defiantly pro-fur photo shoot to piss them off. [Fashion Intelligentsia]
• Despite mixed reviews, Christian Siriano's collection for Bluefly is almost sold out. [Sassybella]

• Prince Charles' garden-based "Highgrove" skincare line sells out too. [WWD]
• Shaun White, the red-haired snowboarder who's apparently known as "the flying tomato" has launched a young men's line for Target. "White's favorite piece is a black-and-white plaid button-down ($12.99 boys, $24.99 young adults) with contrast front pockets that would look at home in any skate park in America. He's also fond of the black skinny fit jeans ($29.99), having recently converted from a baggier silhouette. How tight are we talking? White doesn't like his jeans to be "ridiculously tight, unless the occasion calls for it." [Los Angeles Times]
• Cold comfort: Kate Moss's home has depreciated. [Independent]
• Whether or not Peter Som is leaving Bill Blass (and why is this so mysterious?!) he'll be showing at Fashion Week in a limited capacity. [ElleUK]
• Rem Koolhaas's new Prada Foundation's headquarters? Even more of "a cross between a Soviet housing complex, a prison, and a midwestern factory of the future." [Media Bistro]
• That 12-year-old fashion blogger? Now she's gonna be in the New York Times. [New York Magazine]
• Mischa Barton's handbags are now on sale. Why does everyone keep calling them "vintage-inspired?" [Asos]
• More on that "Marilyn Monroe" clothing line. You may not have heard of the company, "UK Manufacturer Blues Clothing," but it's still kind of a big deal: "The posthumous clothing label is the first fruit of the controversial 2007 court case which ruled that the actress's heirs no longer own the exclusive rights to her likeness." [The Independent]
• After studying in America, designer Adama Kargbo returned to her native Sierra Leone to start a fashion line called Aschobi “Sierra Leone isn't the first place you'd think of finding couture, but the country is changing.” [Global Voices Online]
• Hard times: Ralph Lauren alters pay structure. [WWD]
• Nike has pulled its Hyperdunk campaign after some people construed one ad as being homophobic. "The crotch of the player dunking was planted firmly in the other player's face. The ad sported a large tag line: "That Ain't Right." Earlier, Nike had said the ads were "based purely upon a common insight from within the game of basketball — the athletic feat of dunking on the opposition, and is not intended to be offensive.""Nike pointed to its record as a gay-rights advocate...but pulled the stupid-sounding poster, which I objected to on grammatical grounds. [CNN]
• Miguel Caballero, "the world's only producer of designer bulletproof fashion," has cornered the paranoid millionaire market. "His new collection includes blazers, raincoats and suede jackets, some replete with a comforting stab-proof lining. Customers get to select from three levels of ballistic protection. For instance, a polo shirt that can withstand a slug from a 9-mm revolver costs roughly $7,500; a version for about $9,800 protects wearers from automatic weapons, including mini-Uzis." Perhaps not surprisingly, Caballero got his start in Columbia, where the business has thrived. Switzerland, he says, is their worst customer. [Time]
• Say it ain't so! Crocs are losing their appeal, money. Best quote: "Made from a spongy material known as Croslite, Crocs have been worn by President Bush, Al Pacino and Prince William's girlfriend, Kate Middleton." [Guardian]
• Purely theoretical musings on Justin Timberlake, fashion week. "Though JT has been scarce in front rows before, he may want to build his fashion cred now that he's the new face of Givenchy, and the backing behind sportswear label William Rast. And let's not forget that some brands pay very big money to get "fans" to attend their catwalks - and Miss Sixty, Rock & Republic, and Y-3 have a track record of getting crazy flashbulb momnts at their shows, and let's not forget Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger." [Fashionista]
• MAC collabs with Indian designer Manish Arora. "The line comprises a six-shade eye shadow compact, dubbed Eyes On Manish; two lipsticks; two hues of Lipglass, and two shades of Powder Blush." [WWD]
• More women choosing to go gray. Yay! [ Houston Chronicle]
• Celebrity Design 101: "You're not Coco Chanel." [New York Magazine]

• Paris Hilton, aka the rich man's Heidi Montag, premieres her line for Dollhouse. "Some pieces, like the tees with her face plastered on them, are quintessentially Paris, and others are a bit more rock 'n roll like her sister Nicky." Huh? [FabSugar]
• Meanwhile, in the world of the equally inexplicable, Jessica Simpson announces a dress line. "I'm extremely excited to be expanding into the dress market," Simpson tells WWD. "I plan on creating beautiful dresses in distinctive fabrics and silhouettes that are reflective of my personal style and offer something special to the marketplace." [VogueUK]
• Perennial charmer Naomi Campbell on upstart "supermodels": "Models need to earn their stripes – I just think the term is used a little too loosely. Kate Moss is obviously a supermodel but, after Gisele, I don’t think there’s been one." [The Sun]
• Um, if we're asking the pope to throw off antiquated traditions, I'm not sure his fur cape should be our highest priority. [Times of India]

• Recessionistas get all DIY; add beads to stuff. [Telegraph]
• Tsubi, or Ksubi, jeans founder Gareth Moody is apparently not that interesting. [New York Magazine]
• Paging 1984. "Nantucket preppy style." [Style.com]
• Can a nation with as much grinding poverty as India's justify a couture market? [Hindustan Times]
• Retailers get antsy about holidays; hope to distract customers with elaborate decorations. [WWD]
• Former Etsy Knits CEO changes title to "chief creative officer," "a nice loose moniker that will allow me to focus on what I'm best at: product work and long-term, big-picture thinking." [Alley Insider]
• Thought Crocs were the nadir? Meet FitFlops. [New York Magazine]
• Golfer Ryuji Imada hooks up with Lacoste. [WWD]
• Style.com gets a makeover. [Fashionista]
• Alert your mother at once! Dockers launches women's separates, so she and dad can match. [WWD]
• For some reason, Hermes thriving. [Forbes]
• Menswear shows sound horrifying: "Baggy shirts, wrinkled T-shirts, campus-throwback sweaters and boat shoes ruled at New York's nascent Mens Runway." [Reuters]
• New Diesel swimwear mixes "bikinis with props like baseball helmets, boxing gloves, football pads and other sports gear to tie in with the "collegiate varsity" theme in the brand's sportswear collection." [WWD]
• Unlike some of us who work online, apparently the "ShopBop girls" are really chic. [FabSugar]
• If you wanna see Mischa Barton's photo shoot, you're in luck: Nylon's starting podcasts. [Fashionista]
• Random teens for Bongo jeans? At least Perez is happy. [Perez Hilton]
• More on the Diesel/Viktor and Rolf marriage of convenience. [Sassybella]
• We're guessing the 12-year-old fashion blogger Tavi would have had contempt for us in middle school. [New York Magazine]
• Rachael Ray's non-status bag. [Radar]
• Short hair? All the crack. "But instead of the asymmetric (typically 60s) ‘pob’ made famous by Posh last year, the new bob hair style is more fashion forward thanks to YSL who has made the glossy, pudding bowl cut the look of next season." [ElleUK]