andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

After reading this headline, you might want to get your mind out of the gutter. While Jayde Nicole may be a Playmate – in fact, she was named 2008’s Playmate of the year – the sexy Canadian model is also involved in a slew of other projects including charity work, poker tournaments and of course, “The Hills.”

If you watch the MTV show “The Hills,” then you know that its former star, Lauren Conrad, said her goodbyes last season and now, “Laguna Beach’s” Kristin Cavallari fronts the show. So how have things changed? Nicole — who first appeared on “The Hills” last season as Brody Jenner’s girlfriend — explains.

“It’s definitely 100 per cent different,” she says (with emphasis on the 100). “It’s been a lot more dramatic and a lot more crazy, and it’s just kind of totally different from what we’re all used to.”

Both Nicole and Cavallari make no point in hiding that they’re not friends — to say it nicely — but Nicole says that could very well change one day. “It hasn’t changed as of right now, but you never know. I mean, I try to never say never because you don’t ever know what’s going to happen. If you would’ve asked me eight months ago if I would of been able to handle being around Audrina [Patridge], I would of said ‘no I can’t stand her,’ ” she admits. “But now I don’t mind her and neither one of us really have problems with each other anymore, so I don’t see us being friends in the future, but you never know.”

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Marge Simpson is about to become the first cartoon character to grace the cover of Playboy, reports CBC. Simpson will be featured in the November issue of the magazine, which hits newsstands next Friday.

The magazine reports a three-page spread will “imply nudity,” but the matriarch won’t bare all.

Scott Flanders, the new chief executive at Playboy, says he hopes the move attracts more readers in their 20s. Currently, the average reader’s age is 35.

The Playboy mogul’s 83rd birthday was a success in Las Vegas- even though Hugh Hefner was in the middle of a crowd including his current and former girlfriends.

According to E! News, ex-girlfriends Holly Madison, Kendra Wilkinson and Bridget Marquardt made sure to give the big boss their own gift.

“I haven’t seen him since I left the mansion,” said Madison.

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If I were to join a sorority, I could only hope to have Shelley as my house mother. She’s witty, vivacious, and big-hearted. Most importantly, her closest is full of clothing that some more daring girls would love to own and, let’s face it; many guys would pray to see girls wear.

Anna Faris stars as Shelley, the over-the-top perky Playboy bunny who gets kicked out of Hugh Hefner’s mansion the day after her 27th birthday—which, according to bunny years, is equivalent to 59-years-old. With no place to live, Shelley becomes a house mother for Zeta Alpha Zeta — a nerd-filled sorority in need of 30 pledges to avoid being kicked off campus.

“The House Bunny” is a combination of “Legally Blonde” (both movies are penned by Karen McCullah Lutz & Kirsten Smith) and “Mean Girls”. It’s full of jocks and nerds; the in-crowd and the not-so-in-crowd. The storyline and the characters are neither original nor creative and yes, we all have seen such movies dozens of times.

But this movie has something that the other cookie-cutter movies don’t always have. Super cool characters.

Emma Stone, best known for her role in “Superbad”, stars as Natalie—the head of Zeta’s sisterhood. She’s smart and clever and socially awkward—just like all the other Zeta’s seven members. However, in order to make the social rejects into social goddesses, Shelley must strip them of everything — including their intelligence and clothing— and make them over to multiple versions of herself. Yes, I know, we have seen this before. Once again, the message is sent out that ALL college guys prefer women who are barely dressed and act stupid over those who aren’t afraid to out-wit them in clothing that’s not easily mistaken for lingerie.

But wait, there is hope for mankind. Oliver, played by Colin Hanks, is labelled a weirdo for actually liking a female for her brains and, of course, he also happens to be Shelley’s love interest. But just like her Zeta sisters, Shelley too must undergo a bit of transformation in order to show Oliver there is more to her than her 8-inch heels and mini skirts.

Although this Happy Madison film sends out more futile messages than anything useful, it isn’t meant to be something more. It succeeds at its purpose of entertaining the audience and much of this laugh-out-loud humour is due to Faris. She made us laugh in the “Scary Movie” franchise and she made us chuckle when she played the not-so-smart surrogate mother for Monica’s and Chandler’s babies in “Friends.” Faris will likely continue playing the “dumb blonde” roles and thankfully so because she knows how to charm the audience. Without or without bunny ears.

Hugh Hefner says that he’d love to have Miley Cyrus pose for Playboy when she turns 18.

Cyrus has been the centre of the media spotlight this month for her recent photo spread in Vanity Fair. The photo, taken by world renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz, shows 15 year old Cyrus topless with a sheet covering her chest.

Critics say Cyrus is too young to be photographed topless.

“I think to make such a big to-do over something as innocent as those photos is a reflection on how schizophrenic America is about sexuality,” Hefner said in a recent television interview.

Former Playboy Playmate ANNA NICOLE SMITH’s body was finally embalmed on Saturday, more than a week after her death.

The 39-year-old was embalmed at the Broward County Medical Examiner’s office by two morticians from Aycock Funeral Home in Jupiter, Florida.

The process was delayed another day after Judge LARRY SEIDLIN ordered on Friday that mortuary workers sign a confidentiality agreement to protect Smith’s dignity in death.

The process finally began on Saturday at 9:15am local time and took two hours and 45 minutes.

Chief Medical Examiner DR JOSHUA PERPER and his chief investigator, EDWINA JOHNSON, were present during the procedure.

Perper tells the New York Daily News, “Two embalmers did the work. The body was put in a black plastic bag and sealed with evidence tape. It’s in a refrigerator under lock and key.”

The pathologist said there were “some minor deterioration changes”, but insisted they won’t affect her viewing appearance.

Perper added, “She was a beautiful person. She’s going to look like she looked in life.”

Smith’s companion HOWARD K STERN, is set to testify in a Fort Lauderdale courtroom on Tuesday about her wishes to be buried in the Bahamas alongside her late son, DANIEL.

Meanwhile, Smith’s estranged mother, VIRGIE ARTHUR, is also fighting for her remains and wants her daughter to be buried in her native Texas.

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Looks like Playboy is looking to dress men.

Reuters is reporting that the legendary company is planning to design a menswear line, including T- -shirts, jackets and swimwear, which come adorned with the Playboy bunny logo.

The line was debuted at the Magic Marketplace Apparel Trade Show in Las Vegas last week.

Contrary from the Playboy’s female apparel, them menswear will emphasize cool instead of sexy.

“If they (young males) can’t gain access to the Playboy mansion, then they’ll buy a T-shirt that makes them feel like they’re affiliated with the lifestyle,” said Aaron Duncan, Playboy’s creative director of licensing.

Natalie Reid, a Paris Hilton look-alike from Winnipeg, MB, is set to appear in a nude Playboy pictorial this month.

The Calgary Sun reports that the August issue of the magazine will feature a six-page spread of Reid, cheekily titled “One Night as Paris”.

“I think it’s going to lead to a lot of opportunities,” said the 21-year-old ex-stripper. “I still want to pursue modeling but I really want to get into acting.”

Hilton herself has reportedly turned down some hefty offers to appear in Playboy.

And though Hilton really doesn’t need the cash, Reid wouldn’t be doing too badly without Playboy’s cash either. She said that a single scheduled appearance can earn her up to $2,000 US.

Unlike Hilton, however, Reid has had total control over the public release of her naked pictures (no videos have surfaced as of yet).

“It’s really gorgeous and very classy and it’s very tasteful,” she said of the photo spread. “A lot of celebrities and top models have done Playboy, so it’s pretty exciting.”

Pop princess Ashlee Simpson has turned down a $4 million US offer to pose nude in Playboy.

However, the singer and younger sister of Jessica Simpson is said to have seriously considered the offer, according to the UK’s Life Style Extra.

The younger Simpson’s publicist, Rob Shuter, confirmed that she received and subsequently rejected the proposal.

Not all agree with her decision, though, including a source close to Ashlee.

“This may be the perfect time for her to do it,” the source told In Touch Weekly magazine. “It could be one way for her to separate her image from Jessica’s.”