The 50th Anniversary of Asterix and Obelix – Every time Asterix and Obelix go to sea, they meet pirates, and every time they meet the pirates, they duff them up. And every time, an elderly ruffian clings to the wreckage of his ship and splutters out a Latin tag. Fifty years ago, he could usefully have quoted Virgil: “magnus ab integro saeclorum nascitur ordo” – a great order of the ages is born. In any case, Asterix was born 50 years ago, and he was part of a French renaissance. [telegraph]

The Insanely Rich Kid Next Door – For proof that Silicon Valley is home to an especially clubby concentration of wealth, just take a short walk down a stretch of Palo Alto road. The one where Facebook’s young paper billionaire lives next to a young YouTube millionaire. [gawker]

Pirate Hijack: Chandler Family Told To Pay Ransom – The family of a British couple feared to have been snatched by pirates near Somalia have been warned they have little choice but to pay a ransom. Retired quantity surveyor Paul Chandler, 59, and his wife Rachel, 55, disappeared after sailing from the Seychelles towards Tanzania. [sky]

The First Marriage – Another Washington dusk, another motorcade, another intimate evening played out in public view. On Oct. 3, just a day after their failed Olympics bid in Copenhagen, Barack and Michelle Obama slipped into a Georgetown restaurant for one of their now-familiar date nights: this time, to toast their 17th wedding anniversary. [nytimes]

Lindsay Lohan is Going To India – Hollywood starlet Lindsay Lohan is coming to India to shoot a documentary about child trafficking. The ‘Mean Girls’ star has teamed up with the BBC and is set to travel to India next month to front a show highlighting the plight of deprived children in the country. The 23-year-old was inspired to support more good causes following a meeting with British businessman Richard Branson in Dubai. [hindustantimes]

Brain Scans Will Soon Reveal Exactly What You’re Thinking – You already know what’s on in my mind, but what if you could see exactly what I’m thinking about? Might not be long before you can, because there have been some minor successes in thought decoding technology. [gizmodo]

Versace to Lay Off 350 – Versace is slowly whittling away at its flashy empire. After deciding to close its stores in Japan, the label has announced it will cut 350 jobs by the middle of next year. “Trading conditions in the wake of the global financial crisis have been severe and the company expects to make a loss in 2009,” Versace chief executive officer Gian Giacomo Ferraris said. [nymag]

Trailer for John Lennon Biopic “Nowhere Boy” Debuts – The trailer for Nowhere Boy, a film based on the teenage years of the Beatles‘ John Lennon, debuted this week, just days before its premiere tomorrow at the London Film Festival. The movie, directed by Sam Taylor-Wood, was filmed in Lennon’s boyhood city of Liverpool and stars British actor Aaron Johnson as Lennon. [rollingstone]

Top 7 iPhone Apps for Halloween – Are you ready for Halloween? Is your iPhone? If not, better take a look at this list. I enjoy the one called “zGhost” which lets you see ghosts in the real world. According to the application description “The iPhone camera is actually sensitive enough to pick up the low-glow ectoplasm radiated by Ghosts.” [huffpo]

New Miranda Kerr Bikini Pictures – Summer is coming so bikini fashion is on your mind. It’s on my mind too. So I just thought we should mention these new Miranda Kerr bikini pictures. You remember Miranda, of course? What a stunning young lady! And so down to earth! Very easy on the eye you might say. She would do exceptionally well on Camps Bay beach. Don’t you think? [egotastic]

Ministers’ Bling Days Over? – Cape Town – Public Service Minister Richard Baloyi has hinted that the quality of cars purchased by ministers might be downgraded.He also admitted that it bothers him that large sums of money are spent on buying expensive cars for ministers during a time of economic stringency. [news24]

Kate Moss Fulfills her Followers’ Christmas Wishes With New Collection – Fans of fashion icon Kate Moss certainly won’t have any problem writing their Christmas lists this year. That’s because this week sees the release of the British beauty’s latest Topshop collection, and this time around it’s sexier than ever. Featured alongside statement dresses and jewelled knitwear is Kate’s debut nightwear range. [hellomagazine]

[thanks dad]