Talk Nerdy To Me..

Obama Says Health Vote, “Historic” – US President Barack Obama has hailed as “historic” the approval of a health bill by the House of Representatives. He said he was “absolutely confident” the Senate would pass its own version, and that healthcare reforms would become law by the end of the year. [bbc]

Stephanie Seymour Gets Naked In Vanity Fair – Supermodel Stephanie Seymour, who is embroiled in a bitter divorce with estranged husband Peter Brant, has taken her clothes off for Vanity Fair. Brant is a multimillionaire businessman and polo pony breeder who is seeking sole custody of the couple’s three children because, he claims, Seymour is hooked on drugs and booze and has repeatedly cheated on pee tests to hide it. He also claims his estranged wife’s shopping habit costs $257,000 a month. Nice! [huffpo]

Jay-Z Boasts He’s the New Sinatra – JAY-Z started spreadin’ the news in September, and since then he has taken every prominent opportunity to remind us: he has a candidate for a new New York anthem, and he wants our votes. The song, “Empire State of Mind,” breaks down as roughly 50 percent rote Jay-Z chest-beating (“I’m the new Sinatra”), 30 percent tourist-friendly travelogue (“Statue of Liberty, long live the World Trade”) and the rest a glorious Alicia Keys hook. [nytimes]

Toyota Owners Share Their Stories of Nearly Being Killed By Their Cars – You may have heard about how Toyota is recalling 3.8 million of its cars because they have the tendency to accelerate by themselves. Now the LA Times is soliciting Toyota horror stories which may make you never drive again. [gawker]

Why We Look at Some Web Ads and Not Others – Do you think you’re more likely to look at an online ad if it contains 1) a picture, 2) an animation, or 3) just text? The answer: just text. Surprised? Well, now consider the man who was checking his e-mail when he came across a dating-service ad featuring a picture of a bikini-clad woman. He looked at the woman’s face and chest once — and then at the surrounding text five times. [time]

Miss England Gives Up Crown After Bar Brawl Reports – Beauty pageant winner Miss England gave up her title on Friday after reports she had been involved in a nightclub brawl with another beauty queen. Rachel Christie, niece of former British Olympic gold medal sprinter Linford Christie, was arrested earlier this week after allegedly getting into a fight with Miss Manchester, Sara Jones, at a club in the northern English city, newspapers reported. [yahoo]

Volkswagen Phases out CitiGolf After 25 Years – VOLKSWAGEN SA announced yesterday it had formally stopped producing Citi Golfs after assembling the iconic car at its plant in Port Elizabeth for 25 years. David Powels, MD of Volkswagen, said the car maker intended to reveal the Citi Golf’s replacement in February. [allafrica]

Fans Walk Out After Britney’s Miming in Live Concert – Sydney:Pop diva Britney Spears’ fans stormed out of her show in Perth, Australia, Friday night, insisting that the singer was terrible. The exodus began just three songs after fans made it clear they were unhappy with the star’s lacklustre performance and miming. “It was cr*p. She has let us down,” said Josh Blee, a fan. [mynews]

LaToya Jackson Scene From ‘Bruno’ Restored for DVD – After the death of Michael Jackson, a scene in which Sacha Baron Cohen’s ‘Bruno’ pranks his sister LaToya Jackson was removed from the film out of respect for the late singer. [popeater]

Kate Bosworth White Russian – Kate Bosworth wore a stunning white dress (with a fur chubby in hand) to the opening of the Diane von Furstenberg exhibition in Moscow. She finished off her Studio 54 look with Cartier jewelry. [dailybeast]

[thanks cath]