A Little of the Old In and Out

In: Kaballah gibberish tatoos. In her rush to emulate the Material Girl (who, apparently, is no longer materialistic) Britney Spears made a boo-boo, according to the 3 AM girls:

"The 22-year-old has had a series of Hebrew symbols etched into the back of her neck in an act of devotion to Kabbalah, the mystical form of Judaism she was introduced to by Madonna.

"But unfortunately for her they are absolute gibberish.

"Says a source: 'She had hoped it would say new year or new era. It seems she's got the words the wrong way round."

Oops she did it again (we couldn't resist).

Out: Fashionweekdaily reports that Plum Sykes may, finally, have found her plum pudding, I mean, prince charming:

"Has Plum Sykes, 34, finally found her prince? Sources close to the Bergdorf Blondes author tell us she may be getting engaged soon to erstwhile Internet entrepreneur Toby Rowland. The 35-ish Rowland is the son of the late Tiny Rowland, a British press baron who owned Britain�s The Observer newspaper at one point. Toby, who was engaged once before, to an American, started an Internet company at the height of the dot com boom, but his company went down when the bubble burst; before that he worked for Disney."

Not the freshest catch, Plum, darling: Rowland was head of something called Clickmango, an online health site that went bust ... can the air of impatient superiority that surrounds you support such an association?

In: Art wars. Who wins? Us! Those crafty Page Sixers report that Sotheby's and Christy's are going all out this week:

"Both are holding their major Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary art sales. On the block is between $400 million and $500 million worth of art. Each auction house has gambled millions of dollars guaranteeing owners minimum prices, whether their artworks sell or not. The excitement starts tomorrow with Christie's Impressionist and Modern art sale featuring, among others, Modigliani, Monet, Chagall and Picasso."

Seriously, though, if any of you want to hook me up with George Braques Bouteille et Verre ( a steal, BTW, at $1.2 million to $1.6 million), I wouldn't have a problem.

Out: Teenage Exhibitionism. Daphne Merkin in today's New York Magazine brings us up to scoop on what the private school kids are doing (Is there a NY Mag private school beat?). And, as far as I am concerned, it makes my old UN School spitball embarassment moments look fucking miniscule in comparison:

"In the latest instance of a teenager attempting to convey her hotness factor, a Horace Mann eighth-grader used a digital camera to tape herself masturbating and simulating oral sex, then e-mailed the gawkily explicit video�which resembles an audition for a pedophiliac porn film�to a male classmate she had a crush on. The boy in question chivalrously rushed the three-minute clip onto the Web, and its contents quickly made the private-school circuit."

Damn. Kids are cruel.

In: Guy Ritchie; Lourdes: Language Maven: Einstein. According to the Austrian Magazine Woman, via Ananova, Madge says of her husband:

"'My husband was always a scientific type and a total Darwinist when I met him. He was never interested in spiritual things like God and the Bible. But Kabbalah is based on scientific facts and that captured his analytical mind.

"'My daughter also attends her own spiritual course every Saturday where she learns about sharing and the power of her words. It's changed her a lot - she doesn't overreact as much anymore,' she said."

So your baby is a sorceress and your hubby is a mad genius. Gee, the Kaballa has really made Madonna down to earth.

Out: Sofia and Quentin are officially an item. A gawker stalker breaks it all down for us. Check it out, apparently, "They like each other quite a bit, actually. It's all been rather peasy."

In: Russia. All that corrupt cash floating around, not to mention the spikey hair, the gel, the loose women -- get me a flight. According to Nick Charles of Fashionwiredaily, "No wonder Vanity Fair-y George Wayne has not returned from a jaunt to Russia. According to Lotus co-owner and party poohbah Mark Baker, Moscow is the place to be these days, and a Moscow branch of Lotus isn�t far off. Apparently the city is crawling with newly-minted billionaires who love anything that smacks of American-style glamour, and Moscow fashion week has become a must. Baker is also helping Russian aristo-model Natalia Vodianova channel some of the cash to a good cause and establish a children�s foundation with a Calvin Klein fashion show planned for the Moscow launch. As for George, he is still 'missing' somewhere on the Volga. After persistent reports of perk fests in the name of Vanity, is there a home to come back to?"

The Corsair prediction: Wayne will return in a few weeks with a harrowing story of partying with ukranian cossak crime lords and Moldavian slave-boytoys. All in time for the VF's next issue: That crezzy GW.

Out: Writers and envy. Carl Swanson on Elvis Mitchell in NY Mag:

"'Elvis has this sort of Candide-like air about him,' says Outside executive editor Jay Stowe, who edited Mitchell at Spin (yes, he worked there, too). It�s not na�vet�, exactly, but an aura of doing what he wants and seeming surprised, in all innocence, when people take offense."

Offense or envy?