Aubrey O’Day, former member of the Diddy-created girl group Danity Kane, is featured on the cover and in the pages of the March issue of Playboy magazine. Early last month, we heard from Aubrey herself that she had already shot her Playboy pics but remained coy on when we might expect to see the mag on newsstands. Extra! TV got their hands on a copy of the mag and provide us with our first look at Aubrey’s new career as a Playboy pin-up:

As you may recall, Diddy announced that he kicked Aubrey out of Danity Kane in the season finale of Making the Band 4 last year. Citing his disapproval for her “too sexy” image, Diddy felt that she was no longer a good fit for his girl group … so naturally, the first thing that Aubrey does after getting kicked out of the group is pose nekkid in a men’s magazine. Sounds about right. Of this new photospread in Playboy, Aubrey was quoted as saying, “You could never imagine how empowering it is to be nude in front of cameras” … I guess this is proof of that empowerment. I understand that this issue of Playboy magazine hits newsstands this Friday. Make sure you get to your bookstores/newsstands early … I expect there to be a huge stampede of folks clamoring for this issue. Are any of y’all planning on picking up this issue?

UPDATE: After the jump, check out a high res versions of the cover and one photo of Aubrey O’Day in Playboy magazine …

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Here is our first look at the new promo photo released by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences that features Hugh Jackman, who will be host of the upcoming 81st Annual Academy Awards which will air on ABC on Sunday February 22:

I am quite thrilled that Hugh will be hosting this year’s Oscars … I have NO DOUBT that he will do an amazing job. You may recall that Hugh Jackman hosted the Tony Awards a couple of years ago and he did a pretty outstanding job back then. To be honest, just getting to see Hugh Jackman on TV for 3+ hours on Oscar night is enough to get me to wanna watch. Woot! I cannot wait. Rumor has it that David and I are gonna host an Oscar/Snuggie party … stay tuned!

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Life & Style magazine is reporting that Mandy Moore and Ryan Adams, who dated for part of 2008 and then broke up after media scrutiny about the pair intensified once word of their relationship got out, are now engaged to be wed. The magazine cites “a close friend of Mandy’s” with spilling the news. If the magazine is correct, then it looks like R-Andy M-Adams are not only together again — but they are gettin’ hitched!

Mandy Moore and her singer-songwriter boyfriend, Ryan Adams, are engaged, a close friend of Mandy’s tells Life & Style. Mandy, 24, and Ryan, 34, who have been on and off since last March, were spotted grocery shopping in LA yesterday — and Mandy was sporting a ring on her engagement finger! “She is so excited about their engagement but admits it’s been a whirlwind. She’s really happy,” the friend tells Life & Style. Mandy was most recently linked to ex-boyfriend DJ AM after running to be with him following the plane crash he endured with Travis Barker in September. Mandy and AM called it quits in December. Shortly after, Mandy returned to her now-fiancé, Ryan. A rep for Mandy declined to comment.

While I don’t necessarily believe these sorts of reports right off the bat … the fact that Mandy’s rep declined to comment seems fishy. Generally when reports like this are not true, the reps say so. HMMM. Oh, and for the record, the above photo is from last summer when the pair started going out together in public. I would not be surprised at all if Mandy and Ryan decided to get hitched. Firstly, it was widely believed that Ryan nicknamed Mandy “bug” and used that name when he talked about her or to her on his now defunct blog … then, he dedicated his book of poetry Infinity Blues to “bug”. Mandy has started blogging on her official site and there are pictures of Ryan interspersed in her personal pics … Ryan, too, has started blogging again on the Cardinals official website and, lo and behold, Mandy shows up in various photos there as well. At the very least, we know they’re hanging out together again … is it really so hard to think they might be gettin’ hitched?

UPDATE: Woot! It’s official! Mandy’s rep is now confirming that YES she and Ryan Adams are engaged to be wed. Congrats!! I can’t wait to see those wedding photos.

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]

Pink reader Christine sent in a bunch of really adorable yet very sad photos from Australia that show a few koala bears suffering from the intense heat generated by the deadly brushfires that have ravaged the country (and destroyed their natural habitats) in the past few days. The photos are just too heartbreaking not to share … which I figured could be a great way to let people know that they can donate money to the Australian Red Cross to help those in need who have been affected by these deadly brushfires:

The 2009 Victorian Bushfire Fund to assist individuals and communities affected by devastating bushfires in Victoria has been launched by the Premier John Brumby in partnership with Red Cross and the Federal Government. An independent panel made up of community leaders will oversee the appeal Fund’s operation. Donations are continuing to flow in via the website and phone, and there has also been an overwhelmingly generous response from corporate Australia. Donations can be made using our secure online donations form.

Aussies of ALL kinds need our help right now, I think it would be amazing if those of us who can afford to help stepped up to offer whatever aid we can. I have already sent in my donation to the Aussie Red Cross. I know that our friends down under would really appreciate any help we can provide.

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Yesterday afternoon, I made the trek over the hill to go back into the Valley to do the last bit of cleaning at my old apartment before I turn in the keys this weekend. It’s so strange … now that I live on this side of the hill the thought of having to go over into the Valley seems like such an ordeal. It’s a trip that I would make on almost a daily basis when I lived in North Hollywood … now, it’s like a road trip. I wanted to make sure to vacuum the place before handing over the keys … and I gotta admit, I got a little choked up standing in empty old place:

Good ol’ #104 was my first LA home … I’ve spent a lot of time in that one bedroom … I’m really gonna miss it ;(

But, our new place is so huge and so amazing … I can’t look back now ;)

Not sure what’s going on tonight … I have a few people I’d like to see so I have some planning to take care of. The sun is shining beautifully today, which is really nice … I hear the rain is coming back just in time for VD this weekend. Ugh.

• Dr. McSteamy is workin’ on makin’ a baby.
• Uh oh. What did Prince Harry say this time?
• Brad Paisley garnered the most ACM nominations this year.
• McG hints that Thom Yorke may offer a new song for the soundtrack of Terminator: Salvation.
• The artist who inspired the new Green Day album artwork for 21st Century Breakdown explains his inspiration for his original art piece.
• Best In Show.
• Batwoman becomes DC Comics‘ first gay superhero.
• Levi’s just keeps unbuttoning, I keep approving.
• Jake Gyllenhaal didn’t use steroids to get his Prince of Persia bulk.
• Bar Refaeli poses with her SI Swimsuit Issue cover.
• Some SI Swimsuit Issue models don’t even need swimsuits.
• Salma Hyaek shows just how much she loves being a mother.
• Jennifer Aniston is 40 years old today.
• Kelly Rowland (Destiny’s Child) is 28, Matthew Lawrence (Boy Meets World) is 29, Brandy is 30 and Burt Reynolds is 73 years old today. Click HERE to see who else is celebrating a birthday today.
• Oasis to play China.
• Del Marquis of Scissor Sisters talks about his solo project.
• 50 Rock Stars who Twitter.

TMZ has come upon new photos of the now-impounded Lamborghini that Chris Brown rented last weekend. As reports have been suggesting, this was the car that Rihanna and Chris Brown were last seen in together in the moments before the infamous alleged assault took place in the early hours of Sunday morning. Here are a couple pics of the car in police impound which appear to show fingerprint dust on the door handles:

TMZ has obtained photos of Chris Brown’s rented Lamborghini at the police impound yesterday — and it appears to have been dusted for fingerprints. We’re told the black dirt all over the car is residue from when the cops searched it for fingerprints. Brown reportedly abandoned the Lamborghini after his alleged altercation with Rihanna on Sunday morning.

Clearly the LAPD is working hard to collect as much evidence as they can before handing the case over to the prosecutor’s office for further charges. I just really hope that the truth eventually comes to light and punishment is doled out as necessary. I suspect we’ll be hearing about formal charges, if any, in the coming week. This case is too high profile for the authorities governing this case to stay silent for long.

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