Conger's been going back before the cameras to tell the world that posing au naturel for Hef's people was more than just lucrative (she was reportedly paid six figures to flash her physique in the current issue) -- it was highly moral (she did it for the sake of her family). In fact, she claims, doffing her duds was downright American.

"'Opportunistic' has a negative connotation. But when did taking advantage of an opportunity become a negative thing to do?" Conger inquired Wednesday night on "Extra." "Especially in this land, the land of opportunity!"

In other words: This land is your land. This land is my land. This land is made for Conger to milk her moment on TV.

Yep, Conger may be in it for the long haul. She is, she says, in talks to host her own TV show. "Obviously, I'm not going right back into the nursing field," she explains. "I have some developments possibly for my own show that would showcase my background in nursing and current health issues ... Things are in the fire."

And out of the frying pan.

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Wild horses couldn't drag him away ...

"He bought the flat next door and knocked a hole through the dining room wall when I was away. I can't get rid of him. I'm making him move. I said to him, 'Look, it's 11 months and you've got to get your own place.'"

-- Jerry Hall on Mick Jagger's separation issues, on "Good Morning America."

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Breaking up is hard to do

Elizabeth Hurley wants the world to know -- she dumped Hugh.

Sure, giving Hugh Grant the ol' heave-ho after more than a decade together was like "amputating my left arm," she says in the August issue of Talk. But although she was "terribly upset at first," after a while "it seemed fine."

"Ultimately, we realized that there had to be something lacking, because after 13 years together we still didn't want to get married and start a family. That was a bit weird," she admits. "I think we've both been unhappy for some time. Maybe it's a feeling that there might be something more."

The separation, she contends, "is us trying to discover if what we've had is indeed as good as it gets."

Though she admits that she still longs to call him "every five minutes," she has little hope of reconciliation. Instead, she's looking for a little more passion. "I'd love to be swept off my feet and to gallop wildly into the sunset."

Presumably with someone on a horse.

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So that's how life is ...

"I did that to get through college. I was really good at it. I'd say, 'I ran out of gas and I locked my purse in my car and I just need $20 to go back and put gas in my car.' And I would get it."

-- Macy Gray on her talent for panhandling, in Entertainment Weekly.

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Oscar night's biggest loser

Note to Billy Crystal: You've hurt Halle Berry. Deeply.

Finding herself the butt of the comedian's jokes during the Oscars left the actress feeling like she was the real victim in her hit-and-run car accident last February.

"I was sitting there crying, like, they're making a joke and this is my life and I didn't do it," the actress tells InStyle magazine.

The next day, she rang up her good buddy Warren Beatty, and despite the fact that his pregnant wife was ready to pop and he'd just won the biggest award of his career, engaged him in a little chat about herself.

"I said, 'Did you hear that terrible thing he said about me last night?' And he goes, 'I was there, yeah, I heard it.' And I say, 'That was awful, wasn't it?' And he says, 'No, Halle, all that means is you're famous. Get over it.'"

Leave it to Bulworth to tell it like it is.

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And they're off

In a galaxy far, far away ... "Star Wars: Episode II" started filming -- on June 27, 2000, three years to the day after "Episode I: The Phantom Menace" went into production.

"I felt like it was the first day of school, except I knew everyone in the class," casting director Robin Gurland told StarWars.com, the film series' official site.

But a comment from a confused George Lucas bodes somewhat worse: "It's hard for me to remember if I'm still shooting 'Episode I,' the 'Special Edition,' the DVD, or 'Episode II.'"

Where's the Force when he needs it?

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Juicy bits

Looks like those death threats sent to Posh Spice and her hubby may have been an inside job. The BBC reports that Scotland Yard has arrested the couple's former babysitter, Mark Niblett, in connection with a threatening letter, which included a defaced photo of Her Poshness with a hand-drawn bullet hurtling toward her head. Niblett reportedly turned himself in to the police for questioning. Lucky for them -- it coulda been anyone ...

Um ... should Cindy Crawford be flattered? Upscale retailer Henri Bendel is putting out the word that the cow sculpture in front of its Fifth Avenue store -- part of New York City's Cows on Parade display -- was modeled after the beauty-marked supermodel herself. "The mouth, the lips and the beauty mark are all hers," Bendel spokesman Justin Popovics tells me, "but not that long tongue sticking out of the cow's mouth." I'm sure Cindy'll be relieved to hear it.

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