In Brief

By Lev Grossman

BRANDON ON THE BLOCK The show is over--let the bidding begin! After 10 long, torrid years, the hit TV sitcom Beverly Hills, 90210 is in its final season on Fox. But bereaved fans can console themselves at AsSeenIn.com a website that's putting costumes, props and sets from the show up for auction online. Among the big-ticket items are Dylan's 1963 Triumph motorcycle, a Betsey Johnson dress worn by Donna, and a jukebox, right, from the characters' perennial hangout, the Peach Pit. The bidding begins May 1. Proceeds go to the Cosmetic Surgery Fund for Aging Teen Stars. Just kidding.

HUBBLE HOOPLA After a troubled pre-adolescence, the now focused Hubble Space Telescope marked its 10th birthday last week. In honor of that out-of-this-world event, the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md., has--what else?--launched a new website called HubbleSite hubble.stsci.edu) where surfers can study the telescope's history, browse Hubble trivia (it has circled Earth 58,400 times), learn more about the cosmos and, of course, view some of the spectacular images the telescope has collected. Quasars and pulsars and supernovas, oh my!

BIZKIT AS USUAL The great promise of the Net--free distribution--has been a nightmare for the music industry. Record companies and artists are worried lest websites let consumers download pirated music for free. But while the big music labels have reacted with lawsuits--including one that last week determined music site mp3.com had violated copyright laws--one band is taking a different path. Limp Bizkit has decided to let Napster, whose software has become a college favorite for playing pirated tunes, sponsor a series of free concerts in July. Says band front man Fred Durst: "We could care less about the older generation's need to do business as usual." At least as long as the records sell.

--By Lev Grossman