· Ashlee Simpson has apparently read the manual of celebrity pregnancy clichés: On Ryan Seacrest’s KIIS-FM show Thursday morning, Pete Wentz said his new wife craves green olives “on everything.” But we do like Wentz’s rather original metaphor for his impending fatherhood: “It’s like making a record, but knowing you’re going to mix it for the next 18 years of your life.”

· With his 50th birthday looming near, and photographs of himself being transported via wheelchair making the rounds, Michael Jackson is no doubt feeling nostalgic for the ’90s. That explains why he reportedly met with the reunited New Kids on the Block last week to discuss collaborating on his upcoming album.

· David Simon, creator of much-beloved HBO series “The Wire,” is turning his attention from the urban blight of Baltimore to the urban blight of New Orleans. He’s developing a series for HBO called “Treme,” about a Crescent City neighborhood where many musicians live and, of course, suffer at the hands of corrupt politicians and a messy criminal justice system. Cheery stuff!

· A new kind of venue is coming to Brooklyn’s hipster haven, Williamsburg. Peter Shapiro, the man behind New York’s socially conscious jam-band favorite Wetlands (closed since 2001), is building a 20,000 square-foot venue called Brooklyn Bowl, which will feature bowling alleys overlooking a 600-capacity venue. Shapiro said he’s trying to make the club one of the greenest nightspots ever, with initiatives such as banning bottles of beer and water and serving only locally sourced beverages on tap.