Two of Times Square’s notorious costumed mascots have been charged with assault after a cat (and mouse) fight broke out Thursday afternoon between two women playing Minnie Mouse and Hello Kitty.

Twenty-five thousand people of all ages, drunk on cuteness: That was Hello Kitty Con.

Thirty-nine years ago in Japan, Hello Kitty, the global emissary of cuteness, made her public debut. She appeared on a plastic coin purse priced at 240 yen, or about 80 cents.

Hot news out of Japan: Hello Kitty—a stuffed animal that looks like a cat, talks like a cat, and is named after a cat—actually isn't a cat at all.

"Historians called what happened a 'fever,' while lawmakers debated what should be done to end the plushy pussy mayhem." It is not just disappointing, but disconcerting, to find that this story is about a toy giveaway at McDonald's.

The video for "Hello Kitty," the 5th single from the Avril Lavigne album you didn't realize was out, was released on YouTube Monday. It was quickly taken down after a backlash accusing Lavigne of exploiting Asian stereotypes.

Say what you will about Cyber Monday and the surge of online consumerism in the days that follow — it does tend to remove an element of risk from the holiday shopping experience. For example, there's an almost zero percent chance that you'll accidentally stab yourself with a hypodermic needle while browsing brassieres at Wal-Mart if you buy those brassieres with a computer.

Now, you can make all the assumptions you want about 22-year-old pizza restaurant employees who are big fans of Hello Kitty, but it doesn't make them true! Except in the case of Erik Epperson, who allegedly had sex with several underage girls.

After pleading guilty to cocaine possession yesterday, Paris Hilton took a private plane to Japan where the authorities detained her for six hours and grilled her about the drug allegations. If pink-and-girly Paris isn't welcome in Japan, who'll have her?

Colbert has a knack for taking the mundane and turning it on it's head. This time, Colbert found out about Sanrio's diabolical plot to market delicious, fruity wine to minors while simultaneously selling it to adults.

• Jason Wu's Fashion Week show will be the second-hottest ticket in town right behind Marc Jacobs. [NYO]
• Isaac Mizrahi's debut collection for Liz Claiborne is now online and up for sale. [Fashionista]
• Not everyone is excited about Fashion Week moving to Lincoln Center. Like Anna Sui. [NYM]
• Anna Wintour is styling Adele for the Grammys. [NYM]
• Football player Stewart Bradley is interning at Elle. [Fashionista]
• Eric Wilson explains the difference between Hello Kitty and Barbie. [NYT]

Four words: Hello Kitty virtual world.