Lauren Le Vine

Last evening, at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards at Carnegie Hall, Mayor Michael Bloomberg introduced "Media Mogul" Tyra Banks. "Maya Angelou told Tyra to go into politics, but Tyra said ‘I have too many swimsuit pictures for that,'" said Mr. Bloomberg. "That's what I said, but I didn't let it stop me... She is 6'2" in heels—something else we have in common."

When Ms. Banks took the stage, she thanked her mother and shared her particular brand of TyraWisdom with the teenage girls seated in the balcony: "If you have a dream and you have a goal; if you knock on that front door, and they won't let you in, go through the back door. And if the back door is locked; go through the cellar, or go through the basement. And if that's locked, climb through the window, but get in. So sometimes, the way that things may come to pass, and you have to figure out a way to get yourself up in there."

If there's one thing this Glamour ceremony can be counted on for, it's getting the sentimentality (and the waterworks) flowing. And so the evening—which also honored three of the seven female Nobel Peace Prize winners, Senator Hillary Clinton, primatologist Jane Goodall, and artist Kara Walker—was long on inspirational, feel-good stories and short on irony. (Not a bad thing!)  read more »

Last evening, at the Saks Fifth Avenue-sponsored launch for Key to the Cure campaign at Top of the Rock, the Daily Transom shared an ear-popping elevator ride with actress Blythe Danner, whose daughter, Gwyneth Paltrow, is the Entertainment Industry Foundation's 2008 ambassador for the campaign. We wondered whether Ms. Danner had any shopping tips, should we head to Saks (or, more likely, H&M) this weekend. "I leave the fashion to my daughter," she said. And [my sweater] was a costume from a movie that I did called The Last Kiss. I recycle everything. Well, you know, it's probably a good idea especially in this economy."  

Katie Lee Joel, sans her Piano Man husband, had some tips for eating well despite the lean times. "It's the only thing we've been talking about at our house lately," she said. "I think recession food's kind of my specialty. At the Burger Bash Friday night I made my ‘Recession Burgers'...it's a very thin burger with American cheese on grilled white bread. Wonder Bread is fine...any white bread, just as long as you put a lot of butter on it...it's good." A friend of Ms. Joel nodded emphatically as a trickle of drool threatened to escape down his chin.

Becki Newton, who looked tiny and chic in a shiny black dress with gathered ribbon pleating on the back, reminisced about her days at our mutual alma mater. "I did costumes for the musicals because I was actually too nervous to be an actress at Penn! I had to wait until I was 22 and in New York to try to be an actress."   read more »

Matteo Garrone’s Gomorrah, a documentary-like depiction of the brutal Camorra organized crime regime that rules the southern Campania region of Italy, screened to a small audience—including Martin Scorsese, Steve Buscemi, Stanley Tucci, Nick Pileggi, John Turturro, and Gay Talese—Friday evening, followed by a dinner discussion at Osteria del Circo. (Mr. Buscemi told the Daily Transom he found the film "beautiful," adding, “I’m still digesting it.”)

The film, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, will be released in the United States in February. Mr. Talese had been asked to lead the discussion; his 1971 book Honor Thy Father is about the New York-based Bonnano crime family. “It’s a very depressing film, but it will show in New York at a time when everyone’s depressed about business, and it’s a business in the film of money," Mr. Talese told the Daily Transom. "You know how many times you saw someone counting money? The money in this film didn’t lead to anything. It was visibly detracting.”  read more »

Late Tuesday evening, The Daily Transom headed to the Lower East Side, where John Mayer performed a "secret" midnight show at Mercury Lounge. Mr. Mayer was extremely loquacious between songs, but the notorious oversharer remained mum about Perez Hilton's recent allegations about him on Howard Stern's radio show. Mr. Mayer did, however, remark to the small audience—which included comedians Sherrod Small and James Smith—that "the sweat stains on my shirt predict McCain will win." The "subversive hipster crowd" (as Mr. Mayer dubbed the audience) booed, and he smirked and continued, "He's the juice box fortune heir, right? This is the worst segue into 'Waiting on the World to Change' ever.  read more »

The Daily Transom felt a bit odd ascending to the penthouse at Highbar to celebrate the launch of a new ad campaign for DOW XLA-a new material that's supposed to be a better choice to put in denim than Lycra and Spandex-featuring Bijou Phillips. After all, now is not exactly the time to think about purchasing premium denim. (To add insult to stock-plunging injury, we could actually see the ill-fated Lehman Brothers' headquarters from the rooftop lounge.) In honor of our fallen i-bankers, we donned somber apparel and figured we'd get some tips from some of New York's most sartorially savvy on how to look like more when you're working with (sigh) less.

As the MisShapes DJ'ed for the eclectic crowed of fedora'ed hipsters and fashion editors, a sullen Leigh Lezark - who said she was feeling under the weather (too much partying during Fashion Week, perhaps?)  - advised, "Don't buy...I've been digging old crap out of my closet and trying not to buy unnecessary stuff."  read more »

On Sunday, August 31, polo player and contractor Michael Borrico's Water Mill estate was host to Evian's lavish "A Taste of Polo" event. A breathless press release had assured us there would be "celebrities, chefs, polo players, and tennis stars in town for the US Open," and some of those promised to be in attendance trotted out their summer whites for the final time this season. (The tennis stars, however, were nowhere to be found.)  read more »

On Saturday evening, 600 of the Hamptons' most philanthropic horse fans donned their finest black apparel and gathered for a somber twilight benefit at photographer Steven Klein's West Kill Farm in Bridgehampton. The "MANE" Event was co-chaired by Gwyneth Paltrow and Mr. Klein, and Madonna served as the evening's honorary chairperson (even though she's currently in London).

The candlelit affair began at dusk on the grassy field behind Mr. Klein's house. A haunting string refrain played on repeat, to the point where the Daily Transom felt a bit like we were caught in Requiem for a Dream, a feeling that only increased as the sun set completely and we could no longer find anyone (maybe the black dress code wasn't the best idea.  read more »

The Daily Transom had never experienced Jonas Brothers mania in its purest form until we journeyed to their concert at the Ross School in East Hampton on Saturday, August 9. The Jonas Brothers are a Disney-promoted band of three brothers from Wyckoff, New Jersey--youngest brother Nick, who is 15, used to date Miley Cyrus and is now dating Disney star Selena Gomez (to Ms. Cyrus's chagrin, it is claimed); they tour with another Disney star named Demi Lovato; they are cute, but they are also Evangelical Christians and wear Promise Rings, so parents do not have to worry that their famously tight pants mean they will be talking about scary things like Sex and Drugs.  read more »

Twenty minutes to curtain…

Dad: This should be great! I loved The Producers! And I don’t really care for musical theater!

Mom: This should be great! I loved The Producers! And I love musical theater!

Brother: I’m going to judge the entire show based on the first number.

Me: The Producers was really funny … but can a show based on a gothic novel that has been misinterpreted since its publication be anywhere near as good?

Dad: Maybe we should have made the kids see the movie before the show …

It begins …

Me: Okay … interesting set, costumes and lighting ….  read more »