Bette Midler

While Allison Sarofim's annual Halloween party took place the weekend before Halloween, most people celebrated on the actual day since this year it fell on Friday--and there were plenty of masquerades and balls for New York's socials to attend. Some stopped by the several parties going on around town, while others camped out and grazed on bottle service at one location. Here's the Daily Transom's roundup of who went where, as what, and with whom, based on some careful perusal of the Patrick McMullan website. 

The biggest socialite turn-out seemed to be at the Rose Bar at the Gramercy Park Hotel, where the bar's creative director Nur Khan and One Management modeling agency president Scott Lipps threw a Halloween party hosted by Jeremy Piven and model Jessica Hart. The costumes trended to the traditional, with Fabiola Beracasa and Genevieve Jones dressed as nurses, Alex Kramer as a school girl, Julia Restoin Roitfeld as a sexy maid, and Russian designer and gallerist Dasha Zhukova as a sailor.  read more »

For her "Hulaween" party this year, which benefits her New York Restoration Project, Bette Midler wore a white chef's costume (complete with toque) splayed with fake blood, and carried a cleaver. "If factory food doesn't start changing its ways, people are going to start dying in the streets. Amputations and blindness isn't any fun," Ms. Midler announced to the press assemblage. (The chef Alice Waters would be honored that evening for her advocacy of locally produced food.)

Later, finding Ms. Midler chatting with a family of fans dressed as the Palins, the Daily Transom asked her if there would be any Songs for the New New Depression, now that the boom is over. "I have a job—I'm in Vegas all year round, so I'm not worried," the songstress replied. Ms. Midler would only say that it was "thrilling" to have a fellow Hawaiian a hair away from the presidency.  read more »

At Michael Kors' 10 a.m. fashion show Wednesday, Blake Lively was the obligatory Gossip Girl representative on hand, looking maddeningly fresh. Several seats down, Heidi Klum, Rachel Zoe and actress Joy Bryant chummed it up, snapping pictures and covered their mouths when they spoke to each other (the better to avoid their comments being printed in stories like this one?).

This being a Michael Kors show, almost everyone in the fashion industry who is also involved with reality television was in attendance. A sampling: Ms. Klum is Mr. Kors' co-star on Project Runway, while Ms. Zoe recently visited Mr. Kors on her own reality show, The Rachel Zoe Project, to find a dress for her client, Ms. Bryant!  read more »

Quite the turnout for Jill Stuart's Spring 2009 show this morning: Beth Ostrosky next to Kelly Killoren Bensimon, actress Lindsay Price next to Michelle Trachtenberg next to Zoe Saldana next to The MisShapes' Leigh Lezark, and Bette Midler next to photographer and Top Model judge Nigel Barker.

"I'm training for the marathon so I'm busy running every day and I'm sneaking away for only my favorite shows," said Ms. Ostrosky, who will be getting hitched to Howard Stern next month. (Designer Georgina Chapman, that's Harvey Weinstein's wife, is in the process of designing the wedding gown.)

"I told her that Howard loves it when I dress sexy, I love girly, and then she's got her own style so I said just incorporate all of those three things!" Ms.  read more »

This week, Newsweek.com's Karen Springen interviews blogger-turned-author Stephanie Klein about her new memoir, Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp. It's an intensely personal interview. At one point, Ms. Klein, whose previous book was called Straight Up and Dirty, is asked, "When you were a kid, your legs' chafing together caused red itchy bumps that your mom called 'chub rub,' and boys at school called you 'Moose.' Was the name-calling the worst part about being overweight?"

Yeah, that was the hardest part, was all the cruelty. It wasn't just name-calling. We'd play spin the bottle, and if the bottle landed on me, the guy would ask for a do-over. There you are trying so hard to fit in as an adolescent. Back then they didn't have stores where they had fashionable plus-size clothes. I'd have to wear clothes that were not cool and hip.

Asked how she feels about herself now, Ms. Klein says, "I could stand to lose 10 or 15 pounds, but honestly, I'm happy the way I am. I feel comfortable with it. I'd rather have that extra 10, 15 pounds on me than live a lifestyle of trying to sustain this unattainable weight."  read more »

In the latest clip in what we like to call the "Candid Katie" series on YouTube, Ms. Couric gets down with Bette Midler at a ‘60s-themed benefit on the Lower East Side.  read more »

On Wednesday, April 25, at around 9:30 p.m., scraggily-haired screenwriter Bruce Vilanch—best known for his uncanny ability to write mildly entertaining material for presenters at the Academy Awards—arrived at the Bellavitae restaurant in the West Village. He had just finished performing as part of the ensemble cast of Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell at the Minetta Lane Theatre.  read more »

You know the drill: The Prospect Park Audubon Center offers the kids some  “interactive exhibits” (let’s hope that doesn’t include that baboon family) with music, crafts and general whoop-de-do.  read more »

GO, SHORTY, IT'S YOUR EARTH DAY: You know the drill: The Prospect Park Audubon Center offers the kids some “interactive exhibits” (let’s hope that doesn’t include that baboon family) with music, crafts and general  read more »

Is there a better way to buy a marina restaurant than on eBay? Not only is it right near Bette Midler’s boat house, but La Marina Restaurant and Club is also the "#1 seller of Presidente Beer outside of the Dominican Republic."

The Real Estate consciously decided not to fact-check that statement before publishing, but we can't imagine it not being true. Anyway, there are only 21 days left to bid.  read more »

-Michael Calderone

"Everything old is new again," sings Hugh Jackman in The Boy From Oz , stopping the show nightly on  read more »

The hideously ungroovy clouds of war, terrorism and potential nuclear Armageddon are casting a pall  read more »

Mission ImpossibleRefusing to accept the theory that everybody's tired of space movies, Brian De Pal  read more »

Rewriting Jackie SusannIt's too early to predict the worst movie of the year 2000, but it's safe to  read more »

Nutcracker ticketholders are undoubtedly relieved that the New York City Ballet reached a settlement  read more »

Live Music Returns to City Ballet The two-week New York City Ballet orchestra strike ended Tuesday a  read more »

The Hour Is NyeAn Ultra Brite smile broke through the dark mass of Rolling Stone owner Jann Wenner's  read more »