November 19 – That group of tall, blonde thin people at Christie’s for the Tibet House auction were having a bit of a pre-holiday family reunion. Uma Thurman, her brothers Mipam and Ganden, and former model mother Nena were there because dad/husband Robert Thurman is Tibet House director. He’s also a Columbia University professor. We got a kick out of the gossip going around that the protective Thurman brothers want to thrash Uma’s cheating husband Ethan Hawke. Uma can kick butt herself – haven’t they seen Kill Bill Vol. 1?

We heard more about family bonds later that evening at the National Book Awards, when Stephen King praised his college-sweetheart wife Tabitha’s unwavering support of his writing career, even during their early years of living in a trailer with an annual income of $6,000. In his speech, King didn’t shy away from the controversy surrounding his award – many have criticized the National Book Foundation’s decision to recognize popular, best-selling authors for the first time. King said that although he’ll never have the talent to be a “literary” author, he’s still a good writer.