August 1-7 – First-time author Pamela Anderson unveiled her brainy side with the release of her novel, Star, and Open All Night bounced around with Pam on her promotional tour. In Midtown Manhattan, Wall Street, Ridgewood, N.J., and then in Hollywood, it was heartwarming to see balding, middle-aged guys get so excited about reading! We expect that Pam’s next book will be a hard-hitting expose of corruption in the oyster-fishing industry, because on Saturday at the Hollywood Virgin MegaStore, it was obvious she was immersed in research, wearing a t-shirt with the slogan “Shuck me. Suck me. Eat me raw.”

Another new author, General Tommy Franks, let his liberal side peek out of the closet while signing copies of his new book, American Soldier, at a Manhattan bookstore. When organizers wanted to move an untended purse, they asked Franks if it was his. “No”, he replied. “Well, wait, maybe it is. Don’t ask, don’t tell.”

We doubt it has anything to do with Gen. Franks, but we joined Nicolas Cage, Ethan Hawke and Jared Leto in Brooklyn on the set of a movie called Lord of War. Hawke was about to head back to the set after posing for pictures with star-struck fans when someone pointed out a woman who’d been waiting patiently, and asked, “What about her?” Hawke agreed to greet the woman, saying, “I’m an honorable man.” That’s what Uma thought.

One functional showbiz family – Whitney Houston, Bobby Brown and their daughter Bobbi – joined Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews at the premiere of The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, in Anaheim.

With Jen Lowery in Los Angeles