Britney Spears, fashion criminal

Kate Hudson having fun

Justin Timberlake & Nelly at P. Diddy's bash

August 29 - The MTV Video Music Awards consumed New York this week. The music world's elite joined Hollywood and fashion meisters for the ceremony and it's accompanying pre-pre, pre, after and after-after events. We caught all the outrageous hype from Britney's all-leather fashion crime to Justin Timberlake arriving solo in hooded sweatshirt (he changed backstage for photo-ops) to Paris Hilton grabbing a street corner hotdog to P. Diddy's "Greatest Party of All Time", with its suede invitations and strict dress code. Come to think of it, how did Britney get in? We've escorted you through the evening - red carpet arrivals, award winners in the pressroom and later at P. Diddy's party at Cipriani.

Moby emotes, above left, on drums, above. DJ Sasha spins, left

August 27 - Techno king Moby made waves on the Hudson River at an outdoor concert kicking off the MTV Video Music Awards. Tickets were scarce for the free MTV-sponsored party on Pier 54, and hordes were turned away. The affable shiny-headed musician reminisced about his "white trash" upbringing in Connecticut, his love for the far West Village - dedicating one song to the neighborhood's transvestite prostitutes, and his teen years playing guitar in his room, wondering if anyone would ever want to hear him play. Ah, the satisfaction. Canadian rockers Our Lady Peace and DJ Sasha warmed up the crowd.

August 26 - Screaming fans lined the streets of a little seaside hamlet known as New York City for the premiere of the Warner Brothers' film City by the Sea. The true story is a drama starring Robert De Niro, Frances McDormand, James Franco, William Forsythe, Patti LuPone and Drena De Niro. Robert De Niro was relaxed, bearded and casually dressed - this is his hometown, after all. The wonderfully quirky McDormand carried a Jon Cougar Mellencamp album she'd just bought from a street vendor. Another New Yorker grabbing lots of attention was Linda Lopez, J. Lo's sister.

August 22 - 24 - Call New York the Big Racket for the next two weeks while the U.S. Open takes over the city. Thursday's pre-tournament event was the International Taste of Tennis charity benefit, in which renowned tennis players and celebrities pair up with acclaimed chefs to cook and serve their favorite dishes. We had an etiquette crisis wondering whether to tip our server Andre Agassi.

On Friday, Tennis magazine's Grand Slam event steamed into Grand Central Station's Vanderbilt Hall, with celebrity tennis matches and other net-related fun. Along with legend Chris Evert, now publisher of Tennis mag, Martina Navratilova, news anchor Stone Phillips and singer Rufus Wainwright smacked balls around the indoor court. Uptown at posh Harry Winston, Serena Williams was presented with a nine-carat diamond and platinum tennis bracelet. During 1987's U.S. Open, Chris Evert's Winston diamond bracelet flew off her wrist, hence the birth of the term "tennis bracelet".

Tennis bigs also made appearances at Niketown, the Puma store, and at the Open's Arthur Ashe Kids Day, where MTV personalities and hot young performers like Mario and BB Mak joined tennis stars like James Blake, Serena Williams, Anna Kournikova, Alexandra Stevenson and Andre Agassi in entertaining the young ones. We had tennis elbow before the matches had even begun.

August 22 - Here's something different: going to the movies to watch TV. HBO held a big New York premiere for it's new movie Hysterical Blindness, airing Sunday, August 25. The film's star Uma Thurman couldn't be there, but sent husband Ethan Hawke to represent. Costars Juliette Lewis, sexy in a tight blue dress, and Gena Rowlands were joined by actors Natasha Richardson, and Bebe Neuwirth, fashion designer and Sex and the City costume mistress Patricia Field, film director Peter Bogdonavich, and others. No need to get dressed up and fork over $10; watch it on HBO.

We got over our hysterical blindness to clearly see that randy Brit Elizabeth Hurley, appearing on The Late Show with David Letterman, has lost the post-natal pudginess.

August 15- The August heat was nothing compared to the assault on ozone levels unleashed at the opening night of the new Broadway sensation Hairspray. The musical's enormous buzz brought out the bigwigs, literally and figuratively - theatergoers in '60s vintage, big hair and drag joined the rich and famous. Leaving air-conditioned TV studios for the premiere were Diane Sawyer, a now-svelte Ricki Lake, who originated the role of chubby Tracy Turnblad in the 1988 movie version, and the NBC Today Show's Katie Couric and Jill Rappaport, sporting a beehive wig and carrying a can of hairspray. Rosie O'Donnell looked hot, literally and figuratively, in a neon green jacket and newly short locks.

Legendary Better Midler, no slouch in the outrageous humor department, was cool as a cucumber. Sarah Jessica Parker learns well; after five seasons of Sex and the City she and hubby Matthew Broderick got it right with junior well on the way. Kathleen Turner, Nathan Lane and rock icon Lou Reed all defied the wilting heat to check out Hairspray. Director John Waters, Hairspray's creator, appeared with heiress Patty Hearst, star of several of his movies. We hope all this humidity keeps our skin fresh; we felt ancient when a young colleague asked who Patty Hearst was. "You know, kidnapped by radicals in 1974." "Never heard of her." Ouch.

August 10 - Career checklist: (1) voice lessons, (2) acting lessons. It seems as though the way to break into movies these days is through music. The premiere of the MGM movie Barbershop closed the sixth annual Urbanworld Film Festival, at the Director's Guild of America. A super-cool crowd brought a whoosh of fresh air to the steamy August night. Icing things up, father of gangsta rap Ice T, who also has film credits on his resume, was closely followed by former rapper and Barbershop star Ice Cube. Sizzling rap princess Eve, fully clothed (for once) in a white suit, also appears in the movie. Saturday Night Live funny man Tracy Morgan was all smiles, while Barbershop teammate Sean Patrick Thomas played it cool. Hot young actress Kerry Washington was there to receive a MECCA Award, along with the creators of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Topdog/Underdog. That show's acclaimed stars Jeffrey Wright and Mos Def - yet another rapper-turned actor - cheered on their collaborators.

August 5 - We were hoping the 20 boats approaching on Central Park's lake was the start of a decent DVD home delivery service. No such luck: the transformation of middle Manhattan into Middle-earth with the troll-filled armada amidst smoke, lasers and booming music was to launch The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring DVD. Actor/political activist William Baldwin, in a banana-colored suit that somehow worked, hosted the event. Comedian Caroline Rhea, soon to take over the Rosie O'Donnell TV talk show, looks uncannily like O'Donnell. Actor Chazz Palminteri had the beatnik look down with black beret. Everyone marveled that John Rhys-Davies, who played the dwarf Gimli in Lord of the Rings, is of average height.