November 24 - There was a very small, very private screening of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, George Clooney's directorial debut. The film, about game show impresario Chuck Barris' double life as a CIA hit man, stars Clooney, Drew Barrymore, Sam Rockwell and Julia Roberts. Taking a sneak peek were Ellen Barkin and Ron Perelman, Diane Von Furstenberg and Barry Diller, Natalie Portman, Diane Sawyer, Miramax Films honcho Harvey Weinstein and photographer Richard Avedon, whose portraiture is currently on exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

November 21 - Why doesn't this happen when we have jury duty? The week before Thanksgiving is Juror Appreciation Day in New York State, and a dozen notable personalities visited the state Supreme Courthouse in Manhattan to praise the U.S. justice system and to pose for TV news cameras. Singer/songwriter Roberta Flack sang and danced with the police officer posted at the courthouse entrance. Actress Julianne Moore is the daughter of a military judge, and hopes to be selected to sit on a jury someday. Actor Chris Noth (Sex and the City's Mr. Big) recalled shooting the TV series Law & Order in this very courthouse, and said, "Jury duty is like an audition - you don't always get picked." Does actress Kathleen Turner feel, like we do, that the jury call comes all-too-often? "Seems like it; pretty often", she agreed. We asked an average citizen on jury duty how many fellow jurors were in the room. "Just a few, they're all out to lunch", she informed us.

November 18 - This evening went from dignified to wild. The Simon Wiesenthal Center honored U2 lead singer Bono with its Humanitarian Laureate Award for his work on poverty, AIDS, justice, equality and debt in Africa. Bono has a place in New York City now, and warned the crowd of luminaries he'll be hitting people up for donations to his various causes. The funny, articulate Irish rocker said, "Once I'm in, I don't leave. We're meshpuchah (Yiddish for family) now."

Over at the Supper Club Sean P. Diddy Combs threw his stateside birthday bash, a follow up to the previous weeklong Moroccan celebration. Singers Samantha Cole and Patti LaBelle, actors Adrien Brody and 8 Mile's Eugene Byrd joined P. Diddy and mom Janice Combs for cake and ice cream. Diva Janet Jackson hid from photographers but partied like meshpuchah.

November 14 - Sitting around in our underwear is never this much fun. The latest bloomers were on display at the star-studded Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Marc Anthony and Destiny's Child entertained guests like actor Woody Harrelson, The Sopranos' Drea DeMatteo and rocker Lenny Kravitz. Both Donald and Ivana Trump attended with respective dates. Supermodels Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks and Heidi Klum stalked the runway in the racy fashions. Among all the flesh, lace, leather and feathers on display, animal rights group PETA livened things up by hopping onto the catwalk and outing model Gisele Bundchen as "fur scum"! One question: does anyone actually wear this sexy lingerie? Let us know, send photos.

November 11 - So many parties, so little time. Oprah Winfrey, Kelsey Grammer, Sam Donaldson and other TV heavy hitters made rare New York appearances at Broadcasting and Cable's 12th annual Hall of Fame Gala at the Marriott Marquis Hotel. Hmmm. We're not sure if there was more media in front of the cameras or behind. Across Times Square, R & B megastar Usher was late arriving to a screening of the newly released DVD of his most recent tour, "Usher Live: Evolution 8701". Late was OK since on the way we stopped into the star-studded launch party for Triggerstreet.com, Oscar winner Kevin Spacey's Web site for new filmmakers and screenwriters. Log on and pitch your film project!

November 6 - 10 - Shooting stars were all over town this week. Betrothed super-couple Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck kissed over and over again in plain sight on Park Avenue. They were really mixing business with pleasure, shooting their upcoming film "Jersey Girl". Nice perks on that job, eh? A not-so-glamorous looking Jennifer Aniston was working on an as-yet-unnamed project on the Lower East Side with Ben Stiller.

And paparazzi felt at home when Vespa threw a bash celebrating their first Manhattan outlet for the legendary Italian scooters. Crooner Tony Bennett looked as if he left his heart in Roma.

Oct. 30 - Nov. 1 - Fashion house Louis Vuitton won the race for the first event ever at spectacular new dining spot Capitale. Vuitton debuted the new Tambour watch line at a party whirling with Taiwanese, African, Brazilian and French musicians, acrobats and DJ's. Supermodels Karolina Kurkova and Esther Canadas, musician Wyclef Jean, Bill Blass designer Lars Nilsson, actors Maggie Gyllenhaal and Kirsten Dunst (Spiderman), and illusionist David Copperfield entered through a ten-foot-tall Louis Vuitton steamer trunk.

Later in the week we caught up with Sarah Jessica Parker and husband Matthew Broderick, who'd been birthin' a baby, James Wilke Broderick. Yes, he's cute.