August 11 – California gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger hit City College in the Bronx for a ceremony marking the name-change of the “Inner City Games” program to “The After School All Stars”. Apparently, as a political candidate, Arnie can’t risk finding later that the program’s inner city beneficiaries were playing athletic games while they should have been in class. Backstage, the tykes looked confused when the Terminator told them to “say no to violence”. Arnold tried to leave ‘em with thunder, ending his speech with “Hasta la vista, baby”, but it backfired – he had to stick around to present the award, a bicycle, to a lucky kid. Meanwhile, the governator has become adept at the game of politics - he later power-lunched at the Four Seasons Restaurant with Republican Party contributors.

That evening, the Casablanca family gathered at Lincoln Center to celebrate the classic film’s 60th anniversary. Lauren Bacall nodded at the speck of red carpet and deadpanned, “The carpets, they’ve gotten so small”. Stephen Bogart and Pia Lindstrom (he’s the son of Bacall and Humphrey Bogart, she’s Ingrid Bergman’s daughter) insisted that there was never an affair between Bogey and Bergman. “They were very professional. That’s what good acting looks like”, they said. Isabella Rosselini, another Bergman daughter, recalled that on a visit to Harvard University in the 1960s, her mother was shocked that the students knew all the lines from the circa 1942 Casablanca.

On a more modern classic, HBO’s Sex and the City, Samantha will take a tumble on a future episode. We're not clairvoyant - we stumbled upon Kim Catrall shooting the scene with hunky costar Jason Lewis.

August 9 – As if the New York celebrity scene isn’t slow enough during the summer, now they hold movie premieres out in the Hamptons! Must be where the producers spend their summers. And we follow, of course. Even here in star-laden South Hampton, Rudy Giuliani and wife Judith Nathan were the only famous people to join Brittany Murphy, Jesse Spencer, Mary Shelton and pint-sized Dakota Fanning for the premiere of their movie Uptown Girls. Headcount: famous - not so many here today; rich - probably everyone, this being the Hamptons. Oh, don't forget powerful: Murphy was with her boyfriend, Jeff Kwatinetz, head of "it" talent agency The Firm.

August 7 - It was an exciting evening in Central Park when three finalists in the Pantene Pro-Voice contest performed their original material, in concert with pros Mya, Vanessa Carlton, Tweet and Lucy Woodward. TV personalities Kelly Ripa and Hilarie Burton hosted. The winning contestant will be announced at the MTV Video Music Awards on August 28th, and receive a demo recording deal with Atlantic Records. As if that’s not enough drama, during the pre-concert photo session, a publicist blocked R&B singer Mya because her shirt was crooked. Photographers yelled for him to get out of the way, and he responded, “I’m the %&*#ing publicist, damn it! I’ll do what I want!” He then tried to have two photogs thrown out. We’re not sure if he’s Mya’s publicist or Pantene’s, but we were afraid to ask. The shirt said something in French about Hawaii.

Earlier that day, Britanny Murphy, Dakota Fanning and Jesse Spencer, stars of the new movie Uptown Girls, appeared at Henri Bendel to unveil the Fifth Avenue store’s window display. Talk about an Uptown girl’s dream.

Sarah Jessica Parker & Mikhail Baryshnikov unplugged on the set of Sex & the City

August 6 - Real sparks were flying on the Sex and the City set when Sarah Jessica Parker and Mikhail Baryshnikov filmed a kissing scene. (Baryshnikov plays SJP’s new love interest on the show.) The pair rehearsed the scene over and over, and once film was rolling, when the director yelled, “cut”, the two remained lip locked for what seemed an eternity. Parker was positively lit up. Watch out Matthew!

Even Whoopi Goldberg is jealous of Sarah Jessica Parker. At a press conference announcing her upcoming NBC sitcom, called Whoopi, when asked to open her top-shirt further so that we could see her t-shirt, Goldberg said, “I’m not going to open this up. I don’t have what Sarah Jessica Parker has.” Like SATC, the series is set in New York City, and Whoopi plays a smoking, drinking hotelier. Referring to the city’s new smoking ban, she held up her checkbook and joked with Mayor Mike Bloomberg that she’s prepared to pay the fines every time a character smokes on the set. In real life, Whoopi admitted that she smokes when she’s under tension. She may be feeling some pressure these days – she’s the executive producer as well as the star of the show. A native of the city, Whoopi said, "Honey, when you get to a certain age, you just want to be near home."

A much younger New Yorker, Lindsay Lohan, star of the new film Freaky Friday, popped into Macy’s, where she and Miss USA 2003, Susie Castillo, hosted a “Freaky Friday mother/daughter fashion show”. The movie is about a mother and daughter who switch bodies and lives for one day, so if that happens to you, you can coordinate your outfits at Macy’s.

August 5 – Kate Hudson and rocker husband Chris Robinson were happily discussing divorce tonight. Don’t worry; they were at the premiere of her new film Le Divorce. The couple are expecting a child – note the little bulge in the photo at left – and were a study in contrasts, she in sleek Chanel, he in jeans. The film’s producer Ismail Merchant brought Mia Farrow as his date. Matthew Modine, a big WNBA fan, really wanted to go to the New York Liberty game, but, you know, he’s in the movie and all. The rock group Kiss is staying at the Plaza Hotel, and Gene Simmons was on his way out as the Le Divorce crowd came in for an after party. Kiss band mate Paul Stanley was friendlier – he joined the party.

July 17 - Aug. 4 – Even celebrities have to work. While star-studded events dwindle during the summer months, the famous still have to plug their projects. And with everybody cutting back on promotional expenses, the stage door at The Late Show with David Letterman has become the gathering spot for New York’s paparazzi. Abandoning yachts in Majorca, villas in St. Tropez and mansions in East Hampton for smelly city sidewalks recently: Beyonce Knowles (debut solo recording Dangerously in Love), Kate Hudson (Le Divorce), Jeff Bridges (Seabiscuit), Melanie Griffith (taking on Chicago on Broadway) and Sylvester Stallone (Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over). Bush White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer’s recent resignation was news, and no doubt he’ll be back on TV in the future, pushing books, speaking engagements and biographical opportunities. Stay tuned.

July 23 - 29 – Decidedly Republicanesque business suits were the sartorial choice of the young Democrats at a New York benefit for the Clinton Presidential Center & Foundation. (Even the musician Moby was wearing a gray suit, with a tie!) The Young Professionals soiree at bank-cum-nightspot Capitale featured numbingly repetitive techno-lite music, cocktails and the chance to have your photo taken with Bill Clinton. In fact, Bill spent most of the evening in a room upstairs, posing with attendees who paid for photos.

But Clinton didn’t ignore those who opted to skip the photo sessions, closing the evening with a long but entertaining speech. The Clinton Center’s building in Little Rock, Arkansas will be "environmentally friendly”, and there will be a fully interactive online presence. He’s devoted his post-presidential life to helping the poor, youth, working to resolve religious and ethic differences and fighting AIDS. Why? “I’m too much of a Calvinist and not enough of an athlete to spend the rest of my life playing golf”, he told the crowd.

A few days later, another gentleman known to like women a lot, Gene Simmons, threw a bash to celebrate the summer issue of Tongue magazine. Porn star Taylor Wane was among the guests. Simmons refused to do his trademark gesture and stick out his tongue – perhaps he can only do that when in full Kiss makeup?

Finally, there was an intimate VIP screening of The Secret Lives of Dentists, starring Campbell Scott and Denis Leary. The VIPs included Patricia Clarkson, Stephen Baldwin, Sam Rockwell, Robert Altman, Isabella Rosslini, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Dan Hedaya.

July 22 - The world said goodbye to salsa queen Celia Cruz with a funeral worthy of royalty. Tens of thousands of fans tossed white rose petals as Cruz’ coffin, in horse-drawn carriage, made its way down Fifth Avenue from the funeral home to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas, Chita Rivera, Reuben Blades and just regular folks attended the service, where Patti LaBelle and Victor Manuelle sang in tribute to the Cuban-born Latin music star. Cruz, 77, died last week of cancer. She is survived by her husband of 41 years, Pedro Knight. Mourners regarded torrential downpours as heavenly tears for Cruz.