Barack Obama admitted to Men's Health that he occasionally bums a cigarette on the campaign trail, saying, "I figure, seeing as I'm running for president, I need to cut myself a little slack." [People]

Diddy did not appreciate McCain's much-noted "that one" remark at Tuesday night's debate, and he's posted a video to tell you about it. [Radar]

Leonardo DiCaprio was spotted "snapping photos of the topless Brazilian dancer at the Box," which seems a little creepy. [P6]

Hotelier Andre Balazs was seen having dinner with Renee Zellweger at Swifty's. [R&M]

Hugh Hefner confirmed his breakup with Holly Madison, but filming for The Girls Next Door continues.  read more »

As far as Fashion Week parties go, Thursday night's Interview magazine relaunch party at the yet-to-be finished Standard Hotel in the meatpacking district will be hard to top. The Standard is still a construction zone—exposed wire, plywood laid down for walkways, DJs in hard hats—and the effect was very much early '90s East Berlin, except for all the New York darlings wandering around, thrilled at the prospect of a new party venue.

Arden Wohl was there. Donna Karan was there. Gossip Girl’s Taylor Momsen made an appearance, as did model Jessica Stam, author Tama Janowitz, real estate developer Janna Bullock, socialite Stella Schnabel, and actresses Mary-Kate Olsen and Lauren Hutton.  read more »

Hotelier Jason Pomeranc has been eagerly looking forward to opening his posh new lodge, the 143-room Thompson Lower East Side at 190 Allen Street. “I think it’s going to be a moment in time that will be remembered as kind of when the Lower East Side came of age,” said Mr. Pomeranc, 37, co-owner of Thompson Hotels. “I mean, it’s been a process, with gentrification and change and growth over the last several years. Usually, that process culminates with a luxury project—like what I believe the Thompson Lower East Side will be—where it integrates the vibe and the flow of the neighborhood but introduces a new audience as well.  read more »

When times get tough, what does a perfectly-coifed developer--once called the King of America--do to sell the dozens of remaining apartments at his new condo? Lure buyers with videos of pillow-fighting chicks.

André Balazs today introduced a new amenity at his Beaver House condo in the Financial District building, and it’s called The Beaver Butler. For about $1,000 per year, buyers can watch footage from their “in-residence cameras” on their computers--to “check up on what’s happening while you’re away.”

According to the faux camera footage on the condo's Web site, you’ll apparently see shirtless men with power tools drinking beer in the kitchen, a girl dusting down a yellow convertible, or, in the bedroom, two blondes and a brunette dressed in pink smacking each other with pillows.  read more »

God willing, at this very moment someone is scrambling eggs on a stove in an apartment overlooking the East River while at the same time gazing up at someone’s buttocks, pressed against a see-through Plexiglas bathtub, sunken, by design, into the floor above.

In the early 1980s, the late Paul Rudolph, noted architect and onetime dean of the Yale School of Architecture, incorporated such a tub into his dream apartment on the top three floors of 23 Beekman Place. The tub was still in working condition a few years ago, when hotelier and noted bathing enthusiast André Balazs had his birthday party there. “Of all the incredible bathtubs I’ve heard of in this city, that one takes it,” Mr. Balazs said.  read more »

Socialite Allison Sarofim is also getting involved in movie production.

Ms. Sarofim, who grew up in Houston, moved to New York seven years ago. Her father is the famous Egyptian-born financier, Fayez Sarofim, a.k.a.  read more »

Hunkier-than-thou hotelier Andre Balazs has closed on the sale of Hotel QT for a handsome $82 million.

The deal appeared in public records today, though Crain's New York apparently broke the news, with nary a splash, last week.  read more »

Crushed grapes in Chelsea! The hugely hyped, High Line-straddling Standard hotel, slated to open in fall 2008, might be getting its own house hooch.

Its handsome proprietor, André Balazs, is close to launching his own signature wine label, according to sources in the hospitality industry.  read more »

Last night, Parker Posey said she had a cold.

“Can you tell?” the actress asked in an earnest tone. No, we assured her. And it was true. Considering the flight of otherwise red-faced, smooshy-coiffed guests who had just braved a blizzard to attend the New York Academy of Art’s Tribeca Ball, Ms. Posey, in her breezy Cynthia Rowley dress, appeared the ravishing exception.

Still, Ms. Posey was in clouds.  read more »

Are you totally hot and jobless? Don’t fret—just call André Balazs! The hip hotelier’s chain of Standard sleeperies employs some super sexy staffers. And they want the world to know.

Well, at least they want The Daily Transom—and whoever else received a copy of the 2008 Standard calendar Balazs Properties sent us today—to know.  read more »