Michael Carl, mid-spin. (Photo by Justin Bishop for Vanity Fair.)

Why would anyone opt to gather in a sweaty room on 21st Street between 5th and 6th avenues on a Thursday night while people were lined up on the sidewalk to get in to the plethora of neighboring bars?

Why, to attend Vanity Fair fashion market director Michael Carl’s Fleetwood Mac-themed spin cycle class, of course!

Last night, close to 40 fashion and PR industry types gathered at Flywheel Sports, the popular spinning gym and notorious SoulCycle rival, to pedal furiously while an instructor in a cut-off shirt at the front of the room yelled at them not to use their towel — “Sweat is sexy!” — in a harshly Brooklyn-twanged accent.

If you are wondering how a seventies band like Fleetwood Mac could possibly have been sucked into this sweaty spin class, you’re not alone. “I’m obsessed with Fleetwood Mac,” said Mr. Carl, by way of an explanation. “It’s all I listen to, it’s all I care about.”

We told him we just weren’t sold on the idea of spinning to "Dreams" or "Go Your Own Way."

“Oh, I think you’d be surprised with Fleetwood Mac. A little 'Rhiannon'? Gets things going.”

This was not the first time Mr. Carl, professed fitness fanatic, hosted a workout session for people in the industry. He told The Observer he did a similar class that was Bon Jovi themed last year, and that he has been known to teach boot camp classes for the editors during international fashion weeks in Milan and in Paris, where the editors abroad can be seen working their abs in Italian parks and the Jardin des Tuileries.

“I do it to keep us all in shape cause all we’re eating during fashion week eat is pasta and French food,” he explained.

So how did this perfect Thursday night marriage of fitness-obsessed fashionistas and a Chelsea-based cycling gym come to be? When Mr. Carl wrote a recent article for Vanity Fair about getting into the spirit of the Olympics through fitness, he cited Flywheel as a favorite. The cycling gym seized the opportunity to capitalize on the endorsement, and invited Mr. Carl to bring all his friends.

The invite went out to the people Mr. Carl works with, and as a result many of the attendees seemed to know each other, or at least know of each other. We ran into a friend who works at a luxury fashion brand. “I’ve e-mailed half of these people for work,” she explained. “I’ve just never met them.”

For a man whose Twitter feed is as catty as it is amusing (One tweet from August 8: "yesterday I saw a girl wearing a denim romper and feather earrings, I took a picture, but then i felt bad about sending it, but it was awful”), he sure is friendly. As we headed to our spot, in a room of many size-zero girls and very few men—a pretty accurate representation of fashion industry employees in general—Mr. Carl called to us from his spot in the front row, “Do you need help setting up your bike?”

Mr. Carl had told us before the class that many of the guests present were first timers. “My advice for first time spinners is to have fun, don’t push it too hard,” he said. "And make sure to stretch!” He neglected to mention how complicated it would be to set up the stationary piece of machinery, and we watched as the room of fashion associates wrestled with their bicycles and with snapping their special Flywheel shoes into the pedals.

By the end of the hour we still liked spinning and we still liked Fleetwood Mac, but we definitely didn’t like them together. Still, we did learn one important lesson from the evening: relaxed hippie playlist or not, if you want some motivation for a good work out, exercise with 40 people in the fashion industry. Nobody is over a size six, and if that won’t get you pedaling your heart out, even if you’re listening to a slow-paced song like "Landslide," nothing will.

Susan Sarandon and director Alison Klayman. (Andrew Toth/PatrickMcMullan.com)

New Yorkers who walked by the Pulitzer Fountain outside the Plaza Hotel last summer might have been familiar with the artist Ai Weiwei, or at least with his work. His large, striking bronze sculptures, an interpretation of the Chinese zodiac, were impossible to miss on the walk across town on 59th Street.

But what they may not have known was that the installation went on without the artist: he was missing, detained by the Chinese government, supposedly for tax evasion, after many his acts of protest against censorship.

Alison Klayman wants to fill in these gaps of knowledge. Her new documentary, Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry premiered last night at a Peggy Siegal Company screening at the Chelsea Clearview Cinema, hosted by Susan Sarandon, to a crowd mostly of New York City artists and film makers.

“I think whenever anyone sees censorship of any kind that the only way [censorship] can continue is if everyone is silent,” Ms. Sarandon told The Observer. “They used to say silence equals death.”

The documentary takes viewers through a tour of the artist’s personal life, explaining his artistic development and his use of Twitter to bring attention to injustices committed by Chinese authorities. Since his exhibit last summer, he was released from his detainment, only to be charged with a $2.4 million fee, levied against him because of his supposed tax evasion. Following the charge, he posted $1.3 million with Chinese tax authorities to contest the bill, but after being barred from his hearing in May, lost the appeal. Currently the artist is unable to leave China, but plans to continue fighting the charge by filing lawsuits in other courts.

“I really hoped that I would provide a good introduction for people who knew nothing, but also that it would be for the insider who already knew him really well,” Ms. Klayman told us.

Ms. Klayman told The Observer that during Ai Weiwei’s 2011 detainment she was nervous about what international support could do, fearful that it would only increase Chinese efforts to keep him under lock and key. But after his initial release, she was given hope. “I saw that building a support group for Ai Weiwei and all the international people he represents could be a good thing,” she told us.

The film closed with a suggestion to follow the film's Twitter account, to keep the conversation going. Meanwhile, attendees kept their conversations going, many about the film’s powerful message, at an after party at The Double Seven in the Meatpacking District.

Among those present were model Hailey Gates, filmmaker Alistair Banks Griffin, artist Dustin Yellin and actress Aleksa Palladino.

Stickers and cards of Ai Weiwei’s image were scattered on the tables, and many of the guests gathered in the small room told The Observer that they knew of Ai Weiwei’s work before the documentary but it opened up an entire new wealth of knowledge.

The executive producer of the film, Karl Katz, told us he hopes viewers get the message. “That’s the reason we invested a heck of a lot of time and effort, and of course money,” he told us.

Ms. Klayman, in a moment when she wasn’t being congratulated, told The Observer that everyone seemed to be positive about the film’s message. She was apprehensive before about the opening to the public on Friday.

“Are people really ready to hear about what Ai Weiwei does?” She asked. “I feel good about it now.”

Amy Laurent, Julia Allison and Emily Morse attend the Miss Advised viewing party at Scarlet Lounge. (Steve Mack/Getty Images)

“They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and that’s how I feel,” Emily Morse, “sex expert” and star of the new Bravo show Miss Advised shouted at The Observer over the DJ at the Scarlet Lounge last night, at a viewing party for the new series.

She was referring to the process of agreeing to star in a reality show, only to be met by the inevitable onslaught of criticism. The show, which follows Ms. Morse, relationship columnist Julia Allison and professional matchmaker Amy Laurent as they struggle in their dating lives, has been, like most Bravo Television, an easy target for bloggers and reviewers who call the girls everything from “self-absorbed” to “boring.”

But despite the obvious talent Bravo's editors have for making the women look as shallow as possible and the pervasive negative press that surrounds each episode, Ms. Morse had words of encouragement for aspiring reality television stars. "We got such a good response from the viewers that I feel like [the experience] has been really positive,” she told us.

A couple of hours earlier, when The Observer arrived at the venue, we found the small, padded, chandeliered room nearly empty, save for a few organizers outfitting the room with the perfect accessories for a dating reality show viewing party: low-calorie white rum and mini cupcakes, of course.

But as the night wore on, the very type of supporters Ms. Morse was talking about began to trickle in. The ratio in the room was heavily skewed in the female direction, many of them were twenty-something and single, outfitted in pumps, looking, not surprisingly, exactly like the people you would expect to tune in.

Ms. Laurent was the first of the three girls to arrive, fitting perfectly with her characterization on the show as a workaholic. She told us in between bites of a small cupcake (“So hungry!”) that she also tries not to pay attention to the bad reviews. “I’m so proud of this show, and I know so many women and men out there love that show,” she told The Observer. “We must be doing something right for people to be talking about it.”

Ms. Laurent added that like Ms. Morse, people come up to her everywhere she goes to offer support. “I’ve had strangers on the street come up to me and say, 'I love the show, I totally identify with you,'” she told us.

And most of the women present agreed, as they peered over their low-calorie cocktails and told The Observer that they love the show because it is “relatable.”  One guest, Erin Hicks told us that she watches every episode twice. “It’s what every girl goes through,” she said.

And while every woman does not purchase a tiara for a date, as Ms. Allison did on one notable episode, another viewer Caitlin Leszuk told us that it doesn’t matter whether or not you are similar to the girls. “If you’re a Bravo junkie, it’s entertaining regardless,” she said.

The men at the party were not quite as supportive. The few suited men in the room were mostly present because they were personal friends of the girls. The Observer asked a few of these suits if they had a chance to watch the show yet, to a resounding “no.”

One attendee, Matthew Tyrmand, told us he only came for the “beautiful women.” He called the show the “death of society,” as he gestured to a few women posing for cameras behind him, among them Ms. Allison who, once again, had broken out the tiara.

But Ms. Allison has heard it all. Of all of the girls, she has received perhaps the most criticism for her antics on the series. “I cried not every day, but every other day,” she told us. Like her co-stars, she told us she looks to support from the viewers who relate to her search for love to weather any of the negative attention, as she pulled out her iPhone to show The Observer screen shots of encouraging tweets from viewers.

Ms. Allison said that the process has transformed her. “You never expect to achieve enlightenment from a reality show, and that’s what happened,” she told The Observer.

Monday night’s episode of Miss Advised had its share of cringe-worthy moments. In the grand tradition of Bravo television, a grown woman got in a fight (Ms. Laurent), one person sang a checklist of 73 items necessary in their ideal man to another (Ms. Allison), and the third woman attended a therapy session because even though she said “I do think I’m emotionally honest with myself,” she conceded that “everyone else thinks I need help” (Ms. Morse).

The viewers and supporters fervent enough to attend the viewing party didn’t hear any of this over the DJ, as the episode was being aired muted on televisions at the front of the Scarlet Lounge. And the stars of the show themselves had exited the party moments before the episode began to attend another event.

By that time, the flowing cocktails had transformed the room from a press event into a pick up bar and the very topic of the show: the young dating scene. As the few men in the room suddenly all became occupied by the attention of various female Miss Advised fans and one overeager couple started making out on a couch.

The muted show continued to play on deaf ears as the fans who told us they find the girls' dating missteps “relatable” were free to make mistakes of their own.

What exactly does one wear to a dog wedding?

We arrived at the Jumeirah Essex House on Central Park South last Thursday (after deciding on a purple cocktail dress) and we found out the answer was sequins and peacock feathers — if you’re a dog, that is.

While their owners were clad in traditional wedding-going attire, Shih Tzus and Labradoodles alike wore sparkled costumes of every variety. As a pair of tiny Chihuahuas in top hats passed by in the arms of their owners, Caroline Lieberman told us that her dog, named Maharaja Mumbai, was wearing a costume that was specially made for him in India. “I go there a lot, and this is a copy of a little boy’s outfit,” she told The Observer, before she adjusted his sparkly turban and strode off.

Wendy Diamond, founder and editor of Animal Fair magazine, originally intended the wedding to be her dog Lucky’s last hurrah, as the pup was suffering from terminal cancer. Lucky, a rescue dog, often appeared with Ms. Diamond at philanthropy events to raise awareness for pet rescue. Ms. Diamond’s new dog Hope, also a rescue, took Lucky’s place as bride for the affair, with the money raised from the event being donated to the Humane Society.The wedding party was led down the aisle on leashes by handlers, with the exception of those who sat down or were distracted along the way and had to be carried. After the last tuxedoed dachshund made its way down the aisle, Ms. Diamond and Hope came forward, each wearing a wedding dress. Triumph the Insult Comic Dog officiated the ordeal, and in lieu of the traditional I do’s, suggested the happy couple “sweat from their tongue” as a sign of consent.It was a Jewish affair, complete with a huppah and breaking of the glass (by the bridegroom’s owner).

Hope’s lucky groom, Chilly, was selected through an online contest. His owner, Jake Pasternak, who runs an animal clinic in Virginia that offers affordable surgeries to discourage people from euthanizing their pets, told us that Chilly was also a rescue.

“My wife saw him on the street, fell in love with him, and decided to keep him. A year later he was married in the most expensive dog wedding,” Mr. Pasternak told The Observer. “That’s the best rags to riches story I can think of, at least of a canine variety.”

The event, which was coordinated by celebrity event planner Harriette Rose Katz, set the Guinness World Record for the most expensive dog wedding. Ms. Katz told The Observer that in order to organize the event she called on wedding experts including a “lighting guru” and her “sushi man,” and that the lengthy preparations were well worth it.

 “There are people who are very rude and who think its stupid,” she told us. “Well, you know what? They [the organizers] are going to make a lot of money off of this. And they can laugh all the way to the bank.”

Just outside of the reception, in front of a memorial sculpture of Lucky made out of roses, Sandra De Feo of the Humane Society told The Observer, “It’s an extravagant event, but it's for a good cause. The animals otherwise might not get the attention they need.”

Toward the end of the evening, a cake was brought out designed by Buddy Valestro of the TLC show Cake Boss. After the crowd had finished oohing and ahhing, Ms. Diamond took the stage, chiffon wedding dress and all, to announce that $50,000 dollars had been raised that night.

The crowd, who had been chattering at a dull buzz under her remarks stopped to meet the number with applause.

They were joined by a chorus of barks.

Olivia Flatto at the Paris Opera Ballet Summer Soiree at Lincoln Center. (Amber De Vos/ PatrickMcMullan.com)

At 6 p.m. last Wednesday, a gaggle of elegant ballet fans crowding out onto the balcony of the David H. Koch Theater murmured excitedly about the return of the Paris Opera Ballet to New York City for the first time in 16 years.

These were the attendees of the Lincoln Center’s summer soiree, a fundraising gala that featured cocktails and appetizers before the company's performance and a late dinner. One ballet enthusiast told The Observer that he and his wife had seen the company several times before in Paris. “For dance fans of both traditional ballet and contemporary ballet, this is as good as it gets,” said Steve Pesner. “And this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see them in New York.”

The evening was in part a celebration of the history of collaboration between the power players of both the New York and Paris ballet world. Reynold Levy, president of Lincoln Center, told The Observer it was nice to have their French friends back. “We have a great kinship with the French ballet and we’re really happy to host them,” he said.

But facilitating the reunion was not an easy task, or a cheap one, mostly because of the huge size of the company of close to 150 dancers. Olivia Flatto, chairman of the American Friends of the Paris Opera Ballet, told The Observer that her organization worked to raise the funds for the show, which was part of a weeklong American tour with stops in Washington D.C. and Chicago. “It took an enormous amount of logistics and work,” she said.

“I was just saying tonight when I arrived in the taxi that we’ve worked so hard to make sure every single step was right,” Ms. Flatto told us, “And tonight it’s finally happening. I feel really relieved.”

Also in attendance was the theater's eponym David H. Koch and his wife Jennifer Koch and former secretary of state Henry Kissinger and his wife Nancy Kissinger. As Mr. Kissinger made his way out onto the balcony, he told The Observer he didn't know what to expect for the evening. “We’re great ballet fans,” he said. “But I have never seen the Paris ballet company.”

At 8 p.m., as the Lincoln Center bell sounded signaling guests to find their seats, the formally dressed crowd filed out of the balcony. The Observer caught actor and renowned dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov on his way to an orchestra level seat with a few friends. “We had a glass of wine before, which is important,” he told us. “So far so good.”

The curtain rose over hushed audience members, as the company launched into an all French program and fell to a standing ovation and even a few cries of "Bravo!" Three pieces, Suite en Blanc, L’arlésienne and Boléro, were performed, each composed and choreographed by French artists. After the two-hour show concluded, guests of the gala gathered on the first floor of Lincoln Center for dinner.

Ballet master Laurent Hilaire joined our table to decompress after what appeared to have been a somewhat nerve-wracking two hours. He told The Observer over the first course of crab cake and asparagus that he was satisfied with the results of the evening.

“I was really stressed and I’m quite happy,” Mr. Laurent said. “As a ballet master sometimes I cannot accept a mistake, but what is most important is just to be present and to give the best we can at the right moment.”

Mr. Laurent added that they prepared vigorously for the show, and when he sat down in the audience he was ready to accept the results. “You never know before the show what’s going to happen,” he said. “You built the ballet, but there’s only one moment for the show. You cannot miss it.”

“My work is to prepare people and after that they just have to get the choreography and be alive in it,” he told The Observer. “And for me, that is what they did tonight.”

The inked-up crowd at the exhibit's opening. (Photo: Tara Chacon)

Just when it seemed Mishka NYC—a gaudy streetwear brand with a flagship alit in pink neon in between its drab neighbors under the elevated JMZ tracks in Williamsburg—couldn't scream for attention any louder, they went and hosted party photographer Nate "Igor" Smith’s “These New York Streets,” a small exhibit of emotionally charged city scenes shot with a 35 millimeter camera.

On Friday, friends and admirers of Mr. Smith crowded into the small store to check out the prints on display. The scenes included a fire hydrant explosion, a man splayed out on the street with his nose bloodied, gothic nightlife entertainers still dressed in black glitter and angel wings getting into a cab the next morning and other intense New York City moments.

A few months ago, Mishka NYC approached Mr. Smith, who has shot art for one of the brand's look books, to curate a small exhibit of his more serious work. According to his girlfriend, fellow photographer Kimberly Kane, the exhibit is a collection of what Mr. Smith has witnessed over the years during bouts with insomnia. “He stays out all night and gets into all kind of trouble,” she told The Observer.

Mr. Smith is typically known for his party and event coverage, and photographs of naked women. J.D. Valentine, who met Mr. Smith through her work as an event promoter, said she was surprised when she entered the store. “Normally you see him shoot parties or a kind of soft porn,” she said. “When we showed up we were expecting a gallery full of boobies, and it wasn’t that at all.” Even though the content was different, Andy Shaw, also an event promoter, added that the style was unmistakable. “He always gets the dirtier side of stuff,” he said.

Ms. Valentine told us she wasn’t surprised that Mr. Smith was able to encapsulate the streets of New York in just ten photos because she can’t recall a time she saw him empty handed. “Anywhere you go he’s always there,” she said. “And he always has his camera ready.”

Tara Chacon, the in-house photographer for the brand, wandered around the event shooting photos of the store and the exhibit. Camera in hand, she told us that she admired Mr. Smith’s work because of his ability to find great photos in any situation. “He’s very much a social chameleon,” she told us. “And he definitely has a way with the ladies, seeing as how that’s ninety percent of his work.”

Mr. Smith’s photos of events in New York City have been published in The Village Voice over the years. “They love the naked stuff at parties,” he told The Observer. “Because when you have that ‘Not Safe for Work’ tag the gallery gets ten times as much traffic.”

During a quick break from greeting friends and snapping photos of his exhibit’s guests for his website, Mr. Smith stepped outside of the store to tell The Observer that he doesn’t really think of himself as an event photographer. “I never meant to be a party photographer,” he said, as trains rushed by overhead. “I just carried my camera with me all the time and it turned into work.”

Even though it wasn’t what he intended for his career, friends of Mr. Smith told The Observer that he has a knack for shooting events. Dana Dynamite works with Mr. Smith a lot, bringing him to music festivals hosted by her clients to shoot press photos.

Ms. Dynamite said that Mr. Smith’s unique perspective comes from his persistence with the camera. “He’s everywhere,” she told us. “If there’s a concert with a mosh pit, he will just get in there and hold up his camera and just mosh and take pictures. It is complete insanity.”

Mr. Smith said that even though he thinks of himself primarily as a documentary photographer, the event work has led to exciting experiences, “It’s given me a chance to do a lot of things I never thought I would do,” he said. “Three years ago I didn’t think I would be just hanging out on stage with the Wu Tang Clan.”

But the photographer, who also plays in a punk cover band called The Fucking Bullshit, adds that the job often forced him to locales and venues that weren’t exactly his favorites. “I never thought so much of my life would be shooting electronic dance music concerts,” he said. “I don’t even listen to electronic dance music.”

Steering clear of the dubstep, Mr. Smith said he is going to spend the coming months focusing on what he feels is more personal, continuing to shoot what he encounters on New York City streets. He stepped back inside Mishka NYC to shoot photos of the partygoers, many of which were sleeved in tattoos.

Ukuleles in McCarren Park
Name: Rick Bruner
Age: 47
Occupation: Market research
What are New York ukulele players like?
"A lot of us know each other here. It's a small community. We're an unpretentious group as far as musicians go."
How do you choose what songs to play?
"The mark of a great song is if it can be covered on a ukulele."

Percussion in Soho Square
Name: Mika Godbole
Age: 32
Occupation: Musician (percussionist)
Is it hard to keep time in the experimental piece you’re playing today, Frederic Rzewski's “Les Moutons de Panurge”?
“It looks easy, but it’s harder than you think. You really have to concentrate, and when you’re in the moment, you’re like, ‘Oh my god. Oh my god.’ The instructions are that if you get lost to stay lost. So you hear people zooming by you, and you’re like, ‘Wait I’m not with them, but I’m with them. But wait. Wait. No!’ You’re trying to catch up, but you can’t. So it’s this really cool experience. It’s my first time. So I guess I’m like a ‘Mouton’ virgin.”

Guitars in Union Square
Name: Damon Shelton
Age: 31
Occupation: Audio engineer; has been playing guitar for almost three years
How do you feel when you play guitar?
"Playing guitar is relaxing. I mean, it's time consuming, but in a good way. It's mainly relaxing. As you can see, music is the universal language. Look at all of the different people here. You don't even have to speak English to enjoy it."

Guitars in Union Square
Name: Irina Hernandez
Age: 16
Occupation: Student; guitar player in a band called Silentium (as of four days ago!)
Why did you choose to pick up the guitar?
"I love everything about guitar, especially the creativity you can exude. I wanna be the next Jason Becker [a metal guitarist], but more than that I just want everyone to play music. It brings a feeling in you that you can't feel anywhere else."

Bagpipes in Herald Square
Name: Don Ross
Affiliation: Performs with his group, the New York Scottish, and has been playing the bagpipes for 20 years
What’s it like to be in a bagpipe band?
“It’s fun. We have a variety of Scottish and Irish tunes and a few other kinds of tunes."
How are you coping with this weather?
“I’m just letting the breeze blow up my kilt.”

Drummers led guests into (the coveted air conditioning of) Cipriani.

“If we succeed, more New Yorkers will know about the Nature Conservancy,” Bill Ulfelder, the New York director of the conservation nonprofit, told The Observer yesterday.

The deafening drum circle dressed in bright colors that greeted suit-clad supporters of the Nature Conservancy as they entered Cipriani and caught the attention of passerby on the usually quiet corner of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue was definitely hard to ignore.

Outside New Yorkers panted their way through the 96-degree heat, but behind the doors of the famed venue, supporters of the Nature Conservancy found sweet refuge in cold drinks, good food and, most important, central air-conditioning. Close to 70 tables decorated the restaurant floor as about 620 guests filed into the organization’s Global Gala, hosted by Meredith Vieira, honoring Robert W. Wilson and spotlighting the Nature Conservancy’s recent partnership with the Dow Chemical Company.

Joel Papo, chair of the Conservancy’s Young Professionals group, told The Observer he wasn’t expecting the booming welcome. “I said, ‘Who let some guys bang on a can in front of our event?’” he said. “But it turned out it was our people actually making the noise and being festive.”

The gala, which raised $2.72 million dollars, began with a reception, with hundreds of Nature Conservancy supporters and trustees milling around. Ms. Vieira was taking pictures with CEO Mark Tercek at the front of the restaurant.  She told us that Mr. Tercek was an old friend who asked her to appear at the event. “I didn’t hesitate,” she said.

Ms. Vieira said the cause was close to her heart. “Maybe it’s because I’m a mom and I look at my kids and I want them to inherit a better world and learn to appreciate the natural wonders,” she said. ”And if we don’t work together that’s all going to go away.”

A room full of environmentalists couldn’t help but notice the sweltering heat outside.

Mr. Ulfelder said he was preparing for the weather by encouraging people to think about how the Conservancy can target the environmental issue. “Really that’s what we’re all about, how do we invest in nature as a plan for our climate-changing world?” he said. But then he quickly added, “And I’ll be going out to Long Island and enjoying some of our beaches at the earliest opportunity.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Tercek had his own advice for those nervous about the heat wave. He smiled as he told us that people shouldn’t panic. “The heat wave is scary since we’ve had our warmest spring in history,” he said. “The best way to stay cool? Be cool. Keep calm and have your wits about you.”

Holding fancy galas at New York City restaurants is not standard fare for the Nature Conservancy multiple guests informed The Observer. Chief Marketing Officer Geof Rochester told us slyly, “Think of us as the biggest story you never heard of.”

Mr. Rochester said they never really thought much about press attention either, like other attention-grabbing environmental groups. “We focused on corporations. We focused on policy makers. We focused on philanthropists. But we didn’t really focus on Joe Six-pack,” he said. “With all the problems the world is going to face by 2050, we need everyone to be engaged and active.”

Businessmen and trustees were not the only ones who rubbed elbows over miso-glazed cod and constantly refilled glasses of wine. Four high school and college students involved in the Conservancy’s Leaders in Environmental Action for the Future program, which places urban students in paid internships in the wilderness, told The Observer that they had never been to a gala quite like this one before. Nineteen-year-old Nicodome August, now a student at SUNY Kenton, told us, “Its opening doors for me, so I’m enjoying myself,” even if the bellini he picked up on his way in was snagged by a watchful organizer.

The evening's program focused on the many projects the Nature Conservancy, the biggest conservation organization in the world, is involved in. In addition to looking at how the partnership with Dow Chemical has been successful, the presentation thanked retired New York City hedge fund manager Mr. Wilson for his generous contributions.

Mr. Wilson took the stage to explain to the crowd why he gave away 70 percent of his net worth in his old age, a large portion of which went to the Nature Conservancy. He said he wanted to get rid of the money before he died. “As luck would have it, I’m not dead yet,” he said.

While other speakers enumerated the many successful ventures of the Conservancy, Mr. Wilson gave his own memorable version of the foundation’s history. “Simultaneously,” he explained to a laughing audience, “A lot of well-to-do people bought country houses and they thought, I don’t want so many buildings next door to me.”

Mr. Wilson encouraged everyone to donate to the Conservancy. “People who die without giving that money away will turn in their graves seeing how it is managed,” he said as he urged laughing donors to contribute.

“And I,” he told them, reflecting on his millions of dollars of donations to the work of the Conservancy, “will rest in peace.”

Rashidah Ali, from 'The Real Housewives of Atlanta' (Twitter)

Rashidah Ali--who technically isn't one of the Real Housewives of Atlanta but owns B Chic Boutique, where all those ladies go--is back in New York. Unfortunately, the circumstances aren't that pleasant, as one of our spies spotted Ms. Ali at 100 Centre Street, better known as the Criminal Court building.

We're assuming Ms. Ali was there to testify about her birthday party brawl at Greenhouse last January, where she allegedly slashed up the face of a bouncer using only her razor-sharp nails. (Related: Chris Brown Gets Into Bottle-Bash with Drake underneath Greenhouse.)

The entrepreneur has claimed "Not Guilty" on her Twitter, but faces up to $10 million suit and up to 25 years in jail if a jury of her peers sees differently.

When one of VelvetRoper's interns caught up to Ms. Ali, she was in the building's cafeteria, trying to avoid the two photographers outside.

"I have nothing to say, there's nothing going on," Ms. Ali told us, before inquiring,  "How long are they [the photographers] going to wait out there?"

As long as you're still vaguely relevant, Ms. Ali.