In this inaugural Gawker Stalker installment of 2006: Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, Scarlett and Hartnett do Minnesota, Scarlett and Hartnett do the East Village, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Jordan Bratman, Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany, Luke Wilson, Natalie Portman, UN Ambassador John Bolton, Juliette Lewis, Topher Grace, Peter Dinklage, Heather Graham, Strokes bassist Nikolai Fraiture, Jack Osborne, Kathleen Turner, Christy Turlington and Ed Burns, Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, Jordana Brewster, Stevie Van Zant, John Legend, Patrick Dempsey, and Roger Toussaint.


Had a nice spotting as I headed home for the holidays. In the security line at LaGuardia made eye contact with Ryan Gosling of The Notebook fame. Or psuedo-fame, since I'm not sure he's been in anything else. As I was studying his man purse/toilet kit and what appeared to be a work of literature, I realized he wasn't alone. A teeny tiny blonde woman with a couple of large, expensive purses and her hair pulled back into a messy pony tail was with him. My line inched up to reveal that yes! It was Rachel McAdams! Based on their periodic canoodling, I would guess that they really are an item. She is very pretty, and they were very nice to a couple of regular folks who approached. And stars...they're just like us! She purchased a bottle of booze in the duty-free shop. Perhaps she was bringing Ryan home to meet the 'rents for the first time? Hope it went well!

I was home in Minneapolis for Christmas and went to see Brokeback Mountain with my cousin on the 26th. The theatre was packed, but I noticed this gorgeous blond girl sitting behind me. She looked familiar, but it's Minnesota, and everyone is pretty and blond, so I had to flip through my mental rolodex to figure out whether or not I knew her from High School. I turned around again and smiled at her when it clicked that it was Scarlett Johansson, sitting next to boyfriend Josh Hartnett, a Minneapolis native. She. Was. So. Pretty. They went unnoticed by the rest of the audience, who was only there to see some hot cowboy action.

Spotted Britney Spears in Union Square just now (Friday night, 9:30-ish). Looking thinner in person, Mrs. Federline was buying what appeared to be something from the deli counter roast beef? Ham? Cheeto-encrusted pastrami? Anyhoo, her ginormous bodyguard was nearby, though on a different line.

12/31/05 - when with a friend who had a table at marquee for new year's eve. we were seated upstairs. looking over scouting the location, i noticed christina aguilera and her husband jordan bratman a few tables down. her hair was really really really platinum blond, curls and pulled back with a headband, cute white fitted dress shirt with tiny flowers, bright red lipstick and jeans.

Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany celebrating New Year's Eve at Balthazar with a group of friends. They both looked unspeakably gorgeous, though he was in a mildly goofy sweater.

Was at Butter in NYC Monday night where I saw Luke Wilson, looking pleasantly plump (or at least heavier than he was before) and drinking a beer with mystery blonde and a few friends...his publicist/agent/manager kept consoling him: "It's not LA, it's not LA"...guess Luke wasn't having a good time. Oh well!

Natalie Portman playing pool at Fontana's on the lower east side.

It was weird enough walking to work this morning (1/2) up an abandoned Madison Avenue when the rest of the planet obviously had the day off. Then it got much weirder when I passed UN "Ambassador" John Bolton walking down the sidewalk around 50th Street. Absolutely no doubt it was him: That walrusy got-milk mustache, that soulless glower, followed at five paces (out of bitch-slap range?) by two bodyguard types. Mommy, I feel dirty.

Juliette Lewis and her boyfriend on the F train from Manhattan to York Street, Brooklyn. She was reading People Magazine, he was reading Us Weekly. The woman across from them was also reading a celebrity news magazine and she started up a conversation with them. The three of them discussed how gay Ricky Martin looked in the photos of him taken at a beach. As she got off, she left an empty beer can on the floor.

Saw Topher Grace at Aspen in Chelsea, complete with entourage. Spent a good few hours there at a booth and strolled up and down the bar with a friend.

Was checking out how much bigger the TVs are than mine in the Broadway Best Buy (12/31) when I spotted Peter Dinklage, the diminutive star of The Station Agent and Elf. Was hugely tempted to be non-PC and play peekaboo with him but realized I would probably receive a well-deserved knee in the balls.

Was outside smoking a cigarette when Heather Graham walked into Max Fish last night. I have never seen a female celebrity there who wasn't obviously sleeping with Josh Hartnett, so I was a little surprised to see Rollergirl stroll through the door. I wish she was all coked up and asking for a mommy, but unfortunately, life below Houston is never that interesting.

Saw Nikolai Fraiture, bassist for The Strokes Wednesday afternoon at the green park off West Side Hwy and Christopher St. I had paused jogging and was doing wind sprints in the fake grass park. Nikolai was bedecked in typical LES Stroke wear corduroy jacket over sloganeering T-shirt and black jeans, yet was pushing a stroller, with a 1-2 yr. old inside son? daughter? his? who knows? I was going to say hi, but he seemed busy with baby and cell phone call simultaneously.

Saw Jack Osbourne playing trivia at Black and White last night (Tuesday 12/27) with a friend. Their team was called Awesome Sauce. Lame. He hung out all night and was fairly quiet. He is looking good these days, but his trivia skills are weak.

The other day (12/23) at Betsey Johnson on the UWS, I was shopping alone. When I do that, I have a tendency to ask whoever is around how I look in whatever it is I happen to be trying on. I happened to ask the lady chilling out on the store's couch, whose daughter was trying on some dresses, what she thought of my look. When she gave me a throaty (and hopefully honest!) response of "you don't look fat," only then did I realize that the shopper was none other than Kathleen Turner! Feeling like a total ass for asking a screen legend if my butt looked too big, I attempted to play it cool, as she obviously wanted to remain low-key. Lovely lady. Daughter was a delight too.

Sat next to Christy Turlington, Ed Burns and their kids at an Easthampton bowling alley this Sunday. Ed was wearing some sort of I m Irish! wool cap that looked as ridiculous as his Bud consumption was prodigious. Christy was, like, 20 months pregnant—-which didn t help with her equilibrium on the lanes. I totally could have schooled her had she accepted my obscenity-laced challenges to a bowl-off.

I saw Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn holding up the lengthy ticket line at Loew s Lincoln Center theater yesterday. They failed to notice that everything halfway decent was sold out, and when they got to the counter, they stood there forever conferring on an alternate choice. Finally the counterperson called more customers over to buy tickets, and they continued to stand there for a while longer, eventually talking to someone who appeared to be the manager. It looked like the ticket sellers were trying to figure out where they knew Kurt and Goldie from- guess they didn t catch the TBS classic Overboard on TV last week. Goldie has porn star lips.

I don't know if Jordana Brewster is considered famous at all (I mean, "The Faculty" and "The Fast and the Furious" are her two claims to fame), but she almost killed me with her huge Louis Vuitton sack at a Cingular store on 86th street and 3rd avenue. She was dressed head to toe in some Juicy/Ugg grossness, and was with a really wrinkled guy she kept calling "Daddy" but who also kept holding her waist. Also, Kevin Spacey apparently now lives in Tribeca, and was spotted reading the Daily News.

Saw E-Street Band guitarist Stevie Van Zant at about 2:00pm on Tuesday at bar/restaurant The Trailer Park on 23rd street b/t 7th & 8th Aves. He was sitting at the bar talking to what seemed to be the owner. It looked like he had just rolled out of bed wearing some kind of zooba pants, house slippers and of course, a black bandana on his head. He had an iced-tea, a few cupcakes, and took off. There was a black jag parked out front with NJ plates...I guess he had to head back to the Sopranos set.

John Legend Taking it slow & drinking Imperia Vodka in the Corner booth at Home.

Last night (1/2) at the Spotted Pig, at one end of the restaurant Patrick Dempsey was busy being hot as he dined with a few other people.

So it s Christmas Eve and I am walking through Grand Central and there he is: Roger Toussaint. Cleaner and a bit slimmer looking in real life, though short. He made me look twice, which he noticed, and then he smiled and nodded in a "yes it s me" sort of way. If that left any doubt there is the fact that he carries a messenger bag with the TWO emblem and his name embroidered in HUGE letters across it.