After 50 years of prying into the personal affairs of celebrities, gossip columnist Liz Smith offers up her own in Natural Blonde. So is she, or isn't she? While her first, heartbreaking romance with a woman is included, so are more than a few affairs with men, some consummated, most not. Like the time she fell in love with Rock Hudson . . .

Dish du Jour
BY MAER ROSHAN

Put Liz Smith in a room with Jeannette Walls, Joanna Molloy, and Michael Musto, and the talk turns to the occupational hazards of gossip: being seduced by celebrities, getting burned by publicists, losing your friends -- or your access. And, of course, how long Angelina and Billy Bob will last.

Head of the Class
BY ROBERT KOLKER

We tend to see schools chancellors as tragic figures waiting to happen. But don't fret over Harold Levy just yet: The former Citigroup executive brings Fortune 500 bona fides and a network of powerful friends (not to mention his own apartment) to the task of fixing a system in disarray. And since being run out of town isn't an option, he's ready to go for broke.

Couch Trip
BY STEVE FISHMAN

What's the most well-adjusted beach town in America? If it's August, it's Wellfleet, Massachusetts, where New York therapists retreat en masse to get their heads together. But the doctors who help patients find perspective for a living often find it hard to get in touch with their vacationing selves.

DEPARTMENTS
Intelligencer
BY BETH LANDMAN KEIL AND IAN SPIEGELMAN

The City Politic
BY MICHAEL TOMASKY

Rick held his own with Hill, but is that enough for a resurgence?

The Bottom Line
BY JAMES J. CRAMER

Howard Kurtz's book doesn't follow the money: Sell-side analysts have more conflicts than the media

Media
BY MICHAEL WOLFF

Will in-car audio kill the radio star?

MARKETPLACE
Best Bets
BY CORKY POLLAN

A store you can call home; pocket-size binoculars

Smart City
BY STEPHANIE SAULMON

Exercise classes that will pull you out of the workout doldrums

Boot up your wardrobe this fall with some knee-high knockoffs

THE CRITICS
Movies
BY PETER RAINER

Gwyneth Paltrow sings for her supper in Duets

Books
BY DANIEL MENDELSOHN

Michael Chabon's "comic" novel

Theater
BY JOHN SIMON

Ralph Fiennes is every inch the king

Classical Music
BY PETER G. DAVIS

A disc devoted to Verdi finds Andrea Bocelli out of his league

Pop Music
BY ETHAN BROWN

Madonna gets back into the groove

Restaurants
BY HAL RUBENSTEIN

Orsay is no clone of the old Mortimer's -- thank heavens

CUE
The Exorcist -- The Version You've Never Seen; Edward II; La Caravelle's 40th birthday

Classifieds
Strictly Personals