Liev Schreiber carrying son Alexander on his back in NoHo ... Sean Lennon taking a walk ... Agyness Deyn carrying two cups of coffee in the East Village ... Andy Dick arriving at JFK ... Naomi Campbell smiling for photographers ... Natasha Bedingfield getting into a limo outside her hotel ... Jennifer Connelly and Anderson Cooper outside the David Letterman show ... Katie Holmes walking with a bodyguard outside her Village apartment building ... and David Duchovny and Tea Leoni attending a Knicks game with their kids.

It's really too bad that Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain decided to back down on his request for a $10 million bonus. If he'd stood his ground, just think of how much mileage cable news hosts would have gotten out of the story in the coming days. To your left, Campbell Brown's thoughts on the subject from last night: "Is it me or is this guy nuts?"

As if it wasn't annoying enough that you have hang your head in shame every time a cold sore appears on your lip: According to a new study, the herpes simplex virus is a possible cause of Alzheimer's, too. But at least Katie Holmes will one day have a great excuse for forgetting about those years she spent as Mrs. Tom Cruise. [NYDN]

Tommy Hilfiger was supposed to marry Dee Ocleppo this past August on the island of Mustique. He'd purchased her a gigantic ring a few months earlier. A fabulous, star-studded party was thrown to celebrate the engagement. And the romance was in "full bloom," according to friends of the couple. But at the very last minute, just days before the wedding was scheduled to take place, it was abruptly called off amid rumors that Hilfiger and Ocleppo couldn't come to terms on a pre-nup agreement. The profile of Hillfiger in T over the weekend hardly dispels the idea that it wasn't exactly love that brought the couple together in St. Tropez in 2005:

It used to be "live fast, die young, and have a beautiful corpse." But now you can dispense with the first two and keep the third thanks to the skillful work of morticians, who are increasingly being asked to perform cosmetic enhancements on corpses. God forbid your loved ones' final memory is of bags, lines and wrinkles! "We'll inject tissue fillers into the lips, the nose, the cheeks, above the eyebrows, the chin, and the hands," promises funeral home owner John Vigliante. "It's the same concept as Botox and dermal filler." But if someone has maintained the illusion in life that her perky double-Ds are nature's own creation, then come time for cremation, the jig is up. According to an LA crematorium manager: "Silicone implants will explode. They're like little bombs."

♦ Theater producer Rocco Landesman and his wife Deborah have sold their penthouse at 240 Riverside Boulevard (otherwise known as The Heritage at Trump Place) for $10.5 million. The couple picked up the three-bedroom apartment with jacuzzi for $4.233 million back in 2006. [Cityfile]
♦ Cleveland Browns owner Randy Lerner, who purchased a West Village apartment for $4.1 million two months ago, appears to be giving up on plans to build a home on the East End: He's sold a 2.5-acre plot in Amagansett for $7.5 million. [Newsday]
♦ The duplex at 155 Perry Street that Josh Groban was spotted touring recently has undergone a price cut. It's now listed at $3.5 million, down from $3.85 million. [Curbed, Core]

Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman is turning 46 today. Her former castmate, Jesse Metcalfe, is celebrating his 30th. Comedian Mario Cantone is 49. Violinist Joshua Bell is 41. John Malkovich is turning 55. Dame Judi Dench is 74. It's Tom Daschle's 61st birthday. Nightline co-anchor Terry Moran is turning 49. Architect Steven Holl is 61. Singer Imogen Heap is turning 31. Donny Osmond is 51. American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi is turning 38. And Kirk Douglas turns 92 today.

♦ Either Mariah Carey is pregnant or she's determined to do whatever it takes to stay in the spotlight. The diva was spotted looking "ebullient" on her way out of an OB/GYN's office in LA, where she was greeted by a cheering entourage and seen clutching "what looked like a sonogram." [P6, Mirror]
♦ Kate Moss skipped champagne and wore a loose dress to a Vogue event in China, which means she must be pregnant, too. [The Sun]
♦ In an upcoming issue of O, Oprah says she's "fallen off the wagon" and now weighs 200 lbs. But she blames it on her "out-of-balance thyroid," which gave her "a fear of working out." [AP]
♦ Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich watching soccer at Nevada Smith's in the East Village with girlfriend Dasha Zhukova? We can hardly believe it. [P6]
♦ Steve Schwarzman insisting on remaining centerstage at yesterday's Vanity Fair photo shoot? That sounds likely. [P6]

♦ The events of the past few months signal that "there is no more Wall Street," according to Ace Greenberg, the former chief of Bear Stearns. [Bloomberg]
♦ Hedge funds dropped another 2.7 percent last month. [WSJ]
♦ Morgan Stanley's new bonus plan has a "claw-back" provision. [NYT]
♦ The hedge fund Copper River Management has closed its doors. [WSJ]
♦ Cowen Group has rejected an unsolicited takeover offer. [MW]
♦ In corporate layoff news, Sony plans to cut 8,000 full-time workers and the same number of part-timers. Other companies cutting back today: Wyndham Worldwide and Danaher Corp. [Bloomberg, CNN]
♦ Citi may be keeping its high-priced sponsorship of the new Mets stadium, but a holiday toy-train exhibit wasn't quite as lucky. [Bloomberg]

♦ Amusing bits from profile of Marc Jacobs from Rolling Stone, which was reprinted in the Sunday Times: He's now up to 30 tattoos and he spends at least two hours a day at the David Barton Gym. As for his ex, Jason Preston, he has this to say: "I've had boyfriends who were media whores... I don't want to make the same mess again." [Times UK]
♦ If you've wondered why Victoria Beckham's collection of dresses looks like the work of Roland Mouret, there's good reason: Mouret served as Posh's "mentor." [Vogue UK]
♦ Inexplicably, Lindsay Lohan's legwear line is "selling like hotcakes." [NYDN]
♦ Anna Wintour really wants to reiterate that she has no plans to leave Vogue: "With so much uncertainty, one thing is certain: Vogue," read the mag's ad in yesterday's New York Times. [Fashionologie]

Every major media enterprise is looking to cut costs these days. One way film studios can consider trimming some fat: By replacing really expensive actors (like Penelope Cruz) with much cheaper alternatives (Paz Vega), who look similar enough that the audience will barely notice the difference. [Empire via Buzzfeed]

What's hip hop impresario Russell Simmons up to these days? The same as usual, apparently. [Bauer-Griffin via Bastardly, previously]

So much for Andre Balazs's plans to open an outpost of the Standard in the meatpacking district this week. HotelChatter is reporting that the launch will be pushed back by a week "unless a miracle happens." [HC]

That was quick. This morning, Merrill Lynch chief John Thain was lobbying for a $10 million bonus. By the early afternoon, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo had sent off a letter denouncing the idea. Now CNBC is reporting that Thain has relented and has accepted his bonus-less fate. He's not the only one. CNBC also reports that Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack won't be getting one either.

It's not all bad news for the upper-end of Manhattan's residential real estate market. Hedge fund manager John Griffin, who once worked for Julian Robertson before founding Blue Ridge Capital, and his wife Amy, have paid $32.25 million for a 10th-floor spread at 1030 Fifth Avenue, where Diane Sawyer and Mike Nichols are also residents. The apartment, which wasn't even officially on the market, was owned by private equity exec Richard Schmeelk and his wife Priscilla. [NYO]

♦ Alain Ducasse has tapped Pierre Schaedelin to be the executive chef of his much-maligned Benoit. [NYT]
♦ Michael Psilakis and Donatella Arpaia's Kefi re-opens tonight. [Eater]
♦ A few photos and the menu from Cyril Renaud's new Bar Breton. [GS]
♦ R&L, which was quickly shut down by the Department of Health after opening in the former Florent space in July, is reopening this week. [Eater]
♦ The best places to pick up coffee in the West Village. [NYM]
♦ Citysearch's top 10 bars and clubs of 2008. [CS]

Finally, some good news in a sea of gloom: A group of scientists and ethicists is now promoting the rights of people to pop performance-enhancing stimulants like Ritalin, Adderall and Provigil. Whereas now people who want to give themselves a bit more energy have to turn to Craiglist to find someone with "ski tickets," or have to go to the trouble of faking ADHD symptoms to a doctor, in the future the ability to improve "executive function" and memory should be easily available to all, they argue.

Much has been written about the Plaza in recent weeks: Several people who purchased condos in the newly-renovated landmark have since sued the Plaza's owner, El-Ad, over various imperfections and unmet promises. Then there's the ill-timed "luxury mall" which recently opened in the building's basement, which features a store that sells cell phones for $310,000. If you've been having trouble keeping track of all the goings-on at the fabled building, here's a brief list of the Plaza's most notable moments from its debut in 1907 up to the present day.

Gallerist Larry Gagosian may have to turn to the heavens above to help him sell overpriced art, since it appears his staff isn't getting the job done, at least judging by the memo he sent out to Gagosian Gallery employees in recent weeks. "If you would like to continue working for Gagosian I suggest you start to sell some art... The luxury of carrying under-performing employees is now a thing of the past." [Intelligent Life via Gawker]

We've reported on a number of companies (Citigroup, Travelers, Bristol-Myers) that have been looking to unload their expensive corporate jets in recent weeks as the U.S. heads into a deep recession. Dan Loeb, the prickly hedge fund manager best known for castigating CEOs for their profligate spending, demonstrates another path to reducing costs in these challenging economic times: He's renting his plane out to other people. Yes, for $5,800 an hour, you can take 12 of your closest friends for a ride on Loeb's Gulfstream IV-SP, a fact you'll be reminded of every time you look out of the window since the "TP" stamped on the tail reflects the name of his hedge fund, Third Point. (You can contact Key Air if you're interesting in making a reservation.) After the jump, a few photos of the interior and the creamy leather seats where Loeb sits in front of his laptop and drafts those vicious letters of his.