"The largest proportion of foreign buyers of U.S. homes from May 2007 to May 2008 — 24% — were Canadian, double the percentage a year earlier, according to a recent report by the National Association of Realtors." [WSJ]

Forbes' list of the richest billionaire heiresses is online. The only New Yorkers on the list: Emma and Georgina Bloomberg, the daughters of Michael Bloomberg. Sorry, gentlemen: neither one is single. [Forbes]

The first Microsoft ad starring Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates (and for which Seinfeld was paid $10 million) is now online. It's not especially funny—it starts off in a mall shoe store, Jerry does a lot of talking, and Bill looks sorta sad. Although you probably would have been more surprised if it actually had made you laugh. [AlleyInsider]

• Lindsay Lohan is turning down a $700,000 offer to pose nude for Playboy, even though she took her top off for New York for free earlier this year. Maybe Hugh should call Dina Lohan? [P6]

• Altria, the maker of Marlboro cigarettes, is in talks to buy UST for more than $10 billion. [NYT]

• Forget about the controversy surrounding skinny models, says Simon Doonan: Much more important is why so few black girls are seen on the runway. Meanwhile designers like Tracy Reese say they've actually noticed more women of color available from the agencies. [The Cut/NYDN]

Cameron Diaz leaving a nail appointment ... Jennifer Aniston with Alec Baldwin on the set of 30 Rock ... Liv Tyler dressed up for a party sponsored by Samsung ... Miley Cyrus walking around Midtown ... Adrian Grenier with his grandmother at the Entourage season premiere party ... Kim Cattrall sitting with with Star Jones at the US Open ... Naomi Watts with her baby on Lafayette Street ... Ed Koch standing in Midtown ... and Kelly Ripa leaving the ABC studios with a cup of coffee in hand...

• More than 40 million people tuned in to Sarah Palin's RNC speech last night. [AP]

With what new angle could a reporter possibly respond to the all-encompassing, all-powerful juggernaut that is the Gossip Girl publicity machine? Given that the actors who play Blair, Serena, Jenny, Dan, Chuck, and Nate are about neck and neck media attention-wise with the presidential candidates, you wouldn't think there'd be many. You would, course, be wrong: Today's story is about how the dining and drinking haunts frequented by the characters, like Geisha on East 61st Street and Gilt at the Palace Hotel, are pulling in business from viewers who want to order the same dishes and sit at the same table. "We have men in their 50s asking for the grilled cheese sandwich and asking where Blair and Serena sat,'' says The Palace. Mmm, creepy. But presumably they also get teenagers ordering cocktails and expecting not to get carded—because Chuck and Blair never do!

Don't you love it when politicans disclose how much they make and how much they have in the bank? Bill Thompson, the city's comptroller, earns $185,000 and makes ends meet renting an apartment to his ex-wife. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn makes $141,000 a year and owns 50% of a house on the Jersey Shore that's worth more than $500,000. Betsy Gotbaum makes $150,000 a year and has between $450,000 and $1.2 million in various investment accounts. Michael Bloomberg? He's still worth $20 billion. [NYP]

The meatpacking district's transformation from industrial no-man's land into crowded consumer destination will be complete when Barneys opens for business. The designer mecca has taken premises for a 50,000 square foot, multi-level store at West 13th and Washington, at the southern end of what will be the High Line Park. More eagerly anticipated by fashionistas who prefer to spend $200 rather than $2,000 on a dress, though, is Top Shop, which was due to open in October in SoHo but has been delayed once again, and "is racing to launch in time for holiday selling."

The U.K. Times has released its list of the "top 10 richest streets in the world." In third place: New York's Fifth Avenue, although inexplicably the two Fifth Avenue residents they select as examples of the street's vast wealth and power are Diana Ross and Jessica Lange. Presumably Times owner (and 834 Fifth resident) Rupert Murdoch wasn't important enough? [Times UK]

You may recall that back in July, social scenester Arden Wohl was arrested in East Hampton after she allegedly stole a few items from the Ralph Lauren outpost in East Hampton and printed words "Ralph Lipshits" [sic] in red lipstick on the exterior of the store. She was given a court date of August 28 to answer for her crimes, which of course was last week. So what happened to the headband-obsessed party-goer and filmmaker? Will she spend the next year in jail, the maximum sentence for such unspeakable acts? The jury is still out, so to speak! We checked in with the Suffolk County district attorney's office, and a spokesperson tells us that the case was adjourned, and another date will be set so that Arden can finally face the music in village court. It's very doubtful she'll have to do any hard time, though; the worst part may be that now the summer season is over, she'll have to make a special trip to the East End later this fall to answer the charges. Now that would be a total pain, wouldn't it?

Here's some news that will brighten your day and distract from all that talk about how great or not-so-great Sarah Palin's speech was last night: Mario Lopez has been earned the coveted "2008 Male Celebrity Smile of the Year" award from Dear Doctor: Dentistry & Oral Health magazine. [BWE]

Cindy McCain's outfit on Tuesday night at the Republican National Convention cost between $299,100 and $313,100. [Vanity Fair]

You know what there's a real gap in the market for in the current economic climate? A book telling people how to give away their spare cash! So it's no surprise that Kate Lee, the canny ICM agent who rose to prominence by spotting the commercial potential of bloggers—like Elizabeth Spiers, Doree Shafrir, and Glenn Reynolds—has brokered 77-year-old Canadian billionaire Charles Bronfman's book deal. The brother of Edgar Sr. and uncle of Edgar Jr. will co-author a book titled The Art of Giving: Where the Soul Meets a Business Plan, billed on Publishers Marketplace (subscription required) as "a guide for individuals of all ages and incomes on how to determine their emotional and financial relationships with philanthropy." Who knows, maybe by the time it comes out in December '09, some potential readers will have enough money to need help with which charities to donate to.

That tall building rising on Ludlow Street? That would be the Hotel Ludlow, which will be opening in early 2009 with 170 rooms, a restaurant, spa, and "exclusive rooftop lounge." Let the LES hotel wars begin! [Curbed]

Plastic surgeons used to worry about "problem patients" who were getting surgery for the wrong reasons, or who might be psychologically vulnerable. Now problem patients are the ones who might publicly vent their dissatisfaction with a procedure and impact their doctor's practice. Since these days anyone can set up a website or post on cosmetic surgery message boards, allowing forever Googlable mud-slinging, the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery is making videos of "the kind of patients to avoid," an example of whom would be "the cloying patient who butters you up with compliments."

As of this Saturday night, G Spa, the lounge in basement of the Gansevoort that was started up in 2006 by Richie Akiva and Scott Sartiano, will be a thing of the past. [DBTH]

• Tom Wallace, the editorial director of Condé Nast, has paid $2.975 million for a two-bedroom apartment at 610 West 110th Street, the 15-story pre-war that was recently extensively renovated. [Cityfile]