Hotelier and former lover of Uma Thurman André Balazs is selling off half of his hotel empire. The Standards in LA, Miami and Hollywood are up for sale— and so is Midtown's Hotel QT. The former brand is known for their 22 dollar forties and the sad model stuck in a glass room above the reception desk. The latter is known for the totally gross pool in the lobby.

Though the invite said "bring your swimsuit," the melange of authors and editors and overly friendly publicists who gathered at the Hotel QT for the release of Jesse Ball's novel "Samedi the Deafness" chose not to. Jonathan Franzen left early and it was probably a good thing anyway that we didn't catch his bare torso; we imagine it a lot like recent Morrissey, but hairier. The gays (a lot of them) didn't want to leave their tote bags unattended. But the party was hardly dry; the host was agent David Kuhn. At last, it was only later in the evening did Paris Review senior editor Nathaniel Rich stripped down and jumped in. Nikola Tamindzic, L magazine's best nightlife photographer of 2007, was there to do what he does best. And he also took some photographs.