Oprah-approved self-help guru James Arthur Ray granted the first interview since three people died in October in his sweat lodge of horrors. If he wants people to think he's innocent, this is exactly the kind of interview he didn't want.

At New York today: former über-flack Lizzie Grubman talking on Nightline about the pains of being a heiress. Next, Page Six-er Paula Froelich recalls the business of covering "people being stuck in the wrong role in an Edith Wharton novel."

Welcome to the inaugural edition of The Vintage Gawker Collection, where we'll roll out old posts from the vault in full to provide perspective on the present. Tonight: Jessica Coen's 2005 post, 123 Reasons to Love New York Right Now.

Dating in New York can seem like rolling a pair of dice directly into a venomous snake's mouth. In fact, the easiest way to find a significant other in this city is probably surviving a plane crash with them.

NY Mag: What's wrong with gentrification? Answer: Hit Union Pool tonight, find out. Etc.

Dreary Washington Post media critic Howard "Conventional Wisdom In a Shirt" Kurtz has managed to write a profile of New York magazine that is clueless even by "Howard Kurtz explains NYC" standards. Let's get right into it, okay?

As soon as New York magazine owner Bruce Wasserstein died last week, speculation about the magazine's future began. Would the Wasserstein family really want to hang on to a money-losing prestige title? Yes, apparently.

This week's issue of New York has come up with a list of the 12 most powerful people in town. (Well, the 11 most powerful behind Michael Bloomberg, that is.) They are (in no particular order): Al Sharpton, Howard Rubenstein, Sheldon Silver, Stephen Ross, Jamie Dimon, Herb Pardes, Anna Wintour, Andrew Cuomo, Mike Fishman, Chuck Schumer, and Rupert Murdoch. [NYM]

Tipsters report: the NY Daily News gossip' team's down one, as Laura Schreffler's out. Is the NYDN gossip desk growing rust? We know one person who turned the gig down. Update: Ben Widdicombe's on the move: TMZ!

The rapidly evolving conventional wisdom about the hazy future of New York magazine continues to evolve rapidly! Perhaps Bruce Wasserstein's family would be less likely to sell off the mag if they had, say, an extra $188 million?

• Is New York magazine up for sale now that Bruce Wasserstein has died? There's no reason to assume so, but that isn't stopping people from tossing around the names of some very unlikely "contenders." [NYP, AdAge, DF]
• Related: David Carr of the Times details how Wasserstein benefited the magazine; Daniel Gross of Slate focuses on his commitment to journalism; and New York's editors offer up their own heartfelt tribute to the mag's late owner.
• The cuts at Condé continue: Golf World felt the pain today. [Gawker]
• SNL has cut a deal with Anheuser-Busch to stick beer ads into the show. "Maybe if we drink enough the show will actually seem funny." [LAT]

New York magazine owner Bruce Wasserstein died yesterday. So did a clear vision of New York's stable future. Who's next to control one of the city's shiniest media properties?

Billionaire Lazard chairman and New York magazine owner Bruce Wasserstein, who was hospitalized with heart trouble last weekend, has died at the age of 61.

Legendary investment banker Bruce Wasserstein has died, the New York Times and Wall Street Journal are now reporting. The chairman and CEO of Lazard—and the owner of New York magazine—was just 61. [NYT, WSJ]

NY Mag's illustrated Gossipmonger column in the print edition has been running items without credit pulled directly from Page Six, who called up NYM for quote in an awesome item called "Best 'Six' mag has ever had." Their response?

• David Letterman appears to be through discussing the little sex scandal he now finds himself in. The subject doesn't come up on tonight's show. [NYP]
• Gourmet may have gone down, but the editor of Saveur says the mag is doing well (and that she's been flooded with resumes, not surprisingly). Meanwhile, while Condé Nast is laying off staff at Brides, a brand new bridal magazine is now preparing to launch. The dream lives on, clearly. [Forbes, NYO, Gawker]
• Related: Condé Nast's digital division is facing issues, as well. [NYO]
• The remaining bidders for BusinessWeek, now that Mort Zuckerman and a private equity firm have dropped out: Bloomberg LP and ZelnickMedia. [NYT]
• Barbra Streisand has scored her ninth No. 1 album, beating out Mariah's new record. It makes her the second-oldest living artist to top the charts. [Reuters]
• Famed fashion and celeb photographer Irving Penn has died at age 92. [AP]

New York magazine has a new story about a Nepali woman who came to visit her daughter in Woodside, Queens and got lost, wandering alone for more than two days. How's schmancy New York mag track down these outer-borough oddities?

• It looks like there's a new frontrunner to take over BusinessWeek. Mayor Bloomberg's media company, Bloomberg LP, has bypassed Bruce Wasserstein as the leading contender to take over the McGraw-Hill-owned mag. [NYP]
• After close to three decades at ABC News, John Stossel is leaving the network to join Fox News and Fox Business Channel. [FNC, TVN]
• Not all magazines are closing down or trimming operations. Cesar Millan and IMG have launched a title for dog owners called Cesar's Way. [WSJ]
• There's been an editorial shakeup at O, The Oprah Magazine. [NYP, WWD]
• Will this season be the last for Oprah Winfrey's daytime talk show? [NYDN]
• Graydon Carter appears to have been granted a pass. The Vanity Fair editor reports he hasn't been forced to sit down with the flock of cost-cutting McKinsey consultants now prowling the halls of Condé Nast. [NYO]
• A judge has tossed out a lawsuit by Missy Chase Lapine, the author who claims Jessica Seinfeld ripped off her cookbook last year. [AP]
• According to the Wall Street Journal, "Bonnet books," or Amish love stories, are "a booming new subcategory of the romance genre." Who knew? [WSJ]

Hello, look who wrote the New York mag cover story on Dave Letterman this week: Departed Observer editor Peter Kaplan, keeping busy! The piece has no new Letterman interview. It's a total write-around. Of which Kaplan is the master. Ingredients:

We're Tarantino fans for sure, but a WWII movie about Nazi-killing Jews? We're a little skeptical, and the critics aren't helping our confusion.