Behold the satyr-winged saddlebag (main image), a one-off Hermès made in 2001 for a Japanese rock band. It’s one of the many fascinating and oh-so-refined usable objects that the great Parisian luxury goods-makers have put on display through May 27th at 6 Burlington Gardens in London.

According to The Telegraph, “These include the Kelly, so christened after Grace used hers as a paparazzi-block, the less famous but equally lustrous H-buckled Constance, the Verrou clutch, the Jypsière messenger (my favourite), the roomily-gusseted Paris-Bombay holdall, and the 1920s-designed zippered Bolide. All of these, when spotted, will prompt a shudder of pleasure among members of the handbag cognoscenti. But by far the most famous, and most collected, is the Birkin, named after Jane.”

For more info, visit hermes.com/leather_forever. For info on the relating Christie’s auction, ending May 31st, visit christies.com/hermes ).

Thanks to Guest of a Guest, here’s a look inside and outside The Pikey, on Sunset Boulevard, housed in a wonderful high-ceilinged dive bar across from a 7-Eleven that we frequented, oh, just about every other night when living up on Marmont Lane nearly a decade ago.

The jukebox was fantastic, the booths hard and cracked, the bartenders pretty much the same—but who cared—cheap! We’d be bummed that Coach closed and was taken over, but for that we trust the tastes and preservation-consciousness of restaurateur Sean Macpherson and his L.A. partner Jared Meisler (The Roger Room, etc.).

We won’t go on. Read the full description of The Pikey in the Guest of a Guest exclusive on the link here, and thanks to G. of a G. for the pictures.

See the full exclusive here: The Pikey Opens On Sunset Blvd: http://guestofaguest.com/los-angeles/restaurants/the-pikey-opens-on-sunset-blvd-jared-meisler-sean-macpherson-reinvent-ye-coach-horses

If you’re the type that pines for either the golden or the seedy days of Manhattan, pre-pedestrian-friendly Times Square, you will want to go directly to scoutingny, our favorite website to look quirky architectural things up on a Sunday afternoon when the crossword is already left undone and our own turn-of-the-century brownstone rental is being converted into a single family home and we’re to be evicted soon. Sweet!

Scouting New York creator says it quite simply: “I work as a movie location scout in New York. My job is to stare at the city. This is what I see.”

Cinefiles can learn all kinds of factoids about the locations of films like “Rosemary’s Baby” (pictured), “Taxi Driver,” “American Psycho” (also pictured), as well as navigate through abandoned Rockland County mental asylums (pictured) and the splendid 5 Beekman Street building (stairwell pictured) downtown, which Thompson Hotels has recently acquired with plans to return it to its architectural and historically-preserved splendor as a posh hotel, with many surprises in store.

Any question you have had about a building or business in the Naked City, you will find the answer here. Take the magical mystery tour.

This past Sunday night, we hesitantly headed out to see what this strange e-vite was all about, Tivo-ing “Mad Men,” “The Killing,” etc., and jumping in a cab.

Billed as a “secret Sunday Salon,” the first of something called “The Forgotten” to be held in the performance space, a shabby non-working hotel built in 1939, we had to admit we were going there due to the formidable co-hosting list, which included Courtney Love, Will Cotton, Candace Bushnell, Brooke Geahan…

This crazy speakeasy-vibed shebang was grounded around a short story by McInerney, hot off his new book on wine, “The Juice.” The story, entitled “Solace,” was about a ditzy chick-lit-like author experiencing the days following 9/11, getting laid by strangers and hammered in bars. Of all people (at first we thought) the actress Piper Perabo was doing the reading of the half-hour-long tale.

Surrounded by Brooke Shields, a demure Love, and a lot of celebs and star writers who we didn’t imagine dredging out on a Sunday night, we watched the young and astute editor of Interview magazine question McInerney about his short story, recounting days spent doing cocaine bought from the Baron (called the Duke here) at a thinly-veiled Marylou’s, once located over by swanky Lower Fifth. It was amusing, self-deprecating, good stuff.

Then Perabo took the stage in a short canary-yellow shift-babydoll, and just stole the show, recreating multiple characters, making it all come to life, giving many of us goosebumps of recognition of our own phoniness and unification, post 9/11. It was kind of an Oscar-worthy performance.

Next up, an acoustic guitarist named Marc Scibilia, who reminded us of a young but more handsome Johnny Cash. The guy is going to be huge.

Shortly after, we were led in groups—no drinks or eyewear—into a spook-house through the hotel’s creepy redone rooms, a scene, dramatized with Spaghetti Western soundtrack, out of a David Lynch movie.

Multiple versions of a girl named “Nancy”—various actresses that all looked pretty much the same in white-lace dresses and blonde wild hair—performed vignettes of their creepy daily lives, writing in diaries, ripping out pages, having sex with a stranger, masturbating.

One of the Nancy’s led me into a little room with nothing but a vanity, where she handed me a super-cool tin pillbox, which held one pill and some cotton candy, a nod to Will Cotton, who supplied art throughout.

Can you make sense of it? I can’t. Who cares. But it sure beat sitting and drinking in some dumb pub or eating pizza at home. This is the first of such performances. When we went out onto the empty Gothamic streets, we felt like something had returned to New York City—something spontaneous, yet very carefully orchestrated.

Want to find out more about this concept space and what its minions are up to next? Go to: sleepnomorenyc.com. And for party photos from the event, go to Billy Farrell Agency’s website: bfanyc.com. Great stuff, but cameras weren’t permitted in the spook house. Lit-and-arts provocateur Brooke Geahan should be proud.

Whatever you think of “SNL,” they know how to go out with a season finale bang. Mick Jagger is hosting the show this Saturday night, with musical guest Arcade Fire (and Alec Baldwin and others making cameos). Yes, Jagger will be joining the band.  Imagine how drunky-McSkunky the after-party is going to be….

We’re thinking this is calculated timing, not just because it’s the 50^th anniversary of the Rolling Stones’s inception. Ron Wood announced the “boys” were going into the studio recently, then he recounted. Sounds like Mick at work, building the hype and buzz.

The dude is almost 70 now, bless him. If only they could only put out just one more great album (as the last good one was “Some Girls”). Which brings to mind when I was just a little kid in 1978 and my mom turned off “SNL” on the TV because Mick started tongue-ing all over Ron Wood in a famous rave-up of “Shattered.” (I think they did “Beast of Burden” too.) Let’s see if we can dreg up the video, here, and see how the elder of the “Glimmer Twins” looks when the camera’s up close in his snarled but kind of amazing face today. We’re hoping for some magic. And Jagger’s supposed to be pretty funny on his toes—he’ll be doing skits, and since he’s a Brit, we predict at least one of them will have him in drag.

SATURDAY NIGHT LICK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF5cOl9ti_Y&feature=related

Since we moved to Manhattan in 1990, we have made the West Village’s Cafe Loup our home away from home, no matter what sublet we were living in, in whatever part of town. The shabby-chic French bistro with the literary vibe and Irving Penn biker photos makes the best fresh Screwhound in the country with its bar press, the burgers are massive and heavenly, as is the salad verte, all garlic-creamy and crisp. Dig the seared tuna and the escargot too.

It’s just a comfort zone, a best-kept-secret, a perfect creative business meeting spot, and deceptively cavernous inside. But when we were figuring out what we wanted to be when we grew up, we’d always go to Loup’s loo, where a plaque remains on the wall in front of the urinal. Here it is, depicting a wolf lifting his leg. “Leave your mark.” Yup. Mark your territory. The hand-puppet logo certainly has. We just wish they’d bring back their iconic match books. Are you listening?

Oh, and if you can’t find a brunch spot that doesn’t have a two-hour wait, Sundays only, the joint is hopping, but has tables with un-long waits, and a jazz combo that puts you somewhere south of the Macon and in another time. Check it out: cafeloupnyc.com

Print it out, and cut all the blockbusters sequels. Summer doesn’t mean stoo-pid, necessarily, although we have included a couple of guilty pleasures in our list:

1. “Moonrise Kingdom” (May 25th). Wes Anderson’s Summer of 1965 children’s love story, starring concerned adults Frances McDormand, Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, and on.

2. “Piranha 3DD” (May 25th). Pure camp and bloody fun. With Gary Busey, David Hasselhoff and Ving Rhames dropped like so many Celebrity Apprentices into the percolating water-park waters.

3. “Snow White and the Huntsmen” (June 1st). Our one blockbuster included, as we’re hooked on “Game of Thrones” (and the vibe feels similar). Also, we have the hots for a cruel and calculating Charlize Theron (though Kristen Stewart ALWAYS seems like she’s sleep-walking to us). The cinematography looks pretty amazing, as do the scary monsters.

4. “Dark Horse” (June 8th). Uh-oh, pervy Todd Solondz is back, with Christopher Walken and Mia Farrow as parents and the vastly-underrated & used Selma Blair in some reality-fantasy role play. Psyched!

5. “Paul Williams: Still Alive” (June 8th). Who knew? A positively West Coast ‘70s documentary on the gnome-like songwriter (and occasional “Love Boat” guest).

6. “Beasts of the Southern Wild” (June 27th). THE one to see, we’re told, and not just because it won Sundance’s top honor and was the rage of Cannes. In this low-budget but brilliantly-visual Louisiana-set film, a father and daughter (neither star having acted before) set out on an apocalyptic journey through da’ bayous including Ice Age creatures and inventiveness we haven’t seen in a long while.

7. “The Magic of Belle Isle” (July 6th). We’re going out on a limb for this Deep South-set film about a reclusive, alcoholic novelist played by Morgan Freeman, with great cast including Virginia Madsen and Fred Willard. Rob Reiner directing. Please, no kindly voiceovers, Mister Freeman!

8. “Savages” (July 6th). That wily Ollie Stone is back in action, with a Cali-Mexico marijuana-dealing thriller, featuring  unsuspecting dippy-hippie growers Aaron Johnson and Blake Lively about to have a run-in with Mexican meanies Salma Hayek and Benicio Del Toro who are coming in to steal their grass, man. A glutes-loving John Travolta’s in there somewhere too. (We’re hooked on Hayek’s addictive milk ads, BTW.

9. “Ted” (July 13th). Seth MacFarlane directs this semi-animated film starring Mark Wahlberg plagued by his come-to-life childhood Teddy bear. The Family Guy doing “Chucky” with a stuffed animal? We are SO there!

10. “Killer Joe” (July 27th).  William “freakin’” Friedkin (“The Exorcist”), for Lord’s sake, is back in the helm, directing this film about a drug dealer (Emile Hirsch) who recruits a hit man (Matthew McConaughey) to off his own ma for her insurance dough. Gotta love the gal’s gumption. The secondary cast is awesome: Gina Gershon, Thomas Haden Church. We’re feeling a tad of “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.” We once loathed anything McConaughey was in, now we kind of love the shirtless wonder, in on his own joke, post- “East Bound and Down” and “Tropic Thunder.” Comic genius. Not to mention the terrific “Lincoln Lawyer.”

Tell us about yourself: what’s your story?

I’m from a place in India called Goa, but I’ve spent most of my life in Toronto. I started as a painter and kind of fell into photography by mistake. My clients range from modeling agencies to celebrities and recording artists. I’ve worked with Playboy and Mitsubishi, to name a few.

How would you describe your photography? What’s your style?

I love to create images that say something about the person. I try to capture sensuality and a sense of mystery and vulnerability in my images.

You’ve photographed some high-profile subjects, including Michael Douglas and Milla Jovovich. Have you ever been star-struck?

The only shocking moment with a celebrity was with Michael Douglas in that it was a total surprise. During the Toronto International Film Festival, I was called into a room and asked if I’d like to shoot Michael. His handler said, “You have five minutes; use them wisely.” It was a lot of pressure, but he was amazing and really relaxed.

You’ve shot in a number of Thompson hotels; what about them inspires you?

A location adds so much to a concept. The thing I love about the Thompson Hotels would be their design and functionality; both work hand-in-hand and nothing is sacrificed. And the art works so well to set the mood and character of each hotel.

Describe your dream Thompson photo shoot.

My favorite is Thompson LES, hands down; the Thompson Loft has amazing views and décor. I’d love to shoot Tom Ford there. He’s a creative genius and my favorite designer. The location would be perfect, with all the natural light and clean design.

What is your favorite Thompson memory?

Probably seeing the face of the girl at the desk the first time I stayed at the LES. I wonder what she was thinking when in the span of a week 16 models were sent up to my room.

LIGHTNING ROUND:

What’s your drink?

Johnny Walker Blue, on the rocks.

Which of the cities you frequent has the best restaurant scene?

New York City. Little Frankie’s on the Lower East Side is my favorite, but when my friend opens his restaurant The Brewster on Mott Street that may change.

What’s your pre-shoot ritual?

Shower, spray on Tom Ford Private Blend Tobacco Vanille, throw on a crisp white dress shirt and slim-fit suit and I’m good to go. Something about a nice suit makes you feel confident, and I love that feeling going into a shoot.

Situated on the beautiful southern bank of the Thames, Battersea Park provides the perfect vantage point to cheer on the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant of 1000 boats. Festival-goers will also be able to kick back in deck chairs and watch live footage from the specially erected giant screens.

Live music is the order of the day, with everything from 1950s swing orchestras on the bandstand, plus a host of exciting acts on the main stage.

If all things folky take your fancy, there’s a full programme at the “Village Green”, alongside home live art’s “Alternative Village Fete”, where an array of interactive stalls await you.

And if that’s not enough, you can rummage for a royal bargain at our Classic Carboot Sale or hand craft your own souvenir at one of our many artist-led workshops. And for thrill seekers, Carters Steam Fair will take you high in the sky, and then bring you back safely down to earth where you can revive yourself with a cuppa and a bun baked by the WI, while you watch the competition to build a Cake in the Clouds.

Thirsty punters will be able to head to one of our bars, including our pop up London pub, ‘The Diamond Geezer’ and stop for a sing-a-long and a right cockney knees up.

Curated by HemingwayDesign and Clare Patey, the festival will evoke the best of eras gone by whilst marking the glorious present and celebrating the joy of being together on a historic day and public holiday.

http://www.thamesdiamondjubileepageant.org/DiamondJubileeFestival.aspx

Marilyn will include imagery from Monroe’s early years as an aspiring actress through to her rise to international stardom. Accompanying the photographs will be original film costumes and dresses from the legendary collection of David Gainsborough Roberts, owner of one of the largest collections of Marilyn Monroe memorabilia in the world. Original video will also be shown ensuring Marilyn offers an unrivalled glimpse into the life of one of the world’s most famous stars.

Louise Garczewska, Director, Getty Images Gallery says: “We are extremely excited to present our Marilyn exhibition, offering the public unparalleled and rare access to Marilyn’s life through the iconic imagery from Getty Images’ extensive archival collection. David Gainsborough Roberts has kindly loaned us Marilyn’s dresses which the public can see in London for the first time ever, making this exhibition a perfect tribute to one of Hollywood’s greats.”

A smaller exhibition will also be on display at Getty Images Gallery in Westfield Stratford City at a slightly later date of 23 March to 3 June 2012.

http://www.gettyimagesgallery.com/Exhibitions/Archive/Marilyn.aspx