SocialTimes: Donald Trump is an idiot. Click the link if you want more proof of that; otherwise, just consider this a reminder.

FishbowlLA: Nicole Kidman confirms what many of us already know — no one understands Eyes Wide Shut.

TVNewser: Rachel Maddow is one of the few people in the world who has the right to complain about being too busy.

Compared to the past few Fellini-esque Wednesday’s at Michael’s, today’s crowd was pretty low key. That said, the usual suspects were at their regular perches and the people watching quotient was satisfied by regular Star Jones (dressed to kill) and Melania Trump who, I must say, looks as if she doesn’t have a care in the world. Perhaps that’s because she doesn’t… unless, of course, she’s worries about hubby Donald Trump‘s war against President Barack Obama. Something tells me she’s able to look beyond that and focus on the positive. But you knew that, didn’t you?

I was joined today by Scalamandre’s smart, savvy and sartorially splendid president Steven Stolman, fresh off the plane from London but looking none the worse for wear. I first met Steven back in the nineties when he was designing power suits (remember them?) for Albert Nipon. Since then, Steven has sold his own eponymous collection out of his charming store in Southampton, consulted for preppy icons Lilly Pulitzer and Jack Rogers, and even dabbled in the not-for-profit world. Today, says Steven, he is happily ensconced in the “job of a lifetime.” It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

In just over a year and half at the helm of the legendary fabric house, Steven has forged exciting new partnerships that, he says, have broadened Scalamandre’s horizons while remaining true to its core customers of designers. A new line of decorative accessories developed exclusively for Barney’s is now available in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, in Barney’s oh so cool Chelsea Passage outpost and online. Next month, Christmas stockings fashioned from Scalamandre’s most iconic prints will be available at the store with coordinating pillows. Just the thing for your country estate, no?

Diane Clehane and Steven Stolman

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When a company is as big as Bloomberg, it’s always fun to get a look inside, which is why New York magazine’s piece in its latest issue about Michael Bloomberg and his empire is well worth a read. Here are a few media-centric highlights that we particularly enjoyed. The full, well-reported article can be found here.

• All new hires must study a 376-page manual titled The Bloomberg Way. It was nice of Bloomberg to keep it under 380, right?
• Bloomberg’s writers are rewarded for the clicks that their stories get. One sure fire way to get a piece noticed? “Write a story about Goldman Sachs, sex, Viagra, Tiger Woods, and Barack Obama.” We assume bonus points are awarded if all five are mentioned in the same article.
• Employees are constantly being watched. “‘Anyone in the company can look you up to see if you’re at your terminal,’ a former staffer says. ‘It tells you how long your terminal has been idle.’” In other words, forget about long bathroom breaks spent reading your horoscope while on the toilet.
• Donald Trump decided not to buy Businessweek once he heard it was losing over $40 million per year. The title now only loses $18 million per year. Does that make Trump smarter than we all thought, or does it simply mean Bloomberg is dumber? Pick one and go with it. They won’t care either way; they’re rich white guys.

Who knew there was a pre-Easter rush? Michael’s dining room was jam packed today with moguls (Donald Trump!), fashion mavens (Rachel Roy, Fern Mallis) and talking heads (Star Jones, Wendy Williams and Joe Kernen) before the town car set jets off to Florida and other more exotic ports of call for the holiday. We arrived early so as not to miss a minute of the mixing and mingling of the power lunch scene and were glad we did. Trump made quite an entrance with his bodyguard in tow. The last time we spotted anyone with protection stationed inside the restaurant was when Elton John met with some bigwigs at Table One several years back. Life can be so complicated when you have money.

I was joined today by Kathryn Leigh Scott, who starred in one of my favorite television shows of all time, Dark Shadows. If you grew up in the 60′s, then you — or someone you knew – probably ran home after school in time to catch the iconic gothic soap opera which aired on WABC at 4 o’clock in the afternoon. Kathryn played Maggie Evans and Josette DuPres who was the ill-fated lady love of Barnabas Collins, one of television’s most famous vampires memorably depicted by Jonathan Frid. She also starred opposite Jonathan in the hit MGM film House of Dark Shadows (soon to be re-released on DVD and BlueRay).

Well, everything old is new again and next month Tim Burton‘s big screen homage to the show, Dark Shadows, starring super fan Johnny Depp hits theaters May 11. Kathryn, Jonathan as well as her former castmates Lara Parker (the original Angelique) and David Selby (Quentin Collins) have cameos in the film. “Lara and I plan to walk the red carpet together at the Los Angeles premiere wearing age-appropriate gowns and have a glass of champagne. This is really something to celebrate,” said Kathryn who has high hopes for the film. “It has all the elements the show had (fantasy, horror, romance and comedy), but it’s their playground with their own spin on things.”

The timing of the film couldn’t be better for Kathryn’s new book, Dark Shadows Return to Collinwood which has just come out to rave reviews. Designed by Cheryl Carrington, the book contains hundreds of rare photos from the show, as well as stunning images from the new film.

Kathryn told me she is “so grateful to Warner Brothers and to Tim Burton and Johnny Depp” for their “huge trust in me.”  The movie studio released the images from the film to her before they’d finished their own trailer or movie poster and did not ask for approval over their usage. The photos of Depp in full Barnabas regalia standing alongside the original cast members is really something to see, and Kathryn’s behind the scenes account of the experience of being in Burton’s film make the book a must-have for fans both old and new.

Over 200 fans turned out last night at Barnes & Noble on 86th Street to meet Kathryn, get their books signed, and talk about the show and the upcoming film.  They also got a surprise gift of posters from the new movie provided by Warner Brothers. “It was wonderful because it was a real mix of people,” she told me. “There were young fans who were excited to learn more about the show, and there were some of the longtime fans who were children when they stood outside the stage door of the show here in New York in the 60s. The legacy of Dark Shadows lives on!”

Here’s the rundown on today’s crowd:

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• TVNewser: For some reason, we don’t think the relationship between Donald Trump and Lawrence O’Donnell will ever quite get to a “BFF” level.
• GalleyCat: Victor Cruz, the Giants’ receiver who came out of nowhere to become one of the best young talents in the NFL, is looking for a book deal. We hear chapter one will have something to do with the Salsa.
• AgencySpy: That huge billboard near Penn Station of David Beckham in his undies took two weeks to create.

On “Good Morning America” this morning, Donald Trump told George Stephanopoulos that he wasn’t quite ready to endorse — and therefore destroy — a Republican candidate just yet. “I’m friendly with both,” said Trump. “I respect both. I like both… They both want my endorsement. We’ll see what happens but, in a very short time I’ll be making an endorsement.” Trump added that he didn’t think Newt Gingrich would drop out anytime soon, even if Mitt Romney wins Florida, as is expected.

Since Trump decided to leave the nation in suspense, Stephanopoulos pressed him on the Buffett Tax, proposed by President Obama. Shockingly enough, Trump said he needs to know more about it before supporting the idea, then admitted that he didn’t even know his own tax rate.

Sounds like just the kind of man a candidate wants supporting him.

• TVSpy: An anthrax scare caused WPIX to lock down the newsroom Thursday and make some minor programming changes.
• FishbowlLA: Piers Morgan (left) pays respect to comedian Patrice O’Neal, who died earlier this week. Morgan, though, had a gender mishap, referring to O’Neal as “she.”  
• TVNewser: Donald Trump, who decided against a run for the Republican nomination for president, has another idea–moderate a Republican debate on Ion TV. While this seems like the perfect SNL skit, we believe Darrell Hammond has not committed to the engagement.  

Vanity Fair proposed a unique question to its iPad users in its July issue: Could you style Donald Trump’s hair? Inside the issue users found an illustration of Trump, along with several tools to paint a new ‘do onto Trump’s head.

Now, Vanity Fair’s blog has posted the 10 finalists, and you can vote on which is the best among them. FishbowlNY voted for “mad scientist Trump,” but really, they’re all excellent.

If you’re thinking, “Making fun of Trump’s hair is low hanging fruit,” you’re right, but sometimes the lowest fruit tastes pretty damn good.

On Friday, The New York Times profiled Jared Kushner, the New York real estate giant and owner of The New York Observer. The interview for the piece takes place during a celebration of the paper’s “100 Most Powerful People in New York Real Estate” issue. This is worth noting because as you know, Kushner is married to Ivanka Trump, daughter of Donald Trump.

Trump being Kushner’s father-in-law has played out oddly in the pages of the Observer. As recently as a few months ago, when Trump ridiculously toyed with the press about running for president, it left FishbowlNY wondering how the paper was going to cover such a touchy subject. Turns out the Observer covered it, just very lightly.

This appears to be the way all things Trump are handled at the paper. As we learn from the Times’ profile, when the Observer puts together its annual “100 Most Powerful” list, Kushner makes sure Trump is treated nicely, even if he shouldn’t be:

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Because we know you were up all night wondering, FishbowlNY is providing you with an update on the Sarah Palin and Donald Trump Dinner Extravaganza we told you about yesterday.

Turns out they ate some slices at a Famiglia’s in Times Square. Of course.

They didn’t have dinner at one of the hundreds of great restaurants across the five boroughs. No, they had slices at a chain in Times Square. That’s like driving to the Grand Canyon to take a picture of a tree.

Who knows where the Palin Tour will take her next, but luckily we don’t have to worry about it anymore: She’s reportedly heading further north today.