LUNCH WITH LYDIA

A quiet interivew with 'Mr. Chow'

Eva Chow, whose tall frame and curtain of straight, jet-black hair give her the air of an austere fashion model, greets you at the doors of an empty Mr. Chow for a lunch that she has orchestrated down to the final course of lychees and oranges.

Miami-raised cinematographer captures a thrilling Michael Jackson

For a moment in This Is It, the documentary that captures Michael Jackson as he rehearses for the unprecedented 50-show spectacular he was to perform at London's O2 arena, you realize you're witnessing an impromptu master class by one of the pop world's greatest talents.

LUNCH WITH LYDIA

Jason Derulo, on brink of fame, is so over his stage fright

When Jason Derulo was 7, he panicked backstage at the James L. Knight Center. He had been hamming it up in relatives' living rooms from the time he was 5, but now he was about to sing on a real stage for the first time. The show marked the end of performing arts summer camp. Derulo considered it his first serious gig.

LUNCH WITH LYDIA

Low-key duo runs Art Basel

It's the day after Thanksgiving, and art dealers, collectors, curators and museum directors from all over the world are already trickling into town. In one more day, the art -- millions and millions of dollars worth of crated Picassos, Warhols, Hirsts, Murakamis, Bedias -- will start piling up on the Miami Beach Convention Center floor for Art Basel Miami Beach.

BOOKS

When Ofelia met Rosa: 'Nosotras' a story of devotion

For more than four decades, Ofelia Fox and Rosa Sanchez always shared a car. They could easily have afforded two cars, but driving places separately would have robbed them of time together.

Babylon backlash: Miami Beach gets the Posner treatment

Miami Beach author Gerald Posner is known for plunging into a juicy investigation the way a pit bull goes after bloody meat. He can be obsessive, relentless. So can his wife Trisha, who researches alongside him. It helps that Posner was a Wall Street lawyer for a time. There is no impenetrable pile of court records that can put him off.

Gospel truth: Maryel Epps and the blessings of transmitted joy

Maryel Epps is at the mike, eyes closed, tambourine beating against her hip, voice climbing to the heavens. This isn't church. Not by a longshot. This is Sunday brunch on South Beach.

Turning the corner: A TV journalist makes a fresh start after scandal

Veteran TV journalist Fernando del Rincón got his start in Mexico when he was just 16, scraping to become an anchor of TV Azteca's national news before landing an even bigger dream job: A gig in the United States as co-host of Primer Impacto, Univision's investigative news magazine show.

CELEBRITIES

Chopra's mantra: spread the wealth

Spirituality guru Deepak Chopra has just checked into his room at Casa Casuarina, Gianni Versace's winter palazzo-turned-hotel/party venue. He has been put up in the Safari room, he tells you when you meet down by the mosaic-bottomed pool, and he's trying to get over the fact that he's going to have to spend the night there.

CELEBRITIES

Bobby Flay's love affairs with N.Y., food -- and politics?

Bobby Flay, the native New Yorker who champions Southwestern cuisine and made his name by elevating chile peppers, cilantro and corn, may put his culinary career on the back burner one of these days, he says.

LUNCH WITH LYDIA

Still smokin' -- and not just the cigarette

Antonio Banderas, casual in a long-sleeve T and olive cargo pants, is being bad. He is in the middle of a long press day, talking to one reporter after another about his role as the suave (if hairball-hacking) Puss In Boots in Shrek the Third, which opened Friday.

Halle Berry: Fab, 40 -- and fidgety

Halle Berry looks flawless even with the harsh noon sun invading her hotel suite. At 40, she can play characters much younger. But genetic blessings and an Oscar in 2002 for Monster's Ball are not enough to help her feel secure in Hollywood.

Lunch with Lydia

Lunch With Lydia | She's, like, so not like that

Paris Hilton, willowy in a floor-length dress, speaks in a certain sing-song that comes and goes as she munches on fruit at the Shore Club's Ago. She can so speak in that little girl high-pitched thing where everything ends, like, in a question mark? And she can speak straight, punctuating thoughts with periods, her voice a normal grown-up pitch.