He surveyed the sparsely populated bar in search of the older woman of his dreams. "Well," he said, "it's a possibility. There are some very beautiful women in here."

He glanced to his right at Shahla Husein, 40, and Henshi Gorodetsky, 46, who were sitting in a small, dimly lit alcove, directly across from the bar. They were both wearing tiny tube dresses, bracelets and bangles, and were looking earnestly at the verile young lad.

Jason, 26, had been invited out that evening by the producers of a reality TV series now under development, titled Cougars: NYC—not to be confused with The Cougar, the new TV Land network dating show, hosted by Vivica A. Fox; or Cougar Town, the upcoming ABC sitcom starring Courteney Cox. (Ever since 40-something actress Demi Moore first swooned for 20-something actor Ashton Kutcher, it seems, the tired older-woman-meets-younger-man story line from The Graduate has somehow kept scriptwriters busier than ever before!)

"It's funny," Jason told the Daily Transom, smirking. "Because I don't know how they found me." (Turns out, he received the invite through his MySpace account.) "I mean, I'm into dating older women, but I still don't know how they knew to contact me. But it worked, I guess ... I'm here."

Ms. Gorodetsky, one of five flirty 40-somethings featured on the forthcoming Cougars show, cut right to the cat-and-mouse chase: "Why is it O.K. for a 60-year-old man to be hitting on me but not the other way around?" pondered the sexy and sophisticated divorced mother of two. (Not unlike Stacey Anderson, star of The Cougar, Ms. Gorodetsky works in real estate, as a broker for the prominent firm Prudential Douglas Elliman.) "These are the kinds of questions I think the show can answer. I think it will help. Our show is not like the [TV Land] one that's out right now. That's very bad, very cheesy. Ours is not like that. It's not a dating show. It's a reality show."

"Let's make a new term for cougar, let's make it right now!" interjected her Cougars colleague, Ms. Husein. "I'm actually embarrassed by the term."

Ms. Gorodetsky agreed. "It's really denigrating, and also being a cougar implies that we're on the prowl. We're not! Guys come up to us!"

"Right. I turn a lot of guys down!" added Ms. Husein. "I'd rather be a Persian cat," she purred.

"Well, she's Persian," Ms. Gorodetsky pointed out. "I'd be a Panther."

Young Jason, meanwhile, was nonplussed by the term "cub."

"I don't need a label, it's all just normal to me," he shrugged.

Rapper 50 Cent's sexy 2005 smash "Candy Shop" blared in the background.

"I feel like most of the people that come here are very evolved," Ms. Gorodetsky said. "I mean look at this guy!" she said, motioning toward Jason, who smiled. "Plus, it's not exactly about dating younger guys on the show, it's more about the fact that we can. So, we're exploring that scenario at these types of parties."

How do they feel when the question of age comes up?

"Whenever somebody asks me how old I am, I ask them how much money they make," Ms. Husein said with a Cheshire grin.

In a nearby alcove, another Cougars starlet, Hayne Suthon, 52, huddled with a boyish Justin Timberlake look-alike wearing an open shirt—no chest hair—and black beanie.

"The reason I do all this publicity is because I'm in the restaurant business," noted Ms. Suthon, owner of Lucky Cheng's. "Whatever is good publicity for me is good publicity for my restaurants."

Still, Ms. Suthon isn't thrilled with the C-word, either. "The word 'cougar' implies a double standard," she said, "and 'cub'? We crack up about that. It's demeaning to the guy. Why can't the guy be worth his own salt?

"But," she added, "I'm a publicity whore; if you want to call me a cougar, go for it!"

Her date declined comment.

6:30 p.m. Aperture and the New York Public Library host Michal Chelbin as part of their collaborative "Photographer @ the Library" lecture series, at the New York Public Library Mid-Manhattan Branch, 455 Fifth Avenue. Tickets are free.

6:30 p.m. A screening of documentary film called: BANANAZ, about the band Gorillaz! will screen at Apple Store SoHo, 103 Prince Street. Admission is free, a Q&A with the director Ceri Levy will follow the film.

6:30 p.m. The New York Historical Society hosts Author Jane Kamensky and New Yorker contributing writer Jill Lepore to discuss their new novel Blindspot. At 170 Central Park West and 77th Street, admission ranges from $8-$15.

7 p.m. Walter Mosley will read from his novel The Long Fall at Barnes & Noble about a "about a throwback gumshoe navigating the new New York." At 33 East 17th Street, between Broadway and Park Ave South. Tickets are free.

7 p.m.  Field Magazine hosts "40th Anniversary Reading" featuring commemorative readers: Martha Collins, Angie Estes, Cathy Park Hong, Carol Moldaw, poet laureate Charles Simic, Jean Valentine and Jonah Winter. In Wollman Hall at The New School, 66 West 11th Street, admission is free.

7 p.m. "The Bad Egg Collective" hosted by founder Ella Grapp will meet to "talk about anything and everything that will raise controversy and spark debates" at Stain Bar 766 Grand Street in Brooklyn. Admission is free

8 p.m. The London Symphony Orchestra will perform at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center, 1941 Broadway and 65th Street.
Tickets range from $35–$69.

8 p.m. "Chess Night" is held at Russian-themed, Sputnik bar in Clinton Hill. "Better-than-average" bar food on hand, at 262 Taaffe Place. Admission is free.

10:10 p.m. Independent film: Rock in a Hard Place: "the heartwarming story of a man made out of crack cocaine and his struggle to find himself in today's society" screens as part of a week-long N.Y. International Independent Video and Film Festival at Village East Cinema 4,189 2nd Street. Admission is $12.00.

7 p.m. The French Institute Alliance Française presents "Fashion Talks with Pamela Golbin," featuring Diane von Furstenberg, in Florence Gould Hall of the French Institute, 55 East 59th Street. General Admission is $50.

7 p.m. Author Jesse Ball will read from his most recent work, The Way Through Doors at BookCourt, 163 Court Street, between Dean and Pacific streets, in Brooklyn. Admission is free.

7 p.m. Brett Stephen Farkas opening reception, "It's All Just Make Believe," will be held at the new Antagonist Gallery (located inside Niagra bar—note wall doodles by Yoshitomo Nara) at 112 Avenue A at East 7th Street. Admission is free.

9:30 p.m. “What it takes Andrew Lloyd Webber years to do: crap out a musical from start to finish" is held at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre; I Eat Pandas and As the Diamond Burns perform, 307 West 26th Street, between Eighth and Ninth avenues. Tickets are $5.

10 p.m. Monday Night Burlesque, hosted by Legs Malone, features Dirty Martini, the World Famous BOB and others. At Public Assembly, 70 North Sixth Street, between Kent and Wythe avenues. Tickets are $10.

11:30 p.m. Scott Nevins hosts a "special edition" of his weekly show-tune soiree, "Curtain Call," at Splash Bar, 50 West 17th Street, between Sixth and Seventh avenues. Tickets are $5; free before 10 p.m.

Fresh off her recent misdemeanor assault charge, comely fashion writer Kelly Bensimon arrived at the Openhouse Gallery in Soho on Thursday night, March 19, wearing a pair of striking black heels that lace up the leg.

"I love putting them on!" gushed Ms. Bensimon, co-star of the Bravo reality series The Real Housewives of New York City. "Look, the little bow!"

The fancy footwear was appropriate. Ms. Bensimon was there for a party celebrating the limited-edition release of designer Brian Atwood’s new book, Role Play Rene. The book features Tony Duran photographs of the actress Rene Russo wearing Mr. Atwood’s various shoes and, according to a press release, “embodying the power of the woman she portrayed in Thomas Crown Affair.” Blown-up images from the book were hung throughout the expansive gallery on Mulberry Street.

"Brian's from my home town,” noted Ms. Bensimon, an Iowa native. "When I found out he was showing here, I was like, 'Welcome to the neighborhood!'"

Socialite Olivia Palermo snaked through the crowd of snapping cameras in a pair of 6-inch olive-colored heels. "Of course these are Brian’s," Ms. Palermo said. "When you find a good shoe, they are an investment—they’ll take you anywhere!"

At the center of the room, the designer Mr. Atwood, his younger brother Zachary Stemer and his partner, Nate Berkus, of Oprah Winfrey Show fame, had the floor for photos.

"There's been a lot of buzz about the girls that wear his shoes being very culty about them," Mr. Berkus later told the Daily Transom. "It's nice to see New York turn out for [Brian's] work, for something that's not advertised all over the place every day. We're two very creative people, very much in line with our own goals, our own vision. It's great to see his project come to life like this."

At that point, a barrage of blondes broke through the party, through a curtain of camera flashes. Headlining the group was the socialite Byrdie Bell, the co-host of the evening. "I would love to talk to you about anything except questions," Ms. Bell said, before being carted off for a photo shoot of her shoes.

Toward the end of the party, designer Dani Stahl made an appearance. She was not wearing heels. Her boots? Not Mr. Atwood’s.

"I'm wearing Miu Miu," Ms. Stahl said. "I would wear him, though!" she added. “I would!" she insisted, looking off in Mr. Atwood's direction and raising her fist, triumphantly: "I will wear him!"

7 p.m. The Teachers and Writers Collaborative features Mike Albo, Paul Lisicky and Alistair McCartney for storytelling and reading. At 520 Eighth Avenue, between 36th and 37th streets; admission is free.

7:30 p.m. Kicks off "Five Boroughs Music Festival" at Steinway Hall, 109 West 57th Street, between Sixth and Seventh avenues. Ticket prices range from $15 to $25.

8 p.m. The Musical York Theatre Company performs "Enter Laughing," a revival of Stan Daniels and Joseph Stein's 1976 musical, at St. Peter's Church Citigroup Center, 619 Lexington Avenue. Tickets are $67.50.

8 p.m. "Art Battles Spring Fling" where four artists "battle the clock and each other in live art battle!" At Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street, admission is $30, $25 in advance.

8:30 p.m. Former Hazzard Duke Tom Wopat will perform at the Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel, 59 West 44th Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues. Tickets are $40–$50 plus a $30 minimum.

10 p.m. "Our Hit Parade" at Joes Pub features performances by Kenny Mellman, Bridget Everett, Neal Medlyn, Randy Harrison, Jenn Harris, Molly Pope, Corn Mo, Lady Rizo, Sherry Vine, Tanya O’Debra, Murray Hill, Jim Andralis and more. In the Public Theater (of Joes Pub), 425 Lafayette Street, between Astor Place and East Fourth Street. 
Tickets are $15 plus a $12 minimum at tables

10 p.m. to 10 a.m Sound Noir kicks off with DJ Dex and Big Bully for all-night party at 286 Meserole Street in Brooklyn; tickets are $10, $5 with RSVP. Free before midnight.

10 p.m. Glasslands Gallery hosts "Chinatown Getdown" at 289 Kent Avenue between South First and South Second Streets. Tickets are $35; advance, $25.

6:30 p.m. Authors Anthony "Ace" Bourke and John Randal will discuss "Christian," the lion they raised and introduced into the wild, while screening a YouTube video of their reunion. In Linder Theater at the American Museum of Natural History.

6:30 p.m. An Illustrated talk about the history of the Garment Center and popular culture is presented at C.U.N.Y. Graduate Center, Elebash Recital Hall, 365 Fifth Avenue at 34th Street.

7 p.m. New Yorker editor David Remnick pays tribute to writer John Updike. ZZ Packer, Adam Gopnik, Roger Angell. Ann Goldstein and Charles McGrath will join Mr. Remnick to share stories and excerpts from Mr. Updike's work. At Celeste Bartos Forum, N.Y.P.L., Fifth Avenue and West 42nd Street. Tickets are $25.

7 p.m. "Educators" explore factors linking wine, chocolate and sex at a women's only seminar. In Good Company, 16 West 23rd Street.

7:30 p.m. Saks CEO Steve Sadove is honored by the Fashion Institute of Technology at benefit gala featuring a host of fashionistas, Cipriani 42nd Street, 110 East 42nd Street.

7:30 p.m. The Latin American Cultural Center of Queens hosts the Quintet of the Americas; Salvation Army Center of Jackson Heights, 86-07 35th Avenue.

8 p.m. Edward Albee and Marian Seldes present a reading of Albee's play Counting the Ways at Lotos Club, 5 East 69th Street.

8 p.m. The Big Art Group presents SOS, "a hallucinatory theatrical happening" who's most recent piece (SOS)  is "an action media performance exploring futureness, survivalism, revolutionary movements and contemporary rituals, the performance examines the notion of sacrifice to make space for a new beginning." At the Kitchen, 512 West 19th Street; tickets are $15.

10 a.m. The New York Metropolitan Transportation Council will discuss the stimulus program at its annual meeting. The N.Y.U. Kimmel Center, 60 Washington Square South, fourth floor auditorium.

Noon. The N.Y.C. Coalition of Uniformed Services will hold a news conference about court case on 9/11 illnesses and injuries. On the steps of City Hall.

Noon. Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe joins Queens officials and politicians at a ribbon-cutting on the new ice rink at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The Ice Theatre of New York will perform, at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens.

1 p.m. Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta and actor Denis Leary will dedicate a new, $4.2 million high-rise simulator, which replicates fire conditions firefighters face in high-rise buildings, at the  F.D.N.Y. Fire Academy on Randall's Island.

1 p.m. A protest on sixth year anniversary of Iraq war will be held in Union Square, 14th and Broadway. At 5 p.m. Protesters will wrap a black shroud around the Times Square Recruitment Center street island at 43rd and Broadway.

2:30 p.m. Arguments on a federal lawsuit charging Fire Department with discriminatory hiring practices at 225 Cadman Plaza East, Room 1416.

4 p.m. The Lower East Side Settlement Houses protest city and state budget cuts at Grand Street Settlement, 80 Pitt Street.

6:30 p.m. An Illustrated talk about the history of the Garment Center and popular culture will be held at C.U.N.Y. Graduate Center, Elebash Recital Hall, 365 Fifth Avenue, at 34th Street.

6:30 p.m. A benefit for the New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation honors firefighters at the N.Y.C. Fire Museum, 278 Spring Street.

7 p.m. DL21C hosts is hosting "a special briefing about New York's financial health, its effect on young New Yorkers, and how to move our state forward amidst this historic economic downturn" with "special guest" State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli at Red Sky Lounge, 47 East 29th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues.

LONG ISLAND

11:30 a.m. Nassau County Comptroller and New York state Tax Enforcement officials urge delinquent taxpayers to take advantage of tax amnesty program at 240 Old Country Road, Mineola.

Noon. The New York League of Conservation Voters will endorse Tim Mazzei for Brookhaven Town Supervisor at Ragusa Property, Grove Street, East Patchogue.

2 p.m. Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy will speak about measures county government and consumers can take to slow global warning at a two-day seminar hosted by Hofstra University Law School at 1000 Fulton Avenue, in Hempstead.

NORTH

11 a.m. Tony Castro, former Democratic nominee for Westchester County District Attorney, will make announcement about his plans for 2009. In front of Westchester County courthouse, 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, White Plains.

7:30 p.m. Storyteller Andy Borowitz joins reading advocate John Corcoran, veteran firefighter Tom Ziegler and founder of a Rwanda charitable organization for orphans Marie-Claudine Mukamabano at The Moth for tonight's "The Moth: Put to the Test." Held at The Players Club, 16 Gramercy Park South, admission is $25.  

8 p.m. "Piano on a Wire," is the first Women's Work 2009 concert, hosted by Beth Anderson at the Renee Weiler Concert Hall,  Greenwich House Music School, 46 Barrow Street.

8 p.m. Naughty By Nature will host a fundraiser and dance party to benefit the Women's Prison Association, DJ Cassidy, D-Nice and DJ Selly to spin. In South Paw, 125 5th Avenue, Brooklyn.

8 p.m.  CBS/NYC host "Holy Headshot Live!" a live version of Borelli and Douglas Gorenstein's book, Holy Headshot. Which features more than 50,000 headshots and resumés for a "humorous collection about actors and their big entertainment-industry dreams." At the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, 307 West 26th Street, between Eight and Ninth Avenues, tickets are $5.

10:30 a.m. Community activists hold a rally to "urge state and city to restore recent cuts in adult education and E.S.L. programs" at Travers Park, 34th Avenue and 77th Street, Queens.

11 a.m. Islamic worshippers who claim "they must pay thousands unfairly to the buyer of their mosque" hold a press conference and rally. At the Department of Finance, 3030 Third Avenue and 156th Street.

11:30 a.m. The NAACP vice chairwoman Roslyn M. Brock speaks at a presidential lecture series, Medgar Evers College Founders' Auditorium, Bedford Building, 1650 Bedford Avenue.

Noon. The "Granny Peace Brigade" rallies to question Obama's Iraq and Afghanistan policies, at Times Square recruiting center, 44th Street and Broadway.

Noon. City Councilman Bill de Blasio will hold a rally with members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community to call on Obama to create more equality in the 2010 Census review process. On the steps of City Hall.
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3 p.m. Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer and others announce the 2009 "Civic Leaders of Tomorrow," public policy fellows, at the Office of the Manhattan Borough President, 1 Centre Street, on the 19th floor.

3:30 p.m. The Bronx Council for Environmental Quality holds 8th Annual B.C.E.Q. Water Conference and Membership Meeting, Manhattan College, Leo Engineering Building, 3825 Corlear Avenue at West 238th Street, Bronx

5:30 p.m. Thousands of public charter school parents rally to "demand better schools and more parent choice," at P.A.L. 369th Harlem Armory, 143rd Street between Lenox and Fifth Avenues.

7:30 p.m. Americans for a Safe Israel host Nadia Matar and Yehudit Katzover; Edmond J. Safra Synagogue, 11 E 63rd Street, Between Fifth and Madison Avenues.

LONG ISLAND

10:30 a.m. New York Power Authority President and Chief Executive Officer Richard M. Kessel, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy and others mark completion of energy efficiency project at Bergen Point Wastewater Treatment Plant, 600 Bergen Avenue, West Babylon.

11 a.m.North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman and Councilman Angelo Ferrara announce highway department's plan to switch to a more environmentally friendly asphalt patching material called "GreenPatch." At 341 Courthouse Road, New Hyde Park.

6 p.m. Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi invites residents to the 2009 Master Plan Kick-Off Workshop, Theodore Roosevelt Executive & Legislative Building,Legislative Chamber, 1550 Franklin Avenue, in Mineola.