Why doesn't anyone launch a startup in a dive bar? Is every startup really best represented by a fancy hotel bar? Granted, Fortnighter -- a place to order custom-written travel itineraries for $100 and up -- is best represented by a fancy hotel bar. In this case, it's Above Allen at the Thompson LES hotel. I double-checked whether it really cost a hundred dollars to get anything from this site. It does.

"“It doesn’t bother me that people think Toronto mimics New York."

Party: Carmen Kass hosts cocktails and hors d'oeuvres to celebrate the launch of beyond7boutique.com with Reet Aus. Time: 5PM-8PM Perks: Music by The Misshapes. More: Dear Carmen Kass, I love you. You could be hosting craptinis in your grandmother’s basement and I would be more than thrilled to go. Also, can we be friends? Thank you for having us, Holly.

Technically, Halloween festivities fired up as early as last week, but New Yorkers really get down to business tonight, extending their weekend via The Bunker Club, or The Gutter, and rolling through the weekend with 1Oak, the Boom Boom Room, and the Hudson Hotel, with some lovely Brooklyn markets and parade options thrown in the mix. Enjoy one of the best weekends in NYC, and remember: next year, Halloween will fall on a Monday.

Steve Lewis has it right: these are the good ol' days. They're good because there's something for everyone, and you can change your something on any given night. Take Kristina Marino. Her blog, The Downtown Diaries, chronicles all things nocturnal in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn—her own weekly imbiberies are chameleon-like, but they're also true to herself. She likes a nice local bar where everyone knows her name, she takes chances with new parties, and she doesn't judge a restaurant by its dress code. Here, her weekly spots to be scene and be sceney.

Your friends and ours at Thompson Hotels (6 Columbus, 60 Thompson, Thompson LES, Gild Hall, Smyth, Hollywood Roosevelt, Thompson Beverly Hills, Hotel Sax, and Donovan House) have launched a new blog called Inn-Sight. Spinning off the Room100 concept of yore, Inn-Sight posts about fashion, art, culture, and of course travel, plus interviews and cool stuff happening in and around the various Thompsons. Plus, it's overseen by our pal Steve Garbarino -- check out his Editor's Letter for the goods on what's going down over there.

The indefatigable neighborhood owned the decade

The town is going goo ga ga over The Standard Hotel's Boom Boom Room and, of course, that not a drag at all queen, Lady Gaga. Word comes to me from multiple (usually reliable) sources that the upper tiers of The Standard will have club legends, Nur Khan and Paul Sevigny on board after a few T's are crossed. I think it's two different spaces, but hey, it's only one cab ride. I could call them both and get a denial...so I'll wait for their phone calls and find the truth in their protests—although it does really makes sense as all parties involved would benefit from the fit. Paul has been looking for a place to hang his hat since The Beatrice took a beating and Nur just loves to be on top of the world. Paul has had marvelous success with his Tuesdays and Thursdays at Avenue so it seems he and Nur are at the top of their game right now. The Standard's excellent location and sublime views combined with the smart looks and staffing seems ideal.

Last week, Down By The Hipster reported that Le Royale, the fun, music-driven joint on Leroy Street, was closing. DBTH later retracted the statement. I think Scott got it right the first time. A swarm of weekend phone calls from employees and people in the know annoyed my friends as we sipped pineapple juice at Fannie Chan's poolside Thompson LES weekly. This story is confusing with partners not speaking and a sale seemingly needing only a dot of an 'I' or cross of a 't' to be real. Terry Casey, an owner and the face of the place, is himself unclear as to what will happen and when.

Last night I was invited to a cocktail party and dinner to kick off the GFC conference in New York -- taking place today -- bringing together some of the most up-and-coming DJs and creatives around the world. The conference's purpose is to discuss the future of music and creative collaboration. One of the most interesting choices is Pedro Winter, a.k.a. Busy-P, as curator in addition to being a DJ, he's also ex-manager of Daft Punk and founder of Ed Banger Records. Pedro selected several of the conference panel members -- those he deems exceedingly relevant in each of their respective countries.