The earth did not stand still, as some have rumored, on the day that I stepped down from the Houston Chronicle to join CultureMap. There may have been seismic tremors across the social landscape but Houston kept right on partying.

So we have a lot to catch up on from the three weeks that I was wearing out my Manolos behind the scenes.

High times with U2

You've all heard about the fab U2 concert at Reliant Stadium, its gonzo staging and the gazillion 18-wheelers required to move the show around. But you probably didn't hear about the private dinner party that Michael Zilkha, Zilkha Biomass Energy co-owner, threw for the band in his tres-French River Oaks chateau.

The night before the concert, more than a dozen Zilkha insiders broke bread with Bono and the U2 gang -- Lynn Wyatt, Susie and Sanford Criner and Dr. Bud Frazier among the lucky ones. The night didn't end with dinner. The flock continued on to the Continental Club where they boogied to the sounds of a group from Louisiana and partied into the next day.

Concert night, Bono served up a generous shout-out to Frazier. The two became new best friends during the band's Houston visit when the famed heart surgeon came to the rescue of U2's tour manager, who suffered an accidental bump on the head.

International flare

It wasn't all business and no play for former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf when he winged through Houston. His speech to the World Affairs Council was a sedate follow-up to the lively dinner held in his honor the night before in the palatial River Oaks home of Susan Krohn.

Joining the New Orleans transplant as hosts for the private evening were Joanne King Herring, former honorary consul general to Pakistan, and Nasruddin Rupani, Pakistani native and president of World’s Gold and Diamonds.

Guests among the 29 sitting down for dinner at two elaborately-laden tables included former U.S. ambassadors Edward Djerejian of Rice University's Baker Institute and Chase Untermeyer, returned from his post in Qatar. And, yes, as is her tradition, Herring required the men to change tables midway through the dinner thereby allowing everyone face time with Musharraf.

Joining the party were Amanda and Robert Brock, George Strake, Penny Butler, Posey Parker, John Thrash and Naushad Kermally, chairman of the Agha Khan Foundation. The consensus on Musharraf -- "spellbinding, intelligent and engaging."

Star power

Count on Robert Duvall to stir things up in any situation. And he did just that, in the best of ways, recently when he tangoed through town on behalf of his charity, the Robert Duvall Children's Fund. (That entity aids impoverished children in Argentina, homeland of his glamorous wife Luciana.) The film star and Danny Davis, our town's debonaire bachelor oilman, are long-time friends and Duvall is a regular under-the-radar visitor here.

However, he decided to make a weekend visit to raise charitable bucks and Davis obliged by inviting 400 or so guests into his new Memorial area swankienda for a Saturday night fundraising bash. Mo's . . . A Place for Steaks chef Eric Aldis provided the heavy party fare for the crowd that included more than a dozen Texas Rangers, each wearing his stately Stetson.

The night before, the Duvalls were Davis' guests for dinner at Mo's, where they were joined by Greg Harkness, Mary Jane Zummo, Judy Nichols, Debbie and Todd Phillips and Betty and Elam Swann.

NYC partying

Stylist to the stars Ceron winged to New York Friday for Allison Sarofim's annual Halloween bash, one of the hottest tickets of the Manhattan fall social season. Each year, the native Houstonian transforms her West Village townhouse into party central and invites 250 of New York's scenesters in to boogie down.

For the '80s themed party inspired by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Ceron went, in his words, as "a Mexican Halston." Real-life designers in the mix included Valentino, Marc Jacobs, Cynthia Rowley, Zac Posen and furniture designer Stuart Parr, Sarofim's steady squeeze.

Highlight of the night was the work of the graffiti artist who flamboyantly decorated the posh townhouse's canvas-covered walls.

High honors

Gayle and Mike DeGeurin opened the doors of their swell Taft Architects home in honor of underwriters of the Rothko Chapel's Oscar Romero Award Ceremony. Key guests were the award recipient, Dr. Murhabazi Namegabe of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Paul Salopek, who was guest speaker at the award presentation at Rothko Chapel.

Joining the DeGuerin gathering were Christopher Rothko (son of the late Mark Rothko), Martha Claire Tompkins, Sissy Farenthold, Ann and James Harithas, Rafael Longoria, Asma Kombargi, Mary Welch and Ernesto Maldonado.

Sight 'ems

Debbie and Roger Clemens in celeb roles at the bar at Mo's . . . A Place for Steaks, where they posed for photos, signed autographs and acted as if all is well in their world . . .

Texas General Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson and Energy Council executive director Lori Cameron entertaining VIP energy types at Danton's Gulf Coast Seafood Kitchen where regulars include former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby and Gayle and Lloyd Bentsen III . . .

Enjoying late-night champagne in the bar at Tony's, Sheridan and John Eddie Williams, Karen and Mike Mayell, Lauren Clark with Danny Pletcher and Carol and Mike Linn, honored earlier in the evening at the Houston Children's Charity gala.