Lohan quiet; pal makes some noise

Celeb DJ Samantha Ronson and her pal Lindsay Lohan - hiding under hoodies and traveling alone - rolled into Boston on the Acela Express Wednesday and were quickly whisked away to the Nine Zero Hotel where the two shared a suite. Lohan didn't venture out for Ronson's star turn at The Estate, where the stepdaughter of Foreigner's Mick Jones jokingly told us her favorite love song is the band's power ballad "I Want to Know What Love Is." (Her actual fave: Stevie Wonder's "I Don't Know Why I Love You.") Ronson was a hit at the club, where she seamlessly spun old-school classics, from Prince to Kurtis Blow, as rain-drenched partiers, all decked out in white, writhed on the dance floor. Amid the revelry, half a dozen models in teeny-weeny bikinis emerged from behind the curtain as Ronson did her thing onstage. (And yes, her left arm displayed her red infinity lock bracelet by Jules Smith; Lindsay has a matching one, of course.) Yesterday, the ladies hopped into a limo and were on their way to the DJ's next gig, a White Party at Shrine at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods last night.

Brief spell of Rainn

Who knew Rainn Wilson, a.k.a. Dwight on "The Office," was a New Englander? Well, sort of. All of his "Office" castmates are Mass. natives - Mindy Kaling, B.J. Novak, Steve Carell, and John Krasinksi - and his mom, Shay Cooper, moved to Salem, married a former clam-digger, and opened the Prana Health and Yoga Center in Witch City. During a brief pit stop in Boston yesterday to promote his new film, "The Rocker," Wilson ate a steak at Mooo at XV Beacon, spent some time with his mom, and had a laugh when a reporter from the Patriot Ledger got locked in a bathroom and had to be rescued by hotel staff. "That was fun," said Wilson. "It was real high jinks."

Struttin' their stuff

The Celtics Dancers held their final auditions last night at the Roxy, with 39 half-court hopefuls shaking their rumps and strutting through various dance numbers and - the dreaded - swimsuit competition. (Open to the public, the event had a suggested donation of $10 that went to the team's Shamrock Foundation.) Celtics forward Glen "Big Baby" Davis, "American Idol" contestant Ayla Brown, and comedian Gary Gulman witnessed the spectacle. A slew of media folk were also on the guest list: KISS 108's Billy Costa, Mix 98.5's Kelly Malone and Gregg Daniels, WZLX hosts Big Head Braden and Pete McKenzie, Fox 25's Doug Meehan, WFNX host Special Ed, and Jam'n 94.5's Melissa. Roughly half the ladies were expected to make the team.

His brush with Bobby

The last time Dan Layus was in Boston, the Augustana frontman had the strangest experience: sharing an airport van with Bobby Brown and family. Layus and his band, in town yesterday to play a Mix 98.5 concert at the Pru, said the "interesting" ride came about after they played the Boston Music Awards in December. "You kind of catch yourself going back to fifth grade and thinking, what am I doing here with Bobby Brown?" Layus said. Bobby's entourage, which included son Landon and girlfriend/manager Alicia Etheridge, was singing, Layus remembered. " 'My Girl,' or some old song. And then they all got mad because I was on a nicer flight."

Wouldn't you know it? The two Massachusetts natives on the new season of "Project Runway" are dating. Wesley Nault (left), who's from the Worcester County town of Blackstone, is dating fellow season 5 contestant Daniel Feld (right), who's from Great Barrington. "We tried to keep it very professional on the show because we were both there for our careers," Nault, who got the boot from the Bravo show this week, told People magazine. "We didn't expect this to come out of it. But I'm really happy." The relationship between "Runway" contestants is thought to be a first for the show.

Matty in the Morning, a.k.a. Matt Siegel, is celebrating over at KISS 108 this week, with his highest ratings in a decade, according to the station. He came in first with Boston adults, ages 24 to 54, and with women of all ages in the latest Arbitron ratings. So what is it about Matty? "He's got that kinda bad boy thing," said marketing manager Joe Mazzei. "Every woman wants to tame him."

If you have an '80s hangover - i.e. big hair, high-waisted jeans, and a Nike sweat suit - the producers of "We Got the Beat" are looking for you. The teen comedy, which is shooting now near Worcester, is casting extras today at Clark University's Atwood Hall. About the very first boy band, the film stars Robert Hoffman from "She's the Man," Michael Copon of "One Tree Hill," Ryan Pinkston from MTV's "Punk'd," Ryan Hansen from "Veronica Mars," and E-Knock and Lorenzo of Status Quo, the hip-hop dance group that nearly won "America's Best Dance Crew." Said producer Andrea Ajemian: "The film is set in 1982, so please come dressed for the '80s with hair and makeup camera ready."

Props to NBC for adding Ming Tsai to its long list of talent traveling to the Olympics. The Blue Ginger chef, whose grandparents are Chinese, is bound for Beijing to report on - what else - the cuisine. "We'd been talking to NBC for two years, and this came up," said Tsai, one of the country's best-known chefs thanks to his TV show "Simply Ming." Tsai said he'll do a couple of segments for "Today" hosts Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira, including one on a popular chain of hot-pot restaurants where patrons can also get their shoes shined. The chef, who grew up in California and graduated from Yale, has been to China twice in the past 18 months. Believe it or not, he came close to opening Blue Ginger Beijing in time for the Olympics. "It would have made a lot of money," Tsai said, sighing. "It's a country of 1.2 billion people, and I'd only have to do 300 a night." But, in the end, he concluded it's too far away, and his young son has a peanut allergy. "All it would take is just a little bit of peanut oil," he said. "I didn't want to do that."

Meredith Goldstein of the Globe staff contributed. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.