Inqlings: Alycia Lane's sad task

Q102 morning man

Chris Booker

and girlfriend

Alycia Lane

yesterday said goodbye to his black-and-white cat, Puddy, 12, who'd been ailing with a tumor in his spine. Booker says he grew too emotional when it came time. It was Lane, who had rushed Puddy for an MRI on Jan. 28, who went into the room with him and Dr.

Corinne Majeska

at Old Marple Veterinary in Springfield, Delaware County.

Know a little boy who'd work well on screen with

Lauren Graham

and

Jeff Daniels

?

Graham (

Gilmore Girls

) and Daniels (

The Squid and the Whale

,

Dumb & Dumber

) will be here next month to shoot the romantic comedy

The Dream of the Romans

, and Heery Casting has been drafted to find a "worldly, precocious" white boy, age 7 or 8, to play the son of Graham's character, Elizabeth.

E-mail a recent snapshot (no more than two weeks old) to Heery at

» READ MORE: dreamoftheromans@gmail.com

; include name, age, birth date and a parent's phone number.

In the film by writer/director

John Hindman

, Daniels' character is Arlen Faber, reclusive author of

Me and God

, a popular book about spirituality. Arlen's life collides with those of Elizabeth (a single mom) and Kris (

Joe Anderson

of

Across the Universe

), a young man fresh out of rehab. Both Elizabeth and Kris hope Arlen has the answers, but he hasn't got a clue. Also cast are Philly's

Kat Dennings

(

ER, The 40-Year-Old Virgin

) and

Olivia Thirlby

(Leah in

Juno

). The shoot is booked for 25 days around town.

Philly food names are sprinkled throughout the James Beard Foundation's potential list of annual award nominees, which go to judges who will pare them down to a final list of five in each category. The awards ceremony, likened to the Academy Awards of food, will be June 8.

On the national stage:

Stephen Starr

is up for restaurateur.

Marc Vetri

of Vetri, for chef.

Vetri, for service.

Lacroix at the Rittenhouse, for wine service.

Kate Honeyman

of the Starr-owned Continental Mid-town, for pastry chef.

Jeffrey Michaud

of Osteria,

Chip Roman

of Conshy's Blackfish, and

Michael Solomonov

of Marigold Kitchen, for "rising star chef" (for those under 30).

Osteria (owned by Vetri,

Jeff Benjamin

and

Jeff Michaud

), Tinto (owned by

Jose Garces

), and Xochitl (owned by Solomonov,

Steven Cook

and

Dionicio Jimenez

), for new restaurant.

For best chef, mid-Atlantic, nominees are

Alison Barshak

of Alison at Blue Bell,

Jim Burke

of James in South Philly,

Michael DiBianca

of Moro in Wilmington, Garces of Amada in Old City,

Matthew Levin

of Lacroix at the Rittenhouse, and

Daniel Stern

of Rae in University City.

Northeast Philly-raised

Ron Cutler

was known as

Ron Diamond

when he DJed on WTTM and WIFI, and in dance appearances from 1962 to 1970. He went off to a career in California. Now an author, Cutler will be back this weekend as a guest on

Bob Pantano's

Saturday Night Dance Party

(WOGL, 98.1) and, on Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m., signing copies of his historical novel

The Secret Scroll

at Borders in Marlton. It's a thriller about an archaeologist from Penn who takes a sabbatical in Israel and finds an ancient diary in a cave. Cutler started research in 2001. "I was driven by passion and desire to do something that seemed impossible," he says of a 90-day stretch during which he wrote 10 hours a day.

The Philadelphia Zoo's Amur tiger, Kira, is a single mother of three, since mate Dmitri was sent to the Indianapolis Zoo last month. At 1 p.m. today, Kira and 9-month-old cubs Changbai, Koosaka and Terney will get shank bones as part of a rare feeding open to the public. As for

Dmitri's

Valentine's treat, well: Keep in mind he's in Indy on a breeding loan.