, a finalist on American Idol's fifth season and a funeral director by trade, will host a singing contest open to conventiongoers called "NFDA Idol."

Someone clearly with a sense of humor chose Finnigan's Wake, the sprawling bar at Third and Spring Garden Streets, as the site of an Oct. 17 NFDA party.

Speaking of Finnigan's Wake: Hammers are pounding at the Wachovia Center for an outpost in the main concourse, replacing the Red Bell microbrewery. It's expected to open for the Flyers' home opener Oct. 7. Red Bell's brewing tanks are being removed. Finnigan's will join other sports bars in or near the stadium complex, including Chickie's & Pete's, McFadden's, and Benny the Bum's.

By day, is communications director at Weavers Way, the crunchy-granola food co-op in West Mount Airy. By night, he tries to figure out novel ways for people to die.

McGoran, 42, of Jenkintown, writes crime-scene-investigation novels under the pen name . The set-in-Philly Body Trace - the first of a three-book series - is new in stores from Berkley, a Penguin imprint. Publishers Weekly called it a "brisk, tight novel." The second book, Blood Poison, is a year away.

He got into forensics after his agent, a former Penguin editor, learned that the publisher wanted to sell the genre. Meanwhile, he had two other books - still unsold. They decided that a pseudonym was in order. She came up with "D.H."; his father was from "Dublin."

McGoran is learning forensics along the way. He has toured a police lab and interviews scientists. For one book, he said, he had to call to find out how much of a particular gas it would take to fill a room to make it lethal.

hit Old City on Friday night, with mixed results for the people who served him and five others. First stop was Buddakan, where they sat among the general population in the main dining room and tipped about 25 percent. Next stop was Swanky Bubbles, where they requested a private area and left a paltry $9 plus change on their modest $69 tab.

Everybody likes "parents": , who plays Chris' mom, Rochelle, on the CW series Everybody Hates Chris, and , who's Chris' dad, Julius, will sign autographs from noon to 1 p.m. tomorrow outside Philly 57, Fifth and Market Streets.

Apprentice alumna has dashed off a cease-and-desist letter to CBS Radio. She was not happy about what she termed "inappropriate" comments made about her last week by WIP-AM (610) host on his morning show. (Elmore was the Flyers' in-arena host last season. Cataldi was interviewing her replacement, .) Elmore said yesterday that she harbored no ill will toward Cataldi. She's looking for an apology. Station manager said late yesterday that he and Elmore had reached an "amicable understanding on the matter."

The Here cable channel, shooting an episode of Love and Sex in Philadelphia, tailed Philadelphia Gay News publisher and beau Sunday night: to dinner at Bump, to Tavern on Camac for piano bar, and then to 12th Air Command for dancing. Program's date to be announced.

South Philly photog was feeling chipper after she learned she had been selected to exhibit in the Whitney Biennial. Showing major moxie, she e-mailed people to suggest they outfit her on Mizrahi's Style Network show, Isaac. She taped Friday and will turn up on screen next month. At her request, she came out looking butch. "I think they were like interested in having somebody who had a different sensibility than people who ask for these things," Strauss says.

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