Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



(image via JH/NYSocialDiary)

"Down at Michael’s, it was one of those days -- there were two Senators lunching – Chris Dodd of Connecticut, and New York’s new Senator Kirsten Gilliland – not together. Senator Gilliland was lunching with Jim Torrey, the investment management executive who is rumored to be on President Obama’s shortlist for an ambassadorial post. Just across from them Linda Fairstein, wearing pink fairy wings on the back of her bright yellow blazer, was waiting for Mariska Hargitay. I went over to Linda’s table to see if they were what they looked like .. Last night was the Opening Night Gala for the American Ballet Theatre at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center. It was rumored, and then eventually confirmed that Michelle Obama would be attending .. Waiting in vain, because Mrs. Obama’s first appearance came on stage before curtain. She was introduced by Caroline Kennedy who also mentioned that the performance would include students from the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School of American Ballet. Then Mrs. Kennedy announced 'The First Lady and my friend, Michelle Obama…'" (NYSocialDiary)



"WHILE Hillary Clinton is busy trying to forge world peace, her husband, Bill, is having a European adventure. The former president dropped by the LIFEbeat fashion show in Vienna and chatted up several of the 60 models .. Thursday, he's expected at the AmFAR benefit for AIDS research at the Cannes Film Festival emceed by his old friend Sharon Stone, who was reportedly on board Air Force One on May 18, 1993, when Clinton was parked on the tarmac at LAX getting a haircut." (PageSix)



"Last weekend a group of Northerners beset upon Savannah, but unlike Sherman’s March, we were thoroughly welcomed! Savannah College of Art & Design (celebrating their 30th Anniversary) held their Senior Fashion Show on Saturday night and it was a veritable who’s who’s of style! The modern day Charles & Ray Eames and perennial PAPER contributors, Isabel and Ruben Toledo were recipients of the 2009 Andre Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award! ALT, wearing a black silk caftan with a now ubiquitous Obama family pin and a gold chain worthy of King Henry the 8th (wonder what Morley Safer would have to say about that look), introduced the Toledos emphasizing not only their amazing career accomplishments but also their uber-successful love affair that has lasted 25 years!" (Papermag)



"Far more excitement than usual pulsed through the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York on Monday afternoon, and it was only partially sparked by the formal opening of its renovated American Wing. The cause of the real buzz was Michelle Obama. Escorted by Mayor Michael Bloomberg to the elegant, light-filled Engelhard Courtyard, Michelle wowed a crowd of about 250, mainly big donors, trustees, curators, and others involved with the renovation. There the first lady, in a stunning purple V-neck dress—with sleeves, by the way, and a bow—designed by Isaac Mizrahi, gleefully wielded a pair of gigantic scissors to cut an equally gargantuan dark-red ribbon held by a group of schoolchildren. Then she hugged the kids, and many others in the room. It was hardly the first time Michelle surprised the art world with her involvement, and it’s looking as if it’ll be far from the last." (TheDailyBeast)



"Velupillai Prabhakaran, 54, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (the LTTE) who was declared killed by the Sri Lankan government on May 18, had decades to think about how his end would come. It could have come from the cyanide capsule that he — like many Tiger fighters — wore around his neck, a pledge to commit suicide in case of capture by the Sri Lankan Army. He had been fighting a war for an independent homeland, or eelam, for the island's Tamil minority since 1983, and the Army pursued him throughout the jungles of the north and east for decades. In 2002, during a press conference near the beginning of a four-year-long ceasefire, Prabhakaran revealed that he had asked his aides to kill him if capture was near and he was unable to kill himself. The end, when it came, happened in an armored vehicle in which Prabhakaran was trying to flee with his trusted lieutenants, according to the Sri Lankan government. The group came under fire, and Prabhakaran was one of 18 top LTTE leaders killed in the early morning ambush, the government said." (Time)

"The position of U.S. Ambassador to China may be the second most important in the State Department after the Secretary's job. It has taken the Obama administration a long time to make their selection for this vital post. Their choice, Jon Huntsman, is an excellent one. He has almost all the traits needed to be the first envoy to that country since the general acknowledgement that it is our partner in the G2, our first, most important counterpart in the community of nations. He has extensive regional experience (from service as a missionary in Taiwan to that as an Ambassador to Singapore) .. I have met with him a couple of times, once having had the opportunity for a long dinner time conversation with him a number of years ago, and I was struck with his intelligence, accessibility and political gifts. That he is legitimately seen as a potential Republican presidential candidate also will help with the Chinese and sends a message too about Obama's confidence as a chief executive." (David Rothkopf/ForeignPolicy)

"36 awards were handed out today in New York City at the 68th annual Peabody Awards. The master of ceremonies, NBC's Brian Williams (a previous winner himself), said the Peabody is "considered one of the most important awards," and the wide array of winners represented all sectors of entertainment. In the TV news world, NBC won for 'Richard Engel Reports: Tip of the Spear,' CBS for the 60 Minutes report, 'Lifeline,' and ABC for 'Hopkins.' 'Hopkins' EP Terence Wrong thanked ABC News president David Westin in his speech, for '[believing] documentary still has a role on network news.' The Onion News Network picked up an award, and EP Will Graham thanked the tvnewsers in attendance .. CNN won a Peabody for its coverage of the Presidential primaries and debates, and PBS for 'Washington Week with Gwen Ifill' won as well." (TVNewser)



(image via EW)

"Best known for creating the TV series Nip/Tuck, writer, director and producer Ryan Murphy turns his attention to high school in Glee, his upcoming comedy series for Fox. The series features a high school choir director and his ragtag group of singers." (Fresh Air w/Terry Gross)



"Duro Olowu was the guest of honor at a dinner party hosted by Vogue's Sally Singer that drew Maria Cornejo, Simon Doonan, and Lakshmi Menon, among others, to Norwood last night. The London-based, Nigerian-born designer, who's married to the American curator Thelma Golden, was experiencing the after-effects of a successful trunk show at Barneys the day before, during which he'd helped dozens of ladies into and out of his best-selling patchwork printed tunic dresses, orchid-sleeve jackets, and high-waisted cheetah trousers. 'I'm knackered,' he said, then proceeded to keep his tablemates Iman and Iris Apfel entertained all night." (Style)