Media-Whore D'Oeuvres

"Last week, I wrote on the strategic challenge Iran faces in its bid to shape a sphere of influence stretching from western Afghanistan to Beirut on the eastern Mediterranean coast. I also pointed out the limited options available to the United States and other Western powers to counter Iran. One was increased efforts to block Iranian influence in Syria. The other was to consider a strategy of negotiation with Iran. In the past few days, we have seen hints of both ... The Iranians have claimed that the letter the U.S. administration sent to Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that defined Iran's threats to Strait of Hormuz as a red line contained a second paragraph offering direct talks with Iran. After hesitation, the United States denied the offer of talks, but it did not deny it had sent a message to the Iranian leadership. The Iranians then claimed such an offer was made verbally to Tehran and not in the letter. Washington again was not categorical in its denial. On Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during a meeting with the German foreign minister, 'We do not seek conflict. We strongly believe the people of Iran deserve a better future. They can have that future, the country can be reintegrated into the global community ... when their government definitively turns away from pursuing nuclear weapons.' From our perspective, this is a critical idea." (Stratfor)

"Yesterday morning at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, they held a 'Celebration of The Life of Evelyn H. Lauder,' who died last November 12, three months to the day after her 75th birthday. A ten o’clock is early for me since we rarely put the Diary to bed before 2 or even 3 – and one doesn’t immediately fall asleep thereafter. A ten o’clock across town meant an 8 o’clock rising. That means four or five hours sleep, if I’m lucky, which isn’t enough to for me. Once when talking about the subject of sleep with a group of people in the media world, Martha Stewart asked me how much sleep I got. I told her six hours if I were lucky. 'Oh you get a lot of sleep,' she said almost dismissively – like 'toughen up, boy.' I asked her how much she got. 'Four.' Geez ... got to Lincoln Center (heavy traffic on the West Side) about five after ten, and to my seat less than ten minutes later. There were a number of us, including Daryl Roth, the Broadway producer, and Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, who didn’t seem to know where he was sitting. Those of us 'latecomers' found seats (and a great view) from the second Ring (there are five). The program had not yet started. The orchestra and finally the first and second Rings were filled. There must have been about 3000 guests (it was by invitation only)" (NYSocialDiary)

"The 84th annual Academy Award nominations have been announced. While the likes of 'Hugo' and 'The Artist' expectedly led the nominees overall, there were also many surprises this morning. For better or worse ... Gary Oldman, Oscar nominee. Finally, we can no longer say that Gary Oldman is one of the greatest living actors to have never received an Oscar nomination. He deservedly snuck into the best actor category for 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,' which also took screenplay and score nominations ...  Melissa McCarthy, Kristin Wiig, Bret McKenzie and Jim Rash all get nominated: While none of these nominees are really that surprising (though it's still quite something Melissa McCarthy made it in the end), collectively they made for a great morning for funny people primarily known for television. McCarthy ('Mike & Molly'), Kristin Wiig ('Saturday Night Live'), Bret McKenzie ('Flight of the Conchords') and Jim Rash ('Community'). Interestingly, only McCarthy was an acting nominee. Rash and Wiig both got in for writing (Rash for 'The Descendants,' Wiig for 'Bridesmaids'), while McKenzie wrote the nominated song from 'The Muppets.'" (IndieWIRE)

"Howard (Stern) came back and had Chelsea Handler come in. Howard said she's sold 3 books and her fourth one came out just recently. Chelsea said that it actually came out a year ago. Chelsea told Howard these hours are brutal. Howard said they are but he's only doing it 3 days a week now ... Howard and Chelsea talked about Jennifer Aniston for a short time. Howard said that Jennifer Aniston has a great ass. He saw her at a Paul McCartney concert and he saw this great ass in the audience and it turned out to be Jennifer. Howard said he doesn't see her as sexual but that night there was something going on. Howard asked Chelsea about her relationships with men. She said that a lot of men are intimidated by her. She said that she loves men and being with men. She said she's not a cheater either. She dated 50 Cent. Howard asked how he is. She said that he's very sweet and he has great energy and he's like a big, black Teddy Bear. She said she's had a thing for black guys and it must run in the family because her dad is into black women. Howard asked Chelsea if it's more exciting to be with a famous guy than with a businessman. He said there is something exciting in that. Chelsea said she tries not to date other celebrities. She said that everyone is such a mess and it's not a real thing. She said that she and 50 Cent dated for a few months and then things just fell apart. Howard asked if there were a lot of black people at his house. She said there were. She said that he wasn't into smoking pot or doing anything like that. She said that's what she likes to do." (Marksfriggin)