Parties

U.S. News & World Reports‘ Susan Milligan offers her acerbic take on what’s really wrong with the White House Correspondents’ Dinner as the Washington press corps. prostrates itself to Hollywood celebs. Unlike some dinner critics, Milligan (a snooty Gridiron member and longtime Washington reporter) doesn’t see a problem with Washington’s coziness with Hollywood, she just doesn’t like the Lindsay Lohans and multitudinous Kardashians of the world.

In her story, Milligan describes what the dinner used to be like — and what it’s like now.

“With each passing year, the dinner is starting to look more like an after party at the Oscars. And what’s worse, the reporters hosting the event end up in supporting roles as groupies, degrading both themselves and the profession. … Kim Kardashian, really? … What was Lindsay Lohan doing at the dinner? Convicted former Reps. Jim Traficant and Duke Cunningham aren’t invited. So why have some actress at the dinner who has been forced to wear an electronic monitoring device around her ankle?”

Unlike many, she says it’s not that there is too much coziness in Washington. She insists there’s not enough. Huh? Read on.

On a side note: The New York Daily News is reporting today that Kim Kardashian is really a Democrat. Despite all that Fox News on in the household she leans left. “I’m a Democrat,” she told NYDN proudly.  Funniest part of the story is when she refers to Rick Santorum as “Rick Santoro.”

 

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If all the spring conferences and after work mixers typically leave you noshing on free appetizers rather than actually meeting people, there’s a cure. In mediabistro.com’s latest AvantGuild feature, career coaches outline five steps to help even the most socially averse conquer their new-people phobia.

No. 2: Listen first.

The one hard and fast rule to remember is to listen more than you talk, says Juli Monroe, a coach at 1 to 1 Discovery, a Washington, D.C.-based networking and social media agency. “If you listen first, then you know how to talk about yourself,” she explained. “If you can address their needs, then you can pitch your services, but in a targeted and strategic way.”

Read more in How To Network in Any Situation.

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Saturday night was the joint birthday party for Karl Frisch and Eric Burns at the Argonaut. Frisch and Burns, formerly of Media Matters for America and currently of Bullfight Strategies, sent out invitations telling us that the party started at 8:30 p.m. Naturally we showed up at 9:45 p.m. After we said Happy Birthday to Frisch, we wandered around the bar looking for Burns. We were looking for the best head of hair in the building, and sadly didn’t see him. Frisch told us that Burns “should be here shortly.” We waited and mingled with the likes of Ben Fishel, who spilled the beans about his former Weiner of a boss last week, and other friends of Burns and Frisch. As the party approached 11 p.m., there was still no sign of Burns. Calls weren’t returned. Texts went unanswered. So, we did what any caring party-goer would do. We hailed a cab and went home.

We reached Burns this morning to hear his excuse. He tells FishbowlDC that as he was getting ready for the party, he began “feeling dizzy.” When he tried walking out the door, he lost consciousness and toppled headfirst to floor. His wife insisted on going to the hospital, but Burns refused. We asked the most obvious question…  ”Were you drunk?” Burns promises he wasn’t, but wishes he was.

He chose to indulge in another way. He tells us, “I did eat many of the 300 cupcakes that were supposed to go to the party while sporting an ice pack. Didn’t get drunk- but I did get a nice sugar high.” At least he had an eventful 39th birthday party. Can’t wait to see how he tops it next year for the big 4-0. But, for now, his biggest gift is a giant knot on his head. We can only pray that it doesn’t screw up his amazing hair.

There are perks to being a reporter in Washington.

Restaurateurs, DC nightlife moguls and notable mixologists & sommeliers attended the 2012 Moet Hennessy Winemaker Tour on Thursday evening at The Occidental. Moet Hennessy winemakers gave Washington a taste of their flavors from around the world. They included New Zealand’s Cloudy Bay Te Koko, France’s Chateau de Sancerre’s Cuvee du Connetable, Napa Valley’s Chandon Etoile Brut and Spain’s Numanthia Termanthia.

Guests sipped spirits and mingled with Washington notables such as ABC 7′s Cynne Simpson (pictured below) and Jummy Olabanji, Park’s Mark Barnes, Katherine Kennedy, Marvin’s Sheldon Scott, Cities’ Seyhan Duru, Mie N Yu’s Mike Cherner, The Occidental Sommelier Michael Williams and GM Dusan Bogomirovic, W Hotel’s Wil Lee and Againn Gastro Pub’s Jaime Lang.

From L to R: Michelle Desrosiers, Seyhan Duru and Cynne Simpson

 

If you don’t already have plans this weekend, we might have the perfect soireé for you.

The Fillmore Silver Spring, as part of it’s community philanthropy program, is hosting, of all things, an event dubbed “Seniors Sweetheart Social.” It’s a Valentine’s Dance for 90-year-old’s. The press release says that there will be “dancing, frolicking and enjoying Valentine’s Day.” I guess that makes sense if you count reminiscing over favorite “Matlock” episodes  as “enjoying Valentine’s Day.” The release goes on to say, “Forget age 64.  Will you still need me?  Will you still feed me?  When I’m 94?” As long as it’s soft food, yes, I will still feed you.

This could be a sweet event, assuming they all make it through the party. Who knows, you might even get a chance to meet Helen Thomas? Festivities will kick off this Sunday at 6:30pm ET at the Fillmore.

Give Andrew Breitbart a plate of spare ribs and a goblet of red wine and he’s yours for as long as you want him. In fact, he’ll stay up until 5 or 6 in the morning telling you what he thinks about a whole host of things on his mind. Hey, if we’re going to do that, can we at least have some ribs and wine too?

For now, it’s 8 p.m. on Wednesday night — CPAC eve — and Breitbart, a publisher who runs six websites, is just getting warmed up. He’s at home at “The Embassy” (the townhouse he and his business partner, Larry, call “home” in Washington) for a book party on digital kids books that focus on family values like hard work and patriotism. Larry is a little freaked out about by my miniature blue notebook and pen but soon enough he gets over it. No one is talking about those kiddie books. Certainly not Breitbart.

He’s chilling in the parlor in a masculine rich brown leather armchair. His exquisite mop of gray curls sets off nicely against his attire, a pale blue button down, faded blue jeans and dark loafers, and his eyes, a crystalline blue.

For starters, Breitbart in person is not Breitbart online. He dominates every room he enters with his emotional and physical presence, but he’s warm and hospitable — and quite the goofball. He knows the perception is off. “All these bastards in media who meet me like me because they know I won’t lie,” he says. But not all like him, not even on the right, and he knows it. Hence the bodyguard he’ll have as he attends CPAC this week. He doesn’t like to think about danger too much. He jokingly mentions weapons he carries that include a “bazooka, a dog feces catapult and horse urine balloons.” He gives a nod to his publicist on the dog feces line and makes sure she thinks it’s funny. At two or three junctures in our conversation, he prefaces what he is about to say by declaring that THIS will be the most shocking thing I hear from him all night. In those moments, I brace myself for news that he once ate a live chicken including the beak and then he inevitably tells me something comparatively benign.

But Breitbart, even at his least shocking, is anything but benign…

Read more

Last night we crashed the Heritage Foundation Media Christmas Party held at their posh Capitol Hill headquarters on Massachusetts Avenue because, well, why not? It’s Christmas, the season of giving, and what would giving be without someone there to take it? ‘Tis the season to party crash, after all, and it is the unofficial sport of Washington. Well, right after Hill staffers hooking up with interns.

First impression: Nice digs! The Heritage Foundation has some bucks, and they dropped some buck on the lobby of their 7^th floor theater, where the party was held.

Second impression: This was a Christmas party, damn it! None of this PC “Happy Holidays” garbage here, it’s the Christmas season. Christmas tree glistening away in the reflection of the ceiling to floor windows overlooking Union Station, Christmas ties and freshly nogged eggs. OK, maybe not the egg part, but the rest was all Christmas.

Third impression: Top-shelf booze. This soiree was for media types, after all, and even conservative media types love them some alcohol. There was plenty to be had here, Bombay Sapphire, Absolute, etc. No bathtub gin/rail swill here, that stuff is for liberals and this was a 1% party.

Fourth impression: These people know how to eat. The buffet spread had crab cakes (delicious), chicken breast slices (delicious), tiny wieners baked in croissants (huh?). Yes, the tiny wieners were a bit out of place, but they weren’t all that bad, actually. And the dessert table? A diabetic coma waiting to happen, but what a way to go.

Fifth impression: Who goes to a conservative media party? Turns out a lot of people. The room was full of Heritage staff, Hill staff and media types from Human Events, The Washington Times, Roll Call, The Hill, Fox News, etc. Surprising was the age range. While there was a disproportionate share of curmudgeons there (looking at you, Cal Thomas, John Gizzi and Al Regnery), there were a lot of young people there too. Jason Mattera, the soon-to-NOT-BE-Editor-in-Chief of Human Events, Vince Coglianese from the Daily Caller, Conn Carroll from the Washington Examiner, and boybander extraordinaire, Slate’s own Dave Weigel.  Also in the crowd, towering over it and the only thing in the room taller than the Christmas tree was Jim Pinkerton, the 6 foot 9 inch writer/contributor for Fox News.

Overall impression: A much better party than expected. Though, admittedly, the expectations were low. Probability of adding this party to the must-crash list for next year? High.

Politico and its sister outlet Politico Pro handed out “Policymaker of the Year” awards at the Mandarin Oriental Tuesday night. It was their version of report cards, and if they were to issued themselves a letter grade, it would be one notch above an A-plus.

The “welcome” table, stage banners, cocktail table tops, pens and even the napkins were branded with the publications’ names. Call it marketing, but we’re still seeing red spots when we blink.

Kicking off the evening was a “Year in Review” panel discussion with Politico 2012 reporter Alex Burns joined by Pro reporters Elizabeth Wasserman, Dan Berman, and David Nather. The event was led by Executive Editor Jim Vandehei and Chief White House Correspondent Mike Allen. Breakout sessions with policy experts on health care, technology and energy followed.

Allen also moderated the health care panel, nodding his head when he agreed with the speakers, looking out into the audience every three minutes and smiling like a proud son of Politico‘s Founding Fathers.

We didn’t take away much from the session because, coincidentally, there was a lot of coughing going on, making it hard to hear as we feared for our health.  But we noticed the stylish cufflinks Allen wore and asked him about them at the cocktail reception after. He said he bought them in Manhattan from Pink, though “someone thought they were Lego.” The cufflinks are pictured at the right.

Politico Pro is just over a year old. Part of the evening was to celebrate it. An attendee who works in the health insurance industry spoke with us at the reception, though she was too shy to be named. She told us she likes Pro, but said it might be becoming too pricey. (In explanation…The rates are tricky. They have varying rates depending on which policy area you want, if it’s for a company or individual, etc. For an individual, Pro Health Care is $2495/year — a rate that will jump to $4495 in the new year. Happy New Year, folks.)

After cocktails, “Policymaker of the Year” awards went to Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson.

The bar was a big hit. Overheard during the reception…

Attendee 1: I found the bar faster than you.

Attendee 2: I can’t believe that.

Photo L to R: Rick Klein, Robin Sproul, Richard Kaplan, Ross Levinsohn, Jonathan Karl, Amy Walter, Joe Ruffolo.

If you didn’t make it up to the rooftop of 101 Constitution Ave for Yahoo! News’ swanky soiree on Wednesday night, here’s a quick recap of what you missed:  Thrown by event extraordinaire Philip Dufour, the party was held in large part to welcome new DC bureau chief David Chalian.  In addition, the newsgroup used the opportunity to kick off their 2012 campaign coverage plans and to raise a glass to their partnership with ABC News.

Ross Levinsohn, Yahoo! EVP of the Americas  (and American University alum),  spoke about Yahoo! News’ expanding editorial coverage and presence in Washington to a crowd that included many familiar faces from ABC’s DC bureau:  Ann Compton, Jonathan Karl, Rick Klein, Polson Kanneth, Richard Kaplan, Amy Walter and Robin Sproul.  Also in attendance were WaPo‘s Dana Milbank, Neil Patel of the Daily Caller, NJ’s Chris Frates, Jane Mayer from the New Yorker, CNN’s Dan Lothian and Alex Mooney, Politico’s Marty Kady and Keach Hagey, Judy Kurtz of The Hill, NBC’s Adam Verdugo, MSNBC’s Karen Finney, CQ Roll Call’s Mark Walters and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.

Yahoo! News will make a splash in the District next week with a rooftop fete at 101 Constitution Ave.  Few details about the invite-only soiree were offered in an invitation headlined “We’ve got news to share” but judging by the newsgroup’s selection of Philip Dufour as event planner, the party will be an affair to remember.  Dufour, former social secretary for Al and Tipper Gore, was the mastermind behind many of the city’s most memorable celebrations.  His company was responsible for BBC’s RTCA after-party in 2010, MSNBC’s 2010 WHCD fete and 2009 RTCA after-party, and the black-tie grand re-opening of Georgetown’s Social Safeway.  In short, you had us at “Dufour,” Yahoo.