“Twin City” mayors, global opportunities for women, and dinner with the “Nanny”

By Janet Donovan

Cory Booker, Adrian Fenty

Separated at Birth
The only thing separating Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker and our own Mayor Adrian Fenty is 198 miles, “as the crow flies.” They share not only a passion for their respective cities, but bear an uncanny physical resemblance: tall, lean, and follicly challenged. It’s no surprise they are often mistaken for one another, and that was the case when they both appeared at a screening of Brick City, a five-part miniseries that premiered on the Sundance Channel on Sept. 21.
While the series is about the fight to eliminate crime, poverty, and corruption in Newark, Booker realizes such problems are endemic to all inner cities. “It is a kind of a sharing of spirit that helps us through difficult times,” he said, “especially in this economy when we have challenges and appreciate having other brothers and sisters that are in the process.”
Executive producer Forest Whitaker came to express his deep commitment to the project (as did directors Mark Benjamin and Marc Levin). The Oscar-winning actor is so far removed from Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, whom he portrayed in The Last King of Scotland, that some guests wondered if he had actually shown up. The confusion was caused by his having trimmed down to half the size he was when he played the role.

Chinese Proverbs
“I got a letter from Harvard the other day, something I’ve always wanted,” Tammy Haddad joked, adding that it was about her women’s rights work, not an invitation for a fellowship. That was before she introduced her guests of honor, dual-Pulitzer-Prize-winning New York Times columnist Nick Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, at a party celebrating the couple’s recent book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide.
The title refers to a Chinese proverb roughly translated as, “Talking about a problem is half the solution; doing something about it is the other half.”
Love those Chinese proverbs. They link to everything in life. Take for example when Kristof said that basically we’re all messengers, but the messenger also has to get the message. Proverb: “To talk much and get nowhere is the same as climbing a tree to catch a fish.”
Women’s Global Issues Ambassador Melanne Verveer got into proverb mode as well when she noted the need for women to realize their potential. Proverb: “Raise your sail one foot and you get ten feet of wind.”
Enjoying the buffet, bar, and comfy settees on the lawn were Mike McCurry, Ann Dickerson, John Coale, Juleanna Glover, Anita McBride, Elsa Walsh. and Mike Allen. Proverb: “Enjoy yourself. It’s later than you think.”

The Real Anna Wintour …
She’s been called everything from merely ruthless to the anti-Christ – although Nostradamus would have challenged the latter. If you saw The Devil Wears Prada starring Meryl Streep, which was supposedly laced with nasty vignettes about Vogue’s legendary editor-in-chief, you might tend to agree with the portrayal. However, it would be worth the effort to reconsider by seeing the recently released September Issue, a compelling look into the everyday life of a talented, hardworking woman who drives the fashion industry and is, yes, also a piece of work.
If you made it to the Gilt Group’s after-party at the W Hotel, you saw enough Manolo, Prada, Dior, and Chanel to convice anyone that Washington is no longer “Hollywood for ugly people.”

The Goody Bag
Guests at a dinner in honor of Fran Drescher at Teatro Goldoni were the first to get a sample of one of her new FranBrand products. And no, it wasn’t a decongestant nasal spray. Coming out in November, the former “Nanny’s”organic skin care products will be sold on the Home Shopping Network with a portion of the proceeds going to her Cancer Schmancer charity. “We are good for the planet and good for the soul.”
In the bag: a lip balm that tasted so good, most of the guests passed on dessert.

Angus and Sissy Yates and Dana and Timothy Rooney joined our photo shoot at the newly renovated and redubbed Fairfax Embassy Row Hotel.

This roster is neither the first, nor will it (inevitably) be the last to single out certain individuals, who, by virtue of birth, rank, wealth, or accomplishment, take part in the social life of the nation’s capital. Estimable precursors – drumroll here – include “The Green Book,” so-called for its faux green suede cover, which has appeared continuously since 1930; and The Blue Book of Washington, which ceased publication around 1990 after a century in print. The Social Register, sometimes called the “Black Book,” also contains the names of numerous prominent local figures, many hailing from so-called “blue blood” families, although its thin Washington edition was merged into a much larger 12-city national version in the 1980s.

A key difference separating Washington Life’s list from the others – apart from having no discernible color – is that we do not publish a “phone book” of addresses and contact information, schools attended, club and yacht listings, and the like. Ours is merely an alphabetical nomenclature of people who make a difference by adding immeasureably to Washington’s political, diplomatic and cultural scene. Another point of contrast is size. Compared to the thousands of entries in other directories, WL’s Social List, currently about 700 names and counting, is a relatively small effort. As far as “official Washington” is concerned, we include only a select few of the more sociable (“dining out,” as they were once so charmingly called) members of the Congress, Cabinet, and Supreme Court.

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The 13th annual record of notably social personalities from the worlds of politics, diplomacy, business, philanthropy, and the arts.

By Kevin Chaffee

John Pyles and Barbara Harrison

This roster is neither the first, nor will it (inevitably) be the last to single out certain individuals, who, by virtue of birth, rank, wealth or accomplishment, take part in the social life of the nation’s capital. Estimable precursors – drumroll here – include The Green Book,” so-called for its faux green suede cover, which has appeared continuously since 1930; and the Blue Book of Washington, D.C., which ceased publication around 1990 after a century in print. The Social Register, sometimes called the “Black Book,” also contains the names of numerous prominent local figures, many hailing from so-called “blue blood” families, although it merged its thin Washington volume into a much larger 12-city national version back in the 1980s.

A major difference separating Washington Life’s list from the others – apart from having no discernible color – is that we do not publish a “phone book” containing addresses and contact information, much less schools attended, club memberships and yacht listings. Ours is merely an alphabetical nomenclature of people who make a difference by adding immeasurably to their city, and by extension, their country and the world. Another point of contrast is size. Compared to the many thousands of entries contained in other directories past and present, WL’s Social List, currently about 700 names and counting, is relatively small. We do not see the need to include every member of the Congress, Cabinet or Court (i.e., Supreme), much less all those with top jobs listed in the “Plum Book” of political appointments.

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The 16th Annual Record of the Washington Social Scene.

Deborah and Curtin Winsor III, Kathy Kemper and Jim Valentine, and Francis Colt de Wolf III and his wife Nathalie de Wolf, stroll the iconic Peacock Alley in the Willard InterContinental Washington while enjoying a few fine flutes of bubbly off the champagne cart. Photo by Clay Blackmore

“A beautiful summer week-end with a few dear friends at our farm in Middleburg.” – Roger and Vicki Sant

“I enjoyed listening to my friend Rima at her baby shower talk about how much fun it was being pregnant, she was enjoying all the attention her husband was giving her and would miss that after she gives birth.” – Irene Pollin

“My favorite social event of 2007 was Marvin Hamlish’s birthday party – lots of laughter and music provided by Marvin and good conversation – a very fun, totally wonderful dinner in Marvin’s honor. It was great to hear him play his own birthday song!” - Ann Hand

“One of our favorite memories of 2007 was the Harman Center for the Arts opening event. The evening was all about enlightenment and enchantment.” – Huda and Samia Farouki

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