Perspectives on power and music, plus diplomatic comings and goings.

By Gail Scott

Benny Goodman performs for a young audience in Red Square. Moscow, Soviet Union, 1962 (Courtesy of the Irving S. Gilmore Music Library, Benny Goodman Papers, Yale University)

What’s Power on Embassy Row?
To many, power on Embassy Row means getting instant return calls from the White House. Others count the number of Cabinet secretaries and Supreme Court justices they can attract to a dinner. Some count their Sunday morning talk show appearances as badges of power.

But on the fifth anniversary of the American occupation of his country, Iraqi Ambassador Sameer Shaker Sumaidaie wishes he had less “power.”“I don’t see myself as ‘powerful,’ he said recently. “In the old days, when communication was so different, ambassadors wielded the influence of their nation in the host country. The British ambassador in a small country projected the power of the whole empire. Today, communication is much more direct between heads of state.”

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Anthony Williams and Adrian Fenty

Location: Nationals Ballpark

WL EXCLUSIVE – Photos by Tony Powell

THE EVENT: Nationals owner Ted Lerner and wife Annette Lerner are more than sports fans; they’re quite literally sports supporters, as their brand-new Nationals Park will support the weight of hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians eager to catch a home game. After so much planning and prepping, it’s no surprise that this Opening Day 2008 celebration was attended by so many VIPs. THE GUESTS: Frederick Shaufeld, Nancy Brinker, Paxton and Rachel Baker, Beth Dozoretz, Catherine Reynolds, Norah O’Donnell, Geoff Tracy, Claire Simmons, Nancy Taylor Bubes, Mark Ein, David Dupree, Dan and Rhoda Glickman, Hanayo Kato and Japanese Amb. Ryozo Kato, Tony Kornheiser, Tony Nader, Alphonso Jackson, Deborah Epstein, and Wolf Blitzer.

From Sundance to New York Fashion Week, surviving the Y&GL, and talking Love Letters with Patti Smith.

By Michael M. Clements

Junko Koshino fashion lands at the Kennedy Center (photo by Tony Powell).

“You know you are at fashion week when the bathrooms have skinny mirrors.” This pearl of wisdom came straight from the stylish lips of WL Trend Reporter Yona Park as she and I took in the Sass & Bide Fall Collection during the Super Bowl of fashion: Mercedes-Benz’s Fall Fashion Week in New York, which, incidentally, happened to coincide this year with the real Super Bowl. It doesn’t get any more “metro” than catching a full day of runway shows at Bryant Park and then watching the Giants humble the Patriots from a dive bar in the Lower East Side.

Franco Nuschese was in New York trend spotting as well. The Café Milano and Manfacto men’s clothing line owner was seated behind fellow Italian Ermenegildo Zegna at Zegna’s Fall Collection preview. Men looking to modernize their tuxedo collection should get fitted for Zegna’s latest styles; but be pre-warned – people will notice.

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Ambassador Ryozo Kato has served for six years overseeing strengthening bi-lateral ties while enjoying the splendor of Japan’s traditional-meets-modern Ambassador’s residence.

By Michael M. Clements
Photography Gary Landsman

A long hallway in classic Japanese style, which connects the main house with the tea house.

It’s a snowy December evening and a black-tie crowd of Japanese businessmen, embassy staff, U.S. Foreign Service alumni, and influential Japanese-Americans are congenially milling about the Four Seasons Hotel ballroom. They have gathered to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Japan America Society of Washington, D.C.

After several rounds of loud woodblock clops (in lieu of Washington’s de rigueur bell chime) and some brisk tableside business card exchanges, guests settle into their seats. Former Vice President Walter Mondale, who served as ambassador to Japan during the Clinton era, speaks first. He begins with a joke and finishes with fond recollections of his time in Japan. Former Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta follows with an equally polished and respectful speech. The evening stays true to form, format, and formality … until Ambassador Ryozo Kato, Japan’s longest serving post-World War II ambassador to the U.S., takes the podium.

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