Thursday, September 19, 2013. Another beautiful barely Autumn day, yesterday in New York, with temperatures in the mid to upper 60s.
It was Wednesday. I went to Michael’s. It was busy, although quieter than the railroad station din and cacophony on some Wednesdays. Don’t get me wrong; I love it. You feel like you’re in the thick of it. Whatever that is.
![]() | ![]() | | Jesse with his wife Karen Collins out on the town. | ![]() |
I had lunch with my friend Jesse Kornbluth (who writes HeadButler.com daily). He writes another column on the web also. In fact Jesse reads and writes more than anyone I know. He’s always at it which is authentically awesome. Therefore, there is always something to learn. Our conversations, however, are totally back and forth, and constantly being returned to the main subject after the distraction of some theretofore unknown fact or piece of information that appeared in the conversation.
Jesse, who has just finished a novel, has been at it for a long time in New York, having written some of the most memorable profiles in both New York and Vanity Fair. He’s been at it as a professional writer a lot longer than I (and he’s younger too). He has an excellent sense of humor, alert to the ironies that pace our life stories. He is as well as the gilded possessor of fascinating observations and anecdotal tales (sometimes known as good gossip) about many of the names that are familiar to us. Particularly in the world of what is called Media – which is practically everybody these days.
I also learned yesterday that Jesse regularly, even frequently posts on Facebook. It is always an opinion couched in something literary. I asked him why he did this. He said it was because it was a great opportunity to comment on the current state of things (and/or people) and when people find something they like, they re-posted it. The writer writes for readers.
When I got to the restaurant, fifteen minutes late, he was at the table re-reading “The Book of Laughter and Forgetting” by Milan Kundera who Jesse believes may just about be the greatest writer. Before he closed the book, he had to share a sentence from Kundera: “The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.”
That immediately launched our conversation about the current state of affairs in the world and some of the characters on the dance floor. From there we ascended and descended into numerous recollections and stories about them and others and us and others. I wanted to go home and read Kundera.
Meanwhile the place was full up. Next door to us at table one, Terry Allen Kramer was hosting a women’s lunch of her pals such as Margo Nederlander, Felicia Taylor and Mia McDonald. I have no idea what was passing conversation over there but I am sure it was interesting as all of these women are involved in their businesses and projects.
Also next door: the very dietarily irrepressible Nikki Haskell was lunching with prominent real estate broker Eva Mohr. Nikki spends a lot of time on the West Coast also, and has ridden several big waves in that storm with the best of them. And some others too. And next door to them Wendy Williams was lunching with her parents – which was interesting. Her parents are rather distinguished and conservative looking people. Her mother was very smartly dressed, a thoroughly modern matron. Her father, natty and proper also. You suddenly could see “the daughter” emerged from that great big television personality. Very sweet.
Also nearby:Steve Rubenstein, PR exec; Da Boyz, or rather some of them: Imber, Della Femina, Greenfield and Bergman. Across from them, Al Roker and guest; two tables beyond, Mrs. Roker, Deborah Roberts was lunching with Cosmo’sJoanne Coles. Around the room: Betsy Perry and literary agent Fredi Friedman; Documentarian Mary Murphy; Wednesday Martin with Kelly Klein; Tom Goodman with David Adler; Robert Zimmerman with Ken Schlenker and Pablo Cerrilla of Gertrude (art); Sanford & Stein were celebrating Stein’s bday; the Mayor’s lawyer (or so they say) Richard DeScherer; TV producer Joan Gelman and son Josh;Star Jones with her good pal Dr. Holly Johnson; mega-agent Mort Janklow and television mogul Ed Bleier; celebrity PR guru Catherine Saxton with Graham Gaspar and Rhona Silver; Tad Smith of Cablevision; Nick Verbitsky of United Stations Radio; Julie Hayek, Michael’s very own Brenda Starr reporter Diane Clehane with Time editor Steve Koepp; BJ Coleman; Lulu Chiang; Andrew Stein; Beverly Camhe, Bill Keller of the New York Times with Deborah Kenny of Harlem Village Academy.; and many more just like ‘em.
![]() | ![]() | | Salon rose of the French Consulate in NY. | ![]() |
Catching Up. On Monday a week ago, the American Friends of the Paris Opera and Ballet, the Consul General of France in New York Bertrand Lortholary and Vacheron Constantinhosted a dinner in the beautiful salons of the New York French Consulate in honor of Benjamin Millepied and his new position at the head of the Paris Opera Ballet. The evening brought together 80 close friends and artists for a magical and surprise performance.
Among those celebrating Benjamin Millepied and wife Natalie Portman were H. E. Francois Delattre, French Ambassador to the United States; Olivia Flatto, Chairman of AFPOB; Hugues de Pins, President of Vacheron Constantin North America; Renee Fleming, Lily Safra, Lesley Stahl, Christopher Wheeldon, Judith Hoffman, Adrienne Arsht, Shen Wei, James de Givenchy, Laura Zeckendorf, Serena Lese, Tim Fain, Pamela Joyner, Carol Mack, Liz Peek, Sutton Stracke and Kinga Lampert among many others.
Since its inception almost thirty years ago, the American Friends of the Paris Opera & Ballet has been true to its mission of sharing the treasures of the Paris Opera directly with the American public, and to fostering artistic cooperation between the Paris Opera and the creative community in the United States. They have accomplished this through the support of U.S. tours of the Paris Opera and Ballet, appearances of guest artists, student exchange programs, and many productions at the Paris Opera that prominently feature the participation of American artists. |
