Hollywood on The
Potomac
by Janet
Donovan
"If you can't be
good, be
colorful." Pete
Conrad's motto.
So many authors
showed up to
celebrate
Nancy Conrad's
book about her
late husband
astronaut
Pete Conrad
that it seemed
like the
National
Association of
Book Sellers
annual
convention. The
party was one
last successful
launch
for the space
cowboy who was
celebrated by
friends and
admirers at K
Street's Teatro
Goldoni.
ROCKETMAN:
Pete Conrad's
Incredible Ride
to the Moon &
Beyond was
released on May
3rd. Co-authored
with
screenwriter
Howie Klausner
(Space
Cowboys with
Clint
Eastwood and
Tommy Lee
Jones),
Publisher's
Weekly
described it
this way: "a
snappy,
movie-dialogue
feel to this
biography of
Charles "Pete"
Conrad
(1930- 1999).
Based on
interviews
conducted with
Conrad by his
wife before his
untimely death,
Rocketman
is a candid
insider's view
of the greatest
ride in history.
"For Pete
Conrad, it was
all about the
ride," she said.
Conrad suffered
a lifetime
battle to
overcome the
shortcomings of
dyslexia, so it
was fitting that
Sally Smith,
Founder of The
Lab School of
Washington, was
there to offer
congratulations.
An author of
multiple books
herself, she is
most noted for
her 1981 book,
No Easy
Answers,
which has sold
over 65,000
copies and is a
primer in the
field of
learning
disabilities.
Weighing in on
new books was
Craig Crawford,
the ever
colorful MSNBC &
CBS Early Show
political
analyst who's
getting even
with "Attack the
Messenger: How
Politicians Turn
You Against The
Media" due out
in the fall. CQ
Publisher Bob
Merry's new
book "Sands of
Empire" due out
next month
examines the
misguided
concepts that
have fueled
American foreign
policy since the
end of the Cold
War. Political
talk show host
Bill Press
has one in
the mix as does
journalist
Beth Solomon.
So many authors,
so little
space......
Time Magazine's
affable Matt
Cooper could
be writing
his tome
behind closed
doors, very
closed doors.
Despite his
optimism, the
closer it gets
to a "Free Matt
Cooper" going
away party, the
more
intimidating it
becomes. This is
no laughing
matter for
Cooper who
refused to
reveal his
sources in the
Valerie Plame
affair.
The party was a
send off for
Nancy's national
book tour. Enjoy
the ride!
Photo by
Neshan
Naltchayan.
Bill Press, Beth
Solomon, Nancy
Conrad and ABC's
Chris Berry.
HOLELY
MOLELY!
Get a grip!
By the way some
describe it;
Armageddon is
synonymous with
Laura Bush's
remarks at The
White House
Correspondent's
Association
Annual Dinner
and we're all on
a swift boat to
purgatory
because the
First Lady made
a few off color
jokes and the
audience loved
it. Count me in
for both.
The short
version goes
like this:
Laura Bush
snatched the
podium from
G.W. in a
well
orchestrated
maneuver and
went on a joke
fest expressed
in terms more
familiar to
desperate
housewives than
a First Lady.
She then invoked
the names of
Condi Rice
and Karen
Hughes and
Lynn Cheney
in a scandalous
Chippendale
scenario. "God
forbid."
Religious
conservatives
went ballistic.
"In an official
statement, one
'pro-family'
advocacy group
warned that Mrs.
Bush's jokes at
the President's
expense were in
violation of the
Biblical command
that wives
respect their
husbands."
The Swift Report.
Huh? Make that a
double.
So who are these
people anyway?
Oh, now I
remember........
people like
Jimmy Swaggert,
the disgraced
televangelist
that got caught
doing, well you
know, $35 dollar
hookers? Or
perhaps the
likes of Jim
Bakker, another
televangelist
who funneled a
nifty six figure
hush fund to
silence a tryst
with a church
secretary?
No damper on
this party
though. The
WHCAD is truly
one of
Washington's
most amusing
events and in a
political town,
that's hard to
come by. Missing
from this year's
guest list was
the omnipresence
of the
"outsider' the
"5 minutes of
fame". In short,
we could have
used the
Runaway Bride.
The before and
after parties
were the best
part of the
weekend starting
with Hardball's
Executive
Producer
Tammy Haddad's
annual
smooze fest and
Cristina and
John
McLaughlin's
elegant brunch
at the Hay
Adams. And for
those of you who
didn't get into
the Bloomberg
party, who
cares? As Ann
Klenk, also
a producer on
Hardball would
say "They know
where to find
me."
Well, don't know
who wrote the
First Lady's
speech, but he's
probably
checking out the
classifieds.
Sightings:
Goldie Hawn,
Mary Tyler
Moore,
Queen Noor,
and Richard
Gere. Oh,
and that's me in
the pictcha with
gossip guru
Matt Drudge.
Photo by Pat
Ryan.
WHEN SALLY
MET BEN
The number of
podium couples
at The American
News Womens's
Club's Annual
Gala was one
coupling short
of Elizabeth
Taylor's
marriages. There
was Sally and
Ben, Judy
and Al,
Kathleen and
Chris,
Elsa and Bob,
Alexandra and
George,
Richard and
Richard and
Mary and
James; well,
you get it.
The sock it
to you power
couples were
there to roast
and toast the
superrstars of
The Washington
Post, former
executive editor
Ben Bradlee
and his wife
Sally Quinn,
author,
commentator and
doyenne of the
Washington
social scene.
They were each
honored with
ANWC's Helen
Thomas Award
for Excellence
in Journalism.
Don't know if by
her choice or
theirs, but
Helen was not at
the A-List
podium,
definitely a
mistake for this
otherwise
incestuous
group. While
there was much
good natured
bantering going
on, it was
mostly amongst
themselves.
Kudos to
Alexandra
Stephanopoulos
for putting
the time and
effort into a
great video with
George
and Richard
Cohen for
tossing out the
newsier gossip
on Sally and Ben
even if Mary
Matalin
retorted that he
was there with
his favorite
date: himself.
If only the
evening had
included the
audience it
would have been
a great night!
Photo by
Neshan
Naltchayan.
Elsa Walsh,
Sally Quinn
and James
Carville.
Well, gotta go
now, the Swift
boat is coming
to get me. So,
that's all
folks.
