Posted Aug. 13, 2008,

The Talented Tenth: Black folks come out for HBO's The Blacklist

By Rebecca Carroll

I love a room full of black people -- even more so, a room full of beautiful black people. I can't get enough. It thrills me to no end. So when I walked into One Time Warner Center last night for the reception of Elvis Mitchell and Timothy Greenfield-Sanders's new documentary, The Blacklist, I was pretty much in heaven on the spot.

Everyone knows that Kareem Abdul Jabar is tall -- but have you ever actually stood within arm's length to a man who is 7' 2"? Wow. I didn't introduce myself because I didn't really know what I might say ("Hi, you’re tall."). Plus, I'm 5' 2" -- what kind of trauma happens when as a grown adult you stand directly next to another grown adult who is a full two feet taller than you?

Other luminaries included Oprah's best friend Gayle King, the absolutely stunning Faye Wattleton of Planned Parenthood, Al Sharpton and Dick Parsons (who both introduced and appear in the film). We arrived a bit late (pouring rain; no cabs), but I heard that other big shots like Bill T. Jones were also in attendance.

About Last Night... Sarah Ferguson Benefit at Cipriani and Ashley Olsen, John Galliano, Sting and Slash at the Waverly Inn

By Caroline Torem Craig

Last night, Halloween Eve, the stars came out in full force for Sarah, Duchess of York’s charity concert series to benefit UNICEF at Cipriani Wall Street. Is there any woman alive that doesn't find Lenny Kravitz kinda cool-looking? And there he was in the blackest of black leather. He breezed passed the red carpet until I screamed, "Lenny, please let us get a full length photo cause you are looking really good!" So he turned on a dime and came back for another 30 seconds! Roberto Cavalli, racecar driver Jeff Gordon, Lucy Liu, wild-maned Victoria Silvstedt were among the guests in attendancee. We asked Sarah if she was going out for Halloween and she said, “Of course, but I’m not telling what my costume is…” We suggested, “How about a princess!” And that got a naughty chuckle from her.

Helicopters (Even in Kauai) Scare the Sh*t Outta Me!

By Ann Magnuson

You can't go to Kauai and NOT take a helicopter ride. But I did during last week's vacation there. That is, NOT take one. (And when I heard the news of those Phoenix telechoppers colliding the day after we returned I was happy I didn't!) However, I could've been talked into it but my significant other decided to pass on it -- too many horror stories of tourists slamming into extinct volcanos. It happens at least once a year.

The reason I might have been persuaded to do so is that even though the very thought of lifting off in one of these whirlybirds induces a tsunami-sized adrenaline rush of fear, I DID take a helicopter tour of Kauai back in 1989 (when I went to "The Garden Isle" with my father and brother). It was the first and last time I've been in a chopper and, scared as I was, it was an exhilerating thrill! And really the only way to really see the island (where Jurassic Park, MIghty Joe Young and the Jessica Lange/ Jeff Bridges version of King Kong were filmed.)