Fiorina: She Chugged Along With the Old Boys
Friday, January 26, 2007; Page C03
We expected to learn plenty about being a power businesswoman from Carly Fiorina, Hewlett-Packard's famous ex-CEO. And yes, yesterday's sold-out lunch at Nathan's had its share of glass-ceiling anecdotes. But the real revelation was her set of tips for winning a drinking contest.
Fiorina, author of "Tough Choices: A Memoir," was usually the only female in the top-level meetings she attended. On her first trip to South Korea, she discovered that long nights with lots of booze were a big part of making deals in Asia, so she learned to drink the boys under the table. Her strategies:
  Comparing notes? Valerie Plame and Carly Fiorina at Nathan's yesterday. (Nathan's) |
1. Mentally prepare.
2. Physically prepare -- eat lots of starches and carbs beforehand.
3. Never sip. Fiorina used to empty her glass in one shot. "Your mouth absorbs alcohol faster than your stomach," she explained to Nathan's owner Carol Joynt.
Taking notes in the back at the luncheon was the famous ex-CIA spy Valerie Plame, who's putting the finishing touches on her book and preparing for her family's move to New Mexico. Yes, she's following the Scooter Libby trial. No, she's not commenting.
The Very Picture of a Modern Power Broker
Vernon Jordan -- power broker, presidential buddy, investment banker, consummate charmer -- has added another feather to his cap: A painting of him was unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery Wednesday night.
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| Vernon Jordan and his portrait Wednesday at the unveiling.(Kevin Clark - The Washington Post) |
Yeah, but how did the picture end up in the Smithsonian's permanent collection? Artist Bradley Stevens, who's immortalized several politicians and business leaders, persuaded Jordan to sit for him in 2005. The museum staff recommended the 44-by-32-inch painting to the gallery's advisory board, which voted in April to include Jordan in the collection for his "significant" contributions to U.S. history and culture, especially in civil rights.
The crowd spent the night queuing up to congratulate Jordan and compare the real man with the canvas. "It captures him very nicely," said the museum's chief curator, Carolyn Carr. The portrait will go on display the first week in May and hang for six to nine months. If art imitates life, it won't be far from the presidents.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Local gossip writer Karen Feld exchanged strong words at the Canadian Embassy Wednesday with a burly guard who objected to her dog Campari entering a reception. When Feld huffed that she had the proper papers to take the tiny poodle everywhere from planes to the Capitol, the security guy barked, "We're in Canada now." The embassy apologized to Feld yesterday, and said the pup's always welcome.
THIS JUST IN . . .
Smokey Robinson blasted the hit movie "Dreamgirls" yesterday, calling the thinly veiled account of Motown a betrayal of black history. In an NPR interview, the R&B crooner took issue with Jamie Foxx's portrayal of a Berry Gordy-like character. The real Gordy "borrowed $800 from his family's fund[s] and started Motown so that we could be paid. And for him to be maligned and made out like this villainous character is very, very, very offensive to me."
Ka-ching! Norman Dreyfuss, the local developer behind Leisure World, was majority financer for a little indie flick, "La Misma Luna," that just sold at Sundance for $5 million. "We made a very nice profit," he told us. The IDI Group exec, who was brought in by his agent son Brian, claims he knows little about showbiz. But his first producing venture, the teen thriller "Brick," also sold at the film fest in '05: "I'm 2 for 2, and that's pretty good."
D.C. constitutional-law wonk James L. Swanson has been nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award by the Mystery Writers of America for his bestseller "Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer." The Heritage Foundation scholar will face off in April against five other true-crime authors. Still waiting to see who plays John Wilkes Booth in the movie . . .
So maybe Baby Einstein founder Julie Aigner-Clark, lauded by the prez in his State of the Union speech for community service, isn't a big GOP donor-- but her husband, William Clark, gave more than $5,000 in '04, records show.
