Red Carpet Massacre

Gail Shister of TVNewser talked with John King earlier this week about his future with CNN. King's contract with CNN expires on December 31, 2008. He's taking a look at his options, but isn't in a hurry to leave CNN.

The article also mentions his upcoming wedding:

Meanwhile, the acerbic King will take a break in his "life as a cable mule" to marry colleague Dana Bash in Cape Cod Sunday.

The "low key" ceremony will be officiated by a rabbi. King, a Catholic, is converting to Judaism.

His six sibs, all Catholic, support his decision, King says. (His parents are deceased.) So do his 14-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, both being raised Catholic.

Among the adjustments they've made to Dad's conversion: No pepperoni pizza in the house.

David Gergen was the speaker at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s 202nd Commencement Ceremony on May 17th. To view the ceremony, click here.

The Times Union provided a description of the event:

Gergen, who generated more laughter when he referred to graduates as "young, vivacious and frisky," said his work with Richard M. Nixon in the White House showed why leaders must be more than smart. Gergen called Nixon "one of the smartest people I've worked with," but said the former president had "vices" he couldn't overcome.

"The biggest trip in the world," Gergen said, "is to travel from your head to your heart."

Gergen, who received his 15th honorary degree prior to delivering the commencement address, used an anecdote about a talking frog and quotes and stories from Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Wallace Stevens and Albert Schweitzer to inspire graduates to "change the world."

"It's not about being rich or famous," Gergen said. "The man who dies with the most toys does not win. He just leaves behind a whole lot of trinkets."

(photo by RPI/Kris Qua)

Wednesday, May 21st is Jeffrey Toobin's birthday.

My last item tonight is slightly off topic, but when I was browsing around CNN.com the other day I ran across a video that I just could not pass up. Having grown up in the '80s, I have found memories of the band Duran Duran. They were recently interviewed by CNN's Ralitsa Vassileva about their new album, Red Carpet Massacre, and US Tour.

More information about their latest album can be found in an earlier CNN report here.

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