Tuned In

The Morning After: Hundred Grand

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Stephen Lovekin / Getty Images for TIME

Last night, I went to the TIME 100 gala at the Time Warner Center’s Live at Lincoln Center, which means I can answer the question you’re all dying to know about: yes, Blake Lively‘s hair is red now! The late night (I know, I know, cry me a river) means I’ll be behind in my blogging for a while this morning. But in the meantime, some odds and ends:

* For the second year in a row, I sat at a table with Lost executive producer Carlton Cuse (an honoree last year). If you recall the story of the Lost–George R. R. Martin “feud,” you’ll be interested to know that Martin (the author on whose books Game of Thrones is based, who recently dissed the Lost finale) was at the next table over. I talked to both, separately, but they also met up before that, and in Cuse’s words, they “worked a few things out.” (Martin was actually a big fan of Lost, if a disappointed one.) Peace at last in Westeros!

* My other tablemate: John Ratzenberger, whom you and I know as Cliff Claven from Cheers, and my kids know as Evil Dr. Porkchop. (He wrote the TIME 100 entry for Pixar’s John Lasseter.)

* You can see a photo gallery from the gala here. One of the nifty things about attending an event like this is that you actually enter on, or near or around, a red carpet. One of the humbling things about attending is that red carpet is crammed with photographers, for whom you are basically a walking visual obstruction, and who want you to get out of the way of whatever famous person you happen to be in the vicinity of.

* I try to study up on the list of attendees beforehand, but for an entertainment journalist, I have a horrible memory for faces. Meaning my night is usually a long string of I-totally-should-know-that-person-I-just-brushed-past experiences. (Anna Kendrick! Dammit, it was Anna Kendrick!)

* It was a big night for New Jersey, with speeches by both Cory Booker and Chris Christie (the GOP governor surprisingly toasted JFK), as well as an appearance by Brian Williams (and, among others, Bayonne native Martin).

* Other TV notables I met last night included Matthew Weiner, creator of Mad Men, and Parks and Recreation’s Amy Poehler and Aziz Ansari. For a comic, Poehler gave a surprisingly affecting short speech at the gala, thanking the nannies who help care for her two young kids while she works on the show (an acknowledgment you rarely hear from awards podiums). As for Ansari, the first thing I could think of bringing up to him was the Tom Haverfoods website, which, though it’s not actually his work, Parks and Rec fans really should check out. Mmmmm, Kanye Blood!

* I’ve been to a few of these events now, and one thing I love about them is that, while they bring together people from politics, entertainment, science and other fields of human endeavor, people from all walks of life try to get cameraphone pictures of Sting (who sang “Roxanne,” among other pieces, with an orchestral group). Stars! They’re just like us!