And although reports paint a picture of a day filled with clashing egos, ructions and bad behaviour, the important thing was to appear as full of charitable intention as possible, however possible.
In fact, one of the biggest news channels was broadcasting a documentary about penguins while whole streets in Istanbul were filled with people clashing with police.
Democrats are hoping for a repeat of last month, when the news media were filled with reports of clashes over Ryan's Medicare proposal.
What ties all this together is that Mahan is a huge music fan, his iPod filled with Linkin Park, the Clash and Florence and the Machine.
Its hospitals are filled with civilians wounded during clashes or by the government's incessant, random shelling.
Once again, newspapers are filled with daily reports of clashes and executions, displacement and terror, and attacks on rural infrastructure.
AS I follow the modern Greek tragedy unfolding in Europe, I flash back to the 18 years I spent in Athens, walking to school in Plaka (the old part of the city), on the same streets that have recently been filled with protesters and violent clashes.
While the book is filled with familiar stars, like Devo, the Clash, and Kate Bush, it is also a story of Griffin's early-career resourcefulness.
The teeny bopper, high school backdrop clashes against a plot filled with sex, lies & videotape.
