'All you need to know about anything in the entire world'
I don't mean to act defensive, but I read both James Frey books before Oprah got her hands on them and made "A Million Little Pieces" her first pick on her book club's jaunt into contemporary literature. The memoir of a drug-addicted young man's trip to rehab wound up selling more copies in 2005 than anyone but the magic-addicted young man, Harry Potter. But it seems that Oprah picking his book might have brought a little too much exposure to Frey (pronounced like the popular McDonald's side dish). The Smoking Gun - a Web site that tracks down celebrity police reports and criminal records - is reporting that James Frey is a liar, or at least a gross embellisher. He often mentions the messes with the law he gets his crack-addicted self into, and his second book, "My Friend Leonard," starts with Frey in prison serving the 87th day of a 90-day sentence. Unfortunately, Frey's apparently never been to jail, prison or even rehab. Well, he did go to rehab, but one liar deserves another ... or something to that effect. The boring but kind of damning six-page report from the Smoking Gun is on their Web site, so you may want to suck the tears back up that you shed for poor James and his unlikely recovery. I'm certainly a little pissed, and hope Frey responds with something more substantial than his post on his Web site of "let the haters hate." Other news from the Smoking Gun: Anne Frank fabricated parts of her diary, and, as many suspected, the Holocaust never happened.
I just started getting into the Adult Swim standard "Home Movies" and have to say it's quite brilliant. From some of the same minds who brought us "Dr. Katz," the show, which documents the adventures of 8-year-old Brendon Small and his filmmaking friends, is truly one of the best animated shows out there. The show should be watched repeatedly, if only for the amusing deadpan rants of the alcoholic youth soccer coach, John McGuirk.
Wet nurses and Anne Geddes, get ready, the cutest baby you've ever seen is growing inside Angelina Jolie's uterus. People Magazine is reporting that Brad has finally knocked up his do-gooder sweetheart. The couple already has two adopted children who they plan to largely ignore once the baby comes. Incidentally, the unborn child is rumored to also be the second coming of Christ.
Quoteworthy:
"It's funny: Half an hour before Paris Hilton had that car crash, I might have given her some mind-altering substances," Steve-O, claiming responsibility for Hilton's November car crash on "Jimmy Kimmel Live."
Thanks to the great music blog Gorilla vs. Bear (http://gorillavsbear.blogspot.com/), one of my new favorite bands is Tapes 'n Tapes. Minnesota, where Tapes are from, is becoming quite the breeding ground, as Hold Steady also comes from the area. Check out "Insistor" on their Web site and see if America is still losing badly to Canada in indie rock. www.tapesntapes.com
Do you already miss 2005 and the abundance of lists it brought at the end of the year? Well, here's a great one of the top 50 music videos of last year, along with Quicktime files, allowing YOU to be the real judge. Just like on "American Idol"! http://docopenhagen.blogspot.com/2005/12/top-50-music-videos-of-2005.html
1. Read the Vanity Fair cover story on Lindsay Lohan in which drug addiction, bulimia and Lorne Michaels are subjects. You can peruse the pictures, but don't get caught up with that trash. 2. Read the response from the Lohan team, saying she's not bulimic and Vanity Fair is a bigger liar than James Frey (yes, we will bring it full circle in this column). 3. Take a side. 4. Find someone who disagrees with you and fight them. Slappers only!