February 19, 2007: Fame Junkie Becomes One Himself

Looking for some sort of Presidential celebri-spiral to honor the holiday? You've come to the wrong place. In honor of President's Day, I am hoping that a village in Texas will reclaim their missing idiot, who remains ensconced in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. That would warrant a celebri-ation, not spiral. But I don't see it happening.

Coming soon, there will be Rudy, Barack, and Hillary celebri-spirals, I am sure. I'd just as soon elect Oprah and be done with it. But today, I was drawn to CNN's coverage of Fame Junkies, the book by Jake Halpern. I loved his book.

Now I love reading this interview and finding out that he became addicted to fame while on his book tour:

The book was published January 10, and by earlier this month, the frenzied book tour ended and Halpern found, much to his surprise, that he was in no hurry to get off the fame train.

"We live in rural New Mexico, and my wife's a doctor who does work with the Navajo. I came home from the whirlwind to a house where tumbleweed literally blows across the street, and I felt a sense of -- almost -- withdrawal," he says. "It passed, but the irony was not lost on me."

Which was one reason he was intrigued by the subject in the first place. The pursuit of fame has become an all-encompassing drive for many people, and Halpern wanted to see why.

Now he's had a taste. Let's hope he doesn't shave his head, nightclub with Paris, or move to the Bahamas with Howard K. Stern.