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Hey, did you read that Times story on the celebrity-media sexy pillow-fight that is our age? It is pretty dark! And kind of incredible! Sure, every last bit of what you see out there is pay-for-play. And it may come as no surprise to you that famous people and the gossip biz are deep in bed together but it really should make one absolutely unable to consume any of this gross, cynical garbage.

Roger Ebert came out of the A.A. closet last week, with a long and fascinating essay about his experience in A.A. Lots of people loved it, and found it pretty educational. But what are the negative repercussions of this, asked some in the comments-as A.A. has no public spokespeople and it asks that media outlets keep members private and also (mildly) asks that members don't represent the organization publicly. (It seems like a fine point-but how well can an alcoholism treatment program be perceived if its spokespeople later kill people whilst driving drunk, say?) Of course, it's unlikely that Ebert will give people a bad impression of A.A., unless he goes on a stabbing spree or something later this year, which in any event would be kind of awesome, really-and yet he now finds himself in some pretty strange company, with people who've gone public to improve their reputations and/or careers... or just because they were too wasted to know better. Or because they had a tacky memoir to sell! READ MORE

A cheerfully inebriated political reporter is holding forth in the French ambassador's residence about the optimal approach to celebrities. We're in the back of the lavish Kalorama manse, where every room on the first floor seems to be a space for entertaining, the high ceilings, oriental rugs and busts of Gallic statesmen giving off a distinct Eyes Wide Shut vibe. The key to the celebrity encounter, the expansive gent explains, is not to give a shit: "When a celebrity meets you, it's completely meaningless. They have to put up with admiring strangers all the time. So why worry about the impression you make? It's oddly liberating, really." As if on cue, the party's sound system, which has been playing American standards all night, lurches into Louis Armstrong's rendition of a discordant Old World ballad, Brecht and Weil's lumpen-prole murder-for-hire saga, "Mack the Knife." READ MORE

New York City-based writer (and Awl contributor) Emily Gould makes an novel point regarding OMGICU, the new forward-thinking website that invented the idea of community-reporting on the locations of celebrities in Manhattan: "I'm a little worried about this, you guys. Couldn't these sightings potentially help stalkers hunt down celebrities? I'm surprised no one has gotten killed yet. By stalkers."