Bristol Palin Book Deal Confirmed by William Morrow (GalleyCat)

“Bristol gives readers an intimate behind-the-scenes look at her life for the first time, from growing up in Alaska to coming of age amid the media and political frenzy surrounding her mother’s political rise; from becoming a single mother while still a teenager to coping as her relationship with her baby’s father crumbled publicly — not once, but twice. Bristol talks about the highs and lows of her appearance on ABC-TV’s “Dancing with the Stars,” including the aching hours of practice, the biting criticisms, and the thrill of getting to the show’s finals. She speaks candidly of her aspirations for the future and the deep religious faith that gives her strength and inspiration. Plainspoken and disarmingly down to earth, Bristol offers new insight and understanding of who she is and what she values most.”

Just what we need! Maybe they'll sell this with the Justin Beiber movie when it's released on DVD - they can call it the "I'm only 12 but someone thinks my 4380 days of life so far need to be chronicled in print and on film" bonus set! I include the above "news" only so I can yet again decry the shlock that is being peddled today. Ughh.
(Don't bother to) Read the full article here.

"Deadliest Catch": Captain Phil Was A Lion Among Men (Salon)

There's moral terror in the scenes that show Jake Anderson, the aforementioned, knife-wounded crewman, being hazed by his mates on the fishing vessel Northwestern as a useless "one-armed bandit." There's dread in the tight closeups of cigarettes clenched between Phil's fingers and butts piled high in his ashtray, and in Jake's confession that he was stealing his dad's pain medicine because "I'm an addict." And there's fathomless sadness in the scenes revealing that all the fleet's crewmembers (Phil included) are routinely pushed to the brink of collapse -- pressured to do 20, 30, even 40 hour shifts with little or no sleep, often in pounding rain or bone-chilling snow. ...
It's hard to say how much of its blunt honesty comes from its makers' ethical sense and how much is bound up in its chosen subject - a hard job staffed by men who barely have time to eat and sleep, much less adopt fake, corny screen personas and sustain them over weeks. Either way, "Deadliest Catch" is a Trojan Horse reality show, smuggling integrity into a morally bankrupt genre. It's as real as TV gets.

I've been a huge fan of this show for many seasons, and Phil is my favorite of the captains. He wore his heart on his sleeve - there was never any doubt that he loved his two sons, even as he was griped "now you know why lions eat their young" when one of them pulled something stupid. He's a classic and he'll be sorely missed.
Read the full article here.