David Sedaris Crashes MattDamon.com

[Breathless Celebrity Gossip!!!] Steven Blum's interview in The Stranger with storyteller (and personal idol) David Sedaris is all too brief*, but well worth reading.

In the interview, Sedaris mentions a Website about actor Matt Damon which features a "When I Met Matt" comment board. Sedaris says that he is capable of dreaming up better adjectives for Damon than "cute"--perhaps implying that he may have left a comment on the site.

Now, I'm not implying causality here. These could be completely independent events. But, the first time I noticed Blum's story rotating to the top of The Stranger's Website, I also noticed that Matt Damon's site went down. (To tell the truth, there was some causality, in that I would never have thought to visit MattDamon.com in a million years if I hadn't read about it in a Sedaris interview.)

Could hordes of bloggers have taken Sedaris' cue and started combing the site for possible quotes about Damon's rogueish charm (as I was attempting to do)? Did a sudden surge in site traffic cause an unintentional Denial-of-Service (traffic overload) situation? If so, then, by the definition of the Slashdot Effect, does this mean that TheStranger.com is a larger, more powerful site even than the mighty MattDamon.com?

It's a pleasing idea. Go indie media!

(Brandon Burt)

*Granted, the print-edition newshole must have been limited to 700 words but, I mean, come on--according to Blum, they talked for, like, an hour and a half. I'd have been over the moon had he transcribed an extra few hundred words for the online edition.

Sundance: Thursday Night Freeze-a-thon

[Fest Music] Dear reader, I understand that blogging is supposed to be an instantaneous form of communication. So, please forgive me for the absurd gap between the time the events detailed in this blog actually happened, and the time it took me to post this account.

Thanks to the fates conspiring against me, I only made it up to Park City once during Sundance. And I didn't get to see Patti Smith or Neil Young. I froze my ASS off and paid $20 to park my car. But it was still fun.

Despite going up early last Thursday, and wielding a pass, I didn't get into the Star bar AT ALL. That's okay. The Star Bar is like an underground prison with creepy red lighting. I waited in line for almost 4 hours in a snowstorm to see Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young and they didn't even end up playing.

I did have some CHOICE celebrity sightings while I was waiting in that never ending line, being pelted with snow.

If I were an ethic-less celebrity gossip journalist, I would have received a promotion. I guess I'm crossing the line by posting this blog.

Sigh....

I saw a very grizzled, angry looking Alec Baldwin (the years have not been kind to him, friends) carrying a mystery baby. The devil on my shoulder told me to snap a picture and sell it to the National Enquirer, but the angel (who always wins) said "naw, that poor man has suffered enough... let him walk by in peace with his secret love child."

Next I spotted British actor David Thewlis chatting away on his cell phone. I've seen him in many films and I think he's an incredible actor. He's quite striking in person.

The BEST (hint of sarcasm) was a visibly inebriated David Crosby in an ankle-length brown fur coat and hat walking against traffic in the middle of the street with a dazed expression on his face. Eventually, a team of handlers got a hold of him, and I saw them escort him in the other direction.

In all fairness, perhaps David Crosby has dementia. Isn’t that sad when the best case scenario is dementia?

Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young were SUPPOSED to play the Star Bar, but they canceled at the last minute. The door guy said it was because they "couldn't make it up the canyon," (bullshit!!!) but I think the real story is that Jolly Old Saint Lit (that would be David Crosby) got totally shit housed and the rest of the band decided not to go on without him. Apparently Neil Young played guitar for one song and Graham Nash sang backup vocals with a fellow named Josh Hisle. Stephen Stills was MIA.

Oh, David Crosby!!! You’re breaking my heart!!! I love your music, I love your voice... but after 35 years, AND a liver transplant can't you get yourself together and sober up? You’re not going to get another liver. Poor David. I think he needs a little help from Dr. Drew.

My Thursday night wasn’t a total bust. I ended up seeing an excellent Bloodshot Records alt-country band called Ha Ha Tonka on the Main Stage. It was frightfully cold (the Main Stage is OUTSIDE at NIGHT), but I’ve never attended a show with a square-dancing pit (!), so I’m glad I braved the weather.

I will say that the media often romanticizes events like Sundance. I PROMISE you... You will ALWAYS have more fun attending small shows and parties with cool, interesting, funny, INTELLIGENT people who you KNOW, friends who you care about, than all of those industry ass clowns had @ Harry O's all festival long. Keep that in mind next time you watch TMZ... (Jenny Poplar)

U R 2 Cool 2 B 4 Gotten

[Celebrity Perps] It's always fun when other people get busted for doing things that you probably pulled (hopefully) in high school. It's especially satisfying when the perp is a celebrity, which is why we've all seen Lindsey Lohan's dazed-and-confused mugshot taken shortly after her infamous DUI. But for those of us who could now give two shits about the one-time Mean Girl, The Smoking Gun has an impressive collection of arresting images including a chicken-poxed James Frey, pre-bail Amy Fisher, and ... Yanni? My favorites are the petty criminals who just couldn't wipe that smug/stoned/drunk/stupid smile off their faces long enough to at least feign remorse (see above). (Jamie Gadette)