2004-01-23 - 10:28 a.m.
are the writers for david letterman's top ten list reading my diary?
not only did howard dean do the top ten list as a way of poking fun at his foray into primal scream therapy, but they referenced the top embarrassing celeb moment in my book: the danse in blackface.
the list was "top ten ways, i howard dean, can turn things around" and number 3 was: "i can't give specifics yet, but it involves ted danson." if this isn't a shout out to the danse's most embarrassing moment, i'll eat my hat. you should've seen me reading this on the train this morning and laughing out loud to the chagrin of the commuter asleep in the seat in front of me. glad to know i'm not the only sick fuck who is somewhat obsessed with this all-time "great" (if great means awful) celeb moment.
wanna know a secret? last night after i got home from the model i snuggled into bed and finished a really good book. the book? "lucky man" by michael j. fox. if you know me at all, then you know about "the cherrystones incident" aka in fifth grade when i cried in the bathroom upon realizing i would never meet michael j.; you know about the sixth grade time capsule, in which i placed a picture of my beloved, waxing rhapsodic about his "boyish good looks and charm"; you know about the photos from teen beat and tiger beat that covered my walls; you know about the endless viewings of "family ties", "back to the future" (part one); "teen wolf"; "secret of my success", hell i even tried to watch "light of day"! if you know me, you know that once i believed that the sun rose and set as a result of the existence of one michael andrew (real name, changed to protect himself from the inevitable headline "michael A fox!") fox.
when "lucky man" originally came out, i was so tempted, but i restrained myself. then a month or so ago, i found it online for 3 bucks. i bought it instantly. i teased myself by not allowing myself to read it first (i had bought other books too). it was almost as if i knew how excited i was to find out all of michael's deepest darkest secrets and i had to reign myself in. so after reading one of the other books, i nonchalantly (what a faker) picked up "lucky man". michael j. fox, you had me from page 1. not only is this book FULL of things i didn't know about my former teen idol in his heyday, but i learned so much about the man now, the man who i dropped so long ago like a bad habit for bruce "david addison" willis.
i'd be lying if i said at points this book DIDN'T bring a tear to my eye. michael j. has been through so much and i can't believe that he has such a positive attitude about it. parkinson's is a horrible disease and i was shocked over and over again at the trials he went through. like, i never knew he had brain surgery to try and lessen his tremors? i never knew the extent of his illness, frankly he's farther along than i thought. but he is one tough sonofabitch because he's not going to give up and he's never going to lay down and accept defeat. he also said (sob) that he wouldn't change anything about his life, including this disease, because it has made him a better person. he's my fucking hero.
the culture slut in me also learned some salacious stuff. like did you know that when he was filming "back to the future 3" he was hanged and almost died? literally, he went unconscious because what was supposed to be a fake hanging turned into a real one, and he almost died? did you know that eric stoltz was supposed to be marty mcfly? did you know that matthew broderick was supposed to be alex p. keaton? did you know that the "p." in alex p. keaton was adlibbed by michael on one of the first days of shooting? did you know he was a raging partyer and filmed drunk a lot of times? did you know he is ashamed of "teen wolf" and "midnight madness"?
this book renewed my love and respect for michael j. i've added a bunch of his movies i've never seen ("casualties of war" arrives this weekend) to my netflix. hell, i may even give "spin city" a whirl! reading this book made me feel like i was 12 years old again, which for someone who's almost 3-0 is a big fucking deal. viva mjf.
