My New Gig: Celebrity Headlines Examiner

Longtime readers of the BLOG! know that my interest in popular culture leans toward the '60s and '70s rather than the vacuous anti-culture of today. For instance, on June 25th, I did not waste a minute mourning self-proclaimed King of Pop, junkie, and plastic surgery disaster Michael Jackson, instead paying tribute to Seeds frontman and Flower Power icon Sky Saxon.

I could give a shit about Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears - I'm more into Tuesday Weld and Mimsy Farmer.

That said, I just got a gig writing celebrity news for the Dallas Examiner. I get paid by the page view, and given America's obsession with celebrities, I should get some decent traffic and make some coin.

I used to do a humor/parody column called "Celebrity Spin," where I'd take actual gossip items and inject them with comedy collagen through gross exaggeration and absurd, made-up quotes. I can't make stuff up for this column, but I'll try to make my headlines "grabbers," inject a little snarky irony, and keep the items entertaining.

So far, I've posted three items this week:

Oversharing Ashton unapologetic about exposing overexposed Demi

NFL star Plaxico Burress indicted for shooting himself

Nic Cage, Screech in tax trouble

I was once a promising writer/editor for serious news outlets, but now I write about Demi Moore's ass (and also her butt)...

So, even if you don't care about celebrities, please subscribe to my RSS feed, because I need the money...

The Ballad of Bill Lee

I did a Google search to see how much of my old freelance writing work was still out there, so that I might present it here for your amusement. Not much, it would appear. But here is a piece from 2001 called "The Ballad of Bill Lee" because it's baseball season, and because it's a funny, bittersweet read, taking place at Le Stade Olympique in Montreal on Opening Day of that year. Sadly, the Expos are no more. Click on title or baseball card to launch:

The Ballad of Bill Lee

The former Boston and Montreal left-hander on the Sox, Fenway, and smokin’ with Dubya

By J.M. Dobies

Originally published April 19, 2001 in The Boston Phoenix Red Sox Supplement, and subsequently as a cover story in both the Portland and Worcester Phoenix. This is the version on my website, jmdobies.com, with the original photos from the piece.

Dedicated to the memory of Les Expos.

Get the DVD of Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey HERE.