This blog may be embellished for dramatic purposes...

I usually don't follow lit gossip (honest!), but I just can't get enough of these fake memoir scandals. Now you can add one more name to the list of potentially dishonest memoirists that contains James Frey and JT Leroy. The no-last-named Nasdijj is known for writing three memoirs recounting his life on the Navajo reservation. But according to an article in the LA Weekly, Nasdijj is actually a white man named Tim Barrus whose previous literary exploits are mainly in the gay S&M genre. I'll admit I couldn't be bothered to more than skim the LA Weekly article, so I leave that up to you the reader. I did read enough, however, to see that Sherman Alexie himself claims Nasdijj ripped off parts of his life for the memoir. What I find so amusing about this story is the way it reminds me of Jeff Gannon, the Bush Administration's stooge who infiltrated the White House press corps to lob softball questions and was previously employed as a gay escort.

And finally, the world's greatest comic strip, "Bad Reporter," has returned from vacation with a vengeance. Yesterday's installment nearly covered the entire front page of the Datebook in the Chronicle with a hilarious take on the memoir scandals that weaved in Carol Channing, the Nigerian e-mail scam, and Jesus Christ. Happy reading!