The wave of attention has steamrolled Stokke and her family in Newport Beach, Calif. She is recognized — and stared at — in coffee shops. She locks her doors and tries not to leave the house alone. Her father, Allan Stokke, comes home from his job as a lawyer and searches the Internet. He reads message boards and tries to pick out potential stalkers. "We're keeping a watchful eye," Allan Stokke said. "We have to be smart and deal with it the best we can. It's not something that you can just make go away."

We sympathize, we suppose, though we assure you, Mr. Stokke: Searching the Internet for what people are saying about your daughter is not a good idea. Meanwhile, Mr. Ufford at With Leather gets trotted out as the blogger whack-a-mole:

"I understand there are certain people who are put off immediately by the tone of my blog," Ufford said. "Every week, there's somebody who takes offense to something, but that's part of being a comedy writer. If nobody is complaining, it probably wasn't funny. You are hoping for some kind of feedback."

We agree: Comedy is indeed hard. Without question, though, giving an huge interview to The Washington Post about how you can't stand everyone talking about your daughter — and including two more attractive pictures — is really the perfect way to get everyone to stop talking about your daughter.

Teen Tests Internet's Lewd Track Record [Washington Post]
Pole Vaulting Is Sexy, Barely Legal [With Leather]

(UPDATE: Upon further reflection, we suppose "screaming your lungs out" is probably a bit of an overstatement.)

Wednesday night, the fine gent at With Leather attended a reading by big gay author John Amaechi, and, as it turns out, they all ended up out drinking afterwards. (Inevitable!) They ended up at prominent New York City media snob hangout Soho House — of course — and the question you're all wondering about was raised.

Is Amaechi a top or a bottom? Seems a bit of a personal question to ask of a celebrity I don't really know, and I struggled with a way to pose the question. Well, Billy and John and I had a nightcap at Soho House, a ritzy Meatpacking District club where you have to be a member or be with a member in order to get in (I fall into the latter category). While Billy spoke with an acquaintance, I asked John, "How'd you come up with 'Man in the Middle'? Shouldn't it be 'Man on Top' or 'Man on Bottom'?" Alas, he didn't take the bait, and I was left with a mundane explanation of the position of center, and not intimate details of his sex life. Sorry. I said I was bad at journalism.

You know, we admire Amaechi, sure, we guess, but he really needs a better sense of humor about this stuff. In an interview with NPR, the questioner asked him, tongue-in-cheek, about a Deadspin comment that said, "you had to know Amaechi was gay; he showed up at a press conference wearing a beret." Amaechi got all offended, saying that — FOR THE LAST TIME, PEOPLE! — you can't tell if a guy is gay or not by whether he's wearing a beret. John, seriously: We like you, we do, but you wrote a whole book about being gay. You can probably handle a line about berets, or take a question about "Man On Top" without a lengthy and condescending discussion of the center position, right? Lighten up, man: We're on your side.

A Night Out With John Amaechi [With Leather]
Book Tells Of Life In The NBA For A Gay Player [NPR]

Thanks for the tips, fellas. This day will go a lot smoother now on all fronts. And thanks Muselix!

Ahem, anyway, the indefatigable Captain Caveman over at With Leather has come across a fantastic YouTube posting with this extremely awkward compilation film by a local "Northern California NBA Correspondent" who trucked around a menor...manure...monorrr...bah, that funny candle looking thing...and sneak attacked a few NBAers (Shaq, Kobe, DWade) to get their thoughts on Hannukah and what they want to say to all their Jewish fans out there. It's spectacular.

If this is old and you've seen it 14 times already, well, blame him. Otherewise, prepare to have your mind sufficiently blown. (Ed. note. I've forgotten how to post YouTube links. Anybody who can send that along as well will get an autographed copy of "Chicken Soup for the Golfer's Soul", in which yours truly published his first seminal work titled "Butterscotch". I wish I were kidding. Thanks again, boys/girls/deviants.)

"I Gotta Lotta Jewish Friends, Bubba" [With Leather]