This whole thing hasn't been much of a surprise. I had a discussion with a friend about this years ago, when JT first appeared. Conscensus was "No way, not true." I think that many people thought that JT LeRoy was a pen name, but as others have pointed out the writing wasn't worth consideration so it didn't warrant pusuit. Turns out that it is quite a hilarious, if unintended, prank that vividly points out the contemporary obsession with authenticity over aesthetics. But, in the end aesthetics win.

As for the readers, it comes down to this: If you supported and admired JT LeRoy you either have to admit you are a dupe and a philistine, or stick by the work. That is why people are so angry about this. Since the work was shit, now that JT is gone all that is left is shit. That makes them angry. JT's supporters deserve all the discomfort that they feel. The rest of us are just left chuckling and maybe shaking our heads ever so slightly.

Thanks for the appreciation of Steve Irwin, I teared up at the news of his death. However I think he probably deserved a better accounting of his life than was presented here--perhaps written by someone who has a better knowledge of conservation and the history of nature documentary. I think his message ultimately is that we aren't really separate from nature and that direct interaction with our surroundings is part of our natural state...this includes wrestling crocodiles and catching snakes (a hobby from my own childhood).

Also, it is worth pointing out, Sir David Attenborough has done much more than 'The World of Birds', In fact he's produced something like 9 different series, all of which have set the standard for their genre. He is also a noteworthy naturalist in his own right. He is really kind of on another plane than Irwin was. A more apt comparison might have been Marlin Perkins who produced 'Wild Kingdom' for years, often wrestling the odd python or antelope Irwin-style. Perkins brought the same energetic direct interaction with nature combined with a strong conservation message to millions of kids from my generation. There is also Irwin's more obscure predecessor, Harry Butler, another Australian naturalist who did documentaries and was known to handle the wildlife a bit, as well show great respect for it.

It is obvious that the real take away here is that the accepted cultural markers for rebellion--tattoos, rock, hair, clothes, etc-are now obsolete. These previous tasty bits of counterculture are now mainstream culture as measured by their complete adoption (co-optation) by members of some of our largest cultural institutions, eg. the Christian Church. Once "Christian" rock bands are indistinguishable from actual rock bands, and you can purchase your "alternative " kit off the shelf, you know the schtick is dead. It had a good long run, but it is now time to exercise a little creativity and come up with something new.

Contrary to many popular pronouncements American culture is not shallow, sterile, or valueless (though many of our citizens are). American life is rich in culture and if you look there is a lot of material for a new meaningful counter culture, or even just a plain meaningful culture, but it takes some effort to come to. Umm, like you have to read a book or two. Many people seem to be too lazy to avail themselves of this culture and prefer pre-packaged full-meal deals like the Mars Hill Church. A new alternative culture needs to be developed for these lazier people.

This future rebellion should obviously make a radical departure from what is essentially Rock culture (1966-2006 r.i.p). I am not sure what to suggest. I tried conducting what I called a preppy rebellion from 1993-1998, that is co-opting the very traditional preppy look, listening to old jazz, disengaging from popular culture, and writing formal poetry and faux 19th century novels, but it was pretty much a failure and never really caught on. ANd I got tired of explaining that I was not a conservation, but was instead a radical. For those of you who can remember 1993, it was a period when the native culture of the Pacific Northwest had been turned into a ubiquitous, world-wide fashion phenomena. It was disconcerting to see my native culture abused on the streets of Paris in the form of young French girls wearing high, lace-up logger boots. Anyway, the point is all of that is philosphically dead and the kids need to come up with something new. Three piece suits? Classical music? Folk culture? Togas and Periclean Athens? Get to it!