This Close

10/8/2011

That's right. Last Sunday I was this close to this man:

Yes, that's right again. Quarterback for THEE New England Patriots, Tom Brady.
Can't quite make out that photo, here, try this one:

I know. I know. How so? Well, we were the guests of the NE Patriots in their game against the Oakland Raiders. And we were invited on to the field before the game to meet some of the higher ups.

It was blazing hot, which is the only reason I swooned when Tom Brady ran by while warming up:

God, what a specimen. Just look at that ass. And I say that as someone who adores Eli Manning because he looks so much like my son. (And of course that Drew Brees is simply adorable.)

And yes, I was there rootin' for the home team. Go Raider Nation, and all that! But when Jason Campbell tossed that pig skin into the end zone into the waiting hands of the Pats defense, well, I knew it was time to give up and admit that Tom really is one hell of a human specimen. And that it's really not about the game at all.

And the funny thing is that I only realized it was the legend himself who had walked onto the field alone, when a few fans, already in the stands, started booing loudly. Brady took no notice, and instead did what he had to do:

After about 15 minutes, Brady then walked off quietly, and alone. This time, fans crowded around the lower seats and reached out for him. I saw him pause in the distance to talk with them.

God, what a specimen. Have I said that already? If so, forgive.

Well, my final thought on this is that I am very sorry that the Raider Nation booed so long and so loudly when the Patriots took to the field. Guess the joke was on them, though, huh? Even the nuts seated in the "Black Hole" couldn't make enough noise to drown out the plays that gave New England the game.

As for me, I think those thighs will forever be imprinted in my brain.

How about you? Any brush with greatness lately? Or at all? Let's lighten the mood and share. Or talk sports. Lotsa games goin' on and lots of muscles, excuse me, men, to talk about.

Go for it.

Palinoia

10/8/2011 09:31:41

Haha! That ass, and thighs imprinted on the brain, too funny Laura. I haven't felt that way about any football player since, well, since Steve Largent of the Seahawks.

Tomorrow we are going to the Niners game in one of the suites, and we also have the on field invite. I'm not a Niners fan, but I guess I can pretend for a day. If I had to choose Niners vs. Raiders, I'm more of a Niners fan, sorry Laura.

The only greatness I've brushed near lately is my husband, and my dog!

Pallottine

10/8/2011 09:50:33

GO BLUE! Go Wings! Go Tigers.

A sad note. Raiders owner Al Davis died today.

Pallottine

10/8/2011 09:52:31

Now if I could get that close to Giselle, I might be dreaming too.

10/8/2011 10:41:03

Wow, Laura. This is a different side of you that we haven't seen before on this blog. What a hoot!

ann_s

10/8/2011 11:19:37

For some strange reason I constantly ran into Kevin Willis...(basketball)..... at the mall, to the point where he thought he knew me. He always said hi. He is quite a specimen in his own right.

GinaM

10/8/2011 11:27:23

Okay Laura....this is a tiny tiny world we live in....my husband was at a tailgate party last Sunday...you guessed it...he was at the Oakland vs NE and tomorrow he will be tailgating...yes Palinoa at the 49rs vs Tampa Bay! Oh and my brush with celebrity...I met Wanda Sykes and got her autograph!!

Palinoia

10/8/2011 11:58:00

@ GinaM

You must be another neighbor! The only football gear I own is my Seahawks gear, but somehow I think I might *really* stick out like a sore thumb if I wear it tomorrow. Especially if it is my "antique" old logo Seahawks sweatshirt.

Maybe I'll flip a coin to decide whether I go incognito and buy something Niners to wear, or stick out!

Hope your hubby has a good time!

comeonpeople

10/8/2011 12:01:59

I agree, Tom is a fine fine specimen. He makes gorgeous babies, too. Both of his sons are just exquisite (yes he had help from beautiful moms I know).
He is definitely "my type".

GinaM

10/8/2011 12:02:45

@ Palinoia

Yep I'm in Northern California...the only jersey I own is St Louis and I know better than to wear that!!

SunnyVee

10/8/2011 12:16:09

Laura, I love this side of you,
you cheeky monkey :)

I lived thisclose to Tom & Giselle's neighborhood in Boston...but never had the good fortune of seeing those thighs in-person.

However, when I was about twelve, in San Francisco, I met "The Fonz" and he blew me a kiss. (Yay, Henry Winkler...see, how I am dating myself here).

Thanks for the giggles & those pictures !!

comeonpeople

10/8/2011 13:18:07

Forgot to talk about my brushes with greatness. At my hosptal, lots of sports stars come in to see the kids. I've seen up close and/or had pix Dr. J. (Julius Erving), Eric Lindros and two other hockey guys I whose names I can't remember but have a picture with lol!. Those hockey guys have really great bodies. Eric Lindros had the most amazing looking hands of any man. (I like hands lol).
Also Sanjay Gupta did a story on my unit. (He was tres unfriendly to staff.)
I've skated in ice shows with Johnny Weir, The Carruthers, Dorothy Hamill, Tai and Randy Gardner, Tara Lapinski, JoJo Starbuck and others whom I can't recall right now.
When I lived in LA Michael Keaton was in line for take out food with me and we chatted. I also saw the ballet star Starr Danais in LA. She played "Caroline" in the movie The Turning Point.
I went to high school and was in homeroom for 4 years with Tim Chambers who is the director and producer of the upcoming film "The Mighty Macs".

daisydem

10/8/2011 13:36:40

I am so glad you like sports: I love them. And I think women who like sports are the sexiest!

WakeUpAmerica

10/8/2011 13:55:51

You don't root for the Raider Traitors do you? No really, you can't.

10/8/2011 14:13:54

Sold Jackie Gleason a beer while I was in college working at a racetrack. He gave me $100 and said "keep the change, Alice". I once stopped at a crosswalk for Barbra Streisand and Liza Minnelli (I almost wet my pants) and I winked at Tom Brokaw (he laughed). Disclaimer: I lived in Sun Valley, Idaho so it wasn't too hard to bump into a star or two. Only Demi left me speechless, because she really is that pretty.

Cracklin Charlie

10/8/2011 14:54:09

Dang, Laura,

Why didn't you just run over there and tackle him?

Sue

10/8/2011 16:15:37

Sorry about kickin your ass last Sunday. :) My latest brush with greatness was about 3 weeks ago, when I had 2nd row seats in right field at Fenway and got to watch that fine specimen, Jacoby Ellsbury (the only Red Sox that played to win every game in September) warming up. Of course Pap blew the save, like he does with all the important games. I hope we're not stuck with that train wreck next season. He's probably part of the reason Tito left us. Sorry for the rant. I'm still in mourning. Oh well, we still have the Pats. In case you're not familiar with our other fine specimen, here he is:
http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=453056

KMR

10/8/2011 21:20:26

I'm with Sue. Mourning the Sox too. Note: I wrote my comment before I read what she wrote above.

I live in New England but I would rather see Jacoby Ellsbury's ass (or anything) than Brady's, but I know what ya mean. Ellsbury's gorgeousness is from head to toe (I never saw his feet either but I wouldn't mind a peek) and he walks with a gait that spells sexy to me. Trouble is, my youngest daughter was born in 1983, the same year as Jacoby. Oh well.
Jacoby's stats: http://tinyurl.com/3l936cr

I once saw Goldie Hawn in a grocery store nearby, and I'm still talking about it as if it were an encounter of a lifetime. She was making a movie called Housesitter with Steve Martin in a town close to me; Scituate MA, in 1992. Goldie has a nice ass too, btw. Her daughter Kate was with her as well. She was only about 15ish at the time; an unknown.

Other than that, I've led a pretty boring life celebrity wise. Maybe I should go to a Patriots game.

10/8/2011 22:48:34

i met Steven Tyler in, of all places, a little fabric store in a rural town outside Boston in the late 80s. He declared the place "amazing!". He had his stage wear custom made, so he enjoyed a good fabric store and at the time this was one of the best. However it was far off the beaten path the older women customers had no idea of his celebrity status so I alone hid behind fabric bolts to see what he was doing.

FWIW everyone I know who's met him talks about how pleasant and personable Tyler is.

10/8/2011 23:44:51

Oh - Betty White filmed a movie on our street a few months ago. Many neighborhood dog owners would wait across the street for filming to end, knowing she couldn't resist a doggy fix. One day she came right over with a treat for my big sweet Aussie. She couldn't have been nicer and despite the protests of one of the crew, we got a photo together - which was extra special, since my darling dog succumbed to cancer a couple of months later.

daisydem

10/9/2011 00:19:02

I don't see my comment from yesterday, so will try to post again ... just saying I am so glad you like sports. I do too ... and I think women who like sports are sexy!

Viola-Alex

10/9/2011 00:21:09

Ah, Laura. You go for the butt. I go for the brain. Of all the celebrity sightings in my life, the one I treasure most was playwright Sam Shepard, one of the reasons I became a playwright. Ironically, where I saw him was at my daughter's lacrosse game. Her posh school had gone on a road trip and was playing his stepdaughter's posh school in VA. At that time I was working with Sissy Spacek on a screenplay and sitting with her in the bleachers. (Her daughter was on Sam's daughter's team, too). She said, "Oh, there's Sam!" And I melted. I'd read all his plays, studied his writing, seen John Malkovitch in True West on stage in NYC, dreamed of the man. He was truly my idol, and I wanted to be the female Sam Shepard. There he was, in front of me on a middle school playing field in Charlottesville VA.

Shepard stayed away from the bleachers, talking with a group of men, but I never saw that game. I didn't even care when Jessica Lange joined me and Spacek. I prayed Shepard wouldn't (what would I do?? Say?!!) and he didn't.

NSG

10/9/2011 00:39:30

Aw, JJ, what a sweet story and precious keepsake. So sorry about your dog. :(

I've had a career that gave me a few brushes with "greatness" but I'll tell 2 of my favorites, neither of which was job-related.

First, when I was in HS, I was a co-leader of a career panel in the arts. We had a local dinner theatre, and I checked to see if there was a "star" in town for a performance, as there often was. Turns out Martin Milner ("Adam-12") was there, so I wrote him a letter, inviting him to join us. Imagine my surprise when that distinctive voice was on the phone, kindly declining because of a performance. A classy personal touch I'll always remember.

The other one is much more recent. I was in NYC visiting friends in mid-November, 2006. The painful, messy end of the Bush years, all the ugly Rovian skeletons were being dragged out of the closet, and a democratic majority had just been elected in the US House. So my friends & I are walking up 5th Ave on a busy Saturday afternoon when all of a sudden I saw a very familiar and welcome face -- the brand-new, first-ever woman Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi! She was walking down the crowded sidewalk, accompanied by a few strong-looking security-type men in suits, but otherwise looking like she was doing a little shopping. Which she may have been -- iirc, she was expecting a grandchild at that time, as we noted.

Pelosi's taken a lot of hits, some deserved but many not, imho. But she seems to have tried to fight the good fight, and I loved seeing her in that moment.

Wonderful stories, everyone -- thanks for sharing them!

GhostbusterTX

10/9/2011 01:31:55

Steve Largent? Palanoia, holy crap, that guy was tea party before tea party was invented. He used to publish or write for some far-right christianist political "newspaper" freebie back in the late eighties/early nineties - I'd forgotten he was a football player. I was appalled when he was elected to the seat in the House that Inhoffe vacated to become a Senator.

I have a ton of "brush with greatness" stories, but I'll share this one. I was once on a very crowded flight coming in to Austin and ended up being squeezed in next to this really big, super nice, friendly, guy, who I figured was a businessman who flew that route frequently, by the way the flight attendants were fawning over him. After chatting with everyone else within reach he turned to me and started a conversation, and we engaged in standard in-flight small talk - have you lived here long, etc. He kept chuckling as he told me about having first come to Austin for school, how he had worked for a while afterwards in New Orleans, then in such and such a city, etc. etc. He was really vague about what exactly these jobs were and what kind of work he did. I couldn't figure out why he kept chatting with me (I had a book) when the people on the other side of the aisle were obviously way more interested in talking to him than I was. But he was really nice, and polite, and engaging, not annoying, so I didn't mind.

My poor spouse spent the whole flight trying to keep a straight face - apparently I was the only person on that plane who didn't recognize him as this celebrity former pro football star, in spite of his having spelled out his entire career and dropped every hint short of pulling out a hall-of-fame membership card.

I'm pretty sure I made his day, too.

Viola-Alex

10/9/2011 01:51:17

GhostbusterTX: WHOOO?

Palinoia

10/9/2011 01:51:31

@ GhostbusterTx,

LOL! Ok, well, I forgot about his political career and you forgot about his football career. I was strictly speaking from the perspective of nice asses on the field. At the time, he was one of the best.

I'll have to find another ass (especially this many years later) to admire. LOL.

NSG

10/9/2011 03:19:43

@GhostbusterTX,

Oooh! Oooh! Ricky Williams?

I'm a Longhorn and lived in Austin for 20 years -- Ricky's years at UT were something special, and I've always had a soft spot for him. I've worried that the NCAA/NFL system and celebrity were hard on him -- he seemed to be a good kid.

If I'm wrong, then who?! ;-)

Laura Novak link

10/9/2011 03:22:01

Our internet gone bad. will comment to everyone later. Shutting down now. major modem problems.

ann_s

10/9/2011 03:23:59

So funny....I guess I could mention that two of my best friends are a former chief of staff to a president and his wife, but I just think of them as dear, wonderful people. I have walked behind Jackie Kennedy, her shipping magnet husband and Henry Kissinger one night after midnight on a totally deserted Park Avenue in NY. Two very short men! Matthew McConnaughy on a flight to Europe (my husband was a pilot and when there is a seat we get to pass ride up front). OJ, himself, on a light to Florida and a college basketball team was sitting in back. They slowly came up and almost all got his autograph, despite everything. Newt Gingrich, looking at me at a mall(same mal) and thinking I would be happy to see him. I gave him the up and down look and walked away. Elton John, frequently, at the same mall I saw Kevin Willis in.
Ralph Lauren, coffee shop in our small town in Colorado of 850 people. He came outside to see my yorkie and told me about his. He carefully felt Rocket's bandana. At least it was really cotton! He was with his daughter and he was amazingy nice and friendly. I am stunned at how many encounters I have had, I think that is enough to talk about!...Weird!

lazrgrl

10/9/2011 03:37:17

I've met some Nobel prize winners in physics- ho hum, not of much interest to any but geeks. BUT once when I was late returning to a hotel from a meeting, who should bounce into the lobby and up to the registration desk but Barack Obama! This was April 2008 and my long-suffering husband was reading the paper and waiting for me, as always. But for at least a year afterward whenever Obama appeared on TV hubby would say Did I ever tell you about the time I "met" him? Yeah, we're best friends!

Anonfornow

10/9/2011 05:22:12

Okay, I'll play. I once sat next to a famous basketballer on a flight from Sydney to LA, but I'm not into sports and can't remember his name. I do remember that he was wonderfully nice, since I was alone with my young daughter and she was throwing up the entire way. A true prince. If you fly first class or even business, you generally do run into celebs. Most are not nice.

The encounters I treasure are with people whose intellects I admire, such as King Hussein and Queen Noor. I've also met a host of NYT bestselling authors; some are wonderful people, others are way too impressed with themselves.

And then there's Captain Mark Phillips, who almost hit me with his jeep once. He was a real jerk.

Persephone

10/9/2011 05:52:38

Ooh! I'll play too (after I mention that I'm a New Englander and also love Tom Brady's ass).

Had dinner next to Jay & Mavis Leno and started chatting when he wanted to know what I was having. Saw Spike Lee in an elevator; he was an absolute jerk to my friend (a major fan). Also in the jerk category is Reggie Jackson, who nastily turned down a young boy's request for an autograph at a Raiders game. Met Magic Johnson at a fundraising event and fell madly in love on the spot; did the same years later with cyclist Greg LeMond.

curiouser

10/9/2011 06:02:06

Laura - You're a hoot! Tom Brady is quite fine.

Viola-Alexa - Lucky you living in beautiful Charlottesville! Sissy Spacek's husband was a highschool classmate of mine...a cute and sweet guy with obvious art talent. David Lynch was there, too. I wish some of the genius had rubbed off on me.

In the early 80's I lived near the Redskins' training camp. I ran into Darrell Green at the Post Office...dropped my letters which he kindly picked up (hehehe), Joe Theismann at a music store (during his ugly divorce so I wasn't impressed), Eddie Brown and Mark Mosely at the softball field. I must tell you, all I could do was stare at Mosely's calves which were the size of the other ballplayers thighs.

And then there was Brett Hull (and three teammates) who I met between his 2002 Winter Olympic silver medal and Stanley Cup win. Had great conversation about Bob Dylan and shrooms which he warned me to never try. His teammates were annoyed that I didn't seem enough in awe. One of them passed me a cocktail napkin on which he'd written 'Do you know who this is? BRETT HULL."

My funniest encounter with celebrity happened while I was hacking away at my overgrown lawn with a sickle just as 'Freddie Kruger' (Robert Englund) walked by.

Okay, that's enough.

curiouser

10/9/2011 06:05:25

Change 'early' 80s to all of the 80s.

Lynn

10/9/2011 06:46:25

Tom is ok, but evidently like many of us old enough to be his mother, I will take Jacoby Ellsbury, thank you.

Fame brushes are fun. I taught quite a few celebrity kids, and even had to tell some of their parents at parent's weekend that their kid needed to shape up, but nothing compared to meeting Alan Alda in my dorm bathroom in 1979.

MicMac

10/9/2011 06:52:39

Whoa! Laura. You are giving me hot flashes! Off to take the proverbial cold shower!

On a more serious note, it is wonderful to celebrate the beauty of the male human form. And youth, ability and promise, on all fronts.

Just not what I expected to pop up in my garden today! You are a woman of many surprises, life giving. Thanks.

Laura Novak link

10/9/2011 07:10:15

Okay, the good thing about the internet being down is I just got to watch the Raiders take down the Texans...WHILE the Blue Angels flew right over our house on a clear sunny day. Wow. I love a man in uniform. I'll have to do a post on that some day.

@Jo My humor is Clari Drake's humor! It "pulses" through my novel, Finding Clarity. Try it, you'll like it!

@Pallotine: I just type La into the box and my own name autofills. Don't worry about your email address each time. You shouldn't have to "register" for every comment.

@AnonforNOw: I hear Mark Phillips had a love child down under when Zara was only 4. But I also just heard that Andrew is not Phillips. I'll have to do a post on THAT some day too.

@Up: what is the store that Steve Tyler was in? One of the original band went to Reading High when my brother was there.

@SunnyVee: where does the happy couple live? Right in the city? Have you seen the photos of the house in Brentwood they are building?

One thing I would bet on for sure: Giselle does not own a pair of Spanx.

I LOVE all your stories. I have SO many more, I think I'll do some posts on THAT too!

What time is NE on today? Gotta go look it up. And then put on some Spanx

Laura Novak link

10/9/2011 07:13:28

A Must See on Tom-ee:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ufwukWgKfI

Banyan

10/9/2011 07:32:00

Back when we were just married, my husband and I were in Paris. We are both major political junkies, and this was during one of critical turning points of the Watergate situation.

Elliot Richardson has just resigned as Atty. General rather than carry out Nixon's odious order to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox.

One night my husband and I decided to dine at an obscure but very good little restaurant where we were the only Americans.

The next thing we knew, Elliot Richardson and his wife were ushered in and seated right next to us on the banquette and facing chair.

Out of respect for their privacy, DH and I talked to each other only about non-Watergate related topics. We pretended not to recognize the Richardsons. Wish now we'd said something to them, as they were heroes in our eyes.

What struck me that night was how much my husband and Elliot Richardson (both archetypal preppies) resembled each other, my husband being simply a blonder version of Richardson. It was uncanny.

Viola-Alex

10/9/2011 07:57:04

@curiouser - You knew Jack Fisk!? Sissy Spacek's husband is one of the kindest, nicest men I've ever known. In fact it was he who got me to use a computer. He convinced me to call a Writer's Computer store in LA, order some software, and from then on, I was hooked. Up til then I had worked on a manual typewriter. I've lost touch with them since I moved to San Diego (and reinvented myself as we all do who move here) but was so proud of him when I saw Tree of Life. My adult children's favorite movie is Badlands, and they can't believe I once knew the man who designed it.

Here's to middle-aged success-- one thing the "brains" can do that the "goodbutts" often can not!

Ottoline

10/9/2011 08:15:43

This was soooo fun and interesting that I wanna play too.

In the 1960s, I was standing outside a v expensive deli in Lausanne, Switzerland, ogling the amazing display of gorgeous foods, displayed in the most amazingly gorgeous way. I could not afford more than one tiny treat, and as I was about to go in, out comes James Mason, who only a few years earlier I had loved as Capt Nemo in "20,000 Leagues under the Sea." I was really young. Mason was wearing a dove gray vest under a cutaway morning jacket, had a walking stick, and SPATS! Also dove grey. I was v impressed that at shops like this they would wrap your purchase in white paper around a little box and tie a gift-style ribbon around it, and you'd carry it by its bow. Mason was carrying a rather large box. Wearing a bowler, too.

Saw Clint Eastwood watching the same movie as me (it was one of his movies), only he was standing in the open back exit door, his black lab sitting at his feet. In Carmel CA. Prob curious re audience reaction.

Alistair Cooke, looking a lot like Prince Phillip only wildly more handsome, crossing the sidewalk to get into his waiting car. This was during or after his "Masterpiece Theater" fame, so he was fairly old but looked so very nice. Perfectly combed white hair. V polished.

The real-life wife of "Doc" in the film "Miracle" was my mother's best friend. She was not that beautiful in the film, but in real life, at that time, she looked like Lana Turner, only prettier. And was one of the nicest people ever.

comeonpeople

10/9/2011 08:38:46

@Laura: My spanx are in good working order, just got a workout yesterday at a wedding!

comeonpeople

10/9/2011 08:44:37

@ottoline!
Your story made me remember that I saw Mick Jaggar and his wife at the time Jerry Hall at, of all places, The Vatican! when I was on vacation in 1987 or 1988. They were just walking around like the rest of us!

curiouser

10/9/2011 10:18:49

@Viola - He was John Luton in High School. It's no surprise to hear he's still one of the good guys. He did us all a favor helping you move on from a manual typewriter. I'm appropriately in awe that you've worked with Sissy Spacek and Jessica Lange.

I'm in So.CA now, too.

curiouser

10/9/2011 10:40:56

How could I forget -- my most fun brush with fame was about 10 years ago, through a friend who befriended his crew. Jimmy Buffet. Dinner and drinks. Side stage at the concert. Dance at the concert after-party. Just good, wholesome, slightly inebriated fun.

Palinoia

10/9/2011 10:55:22

Let's see, after thinking for a bit:

I sat two tables away from the late great Bill Walsh at Alice's restaurant, just 2-3 months before he died (2007). It was good to see him out and about, and he actually still looked pretty well despite his leukemia.

Prior to that, I had opportunity to work with Kevin Tighe (Paramedic Roy DeSoto on Emergency!) for a couple of years as he was on my hospital's Hospice Board of Directors. I worked for Hospice at that time, so I saw him once a week for our internal hospice staff meetings. He was genuinely a very nice and really caring person....he arrived working and supporting our local hospice in Washington State since his mother had moved there, and ended up in our Hospice program. He still resides in WA, in my hometown.

Palinoia

10/9/2011 10:57:14

I should add:

I *really* would love to hear what Kevin Tighe thought about Sarah and her "death panels". I'll lay odds he was absolutely horrified by her, and her lies, especially since he was such a strong supporter of dying with dignity via Hospice programs.

10/9/2011 11:16:28

Laura, Tyler was at Saftler's in Whitman. He lives in Marshfield.

Viola-Alex

10/9/2011 12:13:11

@curiouser, or should I call you neighbor? a friend left a script of mine in Sissy's front gate, at the end of a long drive. He had helped install a tennis court at their farm. She called me-- mainly because we're from TX towns a few miles apart. We laughed much later because our SS#'s were identical except for the last four digits. Sissy hired me to adapt a book she had an option on and taught me to write a screen play. I worked two years with her, and then the author of the book got nasty (can you imagine, messing a deal with Spacek so your only novel doesn't get filmed?) and that was that. I got divorced, moved to SoCal-- and last talked to her from a Target parking lot.

When we traveled together, scouting locations in TX, people would just LOVE on her. She was always generous with them. "The black people," she said, "always want to talk about Carrie. The whites-- Coalminer's Daughter."

My life has been a series of great, lost opportunities. I guess they built me some character or maybe just made me ornery.

V ictoria link

10/9/2011 12:23:54

Six degrees of separation? No one is that far from celebrty. I've also met a number of Nobel-winning physicists, including one who told me that the biggest change it made to his life was the privileged parking he received at his university.

But you know, I think Laura's actually pretty great. And I admire many of you, although we haven't exchanged emails personally. I don't think celebrity is required for greatness (although a tight ass is always an asset).

GhostbusterTX

10/9/2011 12:24:35

V-A, I was honest in saying I had no clue who he was and still can't remember his name. He was a UT star before going pro and then settled back in Austin, at least for a while.

Palinoia - sorry! There are asses and then there are asses, if you catch my drift.

Ottoline

10/9/2011 12:29:04

Our neighborhood celebrity Joe McG says in his latest post: "Never has corporate control of mainstream media been more evident."

http://www.joemcginniss.net/rogue-blog

He's starting to sound like us bloggers (using even the same terms) in this post.

curiouser

10/9/2011 15:53:39

Viola-Alexa - I'm about 60 miles north of San Diego but, please, call me neighbor. I'm so sorry the script didn't work out. Crazy author, indeed. You're wonderfully talented and I wish you new, greater opportunities around the corner. Is it time to get back in touch with Spacek?

KMR

10/9/2011 19:40:34

@ Up
Saftlers! in Whitman! I never imagined when you said you met him in "a little fabric store in a rural town outside Boston" that you meant Saftlers.
It just went out of business a few months ago, btw. Did you know that? I'm missing it already.

My sister saw Tyler in Hingham. Another sister's daughter waited on him at a restaurant in Hanover; UNO's. My husband saw him on one of his Harley's ... or thought it was him (a little hard to tell with a helmet).

suzanne

10/9/2011 20:22:24

Don't know about those players, but your observations are pretty cute!

10/9/2011 23:01:52

KMR, yes it did. Positively excruciating. It was family-owned and operated for 3 generations over 90 years, and 4 generations of my family shopped & took classes there. As wide as the fabric selection was, the classes really made that store great. Such community! I will miss it too, and hope the family does manage to reopen a smaller store. It won't be the same though, without thumping across the hardwood floors and rooting around the bargain basement!

I bet you and I are a lot closer than 6 degrees IRL.

Lynn

10/9/2011 23:09:40

@ viola-Alex, re:Sam Shepard, my brother worked with him in Lie of the Mind (did score and performed onstage), and also on the film Far North. I count this as my however many degrees of separation, as in, my brother was in a movie with River Phoenix, who was in a movie with Kevin Bacon.

I love everyone's stories!

I was in the unfortunate position of catching Joe Theisman's kid breaking a rule during her first few weeks at boarding school, for which she got expelled. Unpleasant.

Ottoline

10/10/2011 00:58:20

The IM post is up.

jeff

10/10/2011 01:49:12

@Laura---

Nooooooooooo! Sigh.

Ok, Brady is a stud. But a nice ass? I'll defer to your expert opinion. Rick Santorum would agree with you, no doubt.

But after the Patriots cheated (?) the Raiders on their way to the Super Bowl in 2002 to begin their current dynasty... well, I can't believe you'd turn your back on Raider Nation. A

Laura, it's not that I don't love you still, but anybody but Tom Brady ;^)

http://youtu.be/fiD9cF48AE0

-------------------------------------

Also,

R.I.P. Al Davis, a real maverick

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/raiders/story/2011-10-08/al-davis-obit/50702126/1

Viola-Alex

10/10/2011 02:06:22

@Lynn: was your brother in the Red Clay Ramblers (am I remembering correctly?) I saw that production and remember it quite well. I knew I liked this community but I had no idea. . .

jeff

10/10/2011 02:06:54

Off-topic, but interesting...

I saw this link in a comment over at IM. Thanks, Sweet anny (h/t).

I haven't had time to watch it all yet (it's an hr and 18 min long), but it's good so far. It's narrated by Peter Coyote, who's got a great voice (as opposed to SP, the contrast is striking!)

The film is about sociopaths, and Sarah, if you're reading here, the shoe definitely fits.

http://www.vimeo.com/29078157

Lynn

10/10/2011 02:33:31

@V-A, yes, brother was and still is a Red Clay Rambler. And to think, had Laura not swooned over Tom Brady, we'd have no idea the extent to which we all ross-pollinate around here!

rubbernecking

10/10/2011 02:58:41

I have a friend who works for one of the major networks. Sometimes we talk current events and he gives me his read on prominent figures who were on set for a morning show interview.

I have fewer celebrity sightings than he does--but I have shared my best stories with him--such as watching Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward holding hands in the audience of a modern dance performance. Once I was very excited to tell him that I ran into Dennis and Elizabeth Kucinich in the Egyptian wing of a major museum. My friend had no I idea who I was talking about and when I explained that Kucinich was a congressman from Ohio, he was even more baffled that I'd be following Ohio politics. When I confessed to watching C-Span, instead of his major network show, he was first horrified and then almost hysterical. From then on, he also tries to remember to ask me about my wonk celebrity sightings.

Ottoline

10/10/2011 03:12:06

After reading today's IM post, I think more than ever this cartoon is apt:
http://tinyurl.com/3aqrrvr
It's the scientists pondering a hard-to-explain equation, which applies to us as follows:

We have the photo-documented fact that SP was not pregnant. And we have the Trig concept during the election plus the Tripp concept. And between the two, we have this exploding cloud of cattywompus terms, quotes, photos, events, ideas, theories, pseudo-data, babies, deformed ears, real data (perhaps), and things we don't know about yet. We can label this cloud: "Then a miracle happens."

Yes, it would be great if we could explain the cloud.

But it finally occurs to me: the SP approach to a difficult reality has been to put a brand new bright shiny object out there to deflect attn from the difficult reality. More than ever, this explains Trig/Tripp to me. There was a bad reality in SP's life that she hoped to disguise by the Trig/Tripp concept, and she succeeded; it carried her through the election and for the years after the election.

Gryphen says:
--". . . the scandal which Sarah Palin is the most desperate to keep quiet has nothing to do with politics, her marriage, or even her religious beliefs. But it has everything to do with the births of two little boys."

--"I am also rejecting any incest comments. Sorry folks there is NO evidence that Willow could be the mom, and Keith has nothing to do with this whole thing"

--"No the older child was not Trig. I did not think I needed to explain that part."

So I wonder if "Fred" will explain it further, or will someone else speak up, or is this it?

Viola-Alex

10/10/2011 03:28:11

Thanks, Ottoline, for bringing this over. I wondered if Laura would do it.

I explained this new development from IM to my husband over coffee, and FINALLY he understands my obsession-- and likened it to a mini-series. It's taken 3 yrs to get him interested. And this has finally done it.

I, for once, am speechless about this whole sordid affair.

Viola-Alex

10/10/2011 03:39:58

Here's a theory from IM by Meg, which makes sense, given the IM Post.

This piece of info actually could explain lots of questions people have had over the years and make the fake pregnancy become fake pregnancies, which is far more damning.

If Bristol has Tripp in Feb 2008 can explain why
1) Sarah want to adopt Tripp, which does not make sense if she just "gave birth" to Trig. But if Tripp was born earlier, it will make perfect sense why doing so can avoid a teen pregnancy scandal.

2). Bristol was so upset about Sarah's announcement of pregnancy in March 2008. She probably thought she would try to get Tripp by force even they have repeatedly told her No. Look, Levi insisted that B was upset, but the reason he gave was just too much of a stretch.

3). Sarah gave up on Tripp and came up with a better plan of getting a Don baby and made a great show of it. At this point, we don't know how many family members and close relatives know the truth.

4). Then to cover up for Trig (being VP is now more important than covering up a teen pregnancy) and allow Tripp to eventually see the daylight, they made B fake the late 2008 pregnancy. That can explain all the strange accounts surrounding that one，　ｉｎｃｌｕｄｉｎｇ　Ｂ　ｓｋｉｐｐｉｎｇ　ａｌｏｎｇ　ｔｈｅ　ｉｃｙ　ｐａｔｈｗａｙ　ｔｏ　ｔｈｅ　ｃｈｕｒｃｈ　ｄａｙｓ　ｂｅｆｏｒｅ　”ｇｉｖｉｎｇ　ｂｉｒｔｈ”. As you know, the most convincing lies are the one mixed with some truth. But Levi messed up that one with several inconsistent timeline. But I　ｂｅｔ　ｌｏｔｓ　ｏｆ　ｗｈａｔ　ｈｅ　ｓａｉｄ　ａｒｅ　ｔｈｅ　ｔｒｕｅ　ｃｉｒｃｕｍｓｔａｎｃｅｓ　ａｂｏｕｔ　Ｔｒｉｐｐ’ｓ　ｂｉｒｔｈ　ｗｉｔｈ　ｏｎｅ　ｙｅａｒ　ｃｈａｎｇｅ．

５）．　Ｆｉｎａｌｌｙ　ｉｔ　ｓｏｌｖｅｓ　ｔｈｅ　ｒｉｄｄｌｅ　ｔｈａｔ　Ｉ　ｆｏｒｇｏｔ　ｗｈｅｒｅ　I first heard it that "Trig was Tripp before he was Trig", meaning Tripp was Sarah's original target before she was forced to switch to poor Trig, who can be a rent baby initially, which explained the multi-baby question.

Meg

8:16 AM

Ottoline

10/10/2011 03:47:51

I have always thought the baby on SP's shoulder on May 5 2009 (per Bailey) was Tripp. The photo on the right is from a video around Thanksgiving 2009, presented by Levi, so photo taken at some time before then.

Look at the puffy area above eyebrows, the v full cheeks, receding chin, button nose, no sign of DS. But the jagged ear on the left photo. So Tripp may have been out of sight from birth (early 2008 to early 2009) to let the ear surgery heal (in spite of the MDs saying no to that)?

Sunshine1970

10/10/2011 03:51:20

It would also explain where the 2008 baby came from (From Laura's blog post of Little Boy Blue)

I meshed the two pics together:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/erikak1970/tripps.jpg

I posted on the other post about this, but I think it's gotten lost there...

Now, the main question:

Where the heck did Trig come from...?!

rubbernecking

10/10/2011 03:54:22

So Track Jones had a financial arrangement as Levi's agent. Then he agrees to investigate/sell information about his client Levi to a third party, Griffin. Griffin pays a $3500 deposit and Jones delivers an ambiguous story.

If Jones was willing to willing to act unethically with his client Levi, why would Griffin expect ethical behavior in his case?

If Jones told Griffin a "true" story, than I believe it is also a deliberately misleading story. Jones chose not to reveal obviously useful information: 1) had he ever seen this child before or after the March trip? and 2) where did Levi take the child?

How exactly did Griffin confirm that the 1-year old was not Trig? He doesn't tell us how he asked this question or how Jones answered it.

If Jones was dishonest with Levi, he was also dishonest with Griffin.

Ottoline

10/10/2011 03:56:02

Sunshine -- Yup, I think you got it.

Re Trig: Gryphen did say "born" -- so I bet that's another sad story of some kind. Within the family. In a way that would wreck SP's chance at VP.

Ottoline

10/10/2011 03:59:33

Yes, rubbernecking, I too suspect double or even triple loyalties on the part of Tank/Rex: to Levi, to SP (at least I have always wondered that, based on the poor representation Levi's Mom got for a minor offense), and now we know to Gryphen too.

Ottoline

10/10/2011 04:26:54

When Levi says to Jesse that he has some info on SP that is "bigger than Watergate," my first thought is "who else has Levi discussed this with, who gave him the Watergate comparison?" I would not expect Levi to know much about Watergate, a subject we political junkies have ourselves had trouble with, re exact comparisons.

One of the people who was at the Johnston house stripping their computers? Someone during the RNC? Rex?

And what would "bigger than Watergate" be, if not a reference to the exact means for acquiring Trig, whose adoption Tank tells Jesse is so well covered up?

Sharon_Too_Also

10/10/2011 04:30:13

Too bad Inspector Lewis only works on Sunday evenings - we could really use him on this case ;-)

Seriously .... there are a lot of good amateur sleuths around here with research, ideas and theories .... but, I'm curious, how would a true professional (as opposed to to a Tank/pseudo type) investigator approach this obvious hoax? Every profession has its 'laws' ... what's the starting point for a pro? Has anyone here had a conversation with a real PI on the subject?

rubbernecking

10/10/2011 04:35:48

Regarding the Track Jones bombshell, anyone who grew up in a large family was called the wrong name on multiple occasions--maybe even the dog's name. Even the most devoted, helicopter mother makes this mistake sometimes.

Without knowing more about the child's appearance and where Levi took him, I find it hard to evaluate the significance of Levi using the wrong child's name.

curiouser

10/10/2011 04:48:55

rubbernecking - I think Rex was Levi's lawyer/manager in April '09. Tank was helping Rex and seemed to serve more as Levi's bodyguard. Would it be less unethical if Tank was hired to investigate Trig's birth and the March '09 story about Tripp was incidental? The timeline--hired by Gryphen on April 24, May meeting about something 'big' that happened in March--is perplexing.

Tom link

10/10/2011 05:02:58

If no one minds…

Around ‘90/’91 I got to know Pulitzer prize winning playwright (‘That Championship Season’) and actor, Jason Miller. He was producing/directing/acting in ‘Inherit the Wind’. The play was performed in a Philadelphia City Hall courtroom and was a production of Miller’s Scranton Players. He was staying in an off-Rittenhouse Square hotel and I would run into him at a bar in that area. Jason liked a few six o’clock pre-performance cocktails, sometimes with colleagues, sometimes with his dogs. We talked about a lot of things. Some gossip: this was when Julia Roberts had just dumped Miller’s son, Jason Patric. I asked about Roberts. Miller described her with three unflattering words, the last of which was ‘that’ word. He told me Patric was shooting a movie called ‘Rush’ at the time. I asked who co-starred and Miller couldn’t remember the actress’s name but described her as “that mousy looking broad” (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Miller wasn’t being unkind about Leigh. He’s a writer.

Miller lent me a book by Colin Wilson entitled, ‘The Outsider.’ Miller was intuitive regarding me.

More literary, I ran a nightclub/restaurant on Nantucket where National Book Award (for his autobio, ‘Stop-Time’) winning author, Frank Conroy, had the house band. I didn’t get to know Frank much. He’s a fabulous jazz pianist. Dave Brubeck’s son, Danny, was his drummer. It was interesting to be around Frank and his sister, India, while I was reading ‘Stop-Time’ even the the bio ends when Frank enrolls at Haverford College.

I said hello to James Baldwin at the Lord Jeffery Inn in Amherst, MA in about 1986. He didn’t look well at all and died not too long after.

Jimmy Buffet was mentioned above. He showed up at that nightclub on Nantucket a couple of times. This was in ‘80, before his sobriety (I guess). He was smoking a joint in the back of the building with some friends the one time. He did his ‘Margaritaville’ bit on stage on both occasions. He seemed like a nice guy but I was busy and really didn’t talk to him much. The crowd was very excited that he was there.

Stiller and Meara have had a place on Nantucket for a long time. They often brought the kids (Ben too I suppose) to a lobster restaurant where I worked--very nice and unassuming--very much regular.

The most fun was meeting Brian Dennehy at PJ Clarke’s in NYC in around ‘86. I had taken Amtrak from Springfield, MA to Philly, got to Penn Station, said F’it, got off and walked to Calrke’s stopping for a beer and pizza along the way. I was sitting/standing at the corner of the bar, on the street, by the big window. This man and woman walked in at the guy looked very familiar. Iasked the bartender. He told me. I did an “Oh yeah.” They had lunch and came out to the bar after and parked right next to me. If Dennehy has impressed as a big, friendly, smart, Irish lug you were right on. I won’t get this right but Brian told me a story about being in LA over St. Paddy’s Day while he was doing the looping for ‘Legal Eagles’. He said LA was the strangest place to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day, that he was back in his hotel room by midnight and thought, WTF am I doing going to bed already on this day.

They invited me to a party that evening. I didn’t go. Should have.

jeff

10/10/2011 05:19:36

@rubbernecking---

Gryphen's PI is "Tank" Jones, not Track.

Oh no, not another "T-name" for the Palin boys. please don't tell me that Jesse's bombshell is that Sarah had another child that she named Tank.

Anyone see any facial similarities between Tank and Sarah?

http://slashgossip.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/levi_johnston_tank_jones.jpg

rubbernecking

10/10/2011 05:36:14

@curiouser, you raise a good point. I don't know if Jones works for directly for Levi or works for Levi's lawyer. But it still seems unethical to sell information about your client or your client's client.

According to Griffin, in May 2009 Jones told him he'd never be able to prove that Palin wasn't Trig's birth mother because the papers were inaccessible and she had covered her tracks. So it doesn't appear that Jones was hired to investigate Trig's birth--who'd pay $3500 for that answer?

Maybe Rex/Tank got wind that Griffin had some money to spend and tried to get a cut of it. Maybe Rex/Tank are taking a cut from everybody: Levi, Griffin, and the Palins.

rubbernecking

10/10/2011 05:43:27

@jeff, LOL! And to boot, I made the error in a comment talking about scenarios where other people use the wrong names.

This reminded me of some of the debate about obama/osama speech errors. A Psychology magazine discussed how/why these types of linguistic errors occur.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sold-language/201105/do-obamaosama-slips-the-tongue-reveal-racist-attitudes

jeff

10/10/2011 05:47:15

@Laura

I don't know if this is new or not

This link was mentioned in comments at IM:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v294/erikak1970/?action=view¤t=tripps-1.jpg

jeff

10/10/2011 05:50:28

@rubbernecking--

Exactly... Now tell us what YOU know! lol

rubbernecking

10/10/2011 05:56:21

@jeff, why do you think this is a photo of Tripp?

Palin at the Kernel trial testified that she took this photo of Willow and Trig on an airplane. We later found an RNC photo of Trig in a blue stripe jumper with a similar expression.

Who identified it as a photo of Tripp?

10/10/2011 06:01:17

What about the photos of blond Levi at the hospital? Trig or Tripp?

Sunshine1970

10/10/2011 06:09:14

@ Rubbernecking I made that composite.

I saw a video of Levi from 2009 at the hearing for his mother. They did a close up shot of that baby on the right in it I screen capped it. I right away thought of the baby Willow was holding in September 2008 on a plane, and went to look for it. I found a copy of the pic here on Laura's site. Stuck the two photos together and was shocked that they looked the same.

I don't really know if this IS the same baby. The similarities are striking, and going in with the possible new knowledge that Tripp was about a year old in March 2009, according to Tank, this would verify that what Tank said was true.

Another poster on politicalgates named
kappachino put this composite together:
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6053/6231852548_27dcb29e75.jpg

Again, the baby looks like the same kid to me.

I don't know what to think of this, I don't even know if it's true. But with the Palins ANYTHING is possible.

Joie Vouet

10/10/2011 06:41:24

re: Tank's ethics

People should consider all the possibilities. The babygate "investigation" has floundered because people assume too much.

Tank may have had a financial relationship with Rex Butler. Did Tank have a financial relationship with Levi? Even if he did, how is it "unethical" for Tank to provide information to someone else about a person with whom he had a financial relationship? Someone saying it's "unethical" doesn't make it so.

jeff

10/10/2011 06:42:04

@Sunshine1970 & @rubbernecking,

Kernell guessed Sarah's password and accessed her email account in September, 2008. I don't know what her exact testimony was, but evidently she testified that a pic of her baby brother was circulated all over the net as a result of the breach. IIRC this photo was one of the files that was posted to a 4chan board.

The blue eyes do look very similar to me, also, too. I guess this might fit in with "Tank" Jones' observation as well.

At this point, I'm not sure what I know, what I think I know, and what I think that I need to know re this Palin nonsense. What I AM sure is that that Palin would prefer that it is this confusing for everybody, not just me.

If the baby with Willow in the photo IS Tripp, then obviously Tripp was born earlier than Dec 27, 2008. "This I know." /s

Viola-Alex

10/10/2011 06:43:44

Sharon-Too: I'd vote for DI Hathaway. I'm totally besotted with him, even though he's my son's age. English actors have always been my football players ala Laura.

About the new IM post:

What's interesting about it, is how many other pieces fall into place, if you place Tripp's birth a year earlier. So many of Levi's "lies" become about Tripp and make sense, just by shifting the birth dates. THAT'S what impressed me. Not the source.

What I loved about Meg's theory above, is the simple idea that Sarah set up her pregnancy to wrest Tripp from Bristol, and she was either thwarted or came up with a better idea to have Trigg. Like a lie that takes on its own mad momentum.

Also, if Tripp were born a year earlier, all of thelies told can be "true" just true a year earlier.

Also, Bristol could have had a baby anonymously, more easily at that time, since her mother was less known.

elizabeth

10/10/2011 06:49:08

rubbernecking

10/10/2011 06:59:01

@jeff, we debated some of this on another thread. Based on the trial transcripts, I believe that Sarah Palin testified about the baby-in-blue photo and Bristol testified about a different photo, one of Trig eating solid food for the first time.

For unclear reasons, Palin's lawyer introduced as evidence pictures from Palin's email account that were never actually posted on 4chan.

@Joie Vouet, Tank Jones's behavior is an obvious conflict of interest. Anyone hiring a PI should request a confidentiality agreement and a conflict of interest disclosure. Jones's willingness to sell information about another client (or his client's client) should have been a big red flag to Griffin.

Viola-Alex

10/10/2011 07:18:49

@rubbernecking - Tank may be unreliable, but if this post causes us to think in different ways about things that haven't made sense up to now, is that such a bad thing?

Again, it's focusing on the Messenger, not the message. If the Police did that, they'd have no informers.

elizabeth

10/10/2011 07:22:33

I just want to quickly say that just as I came to the conclusion that Trig being born to Palin as a DS baby just in time to cement her bonafide pro-life credentials, thus shooting her to the top of a VP short-list, was an 'amazing' coincidence - too amazing actually, I also thing the fact the Bristol just happened to be 5 months pregnant at the RNC and therefore couldn't be Trig's mother was another 'amazing' coincidence.

And to quote, once again, the infamous Ms. S. Palin, "I don't believe in coincidences", I think Grphyen's post today proves that there were no coincidences at all in this sad farce.

I admit I always thought Tripp was born much later than Dec 2008 but after Grphyen's post today I'm inclined to believe he was born much earlier.

I still contend that Trig was 'acquired' to cement Palin's credentials for the VP nominiation (the ONLY credentials she really had that made a difference besides her short skirts and hot red shoes.)

But today I am changing my mind regarding Tripp and thinking that yes indeed that baby was hidden and brought out when the time was right.

And I don't think Tripp has anything to do with Trig. I think Tripp was what happens when teenagers are completely ignored and neglected and left alone without proper adult supervision but I think Trig is what happens when someone's naked ambition far outweighs that someone's actual qualifications so desperate measures are taken to stack the deck.

Brad Scharlott

10/10/2011 07:26:35

Laura just sent me aa brief note saying their internet service at home is down and she has limited ability to connect by iPhone. She said she will get something up when she can but says you might want to go to IM.

Personally, I am happy to stay here and comment on the latest on this thread, because we would not be able to "converse" at IM. So I'll try keep commenting here while I can. Love and best wishes from all of us, Laura!

Ottoline

10/10/2011 07:31:09

i'm repeating my comment from above because I forget to include the link:

I think the baby on SP's shoulder on May 5 2009 (per Bailey) was Tripp. The photo on the right is from a video around Thanksgiving 2009, presented by Levi, so photo taken at some time before then.

Look at the puffy area above eyebrows, the v full cheeks, receding chin, button nose, no sign of DS. But the jagged ear on the left photo. So Tripp may have been out of sight from birth (early 2008 to early 2009) to let the ear surgery heal (in spite of the MDs saying no to that)?

http://i55.tinypic.com/2ro2dfd.jpg

Since this post, Sunshine's composite connects the T-day photo of Tripp to the airplane blue boy.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/erikak1970/tripps.jpg

Sunshine1970

10/10/2011 07:36:05

@Ottoline

Holy crap. That baby really DOES look like Tripp.

I think we all may be on to something here...

search4more

10/10/2011 07:44:29

If Trip was a 1 year old in March 2009 then he has was 11 months old in February 2008. But but but but but!

.....So now we are saying that the baby that Bristol was showing off after her birth was not hers? She did an interview with Greta Van Whatsit and there was a baby in it who was less than 1 year old.

Here is some video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDhtiJreaKk

I'm not a great fan of all the theorizing. I care more about the truth. If a theory allows us to find out what happened then that's great. The discussions about insurance are excellent because they create avenues for investigation. This new thing is just stupid isn't it? Pretty soon we are going to have a new round of theorizing and I think that in the new set of theories we may need to talk about 4 babies. .....Hm. I'm not sure if it is 4. Is it? Trig, Tripp, Ruffles, and now the stand in for Tripp since Tripp wasn't Tripp.

I'm going to postulate that Tank is a liar who lies for money. In this case the money was $3500. I don't definitively know that to be the case but I prefer that that is the case than we have to talk about 5 thousand babies, because I'm finding it hard to keep track of them all now.

10/10/2011 07:50:19

People tend to forget that in Oct 07, Heather wrote a heartwrenching email about the struggles parents of special needs kids face.

Coincidence?

Ottoline

10/10/2011 08:06:12

From what I've read over the last 3 yrs, talking about ethics in the AK business/political community of SP is meaningless. But Gryphen says all of Tank's info so far has proved accurate. And if it is, the baby in the Greta interview is a sub (not Tripp).

So I'm going with the early 2008 birth of Tripp, and also because I've looked at this GMA video and its too-large (and near-comatose) Tripp so many times:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/30597400

But one teen pregnancy, even two faked pregnancies, is not "worse than Watergate," even though it's a deceptive, degenerate hoax. Whoever told Levi "worse than Watergate" must have had some other wrinkle in mind, like how and from whom Trip emerged, and who else was involved in enabling this plan. We know the WHY.

Exactly what we want to know.

NSG

10/10/2011 08:12:53

Ruh-roh...

"Woman gives birth 7 hours after finishing marathon"

http://tinyurl.com/6cuucys

Brace yourselves for Palin "news" -- Sarah may be inspired by this!!!!! ;-)

curiouser

10/10/2011 08:40:58

In keeping with what search4more said, there was significant effort on this blog dating photos of a newborn Tripp. There are photos of Tripp and Trig together when Tripp was smaller and looked younger than Trig. Perhaps there are two Tripps but we can't make the Dec. 08-Jan. 09 baby go away.

Ottoline - I don't see the similarity in those pics. Tripp's nose has a bridge. The baby in the photo from Bailey's book doesn't.

The photos and discussion from these 3 earlier posts may help.

The Ghostwriter
http://tinyurl.com/3dvuqew

http://www.lauranovakauthor.com/1/post/2011/07/little-boys-blue.html

Did Sarah Palin Trip Up with Tripp's Date of Birth?
http://tinyurl.com/6ytnks6

Ottoline

10/10/2011 08:59:57

I don't see a bridge on nose until the older photos:

http://i56.tinypic.com/25a2r69.jpg

comeonpeople

10/10/2011 09:01:07

It's very interesting to watch the Greta/Bristol video without the sound, the one when Palin breaks in with the baby and apparently does all the talking from that point on. Bristol seems to be baely containing her rage at her mom. Watch her eyes, especially at the end. Very interesting.
This latest post on IM is confounding. I do think the blue sweatered baby on the plane can be the same one Sarah is holding in Baily's book and the same on in the video.

It's just all so nuts.

@Sharon-also-too...I think a PI should start with CBJ and MatSu. They have professional standrards, obligations and rules that were obviously broken. Nothing nebulous about what they said happened and what would actually be allowed to happen.
CBj is the weakest link and the key to breaking this open. I've felt this strongly from day one. That is it so damn hard to get her held accountable is very disturbing. And that she doesn't speak out for herself is equally disturbing.

Joie Vouet link

10/10/2011 09:04:08

Let me elaborate on my earlier remark about considering the possibilities:

If we "assume for the sake of argument," as some are fond of doing, at some juncture, then, if only two things can be assumed, then the odds are 50-50 that we're wrong.

Now, at the next juncture, suppose again that there are only two alternatives. Whichever we choose, the odds are now 1 in 4 that we're right.

As we continue assuming "for the sake of argument" at every juncture, the odds of being correct get very small. The odds are get smaller geometrically, if there are only two alternatives at each juncture. That sort of "investigation" gets you down a very deep rabbit hole, very fast. If there are more than two "explanations" at every juncture, you get down the rabbit hole even faster. A geometric trip down the rabbit hole goes 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32 ...

Two other points:

1) There is a difference between knowledge and belief, that is, what you believe isn't necessarily knowledge. At one time astronomers believed and "knew" that everything revolved around the earth and moved in circles.

2) If event 'A' preceeds event 'B', it is not necessarily true that event 'A' caused event 'B'.

You should take this criticism constructively.

Ottoline

10/10/2011 09:17:23

Was anyone else interested that Shannon has apparently known all along about the hoax? Gryphen said she has "national connections." Someone else asked if she could be Fred? Someone else again suggested she might be the cc'd person who leaked the memo from McG to Gryphen. If Shannon knows, then AKM knows, right? But didn't want to talk about it, even up to now. I feel like everything is on hold until we learn what Fred says and who s/he is. Seems like changing Fred's gender would be a good switch -- that always confuses people. It just dawned on me that the ex-ghostwriters of the various books might be MA, just having some fun. Did you see the last MA post, in which a bad case of flu explains recent silence.

Fraternal twins seems possible except for SP wanting to adopt what sounded to me like ONE child. Unless it's twins, Bristol can't be Trig's Mom.

But we still know that SP was not pregnant.

10/10/2011 09:21:32

Joie Vouet: I agree. Too many variables, too many red herrings, too many contradictory quotes, too few rock-solid items. Like SP not pregnant is rock-solid. SP is a frequent-liar, very skilled and experienced. But little else.

NSG

10/10/2011 09:31:27

I'm curious about the OCS email from Parnell.

He's still a sitting governor. If this is evidence of his involvement in a fraud or cover-up, that could be a VERY productive line of investigation.

FrostyAK

10/10/2011 09:33:28

Some things to consider:

1. Tank was/is(?) a bouncer in a bar.

2. Rex Butler is known as a LOUSY lawyer, I'd rather take my chances with a Public Pretender.

3. I haven't checked what you need to get a PI license in AK (or if one is even offered), but there were NO qualifications needed to put your shingle out as a psychologist a few years ago. That may have changed, but when I checked that was the case. 'Massage therapists' also don't need a license.

3. Tank works for Rex, but I have no idea when, how long, what else he does.

Would I believe anything either Tank or Rex had to say? No. Not saying Gryph's information is bogus, but I would not rely on anything from either Butler or Tank.

Joe McG's article about anonymous sources in USA Today:

http://tinyurl.com/3luwdlv

Sharon_Too_Also

10/10/2011 10:05:20

@Ottoline

Re: Gryphen & MeAgain. Like a lot of other people here, I love to read IM but I have never ever gone away from a post without feeling that I was only getting half of the story. He is very much in control of the info flow - look how long he held onto the Tank info. I truly believe that if he has the emails from MA - and I personally believe he does - then we will only see them when he is good and ready to put them out.

So when might that be you ask? My guess would be on a slow Sarah news week - or if traffic on his site slows down for some reason. We're hooked .... and he's hoarding our drug supply.

10/10/2011 10:52:06

@Sharon, I don't think G is necessarily hoarding. If I were in his shoes, I'd have to process them against known info, potentially seek legal advice and try to verify the info with other sources. That takes time.

There is one way to verify Palin did not give birth at Mat-Su on 4/18/08. Find the other women in a particular class of births, and compare that to the state vital statistics report for 2008. I just don't know how to accomplish that. A fraction of birth announcements appear to have made it into the Frontiersman. The PDF reports include only names. So far as I can tell, public search sites only include adults. Any other bright ideas?

jeff

10/10/2011 12:17:43

@rubbernecking,

Sarah discusses this Willow/Trig photo on page 48 of her testimony from the Kernell trial. Here's a link to Frank Bailey's testimony and Sarah's testimony, which begins on page 48.

http://www.box.net/shared/n2s3c2okyr

A couple of her direct quotes from the testimony:

"I do recognize that. That is my daughter Willow holding my son Trig, a picture that I took and stored on my cell phone."

"I took that picture on an airplane."

Sarah Palin identified the baby in the photo as Trig. She testified that the photo was taken in the springtime of 2008.

In the photo, "Trig" clearly has blue eyes. At the RNC, Trig had dark hair and brown eyes.

To believe Sarah's testimony, we must accept as fact that Trig's eye color changed from blue to brown in a period of maybe 3 months.

Is that possible?

FrostyAK

10/10/2011 12:41:12

Kernell trial:
And Bristol testified that she was afraid because she lives in the middle of nowhere with no phone, and that HER SON'S pic was hacked by Kernell.

So, what did she lie about? She does NOT live in the middle of nowhere, but right near the biggest hotel in town (Best Western); and the SS were guarding her at the time. She said she had no phone. They not only have a landline (or did), but cell service was available. As was the phone in the hotel.

Did she tell the truth or lie about "her son's" pic being hacked?

search4more

10/10/2011 12:57:32

jeff,

A babies eye color can change.

Here is a quote I pulled from pediatrics.about.com. Dunno if it's an authoritative source but I don't care because I only went to it to confirm something I already knew.

<i>"Most experts think that your baby's eye color will either stay the same or will darken over the first six to nine months of her life. So gray or blue eyes can turn brown, green, or hazel, but brown eyes likely won't lighten and become blue."</i>

Palinoia

10/10/2011 12:58:31

@ FrostyAK,

Hmm...it makes you wonder huh? I don't really know that blue sweater baby is really Trig. I lean towards not. And how much more "impact" could the testimony have if she testifies that it IS Trig, vs. Willow holding someone else's un-named baby.

I would never put anything past Sarah when it comes to lying through her teeth, if the end result was to benefit her in some way (in this case, cement her "victim" status).

search4more

10/10/2011 12:58:55

OK HTML doesn't work in comments. Oh <b>crap</b>. ;-)

curiouser

10/10/2011 13:33:02

I compared the blue sweater baby to an RNC photo of Trig. The eye color looks the same and I think they're likely the same baby.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/49830475@N04/6233288890/in/photostream

jeff

10/10/2011 13:38:56

@search4more

Thanks for the info.

My son's eyes were blue from the git-go up to the present, but I have heard of instances where a kid's eyes changed before adulthood. I wasn't sure if it was possible in the 2 or 3 months or so between the pic on the airplane that Sarah said she took(a few weeks old, according to SP) and at 4 1/2 months old at the RNC.

I learn stuff here everyday without even trying.

curiouser

10/10/2011 13:57:02

jeff - Look at the link above. Trig's eyes were still blue at the RNC.

Ottoline

10/10/2011 14:08:35

curiouser -- I was just looking at those exact same pics. They do look a lot alike. The one thing that has always struck me about the blue airplane baby, is that my instant impression is "No DS" whereas in the Trig RNC photo I have the instant "DS" impression. But I know from my own children how much lighting, angle, momentary expression, etc., can affect the look of a photo. So I don't know.

curiouser

10/10/2011 14:51:56

Ottoline - 'Doc' agrees with you.

For the Baby Blue post:
"In this picture with Willow, the baby in the airplane with a blue sweater shows no signs of Downs syndrome and looks to be 2-3 months old.

"I’m saying this based on level of alertness, and hands still clenched at rest for a baby that age.

"If Trig truly has Down syndrome, as I believe he does based on our previous post and analysis, then this just cannot be him."

I thought the fuzziness of the photo might mask DS features but I've got nothing when it comes to the clenched hands other than to ask if it's possible the baby is less 'at rest'. I see a significant resemblance between these photos and the VP halo photo but I also 'just don't know'.

jeff

10/10/2011 16:18:51

@curiouser

I think you're probably right. I had looked at the pic of Trig at RNC on the first link below and thought Trig's eyes were a lot darker, but it must be a lighting issue or something to do with enlarging the pic. IMO, the second link actually shows his eyes to be an even lighter blue than the "oopsy4 Flickr pic". The third link is a cropped version of the oopsy4, but appeared darker than the "airplane Trig" pic.

There aren't enough good pics over time of Trig with his eyes open to gauge "when" their color changed from blue to the brown color they appear to be today.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rV5j766Ehis/Smh9ULnyE-I/AAAAAAAAAl4/NBVIMdatjfE/s320/trig+palin.jpg

http://www2.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/Trig+Palin+Palin+Campaigns+Pittsburgh+Area+w92w1KRutJRl.jpg

http://ndn.newsweek.com/media/6/080905_TrigPalin_dl-vertical.jpg

My head was hurting earlier. Now my eyes are also, too. Thanks for taking a closer look at it than I did.

Sunshine1970

10/10/2011 23:34:07

@Jeff

This isn't Trig:
http://www2.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/Trig+Palin+Palin+Campaigns+Pittsburgh+Area+w92w1KRutJRl.jpg

Palin was holding someone else's child for this photo-op moment.

rubbernecking

10/10/2011 23:52:08

Regarding Shannyn Moore, I found her comment on the ADN column announcing Trig's birth.

*******************************
April 18, 2008 - 1:45pm | shannyn612
Beat Eddie...
KUDO had this on before the gov announced...11:50 this morning thanks to Dennis Zaki at alaskareport.com. It's on Wonkette..front page...funny.

Read more: http://community.adn.com/adn/node/121691?page=6#ixzz1aTqcXmnX
*******************************

The date on the ADN story is 4/18/2008 12:46PM but the first comment on the story is earlier, 4/18/2008 11:50AM.

Shannyn was interested in 1) airing news before her competitor and 2) pointing out a wonkette article that mocked "HOT DISH SARAH PALIN GIVES BIRTH, KID HAS WEIRD NAME". http://wonkette.com/381671/breaking-hot-dish-sarah-palin-gives-birth-kid-has-weird-name

I wonder if Dennis Zaki would discuss how he learned about the birth. Was it from the governor's office release or another source?

jeff

10/11/2011 00:50:01

@Sunshine 1970

Apparently I'm just getting in the way here. Sorry 'bout passing along bad info and making this shit even more confusing.

I don't understand why the "professional" photographers even bother with a caption for these photos when they don't bother to verify the subjects in the shot.

http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/ZKRaOBBv-55/Palin+Campaigns+Pittsburgh+Area/w92w1KRutJR/Trig+Palin

Palin Campaigns In Pittsburgh-Area

In This Photo: Sarah Palin, Trig Palin
Republican vice-presidential candidate Governor Sarah Palin holds her son Trig after speaking to special needs parents at an event October 24, 2008 in Caraopolis, Pennsylvainia. Palin, whose son Trig has Down syndrome, promised an increase in federal funding for families with children who have special needs.
(October 24, 2008 - Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images North America)

rubbernecking

10/11/2011 00:59:36

@jeff, I think we need to remember how unfamiliar the Palins were in the lower-48 in Oct 2008. Bristol and Willow were also misidentified in many early campaign photos.

Sunshine1970

10/11/2011 01:03:52

@jeff

Seems to happen all the time with the Palin clan. I've seen photos where they've mixed up Bristol and Willow, other photos of Palin holding children that the media claims to be Trig, too.

There is a lot of Trig switching going on. Palin doesn't correct people if they assume a little DS boy with her is her son or not.

There was a big hub-bub a while back with journalist Michael Joseph Gross. Here's a link to it:
http://www.stinkyjournalism.org/editordetail.php?id=863
There are links to his article and other reactions as well.

The Palins. Ugh. I wish for ONCE things would be straight-forward with them. I want all these charades they're pulling to be O.V.E.R.

rubbernecking

10/11/2011 01:27:26

Thousands of pictures were taken of the Palins during the campaign. It's not reasonable to expect her staff to fact-check all the captions.

I think we need to focus most of energy on photos where Palin had advanced notice and knew Trig would be photographed for public viewing.

I think these are the strongest "public" sources:
- 4/21 office photos
- June People shoot
- baby at the Ohio VP announcement speech
- baby at the RNC

I think private photos with established provenance are also helpful:
- kitchen photos
- baby shower photos
This shows the baby she presented to Wasilla friends in private.

I would have dismissed the airline photo from serious consideration except that that Palin's lawyers agreed to introduce this photo as trial evidence AND Palin testified this was a photo of Trig.

I'd like to know more about the Heath photo session. Who permitted the KTUU photographers to enter the hospital? Did KTUU approach the Heaths directly or did the Palins choose the Heaths? Where was Todd when this interviewed occurred?

Ottoline

10/11/2011 01:39:40

Remember when the Vanity Fair writer misidentified the baby in the stroller Piper was pushing backstage? He said it was Trig, but it was Gina Loudon's DS baby, and as a way of rebutting the very critical VF article, Loudon et al. went nuclear over this misidentification. Which is a misidentification I prob would have made, too. Piper --> stroller --> DS baby --> must be Trig.

I couldn't help wondering at the time if that mix up wasn't something SP used on purpose at times, just like the subbing in of Ruffles. Just to keep lots of confusion in the air. Never know when it might come in handy.

rubbernecking

10/11/2011 02:53:22

@Ottoline, it seems too much like 3-dimensional chess for Palin to have extra DS children backstage to confuse wandering journalists.

BTW, Michael Gross said Loudon's story was completely untrue. He said he was not allowed backstage and never spoke with Loudon. Here is what Gross said:

*****
Let me state this as unequivocally as possible: Loudon’s accounts have no basis in reality. I do not mean simply that the facts are wrong—I mean that the episode did not occur. I have never met Gina Loudon. I have never spoken to Gina Loudon in person or by phone. I have never exchanged e-mail or snail mail with Gina Loudon. I did not even know Gina Loudon’s name until it began cropping up in connection with the accounts quoted above. Furthermore, I could not have spoken to her in Independence, because I was not allowed backstage on the floor of the arena, where Loudon was; that was a restricted space, and, as far as I am aware, all reporters were barred from the area. (I was sitting several rows up, in a place where I was able to observe what was happening both in front of and behind the curtain.)

It could be that Loudon spoke to another reporter that day, and that this is a case of mistaken identity. The other possibility is that Loudon has simply made everything up, inventing and publicizing a complete fabrication for her own purposes. It is either the one thing or the other.

Loudon is no stranger to theatrical intimidation toward those with whom she disagrees. In March, she was among the St. Louis Tea Party members who placed a coffin in front of Congressman Russell Carnahan’s private residence, ostensibly to symbolize the loss of life and freedom that, they contended, would result from the passage of health-care-reform legislation.

And for the record: despite Loudon’s claim, the Palins offered me no cooperation or access at any time during the reporting of my article.
*****

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2010/09/michael-joseph-gross-responds-to-criticism-of-his-article-on-sarah-palin

Ottoline

10/11/2011 03:17:29

Oh, rubbernecking, I'm so glad you are on our team!

--I was sure I had seen photos after that VF kerfuffle showing the Louden child in stroller with Piper, backstage at that talk. But I'll believe Gross's response!

--I had fallen into the trap of equating the church fire with "loss of adoption records," but that was based on someone (don't know if credible or not) saying the fire was started in (and limited to) an office area and destroyed file cabinets.

--And now I am seeing photos of Trig and Tripp at various ages, and seemingly various RELATIVE ages, so I'm less sure re Tank's info. My latest thought was what if Levi played a little joke on Tank -- took some random older child to a house that has nothing to do with SP. Just to express a little rage at being played, and feeling helpless. And to see if Tank would leak that info to anyone. Or maybe that's too convoluted and suspicious for Levi.

rubbernecking

10/11/2011 04:03:47

@Ottoline, Louden may have been backstage but Gross says he was never backstage and never interacted with Loudon. It seems like Loudon capitalized on a small error in the article to in order to tell a more dramatic tale of the press persecuting Palin.

Regarding the IM story, I also think it's possible that Tank and Levi teamed up to take some money from Griffin. The whole story is strange. Why would Levi need/want Tank to drive him around Wasilla?

curiouser

10/11/2011 04:25:32

@rubbernecking - "Why would Levi need/want Tank to drive him around Wasilla?"

It may make more sense if we rephrase the question: Why would Levi need/want Tank to drive him to the Palin house to see/pick up his son?

We've been told tensions were high between Levi and the Palins. Tank may have been there to provide physical protection, for the moral support Levi needed just to get him there, or as a witness.

Ottoline

10/11/2011 04:44:06

Re Tank and Levi: Tank is a lawyer? Even if not, he might be billed via the law offices. I know my lawyer charges me a huge sum for each billable 6-min increment (and is well worth it). So using Tank in an optional way seems a v expensive route.

I've never understood who is paying what to whom, for Levi legal svcs, for Levi bodyguard svcs, for representing Levi's Mom. And whether Rex is an ally (on retainer?) or foe of SP? If the child custody/$upport was all an act, because Levi is not a bioDad, I'd think Rex would have known it, done an informal DNA test. And how does Tank/Rex know SP has "covered her tracks well"? And if he does, why not speak up -- maybe not himself, but see that it becomes revealed. My only answer is that it's all an interconnected snarl of snakes, all profiting in some way and nipping at ea other to show their power and maximize their take, but not so much as to blow the deal$.

Rationalist

10/11/2011 06:07:55

@rubbernecking - awesome, all.

I hand it to you. You don't mince words, and that's caused some to label you a troll or someone trying to derail. You seem completely undaunted in your quest for the truth of this disgusting charade. I appreciate your efforts.

Ivyfree

10/11/2011 06:12:30

Re: photos and confusing ages.

I always wondered why Piper carried Trig so much during the campaign. She was 7 at the time, and Trig would have been at least 10-12 lbs- that's a heavy load for a little girl! I recall that at that age, my mother did now allow me to carry any baby in the family: I was allowed to sit and hold them, that's all. For the very sensible reason that I might drop the baby, which apparently concerned the Palins not at all.

Now I wonder if there was a reason for Piper, and to a certain extent Willow, to be the ones who carried the baby so much. (Bristol returned to Alaska, so she didn't carry him as much on the campaign trail.)

I notice a lot of these comparisons are, "well Levi looks younger in this picture than that picture." and "If you look at the size of Trig's head compared to the length of Soandso's forearm..."

Piper was,and is, growing. Willow was too, although she's probably pretty close to her adult height now. It's a lot harder to estimate the size of a baby in comparison to an adult when the person carrying that baby is also growing. Sarah didn't carry Trig very much: she'd hold him out, and then hand him off.

Could it be that the Palins deliberately had the younger, still-growing members of their family carry Trig, to make it harder to estimate his size? Or could this have been an accidental benefit of Sarah not wanting to bother to carry "the retarded one" around?

daisydem

10/11/2011 07:20:54

Ivyfree: I am not so sure Bristol returned to AK during the campaign. I just think they kept her out of sight much of the time. I now think she was not pregnant perhaps. Actually, I thought that at the time, because they "hid" her away (obstensibly she was working and getting thing ready for the baby with Levi) and because news of the birth of Tripp was hard to come by and only finally announced by a distant relative in another state.

Rationalist

10/11/2011 08:24:14

That's an interesting theory, Ivyfree. Could very well be, like the blanket to make Trig's feet look longer than Tripp's in the double stroller...

About Tank, Shannyn and Grypen ...

10/11/2011 08:29:37

The Shannyn Moore connection is interesting. From her videos and writings, I find her a bit on the sarcastic, snarky side and not nearly as good a writer as her relative amateur, Jeanne Devon.

The simple explanation is that Shannyn didn't believe Tank; I would have difficulty believing him, or Rex Butler. And I think Shannyn and Jeanne did not want to be typecast as BabyGaters because they each have broader journalistic ambitions. Like the MSM, neither believed they had proof of Palin's faked pregnancy, although they had their suspicions and attacked her from other angles.

Gryphen has his own unique, effective style, and though he is short on facts, he seems to be long on irritating Palin and those who protest on her behalf. He plays the Straw Man role quite well.

As for the rest of the "new" revelations, I, like apparently so many others, have no idea what to make of it. In my gut, the "older" Tripp makes sense. I think the baby on the airplane with Willow looks like the side-by-side posted and not DS, but I've never put much faith in my own perception of baby looks. I don't trust Tank or Rex as far as my 5-foot stature could throw them.

I do agree with Tank on one thing: Sarah may have succeeded in covering her tracks to make it exceedingly difficult to assess the truth. And I, too, wish for a PI worth his/her fantasy oats to come forth and investigate. My pick would be Supt. Jane Tennison (Helen Mirrin in Prime Suspect). :-)

AvidReader

10/11/2011 12:23:18

@jk

The Heather email! Right on jk! (I'll give a link):
http://palinemail.msnbc.msn.com/palinAll/pdf/21061.pdf

Add this to it, when Halcro responds to sarah's media monkeys, Feb 6, 2008:
"I saw your sister two weeks ago, she looked great!"
http://palinemail.msnbc.msn.com/palinAll/pdf/11901.pdf

Andrew, sometimes you're cuter than a Tom Brady grin...

AvidReader

10/11/2011 13:42:31

Brady is a dream boat. Peyton Manning tells his wife there's no such thing as Tom Brady...and their tiny world circles a false sun for one more day.

rubbernecking

10/12/2011 03:49:13

Regarding Tank Jones's relationship with Levi, this is what Levi describes in his book:

"Rex Butler took me on as a client and lined me up with his private investigator, Tank Jones, to help me get some income from all that unwanted notoriety. Tank can be your manager, Rex said."

Levi discussed his revenue from a TV commercial that Tank arranged:

"I get residual checks whenever the ad runs. That was nice but didn't put a dent in the need I had for cash.
By the time my manager and my attorney took their cut off the top, there was slim pickings."

Tank works as Levi's manager and is paid by Levi. If Tank is reselling information about Levi to other clients, his ethics are very, very dubious.

suzanne

10/14/2011 00:20:46

Hope You're all buying Laura's FINDING CLARITY on your KINDLES or NOOKS. It's so funny AND it's about THAT school in Berkley. You know the one!!!@!!!
Click here and enjoy a great read:
http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Clarity-Republic-Berkeley-ebook/dp/B005HRNIUK/ref=pd_rhf_ee_p_t_1

Review Support OmniTech link

6/26/2013 22:13:27

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the footfall match. It is great to hear that you got a chance to meet Tom Brady. Thanks for sharing this wonderful article with us and keep posting more updates here. We like to hear more from you.

Comments are closed.

This Close

Laura Novak

Blogs I Read

Categories

Archives