R.E.M. Wierdness: This is so odd. Last night Nick tried to tell me that Michael Stipe came out and announced he was gay. He claims he heard it on the radio. I scoffed and told him that he shouldn’t believe it, because people have been questioning Stipe’s sexuality for years and he’s always said that he felt it was his own private business. And besides, I said, everybody knows that radio stations get all their news from the Internet anyway, so who are ya gonna believe?
 
The weirdness, though, is that this morning Snookums reported hearing this rumor on “This Morning with Richard and Judy”, the UK’s most popular breakfast show. So what’s going on? He didn’t, did he? I mean, timing it to the release of his new album (“Reveal”) is just a tad too promotional for my tastes. I’ve been trying to find confirmation on any news sites (I know, I know – a bit hypocritical given my statement to Nick) and I can’t find it anywhere. Rolling Stone‘s got nothin’, and R.E.M.’s site is mum as well. Have you heard? Can you point me to a concrete source?