This weekend, The New York Times Magazine will print an excerpt from Chris Buckley's much-hyped memoir about his parents, Losing Mum and Pup. It goes through the cycles to which we've now become familiar: "Here's an example of how my parents behaved badly toward me, and here's the part where I say I forgive them," and reveals a little bit of what we didn't already know. (For example, that William F. Buckley carefully moderated his physical chemistry in his later years using sleeping pills, caffeine, and Ritalin. He would have been a great blogger.) There are also many touching moments:

"Even when Pup was despairing of her behavior — as he did only occasionally — and sought refuge on the lecture circuit or wherever, he would call her every night, trying reconciliation with, “Hi, Duck.” “Duck” was the formal, vous version of “Ducky,” their term of affection for each other. If a transcript existed of their 57-year-long marriage and you did a computer quick-find search of “Ducky,” you’d find 1,794,326 matches."

But what's become clear is that the book, for all its hype-oriented excerpts, is really much more akin to Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking than to any of Chris Buckley's own biting and wry prose. And the best evidence that it will do well is that each time one of these damn segments comes out, even if they're all a repeat, we just keep reading them.

Growing Up Buckley [NYT]

Peter Kaplan joined the staff of the New York Observer in 1994, and since then his wry and awestruck tone has characterized the headlines, gags, and insights that fill the salmon paper's pages. In an address to the staff today, Kaplan said he has felt lucky to have worked there for so long. “I had a little newspaper in New York City! You can’t beat that. No matter who you are,” he mused. “That’s as good as it gets. It’s better to have a little newspaper in New York City than a big newspaper in New York City. Because then you only have to report and write for the people you care about. And nobody else.”

Count gay activist Alan Cumming on Team Paterson: The actor believes that now is the right time for the governor's controversial gay-marriage bill. "I don't think Paterson's rushing it at all," he told us at last night's Life Ball Preview Party. "He's been trying to get this through for many, many years. It's horrifying that we're in the midst of a civil-rights struggle," Cumming explained. "It's 2009! But things are definitely changing, and that's why I think this is the time to pass the bill. The fact that New York is following Iowa seems kind of crazy." Of course, if the bill fails, Cumming admits, "it would be a real blight on New York." But the performer, who is attending the Empire State Pride Agenda's "Equality and Justice Day" in Albany next week, isn't suspicious of Paterson's motives: "He's not doing it for political reasons. Like, when did gay marriage become something that could make you popular, for fuck's sake? That's just, like, being a little nippy, people being bitches." The perennial pixie showed considerably less support for another politician; when we mentioned that Giuliani has been threatening to use his opposition to same-sex marriage as a political tool, Cumming said: "Because his political career is going so well? I'm sure he's on the money with that one. I think he's an asshole. Please quote me on that."

Done!

Name: Theresa Rebeck
Occupation: Writer: She wrote the critically acclaimed play Mauritius and the upcoming Our House at Playwrights Horizons. Her novel, Three Girls and Their Brother had its paperback release yesterday.
Neighborhood: Park Slope

Who's your favorite New Yorker, living or dead, real or fictional?
My favorite New Yorker would have to be Marion Seldes. She is so glamorous, and whenever I see her at openings, she puts her hands on my face and calls me "darling." I had the opportunity to work with her eight years ago when she was in one of my plays at Playwrights Horizons, and every aspect of that experience was and remains a wonder. She embodies, for me, the best of the city in its character and its history — she is so elegant and warmhearted, and nobody tells better stories. Her uncle was the great journalist George Seldes, who is one of my personal heroes.

New York Times Company president and CEO Janet Robinson.

The Times has done plenty of reporting these past few months on the compensation of executives at failing Wall Street corporations, but a similar story is unfolding inside its very own easily climbable building. The New York Times Company reported a quarterly loss of $74 million yesterday, and yet its president and CEO, Janet L. Robinson, saw her yearly compensation package bumped up over $1 million from 2007, to a total of $5.58 million, recent SEC filings show. Some reporters at the Times are understandably irked, considering they've all been asked to take a 5 percent pay cut. One reporter at the Times-owned Boston Globe — which is facing a complete shutdown unless it comes up with $20 million in savings — expressed his amazement "at the depth and breadth of the hypocrisy here." Sounds like a perfect topic for a Times editorial.

Bonuses To New York Times Execs Under Fire [HuffPo]

OH NO. Look at that face! Look at that little face! Everybody, this is Moxie. He's a five-month-old baby lion who is making his debut at the Bronx Zoo. He's the first cub to be born at the zoo in 31 years, and he's sure to give us something to smile about in these hard times. He'll end up weighing 350 pounds, but he was born weighing only three. His parents, M’wasi and Sukari, brought together by the Wildlife Conservation Society, are very proud. And so are we! He's just a big boy! Who's a big boy? Who loves us! Who gives us love and kisses!

Now, just don't eat us.

Now that Roger Clemens is one of the most reviled people in sports and the subject of a new book, American Icon (an excerpt of which was just released to the Daily News and Sports Illustrated), detailing his steroid abuse, it’s important to remember that when Clemens signed his one-year, prorated $28 million Yankees contract two years ago, he was greeted as a savior. The team was off to a wretched start, and rotation "phenom" Phil Hughes was hurt. Clemens made a “surprise” visit to Yankee Stadium during a game, whereupon he made an epic announcement over the intercom between innings: “Thank y’all! Well, they came and got me out of Texas, and I can tell you it’s a privilege to be back. I’ll be talking to y’all soon!”

Have you ever searched for New
Guinea tribesmen pics? Fascinating stuff.

In April of 2008, Jared Diamond (Pulitzer-winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel) published an article in The New Yorker that detailed the decades-long feuds and vengeance killings among the clans of the New Guinea highlands. He focused in particular on Handa clan member Daniel Wemp, a violent warrior whose drive to avenge his uncle's death "touched off six years of warfare leading to the slaughter of 47 people and the theft of 300 pigs."

But now Wemp is suing the magazine's publisher, Advance Publications (parent company of Condé Nast), for $10 million, claiming that Diamond's account falsely accused Wemp and a fellow tribesman of "serious criminal activity" and "murder." Sounds damaging — except Wemp previously claimed Diamond's account was true. Huh?

Recently dispirited pirate Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse sat in a Manhattan federal court yesterday as everyone tried to figure out how old he really is. Since Somalia has basically no government, and warlords are not known for their record-keeping skills, the investigation hinged mostly on dubious speculation.

• Muse's father testified over the phone from Somalia that his son was born on November 20, 1993, which would make him 15. But he didn't really know the birth dates of his other sons, so the judge decided he was full of it.

• According to prosecutors, Muse told interrogators that he was 15, 19, and 26. But then he apologized for lying and admitted he was "between 18 and 19."

• Muse's mother claims he's 16.

• Muse's defense lawyers ostensibly believe that he's 15.

Ultimately, Judge Peck agreed with prosecutors and decided that Muse was 18, although we have no idea how he settled on that conclusion. Now his lawyers have moved on to mount a defense of Muse as a victim. Of course, one consequence of trying Muse as an adult is that the pirate-mad media will be allowed to watch, putting Peck's unparalleled command of the law on display for the world. Not that he would ever infringe on a pirate's legal rights in an effort to become the next Lance Ito. Never!

SOMALI PIRATE IN PRIVA-TEARS [NYP]
Pirate Suspect Charged as Adult in New York [NYT]

In yet another bombshell torture story, the Times reports today that President Obama's director of National Intelligence, Admiral Dennis Blair, stated in a memo last week that harsh interrogation methods provided "high value information" and "a deeper understanding" of Al Qaeda. But this Cheney-esque assessment, as well as a remark empathizing with Bush administration officials, was cut from a memo the Obama administration released to the media. Interesting. A spokeswoman denied any deceitful intentions, claiming "the lines were cut in the normal editing process." And Blair has issued a new statement, contending that while "information gained from these techniques was valuable in some instances ... the damage they have done to our interests far outweighed whatever benefit they gave us and they are not essential to our national security." Despite this clarification, many conservatives are declaring victory today, and accusing the administration of a cover-up.

Back up where she belongs.

Lindsay Lohan’s lesbianism seems to have gone the way of her thespianism. While the partying starlet can’t land an acting job because of the “high cost of insuring her” (surely it has nothing to do with her stellar dramatic talent), she’s drowning her post-Ronson-breakup sorrows in “a different man every night,” including 90210 “star” Kellan Lutz and British paparazzo Chris Jepson. Mariah Carey landed the “least green” celeb spot, according to a new Earth Day poll, based on the fact that she flew her personal trainer in from St. Barts. Greenest stars include Bono, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Oprah, and Prince Charles.