Day 11: January 11, 2010
Just another picture of the cemetery I drive past nearly every day. I took it on my lunch hour. Less than two weeks into this year’s attempt at doing the photo-a-day thing, and I feel like I’m running out of steam. The weekends are fine, it’s the workdays that are so difficult in the long, dark winter. But I’m determined to do really try this year!

I see numbers as shapes, colors, textures and motions. The number 1, for example, is a brilliant and bright white, like someone shining a flashlight into my eyes. Five is a clap of thunder or the sound of waves crashing against rocks. Thirty-seven is lumpy like porridge, while 89 reminds me of falling snow.

Daniel is the firstborn child in what will become a very large family. His parents had limited education and resources, and his father suffers from a debilitating mental illness, but as parents, they were patient and supportive of the unusual son. Daniel was different from the start, and suffered from frightening seizures as a child. As with any child on the autistic spectrum, his social skills were limited and he craves solitude and a predictable routine, things not easy to find for a boy growing up with a large family in small, crowded homes in London.

And yet, despite all his problems, Daniel works hard to learn the social skills that don’t come naturally to him, and he makes friends. After finishing secondary school, he joins a volunteer service program and spends a year teaching English in Lithuania, an experience that helps him develop into a competent and independent young man, helps him come to terms with his sexuality and discover his gift for learning other languages.

Back in the UK, his extraordinary mental abilities bring him fame as the subject of a documentary called “Brainman” and as he performs such feats as memorizing over over 22,000 digits of Pi, and learning the Icelandic language in less than a week. But although these accomplishments are astounding feats, they are not really as significant or impressive as his personal growth. He finds love with a gentle and understanding young man named Neil, and they form a loving and supportive home together, while also becoming closer to his parents, brothers and sisters.

Daniel tells his story in the rather flat, unemotional prose, and uses many examples and explanations of his fascination with mathematics and linguistics. This was interesting, but the most moving parts of the book were his loving descriptions of his relationship with Neil, and the loss of their cat, Jay.

Jake Halpern grew up in the unglamorous Rust Belt city of Buffalo, New York, where he briefly found himself fascinated by Robin Leach’s celebrity show Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous until his parents gave the television away. This book is a journalistic journey to examine the role and meaning of fame in America today.

Like Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous , which showed the homes and possessions of the famous, rather than the famous themselves, this is a book is not about celebrities themselves, but about those who want to be famous, used to be famous, or want desperately to be associated with the famous.

He begins his journey with a visit to a talent school in his home city of Buffalo, and follows young hopefuls to a modelling and acting showcase in New York, where some few may attract the attention of agents and actually launch a career. He also goes to a gated community in Hollywood that serves as a temporary homebase for young actors and their families as they try to make it in television or the movies, as well as a school attended by some of the working or would-be actor kids. Later, he visits a home for elderly actors, where he meets two formerly successful actors, one who walked away from it all at the height of her fame, and one who never quite achieved the fame he wanted and still finds himself wondering if there’s a chance for him.

Halpern also interviews those who don’t seek personal fame, but rather connection with the famous, including an MBA from South Carolina who gave up a corporate job to move to LA and pursue life as a celebrity personal assistant, and a devoted (even devout) Rod Stewart fan, who talks to her pastor about whether her obsession with Stewart is a form of idol worship, and wonders what she’d do if Stewart ever wanted her to run away with him.

Halpern also talks to psychologists about the desire for fame, and presents some interesting and distrurbing studies showing why and how an increasing number of young people are fascinated by celebrities, dream of becoming famous or of at least basking in their reflected glory. But Jake Halpern is at his best when he’s simply following people around and engaging them in conversation, and giving us a glimpse into their lives.

I especially liked the part where he talks about interviewing The Edge, the lead guitarist from U2, who invites him to a concert, and how he suddenly finds himself instantly transformed from objective journalist to starry-eyed fan!

• Jake Halpern — The author’s website
• Are We Addicted to Fame? — A segment on the book from 20/20
• Hollywood’s Little Helpers — “In this excerpt from his new book, ”Fame Junkies,” Jake Halpern wonders what drives the men and women who work long hours catering to the whims (and tantrums) of Hollywood celebs” (a book excerpt from the Entertainment Weekly website
• 3 Reasons You’re Addicted to Gossip — “You can’t help it. It’s evolutionary biology” (a brief review of the book by Carolyn Wilsey for Esquire
• Lifestyle: Gill Deacon Show: Star Gazing — A video interview