We got a visit at the office yesterday from the great James Ellroy, the author of L.A. Confidential, American Tabloid and other classic too numerous to mention. The classy Ellroy brought champagne for the staff, regaled us with memories of his favorite Playboy jokes and cartoons, talked about recording pornographic grunts for Velvet magazine in the early eighties, appreciated Jennifer Thiele, advised Chip Rowe to ask for $25,000 for his life rights, compared Barack Obama to a lemur, admired Chris Napolitano‘s hair, commented on the book Steve Hodel wrote about the Black Dahlia, and announced that he had just agreed to write four more pieces for us that will comprise a memoir of the women in his life. Terrific news indeed. (Above right, James with the valiant Amy Loyd and Chris of the gifted hair, and left, he and me.)