Former Inquirer columnist John Grogan, whose tale of a wayward yellow Labrador became the huge best-seller Marley & Me, has written a memoir of his Michigan childhood that will be published in the fall.

The book, a "prequel" titled The Longest Trip Home, will be issued under the William Morrow imprint of HarperCollins publishers on Oct. 21, according to an announcement from HarperCollins. Early readers' copies have already gone out to book review editors.

Grogan tells of life in a traditional Catholic family, where vacations consisted of visits to "shrines and chapels and monasteries." The account takes Grogan "from his troublemaking childhood to his courtship of a fiery blonde named Jenny," according to the publisher's announcement.

Marley & Me has set a high standard for Grogan's new book. Nearly 4 million copies of Marley are now in print. A movie version of Marley, starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston, is scheduled for Christmas release.

Tatum admits guilt

Actress Tatum O'Neal pleaded guilty Wednesday to disorderly conduct in connection with her June arrest for cocaine possession in lower Manhattan. Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Elisa Koenderman sentenced O'Neal to a conditional discharge, mandating two half-day sessions in a drug-treatment program and payment of a $95 court fee. The judge said that when O'Neal returns to court on Sept. 4, the case will be dismissed. O'Neal, more positively known for her work on FX's Rescue Me and as the youngest Academy Award winner ever (at age 10, for best supporting actress in 1973's Paper Moon), was pleased with the sentencing. "I'm just glad that I got the deal that I got," she said. "My lawyer did a good job."

No affair to remember

Ruining what would have been a good soap opera scenario, singer Lenny Kravitz has denied rumors of an affair with Cynthia Rodriguez, wife of New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez. "There is absolutely no affair between Cynthia Rodriguez and myself," Lenny tells Usmagazine.com in a statement. "That is unequivocally 100 percent not true. Cynthia is a friend and is here with the godfather of her baby, who is also Alex's trainer, his wife and their baby girl. She came here to escape from everything happening in New York City. I opened my home to her as a friend and I find it extremely hurtful that I am now being referred to as an adulterer."

Usmagazine.com delivered these words to the waiting ears of the world to counter the reports in the Post and perezhilton.com that Cynthia had, indeed, left A-Rod for Kravitz. This, of course, ties into the Madonna-Guy Ritchie love drama because Us Weekly recently reported that Madonna was receiving visits from A-Rod at her NYC apartment.

Where are those high heels?

Simultaneously delivering a (spiritual) boost to tall women everywhere and rocking the world of anyone who doesn't connect Mel Gibson with the term "funny," IMDB.com reports Sigourney Weaver's claims that Gibson's humor helped her get over her height insecurities when she appeared with him in the 1982 film The Year of Living Dangerously. "When I first started out there were very few tall actors," the vertically advantaged, 5-foot-11 Weaver explained. "Mel Gibson got on a box, never had a problem. He was just as sweet as can be. He was just so secure about my height. He just thought it was a lark, he thought it was funny."

Fat Matt? How 'bout that

To the shock and horror of love-struck fans across the world, People.com reports that Matt Damon's Sexiest Man Alive title may be in jeopardy. Though one might easily expect his pregnant wife, Luciana, to be eating for two, it turns out the Bourne Identity star has himself transformed from practically perfect to Pillsbury Doughboy, packing on 20 to 30 pounds for his role in the Steven Soderbergh thriller The Informant. "It wasn't necessarily that I needed to be fat. I needed to be 'doughy,' " Damon explained, citing burgers and beer as his beef-up buddies.

Superficially the same

In a confusing, contradictory world, Blake Lively reminds us that she is not Paris Hilton. People assume that "since I have a dog and blond hair, that must mean we're alike," the Gossip Girl starlet explains in the August issue of Seventeen magazine, as reported by the New York Post. "It's a dumb thing to say. I don't think that makes us similar." Lively, 20 - who opened up in the magazine about dating costar Penn Badgley - highlighted the ways mere mortals could tell the golden-tressed celebs apart: "I don't go to clubs, I don't party, I don't dance on tables, and I don't like sex tapes."

The boys will be back

If you miss those exemplars of boy-band beauty New Kids on the Block, prepare to pop the champagne. The kids that brought you such parentheses-riddled hits as "You Got It (The Right Stuff)," "I'll Be Loving You (Forever)," and "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind)" are back on Nov. 7 at the Borgata. Tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10 a.m.

---

This report contains information from Inquirer wire services and Web sites. Contact "SideShow" at sideshow@phillynews.com.