Christopher Hitchens, the late essayist and sot, was a man who purposefully cultivated a lot of friends of a certain type—rich, self-important, generally dim-witted and hence easy for a well-spoken Oxbridge debater to impress—and he electrified Washington D.C. society mainly by not being a completely charmless bore. Now those friends are the primary caretakers of his legacy, and, if the newly announced "Hitchens Prize" is any indication, they are going to memorialize him in the least Hitch-like ways possible.

The FBI has released some of its files on the late Christopher Hitchens, including records indicating that he was the subject of a counterintelligence investigation in the 1980s.

The combustible author and Vanity Fair writer finally succumbed to esophageal cancer at the age of 62.

The outpouring of grief, goodwill, and teary encomia that has attended news of Christopher Hitchens' passing would—if he was anything like the persona he presented in print—have turned his stomach. He loathed sentiment, welcomed combat, and delighted in inflicting hard truths. In that spirit, it must not be forgotten in mourning him that he got the single most consequential decision in his life horrifically, petulantly wrong.

Christopher Hitchens, the Clinton-loathing, religion-mocking, Kurd-loving, war-mongering, ball-waxing British drunk who contained multitudes and seemed to be insulting you somehow even when you agreed with him, which was precisely 59% of the time, has died of complications from esophageal cancer at the age of 62.

"This is an extraordinarily irritating book, written by one of those people who smugly believe that, having lost their faith, they must ipso facto have found their reason." - Christopher Hitchens, opening his review of David Mamet's The Secret Knowledge.

Today has been unofficially declared "Everybody Pray for Hitchens Day" by God-fearing admirers of author and noted atheist Christopher Hitchens, who is dying from esophageal cancer. He appreciates the support, but as for a last-minute conversion? "Thanks but no thanks."

Men! Even when they groom like women, they are pigs. Salon interviewed women who wax men's balls. One described a client get so turned on, she had to shoot him with a taser. Another said Christopher Hitchens is weirdly flexible.

The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg visited cancer-stricken writer Christopher Hitchens at his Washington D.C. apartment for a very sunny interview session. When Goldberg first asks how he's doing, Hitchens doesn't hesitate: "How am I? I'm dying."

The prolific British-American writer Christopher Hitchens was recently diagnosed with esophageal cancer, which is a very bad cancer. In a new Vanity Fair essay, Hitchens writes about his disease, including his miserable day leading up to a Daily Show taping.

Christopher Hitchens, who'd suspended his book tour for "personal reasons," has been diagnosed with cancer.

Heteroflexible asscrack-waxer Christopher Hitchens has suspended his Hitch-22 book tour for "personal reasons," coinciding with a shakily sourced report of him "leaving a plane on a stretcher." Hitch, you OK? We emailed, but have yet to hear back. [Politico]

God-hater Christopher Hitchens and professor Richard Dawkins last week said they plan to have Pope Benedict arrested when he visits Britain in September for crimes against humanity. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi says it's just a "publicity stunt." [Mirror]

Vanity Fair columnist and public intellectual Christopher Hitchens is a twice-married straight man. In his boyhood, however, he had torrid affairs and circle jerked with male classmates. A leaked excerpt from Hitchens' forthcoming memoir documents necessary bisexuality in horny teens.

Greek shipping heir and bizarre social critic Taki Theodoracopulos claims to have a big secret stash of vibrant correspondence from J.D. Salinger. Taki gives the following thumbnail account of Salinger's myriad hated enemies:

In what Spencer Ackerman accurately calls "the best case of un-self-conscious projection on the internet at the moment," Christopher Hitchens has written a Vanity Fair piece on how 9/11 made Gore Vidal go crazy.

Yesterday we showed you video of Erich "Mancow" Muller, a Chicago-based right-wing shockjock, appearing as a guest on Keith Olbermann's show to discuss his being waterboarded. He claimed it led to an ideological conversion! But now a tipster has provided information that suggests the whole thing may be a hoax.

It is a sad day, in DC: Chris Hitchens' canceled his White House Correspondents' Dinner party. Sort of. Vanity Fair just merged it with the overcrowed Bloomberg gala.

• Hachette is cutting salaries and asking staff to work overtime. Fun! [Gawker]
• Amazon is blaming an "embarrassing and ham-fisted cataloging error" for the dropping the sales rankings of thousands of gay and lesbian books. [AFP]
• Bravo has picked up four new shows, including one produced by Sarah Jessica Parker and another by Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher. [THR, THR]
• NBC's Boston affiliate, WHDH, has backed down from its threat to skip Jay Leno's new 10pm show when it debuts this fall. [B&C]
• Marriott will no longer automatically provide guests with a free copy of USA Today or the Journal. You're gonna have to ask for it from now on. [E&P]

The outgoing voicemail message at the home of author, Vanity Fair columnist and torture victim Christopher Hitchens actually rhymes. How adorable! [Jossip]