The Entertation Index: August 23

Conrad, Lauren — Former The Hills star Lauren Conrad is under fire from bibliophiles this week after a recent video in which she instructed viewers how to cut the spines off of books in order to construct a decorative box from them. When pointed out why everyone’s so upset, Conrad’s eyes lit up; “Oh, those are books?” she allegedly asked, adding “That’s so crazy, seems like I see those things everywhere.”

Link: Lauren Conrad Faces Huge Backlash for Destroying Books in Craft Project Video (Huffington Post)

Diller and Scott, Phyllis and Tony — This week has seen the untimely death of director Tony Scott at the hands of a suicide and the probably-statistically-timely death of comedienne Phyllis Diller at the ripe old age of 95. Both were masters of their arts and our thoughts go out to their friends and families.

Link: A Farewell to Phyllis Diller and Tony Scott (Mother Jones)

Lavigne, Avril — 27 year-old mall punk songstress Avril Lavigne is currently engaged to 37 year-old Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger after six months of dating, the gossip press reports. This really is a heartwarming story, and only serves to prove that love truly knows no color, creed, race, boundary, musical acumen, tonal accuracy or artistic merit. Congrats to the happy couple.

Link: Avril Lavigne Engaged to Nickelback Singer (Chicago Sun-Times)

Minaj, Nicki — In an press announcement by the FOX Network earlier this week, it’s now official that — in addition to Randy Jackson and new judge Mariah Carey — hip-hop superstar Nicki Minaj will be filling the third judges seat on the hit American Idol. Well…technically, Minaj will be filling the third, fourth and fifth seats.

Link: Nicki Minaj Joins Mariah Carey as New American Idol Judge (US Weekly)

Nelson, Willie — Famed country singer Willie Nelson is recovering well after he was forced to cancel a charity concert in Colorado after suffering from “altitude problems” stemming from breathing difficulty on an airplane trip to the destination. The cancellation, it should be noted, is only one of the handful of shows during Nelson’s career that he’s had to cancel after getting too high.

Link: Willie Nelson is “Fine” After Cancelling a Show (NY Times)

Pornography — After a male performer was diagnosed with syphilis, which can be fatal, the entire porn industry shut down this week as performers were re-tested for the sexually transmitted disease. This break in production marks the first time the porn studios have shut down since the infamous headache outbreak of 2007.

Link: Syphilis Outbreak Suspends Porn Production (CNBC)