The Los Angeles Times' Steven Barrie-Anthony got to hang out at a very special recording session for the popular cartoon show, thanks to the notable guest stars slated to appear for the episode in question:

Tom Wolfe is screaming. He screams softly, this Southern gentleman, his trademark white suit unwrinkled, his spats unwavering even as a giant granite boulder hurtles down upon him. It looks to be the end of the pioneering New Journalism author of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.

``Aaaaaaaahh! Wait, no, that wasn't good, let me start over.''

''How did you scream last time a boulder was hurtling toward you?'' asks Carolyn Omine, executive producer of The Simpsons.

'Why don't you try, `Aaaaahhhh, my suit!' '' suggests a rail-thin, nerdy-looking writer.

''Ahhhhh, my suit! It's gabardine!'' wails Wolfe, toward the microphone. ``Well, but cops wear gabardine.''

Ah, but we all knew Mr. Wolfe was a bit of a ham...

Showing up a bit later on were Jonathan Franzen, Michael Chabon (who said his kids and his father were 'very excited' for him to be guest-starring) and Gore Vidal:

Vidal puffs out his chest and begins, imbuing his lines with the solemn dignity of a Shakespearean actor. Each syllable receives its share of attention. Groening watches intently from a couch, smiling. Vidal doesn't sound like a Simpson. He sounds like Gore Vidal.

It's a wrap. Vidal says that he ''can't wait'' to see the episode. On the way out, he segues into a favorite topic and tells the producers, ''There's a White House plan to destabilize California like they've destabilized Iraq or Iran.'' Then he leaves the studio. Alive.

Look for the ep to air in about a year from now. Then we can find out which other authors live or die, cartoon-style...