Cherry red
I ate a pound of cherries for breakfast today. I did that a few days ago, too. They are REALLY filling and very sweet. I'm finding that this is a good breakfast on my diet. No fat, no cholesterol, lots of fiber and Vitamin C. Sugary, too, but at least it's fruit sugar.
I looked up the nutritional value to be sure.
They tend to range from $1.99 to $4.99 a pound now, depending on who is selling them. Anyway, if you're trying to eat healthy, I recommend them as a snack. But wear a paper towel over your shirt. They stain.
Disclaimer: I'm not responsible if you swallow one of those slippery pits!
5/31/2007
5/30/2007
Oops
I was going to post about how I forgot to post today. But I thought today was Monday. Now I realize today is Tuesday, and I am actually TWO days behind. So you will probably read it on Wednesday.
And it really was worth waiting for, was it?
I could tell you about my weekend, but it can't compare to the weekend of a friend of mine who ordered something really disgusting at a Japanese restaurant, that will remain nameless. Ewww.
At one point this weekend we saw Asbury Park. Sadly, it has not been fully developed yet and some of it is frozen in time. Meanwhile, a few miles south, Belmar is booming. Asbury Park could be that way someday too, but it will take work.
I was going to post about how I forgot to post today. But I thought today was Monday. Now I realize today is Tuesday, and I am actually TWO days behind. So you will probably read it on Wednesday.
And it really was worth waiting for, was it?
I could tell you about my weekend, but it can't compare to the weekend of a friend of mine who ordered something really disgusting at a Japanese restaurant, that will remain nameless. Ewww.
At one point this weekend we saw Asbury Park. Sadly, it has not been fully developed yet and some of it is frozen in time. Meanwhile, a few miles south, Belmar is booming. Asbury Park could be that way someday too, but it will take work.
5/25/2007
Have a great weekend!
Sometimes I go to turn off my computer, and the program that actually turns off the computer stops working in the middle of the action, and the computer asks me if I should "end now" or wait for that program to work. So if I hit "end now" do you think that it STOPS the program that turns the computer off, or it does actually turn the computer off, meaning the move was actually successful? Usually the computer turns off.
I know, what?
Oh yeah, of course, it's a Dell.
Sometimes I go to turn off my computer, and the program that actually turns off the computer stops working in the middle of the action, and the computer asks me if I should "end now" or wait for that program to work. So if I hit "end now" do you think that it STOPS the program that turns the computer off, or it does actually turn the computer off, meaning the move was actually successful? Usually the computer turns off.
I know, what?
Oh yeah, of course, it's a Dell.
5/24/2007
Dear cupcakes,
I won't be seeing you for a while.
I ate too many of you lately, and am cutting down on sweets (okay, pretty much eliminating sweets) now that it's summer. I am looking to fresh peas, apples, cherries and oatmeal for sustenance, as well as the usual dinner foods. Fat-free stuff. Please do not get jealous. It's a necessity this time of year. But I sure do like to look at you, cupcakes. You are sweet, colorful, and you fill me with joy. Not as much as the boy, but joy nonetheless.
Don't go away, cupcakes. I'll be seeing you reaaaal soon.
I won't be seeing you for a while.
I ate too many of you lately, and am cutting down on sweets (okay, pretty much eliminating sweets) now that it's summer. I am looking to fresh peas, apples, cherries and oatmeal for sustenance, as well as the usual dinner foods. Fat-free stuff. Please do not get jealous. It's a necessity this time of year. But I sure do like to look at you, cupcakes. You are sweet, colorful, and you fill me with joy. Not as much as the boy, but joy nonetheless.
Don't go away, cupcakes. I'll be seeing you reaaaal soon.
5/23/2007
Scam e-mail, or real?
Received today:
Hi, C-ren! My name is T--- T----- and I'm from Romania.
I want to ask you something. Can you send me your book,Carrie Pilby?
I like to read a lot. And these kind of books. Like yours.
Why am I asking you to send me? Because.. I'd like to buy it,but I don't have money. My parents divorced soon and my father doesn't give me money. And my mother tries everyday to give me something to eat.
I love to read books write in English. That's the way how I learn better this beautiful language.
I hope to write me soon! Best wishes!
T---- T------
Anthology update
I think one of you must have bought this, because its Amazon ranking went up! Thanks.
Update: Reader mail
A reader writes:
I think that I really could have gotten it on with your mom! Sha g-a-delic! Groovy Baby!
I think that the book thing was a scam. This guy could afford a computer and the internet but not a book?
I assume it's a girl, and maybe she went to the library. And stop being creepy about my mom!
2nd Update: Reader writes again
Oh, I forgot about the library. And yes, I creep myself out sometimes also. But she is kinda cute you gotta admit. She has that shag-a delic look about her. After all she didn't find you and your bro in the cabbage patch like she told you.
Received today:
Hi, C-ren! My name is T--- T----- and I'm from Romania.
I want to ask you something. Can you send me your book,Carrie Pilby?
I like to read a lot. And these kind of books. Like yours.
Why am I asking you to send me? Because.. I'd like to buy it,but I don't have money. My parents divorced soon and my father doesn't give me money. And my mother tries everyday to give me something to eat.
I love to read books write in English. That's the way how I learn better this beautiful language.
I hope to write me soon! Best wishes!
T---- T------
Anthology update
I think one of you must have bought this, because its Amazon ranking went up! Thanks.
Update: Reader mail
A reader writes:
I think that I really could have gotten it on with your mom! Sha g-a-delic! Groovy Baby!
I think that the book thing was a scam. This guy could afford a computer and the internet but not a book?
I assume it's a girl, and maybe she went to the library. And stop being creepy about my mom!
2nd Update: Reader writes again
Oh, I forgot about the library. And yes, I creep myself out sometimes also. But she is kinda cute you gotta admit. She has that shag-a delic look about her. After all she didn't find you and your bro in the cabbage patch like she told you.
5/22/2007
I can't handle the truth
Someone who shall remain nameless recently pointed out to me that 1982 was 25 years ago.
"You know what was 25 years before 1982?" he asked. "1957. That means that we are as far from 1982 as 1982 was from 1957."
Ack!
Hmmm, seems like the world changed a lot more between 1957 and 1982 than between 1982 and now. I guess we have the internet now, and our enemy has changed from Russia to Al Qu**a, but I still think there were more changes from 1957 to 1982. I think the innocent '50s really ended when Kennedy was shot. All the things that used to be kept in the dark started coming out. Not just his affairs.
And that's my rambling for this morning.
The Boy shared this Jay Leno witticism with me: "Jimmy Carter said that Bush was the worst president in history. Bush responded that that's not true. He was actually the worst in math and English."
Someone who shall remain nameless recently pointed out to me that 1982 was 25 years ago.
"You know what was 25 years before 1982?" he asked. "1957. That means that we are as far from 1982 as 1982 was from 1957."
Ack!
Hmmm, seems like the world changed a lot more between 1957 and 1982 than between 1982 and now. I guess we have the internet now, and our enemy has changed from Russia to Al Qu**a, but I still think there were more changes from 1957 to 1982. I think the innocent '50s really ended when Kennedy was shot. All the things that used to be kept in the dark started coming out. Not just his affairs.
And that's my rambling for this morning.
The Boy shared this Jay Leno witticism with me: "Jimmy Carter said that Bush was the worst president in history. Bush responded that that's not true. He was actually the worst in math and English."
5/21/2007
Groovy, baby!
Yesterday I cleaned the apt. I came across the Austin Powers-esque photo of my mom.
After I finished cleaning, I made fresh lemonade. It's not always worth it to make fresh juice these days when there are brands of juice in the supermarket that are almost as fresh. But it's nice to make it truly fresh, the way you like it. The downside: the lemons alone cost $3.50, and then there's the bother of using the food processor, etc.
I felt very summery.
Finally, it's only two weeks until my tale of summer woe appears in this Simon & Schuster anthology of memoirs about growing up in NJ.
Even though I usually don't get too personal in my writing, there is some slightly personal stuff in here - mostly just stuff that's not very shocking (that my parents were getting divorced and it was uncomfortable...not very surprising).
Anyway, I'll be participating in a reading at some point. The anthology includes some famous folks like Josh Braff and Tom Perrotta (who wrote the book on which the flick "Election" is based). It's good beach and vacation reading this summer, so pick it up when it debuts June 5. Whee!
Super-important update: Look at today's puppy!!!
Yesterday I cleaned the apt. I came across the Austin Powers-esque photo of my mom.
After I finished cleaning, I made fresh lemonade. It's not always worth it to make fresh juice these days when there are brands of juice in the supermarket that are almost as fresh. But it's nice to make it truly fresh, the way you like it. The downside: the lemons alone cost $3.50, and then there's the bother of using the food processor, etc.
I felt very summery.
Finally, it's only two weeks until my tale of summer woe appears in this Simon & Schuster anthology of memoirs about growing up in NJ.
Even though I usually don't get too personal in my writing, there is some slightly personal stuff in here - mostly just stuff that's not very shocking (that my parents were getting divorced and it was uncomfortable...not very surprising).
Anyway, I'll be participating in a reading at some point. The anthology includes some famous folks like Josh Braff and Tom Perrotta (who wrote the book on which the flick "Election" is based). It's good beach and vacation reading this summer, so pick it up when it debuts June 5. Whee!
Super-important update: Look at today's puppy!!!
5/18/2007
T.G.I.F.
There are several things worth noting in this week's New Yorker Magazine.
One is the Shouts 'n' Murmurs piece by Larry Doyle, a fake wedding invitation. Notable quote:
E-vites are for the Guest only; there is no 'implied plus-one.' We’re sorry, but it’s a very small mountaintop, with limited ruins. We have gone to exhaustive lengths to achieve a proper mix of personalities, races, classes, ages, and orientations to insure a Fun and Romantic Event for all. So don’t be surprised to find that your True Plus-One is already there! (Though just one plus-one per guest, please. Do you hear me, Erika?)
I think we may use that in our invitation.
Also notable is a short piece about a screenwriter I wrote about on this blog a few months ago, Mike White, hanging around a zoo in his childlike way. He has a dry sense o' humor and I like it.
Finally, also in Talk of the Town, is this quote:
"College, from which some 1.5 million people will graduate this year, is, basically, a sleepover with grades."
Well said.
There are several things worth noting in this week's New Yorker Magazine.
One is the Shouts 'n' Murmurs piece by Larry Doyle, a fake wedding invitation. Notable quote:
E-vites are for the Guest only; there is no 'implied plus-one.' We’re sorry, but it’s a very small mountaintop, with limited ruins. We have gone to exhaustive lengths to achieve a proper mix of personalities, races, classes, ages, and orientations to insure a Fun and Romantic Event for all. So don’t be surprised to find that your True Plus-One is already there! (Though just one plus-one per guest, please. Do you hear me, Erika?)
I think we may use that in our invitation.
Also notable is a short piece about a screenwriter I wrote about on this blog a few months ago, Mike White, hanging around a zoo in his childlike way. He has a dry sense o' humor and I like it.
Finally, also in Talk of the Town, is this quote:
"College, from which some 1.5 million people will graduate this year, is, basically, a sleepover with grades."
Well said.
5/17/2007
Books that sold last week
From Publisher's Marketplace: Andrew Davidson's THE GARGOYLE, "a densely packed story about a car-accident victim in the burn ward befriended by a mysterious woman who claims to be a stone carver in a fifteenth-century German abbey" (per NY Mag), to Gerald Howard of Doubleday, at auction, reportedly for "around $1.25 million," by Eric Simonoff at Janklow & Nesbit (US).
For "Around $1.25 million"??
I'll take that for my next book, too. Thanks!
From Publisher's Marketplace: Andrew Davidson's THE GARGOYLE, "a densely packed story about a car-accident victim in the burn ward befriended by a mysterious woman who claims to be a stone carver in a fifteenth-century German abbey" (per NY Mag), to Gerald Howard of Doubleday, at auction, reportedly for "around $1.25 million," by Eric Simonoff at Janklow & Nesbit (US).
For "Around $1.25 million"??
I'll take that for my next book, too. Thanks!
5/16/2007
Crumbs
The Boy and I went to a famous cupcake place, Crumbs in NYC. They have a few locations. I think the 'cupcake craze' is really just a way to eat a lot of frosting on a tiny bit of cake, and it doesn't seem all that hard to gain a following if you open a cupcake store and dollop a LOT of frosting on and color it. More obviously, it's just a sneaky way to put butter and sugar in your mouth. But yum, some do it so very well.
The above photo shows what we bought.
Below, TIME ELAPSED: 12 HOURS.
The green one was supposed to be "key lime" but I think someone forgot to flavor it that day. The frosting was plain frosting that happened to look green. The raspberry one was delicious and had raspberry filling too. Fluffernutter (the one with white sprinkles) was also good.
Now if only I can find a way to work this into a diet...
5/15/2007
Tuesday Thoughts
(today's blog entry was previously recorded on an earlier day)
Why do I keep getting junk e-mail from Hoodia? I never liked any of his records with the Blowfish.
I was bored in the first "Shrek" and didn't pay attention to the others. But I do like the sign outside McDonald's with a picture of Shrek that says "Come ogre here."
One of the most wonderful feelings in the world is finding someone or something that fits. If you start reading a book and realize you're really drawn in, that's a happy feeling. If you find a piece of clothing that fits you just right and makes you look good and feel good, that's a happy feeling. Of course, the best feeling is if you find someone who says things that melt your insides, things that make you feel really, really glad you met him/her.
(today's blog entry was previously recorded on an earlier day)
Why do I keep getting junk e-mail from Hoodia? I never liked any of his records with the Blowfish.
I was bored in the first "Shrek" and didn't pay attention to the others. But I do like the sign outside McDonald's with a picture of Shrek that says "Come ogre here."
One of the most wonderful feelings in the world is finding someone or something that fits. If you start reading a book and realize you're really drawn in, that's a happy feeling. If you find a piece of clothing that fits you just right and makes you look good and feel good, that's a happy feeling. Of course, the best feeling is if you find someone who says things that melt your insides, things that make you feel really, really glad you met him/her.
5/14/2007
Monday meanderings
(Okay, I'm really writing this Saturday morning.)
My friend Jodi, who lives in LA, recently got to spend an evening with the Simpsons! Yes, the cartoon characters. It was a party for their movie. Check out the photo. Scroll down a day to the Simpsons entry.
I got an e-mailed comment on Carrie Pilby, the first in a long time. I'm so glad that people are still finding it:
Wonderful book. I rarely read books where I feel the female protagonist has much in common with me, but this one was an exception. Laugh-out-loud...I think of it more in the same genre as Mark Haddon's "Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time", where the author also succeeds in getting deeply inside the persona of, and making sympathetic, a character who most readers won't have much in common with.
Thanks for the blog link and good luck with the writing... I promptly put everything else you wrote onto the list, but it would be nice to have more to add. :-)
Hopefully I will provide more to add! Thanks for the compliments!
(Okay, I'm really writing this Saturday morning.)
My friend Jodi, who lives in LA, recently got to spend an evening with the Simpsons! Yes, the cartoon characters. It was a party for their movie. Check out the photo. Scroll down a day to the Simpsons entry.
I got an e-mailed comment on Carrie Pilby, the first in a long time. I'm so glad that people are still finding it:
Wonderful book. I rarely read books where I feel the female protagonist has much in common with me, but this one was an exception. Laugh-out-loud...I think of it more in the same genre as Mark Haddon's "Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time", where the author also succeeds in getting deeply inside the persona of, and making sympathetic, a character who most readers won't have much in common with.
Thanks for the blog link and good luck with the writing... I promptly put everything else you wrote onto the list, but it would be nice to have more to add. :-)
Hopefully I will provide more to add! Thanks for the compliments!
5/13/2007
5/11/2007
5/10/2007
Ramblings
Carnival Cruises is hosting a "Bloggers' cruise" in 2008 for $599 a person. It turns out it's actually a cruise with Cruise Director John Heald, who gets thousands of hits on his blog, www.carnival.com/freedom. So I guess they're encouraging fans of his to go. Not other bloggers, per se.
On an unrelated note, my fellow writer and near-neighbor Jeff Somers, whose book is coming out in fall, has experienced the wonder of getting Advanced Readers' Copies of said book (see the blog). Since he's written a zillion things and most have only been published in small venues, it's nice to see such success.
Carnival Cruises is hosting a "Bloggers' cruise" in 2008 for $599 a person. It turns out it's actually a cruise with Cruise Director John Heald, who gets thousands of hits on his blog, www.carnival.com/freedom. So I guess they're encouraging fans of his to go. Not other bloggers, per se.
On an unrelated note, my fellow writer and near-neighbor Jeff Somers, whose book is coming out in fall, has experienced the wonder of getting Advanced Readers' Copies of said book (see the blog). Since he's written a zillion things and most have only been published in small venues, it's nice to see such success.
5/09/2007
5/08/2007
Welcome back
I've been too busy to post lately, so here's a jumble of stuff.
First, yesterday there was an Associated Press article on the boy who had an earache, and a doctor found two spiders living in his ear. I really think that it was sick of the Spider Man producers to do this as publicity. Their film is making enough money!! Seriously, now every time my ear tickles or hurts, I'll have nightmares.
It looks like the l*sbian date blogger has stopped blogging. She was a good writer. I think she found, as many people have, that it's not good to get too personal on the internet.
Speaking of dating, I have been just alerted that Todd Seavey has put a "personal ad" up.
I love the music in the 1980 movie "Xanadu," even though the movie bombed. I wonder if the soon-to-start Broadway version will bomb as well. It looks like it's taking itself seriously, rather than being campy (bad idea?). Who knows. I'd see it for the music...if it was inexpensive enough. So far, doesn't look that way.
Finally, I finished and turned in two major writing projects yesterday. It's a great relief. Don't ask which ones they were, because it doesn't matter. There are too many things in various states of completion, and who knows when the next revision will be. But for now, I get a break from writing for a while.
10-4.
I've been too busy to post lately, so here's a jumble of stuff.
First, yesterday there was an Associated Press article on the boy who had an earache, and a doctor found two spiders living in his ear. I really think that it was sick of the Spider Man producers to do this as publicity. Their film is making enough money!! Seriously, now every time my ear tickles or hurts, I'll have nightmares.
It looks like the l*sbian date blogger has stopped blogging. She was a good writer. I think she found, as many people have, that it's not good to get too personal on the internet.
Speaking of dating, I have been just alerted that Todd Seavey has put a "personal ad" up.
I love the music in the 1980 movie "Xanadu," even though the movie bombed. I wonder if the soon-to-start Broadway version will bomb as well. It looks like it's taking itself seriously, rather than being campy (bad idea?). Who knows. I'd see it for the music...if it was inexpensive enough. So far, doesn't look that way.
Finally, I finished and turned in two major writing projects yesterday. It's a great relief. Don't ask which ones they were, because it doesn't matter. There are too many things in various states of completion, and who knows when the next revision will be. But for now, I get a break from writing for a while.
10-4.
5/03/2007
It was the best of times...
I get a weekly e-mailed list of books that sold, and this was one of 'em. Do you think this will help your relationship? Personally, Dickens would not be my first pick.
Narrative
DINNER WITH DAD writer Cameron Stracher's A TALE OF TWO SPOUSES: Reading Dickens With My Wife, recognizing the mind is at least as sexy as the body, in which the author and his wife turn to Dickens as low-tech tonic and aphrodisiac to restore balance and intimacy in their high-tech existence, jump-starting a conversation gone (largely) silent, to Bruce Tracy at Villard, by Lisa Bankoff at ICM (NA).
I get a weekly e-mailed list of books that sold, and this was one of 'em. Do you think this will help your relationship? Personally, Dickens would not be my first pick.
Narrative
DINNER WITH DAD writer Cameron Stracher's A TALE OF TWO SPOUSES: Reading Dickens With My Wife, recognizing the mind is at least as sexy as the body, in which the author and his wife turn to Dickens as low-tech tonic and aphrodisiac to restore balance and intimacy in their high-tech existence, jump-starting a conversation gone (largely) silent, to Bruce Tracy at Villard, by Lisa Bankoff at ICM (NA).
5/02/2007
Reply All
A few weeks ago, I got junkmail in my work e-mail box about some on-line auction.
Apparently, some people who also got the junkmail were not happy with it, and kept sending mean replies. Only, they hit "reply all" and made it worse.
Here were some of the replies:
Re: This is Your Last Chance! One Day Left to Bid on The HADFM Online Auction!
Please remove me from this fat hairy mailing list.
Please remove me as well -Greg
Fuck yeah, get me off that shit too. At present I’m bidding to have you professionally killed by ninjas
I will contribute to that Ninja bill
Remove me from this list
It’s arrived a half dozen times
A few weeks ago, I got junkmail in my work e-mail box about some on-line auction.
Apparently, some people who also got the junkmail were not happy with it, and kept sending mean replies. Only, they hit "reply all" and made it worse.
Here were some of the replies:
Re: This is Your Last Chance! One Day Left to Bid on The HADFM Online Auction!
Please remove me from this fat hairy mailing list.
Please remove me as well -Greg
Fuck yeah, get me off that shit too. At present I’m bidding to have you professionally killed by ninjas
I will contribute to that Ninja bill
Remove me from this list
It’s arrived a half dozen times
5/01/2007
Woof
I swear that I'm not obsessed with puppies. They are just cute and make me smile. But even I have my limits. Last night, there was a show on called "America's Cutest Puppies." Of course, it got my attention instantly. First they brought out a bunch of puppies in front of the judges, and the judges chose their ten cutest, just by looking at their faces. Okay, so it's puppies; they can't exactly give speeches about wanting world peace.
Then, the ten cutest puppies came back out and were to be judged on "playfulness." Meanwhile, all of this was punctuated by a Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader (it took place in Philadelphia) doing cheers like "P-U-P-P-I-E-S, Yaaaaaay, puppies!!!!!!"
In the playfulness category, a golden retriever puppy came out and chased the light from a laser pointer. The judges were extremely impressed by this. Then some puppies showed that they knew how to "sit." Great. All the pups were purebred, which was boring and didn't really advance the cause of getting people to consider adopting homeless pups as well.
They used the "playfulness" category to narrow the field further to five puppies, but at that point I turned it off. I like looking at cute puppies, but even I have standards.
I swear that I'm not obsessed with puppies. They are just cute and make me smile. But even I have my limits. Last night, there was a show on called "America's Cutest Puppies." Of course, it got my attention instantly. First they brought out a bunch of puppies in front of the judges, and the judges chose their ten cutest, just by looking at their faces. Okay, so it's puppies; they can't exactly give speeches about wanting world peace.
Then, the ten cutest puppies came back out and were to be judged on "playfulness." Meanwhile, all of this was punctuated by a Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader (it took place in Philadelphia) doing cheers like "P-U-P-P-I-E-S, Yaaaaaay, puppies!!!!!!"
In the playfulness category, a golden retriever puppy came out and chased the light from a laser pointer. The judges were extremely impressed by this. Then some puppies showed that they knew how to "sit." Great. All the pups were purebred, which was boring and didn't really advance the cause of getting people to consider adopting homeless pups as well.
They used the "playfulness" category to narrow the field further to five puppies, but at that point I turned it off. I like looking at cute puppies, but even I have standards.
