Okay, lastly, here are two more comments on the chick lit situation. Remember, these opinions are not necessarily those of the author...
Logsted
Schneider
6/09/2005
The National Hurricane Center has given us some new features this summer! Here's the tracking for Tropical Storm Arlene, which may be heading in the U.S.'s general direciton.
Let's get one thing straight. It's
HOT IN THE CITY. Hot in the city today. I bet it will reach 100 degrees.
I'm done with discussing literary snark for now...put it back where it belongs, in the rap world.
Will Smith:
Once and for all lets get this straight
How you measure a rapper, what make an MC great?
Is it the sales? 20 mill Is it the cars? Bentleys
Is it the women? Jada Is it the money? Please
Mr. Clean, yet the fact remain
Got girls that don't speak English screamin' my name
All you rappers yellin' bout who you put in a Hearse
Do me a favor, write one verse without a curse.
Eminem responds:
Will Smith don't gotta cuss on his raps to sell records
Well I do
So fuck him
and fuck you too.
HOT IN THE CITY. Hot in the city today. I bet it will reach 100 degrees.
I'm done with discussing literary snark for now...put it back where it belongs, in the rap world.
Will Smith:
Once and for all lets get this straight
How you measure a rapper, what make an MC great?
Is it the sales? 20 mill Is it the cars? Bentleys
Is it the women? Jada Is it the money? Please
Mr. Clean, yet the fact remain
Got girls that don't speak English screamin' my name
All you rappers yellin' bout who you put in a Hearse
Do me a favor, write one verse without a curse.
Eminem responds:
Will Smith don't gotta cuss on his raps to sell records
Well I do
So fuck him
and fuck you too.
6/08/2005
Tuesday Night Trivia
Valerie posted some photos of last night's 3rd annual Tuesday Night Trivia celebration!
Valerie posted some photos of last night's 3rd annual Tuesday Night Trivia celebration!
Woke up, put on clothes, will go to work after I finish writing this.
I don't want to bore you with literary stuff anymore, but it looks like 16 of the last 18 people who have come to my blog through search engines were looking for one of the triumverate of New Yorker writers. See what I mean?
One of the reasons that Justin Tussing's story interested me is that it has some things in common with the novel I'm finishing up - but that's all you're getting.
Fellow RDI author Lauren Baratz-Logsted has mailed a response to the Times regarding the Melissa Bank review, which I will repost here. She apparently also disagrees with me that it was a positive review...
Lauren's letter:
For a long time, I denied being a writer of chick-lit. But no more! I have
now decided to embrace my inner chick, which seems preferable to embracing my
inner bitch, as Curtis S--ttenfeld has done in her unfair review of Melissa
B-nk's "The W-nder Spot" (June 5, 2005). "The W-nder Spot,"...is a wonderfully accomplished collection of interconnected stories. Many of us have waited six years for a new book from Ms. Banks. Shame on Curtis Si--enfeld for having such a poor understanding of what chick-lit is and what it is not and shame on you for revealing your misogyny once again by assigning a worthy book for review to a neo-writer who has yet to prove she has any critical chops.
Lauren Baratz-Logsted
I told her that if they print that, I'll eat five copies of my book and five of hers.
[NOTE: I removed letters from her name so people don't end up here purely looking for snark on Google. ;)]
I don't want to bore you with literary stuff anymore, but it looks like 16 of the last 18 people who have come to my blog through search engines were looking for one of the triumverate of New Yorker writers. See what I mean?
One of the reasons that Justin Tussing's story interested me is that it has some things in common with the novel I'm finishing up - but that's all you're getting.
Fellow RDI author Lauren Baratz-Logsted has mailed a response to the Times regarding the Melissa Bank review, which I will repost here. She apparently also disagrees with me that it was a positive review...
Lauren's letter:
For a long time, I denied being a writer of chick-lit. But no more! I have
now decided to embrace my inner chick, which seems preferable to embracing my
inner bitch, as Curtis S--ttenfeld has done in her unfair review of Melissa
B-nk's "The W-nder Spot" (June 5, 2005). "The W-nder Spot,"...is a wonderfully accomplished collection of interconnected stories. Many of us have waited six years for a new book from Ms. Banks. Shame on Curtis Si--enfeld for having such a poor understanding of what chick-lit is and what it is not and shame on you for revealing your misogyny once again by assigning a worthy book for review to a neo-writer who has yet to prove she has any critical chops.
Lauren Baratz-Logsted
I told her that if they print that, I'll eat five copies of my book and five of hers.
[NOTE: I removed letters from her name so people don't end up here purely looking for snark on Google. ;)]
6/07/2005
Okay, Jennifer Weiner just posted her response to the Sittenfeld review. No wonder it took a while - it's a point by point analysis that made me laugh several times.
My friend Sarah was not thrilled with Sittenfeld's review. I still think it was, for the most part, positive - she said Melissa Bank's book is readable and engaging. And she said it in the Times. Let's click on Bank's Amazon ranking and see if it hurt...nope, it's the 98th best selling book.
AT40 Update:
Apparently there was, indeed, a backlash to Curtis Sittenfeld's review of Melissa Bank. The critics ask: Why does a book about woman have to be pigeonholed as chick lit? It's a fair complaint, but I still think it's a positive review. Anyway, Ron Hogan at Beatrice.com links to the blogs (including mine) that have commented on this. Particularly interesting is this one, saying that Sittenfeld might be irked about her own book having been pigeonholed. She also quotes someone as noting that writing is the only industry where people are constantly penning takedowns of their peers.
Apparently there was, indeed, a backlash to Curtis Sittenfeld's review of Melissa Bank. The critics ask: Why does a book about woman have to be pigeonholed as chick lit? It's a fair complaint, but I still think it's a positive review. Anyway, Ron Hogan at Beatrice.com links to the blogs (including mine) that have commented on this. Particularly interesting is this one, saying that Sittenfeld might be irked about her own book having been pigeonholed. She also quotes someone as noting that writing is the only industry where people are constantly penning takedowns of their peers.
I got mentioned in Dawn's Daily News column. Yay!
Is it fair that I got mentioned because I was quoting Sarah? Well, thanks, D!
Is it fair that I got mentioned because I was quoting Sarah? Well, thanks, D!
Will soon wake up, put on clothes, go to work.
Yesterday was a big day for writers. It was the day the Debut Fiction issue of the New Yorker comes out.
Each summer (with a few skipped) the NYer releases a summer issue with a few new writers (Debs), giving them the most coveted medium to show their stuff in American literary quarters. This year's blessed scribes were Karen Russell, Uwem Akpan, and Justin Tussing. Since they are debut fiction writers, their names do not appear all over Google just yet. Therefore, people looking for them might wind up right here. Therefore, I should tell those people to read Carrie Pilby.
That said, Karen Russell, Uwem Akpan and Justin Tussing might become subject to...
Schadenfreudenberger.
Schadenfreudenberger was a term coined by Curtis Sittenfeld (she's in my blog two days in a row! Wow) in Salon after Nell Freudenberger, a twentysomething New Yorker intern, got one of her short stories into the New Yorker's debut fiction issue (it may have even been her first published fiction) and was supposedly offered a $500,000 contract for a book of short stories by a major publisher.
That's what happens when you're a "Deb."
When Freduenberger's collection came out, it got good reviews, much to the chagrin of the knife-sharpeners. It apparently was a well-written book. But there's long been suspicion about people who are published either young or suddenly, seemingly without struggle (whether that's how it happened or not). Of course, it's jealousy. But heck, if you snark about someone who got a $500,000 book deal, how much are you really hurting them?
It looks like this year's Debs have worked their way up the ranks, though. Tussing got an MFA in writing in the University of Iowa's vaunted program, and his first novel is coming out in February, so he didn't all of a sudden get a contract. He's also 34, not 17. So, congrats to Justin Tussing, Karen Russel, and Uwen Akpan. May the Schadenfreudenberger be gentle on you this year.
(I'm not quite sure Mr. Wenclas's blog will hold back.)
Oh, disclaimer: Yes, I know that I shouldn't be namechecking all these writers, but most of my readers aren't writers and thus might find some of this stuff interesting. And I know these people are better writers than I am. But no matter what, I can still hold my head high and know that I am a much more eloquent person than the guy who CUSSED OUT A PUG!
Yesterday was a big day for writers. It was the day the Debut Fiction issue of the New Yorker comes out.
Each summer (with a few skipped) the NYer releases a summer issue with a few new writers (Debs), giving them the most coveted medium to show their stuff in American literary quarters. This year's blessed scribes were Karen Russell, Uwem Akpan, and Justin Tussing. Since they are debut fiction writers, their names do not appear all over Google just yet. Therefore, people looking for them might wind up right here. Therefore, I should tell those people to read Carrie Pilby.
That said, Karen Russell, Uwem Akpan and Justin Tussing might become subject to...
Schadenfreudenberger.
Schadenfreudenberger was a term coined by Curtis Sittenfeld (she's in my blog two days in a row! Wow) in Salon after Nell Freudenberger, a twentysomething New Yorker intern, got one of her short stories into the New Yorker's debut fiction issue (it may have even been her first published fiction) and was supposedly offered a $500,000 contract for a book of short stories by a major publisher.
That's what happens when you're a "Deb."
When Freduenberger's collection came out, it got good reviews, much to the chagrin of the knife-sharpeners. It apparently was a well-written book. But there's long been suspicion about people who are published either young or suddenly, seemingly without struggle (whether that's how it happened or not). Of course, it's jealousy. But heck, if you snark about someone who got a $500,000 book deal, how much are you really hurting them?
It looks like this year's Debs have worked their way up the ranks, though. Tussing got an MFA in writing in the University of Iowa's vaunted program, and his first novel is coming out in February, so he didn't all of a sudden get a contract. He's also 34, not 17. So, congrats to Justin Tussing, Karen Russel, and Uwen Akpan. May the Schadenfreudenberger be gentle on you this year.
(I'm not quite sure Mr. Wenclas's blog will hold back.)
Oh, disclaimer: Yes, I know that I shouldn't be namechecking all these writers, but most of my readers aren't writers and thus might find some of this stuff interesting. And I know these people are better writers than I am. But no matter what, I can still hold my head high and know that I am a much more eloquent person than the guy who CUSSED OUT A PUG!
6/06/2005
When I was out in the rain taking pictures, a guy ran past, heading for his wealthy condo building, and a woman's gray pug started barking at him. So he said, "Shut up, you f*cking sh*t!" I'm serious. What kind of wimp do you have to be to CUSS OUT A PUG?!?
(Oh, if it makes y'all feel better, I yelled something unprintable at him.)
(Oh, if it makes y'all feel better, I yelled something unprintable at him.)
Summer in the city
Last night, the sun set around 8 p.m. and bathed West 70th Street in Manhattan in orange light:
This weekend's hot weather caused the return of a familiar sight:
I got to meet Chuck Barris at the Book Expo of America, which made the weekend bright:
And here's a late photo of Jess and Marissa totalling the scores at trivia last Tuesday night.
The game continues tomorrow. Be there!
Last night, the sun set around 8 p.m. and bathed West 70th Street in Manhattan in orange light:
This weekend's hot weather caused the return of a familiar sight:
I got to meet Chuck Barris at the Book Expo of America, which made the weekend bright:
And here's a late photo of Jess and Marissa totalling the scores at trivia last Tuesday night.
The game continues tomorrow. Be there!
Summer in the city
Scroll below this entry for new photos!
* * * *
Chick or not chick
Melissa Bank is one of the two authors credited with inadvertently launching the “chick lit” craze in the late 1990s. The other author is, of course, Helen Fielding of “Bridget Jones” fame. (There were Ally McBeal episodes before that, as well as “Cathy” cartoons, but those characters failed to unionize.) Since then, the genre has helped a lot of us gals get into print, given thousands of women novels they can relate to, and provided reliable beach reading. It’s also caused a bit of a debate, since some folks believe the term is demeaning. I don’t, really; it’s marketing. If it gets a book into readers’ hands, they can decide what they want to call it.
Melissa Bank’s new novel, “The Wonder Spot,” was reviewed prominently in the Times Book Review this weekend. The reviewer, Curtis Sittenfeld (“Prep”) spent most of the review explaining why Bank’s novel is “chick lit” and not literary fiction. I bet a few people will complain about this, but it was a pretty well-written review. Her point was that (oh yeah, Curtis Sittenfeld is a she, for those who don’t know) Bank’s book was great fun to read, but doesn’t transcend the genre.
Since there are always questions about what “chick lit” is, here are a few excerpts of the review:
“To suggest that another woman’s ostensibly literary novel is chick lit feels catty, not unlike calling another woman a slut – doesn’t the term basically bring down all of us? And yet, with ‘The Wonder Spot,’ it’s hard to resist. A chronicle of the search for personal equilibrium and Mr. Right, Melissa Bank’s novel is highly readable, sometimes funny and entirely unchallenging; you’re not one iota smarter after finishing it.”
So is that bad? If a novel is easy to read and uses simple language, does that place it squarely in genre fiction?
Not always. Sittenfeld elucidates:
“I understood exactly what [the main character] meant, and that’s when I liked the book best. But this, ultimately, is the reason I know ‘The Wonder Spot’ is chick lit: because its appeal relies so much on how closely readers relate to its protagonist. Good novels allow us to feel what the characters feel, no matter how dissimilar their circumstances and ours. ‘The Wonder Spot’ contains real meaning only if we identify with Sophie enough to infuse it with meaning of our own.”
I consider this a pretty positive review, and I learned something from it: “Wonder Spot” is entertaining and interesting, and has a character women can relate to; don’t read it if you only want to read novels where you’ll learn something new.
Fair enough. I even got a free copy at the Book Expo of America on Saturday – signed – so I’m looking forward to reading it.
I wonder if Jennifer Weiner will comment on this review in her blog. She has long complained that most books about women in relationships don’t get reviewed in the Times because they are considered chick lit.
On another note, Sittenfeld’s use of the phrase “not unlike” reminded me that when I was little, they used to use that phrase in “Peanuts” cartoons a lot, and I hated it because it was confusing to me. It seemed that they should just say “like.” (Peanuts cartoons as a whole could be so dry and sarcastic that they used to annoy me on a regular basis as a young reader. Where were the punchlines, dammit?) I guess there is a nuance with “not unlike”; it’s a little less harsh than just saying “like.” Is that bad, or good? Wimpy, or more precise? I probably would have gone with “not unlike” where Curtis did…but why? Isn’t is the same thing to say it’s LIKE calling a woman a slut? Sittenfeld later says, “…the fact that the heroine was once engaged to a man who died in a car accident seems like a not insignificant detail.” I guess that’s faster than saying, “not like a detail one would leave out” which is what she was getting at more than “a significant detail.”
Well, aren’t you glad to see me write about someone else’s novels and not just my own?
Wait…that should read, “Aren’t you glad to see me write about someone else’s novels and not just my own?”
Scroll below this entry for new photos!
* * * *
Chick or not chick
Melissa Bank is one of the two authors credited with inadvertently launching the “chick lit” craze in the late 1990s. The other author is, of course, Helen Fielding of “Bridget Jones” fame. (There were Ally McBeal episodes before that, as well as “Cathy” cartoons, but those characters failed to unionize.) Since then, the genre has helped a lot of us gals get into print, given thousands of women novels they can relate to, and provided reliable beach reading. It’s also caused a bit of a debate, since some folks believe the term is demeaning. I don’t, really; it’s marketing. If it gets a book into readers’ hands, they can decide what they want to call it.
Melissa Bank’s new novel, “The Wonder Spot,” was reviewed prominently in the Times Book Review this weekend. The reviewer, Curtis Sittenfeld (“Prep”) spent most of the review explaining why Bank’s novel is “chick lit” and not literary fiction. I bet a few people will complain about this, but it was a pretty well-written review. Her point was that (oh yeah, Curtis Sittenfeld is a she, for those who don’t know) Bank’s book was great fun to read, but doesn’t transcend the genre.
Since there are always questions about what “chick lit” is, here are a few excerpts of the review:
“To suggest that another woman’s ostensibly literary novel is chick lit feels catty, not unlike calling another woman a slut – doesn’t the term basically bring down all of us? And yet, with ‘The Wonder Spot,’ it’s hard to resist. A chronicle of the search for personal equilibrium and Mr. Right, Melissa Bank’s novel is highly readable, sometimes funny and entirely unchallenging; you’re not one iota smarter after finishing it.”
So is that bad? If a novel is easy to read and uses simple language, does that place it squarely in genre fiction?
Not always. Sittenfeld elucidates:
“I understood exactly what [the main character] meant, and that’s when I liked the book best. But this, ultimately, is the reason I know ‘The Wonder Spot’ is chick lit: because its appeal relies so much on how closely readers relate to its protagonist. Good novels allow us to feel what the characters feel, no matter how dissimilar their circumstances and ours. ‘The Wonder Spot’ contains real meaning only if we identify with Sophie enough to infuse it with meaning of our own.”
I consider this a pretty positive review, and I learned something from it: “Wonder Spot” is entertaining and interesting, and has a character women can relate to; don’t read it if you only want to read novels where you’ll learn something new.
Fair enough. I even got a free copy at the Book Expo of America on Saturday – signed – so I’m looking forward to reading it.
I wonder if Jennifer Weiner will comment on this review in her blog. She has long complained that most books about women in relationships don’t get reviewed in the Times because they are considered chick lit.
On another note, Sittenfeld’s use of the phrase “not unlike” reminded me that when I was little, they used to use that phrase in “Peanuts” cartoons a lot, and I hated it because it was confusing to me. It seemed that they should just say “like.” (Peanuts cartoons as a whole could be so dry and sarcastic that they used to annoy me on a regular basis as a young reader. Where were the punchlines, dammit?) I guess there is a nuance with “not unlike”; it’s a little less harsh than just saying “like.” Is that bad, or good? Wimpy, or more precise? I probably would have gone with “not unlike” where Curtis did…but why? Isn’t is the same thing to say it’s LIKE calling a woman a slut? Sittenfeld later says, “…the fact that the heroine was once engaged to a man who died in a car accident seems like a not insignificant detail.” I guess that’s faster than saying, “not like a detail one would leave out” which is what she was getting at more than “a significant detail.”
Well, aren’t you glad to see me write about someone else’s novels and not just my own?
Wait…that should read, “Aren’t you glad to see me write about someone else’s novels and not just my own?”
6/05/2005
Special Event
Tuesday is the 3rd anniversary of Tuesday Team trivia, the weekly NY trivia game that Dawn and I started at the Baggott Inn three years ago. I knew that team trivia was very popular in Philly, and there was a great game going on each Wednesday at Pete's Candy Store in Brooklyn. I told Dawn how much fun team trivia was, and she said she knew of a great bar in the Village that'd be suitable for it.
We met with the owner, set up a start date, and Dawn did some publicity (she's good at that). We lured friends and friends of friends. The word got out. New friendships have been made. Now, 30-60 bright, young New Yorkers come to play each week.
There will be cake and extra prizes on Tuesday, so if you're interested, come on out. http://www.baggotinn.com/trivia.html
I want to thank the people who come each week, and to the staff at the Baggott Inn for being so hospitable. And to Dawn for putting the time and effort into the venture even though her job precludes her from making it these days. All of you people are swell!!
Oh, "Jack FM" just played "Let's Dance" by David Bowie and has just gone into "Stayin' Alive." I admit, it IS kind of interesting to see what they'll play next.
Tuesday is the 3rd anniversary of Tuesday Team trivia, the weekly NY trivia game that Dawn and I started at the Baggott Inn three years ago. I knew that team trivia was very popular in Philly, and there was a great game going on each Wednesday at Pete's Candy Store in Brooklyn. I told Dawn how much fun team trivia was, and she said she knew of a great bar in the Village that'd be suitable for it.
We met with the owner, set up a start date, and Dawn did some publicity (she's good at that). We lured friends and friends of friends. The word got out. New friendships have been made. Now, 30-60 bright, young New Yorkers come to play each week.
There will be cake and extra prizes on Tuesday, so if you're interested, come on out. http://www.baggotinn.com/trivia.html
I want to thank the people who come each week, and to the staff at the Baggott Inn for being so hospitable. And to Dawn for putting the time and effort into the venture even though her job precludes her from making it these days. All of you people are swell!!
Oh, "Jack FM" just played "Let's Dance" by David Bowie and has just gone into "Stayin' Alive." I admit, it IS kind of interesting to see what they'll play next.
Woke up, etc. and so forth.
Two different people mentioned to me today that WCBS-FM New York is no longer an oldies station, and then I read all about it on Daryl's blog. It's now some sort of random pop/rock format that's popular in Canada, called "Jack FM."
When I was a kid, I hated WCBS-FM because it was my parents' oldies station and played only '50s and '60s songs. Later, I hated it because it played '80s songs, which meant that I was officially old. But I always appreciated having it as an option.
Still, I also like the idea of doing away with a strict format and just playing regular rock songs. Who is it that said that Classic Rock, Modern Rock, and Top 40 should never mix? Why have we been lulled into believing this for so many years?
Two different people mentioned to me today that WCBS-FM New York is no longer an oldies station, and then I read all about it on Daryl's blog. It's now some sort of random pop/rock format that's popular in Canada, called "Jack FM."
When I was a kid, I hated WCBS-FM because it was my parents' oldies station and played only '50s and '60s songs. Later, I hated it because it played '80s songs, which meant that I was officially old. But I always appreciated having it as an option.
Still, I also like the idea of doing away with a strict format and just playing regular rock songs. Who is it that said that Classic Rock, Modern Rock, and Top 40 should never mix? Why have we been lulled into believing this for so many years?
6/03/2005
Woke up, put on clothes, went to work...
FUN WITH PR PEOPLE
Subject: Grilling tips for both genders
Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2005 3:02 PM
From: Shannan [redacted]
Phone: 732 [redacted]
Email: [redacted]@comcast.net
To: Caren Lissner, Editor
What’s His Grilling Style?
Plus Grilling Tips For Both Genders
PLYMOUTH, WISC. – June 2, 2005 – [etc.]
From: Caren Lissner
To: 'Shannan [redacted]
Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2005 3:02 PM
Subject: RE: Grilling tips for both genders
----- I think both men and women taste the same if you grill them properly.
From: Shannan
To: Caren Lissner, Editor
Sent: Thursday, June 02, 4:52 PM
:) Very funny.
Does that mean you are interested in covering our grilling survey or grilling ideas?
Happy to send along whatever you may need.
Best,
Shannan
FUN WITH PR PEOPLE
Subject: Grilling tips for both genders
Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2005 3:02 PM
From: Shannan [redacted]
Phone: 732 [redacted]
Email: [redacted]@comcast.net
To: Caren Lissner, Editor
What’s His Grilling Style?
Plus Grilling Tips For Both Genders
PLYMOUTH, WISC. – June 2, 2005 – [etc.]
From: Caren Lissner
To: 'Shannan [redacted]
Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2005 3:02 PM
Subject: RE: Grilling tips for both genders
----- I think both men and women taste the same if you grill them properly.
From: Shannan
To: Caren Lissner, Editor
Sent: Thursday, June 02, 4:52 PM
:) Very funny.
Does that mean you are interested in covering our grilling survey or grilling ideas?
Happy to send along whatever you may need.
Best,
Shannan
6/02/2005
This is how all e-mails to me should read:
i LOVED!!!! your book!
hey caren,
one of my best friends gave me this book to read while i went on a recent trip to the beach. i literally could not put carrie pilby down and i absolutely loved it. it was so real and incredibly clever and funny. i often would read out loud my favorite parts to my friends and they too, would laugh. can't wait for the sequel!
love,
[redacted], 19, new orleans, la.
I thanked her and told her to be careful.
i LOVED!!!! your book!
hey caren,
one of my best friends gave me this book to read while i went on a recent trip to the beach. i literally could not put carrie pilby down and i absolutely loved it. it was so real and incredibly clever and funny. i often would read out loud my favorite parts to my friends and they too, would laugh. can't wait for the sequel!
love,
[redacted], 19, new orleans, la.
I thanked her and told her to be careful.
Woke up, put on clothes, went to work.
My Amazon ranking is high today. No, I don't check it every day, but I just happened to notice. ;)
Reminder: I don't get very personal on this blog, so if you're someone who knows me, you have nothing to fear. I won't reveal your secrets.
My Amazon ranking is high today. No, I don't check it every day, but I just happened to notice. ;)
Reminder: I don't get very personal on this blog, so if you're someone who knows me, you have nothing to fear. I won't reveal your secrets.
6/01/2005
I'm looking at another month of revisions on my book. Honestly, this book couldn't have taken any less than four years to finish - I personally had to go through things, learn things, evolve as the book evolves, get new ideas every day.
It IS frustrating; I'd have liked to get it out last fall, but books just don't work that way. They grow at a predestined rate that you can't really change by putting more hours in, I believe. At least, in my case, I am still growing up and learning things, both about life and about writing.
I sometimes remind myself of my experience with my first published novel. I started writing Carrie Pilby when I was 27. I was going through a lot of changes in perspective and outlook at the time, and that's probably what fueled it. I couldn't write that book today - at least, not in the same way. Maybe it'd be better now, or maybe it wouldn't have gotten written at all.
I started writing it in May of 1999. I finished a draft in December of 1999. I sent the first 50 pages out over several months and got some feedback and an offer or two to pass it on to a different agent. As I got more feedback, I changed and revised it. I took periods of months off when I wasn't hearing anything back. Then I would look at it anew.
Over the summer of 2000, I read more, learned more about how to present the character, and did some revisions. It was passed on to a wonderful new agent in December of 2000. She finished reading it in late January of 2001, I think. We met for lunch and she gave me some suggestions. I handed in a new draft and she had one or two more suggestions - like, add in a Thanksgiving scene, since I kept mentioning Thanksgiving but never showed what happened.
I finished the new draft and mailed it to her. She sent it out to a few editors. An editorial assistant who got it loved it and had lunch with me. She had more suggestions. Like, add another scene with Carrie and Kara. Which I did.
That summer, she made the case for it to her superiors. She talked it up. At the end of the summer, August 2001, they rejected it.
I read in Newsweek about a new imprint that was focusing on books about women in their twenties trying to figure life out, kind of like Bridget Jones or the Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing. I didn't know if my agent wanted to go that route, but it was an idea. She mentioned it in an e-mail to me, too.
9/11 happened and I didn't care much about books for a while. We might not even be there tomorrow.
After life started returning to normal, my agent talked to me. She wanted to send the book to Red Dress Ink, but she'd wait a month or two because it was still too close to 9/11 to worry about such things.
We gave it to them in the winter. An editor really, really liked it. But in the end, it was too odd for what they were specifically doing.
I started writing another book, Starting from Square Two, which seemed more chick-littish and also focused on a notion I really wanted to explore - what if a woman who had always had things come easy, and had never really had to date much, suddenly lost her husband? I started writing it in late December of 2001 and flew through it - I was so interested to see what would happen to my character.
We submitted a few chapters to the editor at RDI around February of 2002, I think. She had lunch with my agent and said that she was also interested in Carrie Pilby again, since they were getting books with similar plots to what they were already doing, and mine was slightly different.
And so that spring (about four years after I'd started writing it), I got a book deal, something I'd wanted for many many years but had no guarantee would ever happen.
I have to remind myself that CP wasn't instantly accepted, and ended up going through many revisions based on the advice of different people before it got to the point of being accepted.
A book certainly doesn't have to be perfect when it goes out to publishers or editors - they might like the idea and buy it and then give suggestions. But it's still good to remember that it doesn't always come out perfect the first time.
It IS frustrating; I'd have liked to get it out last fall, but books just don't work that way. They grow at a predestined rate that you can't really change by putting more hours in, I believe. At least, in my case, I am still growing up and learning things, both about life and about writing.
I sometimes remind myself of my experience with my first published novel. I started writing Carrie Pilby when I was 27. I was going through a lot of changes in perspective and outlook at the time, and that's probably what fueled it. I couldn't write that book today - at least, not in the same way. Maybe it'd be better now, or maybe it wouldn't have gotten written at all.
I started writing it in May of 1999. I finished a draft in December of 1999. I sent the first 50 pages out over several months and got some feedback and an offer or two to pass it on to a different agent. As I got more feedback, I changed and revised it. I took periods of months off when I wasn't hearing anything back. Then I would look at it anew.
Over the summer of 2000, I read more, learned more about how to present the character, and did some revisions. It was passed on to a wonderful new agent in December of 2000. She finished reading it in late January of 2001, I think. We met for lunch and she gave me some suggestions. I handed in a new draft and she had one or two more suggestions - like, add in a Thanksgiving scene, since I kept mentioning Thanksgiving but never showed what happened.
I finished the new draft and mailed it to her. She sent it out to a few editors. An editorial assistant who got it loved it and had lunch with me. She had more suggestions. Like, add another scene with Carrie and Kara. Which I did.
That summer, she made the case for it to her superiors. She talked it up. At the end of the summer, August 2001, they rejected it.
I read in Newsweek about a new imprint that was focusing on books about women in their twenties trying to figure life out, kind of like Bridget Jones or the Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing. I didn't know if my agent wanted to go that route, but it was an idea. She mentioned it in an e-mail to me, too.
9/11 happened and I didn't care much about books for a while. We might not even be there tomorrow.
After life started returning to normal, my agent talked to me. She wanted to send the book to Red Dress Ink, but she'd wait a month or two because it was still too close to 9/11 to worry about such things.
We gave it to them in the winter. An editor really, really liked it. But in the end, it was too odd for what they were specifically doing.
I started writing another book, Starting from Square Two, which seemed more chick-littish and also focused on a notion I really wanted to explore - what if a woman who had always had things come easy, and had never really had to date much, suddenly lost her husband? I started writing it in late December of 2001 and flew through it - I was so interested to see what would happen to my character.
We submitted a few chapters to the editor at RDI around February of 2002, I think. She had lunch with my agent and said that she was also interested in Carrie Pilby again, since they were getting books with similar plots to what they were already doing, and mine was slightly different.
And so that spring (about four years after I'd started writing it), I got a book deal, something I'd wanted for many many years but had no guarantee would ever happen.
I have to remind myself that CP wasn't instantly accepted, and ended up going through many revisions based on the advice of different people before it got to the point of being accepted.
A book certainly doesn't have to be perfect when it goes out to publishers or editors - they might like the idea and buy it and then give suggestions. But it's still good to remember that it doesn't always come out perfect the first time.
Will later wake up, put on clothes, go to work.
Something to think about...
Ray Gricar has now been missing for six weeks. How can a Pennsylvania DA disappear with barely a trace? Read on.
Something to think about...
Ray Gricar has now been missing for six weeks. How can a Pennsylvania DA disappear with barely a trace? Read on.
5/31/2005
Trivia was excellently hosted by Jess and Marissa this evening. Among the highlights was an all-Bruce Willis round. There were many funny moments. When a team wanted to get credit for their answer of "Holly" for John McLean's wife in "Die Hard," Jess finally gave in and said (jokingly), "You can have it, but you're a bunch of jerks." Another question was, what was Bruce Willis' catch phrase in that movie? The answer was "Yippe kai-ay, motherfu**er." One guy complained that he didn't know it because "I've only seen it on TBS."
Among the popular team names tonight:
- "But Daddy always told me I'M Deep Throat!"
- "W. Mark Felt me up."
- Paris is burning...down there.
The top 10 round concerned best selling movie soundtracks. It was a very good round. They included Saturday Night Fever, Footloose, Lion King, Forrest Gump, Titanic, Purple Rain, Dirty Dancing, Grease, and some others I ain't thinking of right now. Number one, believe it or not, was the Bodyguard.
Among the popular team names tonight:
- "But Daddy always told me I'M Deep Throat!"
- "W. Mark Felt me up."
- Paris is burning...down there.
The top 10 round concerned best selling movie soundtracks. It was a very good round. They included Saturday Night Fever, Footloose, Lion King, Forrest Gump, Titanic, Purple Rain, Dirty Dancing, Grease, and some others I ain't thinking of right now. Number one, believe it or not, was the Bodyguard.
5/30/2005
In today's entry, young Philly-area writer D-Mac writes of his recently deceased English teacher. A moving entry.
Woke up, put on clothes. Tomorrow I will have to go to work.
Forty years ago this weekend, the Sound of Music premiered in theaters. Ernest Lehman's writing took what was an eh show with wonderful music and turned it into a wonderful, suspenseful movie that actually has some very clever dialogue (think I'm joking? Don't remember? go to imdb.com and look at the quotes section.) Todd Purdum gives it its due in today's New York Times.
Forty years ago this weekend, the Sound of Music premiered in theaters. Ernest Lehman's writing took what was an eh show with wonderful music and turned it into a wonderful, suspenseful movie that actually has some very clever dialogue (think I'm joking? Don't remember? go to imdb.com and look at the quotes section.) Todd Purdum gives it its due in today's New York Times.
5/29/2005
Woke up, put on clothes, didn't go to work.
Several people have found my blog by Googling an actress named "Karen Cliche" and spelling her first name with a "C" by accident. Yes, if you put "Caren Cliche" into Google, I'm the first blog you get to. Well, I have discussed cliches, but I'd rather not have that as a nickname. So if you get here and you're looking for the real Karen Cliche, here's her site. BUT FIRST, oh please oh please read a novel called Carrie Pilby...in fact, maybe Karen Cliche can star in it.
Several people have found my blog by Googling an actress named "Karen Cliche" and spelling her first name with a "C" by accident. Yes, if you put "Caren Cliche" into Google, I'm the first blog you get to. Well, I have discussed cliches, but I'd rather not have that as a nickname. So if you get here and you're looking for the real Karen Cliche, here's her site. BUT FIRST, oh please oh please read a novel called Carrie Pilby...in fact, maybe Karen Cliche can star in it.
5/26/2005
Woke up, put on clothes, did errands, took naps.
Taking off for a week is dangerous to my feet. So far, I've spilled boiling water for tea on my left foot, dropped a little bottle of spring water onto it, and accidentally walked into the foot of my bed, jamming my toes and requiring an icepack.
As for the novel, I feel like I did a lot of good revisions to it this week. It says what I want to say, it's emotional, the characters are distinct. Hopefully an editor will feel the same way.
Taking off for a week is dangerous to my feet. So far, I've spilled boiling water for tea on my left foot, dropped a little bottle of spring water onto it, and accidentally walked into the foot of my bed, jamming my toes and requiring an icepack.
As for the novel, I feel like I did a lot of good revisions to it this week. It says what I want to say, it's emotional, the characters are distinct. Hopefully an editor will feel the same way.
5/25/2005
If you haven't figured it out, I haven't gone to work this week. I needed a break. Plus, you know, the novel is getting revised. If you work for a major publishing house and are reading this, sometime within the next few months, my third novel may be coming to a desk near you.
Yesterday I bought Mike Finkel's book True Story, which I wrote about a few posts earlier. I also read Josh Braff's book, The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green. He's Zach Braff's brother. I have to support all (at least most) New Jersey enterprises. Good book.
I decided to cook this week since I actually have the time. What I've found is that for the most part, it doesn't save money, and it certainly doesn't save time. I suppose if you are cooking for more than one person, it does. I bought some pork chops and broiled 'em with some basil and Hoboken Eddie's apple brandy BBQ sauce and fresh garlic and potatoes. Tasty, but it might've been better to stop at the restaurant down the street. Then again, I guess if I lived in the burbs, I wouldn't have that as an option. Seriously, how did my mom make us dinner every single night? Oh that's right, all she did all day was watch soaps.
Yesterday I bought Mike Finkel's book True Story, which I wrote about a few posts earlier. I also read Josh Braff's book, The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green. He's Zach Braff's brother. I have to support all (at least most) New Jersey enterprises. Good book.
I decided to cook this week since I actually have the time. What I've found is that for the most part, it doesn't save money, and it certainly doesn't save time. I suppose if you are cooking for more than one person, it does. I bought some pork chops and broiled 'em with some basil and Hoboken Eddie's apple brandy BBQ sauce and fresh garlic and potatoes. Tasty, but it might've been better to stop at the restaurant down the street. Then again, I guess if I lived in the burbs, I wouldn't have that as an option. Seriously, how did my mom make us dinner every single night? Oh that's right, all she did all day was watch soaps.
5/23/2005
Will later wake up, put on clothes, etc.
Wite Out + Too Much Free Time = what someone did to a sign on the NJ/NY PATH train.
Wite Out + Too Much Free Time = what someone did to a sign on the NJ/NY PATH train.
5/22/2005
I've now cut out 4,500 words, or about 5 percent, or 20 pages.
I keep putting Part I of the book to the Cringe Test -- can I open to any random part of the book and not cringe? Or are there still parts that are shoved in just to make a point or a joke, but are no longer necessary? Or parts I thought were needed for background but can be explained more subtly?
On another note, here's a useful and interesting link to scriptwriting expressions in someone's blog. Anyone who likes sitcoms or TV in general will enjoy this. Thanks to Doogs for forwarding it.
I keep putting Part I of the book to the Cringe Test -- can I open to any random part of the book and not cringe? Or are there still parts that are shoved in just to make a point or a joke, but are no longer necessary? Or parts I thought were needed for background but can be explained more subtly?
On another note, here's a useful and interesting link to scriptwriting expressions in someone's blog. Anyone who likes sitcoms or TV in general will enjoy this. Thanks to Doogs for forwarding it.
5/21/2005
It's time for today's ... RCF (Random Childhood Flashback)*
*PTTAWON (probably thought of to avoid working on novel)
So it's sixth grade, and I'm sitting in the back of the room as our teacher, Mrs. Shaak, goes over our spelling lesson. A blonde kid named Mitchell is sitting in the row behind me, frantically waving his hand, trying to get her attention because he has to go to the bathroom. His friend Darren is next to him, kinda laughing at him because she's totally oblivious.
Mrs. Shaak asks if anyone knows how to spell "Yacht." She sees Mitchell's hand in the air.
"How do you spell yacht? Mitchell?"
He says, "Y-O-T, but can I go to the bathroom?"
"No," she said, "it's y...a...c..."
I see his face contorting in extreme pain, and Darren laughs harder.
(Unfortunately, this ending isn't as exciting as you might have hoped, because he raced out a second later. I don't know why I thought of this, but I did. Now I guess I have to go revise my novel some more. Oh well.)
*PTTAWON (probably thought of to avoid working on novel)
So it's sixth grade, and I'm sitting in the back of the room as our teacher, Mrs. Shaak, goes over our spelling lesson. A blonde kid named Mitchell is sitting in the row behind me, frantically waving his hand, trying to get her attention because he has to go to the bathroom. His friend Darren is next to him, kinda laughing at him because she's totally oblivious.
Mrs. Shaak asks if anyone knows how to spell "Yacht." She sees Mitchell's hand in the air.
"How do you spell yacht? Mitchell?"
He says, "Y-O-T, but can I go to the bathroom?"
"No," she said, "it's y...a...c..."
I see his face contorting in extreme pain, and Darren laughs harder.
(Unfortunately, this ending isn't as exciting as you might have hoped, because he raced out a second later. I don't know why I thought of this, but I did. Now I guess I have to go revise my novel some more. Oh well.)
Woke up, put on clothes, started writing.
Odd how much faith in the beginning of this book is returning based on the fact that I am slashing rather than writing.
A very wise 19-year-old writer read the first half and told me, during one part, that I should "Cut the joke, keep the drama." She expertly realized that I added a few lines just to include a certain gag, and it wasn't a necessary gag. I've done that with descriptive paragraphs in other places, as well. I like them. But they don't fit anymore. Maybe they never did.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Odd how much faith in the beginning of this book is returning based on the fact that I am slashing rather than writing.
A very wise 19-year-old writer read the first half and told me, during one part, that I should "Cut the joke, keep the drama." She expertly realized that I added a few lines just to include a certain gag, and it wasn't a necessary gag. I've done that with descriptive paragraphs in other places, as well. I like them. But they don't fit anymore. Maybe they never did.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
5/20/2005
Woke up, put on clothes, went to work.
It's that time again, folks. What time? The start of Hurricane Season! Hurricane Adrian has already appeared. But the big countdown on this blog starts July 15.
In other nooze, MK Letourneau and Vili are getting married tonight.
It's that time again, folks. What time? The start of Hurricane Season! Hurricane Adrian has already appeared. But the big countdown on this blog starts July 15.
In other nooze, MK Letourneau and Vili are getting married tonight.
5/19/2005
Woke up, put on clothes, went to work.
I figured out what I have to do to improve my novel.
Cut all the stuff from years ago that I've been clinging to.
Over the years, I came up with some descriptive and funny scenes, sure, but they don't all fit anymore. And yet I've struggled to fit them in, like a 17-year-old trying to insert "veritable plethora" into his college application essay. Sometimes, as well-written as a scene is, it NO LONGER FITS. Slash, slash, slash. I must do it.
Next week is going to be a revision week. And yes, I'll be heating up some black-and-white cookies in the morning and enjoying them with steamed skim milk as I re-enter the world of my main characters and their forbidden affections. I'm getting primed for this. I'm thinking about what I have to do. Ready for Round 17, or whatever I'm up to.
By the time next week is over, Novel 3 will be unrejectable! OK, so no such thing, but it will be better, anyway. I want readers to enjoy this story. I want it out there.
I figured out what I have to do to improve my novel.
Cut all the stuff from years ago that I've been clinging to.
Over the years, I came up with some descriptive and funny scenes, sure, but they don't all fit anymore. And yet I've struggled to fit them in, like a 17-year-old trying to insert "veritable plethora" into his college application essay. Sometimes, as well-written as a scene is, it NO LONGER FITS. Slash, slash, slash. I must do it.
Next week is going to be a revision week. And yes, I'll be heating up some black-and-white cookies in the morning and enjoying them with steamed skim milk as I re-enter the world of my main characters and their forbidden affections. I'm getting primed for this. I'm thinking about what I have to do. Ready for Round 17, or whatever I'm up to.
By the time next week is over, Novel 3 will be unrejectable! OK, so no such thing, but it will be better, anyway. I want readers to enjoy this story. I want it out there.
5/18/2005
Update on Brooke, the 12-year-old girl who looks like a baby: Apparently it's a real story (go to the link and follow the link in the comments), but the news stations pulled the link either because of a request from the family or because the originating station sent it to others inadvertently (huh?) I would imagine that the media would converge on this story, but they haven't, which is what surprises me. Her doctor, Dr. Lawrence Pakula, is a Johns Hopkins dr. So it's real, just very confusing.
Can you imagine taking care of a baby forever - she can never get older? She and her parents and her sisters must be tough, caring people.
Meanwhile... Can you imagine being the Seattle journalist whose job it was to check the Kings County Recorder's Office every day for the marriage license registration of M. K. Letourneau and V. Fualaau? Well, they came up lucky today. Put just the groom's last and first name in and you get to find out their full names. Whooey.
Can you imagine taking care of a baby forever - she can never get older? She and her parents and her sisters must be tough, caring people.
Meanwhile... Can you imagine being the Seattle journalist whose job it was to check the Kings County Recorder's Office every day for the marriage license registration of M. K. Letourneau and V. Fualaau? Well, they came up lucky today. Put just the groom's last and first name in and you get to find out their full names. Whooey.
This AOL headline made me laugh out loud:
He's got wrong theater
Star Wars fan waits weeks where 'Sith' isn't playing
Who was it who said that being a NON-smart nerd is the worst kind?
In other news, I'm watching season 1 of the West Wing, at last. The jokes & rapid-fire dialogue seem a bit old to me, the plots a bit petty. But I have to keep in mind that I'm watching a 1999 drama in a post-2000 election, post-2001 world.
Last night's trivia game packed the house. One of my questions was, "What was former mayor David Dinkins' wife's name?" People were smacking themselves because they've forgotten so quickly. My co-host, Phil, and I gave away two t-shirts to teams that guessed "Dunkin'."
He's got wrong theater
Star Wars fan waits weeks where 'Sith' isn't playing
Who was it who said that being a NON-smart nerd is the worst kind?
In other news, I'm watching season 1 of the West Wing, at last. The jokes & rapid-fire dialogue seem a bit old to me, the plots a bit petty. But I have to keep in mind that I'm watching a 1999 drama in a post-2000 election, post-2001 world.
Last night's trivia game packed the house. One of my questions was, "What was former mayor David Dinkins' wife's name?" People were smacking themselves because they've forgotten so quickly. My co-host, Phil, and I gave away two t-shirts to teams that guessed "Dunkin'."
Woke up, put on clothes, went to work.
When I was a freshman at the U. of Penn, there was a senior who wrote a column for the Daily Pennsylvanian named Mike Finkel. He was a fascinating enigma - a DP sportswriter who was equally adept at feature and travel-writing, and oddly enough, he was in the business school (not liberal arts) studying finance. My favorite columns of his were often about social ills he saw in Philly; in one, he followed a homeless man to see where he went. He founded a group called Wharton Democrats. I also remember seeing him among a group of upperclassmen taking kids trick-or-treating in my dorm. Before he graduated, he got a personal essay into the New York Times magazine, when most of us hopeful writers and DP journalists couldn't get bit. As our now-deceased non-fiction writing professor Nora Magid put it at the time, "Mike got $1,000 from the Times, and an A from me."
He graduated and got a job at a skiing magazine, again when most writers fresh out of college couldn't get bit. He was apparently an amazing skier. He traveled the globe and started writing for the Times magazine.
Then he wrote a story that included a composite of a down-and-out child, comprised from several kids he knew while visiting West Africa. Only he didn't tell the Times it was a composite. When they found out, they fired him and pored over every other one of his stories. They didn't find any other fabrications, but the tarnish was there.
At the same time, believe it or not, some guy was being pursued for murder and had been passing himself off as New York Times writer Michael Finkel. So Finkel started following that.
His book on that is coming out in a week. I'm looking forward to reading it. Even since I was a wide-eyed, innocent freshman, I was captivated by his writing.
When I was a freshman at the U. of Penn, there was a senior who wrote a column for the Daily Pennsylvanian named Mike Finkel. He was a fascinating enigma - a DP sportswriter who was equally adept at feature and travel-writing, and oddly enough, he was in the business school (not liberal arts) studying finance. My favorite columns of his were often about social ills he saw in Philly; in one, he followed a homeless man to see where he went. He founded a group called Wharton Democrats. I also remember seeing him among a group of upperclassmen taking kids trick-or-treating in my dorm. Before he graduated, he got a personal essay into the New York Times magazine, when most of us hopeful writers and DP journalists couldn't get bit. As our now-deceased non-fiction writing professor Nora Magid put it at the time, "Mike got $1,000 from the Times, and an A from me."
He graduated and got a job at a skiing magazine, again when most writers fresh out of college couldn't get bit. He was apparently an amazing skier. He traveled the globe and started writing for the Times magazine.
Then he wrote a story that included a composite of a down-and-out child, comprised from several kids he knew while visiting West Africa. Only he didn't tell the Times it was a composite. When they found out, they fired him and pored over every other one of his stories. They didn't find any other fabrications, but the tarnish was there.
At the same time, believe it or not, some guy was being pursued for murder and had been passing himself off as New York Times writer Michael Finkel. So Finkel started following that.
His book on that is coming out in a week. I'm looking forward to reading it. Even since I was a wide-eyed, innocent freshman, I was captivated by his writing.
5/16/2005
The knowledge base of my readers is vast:
As for the basset...it was probably a Basset Fauve De Bretagne. It's a very rare breed but they do come in all black (like all black pugs). If it was a little bigger than a regular basset it could have been a Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen...another rare breed but can also be all black.
Aren't you glad we debate the issues of the day?
As for the basset...it was probably a Basset Fauve De Bretagne. It's a very rare breed but they do come in all black (like all black pugs). If it was a little bigger than a regular basset it could have been a Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen...another rare breed but can also be all black.
Aren't you glad we debate the issues of the day?
Will later wake up, put on clothes, go to work.
OK, here's some of the story.
"Imagine being frozen in time as a baby forever. It sounds impossible, but it describes Brooke Greenberg.
The Baltimore-area girl may look like a baby, but she's nearly a teenager. In most respects, Brooke looks and acts like your average 6-month-old baby -- she weighs 13 pounds and she is 27 inches long.
But Brooke is actually 12 years old, reported WBAL-TV in Baltimore.
Dr. Lawrence Pakula has been Brooke's pediatrician since she was born.
"In height, weight, she's 6 to 12 months," Pakula said. "If you ask any physician who knows nothing about her, the response is that she is maybe a handicapped 2-year-old."
As far as scientists and doctors can determine, Brooke is the only human being on the planet who has this as yet unnamed condition. And it hasn't been any picnic for her parents. She's had numerous health problems.
Her body may not be aging, but Brooke's health is deteriorating. She is fed through a tube, and she's had strokes, seizures, ulcers, severe respiratory problems and a tumor the size of a lemon.
The four times Brooke has come dangerously close to death, she bounced back and no one knows why.
Pakula points out that the girl has a strong sense of self and of sibling rivalry. Brooke has no language skills, but she does have enough motor skills to pull herself up in her crib or scoot across the kitchen floor.
Pakula said Brooke has thrived because of the support of her parents and three sisters.
'When one sees how much she has accomplished, it's a wonderful reminder that even for someone who's limited, it's a wonderful world out there,' Pakula said."
OK, here's some of the story.
"Imagine being frozen in time as a baby forever. It sounds impossible, but it describes Brooke Greenberg.
The Baltimore-area girl may look like a baby, but she's nearly a teenager. In most respects, Brooke looks and acts like your average 6-month-old baby -- she weighs 13 pounds and she is 27 inches long.
But Brooke is actually 12 years old, reported WBAL-TV in Baltimore.
Dr. Lawrence Pakula has been Brooke's pediatrician since she was born.
"In height, weight, she's 6 to 12 months," Pakula said. "If you ask any physician who knows nothing about her, the response is that she is maybe a handicapped 2-year-old."
As far as scientists and doctors can determine, Brooke is the only human being on the planet who has this as yet unnamed condition. And it hasn't been any picnic for her parents. She's had numerous health problems.
Her body may not be aging, but Brooke's health is deteriorating. She is fed through a tube, and she's had strokes, seizures, ulcers, severe respiratory problems and a tumor the size of a lemon.
The four times Brooke has come dangerously close to death, she bounced back and no one knows why.
Pakula points out that the girl has a strong sense of self and of sibling rivalry. Brooke has no language skills, but she does have enough motor skills to pull herself up in her crib or scoot across the kitchen floor.
Pakula said Brooke has thrived because of the support of her parents and three sisters.
'When one sees how much she has accomplished, it's a wonderful reminder that even for someone who's limited, it's a wonderful world out there,' Pakula said."
5/14/2005
Yes, I know...the story about the 12-year-old girl who hasn't aged since she was 6 months old has been taken down, at least for now. But this was on the news and everything. I watched the video on the 'net. It was on real stations. If you put it into Google News, it shows up that there were 56 mentions on it...but now they're unretrievable:
http://news.google.com/news?q=%22brooke+greenberg%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wn
The whole thing is bizarre. How could they hide this for 12 years? Maybe there are other people who have a related disorder and would benefit from knowing that the girl had it. The whole thing makes no sense. I guess we'll hear more on this later, whether it was a clever hoax or not.
http://news.google.com/news?q=%22brooke+greenberg%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wn
The whole thing is bizarre. How could they hide this for 12 years? Maybe there are other people who have a related disorder and would benefit from knowing that the girl had it. The whole thing makes no sense. I guess we'll hear more on this later, whether it was a clever hoax or not.
5/13/2005
This is about the craziest story I have seen on the web, and obviously, that'd have to be crazy. I can't understand why this has not been reported before, if true. A 12-year-old girl has not "aged" since she was 6 months old. Is this a hoax?
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/health/4485525/detail.html
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/health/4485525/detail.html
Woke up, put on clothes, went to work.
Weird things I thought of for no reason:
1. I can play several instruments:
-Kazoo
-Xylaphone
-Triangle
-Tambourine
2. When I was in second grade, friends would ask me if I saw last night's "Three's Company" or "Happy Days," and I had to say pissedoffedly, "The only show you should ask me about is Diff'rent Strokes, because Friday is the only day I'm allowed to stay up 'til 8:30." After a bit of this, I knew it was time to get my bedtime increased. I pondered my strategy. Finally, I went to my mother and said, "All the kids in school talk about those shows like 'Three's Company' and I have nothing to say." She relented and increased my bedtime to 8:30. Unfortunately, that meant my little brother got to stay up that late as well, even though he was three years younger than I and thus should have had to go to bed at the time that I had to go to bed when I was his age. Oh well.
3. I still want to know about that black basset hound. What all-black breed could they have crossed it with that could have possibly been in the right shape to have sex with a basset hound?
Weird things I thought of for no reason:
1. I can play several instruments:
-Kazoo
-Xylaphone
-Triangle
-Tambourine
2. When I was in second grade, friends would ask me if I saw last night's "Three's Company" or "Happy Days," and I had to say pissedoffedly, "The only show you should ask me about is Diff'rent Strokes, because Friday is the only day I'm allowed to stay up 'til 8:30." After a bit of this, I knew it was time to get my bedtime increased. I pondered my strategy. Finally, I went to my mother and said, "All the kids in school talk about those shows like 'Three's Company' and I have nothing to say." She relented and increased my bedtime to 8:30. Unfortunately, that meant my little brother got to stay up that late as well, even though he was three years younger than I and thus should have had to go to bed at the time that I had to go to bed when I was his age. Oh well.
3. I still want to know about that black basset hound. What all-black breed could they have crossed it with that could have possibly been in the right shape to have sex with a basset hound?
5/12/2005
The cover of the book containing the Carrie Pilby sequel is up at Amazon. Take a look. I'm sure we will doing some holiday promotions for it later in the year. Maybe there will be a party. Maybe there will be eggnog. Mmmm...eggnog.
What, too early?
What, too early?
Woke up, put on clothes, went to work.
Last night I saw an all-black basset hound. I don't know if there was some other breed mixed in. I don't think pure bassets can be all black. Very curious.
I'm quite tired today. "If you're tard and then you're tard again, you're REtard" - my 9th grade geometry teacher
Last night I saw an all-black basset hound. I don't know if there was some other breed mixed in. I don't think pure bassets can be all black. Very curious.
I'm quite tired today. "If you're tard and then you're tard again, you're REtard" - my 9th grade geometry teacher
5/11/2005
Woke up, put on clothes, went to work.
Reader mail:
HELLO PLS I WILL LIKE TO ORDER FRO UR NOVEL Carrie Pilby PLS I WILL LIKE TO ORDER FOR 50 PICES OF THE NOVEL I WILL LIKE TO KNOW IF U WILL SHIP INTERNATIONAL TO NIGERIA IF U DO I WILL GIVE U MY CREDIT CARD . MY NAME IS J___ R___. THANK U
REGARDS FROM J___ R___.
I thanked him and directed him to Amazon.
Reader mail:
HELLO PLS I WILL LIKE TO ORDER FRO UR NOVEL Carrie Pilby PLS I WILL LIKE TO ORDER FOR 50 PICES OF THE NOVEL I WILL LIKE TO KNOW IF U WILL SHIP INTERNATIONAL TO NIGERIA IF U DO I WILL GIVE U MY CREDIT CARD . MY NAME IS J___ R___. THANK U
REGARDS FROM J___ R___.
I thanked him and directed him to Amazon.
5/10/2005
Will later wake up, put on clothes, go to work.
I'm mailing a screenplay to a contest this week. I know, I know...I write too much. But actually I finished this one last year and the timing wasn't right to send it to the contest I wanted to send it to. It's a simple, Disney-type family thing. Anyway, I did a quick revision week and will send it off to see how it does. I found that I still liked it, and otherwise it would have just sat idle. At least I'll see if it makes it to semifinals or what have you.
Back to the novels. I checked out the unjustified page proofs for "Carrie Pilby's New Year's Resolution" (novella in the forthcoming Scenes from a Holiday) and made some corrections and sent them back to my editor.
I've been thinking about nips and tucks for Novel 3, too.
Actually, I've done very little writing in the last two weeks. Mostly just relaxing and little revisions of projects like the ones above. I even had time to watch "The Office," the DVD of which my friend gave me months ago. It's bloody funny! Now I have to figure out whose stapler to put into Jello.
I'm mailing a screenplay to a contest this week. I know, I know...I write too much. But actually I finished this one last year and the timing wasn't right to send it to the contest I wanted to send it to. It's a simple, Disney-type family thing. Anyway, I did a quick revision week and will send it off to see how it does. I found that I still liked it, and otherwise it would have just sat idle. At least I'll see if it makes it to semifinals or what have you.
Back to the novels. I checked out the unjustified page proofs for "Carrie Pilby's New Year's Resolution" (novella in the forthcoming Scenes from a Holiday) and made some corrections and sent them back to my editor.
I've been thinking about nips and tucks for Novel 3, too.
Actually, I've done very little writing in the last two weeks. Mostly just relaxing and little revisions of projects like the ones above. I even had time to watch "The Office," the DVD of which my friend gave me months ago. It's bloody funny! Now I have to figure out whose stapler to put into Jello.
5/09/2005
5/06/2005
Woke up, put on clothes, went to work.
It is mighty windy outside today. It says something on weather.com about a nor'easter. I'll have to check the barometer when I get home.
TGIF!
It is mighty windy outside today. It says something on weather.com about a nor'easter. I'll have to check the barometer when I get home.
TGIF!
5/05/2005
A friend writes: This week is Cover the Uninsured Week, and it comes at a time when the nation’s health care system is in crisis. According to the latest figures, 45 million Americans have no health insurance. That’s 5 million more than there were in 2000. This crisis is affecting more than the uninsured – American workers and businesses are also suffering.
5/04/2005
5/03/2005
5/02/2005
Woke up, put on clothes, went to work.
Last night, "Family Guy" returned to Fox, and "American Dad" followed. They proceeded to, between them, make fun of Christians, conservatives, Mel Gibson, and have a joke where Gepetto stuck his tush in front of Pinocchio's nose and tried to get him to tell a lie. I don't think this will last long.
The Simpsons seemed tame by comparison. In the words of Marge, "Jiminy Kimmel!!"
Last night, "Family Guy" returned to Fox, and "American Dad" followed. They proceeded to, between them, make fun of Christians, conservatives, Mel Gibson, and have a joke where Gepetto stuck his tush in front of Pinocchio's nose and tried to get him to tell a lie. I don't think this will last long.
The Simpsons seemed tame by comparison. In the words of Marge, "Jiminy Kimmel!!"
5/01/2005
Woke up, put on clothes, went to work.
This was posted on a local messageboard for New Jersey daily newspapers, in response to an article. I think it's sage advice:
MAYORS ASK ATTORNEY GENERAL CHRISTIE FOR CRASH COURSE ON HOW TO STAY HONEST.WHAT A JOKE!!!!!!!DON'T TAKE ANYTHING THAT IS NOT YOURS AND STAY OUT OF POLITICS.
This was posted on a local messageboard for New Jersey daily newspapers, in response to an article. I think it's sage advice:
MAYORS ASK ATTORNEY GENERAL CHRISTIE FOR CRASH COURSE ON HOW TO STAY HONEST.WHAT A JOKE!!!!!!!DON'T TAKE ANYTHING THAT IS NOT YOURS AND STAY OUT OF POLITICS.
4/30/2005
Woke up, put on clothes, didn't go to work.
I bought five oranges and cut the edible part out and put it in the blender and made orange juice. I strained and drank it and it was good - it tasted exactly like store bought Tropicana or such. Then I realized, it would have cost the same for store-bought, with less mess.
It's that time at last -- Novel 3 is being sent to some editors next week. They may read it right away, or they may take a while. I really feel good that it's out of my hands for now. Of course, the editors who like it will have suggestions for changes. But for now, it's at least getting out there, so if someone else writes something similar or similar things happen on the news (and some things have), it won't thwart me.
It still will need some changes later, but it's in good enough shape for editors to tell me what they want. After four years, it was time to show it.
I bought five oranges and cut the edible part out and put it in the blender and made orange juice. I strained and drank it and it was good - it tasted exactly like store bought Tropicana or such. Then I realized, it would have cost the same for store-bought, with less mess.
It's that time at last -- Novel 3 is being sent to some editors next week. They may read it right away, or they may take a while. I really feel good that it's out of my hands for now. Of course, the editors who like it will have suggestions for changes. But for now, it's at least getting out there, so if someone else writes something similar or similar things happen on the news (and some things have), it won't thwart me.
It still will need some changes later, but it's in good enough shape for editors to tell me what they want. After four years, it was time to show it.
4/29/2005
4/28/2005
4/26/2005
Woke up, put on clothes, went to work.
Reader/writer J.K. writes: I think people of every generation will think they are on the cuttingedge of a revolution, though. Kids who grew up now will remember when they first got on the web or first got an iPod like we remember firstwriting BASIC or taping Friday Night Videos or seeing our first VCR.... Speaking of, I put some batteries in my TRS-80 Model 100 and tookpictures: Link
Also, writer Jennifer Weiner of Good in Bed fame (and other fine novels) mentioned in the Book Standard that my blog is one of the ones she reads! It's so nice to be mentioned by such an acclaimed author of women's fiction. Here's the link to the story on literary blogs and bloggers. Jennifer Weiner has, for many years, written her own blog. (I like it best when it talks about the literary world, which the last few entries do.)
Reader/writer J.K. writes: I think people of every generation will think they are on the cuttingedge of a revolution, though. Kids who grew up now will remember when they first got on the web or first got an iPod like we remember firstwriting BASIC or taping Friday Night Videos or seeing our first VCR.... Speaking of, I put some batteries in my TRS-80 Model 100 and tookpictures: Link
Also, writer Jennifer Weiner of Good in Bed fame (and other fine novels) mentioned in the Book Standard that my blog is one of the ones she reads! It's so nice to be mentioned by such an acclaimed author of women's fiction. Here's the link to the story on literary blogs and bloggers. Jennifer Weiner has, for many years, written her own blog. (I like it best when it talks about the literary world, which the last few entries do.)
4/25/2005
Woke up, put on clothes, went to work.
Today at work, someone called me to complain about ME.
I heard that pop song "1985" on the radio this morning, about a woman who is stuck in 1985. That was 20 years ago...wow. When I was little, I used to hear grandparents and great-aunts talk about the commercials and trends of the '50s and think how cool and old-fashioned it was. I don't think I can quite adjust to doing that about the '80s yet. But some day, when my kids or nieces or nephews ask me what the '80s were like, what will I say?
I will say it was a wonderful, exciting time.
Even though some people my age complain that the '80s were cheesy, and even though there were some quite sucky aspects of my childhood, I think back on the first half of the decade as a wonderful era...
We were on the cutting edge of the computer revolution. Not actually "We," but the kids, not the adults. It was we who got so into video games that we begged our parents to bring computers into our homes. And those Apple IIe's and Vic-20s and TRS-80s allowed us merely to write BASIC programs like
10 REM "Hi"
20 GOTO 10
but we ushered in a revolution. Kids as young as 13 and 14 were hired by Atari. Sociologist Margaret Mead theorized that in the past, society was a "postfigurative" culture in which the young learned from the old and from tradition. Now we are a "prefigurative" where the old actually learn from the young. Those of us in Generation X helped a whole revolution sweep under our doors and onto our desks.
And the pop culture was wonderful, too. Waiting for your block to get cable; staying up on a Friday night because David Lee Roth was going to host Friday night videos; watching the "Thriller" video for the first time in your best friend's house; being bored and going to play outside because all the cartoons went off the air at noon on Saturday (well, actually that sucked); waiting for the new NBC or ABC fall lineup to see what else Stephen J. Cannell had in store; holding a tape recorder up to the speakers during American Top 40 on Sunday because it was the best way to tape the new Duran Duran song without springing for the record. Finding out the name of your friend's Cabbage Patch Kid. Being able to trick-or-treat to strangers' homes.
Was it all gravy? Of course not. But for some reason, I remember it fondly, and I "pity the fool" who doesn't appreciate it.
Today at work, someone called me to complain about ME.
I heard that pop song "1985" on the radio this morning, about a woman who is stuck in 1985. That was 20 years ago...wow. When I was little, I used to hear grandparents and great-aunts talk about the commercials and trends of the '50s and think how cool and old-fashioned it was. I don't think I can quite adjust to doing that about the '80s yet. But some day, when my kids or nieces or nephews ask me what the '80s were like, what will I say?
I will say it was a wonderful, exciting time.
Even though some people my age complain that the '80s were cheesy, and even though there were some quite sucky aspects of my childhood, I think back on the first half of the decade as a wonderful era...
We were on the cutting edge of the computer revolution. Not actually "We," but the kids, not the adults. It was we who got so into video games that we begged our parents to bring computers into our homes. And those Apple IIe's and Vic-20s and TRS-80s allowed us merely to write BASIC programs like
10 REM "Hi"
20 GOTO 10
but we ushered in a revolution. Kids as young as 13 and 14 were hired by Atari. Sociologist Margaret Mead theorized that in the past, society was a "postfigurative" culture in which the young learned from the old and from tradition. Now we are a "prefigurative" where the old actually learn from the young. Those of us in Generation X helped a whole revolution sweep under our doors and onto our desks.
And the pop culture was wonderful, too. Waiting for your block to get cable; staying up on a Friday night because David Lee Roth was going to host Friday night videos; watching the "Thriller" video for the first time in your best friend's house; being bored and going to play outside because all the cartoons went off the air at noon on Saturday (well, actually that sucked); waiting for the new NBC or ABC fall lineup to see what else Stephen J. Cannell had in store; holding a tape recorder up to the speakers during American Top 40 on Sunday because it was the best way to tape the new Duran Duran song without springing for the record. Finding out the name of your friend's Cabbage Patch Kid. Being able to trick-or-treat to strangers' homes.
Was it all gravy? Of course not. But for some reason, I remember it fondly, and I "pity the fool" who doesn't appreciate it.
4/22/2005
4/20/2005
| Your Brain is 86.67% Female, 13.33% Male |
You have the brain of a girly girl Which isn't a bad thing at all You're emphatetic, caring, and in tune with emotions. You're a good friend and give great advice. |
What Gender Is Your Brain?
4/19/2005
Yes, yes, yes...the wave was 70 feet high, not 7 feet.
Lost in translation
Alex, my Italian penpal, sent me more jokes:
the difference between a penis and a magic lamp? is that if you scrub the penis you can’t say that Who comes is a genius!
plin…
Two friends to the bar.
The first one: “Would you like to make sex in three?”
The second: “Wooow!!! It’s my dream!!!
The first: “ Well, if you run to your home maybe you will be still in time to !”
pling…
Pope said:
“Virginity is a Gift .”
Well. So donate it more often !
pling…
A woman confesses to her Pastor.
“Father – she says – after the Saint Mass to the Vaticano I made a *** to the priest ..
and the Pastor : “My dear girl, you now have to say three Ave Maria, but REMEMBER: your parish is this one!”
pling..
when it is night and I have sleeplessness, I take laxative. I don’t get sleep the same, but I have something to do anyway.
Two penis go for an hold-up into a bank. At one point a buzzer one comes in. The other ones look themselves in their faces and shout: “My God!! Robocop is here! “
pling… the end.
Lost in translation
Alex, my Italian penpal, sent me more jokes:
the difference between a penis and a magic lamp? is that if you scrub the penis you can’t say that Who comes is a genius!
plin…
Two friends to the bar.
The first one: “Would you like to make sex in three?”
The second: “Wooow!!! It’s my dream!!!
The first: “ Well, if you run to your home maybe you will be still in time to !”
pling…
Pope said:
“Virginity is a Gift .”
Well. So donate it more often !
pling…
A woman confesses to her Pastor.
“Father – she says – after the Saint Mass to the Vaticano I made a *** to the priest ..
and the Pastor : “My dear girl, you now have to say three Ave Maria, but REMEMBER: your parish is this one!”
pling..
when it is night and I have sleeplessness, I take laxative. I don’t get sleep the same, but I have something to do anyway.
Two penis go for an hold-up into a bank. At one point a buzzer one comes in. The other ones look themselves in their faces and shout: “My God!! Robocop is here! “
pling… the end.
Thanks to D.S. for passing along this link to the blog of a NYC girl who had bedbugs. Eek. (This was in response to my response to a New Yorker article on the topic.) Makes you want to scratch just reading it.
I am very thankful that I don't have them - I don't think I could stand it for an hour, much less months.
I am very thankful that I don't have them - I don't think I could stand it for an hour, much less months.
Will later wake up, put on clothes, and go back to work.
To clarify regarding the cruise ship below...that's the one that was hit by the 7-foot wave. It was passing through NYC this afternoon.
So I meant to catch up on last week's stuff. There were all kinds of crazy errands to do, including manuscript madness. I handed off the latest version of Novel 3 to Agent 99. I also handed in the latest version of the Carrie Pilby sequel to my editor. The fun never ends!
Here is a LiveJournal started by a literary agent.
In other literary news, here's the newest takedown of Jonathan Safran Foer's book. No writer buys a $6.75M house and gets away with it!
To clarify regarding the cruise ship below...that's the one that was hit by the 7-foot wave. It was passing through NYC this afternoon.
So I meant to catch up on last week's stuff. There were all kinds of crazy errands to do, including manuscript madness. I handed off the latest version of Novel 3 to Agent 99. I also handed in the latest version of the Carrie Pilby sequel to my editor. The fun never ends!
Here is a LiveJournal started by a literary agent.
In other literary news, here's the newest takedown of Jonathan Safran Foer's book. No writer buys a $6.75M house and gets away with it!
4/18/2005
4/17/2005
There are people who tell me they wish they lived in California because it's sunny all year. It sounds extremely boring to me.
Today was the first warm, sunny day of spring here in the NY metro area. Everyone outside looked like they were overjoyed. People were eating outside at corner cafes, wearing t-shirts and holding babies in their laps. New puppies were prancing proudly.
Some people wait until new year to make resolutions, to say things will change. Isn't it nice when you get to greet a new season four times a year?
Today was the first warm, sunny day of spring here in the NY metro area. Everyone outside looked like they were overjoyed. People were eating outside at corner cafes, wearing t-shirts and holding babies in their laps. New puppies were prancing proudly.
Some people wait until new year to make resolutions, to say things will change. Isn't it nice when you get to greet a new season four times a year?
4/16/2005
Woke up, put on clothes.
I should put this on the barometer blog, but I woke up with a headache, and then I checked, and the air pressure is as high as it ever gets - 30.49 inches. Ugh.
I should put this on the barometer blog, but I woke up with a headache, and then I checked, and the air pressure is as high as it ever gets - 30.49 inches. Ugh.
4/15/2005
4/13/2005
Alex, my Italian penpal and Pilby reader, sent me a joke!:
>>there are two bats in their cave hanged down.
One says to the other: “ Which has it been the worse day in your life?”
And the other: “ when I got the diarrhoea..”
>>there are two bats in their cave hanged down.
One says to the other: “ Which has it been the worse day in your life?”
And the other: “ when I got the diarrhoea..”
4/12/2005
Writer Marty Beckerman has started a Livejournal. As he puts it, "LOL, you guys!!!!" I laughed out loud at this bit of commentary:
"One of the subjects I cover in Nation of Retards is the War Against Fast Food, led by insane Health Nazis who actually believe you should not have the choice to make yourself fat and ugly. ....Now they've convinced Sesame Street's Cookie Monster to eat healthier....STOP RAPING MY CHILDHOOD, YOU FUCKING FOOD FASCISTS!!!!!! COOKIE MONSTER EATS COOKIES, NOT TOFU!!!! HE IS NOT TOFU MONSTER!!!! YOU ARE THE MONSTERS, YOU EVIL COMMUNIST FUCKS!!!!!!"
I wish he wouldn't hold back so much. In unrelated news, I have to post comedian Adam Wade's doody essay later, which is equally poignant.
"One of the subjects I cover in Nation of Retards is the War Against Fast Food, led by insane Health Nazis who actually believe you should not have the choice to make yourself fat and ugly. ....Now they've convinced Sesame Street's Cookie Monster to eat healthier....STOP RAPING MY CHILDHOOD, YOU FUCKING FOOD FASCISTS!!!!!! COOKIE MONSTER EATS COOKIES, NOT TOFU!!!! HE IS NOT TOFU MONSTER!!!! YOU ARE THE MONSTERS, YOU EVIL COMMUNIST FUCKS!!!!!!"
I wish he wouldn't hold back so much. In unrelated news, I have to post comedian Adam Wade's doody essay later, which is equally poignant.
Agh
There was an advice column in a daily paper today where someone wrote in with a problem that is nearly IDENTICAL to the main character's problem in Novel 3. I e-mailed it to my agent and wrote something like, "This is my heart-attack of the day. Isn't that weird? So we have to hurry up and get the book out!"
In other news...this is not a joke:
Wisconsin Considers Legalizing Cat Hunting
MADISON, Wis. (April 12) - Feline lovers holding pictures of cats, clutching stuffed animals and wearing whiskers faced-off against hundreds of hunters at meetings around Wisconsin to voice their opinion on whether to legalize cat hunting.
4/11/2005
Doogie just reported this to me:
Man gets 90 days for attacking girlfriend for supporting Kerry
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - An 18-year-old man has been sentenced to 90 days in jail for attacking his girlfriend for supporting Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry last fall. Steven Soper pleaded guilty yesterday to false imprisonment, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, battery and resisting arrest without violence. Prosecutors say Soper pointed a knife at 18-year-old Stacey Silveira and threatened to kill her. The couple had been dating for two years. Defense attorney Michael Salnick says the teenagers' sometimes-volatile relationship became violent when Soper learned Silveira planned to vote for Kerry instead of President Bush. Salnick says Soper had wanted to join the Army.
Blame Florida.
Man gets 90 days for attacking girlfriend for supporting Kerry
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - An 18-year-old man has been sentenced to 90 days in jail for attacking his girlfriend for supporting Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry last fall. Steven Soper pleaded guilty yesterday to false imprisonment, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, battery and resisting arrest without violence. Prosecutors say Soper pointed a knife at 18-year-old Stacey Silveira and threatened to kill her. The couple had been dating for two years. Defense attorney Michael Salnick says the teenagers' sometimes-volatile relationship became violent when Soper learned Silveira planned to vote for Kerry instead of President Bush. Salnick says Soper had wanted to join the Army.
Blame Florida.
Look at what's happened to...
Someone posted this in a Great American Hero newsgroup today:
"What I have to say is this, I know that you guys aren't children because if you were you wouldn't even know that this show existed. Most of you are in your thirties or older. So I have to say this, grow up. Just because a song is not on the disk doesn't mean you can't still enjoy the show. I mean even if the original songs were on it it wouldn't make a bit of difference in the way the show goes. I think that they did a wonderful job replacing the songs. I haven't
seen the show in over twenty years and to tell you the truth I don't even remember what songs other than the theme, which is my all time favorite song by the way, that are on the show. And even then they weren't by the original artist because back then they didn't have
the original artist singing the songs because it would have cost them more money in production costs. And I would prefer that the original artist sing their own songs other than someone else who would just kill the song all together. The only song that I am conserned with is the theme. As long as it is on the DVDs then that is all that matters to me.
Anyway if they had put the original songs on the disks then they would have had to charge more for the sets and not all of us can afford that kind of thing. Which would you
prefer, paying 60 or 70 dollars on the sets or 20 to 30? I for one am glad that Stephen J Cannell is making them more affordable to us. I don't care about the other songs just the theme. It is bad enough that I can't buy all the seasons of the X-Files because they are over $120 or even the Star Trek shows. Don't try to make this show an arm and a leg to get a hold of. We are darn lucky to have the disks in the first place. I have the first two seasons and let me
tell you that I have done nothing but laugh and enjoy myself watching them. I think I enjoy them more now than I did back then. Maybe because I get all the little hidden adult jokes that are in there that I just didn't get when I was ten years old and was watching it because I lust loved (and still do) science fiction and had a humongous crush on William Katt. I don't remember that a song was during a scene and I wouldn't even care less. I still watch the show for that the episode is about and watch how Ralph, Bill, and Pam save the day. I also love watching the relationships between all the characters on the show, Ralph, Bill, Pam, and Ralph's students two.
You people are adults, start acting like ones and quit complaining about the songs on the disks or what artwork that people chose to draw or anything else. Please make this board about talking about the show and the episodes and what the people on the show did back
then and what they are doing now. Creating fun games or writing poems about the show. I would hate to have to leave this group because all I see here is a buch of grown children complaining about songs and artwork. And I can tell you that I am getting pretty sick
of seeing it everyday in my e-mail. You don't know how close I am to cancelling my membership in this group. I have an eleven year old nephew and he has watched the show with me and I have to tell you that he likes the show just the way it is and I don't even think that twenty years from know that he will care about what music is on the show. Except how much of a fuss that his aunt makes about the theme song that is.
So please let's stop wasting our time on such a childish endevour. Like I said, we are adults and we should start acting like it."
Someone posted this in a Great American Hero newsgroup today:
"What I have to say is this, I know that you guys aren't children because if you were you wouldn't even know that this show existed. Most of you are in your thirties or older. So I have to say this, grow up. Just because a song is not on the disk doesn't mean you can't still enjoy the show. I mean even if the original songs were on it it wouldn't make a bit of difference in the way the show goes. I think that they did a wonderful job replacing the songs. I haven't
seen the show in over twenty years and to tell you the truth I don't even remember what songs other than the theme, which is my all time favorite song by the way, that are on the show. And even then they weren't by the original artist because back then they didn't have
the original artist singing the songs because it would have cost them more money in production costs. And I would prefer that the original artist sing their own songs other than someone else who would just kill the song all together. The only song that I am conserned with is the theme. As long as it is on the DVDs then that is all that matters to me.
Anyway if they had put the original songs on the disks then they would have had to charge more for the sets and not all of us can afford that kind of thing. Which would you
prefer, paying 60 or 70 dollars on the sets or 20 to 30? I for one am glad that Stephen J Cannell is making them more affordable to us. I don't care about the other songs just the theme. It is bad enough that I can't buy all the seasons of the X-Files because they are over $120 or even the Star Trek shows. Don't try to make this show an arm and a leg to get a hold of. We are darn lucky to have the disks in the first place. I have the first two seasons and let me
tell you that I have done nothing but laugh and enjoy myself watching them. I think I enjoy them more now than I did back then. Maybe because I get all the little hidden adult jokes that are in there that I just didn't get when I was ten years old and was watching it because I lust loved (and still do) science fiction and had a humongous crush on William Katt. I don't remember that a song was during a scene and I wouldn't even care less. I still watch the show for that the episode is about and watch how Ralph, Bill, and Pam save the day. I also love watching the relationships between all the characters on the show, Ralph, Bill, Pam, and Ralph's students two.
You people are adults, start acting like ones and quit complaining about the songs on the disks or what artwork that people chose to draw or anything else. Please make this board about talking about the show and the episodes and what the people on the show did back
then and what they are doing now. Creating fun games or writing poems about the show. I would hate to have to leave this group because all I see here is a buch of grown children complaining about songs and artwork. And I can tell you that I am getting pretty sick
of seeing it everyday in my e-mail. You don't know how close I am to cancelling my membership in this group. I have an eleven year old nephew and he has watched the show with me and I have to tell you that he likes the show just the way it is and I don't even think that twenty years from know that he will care about what music is on the show. Except how much of a fuss that his aunt makes about the theme song that is.
So please let's stop wasting our time on such a childish endevour. Like I said, we are adults and we should start acting like it."
This seems to be all the rage, so I'd better weigh in, too:
If I ever end up in a persistent vegetative state...I want to be kept alive until every amount of money and heart is drained from you people, until your entire being is sucked dry of will and emotion!
Seriously, if I'm beyond reviving...I'm not answering what I want you to do. I mean, isn't that a little personal? Why should I put it on the internet? It's for me and my family.
Plus...really, it's slightly creepy to talk about. More than slightly creepy.
Very creepy.
If I ever end up in a persistent vegetative state...I want to be kept alive until every amount of money and heart is drained from you people, until your entire being is sucked dry of will and emotion!
Seriously, if I'm beyond reviving...I'm not answering what I want you to do. I mean, isn't that a little personal? Why should I put it on the internet? It's for me and my family.
Plus...really, it's slightly creepy to talk about. More than slightly creepy.
Very creepy.
Will later wake up, put on clothes, go to work.
My entries have gotten so dull lately that I actually got two comments on my remark that I was craving chicken. So I'd better write something pertinent.
Over the last two weeks, I've been revising Novel 3 some more, on the computer. It went from 379 pages back up to 400. Then I printed it out on Saturday and read the thing on paper over this weekend, making notes all over it. I seem to have slashed through a lot of sentences, so it probably will drop back down once I input all these changes into the computer.
After I input them and print it out, it goes off to my agent at the end of the week [note: sorry about the snobbery of saying "my agent"; I'm not famous or nothing. From now on I'll just refer to her as 99.]
She will send it out the first week in May to various publishing houses to see who's interested.
Some may read it quickly, some may take a while. Some will say they like it and want to see changes, some may love it the way it is, some may say it's not for them.
But I am very happy with the new version and I think it's -- at last -- ready to go!!
The dark side...
I've done so much revision that when I finally read the paperback version of Stephen King's oft-recommended On Writing yesterday, I made a few corrections on the pages. Hey, no writer is perfect. I'll try to scan them in later.
He says a few things in there that I think might scare people away from writing. I don't like the idea of scaring anyone away from writing. You can't always believe that you're going to write best sellers, but if you want to write, then write. He says that a writer might need at least four hours a day uninterrupted. Yeah, if it's your full-time job -- but I find that unlikely. In fact, I've found that sometimes it's healthy to have two-week periods when I'm taking a break from the actual writing and instead am constantly thinking about the book and characters so I have more fully-developed ideas when I go back into it. But I've never written full-time, so my process is different from his.
[Peanut gallery says: "Yeah, that's why he's sold fifty novels and you haven't." OK, OK.]
Other notes...
Have you ever left something on a plane, realized as you were about to leave the airport, turned around, tried to get it back since you just stepped off the plane five minutes ago, and they all sit there talking to each other on walkee-talkees but for some reason can't just go get your item off the damn plane?
It's happened to me twice, and it was just a small thing I left there both times, but what a pain. You walk out those security gates, and two seconds later it's like you were never there. The plane and crew has disappeared, and your item is in neverland. Anyway, the moral of the story is, make sure you have everything, because otherwise you'll be sitting there for an hour while they try to locate the Incredible Disappearing Crew to see if they found your stuff.
And what's with pilots and crew members giving these long monologues about the windspeed and temperature. I don't care. I also don't care how many miles up we are. There is nothing I can do about it, is there? Tell me if there's a blizzard or hurricane, but otherwise, just fly the plane properly and make sure we don't crash.
Is it just me?
Ever since I read that New Yorker piece about an increase in bedbug infestations in New York last week, I've scratched myself to sleep.
One more comment
There was an essay in the Sunday New York Times today about a woman going to a sperm bank to select a donor from a list of available men. She gets to read their characteristics to narrow it down. What I wonder is...there are only certain men who are going to donate sperm probably - men who need the money. I can't see a guy doing it for fun. So already the pool is narrowed a bit, right? You're going to be mating with someone who needs to sell his sperm for cash. When I went to a Iveee Leeg college, there used to be ads in the college paper for women to donate their eggs. I guess the egg donation places wanted smartypants eggs. But I don't remember sperm banks placing ads. A college student would clearly need the money for the right reasons. But since sperm banks aren't advertising there, does that mean they're getting 35-year-old men who are broke? Not to be a snob - being poor makes you cuter - but I'm just saying that perhaps there is not as big a cross-section of sperm as some might think.
This concludes our radio broadcast of "Speaking of Sperm." For all of us here, good night.
My entries have gotten so dull lately that I actually got two comments on my remark that I was craving chicken. So I'd better write something pertinent.
Over the last two weeks, I've been revising Novel 3 some more, on the computer. It went from 379 pages back up to 400. Then I printed it out on Saturday and read the thing on paper over this weekend, making notes all over it. I seem to have slashed through a lot of sentences, so it probably will drop back down once I input all these changes into the computer.
After I input them and print it out, it goes off to my agent at the end of the week [note: sorry about the snobbery of saying "my agent"; I'm not famous or nothing. From now on I'll just refer to her as 99.]
She will send it out the first week in May to various publishing houses to see who's interested.
Some may read it quickly, some may take a while. Some will say they like it and want to see changes, some may love it the way it is, some may say it's not for them.
But I am very happy with the new version and I think it's -- at last -- ready to go!!
The dark side...
I've done so much revision that when I finally read the paperback version of Stephen King's oft-recommended On Writing yesterday, I made a few corrections on the pages. Hey, no writer is perfect. I'll try to scan them in later.
He says a few things in there that I think might scare people away from writing. I don't like the idea of scaring anyone away from writing. You can't always believe that you're going to write best sellers, but if you want to write, then write. He says that a writer might need at least four hours a day uninterrupted. Yeah, if it's your full-time job -- but I find that unlikely. In fact, I've found that sometimes it's healthy to have two-week periods when I'm taking a break from the actual writing and instead am constantly thinking about the book and characters so I have more fully-developed ideas when I go back into it. But I've never written full-time, so my process is different from his.
[Peanut gallery says: "Yeah, that's why he's sold fifty novels and you haven't." OK, OK.]
Other notes...
Have you ever left something on a plane, realized as you were about to leave the airport, turned around, tried to get it back since you just stepped off the plane five minutes ago, and they all sit there talking to each other on walkee-talkees but for some reason can't just go get your item off the damn plane?
It's happened to me twice, and it was just a small thing I left there both times, but what a pain. You walk out those security gates, and two seconds later it's like you were never there. The plane and crew has disappeared, and your item is in neverland. Anyway, the moral of the story is, make sure you have everything, because otherwise you'll be sitting there for an hour while they try to locate the Incredible Disappearing Crew to see if they found your stuff.
And what's with pilots and crew members giving these long monologues about the windspeed and temperature. I don't care. I also don't care how many miles up we are. There is nothing I can do about it, is there? Tell me if there's a blizzard or hurricane, but otherwise, just fly the plane properly and make sure we don't crash.
Is it just me?
Ever since I read that New Yorker piece about an increase in bedbug infestations in New York last week, I've scratched myself to sleep.
One more comment
There was an essay in the Sunday New York Times today about a woman going to a sperm bank to select a donor from a list of available men. She gets to read their characteristics to narrow it down. What I wonder is...there are only certain men who are going to donate sperm probably - men who need the money. I can't see a guy doing it for fun. So already the pool is narrowed a bit, right? You're going to be mating with someone who needs to sell his sperm for cash. When I went to a Iveee Leeg college, there used to be ads in the college paper for women to donate their eggs. I guess the egg donation places wanted smartypants eggs. But I don't remember sperm banks placing ads. A college student would clearly need the money for the right reasons. But since sperm banks aren't advertising there, does that mean they're getting 35-year-old men who are broke? Not to be a snob - being poor makes you cuter - but I'm just saying that perhaps there is not as big a cross-section of sperm as some might think.
This concludes our radio broadcast of "Speaking of Sperm." For all of us here, good night.
4/08/2005
4/06/2005
4/05/2005
Woke up, put on clothes, went to work.
I co-hosted trivia tonight. Do you know who did the guitar solo for Michael Jackson's "Beat It"? Who hosted Saturday Night Live the most times? (Eddie Van Halen, Steve Martin.) Those were my co-host's questions.
Originally I decided not to post the list of team names, because it might offend Dawn's readers. But I decided to anyway. Apologies to whoever this offends.
- [Name of my co-host] touched me in a funny place and it wasn't my elbow
- Michael Jackson's Nether Glands Ranch
- Pope Fiction
- Big Units
- Name
- How many popes does it take to screw in a light bulb? Normally one, but he's dead
- The Pope's not dead, he's drinking Margaritas in Mexico with Biggie
- Brain in a shoebox
- John Paul & Terri, a match made in heaven
- The Great White Pope
- Blood Farm AKA Hemoglobin Explosion
I've thought of more things to post, but then I get too busy. So the talk on French vs. English bulldogs will have to wait. (French ones are on the cover of New York Mag this wk.) Oh, hell, here's the main point - English bulldogs are cuter but have big medical problems. Anyway, adopt a shelter dog.
I co-hosted trivia tonight. Do you know who did the guitar solo for Michael Jackson's "Beat It"? Who hosted Saturday Night Live the most times? (Eddie Van Halen, Steve Martin.) Those were my co-host's questions.
Originally I decided not to post the list of team names, because it might offend Dawn's readers. But I decided to anyway. Apologies to whoever this offends.
- [Name of my co-host] touched me in a funny place and it wasn't my elbow
- Michael Jackson's Nether Glands Ranch
- Pope Fiction
- Big Units
- Name
- How many popes does it take to screw in a light bulb? Normally one, but he's dead
- The Pope's not dead, he's drinking Margaritas in Mexico with Biggie
- Brain in a shoebox
- John Paul & Terri, a match made in heaven
- The Great White Pope
- Blood Farm AKA Hemoglobin Explosion
I've thought of more things to post, but then I get too busy. So the talk on French vs. English bulldogs will have to wait. (French ones are on the cover of New York Mag this wk.) Oh, hell, here's the main point - English bulldogs are cuter but have big medical problems. Anyway, adopt a shelter dog.
4/04/2005
Woke up, put on clothes, went to work.
Gawker reports on Jonathan Safran Foer buying a $6.75 million home. I was gonna do that after I sold my two books, too, but I didn't want people to start asking to use my pool.
Gawker reports on Jonathan Safran Foer buying a $6.75 million home. I was gonna do that after I sold my two books, too, but I didn't want people to start asking to use my pool.
4/03/2005
4/01/2005
Will later wake up, put on clothes, and go to work.
It's going to snow 16 inches on Sunday!!!
Ok, like you really fell for it. Happy April phule's day.
Seriously, though, I was excited to realize that the collection of novellas is up on Amazon (this is true). So you can order the Pilby sequel already!!!
Also, there really will be a lot of rain this weekend, and every weekend in March. Don't say I didn't warn you. It happens every year, and every year, everyone gets pissed off. April showers, you know. Live with it.
It's going to snow 16 inches on Sunday!!!
Ok, like you really fell for it. Happy April phule's day.
Seriously, though, I was excited to realize that the collection of novellas is up on Amazon (this is true). So you can order the Pilby sequel already!!!
Also, there really will be a lot of rain this weekend, and every weekend in March. Don't say I didn't warn you. It happens every year, and every year, everyone gets pissed off. April showers, you know. Live with it.
