For starters, Friday was our 16th wedding anniversary. We took the day off, dropped the kids at school, and went to the town of Frenchtown, New Jersey, along the Delaware River, to see the fall foliage. We seem to have run about a week late for peak color, but the town was lovely, as was the walk along the river. We found a thick stand of bamboo in the middle of the regular Jersey woods, as well as a lone tombstone from the early 1900s (a fitting find for Halloween weekend). Then, we crossed to the Pennsylvania side of the river, and wandered a park in Uhlerstown where we strolled along the tow path to an old canal. We plan on going back in the spring with the kids and our bikes, and riding as much of the trails there as we can.
On to Halloween. Christina decided it was time to be a Pirate Girl. I don't know if it influenced her decision at all that being a Pirate Girl would mean we'd have to take her to buy new black leather boots. She looked terrific, and had fun with it.
For the past year, since viewing HORSEFEATHERS on Hulu.com, Austin has wanted to go as Harpo Marx. This is the first time he's kept to the same costume idea for an entire year. He watched a lot of YouTube vids of Harpo, and learned how to do some of Harpo's faces and routines. Stocked with an appropriate wig and my trench-coat jammed with props (a tiny plastic banana that he would whip out when I'd say, "Pay no attention to my brother. He's a little bananas" and a whistle and rubber chicken), he was quite the smash with the people who actually knew who he was. It's amazing that almost no one under the age of 45, including the people at the costume shop, recognized him. (Side note, we ran into a 2nd grader who was dressed as a mad scientist, and spoke with a familiar voice. When I asked if he was trying to be Dexter from Cartoon Network's Dexter's Laboratory, I was informed that he was doing Peter Lorre. And yes, the kid knew who Peter Lorre was.)
As is our tradition, I needed a costume, too. Who better to accompany Harpo than his brother Groucho. I'll say no more about my costume, other than that we ran into our State Senator at the local park, and he insisted that Austin and I join the costume contest in the theme/group category. The judges, all over 45, gave us a loud ovation. I guess we were a change of pace from the string of horror movie characters, superheroes, and poorly made-up zombies they had been seeing. We were told we'd be called during the week if we won a prize. No word yet.
Photos of us can be found here on Flickr.
On Sunday, we arose at 5am (God Bless whoever thought up ending Daylight Savings Time on this weekend -- that extra hour of sleep was needed), and headed out to volunteer at the New York City Marathon. Before and just after I was married, my friends, I and the Boy Scout Troop we led used to volunteer at the local marathon water station every year. After we had kids, I was unable to volunteer. This year, when Austin said that he needed a lot of hours of community service for Confirmation, I thought of this again. We signed up, and I was happy to see that my friends Paul and Kenny were still running the water station.
We arrived at 6am, and we all worked hard -- unloading the truck, sorting supplies, setting up tables, mixing Gatorade, and filling paper cups with Gatorade and Poland Spring water. We are the first fluid station on the course, at the three-mile-mark, and once the runners cross the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, we all have to stand along the sides of the road, holding out cups for runners to snatch from our hands. Water and Gatorade fly everywhere, as cups are either knocked to the street by hasty grabs, or flung to the side by runners. The race organizers provide everyone with t-shirts and ponchos, and snazzy ID tags, so stay reasonably dry, yet nice and official looking. The runners are generally appreciative of our efforts, as they yell their thanks as they go by.
The kids had a great time, made a few new friends, and can't wait to go back next year. They also realized that many people who run the marathon do so to raise money for various charities. The kids feel that they helped those people run just a little further in their fund-raising efforts. Both kids feel like they accomplished something special. I certainly agree.
Great weekend all around.
Today, on my lunch hour, I took the elevator to the very top of the building (21st floor), and descended all the way to the base of the stairwell in the subbasement. I lost count at one point, due to a co-worker who stopped me to chat, but luckily I remembered the count at a particular landing, so I was able to backtrack and continue.
All told: 503 steps from top to bottom.
Fairly meaningless trivia, but I'm suddenly taken by the desire to attempt walking all the way UP them. Maybe during lunch next week.
In 1989, my first year in the business, as a consequence of a book we'd published, I had the honor to meet two of the actors who had played Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz. Very interesting, fun and friendly people they were.
Yesterday, I got to meet Sultan Kosen, the tallest man in the world. (More here). He was taking pictures for the folks from Guiness outside our office building. Amazing sight, and very friendly and welcoming to the many people who wanted photos or a handshake.
1) I have just sold a non-fiction article, "An Introduction to Publishing Contracts" to The Handbook of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. I have also been asked to contribute a second article on Reversion clauses, the part of a contract whereby a writer can reclaim the rights to their work. No publication date yet, but I'll be very happy to have two bylines in this long-awaited handbook.
2) At the request of a fan, I have posted my original short story "Singing For His Supper" in its entirety on my website. The story only saw print in a very limited run chapbook style publication back in 2004. It ties into an event that is mentioned in passing in "Attached Please Find My Novel". I hope you enjoy.
As many of you may recall, my youngest brother Brian was a contestant on "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" in 2000. He did not fare well on the show, but parlayed the notoriety of the incident into appearances on other shows, and a more successful return to Millionaire in 2001.
For the past week, in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the program, Millionaire has been bringing back former contestants who had "special" moments for brief interviews during the ten-year anniversary run of shows. Brian will be appearing on the episode airing tonight (August 17th) at 8 p.m. Eastern time (7 p.m. Central). If you remember his performances, or my talking about this incident, please tune in.
If you don't recall it, there are links to his prior appearances on YouTube. Out of respect for Brian, I will not directly link to them here, but they are no secret.
Whatever else, I've always been very proud of Brian for his Millionaire experience. He's always been a very intelligent and well-spoken guy. I think he handled the disappointment of his first appearance gracefully, and was his regular charming and popular self on other shows where he was interviewed afterward. I've never even managed to get past the phone-in registration to appear on Millionaire. So, chin up, Brian. You're still the best of the bunch. Final answer.
For the past week, in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the program, Millionaire has been bringing back former contestants who had "special" moments for brief interviews during the ten-year anniversary run of shows. Brian will be appearing on the episode airing tonight (August 17th) at 8 p.m. Eastern time (7 p.m. Central). If you remember his performances, or my talking about this incident, please tune in.
If you don't recall it, there are links to his prior appearances on YouTube. Out of respect for Brian, I will not directly link to them here, but they are no secret.
Whatever else, I've always been very proud of Brian for his Millionaire experience. He's always been a very intelligent and well-spoken guy. I think he handled the disappointment of his first appearance gracefully, and was his regular charming and popular self on other shows where he was interviewed afterward. I've never even managed to get past the phone-in registration to appear on Millionaire. So, chin up, Brian. You're still the best of the bunch. Final answer.
Just as when we saw Ringo last year, a review will follow at first opportunity.
I don't know enough to know if I'll actually buy the new B&N device, but if it's based on eReader, I'm more likely to buy one than I am a Kindle.
Feel free to discuss here.
The boys have been eliminated from the playoffs with their second loss. I was sick with a horrible head and chest cold, and was unable to attend the game. I feel bad about missing the game because, from all accounts, the boys lost this game, not on the field, but in the dugout. I'm told there was constant sniping going one, and real nasty talk. No team spirit at all, and that's not something I tolerate when I'm in the dugout. I can't say for sure that things would have been different if I'd been there to try to rein in their antics and direct their attentions to the other team, but I sure feel like it could have been so. Austin came home happy to have the season over, and if that's not a sign of bad team morale, I don't know what is. He had a terrible game, going 0-for-3, with two groundouts and a strikeout.
At the end of the game, our coach of the past five years announced that he would not be back next year. Now it remains to be seen who will take over the team, or if we'll be split up. I'm torn, wanting both.
Austin's Post-Season Stats: .200 (2-for-10) - 2 Singles, 2 Stolen Bases, 4 Strikeouts, 4 Groundouts, 3 RBIs
I must say that I am pleased with Austin's performance this season. He has turned into a very good defensive outfielder, and hitting .250 is not too shabby. He makes me very proud as a father and a coach.
Saturday, June 6th: St. Ephrem Giants 12 @ St. Bernadette Bandits
A very well-played game. Christina was 2-for-4, with 1 single, 1 double, 1 stolen base, 1 run, and 2 pop-outs, as well as several big defensive plays.
Monday, June 8th: St. Ephrem Giants 3 @ St. Ephrem BlueJays 6
Perhaps the single most exciting and well-played softball games I have ever seen in this league. Both teams played exceedingly well, and the game could have gone either way at several points. Christina didn't hit, getting 1 groundout and 1 lineout, but the groundout yielded an RBI.
Wednesday, June 10th: St. Ephrem Giants 13 @ OLA Little Rascals 3
A game where the girls came off looking like pros. They made many difficult plays, and really played a heads-up game. Christina was 2-for-4, with 2 singles, 2 strikeouts, 1 RBI and 1 Run.
Christina's Post-season Stats: .400 (4-for10) - 3 Singles, 1 Double, 1 Stolen Base, 2 Runs, 2 RBIs, 2 Strikeouts, 2 Popouts, 1 Groundout, 1 Lineout.
Saturday, June 6th: St. Ephrem Mariners 8 @ St. Pat's Hitmen 3
Although the Hitmen just barely edged us out for fourth place in the regular season, the Mariners took them on, and gave all they had for a very satisfying victory. Austin was 1-for-4, with a single, a stolen base, two strikeouts, a groundout, and two RBIs.
Monday, June 8th: St. Ephrem Mariners 4 @ St. Ephrem Tigers 6
This was a close, hard-fought game. If not for the umpire having declared "Let's move this along, I have dinner plans" right before calling our boys out on 9 straight strikes in the bottom of the last inning, I think we would have won this one. Austin was 1-for-3, with a single, a stolen base, a strikeout, a groundout, and an RBI.
Austin's Post-Season Stats: .286 (2-for-7) - 2 Singles, 2 Stolen Bases, 3 Strikeouts, 2 Groundouts, 3 RBIs
Austin did not play in this game, as didn't several other boys on both teams, due to Confirmations being held that day. Goes down as a tie for both teams.
Saturday, May 30th: Giants 17 @ St, Anselm Cobras 4
A breakout game for Christina, who suddenly found her groove this season. She want 4-for-5, with 4 singles, 2 stolen bases, scored 3 runs, and had one strikeout.
Saturday, May 30th: Mariners 8 @ St, Pat's Mets 13
A loss for the team, and Austin didn't play, as we left for a family reunion in Philly right after Christina's morning game.
Monday, June 1st: Giants 21 v. St, Anselm Cobras 11
Another great game for Christina. She was 2-for-3, with 2 singles, 1 stolen base, 2 runs scored and a pop-out.
Monday, June 1st: Mariners 13 v. St, Ephrem Tigers 4
The big grudge match against our in-house, undefeated rivals, and the Mariners really stepped up the action. The boys wasted no time taking the lead, and leaving the Tigers behind. Austin did not hit, lining out, grounding out and striking out, but he was a key defensive player.
Thursday, June 4th: Giants 18 @ St. Pat's Hurricanes 7
A nice win to end the regular season. Christina went 1-for-4, with a single, an RBI, a strikeout, a pop-out and a ground-out.
Season stats:
Austin: 5-for-20 (.250), 2 Singles, 2 Doubles, 1 Triple, 4 Walks, 1 Hit-By-Pitch, 11 Strikeouts, 8 Stolen Bases, 1 Fly-Out, 2 Ground Outs, 1 Line Out, 2 RBIs
Christina: 11-for-31 (.355), 11 Singles, 9 Walks, 6 Stolen Bases, 10 Runs, 1 RBI, 7 Ground Outs, 5 Pop-outs, 8 Strikeouts
Team records:
St. Ephrem Giants: 7W 4L
St. Ephrem Mariners: 6W 3L 1T
Austin did not play in this game, as we had a First Communion to attend.
Monday, May 11th: Mariners 6 v. St. Anselm A's 3
A very odd game against a very uneven team. They had four players who looked like they knew what they were doing, and six who looked like they had never played the game before. Austin had a tough time against some very uneven pitching, going 0-for-2. He was hit by a pitch, stole two bases, and struckout twice.
Saturday, May 16th: Giants 13 @ Parkville Eagles 1
Parkville is a private league in our area, with a terrific reputation for their baseball program. Their softball program; however, is fairly new, and this was a pretty easy win. Christina was a real star, playing excellent second base, and going 3-for-5, with 3 singles, 1 stolen base, scored 2 runs, struckout once, and popped out once.
Wednesday, May 20th: Mariners 11 @ OLA Blue 4
I was only able to stay for the first few innings, as Christina had a game this same evening on the other side of Brooklyn. Still, Austin tried hard without getting a hit. He was 0-for-2, with 1 strikeout, 1 walk, 1 stolen base and 1 ground out.
Wednesday, May 20th: Giants 13 v. St. Anselm Dolphins 8
A fun game, under the lights, which we don't get to play very often. Christina was 0-for-1 with 2 walks, and a ground out.
Season stats:
Austin: 5-for-17 (.294), 2 Singles, 2 Doubles, 1 Triple, 4 Walks, 1 Hit-By-Pitch, 10 Strikeouts, 8 Stolen Bases, 1 Fly-Out, 1 Ground Out, 2 RBIs
Christina: 4-for-19 (.211), 4 Singles, 8 Walks, 3 Stolen Bases, 5 Runs, 6 Ground Outs, 3 Pop-outs, 6 Strikeouts
Team records:
St. Ephrem Giants: 4W 4L
St. Ephrem Mariners: 5W 3L
I received the following message from Deborah Brodie, a long-time colleague who is running the first annual Stanford University Writers Workshop this summer. Deborah's specialties are children's and YA books. At my prompting, she has arranged to add SFWA to the list of organizations qualifying for a discount.
-----
Dear Writers,
I will start off on Thursday, July 30, before the workshop officially begins, with a relaxed conversation about The Writer’s Juggling Act: Balancing Work, Life, and Play.
On Friday, my sessions include:
- Open with Enticement, Maintain Your Momentum, and End with a Bang
- Honing Your Voice, Developing Plot, Deepening Characterization & More
- Guided Writing Challenges: Tackling Writer’s Block
The Stanford staff is very professional (all those years running the Publishing Courses), but the workshop is being put together at the last minute. The website just went live:
http://publishingcourses.stanford.edu/wr
I hope to see you there!
And, in any case, if you could help spread the word, that would be great.
All best,
Deborah
http://www.deborahbrodie.com/
The Art Show took place first, from 6 to 7:30. The students in grades 5 through 8 worked in groups of four or five to design neighborhood community centers. They then had to build models of their designs with recycleable materials (cardboard, plastic bottles, etc.). Finally, they had to sell their concept and design to all of the attendees, who would cast secret ballots for the winning designs.
Both Christina's and Austin's groups did nice projects, and they really worked hard to pitch their ideas to the crowd. However, some other groups were offering free drinks, cash, promises to do a dance, and other incentives to win votes. It was a pretty raucous scene.
At 6:35, we ran across the street to grab some pizza, since we had to go directly to the Science Fair. When we returned at 7:00, we were just in time for the judging. Christina's group won first prize (which was, I believe, bonus points on their final grade).
After a group photo of the winners and their teacher, which may run in the local paper, we ran over to the gym, so Austin could do his Ambassadorial duties. Gotta love him -- he kept saying he was Sarek. :)
While he worked, I wandered around, checking out the exhibits. While many of them were the same-old-same-old, there were some pretty interesting ones. One of Austin's friends did a study on cellphone use and driving, by having people compete at MarioKart on the Wii, and then replaying the same level while talking on the phone. The resultant scores and completion times showed a distinct advantage to not talking on the phone while driving.
Austin's project had been a model mag-lev train, which he built himself. He did a lot of research on the subject, and had facts and figures about the environmental benefits of mag-lev trains. However, he did not get picked. Another student did the same project, but his train was much nicer than Austin's (read: parental assistance). However, the other student did manage to make his train actually run via mag-power, whereas all Austin's did was levitate. Austin readily admitted that his mag-leve wasn't quite as good.
First prize in the junior high division went to one of the boys with whom Christina had worked on the art project, so he had a REALLY good night.
All-in-all, a good time was had by all. We've now set the bar a little higher for next year's science fair projects.
Sunday, May 3rd: Giants v. St. Pat's Hurricanes RAINOUT
Monday, May 4th: Mariners v. St, Pat's Mets RAINOUT
Friday, May 8th: Giants 9 v. St. Anselm Dolphins 5
A good game with contributions from nearly the entire team. Although Christina did not get a hit, she contributed a run, and played another excellent game at second base. She went 0-for-3 with one walk, one stolen base, three strikeouts, and scored a run.
Season stats:
Austin: 5-for-13 (.385), 2 Singles, 2 Doubles, 1 Triple, 3 Walks, 7 Strikeouts, 5 Stolen Bases, 1 Fly-Out, 2 RBIs
Christina: 1-for-11 (.091), 1 Single, 6 Walks, 2 Stolen Bases, 3 Runs, 5 Ground Outs, 2 Pop-outs, 3 Strikeouts
Team records:
St. Ephrem Giants: 2W 3L
St. Ephrem Mariners: 3W 2L
WSJ: Copyright Critics Rationalize Theft
A lot of people rely on the principles of copyright to make a living. That shouldn't be an argument against copyright.
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