David Lubar's Blog, page 49

Hating Gates slightly less

So I finally managed to get around to activating my XBox Live connection (despite Windows Live's refusal to recognize my existing password), and discovered that the XBox comes with a 1-month trial of the Gold Membership. (Loyal readers will remember that I bought a wireless adapter so I could watch Netfliz on the XBox, and then discovered I also needed a gold membership. That was when my feelings about Mr. Gates grew snarky.) So, a mere hour or so later, after I finally figured out how to dow

I bought a book

Yesterday was Buy a Book in Indiana Day. (I suspect John Green's hand in this.) I couldn't make it out there, but I did go to my local independent bookseller, The Moravian Book Shop, and ordered a copy of David M. Gill's debut novel, Soul Enchilada.. I'm looking forward to reading it, because I love Mexican food, and like David Gill.

Huge Ackman

Today's entertainment tip: If you can't get a ticket for Wolverine this weekend, you can probably catch a movie featuring his brother, Ben Vereen.

Can't complain

School Library Journal likes my Weenies. I just saw a very nice review. (Scroll down past authors who aren't me.) For those disinclined to click, it opens with, "In this entertaining collection of three dozen short stories, Lubar creates characters who will quickly engage readers." Yippee. I'm always pleased when people see value in my Weenies.

Punished! has picked up a nomination for the Flicker Tale Award, from the fine folks in the North Dakota Library Association. The best part is that

For all the speaking writers out there

A timely repost:

IF YOU WRITE FOR KIDS, YOU KNOW IT'S APRIL WHEN...

1. Everyone thinks your favorite fragrance is Febreze

2. You don't know the day, date, or time, but since you're speaking in a public library you figure it's either an evening or a weekend.

3. When you finally get to spend a dayt at home, you wonder why there's no coffee pot in your bathroom.

4. You start thinking of highway distances in terms of bladder capacity.

5. You know that "it's right off the highway" is a lie.

6. You rea

Great stuff

What a great day. Arlen Specter is a Democrat, and Sony will be announcing a new PSP. Life is good.

Splash

There was torrential rain in Grand Rapids when I arrived. But at least my flights were uneventful. I even had an empty seat next to me on the flight from Allentown to Cleveland. I kept waiting for the 400-pound man to huff up the steps at the last minute and squeeze next to me. But my luck held. The rain finally stopped this afternoon, and the weather is now beautiful. But I really think I could make a living hiring myself out to drought-stricken areas. Seriously, if you need rain, bring

The travel curse is genetic, the attitude isn't

My daughter has flown to China, Dubai, and Italy without incident. But on Thursday, she flew from Philly to Louisville for her first academic conference. (She was taken to the National Writing Project conference along with several of her classmates from the Penn Graduate School of Education.) The conference was a wonderful experience. The school put them up at the Hyatt. She got to spend the first morning writing on a riverboat. The next day, she heard an inspiring keynote and attended sev

A day late but who's counting...

Happy Earth (yester)Day. Awesome Dan Gutman organized a great project where writers gave their favorite green tip. I'm on the run, but here's a link to an article about it.

Why I Love Librarians

#759326 in a series

So, I'm in Edison Middle School in West Orange, in the media center, and I see a CD on a desk. The title is RABIES. I figure it's a rock group I've never heard of. But I look closer and see it's an educational CD from some medical organization.

"Rabies?" I ask the librarian.
She nods. "We wanted to cover an interesting disease."
"Will there be foaming mouths?" I ask, being, as ever, tacky and irreverent.
She earns a place in my heart when she replies, "We hope so."

It was an aw