Brian Jay Jones's Blog, page 30

"I Cannot Tell A Lie: They Were Under My Bed."

Those of us who have sheepishly returned an overdue library book and paid the seventy cent fine can be a bit less embarassed now — because thanks to some recent record scrubbing by the New York Society Library, we found out we're in good company: George Washington has two overdue books. 

According to the story in the  Guardian:

The library's ledgers show that Washington took out the books on 5 October 1789, some five months into his presidency at a time when New York was still the capital. They...

Conference Call

A few things.

First, here's a laurel and hearty handshake extended to T.J. Stiles, winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Biography for The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt. Stiles pulled off a literary hat trick, of sorts, by having his biography awarded both the Pulitzer and the National Book Award for non-fiction.  Plus he's a Caro fan, which gives him even more points in my book.  Not that he needed them. Anyway, congratulations all around.

Speaking of Pulitzer Prize...

At The Gates

Hey, are you wondering why you haven't heard much on Project Blue Harvest lately?  It's because after nearly two years of research, conversations, more research, e-mails, more conversations, writing, talking, phone calling, rewriting and revising . . . well, we're finally ready to go Out on Submission — three of the most exciting words a writer can hear.

Agent J and I haven't put our horse in the race yet, but we've trotted it out to the starting gates.  Early next week, if all goes as...

Batteries Not Included

I was in a sporting goods store the other evening, looking at the rows and rows and shelves and shelves of equipment and clothing available for almost any kind of sport or activity, and it got me thinking: I'm not sure if it's an American thing exactly, but we seem to love our gear and accessories.

When we pick up a new hobby — whether it's baseball or lacrosse or running  — we love to go out, before we've even set foot on a ball field or track, and buy all the gear.  Wanna play golf?  Apart f...

Credit Where Credit's Due…

Remember several weeks back when I told you of my struggles to find an easy way to transcribe lengthy interviews? (It's right here if you missed it.  Go ahead. I'll wait.) At that time, I purchased the Scribe program from MacSpeech, only to find it didn't work the way I needed. It can't handle multiple speakers, for example, and has to "learn" the sound of your own voice — at which point you can then speak into the computer and have your words magically appear on screen.  That's cool and...

Happy Birthday, Washington Irving!

American Literature's first international superstar was born on this date in 1783, in a New York City still scorched by the fires of the American Revolution.  By the age of five, he would be declared a dunce.  He would barely complete his formal education, yet by age seventeen, would make his debut in print with nine pseudonymous letters in the New York newspapers.

He would miserably study law while wooing the  daughter of his legal mentor — and at her death, would immerse himself in a mock...

Celebrate to Wake the Dead!

This Saturday, April 3, not only marks the 227th birthday of Washington Irving, but it's also the date of the 160th anniversary celebration of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.

Things get started at 11:00 a.m., with plenty of birthday cake and refreshments, tours of the cemetery, and — if the rumors hold true — maybe even a rare daytime appearance by a certain headless Hessian soldier on horseback.  You've been warned.

I'm admittedly biased, but I think it's a beautiful place — full of hills and nooks...

It Just Works.

That's biographer Robert Caro, one of my all-time favorite writers, in the pic above, standing in the New York office where he does all of his writing.  Does a writer's space need to be ritzy? Does it need to be crammed with bookshelves or filing cabinets or piles of notes?  Nope.  It just needs to work for him.  Considering Caro's won the Pulitzer twice, I'd say this space has done its job.

Caro does his writing on an old Smith-Corona 210 typewriter, which you can see on his desk just right ...

It's Shat-tacular!

I'm intentionally avoiding any discussions about health care today, for fear of blowing a gasket (for the record, I'm for it, and no, I don't really want to argue about it because, trust me, neither of us is going to be rational about it.)  Instead, I'm gleefully celebrating the Second Annual Talk. Like. William Shatner . . . Day.  

Join me, won't you, in a round of "Rocket Man." Thank you.

Easy As Pi

Late last week, I received the transcript of my recorded interview.  It took exactly two days to complete, and after finishing reading through the transcript last night, I can officially vouch for and recommend the services of Production Transcripts out in California.  They charge at a per-minute-of-tape rate, and I couldn't be happier with their work.  They provide both electronic and hard copies of their transcription as part of their basic cost for services.

In other news, I'm flattered to ...