Matthew Dicks's Blog, page 724
December 1, 2009
Tuesday Teaser
Blogger Wendy Morris of Well-Mannered Frivolity recently wrote a post about SOMETHING MISSING which I thought was interesting and unique.
Wendy's politics and mine are like oil and water, but it appears that our fondness for books might allow us to nevertheless be friends. She writes:
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
Grab your current read Open to a random page Share two (2) "teaser"...
Thats my book!
Book maven, Twitter fiend and podcaster extraordinaire Ann Kingman directed me to this photo on the website of the Northshire Bookstore in Vermont.
The subject of her email: SOMETHING MISSING "in the wild"
As dorky as this may sound, seeing my book in someone's hands is still very exciting. And Ann obviously understands this.
A glimpse into the past
Over the last few days, I find myself constantly drifting back to WikiLeaks recent release of more than half a million pager intercepts from September 11, 2001. Since text pagers are usually carried by persons operating in an official capacity, many of these messages were sent by individuals who played an instrumental role in the response to the attacks. Messages in the archive range from Pentagon, FBI, FEMA and New York Police Department exchanges, to computers reporting faults at...
November 30, 2009
All good news
News of a possible sequel to THE SHINING is big, but I think that The Guardian has buried the lead. Almost as an afterthought, writer Alison Flood mentions that King has an idea for a new book in his Dark Tower series
"The working title for the eighth book in the series, King announced on his website, would be The Wind Through the Keyhole, but he added that he hadn't yet begun writing it and it would be "a minimum of eight months" before he did."
King fans know that as great as a sequel...
What to say?
I'm still looking for a clever, witty, possibly subversive message to replace my standard "Thanks for reading my story" when singing a book.
My wife likes "Buy another one" or "Makes a great gift". While I love her for comments like this, even I may pass on this suggestion.
Any ideas?
Tick tock times a wasting
As a result of my many brushes with death, I make a serious attempt to live every day to its fullest, knowing full well that my existence could end at any time. I have constructed a life in which I attempt to get the most out of each day and not wasting time on immaterial and unimportant matters.
This means that I am a planned procrastinator, putting off tasks until they need to be finished in order to take better advantage of the day. If I have three weeks to complete an assignment, I will...
November 29, 2009
Why?
When I was in high school, I carved my initials alongside those of my girlfriend into a willow tree in the Japanese garden in Roger William's Park.
Not the nicest thing to do to a tree but fairly romantic, especially for a sixteen year old.
But why carve these same boyfriend-girlfriend initials into a the wooden frame of a sign hanging above the urinal in the men's room of a local restaurant? The girl is never going to see them, but countless men will have the opportunity to gaze...
November 28, 2009
Write a book
Earlier this month, Nathan Bransford asked:
"Can anyone with enough practice be a good writer? What about a great writer? Is there a part of writing that is innate or can it be learned by anyone?"
As a teacher, I have to believe that with enough work, any reasonably intelligent person can become a good writer. It's what I tell me students, and it's what I believe. Give me a hard working, dedicated student and enough time and I can help that kid become a good writer.
Writing is hard...
November 27, 2009
I demand that she be fired! said the moronic dolt.
New rule:
Dissatisfied customers, angry clients and anyone else who demands that an employee be fired should be immediately terminated from their own employment on the grounds of petty stupidity and a failure to understand how a job loss can impact a family.
One bad experience or one poor decision does not justify the demand for the possible financial ruin of an individual.
Customers complain and receive refunds and compensation if the complaint is valid and the business is...
Can I put my hand on your butt without offending?
This morning I played pick-up basketball with a woman, a former college player who was shooting around at the gym.
Playing one-on-one with a girl who you don't know is always a little complicated, especially in the beginning. This girl was a solid player with a decent outside jumper and she was capable of driving to the basket with both her left and right hand. In order to play defense, especially in a one-on-one game, I was going to have to make a certain amount of physical contact with...
