Matthew Dicks's Blog, page 730
October 26, 2009
This is my new favorite photo of my daughter
The presence of my wife in the photograph is just a bonus.
October 25, 2009
Kudos from readers in Greece and Norway
It turned out to be a busy day in terms of SOMETHING MISSING.
I received a total of four emails today, from a variety of readers, all writing to express their love for the book.
Two readers, including one from Norway, requested that I write a sequel to Martin's story. I get this request quite often.
A third expressed her appreciation for the positive portrayal of an obsessive-compulsive character, and the fourth, a UCONN student studying abroad in Greece, wrote about how she and...
A day at the movies
My wife and I enjoyed the rare double feature today, managing to squeeze in Zombieland and The Informant all before 3:30 PM. Zombieland turned out to be a private screening and The Informant had only one other couple in the theater with us.
Despite the dearth of eyeballs, both were excellent films. Zombieland is outstanding. Dare I say perfect.
The Informant, based upon a true story that I first heard on This American Life, was also very good. I thought that the soundtrack and the...
October 23, 2009
Martins eBay expertise garners some attention
SOMETHING MISSING protagonist Martin Railsback poses as eBay power seller Barbara Teal, an empty nester with a love for high end fashion and a flair for the dramatic. Martin uses eBay as a means of fencing some of his more valuable acquisitions.
The muse for Martin's alter-ego was my mother-in-law, Barbara Green, who is also an eBay power seller, specializing in high-end women's fashion. Almost all of Martin's skill and understanding with eBay comes from the experience of the real-life...
Worth paying a second college tuition
In the debate over whether or not to have a second child, my wife might just win the argument by agreeing to purchase and wear these tee-shorts with some frequency.
October 22, 2009
If only
In the spirit of the new film adaptation of WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE comes the Mo Willems classic:
Borders Books in Farmington, CT
On Sunday I made an appearance at Borders Books and Music right down the road from my school. As always, I spoke for a while, read a little bit from SOMETHING MISSING, took some questions from the audience, recommended a few books, and finished off with a brief signing.
This was my most local appearance so far, just ten minutes from my home, so my wife and daughter were able to attend as well. I can't tell you how fun it is to see my daughter sitting in the audience, listening to me share...
MUST LISTEN
I can't recommend WNYC's RadioLab podcast enough. Fascinating, science-based stories that are brilliantly produced. I have recommended this podcast to many friends, and every one, without exception, has thanked me later for it.
However, if you can only listen to one RadioLab story for your entire life (a tragedy, indeed), find twenty minutes and click on this story about Stu Rasmussen of Silverton Oregon. It's just terrific, and the ending is fantastic.
October 21, 2009
Vying for a spot on The Moth
The Moth is a not-for-profit storytelling organization which features true stories told live on stage without notes. I've been listening to their weekly podcasts for a long time and attended a live performance earlier this year. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Looking for an opportunity to tell me own stories, I flirted with the idea of creating a Connecticut version of The Moth, which currently is based in New York, Los Angeles, Detroit and Chicago. But then Moth organizers...
October 20, 2009
Writers Read
Writer-producer Marshal Zeringue invited me to post on his Writers Read blog, where I had the opportunity to write about the books that I am currently reading.
The same post appears on The Campaign for the American Reader blog, also hosted by Zeringue.
Enjoy!
