Sam Hilliard's Blog, page 5

Adventures in inflatable bedding

Replaced the current mattress with a new one that arrived in a box that weighs 101 pounds and the height of two microwaves. The packaging process is a study of beauty.



A few wild slicing motions with a key, revealed the interior.



Ready for the vacuum sealed goodness, I dumped the contents on the floor.



The last step took a pair of scissors and about two minutes. Before I knew it, Oedipus had christened the bed.



At the same time, Mooshy got trapped in the box. Surely there's a bed inside for him beneath the plastic.

Name The Baddie

Have the perfect villain name? Well, here's a chance to get it in print. One character name will be selected and used in the sequel to The Last Track. The winner will be credited in the acknowledgments of the sequel, receive a signed copy of The Last Track,, a signed copy of the sequel as well as a cool T-shirt.

Full details at the Book Reader Addicts page on Facebook.

Huge thanks to Book Reader Addicts for hosting this contest.

Mentionable

The Last Track netted a few mentions in the past few weeks:

First, Gina at Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers, apparently purchased a copy of The Last Track and recommended others do the same, even though she already had a review copy.

Margot Kinberg held an excellent discussion about the dynamic character arc of heroes in mystery novels at her site. In addition to classics from Mickey Spillane and Agatha Christie, she included The Last Track. It also got me fired up to re-read The Big Kill.

So...

Nice stats

The only thing more devastating to teenager than limiting access to Facebook might just be the loss of their cell phone. It's an exaggeration, but only slightly. In just a few years, one application has gone from innovative novelty to near necessity. But not just for teenagers.

Nearly all of my friend requests on Facebook in the last six months came from people who read The Last Track. That's something I never expected.

Then again, I also never expected Facebook and social networking to get...

Wearing a helmet

The best thing about summer is that Fall always follows. Such an assertion might seem like straight up sun-hating, but summers in New Jersey are the time for concerts, hot weather, and vacation. Some of those are enjoyable–in part.

What works? Definitely not the hot weather, which mean big electric bills, sun burn and traffic jams. In the old days, summer also meant riots and random beatings as reported in the crime beat section. Following the popularity of Jersey Shore, the Garden State is a...

Pretty good crowd for a Thursday

One of the fiercest boxers who ever lived–a man whose powerful body time has softened, but in its place left perspective–recently said: "Each man kills the thing he loves." It's simple quote, very memorable, and one anchored in fact.

Looking over many notable figures from history, the knockout blow that bumped them from their perch came not from a rival, but from somewhere less obvious.

For at a certain point in these journeys, something very profound happened. The fire burning inside them...

School cometh

Entering home stretch before the school year begins in earnest. Students from all over the world will return for another year on campus. As usual there is much to be done on campus.

Updates might be sporadic for the next two weeks.

Towards the middle of September, I'll have some news about some store signings and contest results, too.

In Cat Army News, whose shelf is it, anyway?

Catch up

Lessons learned in the past week:

1) Even the most recalcitrant feline will ingest their medications willingly–if the pill is wrapped in salmon flavored wet cat food. So much easier than aiming a dispenser down a throat while the cat hacks and claws.

2) Jennifer's Body was neither scary nor titillating. From the marketing and packaging, one of those seemed to be the objective. However, I really liked the camera work and shot composition. Particularly how the director handled filming in woods...

Tuesday is the new Wednesday

Always nice when a longstanding problem inches closer to resolution. And tomorrow a little technical issue at work that snowballed into a big crisis collides against the mighty wall that is a new sweet piece of technology and stops piling into my knees.

Or at least changes course.

Enough tech babble. Someone please tell these two cats to stop pretending they don't like each other. Charade over Ms. Abra and Mr. Oedipus.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World – Review

A more apt title for this movie is how an engaging film filled with good actors and a tight story died one weekend in August at the side of the box office. Scott Pilgrim oozes with everything a large budget Hollywood flick usually avoids: creativity, edginess and passion.

With all those character flaws stacked against it, I have no idea how this movie ever got made, but I'm glad it was. Because the film at its heart is funny.

One need not be a graphic novel geek to appreciate the familiar...