I thought writing a book would be easier than it is. And, it probably is easier than I think it is, because I'm probably just psyching myself out. It's certainly not a volume issue - with as many blog posts as I've wracked up I think I have a couple of books. But I've learned that a book should have some sort of central theme.

I've been working on such a thing - that is, a book that has some sort of central theme. I thought I would post a page here in case anyone was interested in providing me some feedback. I could post a few other pages as well, if there's interest. Keep in mind that this just a rough draft, so no color, photos, etc., - just words.

In the meantime, if you know someone who publishes books like this let me know so I can begin the delicate, time-consuming and involved process of bribing them.

Posted by Carl at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Okay, so I took Alert Salad Consumer Tammy out to dinner last night where she had a, well, salad. I had the hot turkey sandwich - you know, some hot turkey, stuffing, bread, mashed potatoes - which was quite tasty but about three-quarters through the meal I realized that I hadn't portioned each side dish properly and I was going to end the meal with left over stuffing! Ahhh! Then I realized that it was probably strange that I had to take bites of each of the different sides at a time. THEN I realized that I did this with most of my meals. Which made me wonder, is this okay or some sort of warning sign?

So here's my vital research: leave a comment and let me know, do you:

A. Mix your food,
B. Eat it separately,
C. Just eat so you can get finished before Wheel of Fortune comes on?

Whew! Thanks in advance. Those of you who are mixers can feel free to share tips on how to maintain that delicate balance until the end of the meal.

Posted by Carl at 2:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

No not that kind of frost - Robert Frost, the American poet. He's always been one of my favorite poets, and I can still recite "Fire and Ice" from memory - having had to memorize it in sixth grade. I hated that class: every Monday we would get a poem to memorize and every Friday we would have to recite it in front of the class. I was certain each week that by Friday all of the stress and adreneline of being in front of all of those kids would trigger my super powers and I would self-immolate. Sadly, that never happened.

Robert Frost is in the news because a poem of his, previously unknown for 88 years, has surfaced in the cover of a friend's book. The poem is called "War Thoughts at Home." Sadly, the Robert Frost estate won't be making this poem available to the public. A note from the Virginia Quarterly Review website says the following:

Now I'm certainly not one to pry into other people's business models, but I'd really like to read the whole thing. The first two stanzas have been printed for public consumption, and are typical of Frost's ability to set mood:

If there are any VQR subscribers out there, let me know what you think of the whole poem. I'm optimistic that it will find it's way into a Frost collection some time.

Posted by Carl at 1:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

It just occurred to me that I said I would be at a Barnes and Noble in Richmond signing books, and we actually DID end up at a Barnes and Noble but, sadly, there was no on there with any books to greet or sign, so I had to mill around the store and sign books on the shelves while no one was looking. Well, that one lady saw me but I don't think she'll tell. Plus, I signed them all "Hugs, Dave Barry" which was funny at the time but now I wonder if Dave's getting in trouble. If so I'm really sorry about that Dave.

I wanted to say thanks for putting up with those two long posts about Richmond. I'm practicing for the book I'm writing. My goal is to write longer and longer posts until one is long enough to count as a book - probably a small, thin, weakest-member-of-the-herd sort of book, and start with that. So. You know, you were warned and all. Leave a comment with book ideas or possible book titles. Alert Reader Brandi sent in "IGAR" and "Blog Hero" which may seem terribly obvious but I honestly had not considered either. I suppose in "IGAR" the main character would have to be me (that's the "I" part) and he (I mean, me) would have to get a rock. That's a pretty good plot. Now, what do I do with the rock? Perhaps..I sell it for a millionbilliontrillion dollars?

Posted by Carl at 12:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)