By Dickens: Rewriting Christmas
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 Posted in Current Events, Interviews & Appreciations, the writing process | No Comments »Charles Dickens has been wildly (and unexpectedly) popular around here lately, with children's authors speaking about him in revered tones, and not just because of the holiday season. As Carmen Deedy, author of 14 Cows for America, told me in a ...
Alex Rodriguez Gets a Makeover: “I Had to Look in the Mirror. I Had to Face the Music. I Had to Change.”
Friday, November 13th, 2009 Posted in Current Events, New York Mets | No Comments »In a recent article in the New York Daily News, writer Anthony McCarron describes the rehabilitation of Yankee slugger, Alex Rodriguez. Soon after helping the Yankees win the 2009 World Series, Rodriguez noted: "A lot of people were very honest with ...
Come to Children’s Book Day @ Washington Irving’s “Sunnyside” in Tarrytown, NY: 9/27
Monday, September 21st, 2009 Posted in Current Events | 1 Comment »When I was a kid, I used to watch professional wrestling on television. This was before it went big time, before Hulk Hogan and the massive popularity of the WWF and big events on pay-per-view cable. I watched during the ...
Remembering . . .
Friday, September 11th, 2009 Posted in Current Events | No Comments »You might be moved to read this, by Sarah who blogs at The Reading Zone.
The Little League World Series, Some Photos, My Reusable Bag, etc.
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009 Posted in Current Events, Family | 2 Comments »Just back from a memorable trip to Williamsport, PA, for the Little League World Series. I'm hooked for life. Here's a few random snaps . . . This is the view when we first arrived, coming down a hill from the ...
Jigsaw Jones: The Musical, and That Thing Called “Writer’s Block”
Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 Posted in Current Events, Jigsaw Jones, Music, the writing process | 3 Comments »First off, apologies to my Nation of Readers -- I'm looking at you, Liz -- for the sporadic posts this summer. But it's not like I didn't warn you. Back about a year ago, I posted about a phone call I'd ...
Summer Hours
Monday, June 29th, 2009 Posted in Current Events | No Comments »Due to staff cuts (I had an accident shaving), I'm likely to post with less frequency through July-August. Likely? Because you never know; I can't resist passing along a funny video or good news. But my basic thought is to ...
Thoughts on “A.Word.A.Day”
Friday, June 26th, 2009 Posted in Around the Web, Current Events, Music | No Comments »Previously I've plugged Anu Garg's most excellent email subscriber service, A.Word.A.Day. Sign up and every day you get an email that takes about 15 seconds to read. Some days I click delete, most days I don't. Today's word is "excoriate." MEANING: verb tr.: 1. ...
Hodge-Podge Books Closing Its Doors
Tuesday, June 9th, 2009 Posted in Current Events, Jigsaw Jones, Uncategorized | No Comments »My local newspaper, the Albany Times-Union, ran an article today on a local legend of sorts, Frank Hodge, who has successfully operated the independent bookstore, Hodge-Podge Books, for the past 27 years. Written by Chris Churchill, it begins: ALBANY -- By now ...
Fan Mail Wednesday #48 (Tuesday Edition)
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 Posted in Current Events, Fan Mail | 1 Comment »I was all set to go with a different piece of fan mail when I opened this note from a school librarian. I've deleted her name and school district, for the sake of privacy: Dear Jimmy, It is with much regret that ...