Tonight's update partially brought to you by Otis, who has decided that he likes basking in the glow of the laptop screen. The heat of two human bodies in bed is probably a factor, too.
I had a meeting with Scott today about our timeline for the book. We talked about a release date in mid-September, but Scott pointed out that it would probably get lost in all the "one-year anniversary of 9/11" hoo-ha, so we're going to shoot for September 1st with a lot of publicity in August. It was good to finally do some planning with my co-author present; he has been distracted by the complications of work and a medium-distance girlfriend, for which I can't much blame him, but it was beginning to feel like I was working in isolation. Now the marketing begins as we finish up the content (3 appendices currently in production, should be done by end of the month) and solidify the layout. We should have a printer by mid-March and copies in hand by the end of May. If Providence allows.
Calling All Collards
I was perusing the "Lady and Sons" cookbook mentioned in a previous entry, looking for the "crispy collard greens" recipe my parents wanted. I didn't see it mentioned by that name, but I'll be forwarding the recipes that were there for various collard greens dishes. Lots of pages are out there on the web that give collard greens recipes, but few of them actually deign to explain what collard greens are. Fortunately, this page exists. Not that I'm even vaguely interested in eating the things (my vegetable phobia persists, although I did buy some fresh broccoli and carrots for this week's meals), but it's good to know what you're talking about when such matters come up.
Movies I saw this weekend:
Ghost World - fun, if a bit painful to watch towards the beginning. Now I want to read the book. I was a bit disappointed that the soundtrack didn't include the Aimee Mann song also based on the book, but it was pretty good even so. Thora Birch has such an up-and-down track record with movies. Sure, she's done American Beauty and this movie, but then there's also Dungeons and Dragons. If there is ever a sequel to Reel Shame, Birch's "I Need a New Agent" entry will be D&D.
Gale Force - Survivor contestants find themselves hunted by mercenaries, then fighting for survival in a hurricane. Tim Thomerson plays the "Rudy" character.
The Hunted - Ninja try to kill Christopher Lambert. I encourage their efforts.
Gasaraki, Vol 1 - Anime giant robots with weird philosophy thrown in. With four half-hour episodes, this is how I distracted myself during my weekend stints on the exercise machine.
Wedding Weekend, continued
When the time came to depart the reception, our first stop was for more beer, since the house's supply was gone. The most convenient stop between the country club and the resort (sounds pretty snobby, huh?) was the Piggly Wiggly. Now, I've always been fascinated by the marketing anti-strategy behind the Piggly Wiggly grocery stores. Why exactly do you want to put people in mind of a fat little oinker when they go shopping for food? Those feeling self-conscious about their weight will be likely to buy less, the animal rights folks will have problems with the message that pigs want to be eaten, and the rest of the world will just be disturbed when they recall that their bacon once wore a smile.
So naturally, I bought a Piggly Wiggly baseball cap and wore it for the rest of the evening. My own resemblance to the corporate mascot be damned. (Tanya told me later that she considered it a courageous act. Thanks. I think.)
We arrived back at the house to find Pamela undoing the careful construction work that had been done on her hair.
With all the hairspray, pins, and other gunk that had been put in there, this was the result once it all came down. Fortunately Pamela's hair has always been resilient stuff (even when she was tiny and it was bound up in a single "Pebbles Flintstone" tuft). A few strokes with a hairbrush and she was back in business.
The remainder of the evening was spent socializing with the extended family. There was plenty of leftover food from the previous evening, and two huge trays of cookies that had been appropriated from the reception. Rumor had it that some family friend of Jennifer's had made all of these exquisite-looking confections by hand, in which case she desperately needs awards both for industry and creativity.
I downloaded my digital photos to the trusty iBook and set them up in a slideshow with iPhoto, which mesmerized the grandparents and everyone else who came near. There's just something about instant photography that's captivating, especially when accompanied by a nice piece of instrumental music. Steve Jobs woulda been proud; it was something that could have been cooked up by Apple's advertising agency.
When the rest of the crowd departed for hotels or settled into their bedrooms, Pamela and I got the bright idea of searching for the beach in the dark. After a false start and a return to the house for an extra flashlight and batteries, we made our way out into the night...
...and promptly lost ourselves in the pitch black.
Turns out there is no street lighting in Palmetto Dunes, at least not on the back roads where we were, and none of the houses were lit up because no one was in them in February. So we stumbled around a cul-de-sac (and came inches away from the beach access path, we learned the next day) before we lost our nerve and decided instead to walk down the main road a bit. Still no street lamps, but a few of the houses on this stretch were lit and the contents were fascinating, at least what we could see of them from the road.
By this time it was raining fairly steadily, but the canopy of live oaks and other trees kept us from getting soaked. The baseball cap I loaned to P and my own Piggly Wiggly hat kept the mist from our faces, so all was well, even if we did play our flashlight beams nervously behind us as we walked back to the house. I'm glad we got outside for a bit at least; the South and the barrier islands in particular have a reputation for sultry, rainy, mystery. It's fun to try and immerse yourself in it late on a Saturday night, even if the result is mostly just a bit of water in your shoes.
Next time: Amy encounters the meatless sausage patty, and I don't want to go home. Plus, Amy and Tanya miss their turn.
I had a meeting with Scott today about our timeline for the book. We talked about a release date in mid-September, but Scott pointed out that it would probably get lost in all the "one-year anniversary of 9/11" hoo-ha, so we're going to shoot for September 1st with a lot of publicity in August. It was good to finally do some planning with my co-author present; he has been distracted by the complications of work and a medium-distance girlfriend, for which I can't much blame him, but it was beginning to feel like I was working in isolation. Now the marketing begins as we finish up the content (3 appendices currently in production, should be done by end of the month) and solidify the layout. We should have a printer by mid-March and copies in hand by the end of May. If Providence allows.
Calling All Collards
I was perusing the "Lady and Sons" cookbook mentioned in a previous entry, looking for the "crispy collard greens" recipe my parents wanted. I didn't see it mentioned by that name, but I'll be forwarding the recipes that were there for various collard greens dishes. Lots of pages are out there on the web that give collard greens recipes, but few of them actually deign to explain what collard greens are. Fortunately, this page exists. Not that I'm even vaguely interested in eating the things (my vegetable phobia persists, although I did buy some fresh broccoli and carrots for this week's meals), but it's good to know what you're talking about when such matters come up.
Movies I saw this weekend:
Ghost World - fun, if a bit painful to watch towards the beginning. Now I want to read the book. I was a bit disappointed that the soundtrack didn't include the Aimee Mann song also based on the book, but it was pretty good even so. Thora Birch has such an up-and-down track record with movies. Sure, she's done American Beauty and this movie, but then there's also Dungeons and Dragons. If there is ever a sequel to Reel Shame, Birch's "I Need a New Agent" entry will be D&D.
Gale Force - Survivor contestants find themselves hunted by mercenaries, then fighting for survival in a hurricane. Tim Thomerson plays the "Rudy" character.
The Hunted - Ninja try to kill Christopher Lambert. I encourage their efforts.
Gasaraki, Vol 1 - Anime giant robots with weird philosophy thrown in. With four half-hour episodes, this is how I distracted myself during my weekend stints on the exercise machine.
Wedding Weekend, continued
When the time came to depart the reception, our first stop was for more beer, since the house's supply was gone. The most convenient stop between the country club and the resort (sounds pretty snobby, huh?) was the Piggly Wiggly. Now, I've always been fascinated by the marketing anti-strategy behind the Piggly Wiggly grocery stores. Why exactly do you want to put people in mind of a fat little oinker when they go shopping for food? Those feeling self-conscious about their weight will be likely to buy less, the animal rights folks will have problems with the message that pigs want to be eaten, and the rest of the world will just be disturbed when they recall that their bacon once wore a smile.
So naturally, I bought a Piggly Wiggly baseball cap and wore it for the rest of the evening. My own resemblance to the corporate mascot be damned. (Tanya told me later that she considered it a courageous act. Thanks. I think.)
We arrived back at the house to find Pamela undoing the careful construction work that had been done on her hair.
With all the hairspray, pins, and other gunk that had been put in there, this was the result once it all came down. Fortunately Pamela's hair has always been resilient stuff (even when she was tiny and it was bound up in a single "Pebbles Flintstone" tuft). A few strokes with a hairbrush and she was back in business.
The remainder of the evening was spent socializing with the extended family. There was plenty of leftover food from the previous evening, and two huge trays of cookies that had been appropriated from the reception. Rumor had it that some family friend of Jennifer's had made all of these exquisite-looking confections by hand, in which case she desperately needs awards both for industry and creativity.
I downloaded my digital photos to the trusty iBook and set them up in a slideshow with iPhoto, which mesmerized the grandparents and everyone else who came near. There's just something about instant photography that's captivating, especially when accompanied by a nice piece of instrumental music. Steve Jobs woulda been proud; it was something that could have been cooked up by Apple's advertising agency.
When the rest of the crowd departed for hotels or settled into their bedrooms, Pamela and I got the bright idea of searching for the beach in the dark. After a false start and a return to the house for an extra flashlight and batteries, we made our way out into the night...
...and promptly lost ourselves in the pitch black.
Turns out there is no street lighting in Palmetto Dunes, at least not on the back roads where we were, and none of the houses were lit up because no one was in them in February. So we stumbled around a cul-de-sac (and came inches away from the beach access path, we learned the next day) before we lost our nerve and decided instead to walk down the main road a bit. Still no street lamps, but a few of the houses on this stretch were lit and the contents were fascinating, at least what we could see of them from the road.
By this time it was raining fairly steadily, but the canopy of live oaks and other trees kept us from getting soaked. The baseball cap I loaned to P and my own Piggly Wiggly hat kept the mist from our faces, so all was well, even if we did play our flashlight beams nervously behind us as we walked back to the house. I'm glad we got outside for a bit at least; the South and the barrier islands in particular have a reputation for sultry, rainy, mystery. It's fun to try and immerse yourself in it late on a Saturday night, even if the result is mostly just a bit of water in your shoes.
Next time: Amy encounters the meatless sausage patty, and I don't want to go home. Plus, Amy and Tanya miss their turn.
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