Survey: "Hit and Run"

Dave White recently posted another survey, brought to new comedic heights by Graham Powell.

I'll skip Dave's survey and answer "Hit and Run," as seen on the YES Network's CENTERSTAGE with Michael Kay:

Favorite Movie:
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

Favorite Song:
"Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor

Favorite Musical Group:
Lynyrd Skynyrd

Favorite Athlete:
Don Mattingly

Favorite Food:
Steak

Favorite Book:
DON QUIXOTE by Miguel de Cervantes

Favorite Sport to Watch:
Beach Volleyball

Favorite Sport to Play:
Basketball

Favorite City:
New York

Favorite Actress:
Lauren Bacall

Favorite Actor:
Harrison Ford

Favorite TV Show:
JAG

Favorite Moment in Your Career:
Acceptance letters

Person You'd Most Like to Have in a Foxhole with You:
My brother

Martinez Struck by Baseball During Parade

AP reports a mystery pitch from the banks of the Charles River struck Pedro Martinez in the forehead during the Red Sox victory parade.

Much as I lampoon and criticize Pedro's attitude, I don't wish this on anyone, and I hope the news of no serious injury bears out.

The New JAG

Replacing the departed Adm. A.J. Chegwidden on JAG is Marine Maj. Gen. Gordon "Biff" Cresswell (David Andrews). In tonight's episode, covering the JAG appointment hearings, Cresswell proved himself a man of few words, yet readily able to answer hard questions from a Senate panel.

I wondered who would step into the likeable Chegwidden's shoes as I'm sure LAW & ORDER fans wondered about Dennis Farina replacing Jerry Orbach. I've been a fan of Andrews since he played Det. Bobby Mann, partnered with android Eve Edison (Yancy Butler) in MANN & MACHINE (from a pre-L & 0 Dick Wolf). Can't wait to watch him interact with Harm and Mac, who, during Cresswell's confirmation, were investigating an incident at sea.

Halloween Retrospective

I have mixed feelings about Halloween. Knocking on doors for candy always seemed a bit forward. Masks were often stuffy. Most seriously, I don't approve of the license for nastiness some people take on Halloween.

On the other hand, I have some great memories. Senior year at Hofstra, my friend John came in with a Freddy Kreuger mask and claw, which I borrowed and proceeded to dash across the campus bridge over Hempstead Turnpike.

Lately as a teacher I've worn a Superman shirt on Halloween under my shirt and tie. (I wear a shirt and tie regularly--the better to pull off Clark Kent's quick-change on Halloween.)

And of course there was the eighth grade Halloween Dance I attended as a thrift-store Phantom of the Opera. I chickened out of dancing with the girl I had a crush on. The follow-up to this: I chickened out again at the Graduation Dance. We went to different high schools, but I heard through the grapevine she misremembered we had danced...

Thrilling Bio Update

About two weeks ago, I mentioned updating my staff bio at Thrilling Detective. My final decision went the more general route:

A lifelong fan of the P.I. mystique, Fiction Editor Gerald So has been an avid reader of the genre since 1993. His own hardboiled fiction has appeared in HandHeldCrime, Hardluck Stories Zine, SDO Detective, Shred of Evidence, and Shots EZine. His essay "Spenser and Hawk" is right here on Thrilling Detective. He’s also published poetry and is the man behind three Yahoo! Groups: DetecToday, discussing the continuing evolution of the P.I. genre; Spenser's Sneakers, offering new discussion of Robert B. Parker’s works, themes, and influence; and CrimeSeen, exploring the interplay among crime fiction, TV, film, and radio. His favourite authors include Chandler, Parker, Healy, and Rozan.

The Man Without Fear

As you may know, my favorite superhero is Marvel's Daredevil (a.k.a. blind Hell's Kitchen lawyer Matt Murdock). A radioactive accident gave Murdock heightened senses, but also took away his sight. Matt's powers are not so far a stretch from the skills real blind and disabled people learn. The more true-to-life a fiction is, the more readily I go with it.

Another aspect of Daredevil I like is his tendency to bring out the softer sides of femmes fatale like Elektra Natchios and Natasha Romanov.

Until this week, I'd been holding off reading Brian Bendis's run on Daredevil. The Underboss series--in which Daredevil's identity threatens to become common knowledge--flashes back and forth in a way I wasn't sure I'd like. Also, some readers have hated Bendis's run. I finished Underboss yesterday. The time-jumps worked for me, and now I have some catching up to do.

"I'm Workin' On It, I'm Workin' On It..."

From IMDb:

'Indiana Jones IV' Back On

George Lucas and Steven Spielberg have hired a new scriptwriter to help them revive plans for a fourth Indiana Jones movie. The pair hoped to begin work on the sequel this summer but have rejected all scripts offered to them - including a screenplay by Shawshank Redemption and Green Mile writer Frank Darabont. But they are refusing to give up the project they have planned for the last decade - and hired Jeff Nathanson to try his hand at a screenplay. Nathanson is most famous for writing the Rush Hour films, but has worked with Spielberg on Catch Me If You Can and The Terminal. If Lucas and Spielberg approve, Harrison Ford will return to play the adventurous archeologist for the first time since Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade in 1989.

Fight These Bastards

...is the name of an upcoming poetry zine founded by Steve Henn, Don Winter, and Oren Wagner.

Steve Henn writes:

We are planning on releasing issue #1 in fall of 2005. We intend on keeping it slim and being selective so send your best stuff. Writers accepted so far include Locklin, Antler, Lifshin, Nate Graziano, and others. We also have a Lifshin chap in the works that we hope to release previous to FTB#1's issue date.

To submit you can send 3-5 poems or one short story to

Platonic 3way Press
P.O. Box 844
Warsaw, IN 46581

...the best thing to do is submit poems, I'm keeping all cover letters to send a blanket mailer on how to get a copy of issue #1 when the publication date draws nearer so put your address on the cover letter.

Writing begins with discovering what I need to write. If fiction doesn't click for a while, I switch to poetry. I wrote a new poem and revised three others. Seeing the name above, I had to try this zine.

A Piece of History

With eight straight postseason wins, the 2004 Boston Red Sox carved themselves a prime piece of history, becoming the first MLB team to come back from a 0-3 deficit in a 7-game series and sweep the World Series in the same season.

Schilling and Pedro get all the press, but on the mound for each of the deciding games was Boston's nearly forgotten starter/reliever Derek Lowe.

"I Can't Believe We're on the Eve..."

The Red Sox are in position to sweep the St. Louis Cardinals, ending the history of Bostonian mismanagement and bad luck. What could possibly go wrong?

Sarah Weinman: Prolific Parker Pontificates on Process

Sarah Weinman linked to a new interview of Robert B. Parker by Benjamin Ivry at the Bloomberg syndicate. Of course, read any three interviews of Parker, and you notice he has his answers down cold.

The one slight exception in this interview dealt with his writing routine/output:

My life is spent, every day, for much of a day, in a world of fiction. And when I get through doing that, I have no brain left for fiction. I'll read some nonfiction, and I'll read the newspaper, and I'll watch a ball game, but I don't read very much fiction anymore...I write 10 pages a day. When I'm done with it that day, it's what you see on the printed page. Maybe the spelling is improved or the punctuation changed, but essentially you're looking at my first draft. I don't do a second draft.

After reading Sarah's full entry, I commented:

For a long while, Parker's routine was five pages a day. It sounds as if writing is even more a part of his life now, and I don't think that's a good thing in his case. I take his comment that he lives in a world of fiction to mean he has little time to engage in real life. And real life (day job, errands, etc.) has to permeate fiction to make it seem real enough.

Living largely in conditions of his own construction, it's no wonder Parker so rarely rings true to me.

What's Next for Whedon

From Lee Goldberg comes word that Joss Whedon is trading TV work to focus on films. Whedon cited a lack of series ideas, which is as good a sign as any to change directions. I commend him for knowin' when to fold 'em. I also agree with him that reality TV is "loathsome."

Watching Baseball: Then and Now

My first memories of baseball were the WPIX Yankee games with Phil Rizzuto and Bill White. I went to my first game in person when I was five and wondered why it was so quiet. I expected to hear play-by-play over the loudspeakers.

Flash-forward to me watching every inning of Game 5 of this year's Yankees-Red Sox series. In the eleventh inning, I got fed up with the play-by-play. I realized that no amount of pacing, crossing fingers, or anything else would impact the game. Neither did anything Joe Buck, Tim McCarver, and Al Leiter said from the booth, nor any questions the media asked. So, I turned down the volume on my set and watched the umpire's gestures.

I ought to watch more games this way.

"Space...The Financed Frontier"

From IMDb:

Shatner Wants To Boldly Go Into Space

Former Star Trek actor William Shatner is preparing to make a real-life trip away from planet Earth, after signing up to take a Virgin Galactic flight into space. The Canadian actor and rocker Dave Navarro are among more than 7,000 people who want to fly on Virgin's proposed commercial space flights, says company chief Richard Branson. The three-and-a-half hour flights - which will include six minutes of weightlessness - will cost passengers $210,000 each. Branson, who announced the plans last month, says of the huge response, "We are extremely pleased because it just means in a sense that the gamble we took seems to have paid off." His company is hoping to offer the flights by 2008.

Parker's STONE COLD to be TV Movie

Saw on Yahoo! that Mimi Rogers will play Rita Fiore opposite Tom Selleck's Jesse Stone in a CBS adaptation of Robert Parker's STONE COLD. As yet, no airdate has been set, but it looks like Parker has made the leap to a larger talent pool.

I once fantasy-cast Rogers as Fiore, so I'll be watching.

New Shoes

My New Balance running shoes have served me for seven years, the last two with widening holes in the tread, so, with a 15% Off coupon and a $10 gift card, Henry and I went shopping for shoes yesterday. He bought a pair of boots, then paid for two pairs of sneakers--Asics and Skechers--for my birthday and Christmas presents. Wow.

The three pairs totalled just over $120. I'm going to give the Asics their first road test today.

Utopia PKWY.

...is the name of Queens College's new undergraduate literary magazine, overseen by my onetime mentor John Weir.

Grateful for my graduate years at Queens, I made a donation to the magazine's effort and today received the inaugural issue.

It's full-color, perfect-bound, 124 glossy pages (including 4-page cover) with a long list of donors. We started Font at Hofstra with much less money and know-how, but were nonetheless able to plant the seed for a tradition that lives on.

May today's young writers and artists recognize the value of contributing to early outlets like these.

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch...

Now that baseball is no longer a concern, I've finished James Hime's THE NIGHT OF THE DANCE, a good long book with distinct Texas flavor and first in a series I'll be looking for.

Currently reading LITTLE GIRL LOST by Richard Aleas from Hard Case Crime. Its cover is pulp-style, but its plot is modern. Intriguing.

I haven't worked on the fourth C.J. Stone in a while. At this stage, it's heavy on exposition, needing a context to incite the action.

First Time for Everything

The Yankees' season ended at the stroke of midnight, as the Boston Red Sox came back from three games down. Unlike some, I wouldn't call this a Yankee choke. As much as the Yankees lost this series, the Red Sox beat them best-versus-best, fair and square.

For those who believe in the Curse--I never have--the Sox will now have to beat either Houston or St. Louis to reverse it. One advantage they will have is homefield, thanks to the American League All-Star win.

If the Curse is reversed, I hope Sox fans stop pitying themselves for a hobby.

Don't I Know You?

My friend Christine Boylan--unanimously voted Rookie of the Year when I was a senior on Hofstra's literary magazine, Font--won the 2004 Austin Film Festival competition for Best Drama Teleplay. Christine's winning entry, "The Strike," was a spec script for HBO's Six Feet Under.

Next up for Christine, a move to L.A., where it all (well, most of it) happens. Congrats and bon chance.

DetecToday Chat with James Hime

DetecToday, my discussion group covering today's private eye and crime fiction, will chat live with James Hime, author of THE NIGHT OF THE DANCE, this Sunday, October 24th at 2pm Central.

To attend the chat, you must be a member of DetecToday and signed in to Yahoo! Messenger. Once signed in, contact my screenname "g_so" to be invited into the chatroom.

My thanks to DT member Jan Long, who first approached Hime, Hime himself, and his webmaven Maggie Griffin.

"Let Mortal Kombat Begin."

The Yankees-Red Sox series is now the war of attrition fans expected. After Saturday's 19-8 drubbing, the Sox have won the past two games in twelve and fourteen innings respectively.

Mariano Rivera has blown two straight saves, but in fairness, these were two-inning situations, and he has not cost the Yankees either game outright. These games have been a matter of David "Big Papi" Ortiz finally breaking through in the late innings. If I have to lose anything, I prefer to lose to the opposition's best. At least the Yankee losses haven't been due to avoidable errors.

The teams return to the Bronx for Game 6 tonight. I have a feeling the series will end the way I recently defeated the Dragon King in Mortal Kombat: Deception for PlayStation 2. Using every weapon and technique in my character's arsenal, it still came down to absorbing the boss's best attacks, hitting against his blocks. Finally--both our health meters drained--I won on what amounted to a poke.

"Don't Fall For Me, Farm Boy."

From IMdb:

Superman Finally Found

Director Bryan Singer has finally ended his quest to find an aspiring star capable of transporting Superman into the 21st century - he's settled on little known actor Brandon Routh. X-Men film-maker Singer signed up to direct Superman Returns in the summer and announced he was searching for an unknown actor to fill the Man of Steel's red boots - a role made famous by the late Christopher Reeve. And he deems 18-year-old Routh - whose resume is limited to a number of appearances in TV shows like Will & Grace - the perfect choice to reprise the comic book role, according to Britain's The Sun newspaper. Meanwhile, The OC star Mischa Barton and Topher Grace from That '70s Show are also reportedly in negotiations to play Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen respectively.


Routh photo from Comics2Film

I note that Routh's IMdb entry indicates he just turned 25, was born in Des Moines, raised in nearby Norwalk, and attended the University of Iowa. Sounds promising.

Bloggers, Bloggers Everywhere

The inimitable Sarah Weinman has an article in the new issue of Mystery Scene on the proliferation of blogging.

The popular trio White Winter Banks is mentioned among a handful of spirited bloggers, many of whom are in my Starting Lineup on the right.

An Auspicious Birth

My friend and fellow Superman fan John and his wife Kelly welcomed their first child, Emma Francine, at 8:55 last night.

Arriving just a day ahead of schedule, Emma shares a birthday with Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel (born 1914), onetime Lois Lane Margot Kidder (56), Rita Hayworth (born 1918), and playwright Arthur Miller (89).

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

My brother and I caught a matinee ($6.50) of SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW yesterday.

For the most part, I bought the film's attempt to echo 1930s B-movie cheese. My biggest worry was that I wouldn't suspend disbelief in the computer-generated backgrounds, but they blended in well enough.

I might have changed a line here or there (Would the two leads really take time to banter as a doomsday device counts down?), but overall it was upbeat fare I'd buy on DVD.

My favorite sequence:

Sky Captain, Polly, and gadget guru Dex have just watched a rescued scientist charge recklessly toward the evil mastermind's private study, only to be electrocuted to death by a forcefield.

Dex fiddles with some wiring, after which Sky Captain asks, "Did it work?"

"There's one way to find out," Dex says.

Polly and Sky Captain clasp hands and cross the threshhold together. No forcefield. Sigh of relef.

Cut to Dex: "I meant throw something."

The New Chant: "Nineteen-Eight!"

After a shaky start by Kevin "One-Armed Bandit" Brown, Javy Vazquez pitched more solidly than the Sox bullpen, and the Yankee hitters settled in for a 19-8 shellacking of Boston, giving New York a 3-0 ALCS lead.

I'm glad to see the Yankees remember being pushed to the brink by Boston last year. They've been out to prove their superiority this year in every game.

Boston? I don't know what they're doing.

What Do I Call "Home"?

In the middle of updating my Thrilling Detective staff bio, I've run into a problem: How do I categorize my latest story, "Home"?

It's not adventure, like C.J. Stone; it's not P.I., like Chris Harvey. While writing the story, I purposely avoided thinking of it in any one category. I concentrated on depicting the events, thinking I would leave the labeling to readers.

So...any suggestions?

Where's the Learning in Carmen Sandiego?

Before the cartoon, before Rockapella, in the days of EGA graphics, the Carmen Sandiego games were among my favorites to play. I was content with beeps and screeches from the PC speaker because the games were really about deductive reasoning. From Where in the World, I went on to play Where in the U.S., Where in Europe, Where in Time, and Where in Space.

Gene Emery reports that the latest game, The Secret of the Stolen Drums, while graphically superior, is short educational value.

Narrative Voice as Broken Record

Dave White's latest blog entry discusses the importance of voice in writing, using Robert B. Parker's MELANCHOLY BABY as one example.

I've learned a lot reading Parker myself, but I had to comment:

You've heard this from me before. Parker has fallen into bad habits. Different characters use the same dialogue, same jokes, in multiple books:

"Good to know."

"We'd be fools not to."

Repetitiveness distracts me from voice. The only explanation I can think of for the naturally pithy Parker repeating himself: no one tells him he is.

If no one reminds you what you need to work on for a while, it's easy to believe you don't need to work.

Where I Left Off

I hope to return to some routine now that I have good Internet connectivity and am no longer on Millionaire watch.

While a fourth C.J. Stone story is currently whispering in my ear, I want to make sure to make this one is significant, at least in terms of showing what I've learned. Something akin to how Lucas, Spielberg, and Ford feel about a fourth Indiana Jones. I'll continue C.J. as long as there's room to explore. Right now it's a matter of choosing a trail to follow.

On the reading front, I have 250 pages to go in Hime's THE NIGHT OF THE DANCE, after which I'd like a humorous read--maybe OPEN AND SHUT by David Rosenfelt.

Phone-a-Friend

I was one of five possible Phone-a-Friends for a taping today of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"

I had actually been on standby five hours-plus yesterday--during which time I was also waiting for cable repair--but my friend didn't get on until today.

I get a heads-up call when he's about to go on the hot seat: "Stay where you are and disable the answering machine. Wait three rings, then answer 'Hello.'"

I basically stand in my room glancing at the clock on my VCR for an hour, keeping my limbs loose, my mind clear, ready to call up the tiniest trivia.

Finally, the call comes: "Gerald, you're free to go."

I wonder how Meredith Viera would have sounded on my phone. I wonder if I would have known the answer. I wonder how my friend did.

One Mo Time

Curt Schilling came out flat last night against the Yankees and the Sox proceeded to get pounded into an 8-0 hole. As you can almost predict by now, Boston came back to 8-7, and New York had to go to closer Mariano Rivera for the last out in the top of the 8th.

Rivera earlier that day attended services in Panama for his wife's cousin and her cousin's son, but was somehow able to compose himself and save a 10-7 final for his team.

Boston may win this series, but hopefully it won't be short of Yankee magic.

The "Home" Stretch

My third-person, standalone story "Home" culminated in my single best writing day so far.

I completed the penultimate revision on Saturday, August 22, and sent it to Charlie Stella, who, having seen an earlier version, had offered to look at a revision. Charlie got back to me with comments at five a.m. Sunday (I happened to be up). I made some final edits and submitted the story to SHOTS Fiction Editor Sarah Weinman at 7:42 a.m.

Sarah originally saw "Home" right after Charlie and had patiently encouraged a revision for three months. She replied at 1:35 Sunday afternoon, accepting the story for SHOTS #23.

They don't all happen this way. I'm thrilled to have experienced such great timing even once. My thanks once again to Sarah, Charlie, Dave White, Jim Winter, and Ray Banks--without each of whom the story might still be in stasis.

Catching Up

The loose fittings sapping our cable connection have been tightened. I'm back in blogness and it's time to catch up.

My story "Home" has been live at SHOTS a few days now. I'll share the story behind the story when I've caught my breath.

Christopher Reeve died Sunday. As improbable as it was, I hoped he would live to walk again. Sad as I am to see him go, I'm glad his ordeal has ended, and I hope we keep up spinal cord research.

Yanks and Sox for the AL title starting tonight. Let's play.

Despite questionable coaching in Game 4, the Astros sent the Braves into the offseason. Phew.

Technical Difficulties (cont'd)

For brief moments, we have enough signal to check e-mail and write the odd blog entry; but, for most of the day, I have trouble loading websites. We have a repair appointment scheduled for Tuesday. Until then, it's another opportunity to go low-tech.

Scott Bakula's Birthday

Scott Bakula, best known for QUANTUM LEAP and ENTERPRISE, turns 50 today. I wonder if ENTERPRISE will recapture my attention in its fourth season. (Last night's premiere was pre-empted in my area as UPN affiliate WWOR 9 picked up ESPN's feed of the Yankees-Twins game. I like baseball as much as the next guy, but don't go messin' with my premieres.)

I had thought the show was going head-to-head with CBS's JAG, but it will be on at 8, with JAG at 9.

So here are the programs I'm following this season:

Tues 8:00 NCIS

Weds 8:00 Smallville

Fri 8:00 Enterprise, 9:00 JAG

Decision '04

You won't hear much about my political views on this blog. Suffice it to say I've finally found a ticket I can endorse without reservation:


from StarTrek.com

Technical Difficulties

I've been experiencing slow Internet connections since yesterday. Updates to this blog will be spotty until we determine the problem.

Not Going to BoucherCon

This 2004 con runs October 7th-10th...Tell me about it, Spanky.

Elisabeth Shue

I've been a fan of Elisabeth Shue since first seeing her as Allison, kneeing a soccer ball while flirting with Ralph Macchio's Daniel LaRusso in THE KARATE KID (1984).

Shue left Harvard to pursue acting, finally completing a political science degree in 2000.

Pictured here in LEAVING LAS VEGAS (1995), Shue turns 41 today.

The Actual Gerald So

My last couple of birthdays were melancholy. Not that I lamented growing older, but I would sit around and wait for something to make the day memorable. This year, I went out and made things special for myself--namely attending S.J. Rozan's ABSENT FRIENDS launch party at Partners & Crime.

Having enjoyed Rozan's Lydia Chin and Bill Smith P.I. series for years, I was wary of introducing myself. In fact, I'd failed to do so just days earlier.

This time, I arrive an hour early and buy my copy of the book. Rozan arrives half an hour early. We start up the same small talk until she extends a hand across the table.

"S.J. Rozan."

"I'm Gerald So."

Her face lights up. "The actual Gerald So?"

I start a recap of how we met at an About.com Mystery Chat (discontinued), how I responded on her blog--none of which is necessary. She remembers all of it.

She starts signing before a crowd files in, and when my turn comes, she says, "The actual Gerald So. Can I write that?"

"Go right ahead."

Wow!

Speaking of the crowd, I saw Lee Child enter, towering over it. Reed Farrel Coleman and I went for a snack at about the same time. And last but not least, James Gandolfini stopped in to chat with S.J. and have his book signed.

As a loyal citizen of Zamunda once said, "I will cherish this experience for the rest of my life."

Big thanks to S.J. and, once again, the staff of Partners & Crime.

Other People Born Today

Steve Miller (61), Jeff Conaway (54), Karen Allen (53), Bernie Mac (46), Mario Lemieux (39), Guy Pearce (37), Kate Winslet (29).

Thirty

I like to commemorate birthdays on this blog. The day has come to mark my thirtieth, and...Is this thing on?

Self-reflection can go from insightful to egotistical in a hurry, so I'll keep this short. Every year I discover more of who I am and who I want to be. Along the way, I do my best to show who I am because anything else wastes time.

A while back, I said only the most superficial readers draw connections between an author's fiction and his real life; however, there is a facet of writing that reveals the truth. Writing is a craft. Readers can tell how committed a writer is to excellence by how effectively a piece functions, how deeply it resonates.

I hope all my writing, indeed, all my life, shows my commitment.

-30-

I Wish I Was...B'Con Bound

The Anthony Boucher Memorial World Mystery Convention, more commonly called “BoucherCon”, is an annual celebration of the mystery and crime writing genre gathering together writers, fans, readers, collectors, booksellers, publishers, agents and interested media. (from official site)

I had hoped to join a host of mystery-lovin' folk in Toronto this year. It was almost possible with my time off from teaching and with relatives up north. But alas, 'twas not to be.

Thrilling Detective will be represented by editor Kevin Burton Smith, who has placed the site on holiday until October 25. As reported earlier, a new issue will go live in November.

Liev Schreiber

Versatile actor Liev Schreiber turns 37 today. Schreiber, IMO, gave the best portrayal of Tom Clancy's black ops specialist John Clark in THE SUM OF ALL FEARS (above). Schreiber--late of Jonathan Demme's MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE remake--also played ambitious thug Jeff Willis in Paul Newman's 1998 P.I. flick TWILIGHT.

Clark: Suit up.

Jack Ryan: I don't go on missions. I write reports.

Clark: So write a report about it.

Where have you gone, Princess Ardala?

By the time Ross Geller was fantasizing about Princess Leia, my imagination already belonged to the imperious, spoiled, sexy Princess Ardala (pictured above, played by Pamela Hensley) of "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century." I also liked Erin Gray as good girl Wilma Deering, but if Buck ever turned to the dark side, I wouldn't blame him.

Hensley, who went on to marry producer E. Duke Vincent, turns 54 today.

McCall Smith Signing (Postgame)

I gave myself two hours extra time between arrival at Penn Station and the signing, and ended up burning forty-five minutes finding my way from West 4th Street to the bookstore.

Smith didn't read from his new book, but he did talk candidly about sausage dogs, pursuing the right level of pretentiousness, and his quick-spreading condition: serial novelism. A wonderfully engaging speaker. I look forward to reading his books.

As luck would have it, I got to sit behind S.J. Rozan and friends. Sarah Weinman spotted me before I spotted her. In fairness, Sarah has changed hairstyles since I last saw her. I had my hair cut today at the usual place, and so very much resemble the photo seen here.

David White caught the last half of the event, and afterward the three of us chatted. Sarah introduced Dave to S.J. I still haven't been introduced, but I did give her a knowing smile as she saved her seat. At one point, I talked basketball, bringing up her point guard-play on the Bouchercon b-ball squad.

All in all, a fine experience. My thanks to Sarah and Dave, Mr. Smith, and the staff of Partners & Crime.

Alexander McCall Smith Signing (Prelude)

Alexander McCall Smith is signing his new book, THE SUNDAY PHILOSOPHY CLUB, tomorrow night at Partners & Crime, and I'll be there.

Not only is the timing ideal for me (7pm on a weekend), Sarah Weinman will be there, and possibly Dave White. More on this momentous meeting after the fact.

(I've actually met Sarah and Dave, but I don't believe they've met each other.)

If we have drinks after, I'll go for a Sierra Mist. Anything stronger, and I'll get carded.