BRAINPAN LEAKAGE

Times, they are a changin’…

Once upon a time I would pack my suitcase, brave the scrutiny of the power drunk rent-a-cops hired by the TSA, and then jet all over the country (coach, of course) to do book signings, chats, and seminars.

While I still do that to an extent, a combination of emerging technologies and bottoming out economies has made a radical change to how authors handle appearances. I am talking, of course, about virtual touring…

So, in a blind embrace of technology… Well… Not exactly blind… I do try to keep one eye open so I can try to catch E K sneaking up on me (not that it works, mind you)… Anyway, the point here is, I Skype™ (among other things, but we won’t go there right now…)

So, if you:

• Run a book club

• Schedule library chats

• Are looking for a guest blogger

• Want to schedule a chat for a classroom full of creative writers

• Need a motor-mouthed guest for a podcast

• Are looking for any other Virtual Author Appearance sort of thing

I’m available… In other words, just consider me a modern day Paladin – “Have WebCam and Headset, Will Chat…”

Drop me a line and we’ll Skype™. (Just don’t tell E K)…

More to come…

Murv

I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but in case you are new here… Oh, what the hell… It bears repeating even for the regulars:

E K despises Wal-Mart.  And, when I say despises that is very simply the strongest family friendly word I can pull out of my pocket at this juncture. If she could, E K would have Wal-Mart strapped to the wall down in her dungeon so she could torture it on a daily basis. She hates the organization just that much.

Living under that same roof with her I have come to understand this, and to even plan routes to restaurants and cinemas so that they avoid coming within 10 miles of a Wal-Mart. It’s sort of a self-preservation thing. However, since E K is not only evil, she has the built in “Mom Thing” going on, the O-spring can at least get away with mentioning the name of the vile organization without paying the price I – or another adult – would.

And so, since Wal-Mart attracts a “certain” demographic, which then allows them to cut deals with manufacturers or even musical artists that cater to said demographic, the life sucking mecca of retail depravity happened to be the exclusive reseller of a particular CD. A particular CD that it turns out the O-spring wanted “really, really bad.” This, of course, led to the child badgering The Evil One relentlessly about shopping there – whether in person or online, she didn’t care.

Eventually the badgering wore on E K, and one night as the O-spring dropped not so subtle hints around our office, the redhead went ahead and surfed over to the online cesspool of Satan’s Shopping Center. (That would be Wal-Mart just in case you aren’t following.)

The O-spring watched on as the supremely evil one scanned the site. After a few silent moments the kid looked at her mother and with every bit of seriousness she could muster announced in a matter-of-fact tone, “You didn’t know Wal-Mart had this much information didya?”

A minute or two later, as E K and I were cleaning our drinks off our monitors, the daughter turned to me and said, “This is going to be blog material, isn’t it?”

Why yes… Yes it is.

More to come…

Murv