Time to empty out my head again...
1. November is National Novel Writing Month. This appeals greatly to my affinity for biting off three times more than I could ever hope to chew, so of course I signed up to pen my first novel at the official site. The spirit of this venture is best summed up by this q&a from the NaNoWriMo Rules:
Can anyone participate in NaNoWriMo?
No. People who take their writing (and themselves) very seriously should probably go elsewhere. Everyone else, though, is warmly welcomed.
It's a collective encouragement and challenge to any and all procrastinating amateurs who have ever dreamed (even if only in vague terms to themselves) of "someday" writing that novel. And there is no competition because there are no awards. One goal, and one goal only - a minimum of 50,000 words to be produced, assembled, and put in order between November 1st and November 30th. One month to celebrate quantity over quality...to set off on a mad dash and sprint from here to there just to say that you did. And of course, to later brag about it at parties and spin tall tales about the process to impress the (pretty) girls and make your (less-accomplished) friends a little jealous in the process. I'm all in. Now all I need are some characters, a plot, and a more judicious approach to the usage of commas.
2. A few weeks ago at my mom's garage sale I was thumbing through a well-worn copy of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. It's older than I am, and she was trying to sell it off for twenty-five cents. During the lulls in scavenger traffic I would flip through the pages, and I came across this Agatha Christie entry pulled from The Murder of Roger Ackroyd:
It is completely unimportant. That is why it is so interesting.
I found other great quotes, most of which were from people I had never heard of. Needless to say, I stole the book from my mom and brought it home with me. Your quarter is in the mail, mom. And in Roger Ackroyd I now have a new #1 on my books-to-buy list.
3. Lots of opportunities to hear some of my favorite new (or at least new to me) artists live and in person over the coming weeks. The Gypsy Tea Room in Dallas is playing host to the likes of Matt Nathanson / Brett Dennen (11/7), Rachel Yamagata / Cary Brothers / Tristan Prettyman / Joshua Radin (11/10), Straylight Run / Kevin Devine (11/25), and Amos Lee (12/19). If you're local (or want to fly in for some shows) drop me a line and we'll hang out. I promise that there's a bare minimum 80% chance that I won't flake out at the last minute.
4. Another World Series is in the books. Cardinal fans are celebrating while Tiger fans are scratching their heads and wondering what happened. For such an easy game, baseball doesn't make any sense sometimes. It's maddening and addicting all at once - this business of you trying to throw the ball past me, me trying to hit it over your head, and the other guys trying to catch it.
Thankfully there's only about five months until pitchers and catchers report to early training camp. Then we'll do it all over again.
Two things:
1. I have read _The Murder of Roger Ackroyd_ and liked it so much I tried to produce a short movie of it when I was in high school, using my parents' video camera. I did not succeed in that project, nor do I remember anything about the book. :D
2. I'm doing Nanowrimo too. Nice to meet you! Good luck. And don't worry about the commas.
Posted by: Lydia | October 29, 2006 at 05:17 PM