Quote of the Week

"Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the actions stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the highest form of living."

--- Anais Nin

Another (e-book) Party Heard From

In the midst of all this e-book hoopla that has been appearing in articles, web sites and blogs, Barnes and Noble, world's largest bookstore chain, announced that they would be opening a "mega e-book store" on their site, bn.com.

According to the NYT article: "In an announcement on Monday, Barnes & Noble said that it would offer more than 700,000 books that could be read on a wide range of devices, including Apple's iPhone, the BlackBerry and various laptop or desktop computers. When Barnes & Noble acquired Fictionwise in March, that online retailer had about 60,000 books in its catalog."

Me personally, I'll always have this thing for paper books. Call me a sentimentalist. And I think the other reason that e-readers are not a bigger percentage of book sales is the cost. Most readers are still around $300 and above, as opposed to mass-market paperbacks which are generally all $7.99. Still a little high for a mass market book, but still readily affordable to many more people.

Now, I realize, I'm far from the first person to mention e-books, and I certainly won't be the last. But I'm curious to know, what do you all think of the whole e-book thing in general? Is it the true future of publishing? Will it make the printed book a thing of the past? How will this affect authors and the publishing industry as a whole?

Anyone who comments on this within the next week or so, will be entered in a drawing for two $25 gift cards. One for Barnes and Noble and one Visa for just about anything you'd like.

Quote of the Week

"I am thankful for laughter, except when milk come out of my nose."

--- Woody Allen

Frank McCourt Passes Away

Frank McCourt, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir Angela's Ashes, as well as New York City school teracher of almost thirty years, passed away yesterday from cancer at the age of 78.

McCourt had been treated for melanoma but then became seriously ill with meningitis. He died at a hospice in New York City, according to his brother Malachy.

McCourt considered himself to be a late bloomer in the publishing world. Angela's Ashes was published in 1996 when McCourt was 66.

That's the Way It is

Walter Cronkite, the voice of broadcast journalism for more than a generation, --- who covered such news stories as the Kennedy assassination, Vietnam, the moon landing and Watergate --- died yesterday at his home in New York. He was 92.

Walter Cronkite tells the story of his "That's the way it is" sign-off line.


Announcing the Death of JFK

Forever Young

Have you ever noticed that, generally speaking, superheroes and villains in comic books never seem to really age? Sure they may look different from when they were firs created, but over all, they always seem to be in the same age bracket. Take Superman for example:

Early 1930's


Today

Notice the huge difference in the way The Man of Steel is drawn, but they look to be around the same age.

But what if as the comics continued, superheroes and villains aged? Italian cartoonist Donald Soffritti shows us what the results could be.

The Reason We Have Laptops

Go into any Starbuck's and something you're likely to see are people with their laptops, busily typing away. Whether they're writer's, students or business people, all of them are tapping at those keys. Which begs the question: "What if the laptop never came to be?" The fun people at Improv Everywhere attempt to answer that for us.



And for more fun, be sure to check out the "Missions" section of their website. Some of my other favorite "missions" include Best Buy, Surprise Wedding Reception, Frozen Grand Central and Food Court Musical.

Quote of the Week

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

--- Voltaire

Happy Birthday Franz

It was this day that writer Franz Kafka was born in 1883. Franz Kafka is the writer of such works as The Metamorphosis and The Trial.

And now as a special treat, here's a special look at Franz Kafka: The Rock Opera.