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I went down to the hotel breakfast buffet this morning and came face to face with the dreaded bagel topper monstrosity. I don’t know what exactly it consists of, but I think I recognized a cheese like substance with possible bacon bits and other flotsam and jetsam all fused on to the top of a soggy, grease laden bagel. There was a time in the not too distant past that I would have given it a try, but thanks to an intervention a few months ago those days are gone. I was going to take a picture so you could see what I’m talking about, but then it occurred to me you may be eating while reading this, and I don’t want to induce regurgitation. Suffice it to say, if you ever see a serving platter labeled “bagel topper” don’t open the lid, just run.

From interview to interview I’ve noticed several questions get asked over and over. A clear favorite is the one about what I read, so I thought I’d share a photo of the latest book I devoured, and I mean that nearly literally. Between bookmarks and jotted down notes I found myself dissecting the book as much as reading it. Many times I had to force myself to put my pen down, flip back a few pages, and just read and enjoy. Tuchman’s prose is sublime. And keep in mind, this is a book of nonfiction about the first month of the First World War. Her ability to seamlessly move between grand strategy and personal conflicts while connecting a myriad of dots is breathtaking. Oh, and she won the Pulitzer for this.

Every writer starts out as an aspiring writer. If you’re currently one (and I count myself among you because I’m striving to get better with every book I write) then you owe it yourself to read widely, intently, and with purpose.

It’s one of those days that I love going out so that I can experience the feeling of warm bliss when I come home again. I strolled the farmers’ market this morning and walked by the Christmas tree vendors just to sniff the pine needles. I’m thinking of foraying out again for dinner. The weather reports say we might get snow and I want to be out there for the first flake. Yeah, I know, it must be a Canadian thing.

In other news I bought a new laptop. It’s a Toshiba Satellite with a candy apple metallic red shell and it purrs like a kitten with a V8 engine under the hood. It comes pre-loaded with Windows 7 and so far it’s been a breeze to use. I doubt it will help me write any faster, but I figure I’ll look at least 20% cooler as I do.

Park Avenue at night (yeah, I’m a caption god)

Getting ready to book, the fuzz is on to me!

Getting all artsy, a bridge abutment in Central Park

Now back to writing.

I took my brother out last night to see New York after dark (technically, it was during dark – after dark would be light, wouldn’t it?) Anyway, we toured and had a great time.

Brothers in Arms

I call this one Blur 27

Times Square

More Times Square (it used to be called Longacre Square)