“We Blog” Coming Soon

It's hard to believe but our book, We Blog: Publishing Online with Weblogs will be published in two days! Which means if you order now, you can have it as soon as it's released. As someone who's wanted to write a book her whole life, you'd think I'd be more excited than I am. Perhaps it's because I co-wrote it? No, I don't think that's it. I couldn't imagine writing a book with two better people than pb and Matt. Perhaps because it's a techie-type book I don'ty have an emotional attachment to it? Nah, I don't think it's that either. I think it's because it hasn't sunk in yet — it doesn't seem real. Maybe when it arrives and I actually feel it and touch it and see my name on the cover. Maybe then it will sink in and I'll feel excited, or proud, or horrified, or whatever it is that authors feel when they see their words on the printed page for the first time (or second time, since I did have a book review published in a magazine in April, but you know what I mean). Or maybe I'll never feel anything great about the book, and I'll just say, "Oh, yeah, I wrote a book," and then move on to my next big thing.

Goldmember

I saw Goldmember over the weekend, and while it had its moments, it wasn't as good as either of the first two. Perhaps I'm too prudish, but in this one Mike Myers took the poop and fart jokes too far for my taste. Still I think Myers is a genius and he manages to portray four different characters in this film and find some fresh new material for a film that could have simply regurgitated jokes from the first two installments. Recommended as a matinee.

Blogroots Redesign

We've redesigned Blogroots a bit to reflect the book's cover and we've added some more features, including Blogpopuli, a blog filled with TrackBack posts — meaning that whenever someone who uses Movable Type to publish their weblog writes a post they think would make sense for Blogroots, they can notify our site and we'll include a snippet of their post on our Blogpopuli page, with a link back to their site. For more details, see the tutorial on how it works and how to participate.

Also chapter 3, Navigating the Blog Universe is now online for your reading pleasure.

Minority Report, Round 2

I saw Minority Report again yesterday and found that it really doesn't hold up upon a second viewing. The first time, I enjoyed it (except for those dumb wooden balls.) But this time around, I found the technological short-comings too much to bear. All I could think of was Jane's hysterically-funny essay and I kept wondering why someone would go through the trouble to make such a "good" movie and leave it filled with so many holes.

Wouldn't it have been far more creepy, and interesting, and probable, if Anderton's security *had* been cancelled? Then he wouldn't have gotten any old eyeballs for his transplant, he'd have to get the eyes of someone with security clearance, someone he worked with. Now that would have been interesting! (Who to choose? How to go about doing it?)

Back on schedule?

One of the things I enjoy about maintaining megnut is the ability it provides for me to go back in time and view what I was thinking about or doing at this time last year, or the year before. Poking around in July of 2000, I stumbled across this post in which I was bemoaning the lack of progress in my life. It's funny to see that since that time, I've actually checked some things off that list. Book? Written! Savings for house? In the black! (Though woefully short of a San Francisco down payment.) 29? Long gone! Marriage? Kids? PhD? Well, some things take time. And with some people, they take lots of time.

Penn Station Bathroom Memories

My post about the Bryant Park bathroom brought an email response from my aunt, who used to live in NYC. She writes,

Your comments brought this incredibly vivid memory sweeping back to me. You and your mother had come to visit me on the train, and I was picking you up at Penn Station. You had to go to the bathroom, and much to my dismay, we went into the public restroom in Penn Station. For me, it was like a scene out of the dark ages- dark shapes of women lined the sides kind of moaning and definitely stinking. You were quick and we got out alive.

It's funny to hear that memory since, though I remember a lot from those magical trips to NY to visit my aunt, I don't recall that bathroom visit. It must not have been *that* bad if I don't even remember it. I do remember one time when my mom, brother and I ran for the subway but only I made it, and the door closed behind me, catching my bag in the middle. The door re-opened quickly, just enough time for me to pull my bag in. I still remember the look of horror on my mother's face as the train pulled away from the station with her nine year old daughter on board (who had no money, no ID, and no idea where her aunt's apartment was, aside from "the upper west side").

But my favorite 1980's NYC memory is buying Nintendo Game & Watch handhelds from one of the zillions of electronics stores all over Manhattan. Parachute (close-up of box) was the first we got and between my brother, my mom and I, there was always a fight over who got to play and who held the high score. Another memory is of the first time I had sushi, but that one's not nearly as good. Probably more akin to the yuck of the bathroom at Penn Station.

Subway update

For those that need closure on the NYC subway anecdote: I got off at the next stop and waited. Several trains passed through the station, and eventually (though I'm sure it wasn't more than ten minutes or so) my mom and brother stepped out of one. I think my mom was a little surprised to see me; she said she assumed I'd just take the train all the way to my aunt's and meet them there. Funny thing is, I don't even remember being scared at all. Just annoyed that my mom and brother were such slow runners.