Stormy Weather

As one of the 60 million people very likely to be affected by Hurricane Sandy, I'm preparing for that historic storm, but still planning (maybe "hoping" is a more appropriate word at this point) to be in St. Louis, Missouri later this week for YALSA's Young Adult Literature Symposium from November 2-4. Am hoping that this storm is not as bad as predicted but am not counting on that.

UPDATE: This New York Times story on weather satellites does not bode well for the future.

UPDATE (October 30, 2012): We got a fierce and frightening wind here, but not much rain, so lucked out. And the wind blew away most of the leaves we'd neglected to rake.

My First Vote

The first American presidential candidate I voted for and campaigned for was George McGovern. In my naivete--hard to believe I was ever that innocent--I was sure McGovern would win because he was clearly a better man and no one I knew was voting for Nixon. George McGovern died this past weekend, and Salon's Joan Walsh has an excellent piece about him here. 

Upcoming Appearance

 I will be at Albacon 2012 at the Holiday Inn Express and Suites in Latham, New York this coming Saturday, October 20th.

What Was Left Unsaid in Last Night's Presidential Debate

Namely, the most important issue we face.

The Art of Handwriting

My own handwriting was abysmal until I took a few lessons in calligraphy. I never mastered calligraphy, but my handwriting improved and could even look pleasing, as well as legible. Almost all of my published work has been written by hand in its first drafts, and even though I'm able to compose on the screen, I keep getting pulled back to writing by hand. Philip Hensher, in this essay, tells us why handwriting even now, with keyboards and tablets and smartphones and texting, still matters and is worth cultivating.