Yes, yes, yes, I'm back. I had planned to be back around the second week of March, but I finished a couple of assignments early. Still busy, as this week has me changing my site, writing two articles, and not only changing the format of the book but also doing a complete wall to wall rehaul of the marketing and promotion I have planned for the book.

For some reason, all of the sudden, I feel sick to my stomach. No, seriously. Not just figuretively (hah hah I have lots of work to do so it's turned into pain!) but literally. I think it's the Stouffer's Macaroni and Beef with Tomatoes (microwave for 7 minutes) I just had for lunch.*

The book, "Book, With Words and Pages," will be out on May 1, and you can pre-order it now! That page will give you a description of what's in the book, ordering info, and even has a few excerpts so you can have a little taste of what's in the book. And see that little box to the right of this column? Put in your e-mail address and I'll send you an occasional newsletter about the book and other things I have planned (plus you'll get news and special offers not available to anyone else). Is that a good deal or what? (Note: you might notice that many of my articles are no longer in the archives. Yes. I did that because many of those pieces are in the book, so they will not be here. The book also has 8 essays/stories that have never before been in print or on the web).

The Notebook, you might have noticed (since you are reading this very sentence), is now on the front page. It just looks better as a column on the front, and, heck, maybe it will give surfers an added incentive to read what's here (they won't have to click to another section). No, I'm not going to go on and on about web site design. I think a lot of readers find that boring. So, here's the new site (version 7.0, if you care). If you like it, cool. In fact, if you like it, buy my book!

Jeez...the shameless self-promotion begins...

--Bob

*Maybe it's wrong to imply that it's the fault of Stouffer's and/or one of their products. That's not what I meant. Maybe I just ate it too quick or something, or maybe it's a combination of eating too quickly and working on the book and actually having it read by a lot of people. I really like Stouffer's products. Their pizza, their individual meals, their pasta dishes. Mmmmmmm. Don't sue me.

February 6, 2001

I'm taking a break.

The next month promises to be one of being busy, busy, busy! I'm preparing my book for publication, which means a few intense weeks of editing, correcting, formatting, submitting, editing, correcting, formatting, submitting, etc. I want to have the book out by May or June, in time for my world book tour (which will center around, um, Massachusetts probably), so that means a month of doing nothing else but concentrating on getting the book done. Oh, and reviewing sites for the 2001 Webby Awards, and being a moderator for Mediabistro.com.

But no Notebooks or other site updates until March. Sometimes the web site has to take a back seat to more pressing concerns. What does this mean for you, faithful reader? Well, for one, you'll have to go about a month and a half without any new updates to the web site. CAN YOU STAND IT? I thought you could. March will also mark the debut of a new fiction area of the site as well (which I will cleverly title "FICTION").

So, enjoy what you see at the site, and enjoy the rest of the winter. I'll be back some time in March, with info on the book and lots of new stuff. But check back every week anyway. If I have a new piece somewhere on the web or any new news to bring you, I'll post it on the main menu page (in the cleverly titled "NEW" section). OK? Thanks.

Now I have to go shovel.

January 27, 2001

What do your dreams say about you? I wonder if there's really a consensus about this. Why do I ask? In a moment. But first...

People who work at home are weird. A friend sent me one of those questionnaires you see floating around the web once in a while, one where you name your favorite movie and favorite food and favorite color and then forward to other friends. One of the questions was "Favorite Day of the Week?" I thought and thought about this and came up with...Wednesday. Yeah, exciting, eh? Wednesday. You see, people who have regular 9 to 5, Monday through Friday jobs will probably pick Saturday or Sunday, because they are days that they are not working (they might pick Friday, but only because it's the last day of the work week). But writers and other work at home types don't have days that they can separate into "work" and "away from work" zones. I work a lot on Saturdays and Sundays, and some weekdays I might only work half a day. Often I work well into the night. It's all so weird. So that's my answer. Wednesday. Besides, Ed and The West Wing are on Wednesdays. Saturdays? Eh. Saturday is just a weekday in casual clothing, with more yardwork thrown in. Sundays are Saturdays with less traffic.* Though Sundays are by far the best day for novel-writing and relaxing on the couch. That's my observation for today: your favorite day of the week depends on the type of job you have. An obvious observation, but there you have it.

Oh, yes, the dream. I'm at an elementary school (not sure if I'm a teacher or some city official - I'm wearing a suit). The school is to be closed for lack of funds. Meanwhile, on the ground floor of the school (the basement? the gym? the cafeteria?), a major black tie party is being held. Everyone wants me to do something to save the school. I walk into the underground parking garage (yes, this elementary school has a massive parking structure) where I see a coked-out Charlie Sheen running at full speed toward a parked car. He jumps on to the hood, where he is tripped by another person who appears out of nowhere, sending Charlie into the windshield on his back. The windshield shatters. THE END.

Make of that what you will.

*Why do I have the feeling I'm going to get a lot of e-mails about this?

January 18, 2001 (Oooooo, futuristic!)

So, another New Year's Eve has come and gone. Mine was exciting! And thrilling! And boring! I stayed home, with the television and a bottle of Cointreau as my companions. It's the year 2001. Can you believe it? I remember when the year 1999 seemed so far away - and not because of Prince singing about it around 1982, but because of the horrid Space: 1999 show in the 70s. This wasn't just space...this was space IN THE YEAR 1999! And now here we are in the world of Arthur Clarke. But it's rather disappointing. I mean, the hell with DSL and Palm Pilots and getting the web on my phone and 30 HBO channels. Where the hell is my jet pack? My hovercraft? My cities on the moon? My ray gun? Where are all the things that the best scientists and magazine covers promised us in the 50s and 60s? Damn it.

Oh, by the way, here's Reason #72 why we don't need 24 hour news channels: CNN, MSNBC, and FOX News all had LIVE coverage of the arrival of guests to the christianing of Madonna's baby. I don't think there's anything else to say about that. Let's talk about something else.

This has been an odd year so far (or should that be odd century?). For the first two weeks of January I was in that just-after-Christmas funk that I always get into. What, the holiday is over? Wow. Let's rip those trees out and throw them on the sidewalk! Let's stop playing the happy music! Christmas cards? They're just in the way, falling over every time you walk by them and create a swirl of wind. It's amazing how people can go from holiday attitude to just another day attitude. Depressing. That's why if I'm really honest with myself, I don't mind that the holiday "season" begins around the first of November. Any earlier than that would be annoying, but I'll take two solid months of merriment.

Not to mention (but I'm about to) the fact that my major source of writing income has vanished. The publishing web site I worked for changed their business plan and got rid of a bunch of us editors. Oh, we could have stayed, for no money. Yeah, OK, I'll do that. So now I'm in I-need-freelance-work-and-a-staff-position-would-be-nice-ya-know mode. That's a hint, by the way.

But I've already been rambling too long. I have an article due Friday and it looks like it's gonna be another 2AM night. Until next week, check out the main page for recent articles (and my new "NEW" section that will keep you up to date on what's going on). And sign up for the newsletter while you're there. OK?

Back to Bob Sassone Online