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These three darkest months of the year are hard times for me. I miss the sunlight. I'm not a fan of sunset being at 4:35. So I'm looking for light within the darkness. Some of you mentioned tricks you use to get happy on my Facebook, like music and cake and friends. All of these are good. There's much to be said for indoor entertainment.

Like how in recent Netflix adventures I've been watching last season of Private Practice. I never hear people talking about this show so I don't know how popular it is, but I think it's really good. It may not have that overwhelming intense thing Grey's Anatomy does, but some of their story lines rival Grey's. I'd watched that Grey's ep where Addison takes her brother to Seattle Grace a while ago, so it was cool to see the tie-in from Private Practice's side. The characters are sweet and it's always interesting. Recommended.

In movie news, I just saw The Men Who Stare at Goats. Dude, it was so much better than I thought it was going to be! It's the best movie I've seen in a long while. Recommended, especially if your sense of humor is kind of weird like mine. Now I'm waiting for Brothers. I used to have a husband list when I was a teacher, where every year I'd list my Top Five Husbands and students could call me by any of those names if they wanted. Anything to make the day more fun for them, you know? And, um, me. For several years, my #1 and #2 husbands were Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal. I've been saying that those boys look alike for years, and now they're playing brothers! Totally brill.



Books I want to read keep piling up. I like to read in bed, but sometimes I'm so tired that I can't read more than a chapter. This means it takes me a ridiculous amount of time to read books these days. I'm finally reading Jonathan Tropper's This Is Where I Leave You, which is just so freaking good. Highly recommended. I've been a fan since Plan B, so I'm thrilled about all of his success. You deserve every bit of it, Jonathan!

Of course, the only music I'm playing these days is the new John Mayer album. I scored floor seats for his concert at Madison Square Garden! Excellent ones, yo. It's a good thing I'm into anticipation, because the concert isn't until the end of February. Which is perfect, since February is the coldest month and I don't do cold. So I'll look forward to this concert and let it be my light at the end of the darkness. I feel warmer already.

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Forty years ago today, the first episode of Sesame Street was born. It was sponsored by the letters W, S and E and the numbers 2 and 3. Since that day, the show has done a brilliant job of evolving with the times. It is still relevant. It is still teaching in a way that speaks to us. And it is still freaking awesome.

I've posted some clips of the Yip-Yip Aliens already, so here's one with Kermit, Cookie, and the Mystery Box. I love that Cookie has recently explained how cookies are "sometimes food" while fruit is for everyday. Not that he's thinking about fruit here.

Happy birthday, Sesame Street!

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After several long days of getting my Dreamweaver and Photoshop on, I've managed to revamp my website with some updates. Before my website was designed, I knew I wanted it to have a scrapbook theme. I'm into archival scrapbooking and I think the layout reflects the tone of my books. So I didn't go in and overhaul the whole look or anything. I just redid the homepage with new colors and fonts, plus updated my Q&A page. I also created a Something Like Fate page. If you're wondering what the book is about, you can find a short synopsis there. Your feedback is welcome - is there anything not on my website that you'd like me to add?

Speaking of websites, the fact that Jim and Pam's wedding site is a real thing redefines spectacular. I think it's so cool when fictional characters make their way into the real world. Since I live in this world, I am aware that the big wedding was last night. I am also aware that, being a hardcore fan, I should have watched it at a friend's place. But I'm still savoring season four, so I didn't want to encounter any spoilers. It's taking Pam coal walking strength for me not to watch it online. Not having a TV can be frustrating sometimes (like, once or twice a year), but I do love the anticipation. Conflict! I did go ahead and sign Jim and Pam's guest book, though. Did you?

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I'm grieving the loss of someone who isn't real.

I realize that T.R. Knight leaving Grey's Anatomy is old news. And I knew he left the show before I finished watching last season because I live in the world. But knowing something and having it hit you full-force are two completely different things. Last week as I was watching last season, I kept wondering why there wasn't enough George. The boy did not have one plotline. Not one! What kind of way is that to treat the best part of the show? Grey's Anatomy without George is like a S'more without the toasty marshmallow.



After I watched the last ep (which totally brought back that classic season two magic), I did some Googling. There was T.R. saying how he left because he was reduced to this random character with hardly any scenes. That was just a raw deal. It was a mistake to fade him into the background and I think the show will suffer that loss. Those of us who love George will require much recovery time. Plus a whole lot more of that season two magic.

George O'Malley, you live on in our hearts.

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In my experience, stuff happens all together. There could be nothing going on for days and then wham! Everything spazzes out at the same time. This is what's happening with my Netflix queue. Why do all of my shows have to come out in September? When I won't even be here for half the month? At least the waiting is over. I thought maybe you'd like to know these release dates as well, so here we go:

• Gossip Girl, season two - just released
• One Tree Hill, season six - just released
• Thirtysomething, season one - just released
• Brothers & Sisters, season three - Sept. 1
• Desperate Housewives, season five - Sept. 1
• Fringe, season one - Sept. 8
• Grey's Anatomy, season five - Sept. 15
• Private Practice, season two - Sept. 15
• 30 Rock, season three - Sept. 22

See? So many of the best shows, all at once. And of course The Office comes out on September 8, but I have to buy that so it's not on my queue. I could totally own all of these box sets and enjoy them immensely. However, I am applying restraint. Back in my Blockbuster days, a friend told me that Grey's Anatomy season three was just as good as season two, so I went ahead and bought it. That was a mistake. But I hear Grey's got really good again this season, so I'm excited to see what's up with everyone.

I'm also curious about Thirtysomething. I was a teen when it was on and I never watched it because everyone was too old (i.e. in their 30s). Guess who's in their 30s now? Fringe has Joshua Jackson and I am desperately missing Pacey Witter, so I've added Fringe out of Dawson's Creek nostalgia. Not sure if the Housewives are still burning down each other's houses and killing their neighbors and whatnot, but I do like that show. 30 Rock and Brothers & Sisters are just quality shows, always. I know they will not disappoint.

So yeah. I'll have to remind myself that it's not all about the Great Indoors for the next several weeks. As for this weekend, we're having a sweet break from the heat and humidity. I'll be stocking up on extra outdoor time. I hope you rock your weekend, too.

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Fun and (I am happy to report :) ) busy day today at the South End Open Market. I tell you I LOVE this side of town! Lived in Boston or Cambridge for most of my life. Now WHY have I not spent time in this vibrant little shoebox-cozy part of town? Let's look forward shall we! I'm going to drag Matt out of Cambridge for a leisurely South End Saturday one of these weekends. The dog count ALONE here is worth the trip -- so many adorable, sweet, big, tiny, licky-friendly and then also of course the non-chalant, stand-offish doggies, and I love to meet every last one! It's like a big dog party! :)

Weather was nice today -- very warm but not too sticky with intermittent sun and overcast skies. The a.m. was just a little bit harried because we did not have a lot of time to set up our tent and area. It was a race but it all worked out just fine in the end.

The crowds were intermittently thick or moderate at any given moment. We had an aisle spot, so there were a couple of "Now you see them, now you DON'T" types of moments, but in reverse: "Now you don't see them, now you DO!" That was fun and kept us on our toes!

Today, SOWA hosted a group of NYC artisans called "The {New New}". (The {New New} group is similar in philosophy and concept as the group to which I belong, Boston Handmade.) I think that having The {New New} here today may have helped to increase foot traffic over a typical summer Sunday. In general, the overall number of vendors was high as well, so it was a very good day to be here,whether vending or shopping or just hanging out! I was not able to do a good walk through, greet our NYC guests and see what kind of cool stuff they were making and selling. I was too busy today. with my own booth, which is a good thing, I can't complain about that but I sure would like to meet the NYC artists some time. For now, I will have to depend on their Flickr photostream to check out how the day went from their end!

I also did not take too many pics today (see the photos I did take HERE). I just didn't have many chances. I was able to take a few of my table and a few of my booth mate / sister / jewelry designer NancyRosetta's. (Those did not require that I leave the booth. It's no wonder I could get a few pics!)

Well,that's my SOWA report for Sunday, August 9, 2009. I might do one more SOWA date this month ( Aug. 30) . It's not certain yet but I promise to keep you in the loop!

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It may finally be sinking in that it is, in fact, July. It's day two of hot and humid, which is only slightly more tolerable than cold and windy. Everybody knows that I don't do winter. I also don't do uncomfortable heat conditions. I guess I'm just not into extremes when it comes to weather.

Since I'm enjoying the Great Indoors today, I've decided to post some vintage Sesame Street for your viewing pleasure. This is the last in a series featuring the Yip-Yip Martians. In this clip, the Yip-Yips discover a clock. Brilliance ensues.



Stay cool.

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For the past week, I've been going at breakneck speed and intensity getting ready for this show. I have not done a show in *gulp* at *least* ten years... and, back THEN, I was selling ONLY greeting cards, and I'd really only done a couple of shows.

This time, it was going to be much, much more involved. I not only had to figure out what I currently had for inventory, what I wanted to add to it, and HOW I wanted to 'design' my entire stock of inventory (no, you can't just throw a bunch of unrelated objects on a table! sorry! ;) ). But, JUST as importantly, and some might say even MORE, was the fact that I needed to figure out a key element of this whole project -- my DISPLAY!!




In terms of product sold, I did okay today. I came away very pleased with my sales for the first time out. To be fair, the crowds were much, much thinner this year than last (which I attended but did not exhibit)... and, there were a lot of looky-loos, but not a lot of buyers. (I think people are way less impulsive to buy. At least they were today). In all honestly though, regarding sales, I was happy to get any today. And I do not mean that as a self-deprecating remark at ALL... Here is the thing: I believe in my product, in my artwork, and I absolutely ADORE it. (In fact I think I am my own biggest fan. I hope that admitting that doesn't lose me any fans.) But, I also know that this is my first run out here. I have no illusions. My plan today was to observe what people gravitated toward, what parts of my display seemed to work well and what parts did not work. To have a presence, say Hello, show my face, name, and products and make sure that my take-away "contact info" cards were within easy reach. Hey - maybe I'd even sell something (wink wink). Basically, I was entering this particular arena with a "This Is Me Putting My Best Face Forward, My First Time Out, Before I Have The Luxury Of Experience" attitude.

I have been working as a professional artist, illustrator, and graphic designer for 15 years. I have worked in various commercial markets and I have even proudly earned a little visibility in a couple of them. But, this *specific type* of market -- this live, open-air arts and crafts market for my work, is more or less new to me (save for that 6-month stint over 10 years ago I mentioned already). So, I say, jump in with both feet, but don't forget the life-preserver!

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It seems to be July. How did that happen? I don't know if it's been the incessant cloudy, rainy weather or what, but it totally doesn't feel like summer at all. Well, hey, here we are, so welcome! If you're on summer vacay, I hope you're having a blast so far. The thing I always loved most about summer vacay was the possibility of returning to school as this whole other person. Where you could show up on the first day and be the person you'd always wanted to be, and everyone would just accept the new you for who you are. Not like that ever happened. But the possibility that it could happen was exciting anyway.

Here are some things that are happening for real.

Juiciliciousss Reviews reviewed Waiting for You. I'm not sure why it took me so long to discover this site because it's really impressive. Stephanie has reviewed so many incredible books and she interviews the authors we love. Definitely one to check out. Also, Blogging YA posted a non-review of Waiting for You. I kind of think it turned out to be a review in disguise.

Over at Teenreads, I'm honored to be the latest guest blogger. Since a lot of people I know (including myself) struggle with living in the Now, I decided to write about why the Now is so important.

In Netflix news, I've started watching Gossip Girl. It's better than I expected. Of course I like Dan Humphrey the best because he's all - okay, you know what? I really can't discuss anything further about this show until I clear up a burning question. So can I just ask - are Leighton Meester and Minka Kelly the same person?



Seriously! What is up with them?! Are Leighton and Minka sisters and no one told me? Or is this some kind of conspiracy? Another thing is that Vanessa has a Cameron Diaz thing going on. But one burning question at a time. Any information regarding this matter is greatly appreciated.

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1. Ever since Take Me There came out in paperback last month, I've been hearing from more readers asking about Rhiannon's name. I've even heard from two girls actually named Rhiannon, which is seriously awesome. One sharp reader asked if Rhiannon and Sara from When It Happens were named after Fleetwood Mac songs. She is correct! Sara was named after both a friend and the song "Sara," while Rhiannon was named after the song "Rhiannon." Which reminds me...I haven't done a readers' Q&A here for a while. If you have a question you'd like to ask, please leave it in the comments section and I'll put together another Q&A post soon.

2. Shout-out to Alessandria for letting me know about the double feature DVD set of Say Anything and Garden State. That's so When It Happens!

3. I've seen the countdown widget for Crazy Beautiful on tons of blogs. At first I was like, Dude! There's no way someone else got to write that book! Because I absolutely love love love the movie and totally wanted to be the one to write the book. But then I read a review and discovered that it has nothing to do with the movie. I didn't know we were allowed to use movie titles for unrelated books. Won't that cause a lot of confusion? In any case, it sounds like a very interesting book, so I understand the buzz.

4. Have you entered my Along for the Ride giveaway yet? Here's how.

5. When I was little, I loved watching All in the Family. But since I was so young when it was on, I don't really remember much of it. Now with the magic of Netflix, it's been a big old Bunker family reunion up in here. This is a classic clip of Archie arguing with Mike about the right way to eat dinner. They're both struggling with their diets. Best Archie line: "The cusini could all rush to a foot." Hilarious up to minute 5:40. Enjoy!

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Here is a happy bulldog. I drew this guy while we were at Brigham & Womens, sometime in the first couple of weeks after my mom's stroke. Time goes by so quickly! Anyway this little character keeps finding his way into my drawings. (You might even recognize him!)

In other news, I'm starting to get ready for the Boston Handmade Marketplace in Union Square, Somerville. This craft show will be held on Sunday July 11th. I will be there, selling my artwork and painted goods, and will share space with my sister, jewelry maker Nancy MacCallum of NancyRosetta jewelry. It will be a lot of fun! Please come out and see us!!

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9. Words, words, words
Being a logophile and lover of books since elementary school, I enjoy being around words and those who like words – readers, writers, critics, fans. And I get jazzed whenever I’m with a group of people who are as concerned and connected with literacy as the IRA crowd. Sitting at one of the convention cafes with a hot chocolate or walking through the exhibit hall, overhearing bytes of conversations about kids and reading and “reading assessment” and “instructional strategies” made me realize at once that I had found my people.

8. Sign Time
On the third day of the conference I had the opportunity to autograph books at the Red Brick Learning booth. Red Brick is the classroom division of Capstone Publishers, so it was a natural fit for me to sign there and meet with those teachers who actually use my books in the classroom. What a thrill to hear about kids getting excited about the Library of Doom, or one of my Superman stories, or even the book I wrote for Picture Window, If You Were A Palindrome. (I always wished I had one of those names that was a palindrome, like Bob or Otto!)



7. The Red Brick booth
The booth looked great! Colorful book covers, eye-popping posters hanging against the black backdrop, and cool videos playing on a monitor.



6. Jon Scieszka
Yes! I was able to meet him – the Ambassador of Books for Boys. He is one of my all-time heroes. A funny, humble, and creative guy who never stops inspiring people to read and to write. And I like his hairstylist. In fact, I think he and I have the same one.


5. The Food.
Just kidding. Although I did share a lunch outdoors with Joan Berge, the president of Capstone Fiction, on one of those glorious spring Minnesota afternoons. Azure sky, puffy clouds, bright sunshine, and a humidity-free 70 degrees. Like a day at the lake, right?

4. Standing Room Only
I co-presented a workshop on graphic novels in the classroom with Dr. Stephen Sargent from Northeastern State University in Oklahoma. Stephan is a brilliant professor of reading and literacy and was a great partner to work with (and had some excellent hand-outs, btw). The two of us had been told to expect between 25 and 30 participants. We had 72! The graphic wave continues to roll!
And I received great feedback on some of our Graphic Revolve retellings, like Swiss Family Robinson. It’s amazing how a even single illustration can provoke so much thought and delight and discussion!
3. Swag
Lots of free posters, banners, books, bookmarks, and giveaways. I had fun handing out our Stone Arch DC Superhero poster and the one on the Power of Reading. The graphic of the four Recon Academy teen heroes looks appropriately high-tech and tough.

2. Invisible Creatures
The one major element of the crowd that you couldn’t see, but definitely made their presence known each day – the kids! That’s why we were all there. To get kids reading better, reading more, and reading for pleasure. There was enough energy and creativity at the Minneapolis IRA conference to explode in a cloud of literacy that would cover the country. I think it’s begun.

1. Blast off!

--Michael Dahl
Editorial Director

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It's Day 3 of my blog tour. You can find me over at Frenetic Reader for High School Myth #3 and what I like the most about being an author. Khy also asked me one of my fave questions of this blog tour: Why do you include both a failed relationship and a new one in each of your books? Sharp observation!

Only 9 more days of waiting until Waiting for You is out in the world!

The only thing that can cause almost as much excitement as my new book release is getting to see Jon Stewart for a taping of The Daily Show. Have I ever mentioned that I worship Jon Stewart in a godlike way? Oh, I have? Yeah, I have because he freaking rocks the house. I had tickets for last Thursday, April 30, which you can watch on Hulu.



When I'm passionate about something, there's no limit to my devotion. I really love how Jon is making the world a better place, so I'm a hardcore fan. Which means that I had to be first in line. You can line up until 4:30. The doors open at 5:15. I got there at 1:05. I was first in line. Score!

I've seen the show before, so I knew where to sit on the empty sidewalk to start the line. I was completely alone for almost an hour. That was one strange hour. Nice New Yorkers kept saying stuff like, "Way to wait it out!" as they walked by. A guy riding his bike past with a visitor was explaining how by 3:30 there's a huge line. Then he saw me and he yelled, "Right on!" One dude sat next to me for a while even though he didn't have tickets. Then he was like, "Oh, you need tickets?" Dogs came up and sniffed me.

It was like I was on a reality how called The Longest Wait. I almost expected people to start throwing scraps of food at me. However, this was not necessary. When you're preparing to wait in line for several hours, provisions are important. I had snacks. I had a small bottle of water (no bathroom access, but need to stay hydrated). Tissues are also good, since about ten pounds of 11th Avenue dirt accumulate on your face while you're waiting.

When SP showed up around 4:00 and found me first in line, he was all, "You are the biggest Daily Show nerd." Yes! Best compliment ever! Here's part of the line, with me staring down the girls next to me. Those girls aren't next in line. They're at the back of the line! Which wraps around! And goes around the corner down the block!



For the show, my seat was right next to Jon. I read from his teleprompter and watched the video clips from this camera screen. This one time he was supposed to say "good," but instead he said "terrific." He's so fun to watch when he's not on screen! He totally cracks up while he's watching the clips. He rolls his chair back and forth a little, all energy and excitement. Love that.

Hugh Jackman fans should know that you'll never see more ripped arms on a smaller dude. I was sitting about fifteen feet from his biceps. And triceps. And every other muscle group in the arm, all of which were clearly visible. You don't want to throw down with Hugh. Unless you're Jack Bauer.

I'm going back in the fall for my next Daily Show fix. Perhaps I will invest in an inflatable mini chair.

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We are at IRA Minneapolis this week. We've got author signings at our Red Brick Learning booth all three days--come by booth 1526 and say hi!

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TLA was simply amazing! Those aren’t the four most powerful words. But they come close. The Texas Library Association is a great chance for those of us who spend most of our life at quiet desks, tinkering with nouns and verbs, to meet the people who give life to books by connecting them with kids and readers. Librarians and media specialists are the best conversationalists you’ll ever meet. And I had some great conversations.

I talked with a woman who said she was finally able to raise a young student’s test scores because the girl became an enthusiastic reader of our Library of Doom series. In fact, the girl brought four of her friends into the school library to turn them on to the books too.

One media specialist thanked me because the Stone Arch books were the only books that one of her problem boy readers would pick up . . . and finish!

Joan Berge, the president of Stone Arch Books, Heather Kindseth, the creative director, and I hosted a breakfast focus group with a dozen librarians.1 We discussed everything from scary books to comic superheroes to the popularity of the Twilight series. 2

One day on the exhibit floor, scores of high-school students were roving in nomadic bands, hunting for advance copies and posters and fun giveaways3. It was fun to talk about graphic novels as well as traditional novels with these young people. They were so passionate about their favorite books.

The welcoming and literate and diverse crowd at the conference reminded me of my first introduction to Texas hospitality, when I worked at the Renaissance Festival outside Magnolia, Texas a number of years ago. I was part of a wandering troupe of players that would improvise stories yelled out from the crowd – “Rapunzel! Jason and the Golden Fleece! Cinderella! Ben Hur!4”

It seems every time I’m in Texas I’m either telling a story or hearing one. I heard some great stories and anecdotes from the media professionals about the stories that our authors tell in our books. It was like a powerful chain reaction of literacy, or a massive Southern oak sprouting from a seedling. Oh, and those four most powerful words – tell me a story. Thanks to all the people who told me their stories in Houston this year.

Michael Dahl
Editorial Director


1 Why don’t they serve biscuits and gravy up here in Minneapolis? Yum!

2 Several librarians said that their girl patrons loved the books not because of the romance between Bella and Edward, but because of the vampires. Vampires, it seems, never lose their cool quotient.

3 We literally had girls (and boys!) screaming with excitement over our lenticular Superman/Batman bookmarks. I have to admit, they do look cool.

4 Uh, yes, one afternoon we improvised a version of Ben Hur. Complete with a chariot race and a sea battle of Roman warships.

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Paul Feig is Twittering! He's a producer, writer, and director for The Office, plus he created Freaks and Geeks. I heart Paul something serious. Freaks and Geeks gets a very special shout-out in Waiting for You and The Office is my natural high. So I pretty much worship him in a godlike way. This news was brought to me by a tweet from Rainn Wilson. I'm Twittering here. I could go on a cranky rant about the injustice of Freaks and Geeks only being on for one season, but I will keep things where the light is and focus on my happy memories. The character I adored the most (although James Franco's is a close second) was Nick Andopolis.



Walking even further down memory lane, I watched Flatliners. I don't know what's scarier: the fact that this movie is twenty years old, or those circa-1990 jeans. How was that twenty years ago?! I forgot what a great cast it has. I remember loving it, but I totally forgot how it's completely awesome. Not one ounce of cheese to be found. And it's always fun to watch Kiefer Sutherland when he's not Jack Bauer, although he's best as Jack.

If you know me, you know that I am a hardcore John Mayer fan. He's always in heavy rotation at my place. Marisa, the main character of Waiting for You, thinks that the answers to all of life's problems can be found in a John Mayer song. In short, he rocks my world. So I was stoked to hear what he's working on now. This is how he's stacking some vocals of a new song, "Half of My Heart," which sounds so amazing I can't stop thinking about it:

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Demetri Martin has been my absolute fave comedian for years. He does a form of cerebral comedy, with diagrams and word manipulation and graphs. He even plays instruments, which just makes everything funnier. I like when he dings these strange bells on the floor. At first, he had a smaller group of loyal followers, wondering why the whole world didn't know who he was. But we were confident that he would be huge one day. Sure enough, Demetri was on the cover of New York magazine a few weeks ago. I'm so proud of him.

Demetri makes a lot of sense, which is one of the many reasons he is so funny. Like with throwing stones. You know that old adage, "Those in glass houses should not throw stones?" Demetri thinks that should be updated to, "No one should throw stones." Think about it. He even makes the point that people in glass houses are the only ones who should throw stones, but only if they're trapped inside.

Let's see some acute observations from Demetri's new show, Important Things. Funny!

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It's amazing how you can know a person for a long time and have a zillion conversations and then one day, bam! You totally discover something new you've both had in common this whole time. We were at dinner and SP was like, "Remember those aliens on Sesame Street that were like-" Well, you really have to see the imitation to get it. And I was all, "Shup up! I love those guys!"

Yes. My favorite old-school Sesame Street creatures have to be these yip yip aliens. But I forget their real names, so if you know please share. Here's the one where they discover the radio. It's the best one!

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If you haven't entered my contest to win one of my books yet, you have until 11:11 p.m. tomorrow to share your uniqueness.

Yesterday was a day of awesome. It was over 60 degrees here. So refreshing! Walking around in February without a coat and scarf and hat and gloves is badass in the best possible way.

During my excited fit of walking around, I stopped by Circuit City to pick through the carcass. How sad is it that they're going out of business? At least we still have Best Buy. I cannot imagine paying full price for CDs and DVDs, or even things like my Nikon Coolpix. I only pay full price when I really want something that's not at the discount places. So I found a James Taylor CD for $4.19 and finally got Dan in Real Life. I also snagged Garden State. Not because I don't already own it, because of course I own my favorite movie. This one can be a gift. Or just, like, backup.

Which reminds me. I have to make an executive decision about what show to watch next. I finished One Tree Hill, which turned out to be so freaking good in the last few seasons. Plus, I have a new fave character:



Chester! He is so fluffy and fat! Fluffy Chester! And Jamie could not be cuter. When he draws that picture of him and Nathan at the beginning of season five and gives it to Nathan? Heartbreaking. I also loved how OTH skipped ahead four years. What a totally brill way to avoid the whole Now It's Time For Everyone To Go To College But How Do We Keep Them Together? part of things, which usually ends up being desperate and fake. It's sad when you get into a show and then one day you look up and there are no more eps left. Time to move on. Here are the top three choices from my Netflix queue:

Veronica Mars
Gossip Girl
Mad Men

I've heard good things about all of these shows. Which do you recommend? Other show recommendations are also welcome.

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The following events take place between 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Events occur in real time.

10:23 p.m. Receive call from SP. Upload the coordinates of his location to my PDA. He has a visual on Kiefer Sutherland. Must hurry before Kiefer leaves.

I have been waiting to meet Kiefer to give him a copy of Take Me There with the 24 roof scene marked. And because he rocks my world. Now is my chance.

10:25 p.m. Realize I look hideous. Have been in John Mayer T-shirt and pajama bottoms all day, working.

10:26 p.m. Throw on sweater and jeans. Try to appear presentable. Hair revolts.

10:32 p.m. En route to location. No need to send a chopper.

10:39 p.m. Arrive at location. Checked for weapons and ID at door.

10:41 p.m. CTU conference with SP. I will give Kiefer the book. He will be ready for documentation.

10:43 p.m. Kiefer is outside smoking. Executive decision to wait until he is back within perimeter.

10:48 p.m. Kiefer is a very friendly neighbor. He's also an actual neighbor of mine. Accepts the book. Is awesome.

10:50 p.m.



11:01 p.m. Reflect on brilliance of unplanned reverse color coordination.

Copy that.

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We were having dinner Saturday night at Babbo when the table next to us received a very special treat. Every single dessert on the menu was delivered to their table. For reals. I wish you could have seen their table. It was a thing of beauty. So of course I had to lean over and say to them, "You guys are awesome." It turns out that they didn't order every single dessert on the menu. They were friends with Mario Batali, master chef and owner. Mario is an example of a good friend to have.

Neighbors, you should know by now that it's cool to be smart. That's why I'm psyched about the new Electric Company! I used to love the Electric Company, but I don't really remember anything from it. There used to be all these odd science and literacy shows on Channel 13 that I adored. They were weird and random and I thought their existence was the coolest thing ever. I remember this one show that had a sort of reading and writing club. I even got a membership card in the mail that said "Palabra Jot!" I can't remember what I learned from these shows, but the fact that I remember bits and pieces of them means they were doing their job of sharpening my noodle. It's so exciting that the good people at PBS have renewed their commitment to help kids pick themselves up and dust themselves off. And learn how to read and spell.

Dude! I just Googled "Palabra Jot" and found this link to some YouTube clips. The show was called "The Write Channel." Dig the 70s wardrobes.

I'm usually the last one to know about what's new in the virtual sphere, but I had no idea that you could trade Linden dollars on Second Life for real dollars. You could have a whole Second Life business! That could be your job! I wonder if Dwight and Jim's avatars know this, or if they're just hanging out, flying around and playing guitar. I also wonder how much paper Dwight's guy has sold.

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