Blog

A Near-Death Experience

8/31/2007

Dateline -- Denver Airport, August 29I’m going to try not to complain about that stupid little one-quart Zip-Loc bag that TSA, the airport security people, make you jam all your liquids and aerosols and gels into. (Note to self: ask around to find out many terrorist acts this ridiculous rule has stopped.) But bear in mind that all of the post-9/11 security regulations were put into place by a presidential administration that also brought us Katrina recovery and, frankly, 9/11 — but that’s another subject. . . … Read more
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Mile High

8/31/2007

Dateline -- Denver, August 27 … Read more
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My name in lights...

8/31/2007

How cool is this? This is The Bookstop in Houston, TX, now part of the Barnes & Noble chain.Thanks to my cousin Ashley Segal for taking the picture! … Read more
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Graceland

8/31/2007

Dateline -- Memphis, August 26When I told Shirley Crenshaw, my author escort in Memphis, that I wanted to visit Graceland, she thought I was kidding at first. She’d only gone once before.Then she told me her sister had gone to high school with Elvis. Seriously. So we had to go. After all, this is the 30th anniversary of Elvis’s death.First thing I learned is that it’s not pronounced the way Paul Simon sings it. The second syllable is unstressed. … Read more
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Cincinnati & Dayton

8/27/2007

Dateline: Dayton, OH -- A great new Books & Co. store, which put on a real party — lemon bars and chocolaty “magic bars"... An enthusiastic crowd, several of whom drove quite some distance (I guess people just drive more out here in the Midwest) and had bags of my older books to sign. … Read more
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Louisville

8/27/2007

Okay, so here I am, sitting in a huge black stretch limo that’s taking me from the Caesar’s casino in Elizabeth, Indiana, to the Louisville, KY, airport. It’s a 10-passenger limo — a “liz-zeen,” as my daughter used to say when she was little. Cushy leather seats. Cavernous interior. A full bar with racks of champagne and highball glasses. (It’s 8:55 in the morning, so I don’t really feel like cracking out the booze.) This is one of those ridiculous, city-block-long limousines that I always make fun of. … Read more
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Iron Man and Gatsby

8/24/2007

Louisville, Kentucky. A good start to the day. USA Today’s lead story was on the Boston Red Sox — “America’s new home team.” A nice piece, but of course this sort of coverage can only make a Sox fan feel nervous. … Read more
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A Red Sox Legend, and some old friends

8/24/2007

Philadelphia/West Goshen, PA. The Power Tour road trip started with an event at one of the great independent bookstores in the country, Chester County Book & Music Company. Joe Drabyak, one of CCBM’s booksellers, had invited me there, and another staff member — David English — has interviewed me for his web radio show a number of times. … Read more
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That's INTERNATIONAL Man of Mystery to you...

8/23/2007

This week's ECONOMIST includes an incredibly nice piece about me. You can read it here. … Read more
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Wednesday, August 22 -- Boston to Philadelphia

8/22/2007

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- I’ve done a lot of book tours by now, but this one really seems to be starting off right. Okay, I’ll ignore the fact that I had to get up at 3:00 a.m. after having gotten to bed at midnight celebrating the POWER PLAY launch. (Maybe I should have taken my friend Daniel Palmer’s advice and stayed up all night. After three hours of sleep I look like Herman Munster.) … Read more
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