Offline--

as opposed to ONLINE is not fun!

But as you can see/tell/assume, I (we) survived 24 hours without:

Cable (television)
Internet
&
Phone (related to the first two)

Makes you really think about all those bundle packages, doesn't it?

Survival included the famous BlackBerry (aka BosenBerry) keeping me abreast of news via Twitter and CNN Mobile....

Then there were books. I was almost able to complete In Cold Blood (by Truman Capote)...which I grabbed at a used bookstore because it was a classic AND I finally decided to read it because I was missing Criminal Minds so much last night.

I couldn't actually "research" the book until now. I knew the basic story behind it--Truman and Harper Lee went to Kansas after reading a blurb about the murder. They researched and interviewed locals about the family. THEN after the murderers were caught, Truman interviewed them as well.

I didn't know it was considered the first nonfiction crime novel. Journalism + Fiction writer = Creative Nonfiction? A "true crime" genre is now common place and this is where it began.

What's funny to me is, it was "assumed" that I was a reader of this genre when I turned in a story last year in a Fiction Workshop. Nope. I haven't read one "detective/crime" novel until NOW.

The story I had/have written revolved around a detective (and a crime) though. I guess I understand the connection--or I can appreciate the connection?

Either way I definitely appreciate the current cable connection!

Turns out that a city crew doing utility work on a major road (which I can see from my backyard) CUT the cable somehow (accidently? on purpose?) yesterday. We weren't the only ones affected.

It took two visits spread over several hours this afternoon for this reason to be discovered. Cable company said they are going to send the city(?) the bill for knocking out our little curly-q block of houses.

Nice.

I've also started Sexual Personae by Camille Paglia--completely deserving of it's own blog entry (one day)...I have to catch up on television type stuff now!

~~J