Extra Extra!

This is an important news bulletin.

The Philadelphia area is reporting that there are long lines at the supermarket. In particular, there seems to be a run on Bread and Milk.

Businesses are sending employees home early. Events are being cancelled. Schools are closing Talk around the water cooler is what will tomorrow morning bring? What could be going on???

Welcome to Winter Storm I 2005. This seems to become an annual ritual in Philadelphia around the arrival of the year's first impending storm. They are forcasting a whopping 2 to 4 inches of snow, yet the panic has already set in. And what a panic it is.

No exaggaration here. That is the forecast and those events I mention at the beginning are things actually happening right now. On top of it all, they are already showing the Salt Trucks on Action News. And like always, we will all watch the moronic snow coverage and be told how accurate and dependable the local news was over a 3 inch snow event.


The more I think about it, the more I am very disappointed in NaNoWriMo. I have been looking at the list of so-called winners and there are just way too many around the 50000 word mark. What that is telling me is that many people "fitted" there novels at 50000 just to be a winner. To me, if someone wrote a 49999 word novel and it was complete, I think they deserve to be called a winner too - as opposed to the person who has a 50001 word novel and has "holes" in the story. Don't get me wrong, I think anyone who writes that many words into some sort of a story deserves their props, but this theme of quantity vs. quality still weighs in my mind.

Here is an Exerpt from Chapter 7.

Sandy then turned over to Paul and Claudia, “And Mr Giovetti this is...”

“I know Paul Merlino. I’m very happy to be eating here again! This is definitely the premier restaurant in New York,” said Vince as he and Paul began to shake hands

“It’s a pleasure sir to see you again. I really appreciate your kind words. Mr Giovetti, this is my wife and you can thank her for the desserts tonight, Claudia, this is Vince Giovetti”.

“A pleasure,” as Vince went to kiss Claudia’s hand. “I didn’t have any desserts yet,” said Vince who then put his hand on his stomach area and then patted it. “As you can see, I’m a little filled”

“You’re fine, We’ll make sure we send out some Key Lime Pie. It will go down nice and smooth”

Vince, Claudia, Paul, Pete, and Sandy were all sharing a laugh inside the open kitchen area. Tom was not walking back from the back of the kitchen with a silver bowl containing a mix of special spices that were being used for the steaks.

“Many beautiful and talented women work at this establishment,” said Vince.

As Tom emerged from the back, he suddenly realized that Vince was now in the kitchen area. He soon was shocked as he saw Vince Giovetti in the kitchen area.

“Mr Giovetti, this was our associate chef working the grill tonight, Mr. Tom Mullaney”

“Mr. Mullaney, that was one hell of a Pittsburgh rare steak,” said Vince as he extended his hand to Tom. Tom was hesitant to respond, but finally did shake his hand.

“Mr. Mullaney, you’ve done very good work, very good work today. I’m very pleased with your results. I’ll be keeping an eye on you.,” said Vince. Tom heard Vince’s comments and knew exactly what he was implying – and it wasn’t about the steak.

Today's Song: The Impression that I Get by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones

Most people may consider the Mighty Mighty Bosstones a one-hit wonder. To some extent this is true. They are best known for their song "The Impression That I Get". This is a song that was the rage back in 1997. In fact, Fox used the song on their World Series promos during the great series between the Indians and Marlins. The song featured powerful and fast vocals by lead singer Dicky Bennett. Many people say this song deals with the AIDS epidemic (some debate it). Particularly in the vocals: "I'm not a coward,I've just never been testedI'd like to think that if I was, I would pass". Whatever it is, the song still plays in my mind and it is an enjoyable tune.