Blog for Larry Sweitzer

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We enjoyed a fun, family outing last weekend at Layman Family Farms!  We especially liked navigating through the corn maze. The funnel cakes and deep fried Oreos were great too!

Spending so much time in the middle of acres of corn brought back memories of my childhood. There were corn fields as far as the eye could see surrounding our house. That, and pasture land stretching for miles. I miss it sometimes. Of course, if I was there now, I’d be missing the big city. The grass is always greener… I guess little excursions like this mean more than they seem. It never hurts to be reminded where we come from.

The fall weather is also getting me in the writing mood! October means it’s time to start prepping for Nanowrimo and this year I’m especially psyched to get started on my Nano novel. I’ve been working hard on the outline for my new novel and hopefully the first 50,000 words will find their way onto the page in November.

Look for future posts on my Nanowrimo Prep and an article I’m working on about Outlining a Novel.

~Larry

I really need to learn the ins and out of Wordpress. To combat spam, I originally required commenters to register before being allowed to post comments. That, of course, is a pain in the butt. Especially for those just passing through. That’s all we need–yet another login and password, right?

The other day I decided to drop the registration requirement in hopes that this desolate thing I call a blog might start getting a few more comments. (Yes, I realize it helps if the blogger actually blogs…I’m working on that.) The flood gates opened!! In just 5 days I received 659 comments. The problem is….they are all SPAM! 659 sales-pitch laden comments in my “moderate” queue and 659 emails in my inbox cheerfully letting me know: A comment has been added to you blog post!

I know there are ways to combat this. I just don’t know how to go about it. If there are any blog gurus out there willing to help. Please contact me! Until then, you’ll have to register to make a comment.

On to more cheerful news:

As you can see in the right side bar, I’m reading Mockingjay! I’m a big fan of Suzanne Collins and the Hunger Games series. I can’t wait to get back to reading it!

Finally, I’m happy to announce that I’ve started an outline in preparation for this year’s NaNoWriMo. Yes, the kernel of a new novel. And.. buh buh da buh buh buh buh!!!! I already have the title–which is top secret, of course. It’s a major relief considering it took about a year to come up with the title for the egghead book.

I’ve made a few strides toward my reading, writing, and blogging goals. So, it’s been a pretty good week. No news today about my musical endeavors, but there’s some in the pipeline. Check back soon!

~Larry

Okay, so I missed posting this under Music Monday, but it can’t wait a whole week before I share it.

 Imagine my surprise when I came across a song about…you guessed it: Babe Ruth’s Piano! I found this gem at Jeff Burd’s blog, The Seeker. It’s an original, recently penned song by Jeff and his friend and co-worker, Bo Ledman.

 Click here to visit the original post containing the song “In Search of… Babe Ruth’s Piano”

Sudbury, Massachusetts resident, Kevin Kennedy, has been searching for evidence of Babe Ruth’s Piano for almost ten years. Brothers Charlie and Steve Barry, who spent time at Willis Pond during their childhood, have provided new information that may help Kennedy locate the legendary instrument.

 On Sunday, a 4 by 16 piece of wood was recovered by divers and on Monday, a piano restoration expert confirmed that the piece was indeed from a piano from the correct time period.

Eggheads around the world…it’s your day!

Your rights as a geek:

 1. The right to be even geekier.
2. The right to not leave your house.
3. The right to not have a significant other and to be a virgin.
4. The right to not like football or any other sport.
5. The right to associate with other nerds.
6. The right to have few friends (or none at all).
7. The right to have all the geeky friends that you want.
8. The right to not be “in-style.”
9. The right to be overweight and have poor eyesight.
10. The right to show off your geekiness.
11. The right to take over the world.

Responsibilities:

1. Be a geek, no matter what.
2. Try to be nerdier than anyone else.
3. If there is a discussion about something geeky, you must give your opinion.
4. Save any and all geeky things you have.
5. Do everything you can to show off your geeky stuff as though it were a “museum of geekiness.”
6. Don’t be a generalized geek. You must specialize in something.
7. Attend every nerdy movie on opening night and buy every geeky book before anyone else.
8. Wait in line on every opening night. If you can go in costume or at least with a related T-shirt, all the better.
9. Don’t waste your time on anything not related to geekdom.
10. Befriend any person or persons bearing any physical similarities to comic book or sci-fi figures.
11. Try to take over the world

Deep in the meadow, under the willow
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow
Lay down your head, and close your eyes
And when they open, the sun will rise

Here it’s safe, and here it’s warm
Here the daisies guard you from every harm
Here your dreams are sweet–
–and tomorrow brings them true
Here is the place where I love you.

Deep in the meadow, hidden far away
A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray
Forget your woes and let your troubles lay
And when again it’s morning, they’ll wash away

Here it’s safe, and here it’s warm
Here the daisies guard you from every harm
Here your dreams are sweet–
– and tomorrow brings them true
Here is the place where I love you.

Here is the place where I love you.

The Ghost, the Eggheads, and Babe Ruth’s Piano has been named a finalist in the 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards!

 Thank you to the Indie Book Awards for recognizing my book in the Juvenile Fiction category.

 ~Larry

The Ghost, the Eggheads, and Babe Ruth’s Piano is now featured on Barnes & Noble’s website!

Click here or go to bn.com>Books>Rising Star (under the Special Collections on the left side bar.

The Egghead book is also a Featured Book in the iUniverse Bookstore!

Lots of good news coming my way recently. Thanks to all of you special people who’ve supported me and my little book!

~Larry

It’s such a great time of year–baseball season is underway! I went to the Salem Red Sox (Class-A) game this evening, but after pushing back the start time because of some nasty looking clouds, the game was canceled. I think there’s a chance of rain for the next week or so. Hopefully I’ll get to attend my first game of the season soon.