A Plague Year

When I have a fever, my brain tries to run in many directions at once, rather like the iconic image of Scooby Doo trying to simultaneously run in four directions at once connected only by his tail. That's me lately. Oh, and there's more cartoon imagery when I'm sick as well. I've been having the week to end all weeks. First one thing then another, and now I seem to have the flu. And if not the flu, something that should be awarded an emmy for it's masterful imitation. To wit: There has been more sleeping than pages being typed the past couple of days. Some Random Updates:

• Dig the new look? Late nights and NyQuil tend to make me restless, and I was getting tired of the plain-vanilla thing anyway. Please tell me what you think!
• The 365 Mugs project continues over at DailyBooth, despite the fact that I've needed to lean on some of my friendly neighborhood Muppets as stand-ins. You can play along if you like, by posting your morning mug in response to mine. When you spend as much time alone as writers tend to, it helps to reach out and remind yourself that the rest of the world is out there trying to muddle through the morning too. At the moment, the tasty beverage of choice is tea rather than coffee, but that can't be helped. I'll talk more on that a bit later, I think.
• Several people have been forwarding me links to people who are doing things with books other than reading them. I suppose that with the long-heralded demise of print, the crafty ones among us are trying to decide the best ways to put them to use beyond their bookish lifespans... which makes me sad. Some of them are fun, and some are more than a little scary. Here's a sampling: How To Turn an iPhone into a Moleskine Book from WIRED.com's Gadgetlab 25 Things You Can Do With Books Besides Reading Them by Creatrope Use Books As Wallpaper Or Chop Them Up As Bric a Bract with Country Living

The pages are typed, time for some sleep... NyQuil take me away!