DISQUS

:-O

Craver's last blog post..first catch

Man, I was going to make sure everyone on the search party had a GPS and a flashlight. Flashlight... you know what that is, right? It's a cylindrical container used to store dead batteries.

Anyhoo, since you're underground, we'll be using l.e.d.'s that are built into our spelunker helmets. You're getting very expensive, Marcus!

Maybe we ought to switch to low tech torches instead, a la Indiana Jones. What do you think?

Craver's last blog post..first catch

You had me at "swordferns." ;-)

Boring?! Granted, sometimes God takes people through "desert" experiences, but it saddens me to hear that generalization. "Their" faith might have bored them, but "the" faith??

The opening of my eyes to the way of salvation and a real God who loved me would be the biggest experience, but can I share something that was less grand?

On my first read-through of the Bible, there were a bunch of times, when I'd look up from being totally engrossed in the Scriptures, so excited that I wanted to find someone to be excited with me about what I had just read, like God's lovingkindness, keeping track of every single tear, or an awesome show of force, like the major butt-whooping on Mount Carmel.

I thought "widget" was that uncomfortable thing that happens to your shorts...

I dropped in today 'cause someone was talking about coffee, and I was hoping to top-off my cup.

You said, "I'll be myself here."

Good idea, because we like you just the way are... so much so that I think today I shall just be yourself also.

Merry Christmas, Marcus! The Lord bless you and your family.

Amy is wise, but needs to work on her grip. ;-)

I have heard a lot of good stuff about Al Mohler.

I'll play, you old geezer! (I'm a year younger than you, E.S.I.) 40 years ago, I was already learning how to be a leader. I had one younger brother. I was doing all the big brother stuff. You know, walking upright, chewing solid foods, mastering verbal communication, giving up hand-me-downs, etc. (sigh) I was his primary role model.

Sounds like fun. Don't mind if I do.

Teaching. Writing. Do you know how lucky you are?

I hope you are feeling better today.

I read it last night. Very nice!

From "Goodbye, Blog" (May/June 2006), Alan Jacobs wrote in Books & Culture. "Right now, and for the foreseeable future, the blogosphere is the friend of information but the enemy of thought,"

I don’t share his sentiments. You could say the same about a lot of things, but it really depends on how you use them. I believe that blogging has actually made me a better thinker, as I strive to communicate appropriately to different communities.

Do some people get tired? Yes. Do some people turn blogging into a brain crutch, and think less? Sure, but I still think the “enemy of thought” concept is overused. (I hope that doesn’t sound cranky or disrespectful, I’m just sharing my opinion.)

Glad you're back, Bud! Thank God for times of refreshment.

We're twins separated at birth, remember? So how could I forget? ;-)

Ahem.

Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday dear Marcuuuuus.
Haaaappy birthday tooooo youuuuu!!!!

*applause*

Do you teach at your church, Marcus? I just signed up today for another year with the 4th & 5th graders.

Ah, chalk in my hand, pacing between the students, catching the look in their eyes that tells me they've grasped the concept... this is the life!

Chey wait a minute now. Didn't Barbara Kingsolver have a chapter about people who read books before they're ripe?

Cha, cha, cha. (That's me laughing in Yiddish.)

Okay now, in my best Orson Wells voice: I will read no book before its time.

That's why I have not been published. Because there is not yet a category for the peculiar and enigmatic.

LL, I can't wait for Spring to come so I can read Stone Crossings.

Yes, absolutely. For me, quality counts. All I'm saying is that the words may not be the primary factor, and sometimes not a factor at all in how well a book sells. I have sat with stores' book-buyers who casually flipped through a new season's pitch-book, saying, "No. No. I'll take six of these. One of those. No. Pass. Okay, what kind of specials you got?" They filtered what their customers would be exposed to, based on the covers. Their store's layout and customer service has a lot to do with how much traffic they will generate. Now, if I wrote a book, would they squeeze one copy, spine-out with its genre or would they stack it face-out near the door or register? Would the book-buyer even buy one copy? Has the subject matter already been beaten to death?

Quality counts for one's integrity, and poor quality can certainly hurt sales. But unfortunately, quality alone cannot sell a book.

Sorry, but I have reservations about the tie-in between good writing and good sales. That formula would more likely work on a small scale, but I think it really takes the genius of marketing and promotion to get noticeable quantities of a book to the sales counter.

In the 80's I worked for a typesetter. That business was changed by desktop publishing. These days, anybody can create a nice document on their home computer and take it to Kinko's.

Then I moved into publishing. Don't tell me I am going to get shoved out of this industry, too. (sniffle)

I'm kidding; we're talking apples and oranges because it's one thing to replace the old Mergenthaler typesetter, but a bit more complicated to compensate for the editorial, publicity, marketing, sales, distribution, etc., expertise of a publisher.

So there is no need now to dispatch a waambulance? ;-)

Kung Fu movies? Have you ever seen The Five Deadly Venoms? It's an oldie, but a goodie.

Or if we toddlers get REALLY mad, we will fling poopy diapers and wake people up at all hours of the night.