September 3, 2004

Carl Hiaasen is one of those rare columnists who can offer succinct, intelligent and honest commentary on current events. His most recent column about Carlos Luis Arredondo, the grieving Florida father who torched a government van after hearing his eldest son, Marine Lance Cpl. Alexander Arredondo, was killed in Iraq, serves as a sober dose of reality about the sacrifices military families are forced to make in wartime.

"It is important that they keep flying those flags. No matter how they feel about what's going on in Iraq, it's important to fly those flags."
--Rebecca Thibodeaux

(Rebecca's 24-year-old son, Army Spc. Joseph C. Thibodeaux III, was killed near Hawija in northern Iraq on Sept. 1.)

September 2, 2004

Paul Michael Callahan walked into the copy shop at Boston University and tried to rob it. But when he handed the store clerk a note asking for money, he was told he had the wrong establishment. Bound and determined to continue in his criminal pursuits, Callahan actually asked for directions to the nearest Fleet bank branch.

Over the next couple of hours, he hit two more financial institutions. But then his truck got a flat tire. When police finally caught him at a nearby gas station, he and the $3,000 he stole was covered in red ink from an exploded dye pack.

I guess it wasn't a good day to be a thief.

L'il Kernels of Insight is the "personal blog" of Brian Lewandowski, an artist, writer, Web producer and political pundit.
 

September 1, 2004

A new Jaded Writings column has been posted. This week, I share a fictional account of my own hurricane experiences.

* Edgar Rice Burroughs - 9/1/1875
* James Lavene - 9/1/52
* Syd Hoff - 9/4/12
* Joan Aiken - 9/4/24
* Robert M. Pirsig - 9/6/26
* Garrison Keillor - 9/7/42

August 31, 2004

I want this as my wedding cake topper.

"You can't buy love, but you can pay heavily for it."
--Henny Youngman

August 29, 2004

"The Well-Fed Writer: Back for Seconds," Peter Bowerman's sequel to "The Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency as a Freelance Writer in Six Months or Less," will be available on his Website through September. If you buy it online before the dead tree version is published in October, you'll pay no shipping charges and receive a free e-book as a bonus.

For a sample chapter, click here.

"It's never too late -- in fiction or in life -- to revise."
--Nancy Thayer

Past Afterthoughts