Burning Down the House

Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart. -- William Wordsworth (1770-1850), English poet

I put the copper kettle on the stove to boil for my cappuccino and came upstairs to the study to start trolling the blog circuit. Yikes!! I gotta remember to NOT start reading before the cuppa is ready. Fortunately, I did remember before all the water boiled away.

I just got so wrapped up in things. I do that sometimes (don't we all?). First, I checked out my friend J.T.'s post on Murderati, and it's so good I'm spreading the word. You gotta read it. Especially if you're a writer. Click now and read. I'll wait. Just don't forget to hit the "Back" button on your browser so you can come see me again.

You're back? Okay, great. See, I told you it was worth it.

So, after I emailed J.T., I looked at Nephew #1's post on his blog (remember? the 22-year-old who lives in Hawaii). He says you go to this thing called Wikipedia and look up your birthday, and then "list three neat facts, two births and one death in your journal." Okay, so here I go (I'm going to cheat on the number of items, though, because I'm a rebel at heart):

Events:
1282 - The people of Sicily rebel against the Angevin king Charles I, in what becomes known as the Sicilian Vespers.
1822 - Florida Territory created in the United States.
1981 - Reagan assassination attempt: President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley, Jr. Reagan will become the first U.S. president to survive Tecumseh's curse, under which presidents elected in a year ending with zero died while in office.

Births:
1820 - Anna Sewell, British author (d. 1878)
1941 - Graeme Edge, British musician (Moody Blues)
1945 - Eric Clapton, British guitarist
1950 - Robbie Coltrane, Scottish actor and comedian

Deaths:
1840 - Beau Brummell, English celebrity and dandy (b. 1778)
1986 - James Cagney, American actor (b. 1899)


How cool is that?

So, today I don't have to do my part-time job (off on Fridays and Saturdays) so I'm going to spend the day ... well, writing, of course!

I didn't do the "hole in the bucket" announcement, but it's fixed. It turned out to be very easy, and I feel a bit on the ridiculous side for worrying so much about it. The hole wasn't as big as I thought, and I ended up turning it into a shocker instead. I love it when a plan comes together.

Read a book. It's good for you.

=) JB