2 of 15 minutes. tomorrow morning, thursday, i'll be on nbc 11's "bay area news" program at 10am. they do a series every monday highlighting recommendations from independent book sellers in the area, quills. i'll be on the regular news show (around 10:35am) to discuss the book. wish me luck.

update: it's over. i almost arrived at the studio too late and missed my time slot. traffic, always the bane of timeliness. sidenote: i spent an hour last night learning how to tie a newly bought tie. i don't have any of my old roommates around, and i've never tied my own tie before. yes, i'm 28. thank you very much. the nbc studio was a sea of cubicles with various tv stations set up. i wasn't given any preparation questions so i tried to memorize some key words and phrases to insert into the conversation.

i was amazed with how well newscasters read off teleprompters. watching them in action, and off-camera, inaction, is amazing. they are the smoothest humans on the planet. i could barely think, much less put out coherent thoughts with a camera trained on me. i hope i answered the questions okay -- i didn't use any of my previously memorized catch words or phrases. i think i mumbled a bit, got lost a bit, and looked generally a bit lost. however, i tried to remain composed and present an air of confidence and comfortability. yeah right. i just tried not to sound retarded.

the entire affair was over in the span of an eye blink. it was live and it all sped by incredibly fast. the guy asked a few questions, i tried to answer them in short bursts, attempted to smile once in awhile, and that was it. overall a good, if nerve wracking, experience. bring it on, i'm ready for another interview -- well, after some practice speaking in front of an audience and not sounding like an idiot. i should pretend to be foreign so i can have a translator.

i'm working on getting a full audio version for your amusement. for now: picture and a (thankfully) silent movie.

oh, and i got this gig simply because my book's publicist in new york lined it up. nobody came to seek me out specifically or anything...yet.