Pulled Tooth, the awesome update!

Weeelll, it's been 10 full days since the tooth was pulled and my mind is a bit more clear on all of the events that took place afterwards.  All I can say is, WOW coupled with YIKES and that sums it up.  Apparently, I was trying to convince my wife, who so graciously transported my carcass home after the surgery that I was, in fact the "King of doing a Cartwheel"!  Yes, it's really that emphatic, unfortunately.  I have a vague recollection of these events and of saying rather colorful things, all of the first words that you learn in the school yard playground...the ones that get your mouth smacked or worse, washed out with soap.  So, with healthy doses of Hydrocodone and Antibiotics (apparently the human mouth is a pretty gross place! Ugh!) I have been nursed back to good and proper health enough to reflect on how silly I was.  With this in mind, some very good friends of ours share a video with me that pretty much hit the target.  This same fellow brought a tiara for his wife and drove her around town when she had her wisdom teeth earlier this year.  He in turn had HIS MOTHER pick him up from the doctor and take him home when his teeth were pulled out some time later, fearing the inevitable reprisal...I'm sure she will get even...oh well! enjoy the video.
P

Summer Suuuuhhh-Mmmmahhh!

Well, it's finally here and not a moment too soon!  Some how we all made it through Finals week and with one week under our belt I find myself being a bit worn down.  I did get some rest and  a bit of relief from having my wisdom tooth pulled (today!).  All that I will say is that I HATE going to the dentist and I left there with everybody as my best friend...minus a tooth...and remained that way for at least 2 more hours.  So, as I sit here in bed, watching Spider-Man with my two youngest daughters I have decided that this summer will be a (cue trumpets) SUMMER OF THE ARTS!  Yes boys and girls, Mr. P will be doing all of the following this summer:  Writing 2 books (one book and one kids book), Illustrating one of those books, playing in a mandolin and guitar in a band, and maybe even auditioning for a play!  Now, normally I would have been tormenting kids in summer school but alas, it is not to be.  So I will opt for the next best thing, tomenting my poor wife and children.  It's really not that bad, but I figure this stuff will keep me out of trouble and will help me work towards my goal of completing one of the two books that I wanted to write this year.  Oh, and check the book club blog site if you want to know what I have been reading this summer.  Time for me to sign off, I have to go drink my dinner!
P.

Ender will save us all...

Here we are kids, the last hurrah!  We are exiting this school year with an amazing novel, Ender's Game, the only novel to date that has won both the Hugo and Nebula Award for a Science Fiction Novel.  Here is the reading schedule in case you didn't have the chance to copy it off.  More good Sci-Fi stuff to follow.  Cheers!

P.

“Third”, “Peter”, and “Graff”: p. 1-26	Read on April 30
“Launch” and “Games”: p. 27-53	Read on May 3	Literature Circle Role #1 due May 5
“The Giant’s Drink”p. 54-65 “Salamander”: p. 66-96	Read on May 5
“Rat”: p. 97-119	Read on May 7	Literature Circle Role #2 due May 10
“Locke and Demosthenes”: p. 120-152	Read on May 10
“Dragon”: p. 153-172	Read on May 12	Literature Circle Role #3 due May 14
“Veni Vidi Vici”: p. 173-199 “Bonzo”: p. 200-226	Read on May 14
“Valentine”: p. 227-254	Read on May 17	Literature Circle Role #4 due May 19
“Ender’s Teacher” part 1: p. 255-277	Read on May 19
“Ender’s Teacher” part 2: p. 277-304 “Speaker for the Dead”: p. 305-324	Read on May 21	Literature Circle Role #5 due May 24

The Play's the thing...building the 10 min scripts.

Writing an original script can be something of an undertaking.  Scriptfrenzy, sponsored by our good friends in the S.F. Bay Area is a monumental task of 100 pgs of script in 30 days.  As attractive as that sounds for the writer in me, I know that if I throw that out there I will be hung by my heels from the flag pole.  Last time we attempted a feat of that magnitude so late in the year their was much grumbling and dissent. Not that I mind that part so much as that script writing takes on its own unique skill set that deals with format as much as story.  SO, with that in mind, we will be narrowing our scope from 100 pgs into the best 10 pgs that you could ever possibly read or see in the history of humanity...ok, that may not happen, but we will give it our best shot!  Cheers!
P.

The Game is Afoot...

During the next few weeks we will be spending some time reading one of the great detective fiction writers, Sir Aurthur Conan Doyle.  His seminal character of Sherlock Holmes has had a revival of late and I thought it would be a natural fit for the amount of time that we have left in the year.  Here are the notes in case you missed it!  The first story that we are going to look at is "The Adventure of the Speckled Band".
P.

From Paper to Presentation...

Here are the 10 tips for the PowerPoint presentation that you might want to consider when making the presentation.  More to follow!
P.

Free Comic Day...May 1st...Excelsior!

Free comics day is in fact a real thing.  I am not advocating that you go rip off your local comic shop and it is not subversive way to get you into trouble...

Comic Store Owner: "Whadya Mean FREE comic day kid!  That's the lamest excuse I've ever heard for stealin!"
You:  "But my English teacher said it was free!!!...='''(

In order to avoid the above situation and tremendous embarrassment, let me share with the the beauty that is "Free Comic Day".  Every May 1st participating comic book stores will give out single copies of various best selling titles.  These often are special prints done just for this day so you can get some unique books that have single run or "0" run stories in them.  If you are interested in being a part of Free Comic Day, just cruise by your local comic shop and ask on May 1st.  Odds are they will have the books out at a display and you can pick the one you want.  Consider it a special "pre-screening" of the next Hollywood blockbuster (lota films in the last 5 years have come exclusively from the comic community!).  Either way, it is a lot of fun and a cheap way to pick up a good new habit.  I have gone for several years now and take my kids at home.  There is a good mix of titles for older readers with several "kid friendly" titles like Sonic the Hedgehog, Owly, and Archie Comics.  If you are planning on stopping by, here are some Google directions to my two favorite shops, both in Modesto!
Bonanza Books and Comics

Krier's Cards & Comics

Here is my good friend Hugh Jackman to tell you more about it!



See ya there!
P.