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Here's a new version of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" story.
Welcome to BenWoods.com
Have you ever seen an advertisement and wondered how truthful it was? For example, does the leading toothpaste really fight cavities, gum disease and world poverty? Is your favorite politician's opponent actually planning to raise taxes while lowering tooth decay?
I will be making three book appearances in September, marking my first events since the early summer. Yeah, work and other things have gotten in the way! First, on Sept. 13, I will be selling books and raising money for the Waverly branch of Baltimore's Pratt Library. I'll also be there doing a little volunteer work, as I tutor at the Waverly library on a weekly basis.
In case you missed it, the National Federation of the Blind recently won a reasonably large lawsuit against Target, claiming that Target.com did not meet minimal standards for people using screen access technology. While I normally side with the little guy over big corporations, there are a number of ridiculous things involved with this ruling, so I'll try to point out each one individually.
Did Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax even enjoy playing baseball? As one of baseball's all-time best pitchers (and arguably the best left-handed pitcher), Koufax grew up wanting to play basketball. Instead, he turned in eight so-so years and four ridiculously remarkable ones in his second-favorite sport.
From the Archive
I recently noticed that Google Books has revamped its search and functionality. While it appears that you still cannot be yelled out by a real-life librarian, it does look as if you can read many books, including "The Developers," via your web browser. Check out the book here.
While I've heard possible book groups picking up "The Developers," I just recently found out that one is taking the next step and actually reading it. The Crawfordsville (Ind.) Public Library is in the process of reading the novel, and the book discussion is set for 6:30 p.m. Dec. 4. I will join the group via audio chat to discuss the book and anything other questions I can answer, at least I hope so!
My trip to New York during the first weekend in June was short, but overall, it was extremely productive.
I attended Book Expo America for a number of reasons, the top one being to find an agent for my new project, "Polos to Ties." I communicated with a number of agents, some beforehand on the BEA's social networking site. The biggest mistake I made was not attempting to schedule appointments with agents beforehand. But considering that I haven't completely finished the manuscript, maybe that wasn't such a big deal.
In a previous column, I mentioned that I might try to make the world's largest waffle, and an observant reader wondered what the record actually was.
Of course, I had no idea, so I attempted to look it up. Here's what I found:
We live in a world where we expect things to improve and evolve, like finding cures for fatal diseases, building structures to withstand the fiercest storms and attempting to select a new singer for the band INXS. Yet, despite all of these advances (OK, INXS' original singer wasn't bad), the majority of people on the highway still have no freakin' clue how to drive.