Thanks for all your sympathies on the bird poop story. I have to admit, when it happened—well, after the skeeve factor—I laughed and laughed. It was pretty funny. In an icky, I-have-poo-on-my-head sort of way.

I have been remiss in letting folks in the NYC area know that I have two readings this week. Here’s the scoop:

***WEDNESDAY, MAY 7TH***
6:00-7:30 pm
Jefferson Market Library
425 Avenue of the Americas (i.e., 6th Avenue off of 10th Street)
New York, NY 10011
(212) 243-4334

Teen Author Reading Night with:

Tara Altebrando, What Happens Here
Libba Bray, Up All Night
Erin Haft, Meet Me at the Boardwalk
Cheryl Klam, The Pretty One
Nico Medina, Fat Hoochie Prom Queen
David Levithan, David Ozanich, and Chris Van Etten (aka David Van Etten), Likely Story
Lizabeth Zindel, The Secret Rites of Social Butterflies

***THURSDAY, MAY 8TH***
5:00-7:30 pm
BOOKS OF WONDER
18 W. 18th Street

Super fun book party for the short story collection, UP ALL NIGHT (bunny slippers optional), featuring:

Peter Abrahams
Libba Bray
David Levithan
Patricia McCormick
Sarah Weeks

I may read from BOVINE on Wednesday night. Technically, I’m scheduled to read from my short story, “Not Just for Breakfast Anymore,” but I’m reading from that story the next night at the UP ALL NIGHT party and frankly, I don’t want to read the same thing two nights in a row. I’m perverse like that. So it’s possible if you show up on Wednesday night, you’ll get a preview of BOVINE. Or not. Maybe I’ll read from THE CARE AND FEEDING OF PENGUINS, a guidebook I wrote in sixth grade. Maybe I’ll stare meaningfully at the audience until people begin to feel uncomfortable. Oh, readings are such fun.

I also have some technical questions I’ve been struggling with and suddenly it dawned on me: take it to the people. You guys are techno-geniuses—I CAN ASK YOU!!! So I am.

1. Okay, anybody with a Mac out there want to tell me how I upload pics to LJ? I thought it might be fun to start doing that but strangely enough just clapping my hands and saying, “And…NOW!” “Shazam!” “Hit me baby one more time!” does not get the job done. If you can walk me through it as if you were educating someone with a brain injury, please do.
2. What are your thoughts about MySpace and Facebook? I was thinking I could have a blog on one or both, but should I? I’d basically be posting the same blog just in different places (cause we all know I’m not always on top of the bloggage thing…) I don’t know. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, pros and cons. Speak to me, people.
3. I don’t actually have a number three but things just look better in threes.
4. Oh, wait–I do have another techie question: Some of you have left me messages in my LJ inbox. I have tried to reply to them and gotten some kind of automated response saying, “You’re icky and we don’t like your shoes and we’re not letting you play our reindeer games so there!” Okay. It didn’t actually say that, but it did tell me that there were some parental controls or some such that wouldn’t allow my message to go through. I don’t really know what to do about that. So if you’ve left me a message in my LJ inbox can you please make sure that it is possible for me to respond? I’m not ignoring you–promise.
5. Also–anyone know how I do polls? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? That might make counting for the Viewer’s Choice Blog a lot easier.

By the way, I went to see IRON MAN on opening day. GOALLLLLLLL!!!!! Loved it. Love Robert Downey Jr. with a passion. I will be going again. Two thumbs up.

Here’s hoping your weekend was bird poo-free.