Step aside, iMac, iPad, iPod and iPhone: there’s a new favorite son on his way to Chez Plotnick. This bundle of joy is purportedly in transit and expected to make his arrival in the next few days. I’m excited to welcome my first Macbook Pro, a device dubbed “The most advanced computer we have ever built” by Apple CEO Tim Cook when he unveiled it at the annual WWDC event on Monday.
Read MoreSomething's been gnawing at me, and it's time to come clean about it. After 18 faithful years, I have cancelled my daily newspaper subscription.
Read MoreTruman Capote liked to lay on his back, with a glass of sherry in one hand and a pencil in another. Flannery O’Connor insisted on facing the blank surface of her wood dresser to ensure no distractions.
Read MoreMy pat (yet sincere) answer is: depends on the word. Seems ludicrous to value an "if" at the same level as, say, a "vicissitude."
Read MoreLet’s face it: typos happen. They rear their heads at the most inopportune – and often embarrassing -- of times.
Read MoreMost books begin with a series of short warm-up diversions: Preface, Prologue, heart-warming Dedication. Sometimes inspiring, sometimes annoying, these obligatory preambles set the stage for the story that follows. My warm-up diversions demanded a bit more space than the average tale.
Read MoreMy Grandma Rotanelli was a smart woman. Three academic degrees, an acclaimed teaching career, mind as sharp as a tack. But for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out how to operate a simple elevator.
Read MoreWhen I was a little boy, my favorite stories centered around a clever insect named Philip. Our Philip the Fly anthology included dozens of tales of adventure, heroism and just a little bit of mischief.
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