I’m in Madrid and so is the Museum of Ham! And people talk about the Prado…

Check out Pingmag (click here) Thanks, One Good Bumblebee!

First, I am pathetic at making links. Sorry about the links in the previous offering. Second, we got back to New York last night after five glorious months in Venice, California, and I was dreading it. Venice is a gentle, eccentric place scented by jasmine and roses. New York…well, it is eccentric. I thought I would have to write an addendum to The New Yorkers saying, “I changed my mind.”
But even driving in from the airport was exciting. Everything is so…big. And it was so beautiful today that I remembered why I love it here. The buildings are big and solid, the trees are big and solid. Riverside Park has an unlikely clump of giant yellow irises rising up in the swampy part at 81st Street. And there is some tree that I don’t know the name of that is flowering and subtly perfuming the air. I know it will soon be humid and unbearable, but today the air was soft and sweet. New York City works in mysterious ways. I heart it.

I must have gotten this link for the a+r store (click here) from Design*Sponge (click), though not for these products.
Here is Robert:

And this is listed under their “Sleeping” category. There’s a white one, too, but really…that looks way too much like an iPod:

This is a sake for us, not for puppy dogs! And I know I said I was not a sake fan, but this is sparkling and light and unfiltered and absolutely delicious. If beer and champagne and sparkling cider had a party and all served their favorite cocktail, this would be it! I had it at Wabe Sabe in Venice, California, but I read on a blog called Urbandaddy that you could buy it in New York at Landmark Wine, and that they serve it at Chanterelle. It’s the perfect summer drink. And the label…well, what else do I have to say?

It’s been just about a month, so I thought it was good time to restate a welcome and My Blog Manifesto:

WELCOME TO MY BLOG!
MY WEB PAGE IS HERE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO MY NEW BOOK, THE NEW YORKERS,(click here to BUY!!) AND GIVE ANYONE WHO IS INTERESTED SOME INFORMATION ABOUT PREVIOUS BOOKS.

BUT THE BLOG IS DIFFERENT. MY FAVORITE BLOG FOR YEARS HAS BEEN DESIGN.SPONGE, AND WHEN I THOUGHT ABOUT WHY I LIKED IT SO MUCH, I REALIZED IT WAS BECAUSE IT WAS A SIMPLE CELEBRATION OF WHAT DESIGN.SPONGE, ACTUALLY A YOUNG WOMAN IN BROOKLYN NAMED GRACE BONNEY, LOVED THAT DAY. IT’S A VERY GENEROUS SITE. OBVIOUSLY THIS IS NOT A DESIGN BLOG, BUT…

THIS IS A CELEBRATION OF WHAT I LOVE ON A PARTICULAR DAY. SO I MIGHT WRITE ABOUT A BIRD I SAW IN THE PARK OR A CHAIR OR A GREAT BOOK OR A GREAT WORD OR, of course, A DOG.

HERE IS MY BLOG MANIFESTO:

1.NO WHINING ABOUT BOOK TOURS, BOOK SALES, BOOK REVIEWS, OTHER AUTHORS.
2.NO WHINING
3.NO SELF PROMOTION (please see web page for self p.)
4.BAD SPELLING
5.UNAPOLOGETIC ENTHUSIASM
6.UNAPOLOGETIC EXCLAMATION POINTS

A COMFORT BLOG!

One…you can’t get the story below from that link because it’s been archived. It’s in the Houston Chronicle. It’s by Gregory Katz. Look it up!
Two…IF MIRANDA JULY’S NEW BOOK IS EVEN HALF AS GOOD AS ITS WEBSITE, IT IS A THING OF BEAUTY. GO TO Noonebelongsheremorethanyou.com (click here)TO SEE WHAT I MEAN. (Thanks, Betsy!)

My friend Greg wrote this piece about every writer’s dream: to get paid to stay at The Savoy Hotel in London and just…write! And drink tea. And eat. And lie in bed. And…write…and lie in bed…and drink coffee…and eat dainty tea sandwiches…and lie in bed…

“LONDON — How’s this for a job description: Michael Morpurgo wakes up daily in a luxurious hotel suite, takes in the view of the River Thames, has a sumptuous breakfast in the dining room downstairs, then goes up to his suite and climbs back into bed.

He doesn’t go back to sleep, of course. Propped up by overstuffed pillows, reclining on whisper soft, high-thread-count cotton sheets, he takes out a pad and writes longhand, scratching out novels in tortured penmanship only his wife Clare can grasp…” continued