The Sam Whitmore Sampler

Charles M. Schulz

The author of the Peanuts comic strip was a sad and passive-aggressive dude, says biographer David Michaelis in the recently published Schulz and Peanuts: a Biography. Only 70 pages into the book, I can't put it down. My Mom turned me on to Peanuts books back in 1962 and I've loved the characters ever since. Especially Linus.

Schulz drew almost from birth. The guy worked and worked and worked at it -- in every spare moment. That is, after all, how one gets good at something -- and stays good at it. More on Schulz as the reading progresses.

Joke Cracker: Bob Dylan

In his newly released autobiography, Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood says he overheard the following at a party back in the mid-70s...

Peter Grant: Hi. I'm Peter Grant. I manage Led Zeppelin.
Bob Dylan: Hey, I don't come to you with my problems.

More on Signing Statements

Boston Globe reporter Charlie Savage has done the best job of casting light on President Bush's unprecedented use of signing statements -- in fact, he won a Pulitzer for his work. Signing statements are declarations made by a President that he will not obey given aspects of a bill even though Congress passed it and the President himself signed it. Signing statements are something all Presidents since Ronald Reagan have used, but not more than 750 times the way our current President has. Bush has never veteod a bill in seven years. He just signs them and then ignores the parts he doesn't like.

The Globe offers this list of examples.

Having searched the web, I don't understand how there could be so much coverage of signing statements and yet so little public outrage. The New York Times has spotlighted them extensively, as has the Washington Post. I dunno, can we sit by and watch the Constitution melt like the icecaps? I can't.

Please buy Charlie Savage's book and please mention it to others. Thank you.

Two Good Books

I didn't get beyond the cover flaps at Barnes & Noble last night. Oh well. Maybe Santa will bring them to me this year:

Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy. Boston Globe reporter Charlie Savage delves mostly into Dick Cheney's role as America's chief political architect. A key concept is the "signing statement," which the current Administration has used to subvert Constitutional government, Savage says. I'll blog more about signing statements when I learn more about them.

The Dictionary of Bullshit. This one came out last year, written by Nick Webb. Did you ever use the word "triangulation" in a sentence and pray no one asks you what it means? Sadly, I have. Tech PR pros and editors will especially enjoy this quick and amusing read. George Carlin and Penn Gillette surely have read it already.

Tech Media Detox

We didn't bring our computers to Hawaii. Heck, I didn't even bring my mobile phone, which really is more of an e-mail device. It felt good, and I didn't miss them one bit.

The books I devoured:

• Road Trip USA, by Jamie Jensen. More than 800 pages long, this book chronicles all those American backroads one forsakes in favor of taking the interstates. Need to know about diners in North Dakota? This is your book.
• Sinner's Paradise, by Scott Lettieri. Currently a newscaster with KGO Radio in San Francisco, Scott paints his characters in vivid color, perhaps too vivid in spots. Still, a good read.
• Majestic Molokai, by Cameron and Angela Kay Kepler. This guide helped us identify the egrets and mynah birds that graced our rental property.

We brought books on corporate blogging and new media but when it came time to pick them up and read them, we just stood there and laughed.

Tomorrow this blog will get back to business. Scout's honor.