Stuck on the China piece for Esquire

Dateline: in the Shire, Indy, 23 August 2005

Spent my creative energy today on the NPR show (that blows the morning-and I confess I did the show pacing in my shorts on our apartment's balcony) and then reading and rereading the old China draft I have sitting with Mark Warren for the November issue of Esquire. He wants it updated and reworked, but refuses to tell me how. He can be annoying like that-just pushing for better!

So I read and reread and think I'm ready to plow into the beast first thing in the morning. I won't bother with any cutting. That's what Warren is for.

As so often happens with me when I'm getting to write, I delay and delay and clean house in the meantime, working up my will to get started by clearing my decks.

Here's some old PNM business and some old Esquire business, to empty my "blogs to do" file in my email account.

Now if I could only get to the backlogged "ask Tom" emails! On that I will confess: you ask via a short letter that is specific, and those I do as I receive them (thus they go into the newsletter). It's the long letters that go into the hopper, hopefully someday to emerge).

■ Reviewing the Reviews (Bay Area Political Review)

■ Reviewing the Reviews (Charlotte Observer)

■ Catching up on some old "Sound and Fury" in Esquire