Dateline: above the garage in Portsmouth RI, 5 September 2004

I'll keep this brief.

As for CSPAN's production values: hard to complain. Felt the main head-on camera struggled at first with how to cover my movement while keeping track of the graphics. But he got better with time. As brief wore on, the second, close-in camera to the left of the stage started doing close-ups of the screen in addition to all those crowd reaction shots. The angle on those was a bit awkward, but it was easier to read the screen that way than when the head-on camera tried to shoot it through all the overhead lighting.

As for the crowd shots: the angle at which the side camera caught people was too far "above" their eye-lines, so when audience members were looking down at their notebooks as they wrote down things, it looked at though they were sleeping. Got more than a few emails decrying this, but it was strictly an optical illusion. I know, because I was there, and I notice anyone sleeping like they're holding up a big sign saying "BORING." Trust me, no one slept at that event, despite the appearances in some crowd reaction shots.

As for the sound: sometimes my sound effects came in too heavy, but can't complain about my mike too much, although sometimes I moved my arms too much and got some muffling. I was glad that, at about the midway point in the brief, they caught one of the section slides coming up along with the Law and Order ch-ching sound. Because until that was seen on camera, I couldn't see how the audience at home could understand the meaning of the sound effect (which is meant to signal the start of a new section in the brief).

As for me: I was very still for the first 20 minutes or so, then I started my usual back and forth pacing, which I think the camera-man (head-on one) handled well. Whenever I went upstage to the screen I would pass in and out of lights, which was a little disconcerting, but how was I to know? I liked how I kept my delivery fairly deadpan throughout. Not sure why I did, but sometimes that's just the way I feel. Room laughed at all the usual jokes, but CSPAN sound didn't pick it up unless it was a big laugh (just no mikes pointed that way).

You can tell how bad my allergies were that day by how low my voice was. Amazing to note: I don't take a drink at any time in the show, except the off-camera break between first and second halves and then just before Q&A. Doesn't seem like much to average person, but remember I was talking non-stop without any lozenges (stopped using those after I heard myself once) and my throat was in pretty bad shape. Still, I like the lower sound of my voice anyway, so I'll take it.

As for my appearance. I made sure to get my haircut right beforehand, so that looked good. And amazingly, despite all the awkward overhead lighting (which is NOT flattering), my emerging bald spot wasn't its usual shiny self (thank God for small favors). Thank God my wife also talked me into buying a whole new wardrobe of suits before the book came out. I was really happy with how I looked in the navy blue 3-button. Shirt with cuff links looked good, as did the well-tied tie (never easy for me). So looks-wise, I was very pleased. The suit made a nice V out of my, so it wasn't like every time I turned around you just wanted to gasp, "my God what a big ass" or anything. I also like how erect I stayed (not easy for that length of time, which is why I must move around), and how my hand gestures were measured and not distracting.

Overall, I liked the show a lot. When you watch yourself on something like that, you fear so many things, almost none of which occur here. I did flub about a dozen lines (meaning a mispoke a word or just a syllable), but that's par for the course when you're talking non-stop for 2 hours and 40 minutes. It is amazing to realize I go that long without any script. I have never written the material down anywhere, and yet it does not vary from speech to speech by more than about 5 percent, I estimate. It is a true oral performance from the stage--a one-man show that's never exactly the same and yet always pretty much the same.

I was happiest with the Q&A, because I got good questions that let me drive home points I really wanted to make before I got off the stage, like the one about the role of women in Islamic countries (the question from the Pakistani officer--got a lot of emails about that). Best, though, was that I didn't lose my cool with any, nor did I cut people off (except the Pakistani officer one time early in his question, but then I realized what I had done and dialed down my excitement level to make sure I let every person ask the question in full--not easy, when you're that pumped up after going that long!).

Overall, then, I was extremely happy with the outcome. I know Putnam loved every second they ran that byline under the screen (Thomas P.M. Barnett, Author: The Pentagon's New Map), because being able to match the content with the book is paramount in an opportunity such as this. Was it my best performance? No, but a very good one. Could any production do a better job on capturing both me and the graphics? Sure, but CSPAN did pretty well, and used the two cameras to the best of their ability, getting better as they went along. So no complaints. Again, when you think of all the things that can go wrong but did not, you are ecstatic with the outcome.

And then there's the Amazon bounce, which sees me at #3 still as of 1600 on Sunday. And then there's the ability of anyone now to order the DVD for themselves, which steals a little of my thunder, but is good in the long term.

So I walk away from this feeling awfully good, not to mention relieved.

And yeah, my wife Vonne did give me some grief about the references to her, but nothing I can't handle after 18 years of marriage!