Hi Everybody. No, this isn't Dr. Nick Riviera, just your event coordinator. I know I have been telling you all that my weeks are silly busy. Well, they are. To free up a little bit of my time, I am going to have to quit the blog. It has been fun to rant about snow, bad drivers and Thanksgivings gone wrong, but it all must come to and end. I am going to move to a monastery in Tibet so I can focus more on my event-ing.

What? You mean you want me to stay? I can't stay. There are books that have to be ordered, returns to be processed, coffee to be made and emails to be answered. Those things aren't going to happen all by themselves, someone has to sit in the Black Chair and do them. It is no use crying. I simply can't stay. ALRIGHT, I'LL DO IT! But they are going to have to be shorter. Maybe I can switch between a long, rambling dissertation about prestidigitation one week and talk about books the next. That sounds possible. Okay, an event coming up you might like. Think. Think. Think. Oh Bother.

Got it! Friday night! March 9th! Date Night! Nothing will make your date night better than a trip into the district for a book reading. Picture it with me. You pick up your favorite girl/guy around six from their office. The two of you take a nice stroll through the scenic Penn Quarter to our Lansburgh store (418 7th St.) where you grab a glass of wine from the cafe and chat about your day. After a few minutes of pretending you are interested in each other's jobs, sit yourself down at the book reading that is going on there. Catherine Crier (THE Catherine Crier from Court TV) is going to come over after her show and talk about her new book Final Analysis. The bizarre tale of Susan Polk who, in 2002, stabbed her husband 27 times with a paring knife in self-defense. It gets stranger. She fired her lawyers and represented herself for the second half of her trial. Forget reality TV, this is twice as interesting as American Idol. After you meet Catherine and hear about Susan Polk, you might need to unwind a bit. Pop into any of the wonderful restaurants in the area for dinner (Acadiana maybe?) and then the rest is up to you. That sounds nice actually, someone pick me up at my office at 5.

Something else, you say? Man, are you all pushy. One more and then I have to get back to work.

One from DC, how about one in Virginia? Tuesday March 13th. I know it is hard to park your car in Alexandria and a bunch of you use that as an excuse to not go there during the week. Shame on you. Once for relying on your H2 or Land cruiser to move one person across town and once for shunning a very hip bookstore in a nice pedestrian neighborhood. For those of you that love American History, the South and the Civil War (wars aren't that civil anymore) you will truly enjoy hearing Russell Bonds talk of his book, Stealing The General.

The year was 1862. In France, a group of young artists were fighting to be included in the annual painting exhibition with a new style of art. On the other side of the Atlantic ocean, a group of men stole across enemy lines, jumped aboard a train and made fast for the North destroying communication lines as they went. The 20 soldiers and their Leader, a Northern Spy, were pursued by the train conductor and eventually caught. Half were hung but half escaped and were later awarded the Medal Of Honor. The first people to ever receive it. A brilliant tale of war and history that was retold once as a Buster Keaton film. When you come to this one, take some notes and ask Russell lots of questions. He is an Atlanta Lawyer, Civil War Historian and a snappy dresser to boot. He won't steer you wrong.

That is all I have time for today. I am 18 minutes past my deadline and will probably be admonished by my webmaster for making him wait. Don't forget to set you clocks ahead on Sunday. I would hate for those coming to the Old Town event to show up an hour late. You might have missed the biggest part of the book event. If you make it out to both events, you can ask Russell what he thinks about the Susan Polk murder case. If you are Russell Bonds and want to come to the Catherine Crier event we can work that out too.