So here we are at the start of a new year (2009 if you're looking at this in the archives) and things are changing a bit in the Wild World Out Yonder. There will be a new President in town. There will be changes both chosen and forced that will hopefully lead all of us into a more pleasant future. And there will, very likely, be lollipops.
There will also be changes (and possibly lollipops) in Wonderful and Sometimes Wacky World of C. Patrick. The biggest change is that the newspaper many of these columns have appeared in has changed ownership and it isn't yet clear if the Observation Deck will continue under the new management.
This is actually a good thing as it prompts me to try to get the back issues of the column (there are currently 222 of them) compiled and published in book form. It also encourages me to see about self-syndicating this beast in other newspapers. It ALSO provokes me (check out all those cool verbs I'm using) to try to gain a larger web presence. So if you read this blog and like it, then recommend it to your friends, link to it on your own sites, and let me know that you enjoy it by writing comments and singing its praises (no, I mean REALLY sing its praises -- make a song, sing it on a street corner or on the rooftops, tape it, You Tube it, and I'll link to it from this site. Enjoy!).
Ah, praise.
Elsewhere in Goblinbrook Manor is a change-a-comin' for my day job. Said day job, as many faithful readers know, is teaching college-level English classes onboard US Navy ships. I'll still be doing that, but I'm hoping to cut back considerably and make far more of my income around and about home. How can I do this in today's "troubled economy"? Good question. Send me any suggestions you have. Maybe I'll try 'em out like that one guy did (you know, that one guy that did that but whose name and/or website I can't currently remember).
But I do know that it will involve nurturing whatever creativity I may possess much more than I have been doing in the past. Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, The Guild, and The Legend of Neil, among others, have inspired me. What that inspiration will lead to...well, I don't quite know yet. But, by gum, I'm looking forward to finding out (and to using my new video camera).
There will also be more recipes.
And more reviews.
And more more-ness.
Enjoy.
[Below: Happy New Year!]
