About the site: May 2006 Archives

I had a dream the other night that Dan Brown had kidnapped me and was forcing me to write his next novel.

I have no idea what that means, but perhaps Mr. Brown was on my mind because I'm about to head off to Cannes, where the film version of The Da Vinci Code premiered last week. I'm not sure what my internet connectivity will be like on the French Riviera, so if I don't post for a week or so, there's no need to worry.

If, however, two weeks go by and I still haven't posted, you better have the police break into Dan Brown's basement.

I don't get many tipoffs from readers, mainly because I don't have that many readers. (I am excluding the vast throngs who seem to find me via google, read my Snakes on a Plane trailer, and then wander off, never to return, leaving me feeling used and lonely.)

In any case, when I post something a link that somebody else e-mailed me, I have generally described my benefactors as "alert readers." Alert they certainly are, but I always feel a slight pang of guilt when I use the phrase, since I so closely associate it with Dave Barry.

Henceforth, when readers are kind enough to send me a tipoff, I will use a different adjective for them each time, steadily working my way through the alphabet until I reach Z. Then I'll start over again.