Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 4/16 - Wheels

I must apologize for jumping the gun and assuming yesterday’s attack was perpetrated by foreign terrorists. Although it has the hallmarks of an Al Qaeda bombing, it is also possible that it was staged by one of our own mental defectives. As for the goon whose rant about his treatment at Gitmo was published in the NY Times, which conveniently omitted his crimes, hang yourself.

Although everything pales in comparison to such an event, life must go on, other issues must be addressed. Matthew Goldstein, who was appointed Chancellor of the City University of New York in 1999, is resigning. With the help of others and despite the vociferous complaints of leftists, he restored tougher academic standards that led to the system's revival. Open enrollment was ended at the four-year colleges, but remained in effect at the junior colleges. CUNY regained much of its reputation. It may no longer be the Harvard of the Poor, but it is much better than it was. A recent article in the NY Post offered a discouraging statistic, showing how much more work needs to be done. 80% of the graduates of the NYC public school system who enter community colleges are sent to remediation classes. In effect, their high school diplomas are worthless. They are totally unprepared for the work force.
Thank you, Mr. Goldstein.

Popular culture is fascinating even when it’s infuriating. Somehow things like the pet rock, chia pet and the Macarena become wildly successful. Several years ago the lovely Kristen Bell starred as a high-schooler who solved crimes in Veronica Mars, a show that attracted only so-so ratings but a solid core of devotees. Those fans have been clamoring for a movie version. 100,000 people have donated an average of $62 each, a staggering total of 5.7 million, toward the cause - all in a single month! Hollywood execs are salivating. If I set up a website to get All Hallows into production, it might raise ten bucks - maybe.

Yesterday I received a copy of the latest romance novel of my literary angel, January Valentine, publisher of Water Forest Press. Head over Wheels has a sexy cover and immediately found a buyer, a young man. My thanks to him and to all the others who purchased CDs, DVDs and books today, and special thanks to Rafiq, who bought Killing yesterday, attracted by the 18th Avenue street sign on the cover. He used to live in the area.

Vic's Third Novel (Print or Kindle): http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3