[Blitzer was nice, but writing day screwed up
Barnett
Dateline: above the garage in Portsmouth RI, 21 January 2005
Long weird day. Up very early and off to work to get in hours. Mostly packing books, but some work with colleague who wants to teach my course on alternative futures and was looking for advice and tips on how to do it.
CNN sent driver and I was off to Boston late morning. CNN has little studio just about a half-mile from where I used to live in Brookline, just west of Boston border (Cleveland Circle). Vonne and I lived there three years in late 80's while I wrote my PhD diss. I was the super for two apartment buildings to pay the rent, and got pretty good on plumbing and towing cars out of the parking lot, if I remember well. That and hauling garbage (about two tons on my back a good 50 feet to the curb every Tuesday).
Interaction with Blitzer went well. He was very complimentary on both the article and book. I think he always likes having me on because my ideas are so "provocative," as he likes to call them. Kenneth Pollack was on his best behavior, but I think he felt kind of weird being asked to comment on my ideas on Iraq and Iran, since he has books out on both countries. I felt pretty good about my delivery, and feel like I've figured out how to get my tie straight, sit on the back of my suit jacket ("Broadcast News" tip), etc.. Always the thing with the dry mouth, which isn't nerves but allergies.
Segment went long. Two full segments wrapped around commercial, so weird to have break in middle (like eye of storm). Overall, though, I was happy. Sounded like someone who could string sentences together and what not (always tricky when you're in room all by yourself and you just know there is a TV show going on somewhere!). Remotes are just so weird, like you're doing karaoke with the news or something. It doesn't seem like you're really there, because your voice sounds so normal to you, while everyone else is on TV! So, you sometimes feel like you're hallucinating and talking back to the TV and by God! Wolf is talking right back at you!
So much better in studio. Sorry I didn't get to meet Blitzer. 0-3 on that score, but the phone call on Wed was cool (not any more real though).
Weird to not be identified as Naval War College professor. That was first for me in national media appearances. ID'd as author of PNM and "contributor" to Esquire. I guess I have become primarily a writer!
After the show segments, I stayed in studio and did 45 minutes of taping with Jim Barnett (no relation), whom I met at White House correspondents' dinner last spring. He is head guy of CNN's Pentagon coverage (off-air head guy). He had me look to my left as though I was in the room with Jaime McIntyre, CNN's defense correspondent, and he gave me about 12 questions that I answered in fairly long bites. Bit weird to stare at a book case in the distance, but no weirder than the camera, I guess. This stuff will be used by CNN for series of reports by McIntyre this next week. Can't say when it gets aired, but if you see it, let me know.
[Side note: Also, got email recently from Tom Foreman, correspondent for CNN's "Paula Zahn Show" about his upcoming series on "Future Wars," that should air soon on the show. First episode features me a lot, he said, so I will try to catch.]
Did interview with Drew Brown of Knight Ridder in car on way back. He's writing something for this weekend which is much in line with my essay in first edition of "Rule Set Reset," so I was warm on the subject. We chatted for about 45 minutes.
Then confirmed my new lack of title with "U.S. News & World Report" fact checker for story from guy who interviewed me a bit back. For the life of me, can't remember the guy's name or the subject or the date or what I said, but I do remember feeling decent about the interview, so I guess that's good.
Got invited to the annual TED conference in Monterey at end of Feb. Think I will say yes. Bono's a speaker, but only by satellite. Other various artists and thinkers. It's a PopTech!-plus, it would seem, so it sounded fun. That puts me on West Coast a lot in Feb and March, so the crunch on editing book will be thick.
All this talking and stuff wore me out today. I tend to get very tired after TV appearances. They are fairly high-strung experiences with lots of adrenaline, and then you feel a bit unusually tapped later. Or maybe I am just wearing down from the pace of the writing.
Since I got some distance today on the section (1600 not bad), I will start early tomorrow and try to finish chapter 2's last section by dinner. I need to help son Kevin on school project this weekend, so that will be a big focus.
Then another day of writing on Sunday, giving me a break on Monday. Hear huge snowstorm en route, so Monday may be socked in. Would welcome that I think.
In general, will be happy when book is in Putnam's hands come 1 April. Feels all-consuming, when last time I wasn't trying to keep some semblance of blog, do media, have baby or puppy in house, leave my job, etc. Now even I'm beginning to wonder how I do it, and that seems like a dangerous sign. I am grateful I set LLC in motion. Feel like I would be crushed otherwise with all these emails and offers. Hell, it wouldn't just be a thin blog, it would be no blog otherwise.
Brain dead at 8pm. That sense coming earlier each night as this writing marathon continues. Fear I picked scary hard month to do so much book writing, especially with college job wrapping up and the emotion connected with that. I knew Esquire article would create some media requirements, so slack I had in schedule paying off. But it's weird. Last time I wrote twice as many sections over same length of days (about 40), but each section half as long as the ones I write this time. So even though I write only every other day this time, I'm writing just as much material.
Need some food, nice beer, movie with kids, then solid sleep (okay, with one puppy nighttime visit to backyard). Tomorrow has to be big day of writing. Has to. Will.
Posted by Thomas P.M. Barnett at January 21, 2005 08:04 PM |
