Greetings, Dear Readers:

WITH this posting, I felt like doing something a little different, but it didn't work out quite the way I'd intended.  I had the post presented here on the web log in a "virtual book" format embedded in this page, through www.scribd.com.  It looks like this:

An interesting idea, I thought, but I couldn’t quite get the plane to fly because of an overly demanding loading time.

So, to make it more simple, I figured I’d just provide a link in case you’d like to take a look: http://www.scribd.com/doc/22570777/So-Long-Old-Friends And, I’ll go ahead and post the “old-fashioned way.”

It also occurs to me to share the link to another “document” I’ve posted on scribd,  which inspired today’s posting and is in a sense its “prequel.” You saw it here first, last year: http://www.scribd.com/doc/22577533/Capturing-History-Before-It-s-Gone

A quick note about the format: it can look a little confusing, at first.  Give it a try anyway.  In the line of blue words on the upper left, just beneath the title, click "Fullscreen."  The material is then presented in a book/ page format.  There are only two relevant controls; just play around with them a bit and find what works best for you.  The first is the Left/ Right arrow beneath the display, which "turns the pages."  The others, just to the left of the arrows, are the "zoom" controls, by which you can adjust the pages to suit you.

While you’re on the site, you might want to check it out, if you haven't already.  It is happening in a major way, and might be among the best indicators today of what reading and writing might look like, tomorrow. Since anyone can write, submit and see "printed" anything that might occur to them, the site can seem at first only chaotic, even slightly mad, and is most certainly of uneven quality.  But like Manhattan (and I hope to be forgiven the analogy) the experience can be overwhelming at first, but virtually anything you might be looking for is in there somewhere.

Some of the hugest and most successful authors are experimenting with "printing" and sales through the site, as are the two remaining publishing houses (I exaggerate, but only slightly.  There are actually still four.)  As in YouTube, one might have to wade through mountains of oyster shells before sighting the first pearl, and that can be painful, but the pearls are there.  Do a search; let your mind wander.  You might be surprised.

Hope you all enjoy the post and your experience.  I am grateful for any feedback, always.

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