So friends have been forwarding me this "Free Hugs" video that’s zipping around the Internets.  If you haven’t seen it, it’s wonderful, and here:

Now look a little more closely.  See if somebody kinda familiar-looking shows up.

The whole time I was watching this guy, I had the weirdest feeling of deja vu.  And that’s because, at the 1:12 mark or so… I’m about 99% certain that’s me.

Wow.  Yeah, I remember now.  Small planet.  Nice place, mostly.

This is precisely the sort of thing Prisoner of Trebekistan is all about.

OK, not exactly what you’re thinking, but still.

Next Thursday, I’ll be doing a live teleseminar thing with my buddy Patrick Combs, whose whole professional career is about learning and growing and figuring out how to do rewarding things with your life.

Since we’re friends and all, Patrick sometimes speaks about me in terms that make me wonder if I’m actually the guy he’s talking about, but whatever — there’s this phone thing, and we’re doing it, and if you enjoy this site or want to know more about TV or radio or Jeopardy! or the book deal or whatever, we’ll be talking about all of those things.

I’ve known Patrick for maybe a dozen years, and while we don’t agree on
absolutely everything, he has taught me a lot, often just by example,
and I can tell you nobody is more sincere about trying to help make
people’s lives richer and cooler.

So there it is.

(Incidentally, I have just learned from his site that I am an AMAZING MANIFESTER.  I have no idea what that means.  However, if I do try to manifest in front of you, well, shield your eyes, apparently.)

OK, not exactly what you’re thinking, but still.

Next Thursday, I’ll be doing a live teleseminar thing with my buddy Patrick Combs, whose whole professional career is about learning and growing and figuring out how to do rewarding things with your life.

Since we’re friends and all, Patrick sometimes speaks about me in terms that make me wonder if I’m actually the guy he’s talking about, but whatever — there’s this phone thing, and we’re doing it, and if you enjoy this site or want to know more about TV or radio or Jeopardy! or the book deal or whatever, we’ll be talking about all of those things.

I’ve known Patrick for maybe a dozen years, and while we don’t agree on
absolutely everything, he has taught me a lot, often just by example,
and I can tell you nobody is more sincere about trying to help make
people’s lives richer and cooler.

So there it is.

(Incidentally, I have just learned from his site that I am an AMAZING MANIFESTER.  I have no idea what that means.  However, if I do try to manifest in front of you, well, shield your eyes, apparently.)

Since I’m still in NYC doing book stuff — and we’ve got reviews coming up in two more major NY papers in the next few weeks (fingers crossed they like Prisoner of Trebekistan as much as the Wall Street Journal) — I’m reposting a favorite pudu-like creature, the Mouse Deer.

I took the below picture just minutes before a cloudburst near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  Look how big he is compared to those mushroomy plant thingies he’s standing near.  He’s teeny.  And actually, I should mention that this is a Lesser Mouse Deer.  But don’t say anything.  He probably has enough self-esteem troubles as it is.

Incidentally, the mouse deer is neither a deer nor a mouse.

If that seems confusing, consider the woodpecker.

(And if that amuses you, it’s one of about 800 jokes squeezed into Trebekistan, which also tells the story of how winning (and losing) on Jeopardy! ultimately led me to get lost in Malaysia and take this here pic, among other things.  For more, just poke around Trebekistan.com.)

As long as I’m on the east coast, I’ve just been invited to read from and sign Prisoner of Trebekistan at the Yale bookstore at 3 pm next Wednesday, October 11th.  This will be followed at 4 pm by what I take to be a private event, a Master’s Tea (which I take to be some sort of James Liptonish chat for the benefit of students) over on the campus itself.

Some guys at the Yale Record, the nation’s oldest humor magazine, are apparently behind this.  I’m grateful for the invitation.  Very cool.

More to come.