I just got finished watching an episode of an NBC show called Parks & Recreation. It's the show in which Amy Poehler plays a character very much like the one Steve Carell plays in The Office.

I want to go on record as saying that this is not about the quality of the script, nor about Poehler, who is generally funny in most roles that she plays. But I have to say: enough.

It's time to put away the Mockumentary genre where the humor is based entirely on how stupid someone is, or rude, or generally self-humiliating.

I was a huge fan of the British version of The Office. Ricky Gervais was absolutely brilliant, as was the script, and we'd never really seen anything like it before. Likewise, I liked the U.S. version of The Office with Carell, who brought some interesting dimension to that baffoon boss character. That show also was carried by the fantastic Jenna Fisher and John Krasinski, who were so pleasant to watch, especially for the first couple years of the show.

But watching P&R really highlighted for me the weakness of this genre, and why I hope it will go away soon. What is it about this time in history that compels us to laugh at the misfortunes of others? What is it about cringing that seems so central to humor in 2009?

I don't have the answer; I just want to stop cringing. Give me a laugh track again. Or at least shows that don't make me want to die when I watch them. Die is a little strong. But Chuck put it pretty well tonight. He said: "When did someone's bad day at work become entertainment?"

A good question.

I wish Poehler success with any vehicle she has, although this one really has me torn. Maybe I'll say I wish her success, but I'll be sitting this one out.
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...Wadorf to Your Astoria is done. Through. Finished.

This will be the final post here.

But fear not! If you go over to my brand-spankin' new website, billkonigsberg.com, you will see that I am still blogging over there.

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Just four more days in 2012... Hard to believe how quickly --

Who the hell am I kidding?

This was the slowest year in the history of man. I don't mean that in a bad way. It just went slowly. To me, last December seems like years ago.

It was a great, slow year:

1.

People often ask me: Bill, how did you find the perfect man?

Okay, no one outside of my head has ever asked me that.

About four months ago, I took a home test and found that my blood sugar was in the "pre-diabetes" range.

I can't say I was shocked, because it wasn't the first time I'd had that result. But I was horrified, because it was rising from the last time I'd had it checked.

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Tomorrow is the first day of NaNoWriMo, also known as National Novel Writing Month. Every November, all sorts of writers take on the challenge of trying to write a draft of a novel in a month.

I'll tell you what, people who plan to vote for Mitt Romney:

I disagree with you, and not just a little. Your support of the Romney/Ryan ticket feels like a kick to the stomach, because as a gay man, this stuff is personal to me.

But you know what? Don't de-friend me.

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What would happen at an all-boys boarding school in Massachusetts if an athlete came out as gay?

This is NOT the subject of my upcoming novel, Openly Straight. In fact, it is the setting for that novel, but it is the plot of my first novel, Out of the Pocket.

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Here it is, boys and girls! The cover of my forthcoming novel "Openly Straight."

Like it? I love it!

I love that it is a visual representation of the story. Given a choice of all the labels my main character, Seamus Rafael Goldberg, can choose, he chooses the most innocuous one.

Today I've decided to be one of those helpful authors and let you know what happens when you attempt to use copywritten song lyrics in your novel.

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We are back from our first full-fledged vacation in about three years!

Chuck, Mabel and I went to Northern California for two weeks, and what can I say? Paradise!

We had such an amazing time doing nothing and loving it.

We took Mabel to get groomed last week. We take her about once every other month, because the shaggy look really suits her personality.

This time, we didn't really specify that much about what to do, besides saying she needed a trim.

So yesterday, I received the "First Pass" of Openly Straight in the mail!

While it is still in "manuscript form" rather than "book form," it appears as it will in the book in terms of font, pages, etc. That was exciting to see. It's always different when you see your words in this form.

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I have been a highly effective person at times in my life. You don't become successful in a creative field without working diligently. It simply doesn't happen. Likewise, it's about impossible to succeed in any endeavor without concerted effort. I don't mean to brag, but when I'm on, I'm really on.

I woke up this morning thinking about the novel I am working on, BEST OF BIPOLAR DISORDER. There is a fantasy element in the novel. It's the first time I am working with an element of the fantastic in a novel.

This makes me nervous.

So I had a HUGE treat yesterday... I got to have lunch with the former student who served as the inspiration for the character "Carrie" in OUT OF THE POCKET!

I hadn't seen her in nine years.

So I'm writing a lot about God these days. Stuff like, what do I really think God is? Do I believe in God? If I do, what do I believe God to be?

You see, I have such a wide range of friends.

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I've been thinking about this whole "Chick-fil-A" debacle a lot recently. As a lot of you know, I like to be thoughtful in my reactions to things.

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I have a new book deal!

I've wanted to scream it from the top of a mountain for the entire world to hear for the past couple months, but I couldn't -- not until the deal was signed and official. Well, it is now signed and official.

Chuck said something yesterday that really struck me. It was a comment about how things have changed in his lifetime, especially for gay people.

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The novel I am currently working on involves a journey taken by two best friends: Duffy and Aisha.

Duffy is 17, straight-but-different, and bipolar. He has lived his entire life in Billings, Montana.

Aisha is 19, a lesbian, and black.

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I admit it: I've been Halien-ized. Not since my utter obsession with the new wave group Missing Persons and perhaps my fascination with Aimee Mann in the late 90s/early 00s have I been quite like this about a singer/group.

Contrary to the title, this posting is not about how I used to trudge four miles to school through the snow, and how "The Kids These Days" don't know how good they have it.

Instead, I want to focus on something that I feel "The Kids These Days" don't have.

I saw a show last night where a guy named "Dr. Mort" hypnotized people. 

I've always wanted to see a show like that. I find the idea of hypnotism intriguing. 

I have to say, the show was an odd experience for me. Like most of the audience, I found it entertaining. But I also left feeling a bit ...

I love to let songs not just inspire me to write, but inspire the direction in which I take characters.

I've done this on three novels thus far. In Out of the Pocket, I used the Mika song "Any Other World" to define for me some of the pain that my protagonist, Bobby Framingham, was going through.

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I can't wait to see the movie Bully when it is released nationwide on April 13th. I think it's beautiful that as a society we are talking about bullying in ways we didn't 20 or 30 years ago.

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