The Friday Wrap

Let me just start by saying a fond goodbye to October, the best month of the year. College football and the NFL are in full swing, the NBA begins, the baseball playoffs and World Series... and, oh yeah, the leaves and the autumn winds and all that stuff.

Here's what I was up to this week:

In the paper and on the blog

This political season as the Year of Amateur Status.

Sausage-making and Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools.

Last call for the Why I Vote project. (Thanks to those of you who sent something in; there's still time.)

An invitation to join me for a writing class, or come see a reading.

Links on Twitter

Here are some links I posted during the week from my Twitter account, @tommytomlinson:

Steve Perry singing along... with himself. Hang with the video -- it'll kick in. http://bit.ly/cmPIRN

Some of these are fake. But still: People are awesome. http://bit.ly/cntS1x

Honus Wagner: the world's rarest baseball card. Who ends up with one? Some nuns in Baltimore. http://es.pn/bUqh4R

Amazingly, Landon Donovan predicted this would happen today. http://bit.ly/cKy5Gq #worldcupoctopus

OK, I know what I want for Christmas. MINI-CANNON! http://bit.ly/9pTg1A

A musical interlude

My friend Andrea Pitzer of Nieman Storyboard linked to this great Tom Petty live clip the other day. There's one four-letter word, if you care about that sort of thing. But here's how Andrea set it up: "Love the tension he sets up here--The off-rhythm vocals! The injured hand! Where's the band?"

This one won't embed, but go take a look. It's worth it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpG09PenZt8

Coming up

A (very late) Avett Brothers album review, maybe some thoughts on the World Series, I'll have a column in the paper on Sunday, and of course Tuesday is Election Day -- I'll be columnizing on that, too. Go vote, por favor. Enjoy your Halloween weekend.