July is when the scores for the AP tests are mailed out, but so far none of my students have gotten their results. I’m waiting as anxiously as they are to see how they did, although I am probably more optimistic than they tend to be, since I know from past experience that my students are generally smarter than they think they are.

To students at my high school, I am probably the most famous Italian-American who was born in Hoboken. To the rest of the world, that would be Frank Sinatra.

I rate my summer partly based on how much reading and writing I accomplish. So far I have finished reading two books, and am making good progress on writing a book consisting of a related series of science fiction stories. Now I need to get busy researching the nonfiction book I am doing with my photographer friend.

One of the joys of summer is keeping in touch with friends and former students, since I miss all the human contact I have at school during the school year. So the past few days I was very happy to hear from Kevin, Marwa, Monisha, Agnes, Adrianne, Sneha, and Hanna. Thanks, all!

I read several other blogs regularly, and I am really impressed by people who can develop a topic for several pages, examining it in depth and from various angles without being boring. Obviously, readers of my blog realize that I do not have that depth of thought which is why my blog generally consists of brief comments which are definitely NOT developed.

I am running out of room for cds, so I have decided that in lieu of buying a bigger cd cabinet, I should buy an MP3 player and start storing music electronically. As a writer who has published two books, I would feel guilty downloading free music which cheats the artists out of royalties, but the cost of music online is actually no more expensive than buying the actual cds.

Eventually I will run out of space for books as well, and then I will considering buying a reliable reader and start storing books electronically. While I have always loved the “feel” of a new book, there is a distinct pleasure in handling everything electronically as well.

OK, no laughing here, but since we joined Optimum's Triple Play we now have a card entitling us to see free movies every Tuesday. Last week we saw Indiana Jones, which was a lightweight but fun visual delight. Tonight I am pushing to see Wall-E, since its reviews indicated it might be the best sf movie of the season.