have you tried ... walking?

I always thought Julia Cameron would be taller. And thinner. And brunette-r. She was, however, just as neurotic as I'd expected.

Brian and I ventured over to see Julia speak tonight at the neighborhood B&N, ostensibly reading from her new book, "The Sound of Paper" (which, you have to admit, is one helluva name). As expected, she ended up spending most of the hour talking about her One Big Book, "The Artist's Way." I'm not here to knock it. That book changed my life. More than once.

At the same time, I was a little disappointed that Julia kept going back over a lot of the same things "TAW" spells out: ie, Morning Pages. And for half the questions asked, she'd respond with a plea for the querant to either a) write their Morning Pages, or b) try a little walking.

For New Yorkers, the latter comes across as horrible advice. I haven't even lived here three weeks, and I can tell you already, it's all about walking. I haven't walked so much in my life. Ever. Total.

Still, I liked her point that NY is a city of adventures. And, she said, walking your dog doesn't count.

So yes, I bought the book. How does paper sound again?

And yes, I've tried walking.