Annette Dashofy's Blog

Shots Fired

Today's my day to post over at Working Stiffs and I cover a range of topics from George Carlin, to local graffiti, to how we and our characters respond to the sound of gun shots. Hopefully I offer some food for thought. Come on over and check it out.

Added by Annette Dashofy on June 25, 2008 at 9:42pm — No Comments

Bridgewater Bookfest

(Cross Posted to Writing, etc.)

I am a promoter in training. One of these days I’m going to have a book of my own to promote. Until them, I’m practicing. In my darker moments, I think of these events as missed opportunities, as in “DAMN! If only I had a book out to sell!” But then my rational side reappears and I realize that the opportunities will continue to crop up. For now, I’m honing my skills.

One of these… Continue

Added by Annette Dashofy on June 20, 2008 at 6:12am — No Comments

What Was I Thinking?

I'm over at Working Stiffs today musing about the defect in my brain that allows me to say YES to projects when I should say NO. In other words, I'm writing about my new position as the coordinator of the 2009 Pennwriters Conference. Come on over and check it out.

Added by Annette Dashofy on June 18, 2008 at 11:42pm — 2 Comments

Citizens' Police Academy: Graduation

(Cross Posted on Working Stiffs)

After fifteen weeks of Citizens’ Police Academy, it’s over. We graduated this week and are now Citizens’ Police Academy alumni.

The ceremony was quite nice. Not the pomp and circumstance of some graduations, which is a good thing. We were allowed to bring guests, so my hubby tagged along. (He heard there would… Continue

Added by Annette Dashofy on June 12, 2008 at 12:28am — 1 Comment

Citizens' Police Academy: Final Class

(Cross posted to Working Stiffs)

This week was our final Citizens’ Police Academy class. I don’t think it has sunk in yet that our group’s time together is almost over. We’re a diverse bunch with a variety of motives for taking the course, but we’ve all bonded over the experience.

Our last class was another two-parter. For the first hour, we listened to Sgt. Keith Nemeth and… Continue

Added by Annette Dashofy on June 5, 2008 at 12:20am — No Comments

Citizens' Police Academy: Crime Lab

(cross posted to Working Stiffs)

This week’s instructors opened the class with a question: How much of what you see on the CSI shows do you think is real? I, of course, having studied Lee Lofland’s book, knew the answer was “almost nothing.” In fact, cases are lost because people expect things to be like what they see on TV. They have a name for it: “The CSI effect.”

In Pittsburgh, the guys who go out and collect… Continue

Added by Annette Dashofy on May 22, 2008 at 1:59am — No Comments

Pennwriters Conference 2008

I spent the weekend in Lancaster PA at the 2008 Pennwriters Conference. My report on the event can be found over at my Writing, etc blog in two parts. The first one is here followed by Part Two.

The conference itself was great. The guest rooms, not so much. And everything was very… Continue

Added by Annette Dashofy on May 20, 2008 at 10:21pm — No Comments

Citizens' Police Academy: Bomb Squad

(Cross Posted to Working Stiffs)

Citizens’ Police Academy this week was a real hands-on experience. Maybe a little TOO hands on. But I’ll get back to that in a minute.

The topic was “Recognizing the Explosive Threat” and our instructors were Detectives Andre Henderson and Sheldon Williams of the Bomb Squad. Class began with a Power Point presentation and lecture.

The… Continue

Added by Annette Dashofy on May 14, 2008 at 10:17pm — No Comments

Citizens' Police Academy: Terrorism and Gangs

I’m a little late posting this, but hubby and I were away for a few days on a much needed vacation.

(Cross posted on Working Stiffs)

We had another two-parter this week, beginning with Detective Ashley Thompson’s presentation on CAT Eyes, or Community Anti-Terrorism. It’s a nationwide program developed to eliminate racism and… Continue

Added by Annette Dashofy on May 12, 2008 at 6:06am — No Comments

Festival of Mystery

I played hooky from the Citizens' Police Academy this week to attend the Festival of Mystery in Oakmont ,PA (near Pittsburgh). As always, it was a blast. Hey, a room full of authors, books, and readers...what's not to love? I also blog about the event over on Working Stiffs today, so come on by and check it out.

Added by Annette Dashofy on May 1, 2008 at 2:41am — No Comments

Citizens' Police Academy: Something Old/Something New

(Cross Posted on Working Stiffs)

This week’s Citizens’ Police Academy was a two-fer. A little bit of something new and a little bit of something old was presented during our field trip to the training center.

Relatively new to Pittsburgh is the Crisis Intervention Team. Unlike SWAT, this is not a “response” team. Rather it’s a “collaborative” team in which the Pittsburgh… Continue

Added by Annette Dashofy on April 23, 2008 at 10:28pm — No Comments

Intentional Outtakes

(Cross posted to Writing, etc.)

I spent several hours yesterday writing stuff that no one will ever read.

Considering that I have two manuscripts collecting rejection slips in New York it could be argued that I spend ALL my time writing stuff that no one will ever read, but I don’t want to go there.

Let me put it differently. Even my critique groups and first readers won’t read the pages I wrote yesterday. They’re… Continue

Added by Annette Dashofy on April 18, 2008 at 12:48am — No Comments

Citizens' Police Academy: SWAT!

Cross posted to Working Stiffs

The guys from Pittsburgh’s SWAT team tried to convince us that their job isn’t glamorous, but let me tell you, they do get to play with some really cool stuff. Their presentation was so fascinating that while I started out scribbling notes like crazy, pretty soon I got so wrapped up in listening and watching the videos that I forgot to take notes! This is why I… Continue

Added by Annette Dashofy on April 16, 2008 at 1:30am — No Comments

Citizens' Police Academy Driving Quiz

Are you a good driver? Do you know the rules of the road? Then come over to Working Stiffs where today I report on week #7 of my Citizens' Police Academy experience and offer a quiz on driving laws we should all know.

Added by Annette Dashofy on April 9, 2008 at 10:37pm — No Comments

Report on Firearms 101

(Cross posted to Writing, etc.)

Yesterday, after months of preparation, I played host for Pennwriters’ Firearms 101 for Writers Workshop. The workshop was a joint effort between Pennwriters’ Area 3, of which I am the representative, and Area 1, which is represented by Catherine McLean. Catherine took care of all the sweet treats and hot beverages, budgeting and registration. I took care of the presenters, lunch orders, and bottled… Continue

Added by Annette Dashofy on April 8, 2008 at 12:00am — No Comments

Laura Lippman and the Invisible Woman

Last night I attended a booksigning for one of my very favorite authors, Laura Lippman. For a report on the evening and pictures, check out Writing, etc.

Added by Annette Dashofy on April 6, 2008 at 2:38am — No Comments

Firearms 101 for Writers

As Area 3 Rep for Pennwriters, part of my duties is putting on workshops on occasion. So this Sunday I am co-hosting (along with the Area 1--Erie--Rep) a Firearms 101 for Writers Workshop at the McDonald Sportsmen's Club. My husband and two of his cronies...errr...BUDDIES...are doing the presentations on weapons and firearms from the prehistoric all the way to modern police and military. It should be a lot of fun.

Added by Annette Dashofy on April 3, 2008 at 10:02pm — 2 Comments

Citizens' Police Academy

I've been attending the Pittsburgh Citizens' Police Academy for the last six weeks. Today and every Wednesday, I am posting about the experience over on Working Stiffs. Come on over and comment or ask a question.

Added by Annette Dashofy on April 3, 2008 at 12:48am — No Comments

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