Okay, I can only let people think I’m crazy for so long, even in the name of spirited author BFF mischief! Now that everyone thinks I’m an extremist militant vegan whack job with enough free time on my hands to stage a blog battle against free speech and a full-scale (albeit largely unsupported) protest against the sweet, unsuspecting, MC-Hammer-underpants-wearing¹ debut author Josh Berk…

APRIL FOOLS!

Judging from the intense commentary here and on Josh’s various Web sites, this one was even more convincing than the circa 1987 prank in which brother #1 and I locked brother #2 in the basement and told him Freddy Krueger was down there. Poor kid still can’t watch Nightmare on Elm Street, and he’s 25 years old now! Thankfully Josh was in on today’s gag, so the momentary burden of my guilt at upsetting all of you can be equally shared.

Next, on authors behaving badly…

Since I’ve completely risked (and possibly ruined) my reputation as a mentally stable writer (*cough* oxymoron! *cough*) with this little stunt, I’d like to tell you all, if you can’t tell already, that I absolutely heart Josh Berk (almost as much as I heart veggie burgers). He’s one of the funniest authors I know, and I encourage all of you—regardless of your food orientation²—to check out his blog and watch for THE DARK DAYS OF HAMBURGER HALPIN in January of 2010. I’m hoping Josh will stop by for an interview soon, once he’s done mopping up the buckets of sympathy tears this post has earned him.

(Josh, please tell them I’m not an issue-laden psycho… *whimpers gently as a kitten* *offers tofu hot dogs*)

Psychos and kittens (and psycho kittens who eat tofu hot dogs) aside, happy April Fools to all of you! Oh, you all know that the whole Gmail Autopilot thing is just a joke, too, right? 🙂

1. This part, I’m afraid, is not a fib. He really does have the MC Hammer undergarments. Ask him.

2. This post, this blog, and the author of such herein neither supports nor discourages the consumption of meat and neither endorses nor disparages individuals who consume meat. The author fully supports the individual right to chose meat or meat alternatives when planning his or her diet and also supports the books of Josh Berk as part of a daily reading regiment but would not force or vote for legislation to force readers to read such works. The author warrants that she received no compensation, direct or implied, for these statements.