I’m actually at Festival HQ before it’s “officially” open. Out front throngs of people are clamoring for the tickets that the Festival has set aside. I noticed that all of the pricey Sunday morning events are now sold out, which is perhaps to be expected, as are the Pamuk/Rushdie event plus Sy Hersh, Simon Schama, Steve Martin and a few others. Plenty of good events, left though, even if they’re vanishing by the half-hour.

The chaos out front is only somewhat mirrored in the headquarters itself. I’m comfortably ensconced in the “Acura Lounge,” where it is posted that complimentary coffees will be made available. Not that I’m partaking—I’m wired enough as it is. According to the Festival Wire cellphone updates, Acura will actually be ferrying people from HQ to events, which I find rather remarkable (I think I’ll take them up on that!).

I’m currently seated amid a welter of controlled hubbub, as motivated young people scurry hither and thither, arranging the Cartoon Bank displays, wiring banks of lights, distributing attractive candles to all tables, and the like. I extend thanks to Josh at Scharf Weisberg and Melissa and Lisa at the New Yorker for helpfully ensuring me WiFi access even though HQ isn’t “officially” open yet. They can all add “liveblogger wrangler” to their resumes.

BoingBoing Gadgets was touting a T-shirt today that actually lights up when you are near a strong WiFi signal.

—Martin Schneider