Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Michelle--tell your mum I agree with her. The US is the only country I
can visit and automatically lose weight. [flashes back to Thanksgiving
lunch two years ago, "Hang on, everything on the plate is YELLOW..."]

Neil/Shawn--our company's last Christmas party was at an Argentinian
restaurant. Roast beast on sticks as far as the eye could see.
[shudder] The worst part was when we asked the waiters if there had
been any accidents with the gigantic sword/skewer doo-dads they served
the meat off. The waiter shrugged and said, "A coupla times..."

Also, fresh lemon juice (if you can find it), honey and a goodly slug
of rum/whiskey in a mug of hot water is wonderful for a sore throat.
Mum has been giving me that since I was a little tacker. Hang on, she
also used to help me sleep with a bottle of warm milk and brandy. That
could explain a lot...

Rocky--good luck with the move. Can't wait to see the new digs!

Shira--The Moulin Rouge soundtrack is divine! 'Walker is just being
silly. I have to hide my copy at work or it goes missing for days on
end. I was meant to see the movie last night (opening night in Aus) but
all the sessions were sold out. I'll see it on the weekend and report
in to the other thingies. I adore Baz Luhrman.

Tree
  

    
SUshi for dinner tonight. My argentinian host actually shuddered when
I ate a vegetable handroll. He had eaten some vegetables once, he
explained, but had not cared for them.

Astonishingly expensive, but it made me happy.

The Lenny manual logon still works, and reminds me of the old dos days
with the 1200/300 baud modem when you had to type all manner of stuff
to make a connection.
  

    
Though I like vegetables, I don't think I'd like them sushi-style.  But your
host!
  

    
Shira/Jinxer -- I have actually been listening to the Moulin Rouge
soundtrack nonstop for the last 3 days; I'm addicted! All those on the
road with me when Track 14 comes on are in mortal peril, because I
can't help flooring my accelerator. 

Speaking of, Jinxer, I can't believe you lucky aussies get to see it
before we can. I've got another weeks wait I think. Mucho jealissimo

--The only time I can say I've honestly enjoyed sushi is at The Pink
Flamingo in L.A. Wonderful place, great California rolls too
(I did have some tastey octopuss about 4 months ago though here in TX)
  

    
Danw- Give up cheese!? That's horrible! I could never do it....I live
for cheese as everyone should.

Who are some of the people on the Moulin Rouge soundtrack? I've seen
previews for the movie, but don't know much about the soundtrack...

Neil- Vegetables expensive and rare? How strange.....


I'm eating some kind of weird Italian salad with salami, fetta cheese,
lettuce, cabbage, carrots and tuna. It's confusing my taste buds, I
think. 
  

    
Kelly/Dan - re: Lyon's - Never made it down to that one, but was
kicked out of several others at 3AM on the way home from Gilman after
the punk shows. Made it down as far as the one by Chabot in HWD before
we finally grew out of the "lyonart" phase. Geez, they feel okay with
serving you that garbage (with full intent that you ingest it), but
they are so touchy when you try to sculpt with the leftovers...

Kelly - Eugene was '92-'93 for me. We must just know people in common,
prolly from the bay area.

Claudine - Expect to be introduced to rather a plethora of thingies.
Ooh, and I'm trying to drag James along too, so you'll recognize two of
us, at least.

Neil - You're thinking of Lydia. And I understand the seriousness of
the food situation. I dare you to go to the Chinese restaurant in Mt.
Shasta and find *one* non-drink item on that menu that doesn't have
meat in it (including the vegetarian chow mein, which was alfalfa
sprouts and pork, with no noodles even). And as the only vegan on a
cruise ship once, I think I was the only person to lose a significant
amount of weight on it. I don't think I've been vegan since.

re: Moulin Rouge sdtk - Ick. Sorry. Just doesn't do anything for me.
Tho' I am up for seeing the movie. (see Walker, you're not alone)

Dan - I know it's not the same thing, but non-dairy cheeses have come
a long way in recent years. And it's not like you're too far from
stores that sell them, being a local boy and all.

Oh, Tree - since I'll forget to email it to you; remind me that I'm
dragging you to Kan Zaman when you're out here. I'll forget otherwise.
All other thingies and FOGs are welcome, btw.

-squeaks, who is hungry for kappa maki and far too lazy to make it
tonight.
  

    
So I finally both set up my account and figured out how to post
something (I thought for a moment that finding the conference was a
test to weed out those not worthy), and I'm happy.  A long and gushing
thank you to Michelle, for the WELL equivalent of letting me crash on
her couch for a couple of days till I found a place of my own.

Happy birthdays to all you other May babies (fellow Tauri, and you
Gemini, as well).  Hope they were, and are, and will be, great.

Quick note on Stardust:  The reason it's one of my favorites, I think,
is that I was *so* Tristran when I read it.  In fact, the only flaw I
found was that Tristran was described as not looking anything like me
(he has nut brown eyes and hair.  My hair is raven black, and my eyes
are the blue-green of underwater).  When my parents got me the
illustrated hardcover, my only qualm with Charles' paintings was that,
again, Tristran didn't much resemble me at all.  I *really* wanted him
to.  I *so* wanted to be him.  Still do, I think (maybe when they make
the movie, I'll audition).

Dan- Sorry to hear about the cheeses.  Can you eat the "edible
processed cheese food?"  I'm not sure it's technically a cheese
(although I'm not sure it's technically 'food' either; anything that
has to label itself food is highly suspect, no?

Neil- I've had vegetable tempura, which was, um, interesting.  Might
try it again, given the right circumstances.  I recently learned that I
was using wasabi incorrectly (something about the soy sauce [you know,
if there's a right way, they oughta tell you]), so that means I have
to eat some sushi again, soon, to fix the mistake (though not the squid
piece.  Never again, the squid piece).

Erynn- The soundtrack has, besides the nearly ubiquitous "Lady
Marmalade" with the highly whorish video, cuts by David Bowie with
Massive Attack, Bono with Gavin (Friday, was it?), Beck and Timbaland,
and even the song stylings of both Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor (who
knew?  Were you surprised?  I was surprised).  And that was an
incredibly interesting-sounding salad; tell me, did your taste buds
manage to sort it out?

Concerning diet; Have tried giving up meat lately, but I always get a
craving for a cheeseburger.  I have, however, fully given up all fast
food, which should make one slightly harder to get.  I do like sushi,
but, then, lately, I've been liking all things natural, so that's
probably it.

Rocky- in NYC?  At MF?  Good luck with the move.

Till next, all, Dream,
Will- who is a little upset that his first post was written on his
brother's computer, rather than his, but feels this fact is balanced by
all the new friends he's making, so that's all right.
  

    

Welcome Will!  
  

    
E-mail from Dianna:

Dan Guy - Congratulations :) And your Jim Henson story is wonderful.

Angelina - Neil recommended me _Deathbird Stories_ as a good first 
Harlan book. It's out of print but worth hunting for. Sorry to hear 
you got your purse swiped. That's awful. But Happy Birthday wishes 
from me.

Shawn and Kelly - Happy birthday. Hope you're still having fun :)

Neil - John Cale did a gig in Brisbane - about 8 years ago i think, 
though it seems like yesterday - and it was so cool. It was in a tiny 
old theatre which made the whole thing very cosy and intimate. He 
wore the *best* suit and his son was doing his sound engineering. Is 
he still doing one-man shows?

Dan - Must you give up cheese for ever? i couldn't do it. We are 
spoilt rotten in Tasmania with (i think) the finest cheeses in all 
the world. And most of them are animal-rennet free which is a bonus 
for vegetarians like me.

i would starve in Argentina. How strange is it that many of the 
world's common vegetables have their origins in South America but 
they don't eat them there any more? i guess that there they are so 
passe...

Went to see Moulin Rouge last night (in an almost empty theatre?!) 
Very pretty (the movie not the empty theatre). Nicole and Ewan sing 
most of the songs which are covers of Elton John, Madonna and Bowie 
etc. and i'm with Michelle and Walker on those. But i adored the 
production design, costumes and choreography which was, at times, 
very Buzby Berkley.

My theory on the empty theatre is that most people thought that it 
wouldn't open here on the same night as the rest of Australia because 
most films don't. We usually have to wait 2 weeks to 6 months down 
here at the edge of the earth. And that's after the Oz release date 
which can be 6 months after the US. Or in the case of Princess 
Mononoke - forever - it hasn't screened in Oz at all that i know of 
except for a night or two in Sydney and Melbourne at film festivals 
last year. We do regular screenings in our lounge room for anyone who 
wants to see it. So don't envy us Shawn :) ...It's a conspiracy to 
punish us for having the best cheese...

Michelle - What's kappa maki?

dianna - not so shy today :)
  

    
If you want to "try out" Harlan Ellison before plopping down $30 for
the "Essential Ellison," I suggest you download some of his short
stories from Fictionwise.com
(http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/HarlanEllisoneBooks.htm). The
stories are super cheap and the downloads are immediate. Good starter
stories include: A Darkness Upon The Face Of The Deep, "Repent,
Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman  and I Have No Mouth, And I Must
Scream.

Jade
  

    
Shira -- I'm sure Harlan is overjoyed to be refered to as a "Top
Sci-Fi Author". ^^

Angelina -- Anywhere is a good place to start with Harlan, I think. 
I'd start with one of his many short story collections, such as
_slippage_, or perhaps with _Onyx in Mephisto_.

Dan -- That's terrible; I don't know if I could give up cheese. 
Perhaps there is hope in non-dairy cheeses?

Will -- Welcome.

Neil -- I rather miss the old DOS days, when I'd have to wait a few
seconds for my 1200 baud modem to display each page of plain text and
so everything was read at a meandering pace.  I was dragged, kicking
and screaming, into the GUI age.  I still miss having that level of
control, and idly play with linux late at night, trying to recapture
it.
  

    <scribbled by castle Fri 25 May 01 10:01>
  

    
Dan-- my condolences on losing cheese.  Last year my wife gave it up
out of choice, as part of her war against dairy products.  She seems to
be perfectly happy living her new, cheeseless life-- so there's hope
for you.

Rocky-- more good luck wishes for your move!

I will definately be observing towel day today.

Jade-- Thanks for the link.  I've always found the prospect of
starting on Harlan Ellison to be daunting-- too much material!  I
appreciate the push in the right direction.

Will-- welcome!
[Well-- Wilcome!]
(well, wilkommen)

Saw Tom Stoppard's Invention of Love last night-- heartily recommend
it to everyone on this topic.  It's about A.E. Housman, classical
poetry, textual criticism, homosexuality, Oscar Wilde, the Aesthetic
movement, god what else? [describing Tom Stoppard plays these days is
like reading a college course catalogue-- "it's about Persian erotic
poetry, Cantonese cuisine, the history of ballistics, superstring
theory, optics and the voyage of the Kon Tiki.")   Very funny and
occasionally blindingly intellectual-- I felt as if my brain had been
jumping hurdles for 3 hours.  But worth it.  
  

    
Neil-- My wife, who spent two weeks with severe laryngitis this
spring, sends her sympathies.  
  

    
Roxanne - dang, I wish I had known about Towel day before this
morning... ah well...
As for the flash animation... that was... wow... disturbingly
hilarious.

Michelle - yes, I'm going back to be punctured again next week and she
said she'd give me all the info on non-dairy cheeses at that time. My
inner Wallace, however, shudders at the thought.

Will - I imagine that I can still satisfy my occasional Cheez-Puff
craving with impunity, since nothing in a Cheez-Puff has ever been so
much as within proximity of a cow in its life.

Linda - Tazmanian cheeses aren't animal based? And they're the best
cheese? Maybe there's hope after all.

Wishing I had my towel with me today
Dan
  

    
Will - You made it! Congrats.

Dianna - It's a kind of sushi. Specifically, cucumber rolls. They're
my favourite (even if they do tend to always fall apart when I make
them).

squeaks, who is now VERY hungry for sushi, and pouting over it.
  

    
e-mail from Jack Womack, via Neil:

Here it is, nothing changed except Roseville (from Rosedale)


7/2/01  7:00 PM         Roseville, MN                   

        Barnes & Noble
        2100 N. Snelling Ave.
        Roseville, MN  55113
        (651) 639-9256
  

    
Will-heeellllooooooo! I think my taste buds enjoy being confused and
teased sometimes. Like today at work I had a BBq burger with five
different kinds of cheese piled on with bacon, an onion ring, spinach
and a buttload of mayonaise. (I have to put mayonaise on everything---I
just have to) People stared at me a lot, but I was happy. I often go
to a lovely restaurant around the corner that sells THE most delicious
spinach pies. They even have one with spinach, falafal, curry, cheese
and banana. My favorite!

Moulin Rouge looks like a movie I'm going to have to go see. As for
the soundtrack, I love Beck, Massive attack and, of course, The Bowie.
Nicole and Ewan sing? We'll see. 

A really great movie that's out now the EVERYONE must see is
"Memento". I liked it so much that I went to see it again (and I rarely
do that) 

Dan- I once went to the Co-op (a mainly health food grocery) and was
in a hurry. When I got home, my husband made himself a sandwhich with
what he thought was cheese. Then I hear him yelling "What the shit is
this!?" I went the the fridge and checked; I had bought fake cheese. To
me it doesn't taste all that great, but perhaps it's like beer: an
aquired taste. I pray I'll never have to find out. Good luck. 

Michelle- Dammit. Now you have me craving sushi:p

Neil- How's it goin?

Well, I bought lots of beer and was able to con 7 people into helping
us move. With all the money I spent on beer, I probably could have just
hired movers. Next time....next time. I am very much looking foward to
moving, though. The area is lovely and smells of food 24-7. 
  

    
I was in a hurry this morning, and forgot my towel. It explains so
much about the rest of the day. (Suffice that I look like a raccoon. I
did *not* look like a raccoon when I was done putting on my makeup this
morning.)

Will - the Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor songs are *very*
surprising! I actually had to grab the jewel case and see who sang Your
Song - I was so surprised to see it was McGregor! 

Both Because We Can (Fatboy Slim) and Hindi Sad Diamonds (Kidman,
Leguizamo, and Yagnik) make me want to floor it and just *drive* until
the road ends. (Unfortunately, that means I would end up in Canada,
which I don't want to do at the moment.)

Erynn - Memento was really, really good. I very much enjoyed it. Will
probably have to see it again.

Linda - all good things come to an end, but thanks.  :-)

-Kelly
  

    
Tree-- exactly. Not to mention lambs roasting slowly in the windows.

Michelle -- how embarassing; I was, of course, thinking of Lydia.

Voice is back, but husky... John Cale didn't show as he was sick, so I
did the radio myself and babbled and babbled, so happy just to be able
to talk again.
  

    
You mean, poor John Cale was even sicker than you were.

Don't talk too much!
  

    
hooray for getting your voice back, Neil:)
  

    
Yeah, but if he wants to keep it he _won't talk too much._
  

    
E-mail from Douglas Spadotto:
"
    Hello Neil.
    I was preparing another nice message of 'get well' for your voice, and
reading "The Castle of Crossed Destinies" (English title, I'm reading in
Portuguese) from Ítalo Calvino, I had this idea: If you were still writing
Sandman or another 'dark and mysterious' project, you could talk through
tarot/playing cards. That would be cool! "American Gods" don't look so "dark
and mysterious", from the part you read, it's smart (intelligent would be
better), it's funny, it's... big (reading the synopsis I understand that
Shadow's mission is very... difficult)
    At the signing I was suposed to give you a copy of a brazilian book
named "Sagarana", but I couldn't find in English anywhere besides my local
library, and I would not steal it for you.
    I send a message describing my experience at the signing. And wrote what
you "asked" to write. My "debt" is paid, (just kidding) now I can rest.
"

Thanks,

Douglas Spadotto
  

    
Erynn - Don't blame me! Neil started it by mentioning that he had
sushi! Sheesh, I get blamed for everything (joking)!

Neil - What Martha said. You'll have a voice later if you don't use it
too much now (waggles a scolding finger in your direction). Not that I
ever listened to my own advice, but I did lose half an octave in my
rebellion against common sense. 

squeaks, who is supposed to be sewing, not posting.