Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
E-mail from The Other Glen:

I was surprised that no one here mentioned that the founder of
Roadside America was on "Whad'y Know" the other week.

I was out driving around to quarries when I heard the interviewer
mention Rock City and other places on the Roadside America website.

The archived web-enabled show is at:
http://www.notmuch.com/Show/Archive.pl?s_id=31

- The Other Glen
  

    <scribbled by castle Fri 27 Jul 01 21:32>
  

    
Dan Guy -- Yeah, I did. In issue #5, "Dad," under the pseudonym of
David Haller. Voices was a great idea that fell apart much too soon.
  

    
JaNell -- I don't know what I'd do without you to let me know when
I've made a joke.

Erynn -- thank you so much.

Adriana -- if I am bellows then right now I am a very limp pair, but I
thank you.

Blythe -- I like your website (although I had to go and check the
Likesbooks.com to see what I was talking about on the "books by the
yard" thing -- you might want to quote the whole paragraph, rather than
paraphrase it).

I expect that the copyright in most of the interviews belongs to the
interviewers, but for those bits that belong to me, as long as you
attribute where you found it, and you don't quote whole essays, then
you have my permission.

You might want to see if you can find any records of my month
answering writing questions on the compuserve literary forum in around
1998.

I don't think it would have helped the Young Man in Victoria though. I
got the impression that he wanted me to read his stories and then send
them on to a publisher under my imprimatur.
  

    
Neil - 

(Flinching hard)
Ouch. Another body blow. 

(Rallying back, preparatory to running off and hiding somewhere)
And I don't want to hear about your limp bellows, or other personal
problems...
So there. :P
  

    
JaNell--what *can't* you do with homemade endless dolls?

(In proofreading this post, I see that I had accidentally typed
"JaNeil"...I am frightened.  I need a life.  Preferably my own.)

Blythe--YES!  That is Definitely the voice.  You have it too.  Now,
what will we do about it?

I read Good Omens again today.  It was my second time around, and I
enjoyed it much more than the first.  Don't get me wrong, I thought it
was good the first time...it's just that I had only ever read
Neverwhere before it, and didn't know what to think.

Has anyone ever read any of the little poem things by Brian Andreas? 
I am absolutely hooked.  I recommend it to everyone.  The website is
www.storypeople.com

Angelina.      
  

    
"What would *I* do with an endless doll?" might should be the
question. And I've actually been called 'JaNeil' on this site before,
which would make sense if Linda's theory is correct, but then why is my
daddy so mean to me? :(

I'll go over and see that site you recommend now, while my paint
dries...
  

    
Ha!  Angelina, glad to see I'm not the only one that does that to
JaNell (what's worse is the ice cream voice also says it when I read
and type it and won't let me correct it to JaNell... naughty voice that
it is).

Suzanne
(who is rather grumpy at herself since she really does try to call
people by the names they've given her instead of naming them)  
 
  

    

 Two emails from michaela:

#1 
Neil - Congratulations! You did it - it's over! Have lots of rest,
enjoy your family for a change :) From personal experience and what I read
on the web you've done such a wonderful tour and lots of fans walked away
from meeting you a little happier than they arrived .. I know that I did.
Thanks again!

#2 
Oh - and I forgot: I am astonished to hear that Rammstein are popular
in the US. I had thought that what with the German lyrics they wouldn't
export well. Is it just the music and the fact that it sounds like
gibberish to you adding to the experience, or do you actually try and
translate the lyrics?
                                                         
  

    
Michaela--Well, I am not a huge fan of Rammstein, but I like them just
enough to get up and dance to their songs when they come on.  I
imagine if I liked the music a bit more, I'd find out what they were
saying (and actually buy an album).  However, I enjoy the gibberish at
this moment.  Come to think of it, I did once try to find out exactly
what they were saying, and there were big arguments about just what it
was.  

JaNell as JaNeil--Hmmm...my daddy was always kind of mean to
me...called me "Goatbreath" until I was 16.  Maybe his mean-ness says
even more than the misspelling of your name... :)

I think that if I type a capital N followed by a little e the last
half of the name comes like breathing.  :)
  

    
Angelina - To me it says,"Go away, you're bothering me", or that he's
playing with me - in the good sense, like a kitten batting at you. Or
both. Dunno. Oh, Diety, now I'm talking like him, too... 

Your dad called you 'Goatbreath'? You're kidding. 
'Course, I call my kids 'stinky', 'varmint', or 'Hey, you in the kid
suit!' so who am I to say?

Suzanne - Don't listen to that naughty bad wicked voice that tells you
to mis-name me. I'll only accept JaNeil if he legally adopts me and I
get to inherit, which would require some action on my part as he's only
four years older than me, or if I become an official member of his
entourage and then *only* when I'm working... ;)
  

    
Michaela- I love Rammstein and have translated most of the lyrics.
Trouble is, a lot of it can mean many things, which I think he did on
purpose and is little or no help whatsoever when asked about it in
interveiws. I do know, though, that most of the songs are about love
and lost loves, not nazi rallys. They've got a pretty big following
here because they're music is so good it makes people interested in
what he's saying (and I think everyone is getting sick of the 'limp
biscut rock' and wants a change). At the concert EVERYONE was singing
the words along with him. I'd never seen anything like it. ANd their
songs are always stuck in my head. 

Neil- I was thinking....you should read Streak's post thingy from back
there, record it, sell it and the proceeds could go to the CBLDF. I
know people that would pay a lot of money to hear you read it. Just a
thought....
  

    <scribbled by dreaming Sun 29 Jul 01 00:42>
  

    
(sorry about posting here)

JaNell... could you please email me.  I need to pick your head
regarding an unrelated topic and it would be just wrong to do so here.

Thanks a bunch!

Suzanne
(who knows if she had a version of that nightmare she had in 3rd grade
about the multiplication table, only change it to JaNell's name she
would finally quiet that little voice that is now reminding her that
there is very nummy vanilla ice cream in the freezer... hmmm...)

 
  

    
Don't be sorry about posting here, Suzanne (although I'm often sorry
about posting here, and 116). 
Be sorry that you're CHASING ME AROUND WAVING AN ICE PICK AT MY HEAD!

(looks again)

Oh, that's a... pen. Um, sorry for yelling and all.
  

    
Michaela ...
Rammstein is quite popular in the clubs around here (Seattle),...
well, at least the clubs I go to on Friday/Sunday night, which are
fetish/goth/industrial mixes. In fact, there is an entire genre of
"growling german music with a hard beat" that's really popular... too
bad I just don't like it all that much.  :-)  I think it's more because
I prefer melody with music than anything else, altho I'm sure part of
it is simply overexposure. Well, that and having worked with teens
quite a bit when Rammstein first became popular, which led to serious
overplay. 

Speaking of music, and vainly trying to be slightly on topic-ish... I
just found my Flash Girls CDs! Yay! .... still need to get the new one,
tho...

And a question, Neil, if you have the time or inclination... have you
done lyrics for anyone besides the Flash Girls?

Cheers and beautiful Sunday all!
-Kelly
  

    
Actually, I think most of Rammsteins stuff if very melodic. He has a
wonerful voice. But in the clubs I suppose you minly hear "Du Hast"
which is kind of repetitive and, in my opinion, not their best.

Neil- AG is going to be a movie already? (or did I read into the
blogger entry too much)
  

    
Erynn -- lots of people have made approaches. The first one that
actually got my attention arrived recently, and I got to watch the
director's showreel... we'll see what happens next.
  

    
I think I fear an American Gods movie almost as much as I fear a
Sandman movie...but if done right, that could be really cool.

Okay...so, about these Flash Girls...should I buy a CD?  Do they sound
like they do on Warning: Contains Language?  What CD is a good one to
start with?

Angelina.
  

    
Erynn - (642) Busy. Very busy. Friends coming to town from all over
the world, one after the other - which is really cool, but sometimes
inconveniently timed and still a bit exhausting. Burning Man is just
around the corner and I've still got lots and lots of stuff to do. Work
is opening up a store in San Francisco, and I'll be working there, but
I'm also helping to set it up, and we're behind schedule, so I'm
working extra hours... with my friend in town, wanting to go clubbing
every other night... And somewhere in there I'm getting some sleep.
Other than that, not much. How are you? :)

Kelly & DanW (and anyone else going to BM) - I'll be camped within the
Death Guild Thunderdome camp (just ask for the 'faerie camp' there -
It's a Neil-inspired camp, but it's easier to explain to non-thingies
to look for the faerie stuff). I think we're out near 4:30... Come
visit! And Dan, you're not as far gone on the 'junkie' tip as you could
be... I mean, you don't build camps in the desert devoted to the guy
yet ;)

Angelina - Buy the CD. Start with the new one and work backward.

Um... what else was I gonna say?

Oh, Rammstein - Very popular in gothy/industrial clubs that draw a
mainstream crowd. Hell, if In Strict Confidence and Die Form are played
regularly, I don't see why Rammstein wouldn't get popular. They even
get radio play sometimes. Not to mention you can recite the whole of
Green Eggs & Ham to the tune of Du Hast. :)

Neil - Welcome back. Get some rest... one of us should.

squeaks, whose life has gone a bit kersplooey on her again. ack!
  

    

Random Neil reference in online comics:
http://www.brunothebandit.com/

Bruno The Bandit, a fairly good online comic, is running a little Dreamy
segment...
  

    
Bill^2 -- Good stuff.  Voices was a good idea, though not a terrible
original one perhaps (in a world with fray.com, promography.com, and
artifakts.org to name a few others).  Still, I was sorry to see it fall
apart so soon.  Harry said he liked two of the three pieces in the
first issue, so when I ran into him at a con a few months later I asked
him which he hadn't liked.  He claimed to not remember it, but said
that he'd liked mine a lot.  Later, I told him he should let me take
Voices over since Paul was falling down on the job.  Alas, no response.

Neil is in CNN.com's Career section:
<http://www.cnn.com/2001/CAREER/jobenvy/07/29/neil.gaiman.focus/index.html>

Neil -- Do you really decline invitations from People and Letterman? 
That's... wild.  I can't really picture you on Letterman, come to think
of it, though I bet Letterman would like you.
     Glad to hear that the stuff in your basement is fully intact and
that there is even more of it then you knew.  I eagerly await any (or
preferably all) of it seeing print!

madman -- *lol* thanks for that.
  

    
So, I thought I was gonna have a great weekend in which I'd see
Midsummer Night's Dream on the Hudson Pier, and then I got sick.  I
also missed seeing Christopher Walken play in THE SEAGULL, a production
of Shakespeare in the Park (even though the play is by Chekhov, but I
won't say anything, because I seem to be the only person who finds it
incongruous...).  Darnit!

Michaela- I've loved Rammstein since I first saw their RESERVOIR
DOGS-esque "Du Hast" video.  I got a German major friend to translate
it for me.  What is it?  I actually do think it's the music, and I
personally prefer to hear it in the original German, simply because the
German sounds so... sinister?  Perhaps?  It's truly a beautiful
effect, I always thought.
Oh, and on a German side-note, the Tool CD AENIMA has part of a track
that sounds like a Nazi rally, or something, but is really hysterical
if you know German (I won't spoil the surprise of the laugh, though. 
Unless you guys want me to, I mean).

An AMERICAN GODS movie; erm.  I just dunno.  I'm really looking
forward to GOOD OMENS (though I'm not sure I'm a Terry Gilliam fan.  I
watched the FISHER KING the other week and didn't much like it. 
Course, 12 MONKEYS was good...), and am still both trying to get
NEVERWHERE off of eBay and waiting for the movie.  Oh, and STARDUST! 
YEAH!  I heard on DarkHorizons that an actress (they didn't name who)
was eyeing it, or had picked it up, as a starring vehicle... you can
only trust the Internet so far, though, and not very, at that.  I'd
like to see STARDUST.  I'd like to see Kirsten Dunst in it, I think,
and I'd love to play Tristran, but all that's neither here nor there. 
I just... I'd be open to AG, definitely, but, of course, it would be
*vastly* different.  Huge book, would require a day to tell whole, and
Lord knows the studios want everything under two hours unless it's got
Leonardo DiCaprio in it (Leo as Shadow?  Oh, God, please no!  Anything
but that!).

On a SANDMAN movie; I'm adapting a couple of stories I've written into
screenplays, like you do, and I needed to get the right format down,
so I went online to find a couple (www.script-o-rama.com [Got
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE and THE SIXTH SENSE]), and I found a SANDMAN
script.  I was like, whu?  Read it; it's not bad, I guess.  Love to
know what all of you think, especially you, Neil (the people who wrote
it, Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, said that you'd read it and liked it,
and I wonder just how much of it's true).
  

    
Dan Guy -- er, yes. The Letterman people are really nice -- I went
backstage there several years ago and signed a lot of books. I'd
porobably go on if I had a film clip to show, not to plug a book or
comic.

And People have come to me twice -- once of their own volition some
years back and I said no thank you; and once last year, where the
then-HarperCollins publicist was VERY upset with me after setting up a
People article when I said No.

OTOH I gave them an interview that they didn't use back when Tori was
one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world...


WIll -- it'd be cheaper to buy Neverwhere from AMAZON.CO.UK and get an
NTSC dupe made in New York. Which of the Elliott/Rossio scripts are
up? There were two -- I liked the one with the Corinthian better than
the one with John Dee.
  

    
Neil - 
...tribal shaman to "a handful of beautiful goths and a handful of
boys in dresses and a handful of sci-fi fans and a handful of nervous
young girls with multicolored hair and the people who look normal and
the people who look like somebody's mom. I exist at the intersection of
a dozen Zen diagrams."

Oh, no. I'm not sure I fit in there anywhere, and the closest -
'somebody's mom' - well, if that's the case, I might as well give up
now and go home...