Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
I actually feel relieved that Neil didn't catch that link I gave.
It's worth signing up for Xanga, though, Tree, so that they can read
your blog, and Jinx's. Oh, and the never updated Walker's.
  

    
JaNell -- hah! caught it and read it. just haven't had any time to
reply as I have to leave first thing tomorrow am and madly trying to do
everything before going including virusproofing computers in my
absence etc.
  

    
Damn!
My computer locked up before I could hide it.
  

    
And, and, if you're so busy, what are you doing here, huh?
(muttering to self)
"...don't know why he'd go there anyway, Lord knows I've tried to send
him stuff often enough, but does he want to read it then? Noooooo...
Does he even ackowledge offensive haiku? Noooooo... but now, NOW he
wants to read it..."
  

    
Ja'Nell -  :p :::::::: 
Apparently the octopi have a good press agent, they have managed to
appear in recent issues of Alan Moore's TOP TEN and Warren Ellis'
TRANSMETROPOLITIAN comics.  Damn scary too!  Sadly I haven't been
keeping up with the blogger..[nips out to give herself 40 lashes.. but
cheats..uses wet noodle.]  Heh. And regarding blushes, I *really* don't
have the coloring for it, but I think I managed to squeeze one out
when I hopped into your lap after that unfortunate dining incident. 

Adriana - Today I read that several studios have delayed the release
of upcoming movies because they depict some kind of violence towards
the WTC, or in some instances, the fact that the building shows up at
all.  Frankly they shouldn't edit.  That space meant an awful lot to
the City of New York...and as they say, it's only a movie.  Tasteless
posters nonwithstanding.

Shawn -  I'm still reeling from the report of a guy who drove his car
into a mosque.  What the hell?  We've got a large Muslim community
where in Brooklyn. So far people have reported nasty phone calls but no
violence.  Here's hoping it won't escalate.

Bill - They banned Led Zepplin's "Stairway to Heaven" for
"questionable content."  Miserable kneejerk bastards. Here is a link to
the page:
http://www.bayarea.com/entertainment/news/special/clearchannel.html

Michelle!  Tree!  {{BIG HUGS}} And Tree please send your Mum my love.
I spent a frantic few days trying to get in touch with Tanya while
abroad but finally got through 2 days later. Still wading through tons
of Sockhead messages. 

Assholes are universal phenomena.  And re my 8 armed friend:  That
message, "Closer than you think.." still creeps me out.  

Tori is supposed to be on The Tonight Show this evening.  
  

    
Rocky--welcome back!  It is really good to hear from you.

Will--*that* was one hell of an important epiphany.  You'd be amazed
at how many people don't get it.

Mary (it's not a cold, it's allergies), Queen of De Nile.
  

    
E-mail from Jo Simons:
Hi again

Rocky - yeah, well, banned song lists are always a bit bizzarre. 
Unfortunate but typical. I remember being startled at being told that "Six 
Months in a Leaky Boat" was on the banned playlist in Britain during 
the Falklands Conflict.

Pam - I loved your Martin Luther quote. It is always worth the time to put 
effort into the beautiful things. The magnolias are blooming and my 
freezias are opening, so it can't all be bad.

Jo
  

    
E-mail from Jenifer Cooper:

First of all, I'd like to apologize for bothering the bearer of this 
message. Believe me, if I could register I would.

Hi all! I figured maybe this is a good time to de-lurk, having been a Mob 
stalker since June. First off, I'd like to express Happy Birthday's to those 
of you applicable, get well wishes to those ailing, and sympathies to 
everyone over this past weeks happenings. I decided to de-lurk out of 
gratefulness that this board has remained as gracious and solidified when 
many others have descended into bickering and arguments.  I recognize some 
of you from the neilgaiman.com message board (I'm ViciousKitty) so you'll 
know what I mean (hi, JaNell!).

Hmm. Now that I've screwed up my courage, I guess I'd like to say, hi, Neil, 
and I admire your writing, and I hope you have an excellent and uneventful 
trip, and I'm having a fangirl moment so I think I'll stop there. <recovers 
from swoon>

BTW, I'm currently in my third reading of American Gods since I'm writing a 
review for my graduate class that may go in the local paper, so if anyone 
has any ideas, tips, or Things Not To Do, I'd appreciate it.

It's been very nice meeting all of you, and once again, I'd like to thank 
the bearer of this message.
Jenifer (aka ViciousKitty)
  

    
VK Jenifer~Hey! But where did your party go? The best way to deal with
Neil isn't ~swoon~, but :P. Although I do it, too...

Rocky, if you'd like, I can make you a nice octy amulet. I'm glad you
remember that you fell into my lap (you're welcome back anytime). I've
been bugging Neil to write an essay thing on how that dinner at ConCat
led to Knoxville being in AG, for this year's program book, and Ziggy
(also with ConCat) suggested I put together what I remember, and then I
thought I should have other people who were there write up what they
remember... I couldn't pull the additional stuff together in time for
ConCat, but it still would be funny juxtaposing our memories... a later
project.

Cam started reading Poppy Z. Brite's "Wormwood" paperback, and shoved
her picture in my face last night asking, "Who does this look like?".
Errr.
This morning he showed it to Rowan, and asked him the same. Rowan
pointed gleefully at me and shouted, "Mama!". *sigh* Maybe. Only make
the hair lighter, the skin darker, the face wider. OK, sisters maybe...
  

    <scribbled>
  

    
posted at my blog:

Like the blog. Although I'm starting to feel like a stalker, which I
guess would mean that I'm a fan of a fan of Neil's fans? A
thingiephilephile?
Posted 9/19/2001 at 4:07 am by ViciousKitty 

See why those message board parties are so fun & silly?
  

    
Tori on Letterman was the most beautiful Tori appearance I've seen on
TV.  I'm pretty sure she made Letterman cry, from the way they cut the
camera at the end.  She sure made me cry.  I hope I can get a tape of
it.

I love the album very much.  I'm glad I stopped myself from listening
to all the songs beforehand because it really does fit together better
as a whole...though I don't like the order of the songs.  (I got the
Raining Blood cover, by the way.  Now I kinda wish I got Time after the
Letterman performance.)

I haven't felt much like talking lately.  Don't think I don't like ya
guys.  ;)

Neil--I'm going to send you a bundle of my bestest energies for your
trip.

I've got one of those "I don't know what to say in these coversations"
feelings going on, so I'm just going to back up slowly and let things
continue.

Angelina.
  

    
Blast, I wish I'd have caught Letterman. Flipped by a couple times,
but I must've missed her. 

*bangs head with Lil'Delirium doll*

-Shawn, currently reading "Confederacy of Fools" in small doses
  

    
No!  No!  Its okay.  Put the doll DOWN!  Someone had to have taped it.
 All is not lost.
  

    
I tried to stay up for Letterman, but fell asleep around 10pm.  I
think Lori taped it for me, though; I hope so, that is.

I'm listening to Tori's latest on repeat shuffle today and enjoying it
more and more with each go-round.  I think I would enjoy it even more
if I was a bit older, if these songs were in the soundtrack pantheon of
my childhood.  As it is, "Enjoy the Silence" is the only one that I
recognize (-- I don't listen to much Eminem).  I like it, though, and
I'm looking forward to the concert.

Today I'm reading "Kitchen Confidential: adventures in the culinary
underbelly" by Anthony Bourdain.  I'm not much of a food enthousiast
but this book is inspiring me to just to become one.  And it's a riot,
with lines like "Just pile it high, slip off the collar, stack your
vegetable, deposit your chicken on top of that, and you're halfway to
making that fuzzy little Emeril your bitch."  (He doesn't much like
Emeril, I think -- he keeps calling him "an ewok".)

Fly safely, Neil!

(ps to Mr. Ford - I finished "The Last Hot Time" the same day and
enjoyed it greatly.)
  

    
Nothing much to say, just:  Travel safely, Neil!
  

    
Michelle, some of A Game of You portrayed viciousness that's just too
much for me at times.
Re Neil's warning in 1475:  Always remember that you can use an  
email client other than Outlook or Outlook Express.  I'm still using  
Eudora 3.5, a classic program, in my opinion.  There are a number of
free and shareware e-mail packages for Windows available at
http://download.cnet.com/downloads/.
  

    
Ja'Nell - Thanks for the invitation, next time I'm in Knoxville...
sushi capital of the world...[NOT!]..I'll remember that you can still
find octopi in the most unusual places. Uh..I think I'll pass on that
amulet.  The woman who made our wedding rings creeped me out for some
reason until I noticed that the pendant on her necklace was a
you-know-what spread-eagled. Auuugh!

Mary - Thank you so much. I'm stunned at the state of our
city/country/world but so very glad to be home.

Damn, I missed Tory's appearance.  Apparently my body is still six
hours ahead.  I was fast asleep by 9 pm.  I hope someone will upload an
mpeg of it.  This album is amazing.

DanGuy - I caught Bourdain on Nightline a few days after the book came
out. What a character!  Thanks to him I'll be avoiding the Hollandaise
sauce from now on.  A festering pool of micro-organisms or slop jar
for scraps of butter?  Those pot shots at Emeril [Bam!] LaGasse were
hilarious.  Wonder what he's going to think of Emeril's new sitcom this
slated for the fall?

Just finished Shari Tepper & Harry Turtledove's "Household Gods." 
Seem to be reading a lot about gods lately.  *grin*

 
  

    
    email from Delirium:  "iTS oKay SHaWn i LIKE yoUr HeAd gaBOOM
gaBONG Its liiiKE bunGEe! JUMP!!ing iNTo a MeaDOw thE SHEeeeEPSES
haVenT goBBleDUP YeT."

    [She sent some punctuation and apostrophes, too, but they kind of
fell out on the floor, and they're all hiding now, making gerbil noises
and demanding pretzel nuggets with cheese.]

     Dan -- Thank you.

     Rocky -- Emeril's last name is, point of information, "Lagasse"
with three syllables -- he's Portugese, but when he started attracting
notice at Commander's Palace (one of several chefs, including Paul
Prudhomme, who got Famous there and went off on their own) the
management decided to reinvent him as "French."
  

    
"Ewok" seems a very good description of Emeril.  I've never liked him.
 Of course, the only cooking show I can remember watching was the
Frugal Gourmet.  I'll tell you, when I found out about that guy...
<sound of childhood's innocense crumbling>
So, I got an e-mail that lists most, if not all, of the banned songs,
and I have to say, uh, WTF?  The most obvious question is why radio
stations aren't allowed to play "Smooth Criminal," by Alien Ant Farm,
but yet can play the same song by Michael Jackson.  "Knockin' on
Heaven's Door," by G'n'R (I know there were versions before that, but
that's the one I'll always say, because that's the one I knew first [am
I showing my age here?  I am, aren't I?]) doesn't seem like a song we
shouldn't be allowed to play; I doubt I would have finally buckled
emotionally had I played *Use your Illusion II*.
And really, some were just moot, I thought.  I mean, really, when was
the last time anyone heard "Shot Down in Flames," by AC/DC on the
radio?  And why "Walk Like an Egyptian?"  I'll admit, I don't know much
about Egyptian culture, but 1) is it Talib? and 2) Isn't it kind of
far off from Afghanistan or Pakistan? and 3) why do we care if people
walk like Egyptians?  As long as they don't hate like whoever is behind
the tragedy, can't we walk however we want?
And, really, how much fear, or how many hate crimes, could "Disco
Inferno" inspire?
er.  Well, maybe we should think about playing that last one again.
  

    
Rocky -- I wish I'd seen that!  I enjoyed Bourdain's NYer article. 
I'm going to tell Lori that she should read the book after me, but to
skip the chapter that reharshes that article (talking about what to not
eat and when); she's squeamish enough about eating out and I fear if
she reads what he has to say about chicken then I'll never be able to
get her in a restaurant again.

Will -- My favourite bit from Clear Channel's missive was: "Rage
Against the Machine - all songs".  That one's a real accomplishment for
them, I think.

I wanted to buy Xander the Death and Delirium plushies, but Lori
vetoed the expense and frivolous.  But all was not lost!  One of our
dear friends, who always wanted to be Kitty Pryde I think, made him a
bamf!  (It suddenly occurs to Dan that no one who didn't read Uncanny
X-Men back in the "glory days" of Claremont will likely have any idea
what he's talking about.)
  

    
Will- I've always had a fondness for Emeril, but I'm gonna hide as far
as I can from his new sitcom. 
Some of the choices on that list completely baffle me as well. On the
other hand, perhaps adding "Disco Inferno" is simply a covert attempt
to smother the last dying embers of disco music. I can't really say
that would be a bad thing... ;)

John- Apostrophes always make the worst house guests; however question
marks are, in my experience, are very polite.


Angelina- I'll keep my hopes up that I can find a copy

(Warning : total non-sequitor ahead)
Anyone interested in American muscle cars and the like should check
out the Learning Channel tonight around 8-9pm. A cool documentary of
the Cobra.
  

    
Mike: ROFL. And clean up all those sharp semicolons before someone
gets hurt!
  

    
Dan Guy - Nightcrawler was always my favorite.
*bampf*

The only saving grace for me on this radio list thing is that it was
just someone's bright idea that has no actual authority behind it. This
seems to fall right around the same place as people being concerned
about the subject matter of Wholesale being too difficult for an
audience to take.
  

    
Yo, JaNell, I think castle's idea about going to the crafts conf is a good
one, and I'll meetcha over there sometime, yah? No time right now to talk --
am in between curried goat and West Wing or something, according to Juan
who's upstairs thumping the floor for me to come up and see something.

This house is full of weird people.

Travel safe and well, Neil (and anyone else traveling).
,