Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Just thought I'd share what I was up to today (or more accurately,
what I was picking up this afternoon, and braving Very Bad Wind* for):
http://www.redplanetsw.com/personal/marssaxman/photos/2001-12-18-1255.jpeg

-Kelly
* Very Bad Wind == that which threatens to treat those of us who are
not stick figures as tho we were kites.
  

    
WOO HOO!  GO KELLY!!  they're gorgeous.  and i'm with you on the Bad
Wind thing.  i was actually told at a shop here recently that they
don't have anything for "my kind" there.  except...how about a nice
pair of gloves?  

Wolf Milk, eh?  i would totally buy milk if it were called that.  

so i would like to announce the unveiling of my rock and roll
organization's website.  please come and see it, as i'm proud at how i
am learning web design (very slowly):  www.theendlessband.com.  
  

    
Maure - You're welcome - and I need more stuff for the photo project,
just thought of another cool thing to do with it... (insert evil
laughter here)

Kelly - PRETTY!!! yay!

Adriana - the site looks nifty in the extreme. I like the sideways
photo at the opening page. Funny thing with the photos lying down - one
of the upcoming shoots of next year is going to have a lot of those -
particularly when played at with mirrors. 

squeaks, who spent far too many hours updating a web page hardly
anyone will see.
  

    
Wa-ha-ha-ha!

Wil Wheaton is my hero.
Yes, he is.
When I clicked the "posse" link, it led me to his CafePress Store with
his t-shirts which led me to a revelation:
I have lots of neat original icons and graphics and such that I've
done just sitting around when I *could* have them up on mousepads and
t-shirts and mugs for sale, at no initial cost to me...
Hmmm, I could be making money with this stuff, at least a *little*.
Running away now to start pulling out anything that might look good on
a t-shirt.

Jouni (did I spell it right?), get to it, too! Sell some of those
great pics on tees.
  

    
E-mail from Jouni:

Uh-huh

Haven't had time to read the topic, but...

Merry Christmas (or Hanukkah or whatever you're all celebrating)

There is a christmas card for you all in
http://www.geocities.com/jouniac/picts.html

Jouni (still working too much)
  

    
Hi,

Just dropping by to recommend that everyone *run* and go see LORD OF
THE RINGS. 

The critics superlatives are for once, greatly justified.  

Rocky (who can't believe the director actually *nailed* it!)
  

    
Well, I did it.
I opened a CafePress store
(http://www.cafepress.com/cp/store/store.aspx?storeid=goldenokomis).
At the moment it's mostly archaeology related wearables (Cam requested
shirts that say, "Honk & flip me off if you love Archaeology") but
there are some "Absolutely Barking Mad" mugs as well...
  

    
I'm in total agreement with Roxanne on LOTR - even at three hours,
there are parts that feel like they were hurried through, where you
wish they could have lingered a bit.  Particularly in the first two
hours - especially when the hobbits are leaving the Shire - I was
looking for a bit more wistfulness, but that's the only (minor)
complaint I can muster.

The casting is wonderful, the acting top-notch, and the feel is just
very, very *right*.  I was astonished at the emotional payoff in the
last hour - even with a movie this BIG, and characters that could just
be archetypes (but aren't, somehow, due to stellar work by Jackson and
the cast), the breaking of the Fellowship is profoundly sad.  The
escape from Moria is the set-piece action sequence of the film, and it
is handled extremely well, but it's the emotional wallop (and yes, if
we've read the book, we *know* it's coming, but it still works) at its
climax that really drives home the bond between the characters.  To top
even that, Boromir's last stand invests him with heroism and dignity
only hinted at earlier, and I found myself mourning a character that I
hadn't previously even liked.  

I'm hoping to see it again this weekend, just to be able to take it
all in a bit better.

And on that note, I'll be flying to Detroit this evening and returning
on the 27th.  I have no idea if I'll be near a computer at any time
during the week, so I wanted to wish everybody a safe and happy
holiday.  "See" you all in a week or so!
  

    
My boss just got back from seeing that and says it's absolutely
wonderful. Well, I know what I'll be doing this weekend. Trying to get
in to see LOTR.
  

    
Jouni-  AH!  What a lovely pic of the wee one!  Thank you.

Everyone- Have a Happy General Holiday! 

Angelina (who hasn't been very chatty lately, has she?) 
  

    
(In which we finally discover the thing that will actually SHUT ME
UP.)

I am so happy with THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGS that I'm speechless. 
All I really have to say is that it made me very, very happy.  More
than happy.  It's JOY.

And also--look out New Zealand, here come the tourists.

Kelly: Those are so gorgeous and unique.  Were they done by a friend? 
I'd love the name/contact of that designer.  Please feel free to email
me.  Congratulations and best wishes.

Jouni: Yay! Baby Yoonas! 

Rick: Thanks for the review.  Well done.  "Me too." ; )
  

    
Saw LOTR last night as well...
I really enjoyed it, and my companion who has never read the books
really liked it as well... which is a crucial test. Some of my other
friends immediately went into nitpick mode with some valid (mostly
concerning Saurman's motivations and the changes in Arwen), some overly
anal critiques.
Still, it's an amazing film and does a wonderful job with capturing
the feel and spirit of the books. 
  

    <scribbled by dfowlkes Tue 3 Jul 12 10:14>
  

    

Last night I got two phone calls one after the other, first from a friend in
NY who had just seen it, and the other from my brother in TN, who called to
say "OH MY GOD." He then quickly excused himself because he had called me
before even making it to the bathroom.
So. Yeah. They liked it.
I'll be seeing it on XMas day.
  

    
I want to see it before I re-read the book. So I can judge the movie
without getting anal about the details I don't completely remember
because it was so long ago since I read the book.
  

    
I'm glad LotR is astonishingly good.  I'm happy because my life has
been made easier.  When I talk to people, and favorite actors come up
for what ever reasons, 9 chances out of ten they don't know who Sean
Bean is.  Now I can say "Boromir, Lord of the Rings."  And they'll
know.  I used to say "The bad guy from Goldeneye."  But that doesn't
really work....so I'll be renting it on video.  (I love going to
theaters but rarely get to.)  So now I'm trying to decide if I want to
read the books now, or leave off until after I've seen the movies...
  

    
I'm leaving off until I've seen the movie, because *Harry Potter* made
me wish I hadn't read it first.
I'm going to be off-line for a while (wonky Internet connections in
house), but hopefully I'll be able to at least lurk.  Well, I hope, at
least.
Happy holidays everyone.  Be well in the coming year.  Talk to all of
you soon.
  

    
(waving bye to Jen, somewhat belatedly)

And happy almost-solstice, everybody.
  

    
Kelly--they're beautiful.

Jouni--thank you so much for the adorable picture of Joonas!  That is
one cute kid.

Will--don't stay gone long.  And I would advise reading those books
first, 'cause I don't like to have someone else's visuals in my head
when I read something for the first time, and because those books are
really special.  But enjoy it either way!

I feel like I've been tackled by the Christmas lineman.  Without pads.
 On concrete.  Aaaack!

(I must be losing it--I just used a football metaphor.  Medic!)

Neil--congratulations!  I always thought 41 was slightly over the
hill, a time to rest on your laurels and contemplate your
accomplishments......I am *so* kidding!  I agree with you completely
--aaaargh!  You've got an entire lifetime ahead of you--are they mad? 
Yet it *is* a nice thing to say.........well, it's nice that you got
it, even if it is a bit early.  And the news about HarperCollins proves
what I have long suspected about them.

They have excellent taste.  Congratulations.

Mary (who just finished The Foundling & Other Tales of Prydain by
Lloyd Alexander and is *very* excited about another short story
collection from Himself) 
  

    
Egads people, spoilers (er, I guess that would be 'hidden responses'
over here). Some of us (okay, one of us) are only 2/3 finished with the
book, and not seeing the movie until finished with the book, damnit! 

Incidentally, there's an LOTR topic in the movies conference.

Neil - Maybe all the cats are rubbing off on you - 9 lives and all
that - in which case 40ish is pretty late to start collecting said
awards. :) Congrats!

squeaks, who had a lovely day despite the ick weather.
  

    
Congrats, Neil - and don't you dare be done.  :-)

And yes, people - LOTR spoilers. I won't be seeing it til the lines go
down,... thanks.  :-)

-Kelly
  

    

There is the most gorgeous picture in the world of Tori at <marvy>'s site:

http://chriscarrollphoto.com/Photo/Oldies/index.html

Scroll down the thumbnails on the left side until you see Tori's lips, 
then click on them.
  

    
Just dropping in to hang the mistletoe...

Big holiday S M O O C H E S!!! to one and all.  

Blessings and goodness follow you all through the new year.  

Love,

-Pam
  

    
Nope, I'm not done yet. 

Very tired... just saw Lord of the Rings. I loved it, and wanted more:
would have enjoyed the 12 hour version of the first book as well. Ian
McKellan really was Gandalf.

Just realised there was a post written a few days ago that didn't go
up -- it was the one that talked about what Toribat was getting for
Xmas.
  

    
Neil: ToriBat will be thrilled that you remembered...
KarlaBoo (she's asked a few questions via the FAQ link) wants to know
if you constantly have words (stories) in your head.