Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Neil, your blogger post wishes for the New Year were really lovely.  I
wish the same for you, and everyone here, and everyone I know....

Gish?  Was it Lillian who starred in the black and white "Night of the
Hunter"?  I absolutely love that movie, and am always a little
depressed over the fact that it was so poorly received that Charles
Laughton never directed another film.  It's really too amazing.

So, when I was in college, I had a friend who would go and get the
shinest, newest pennies she could and place them on every window seal
in her apartment, and on the door sill (fortunately she didn't have a
very tightly shutting door at the time) (I'm also giggling, just a tiny
bit, remembring how much trouble her boyfriend got into..."Hey,
someone dropped a penny!"  he said, as he bent down to pick it up.  Oh,
was she mad....)   She did this every New Years eve with out fail,
because she believed it would encourage money to come to her.  I love
this, and I was wondering is any of you have any yearly traditions?  I
always eat ham, or pork.  How exciting, eh?  And I don't do that until
tomorrow.
  

    

Mike always makes us eat black-eyed peas.
  

    
I always call Miss Nancy in Chattanooga and yell "Happy F*@%in' New
Year" into the phone at the top of my lungs, and then go outside & yell
it there, too. 
  

    
Neil~Just read the blogger. So sweet. The people you care about are
very lucky people. Go kiss 'em.
I'll be kissing Cam, 'cause the other two people who think I'm
wonderful are at Grandma's. 
  

    
Just lost an entire post about New Year's.  So:

Happy New Year to you all!

Black-eyed peas are for luck & turnip greens are for money in
Mississippi.  You eat them on New Year's Day.

Neil--lovely wishes.  The same to you!

My tradition is to go to whatever mass my friend Denny the Priest has
on New Year's day.  One of the readings is always the blessing of Aaron
from the book of Numbers, and since Denny always blesses the people
with that at the end of the Mass, on New Year's day he chants it in
Hebrew.  It's just lovely.  I don't know if I'll go tomorrow, though. 
I'm still sick as a dog.

OK, I think that's everything I lost.  Man, I hate losing a post.

Mary (just finished Winds of Change by Mercedes Lackey)
  

    
argh. Haven't replied to a bunch of posts, and am now going off for
ten days -- not sure if I'll be able to get online or not, so just in
case, please feel free to pretend that I've said something not just
sensible but amusing and wise.

 new year hugs all around....

Neil
  

    
Sorry, Neil, No Substitutions Allowed. 
(Void where prohibited.)
  

    
E-mail from Michaela:

Hi all,

dunno why, but after a while all I am doing is sit in front of my computer
and "listen" to what all of you say, letting it wash over my mind without
feeling the need to actually intrude (as it then seems to me) - which is a
roundabout way of saying "hi, I have been lurking, but I am coming out of
hiding right now" (which you probably noticed anyway, ah well - there's no
keeping things from you people..).

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! May all your sensible wishes come true - which reminds me
-> do you also have a tradition of having "New Year Resolutions" .. (or
whatever - my English is quite rusty from disuse), intending bravely to,
say, quit smoking or lose weight or read "that book that always seemed so
boring but which I am assured is a must-read for intelligent people" or
whatever? They are usually of the sort abandoned after the new year is about
two days old.. Oh, silly me .. I just realised that you do have New Year's
Resolutions .. (I should have looked into the blogger first as I usually do)
Neil - I do hope yours is not of the sort abandoned after two days ;))

Having read your Christmas Stories, it almost seems a pity that in Germany
you get to open your presents on Christmas Eve anyway. I never had the urge
to get up at 6am on Christmas Morning to pester my mother. On the other hand
we usually have childhood memories of Christmas Eve afternoons that would
never end. You'd get told not to go into the living room, if the weather was
good you'd find yourself building snowmen that never interested you as much
as they normally would have, while at home your parents tried to make the
Christmas Tree the very best tree ever .. but those afternoons are really
the longest afternoons of your life.

I went to see LotR a few days ago - I was so happy to finally get to see it,
I expected so much - and I wasn't disappointed at all - until I watched it I
had managed to be grown-up and sensible and not all fan-girl. Afterwards I
visited the web-site and downloaded all the desktop images I liked - it is
such an awesome film, I'd never have thought that anybody would manage to
keep close to the spirit of the book when obviously you have to alter the
details to make a film happen. Tomorrow I am going to see it in the original
version - since we went to see the film with friends whose English is not so
good we just went to see a dubbed German version (I  wish they wouldn't do
that to movies and instead have subtitles, though in this case they did a
good job). At least I live near Hamburg where you find cinemas that show
some originals. 

Neil - you sure made an impression on my husband when we went to your
signing in Canterbury (I had to persuade him to come since it meant spending
money and travelling just for two days) .. when I mentioned that we might
want to go to the Edinburgh Literary Festival next August he asked "Why?". I
said you might be there and he goes "If Neil Gaiman is there we're going." I
was rather amazed, but also quite delighted :) At least Edinburgh has an
airport (just hope there are flights from Hamburg). It would be just great -
I love Edinburgh and it would be a perfect occasion - I always wondered what
the festival is like, the times I've been there it was always just over or
not yet happening.

Sorry about rambling on for ages. This happens when you stop lurking. Oh
well. 

Michaela
  

    
Michaela--when I went to Edinburgh a couple of years ago, we flew into
Glasgow.  There's a bus that only cost a few pounds to Edinburgh, and
it's a nice bit of country to ride through.  (Just thought you'd want
to know in case flights are lots cheaper to Glasgow).

Neil--happy traveling!

I don't want to go back to work tomorrow!

Mary (reading Figures of Earth by James Branch Cabell)
  

    
Rocky:  Thanks for the tip about DELICATE CREATURES.  It looks really
gorgeous.  And it was wierd for me, because I was reading along in the
article and realized that the editor is an old friend of ours, whom I'm
now inspired to track down again!  So that was a double-gift.

Michaela:  Hi! and Happy New Year.  Good to hear from you again.  I
was beginning to be afraid that we were losing everyone, one by one. 
Wow, I wish we could *all* go meet in Edinburgh for a big
Wellie/Thingie fest--what a great place to have it!  We could all go
see the castle and go for a guided Ghost Walk at night...  *sigh* 
Well, a girl can dream.

-Pam
who is starting to exercise again at 5:30 am tomorrow, I swear.
  

    
Happy New Year everyone! From a resident lurker. My wish for all of
you is that this year, you have all of what you need and get at least
some of what you want.
  

    
E-mail from Michaela:

Pam - Why don't you just come then, too ;) But seriously, right now I am
just hoping that I can go - and it looks like it depends on whether Neil is
actually turning up (and if there not going into hiding or keeping to
obscure shadowy corners, meeting only with close friends..).. but it is
something to look forward to, even if it shouldn't happen after all :) I
haven't been on one of the ghost walks yet - has anybody? Should I make sure
not to miss the opportunity next time?

Mary - checking flights for Glasgow is a good idea - I shall do so if (see
above). You are reading Figures of Earth? How do you like it? I read it a
few months ago and thought it quite weird, especially the ending. It very
much seems to be a book of its time for all that tales about faerie normally
seem to have a timeless quality to them. I really enjoyed the part about him
drinking the fairy's milk and substituting alcohol in its place :) (Hope I
am not confusing books here).

Today has been one of those days that never seem quite real, for two
reasons. I got to see Lord of the Rings and hear the actors' very own voices
- and I loved them even more, though the German voices are quite good. And
secondly we have new money. And that does feel strange! You might know that
in some European countries the new year has been the real beginning of the
Euro as a currency in the sense that people can hold the coins and the notes
in their hands, smelling and touching them and commonly feeling that this is
not their money at all but some strange foreign stuff. All this day in the
shops people were looking at their purses with a slightly puzzled look
whenever they had to pay something, the poor shop assistants never knew
whether they'd get Deutsche Mark (you can still pay with what you have left
for two months) and start figuring out the right sum or whether they'd be
given Euro. Mustn't grumble though; in Germany it is easy - 2 Deutsche Mark
is worth about 1 Euro, you just have to double the prices to know what it
was before. In some countries you need a calculator to figure it out.
Anyway. It doesn't feel real yet. No Deutsche Mark. No foreign currency when
you travel to France or Greece .. at least those stubborn British have
insisted on keeping their pound for a while (if not forever) - being in
Britain and not having a purse you could use as a bludgeon for all those
heavy coins would be too sad to think of.

Michaela
  

    
I hope everyone is having a great new year so far.  We were privilaged
to have snow today as our new year treat, real snow that laid on the
ground (for a couple of hours).  After the last three years in Florida,
I'm as excited as a small child.  Some of you Northerners may be
amused to know that after our less than one inch of snow, bets were
being made as to when they would close the interstate.  We don't cope
well with stange cold white stuff here.
  

    
Jenifer, I determined on a drive from Michigan to Florida a few years
back that not only do southerners (Georgians in this case) not deal
well with snow, they don't deal particularly effectively with rain,
either. There was a sudden cloudburst during a light rain, and people
were slowing down to 30MPH on I-75 and/or pulling off to the side.
We're not even talking monsoon conditions or anything -- just a
t-storm.

Pam, 5:30 is not a human hour of the day. I realize that after five
viewings, your brain is probably half Hobbit by now, but think of it
this way: any hobbit worth his/her salt would still be sleeping off the
prior night's libations. ;-)
  

    
Hi all, and a somewhat belated Happy New Year and Merry Christmas.

Finally back in front of a computer (read: at work) after 10 days of
running around after family. Fun though. I even came back ten dollars
up from the Boxing day races (family tradition - good cos I get to wear
a hat). Maybe now I can get a rest :).

Michelle - re unsickness-causing weather here down under. Does it help
to know that Sydney has been covered in a blanket of smoke from the
bush fires (poor poor peoples and animals), and here in NZ I have had
hayfever for a month?
  

    
E-mail from Michaela:

Mary - Um - of course I mixed it up. In my mind Figures_Of_Earth is somehow
linked with Land_Of_Unreason, a totally different book, but both are
Ballantine Adult Fantasy paperbacks I got second hand and read at about the
same time. So my sleep deprived brain got confused. When I was half asleep
and memories just floated I realised my mistake - anyway, I do like
Figures_Of_Earth :)

Michaela 
  

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

    
Well, I'm gone.
  

    
Hi, Dodge!  Thanks for the well wishes.

Michaela: They really do have guided Ghost tours and other odd
touristy treks.  We noticed signs for the ghost tours on the little
street just outside the castle, but we weren't going to be in Edinburgh
long enough to see one.  So if you go, you should check it out.  I'm
sure the Tourist office will have information on them.

Bill: I guess I shouldn't tell you then that, in order to be at the
gym at 5:30, stretched out and ready to go, I have to get up by 4:45. 
BELIEVE ME, I don't do it by choice.  It's just that I have an hour
commute in the morning.  But I don't pretend to be human.  Just capable
of motion.

JaNell: I am staunchly in denial.  What will we become without you? 
You *will* be emailing Linda, right?!?!
  

    
Ack!  Forgot.  Welcome back sparrow!
  

    
Kelly (1315) - No, I'm particular about my bookstores too. There are
only a couple that I'll go to regularly, tho' there are a few I'll
recommend that I don't frequent. B&N, Lack London Square, is not one of
them. The other B&Ns might be fine, but that store is utterly the
worst, most pompous, unworthy bookstore I've ever been to. (end of
rant)

JaNell (1316)- Let me get this straight - you're *complaining* that
the car salesmen leave you alone? Actually, I tend to be pretty
abrasive if I need to get someone's attention, or if I specifically
don't want any, so it's never really a problem for me. Did you try
telling them that you existed and you were the one they were making a
sale to? And that if they didn't choose to acknowledge your existence,
maybe they didn't want your business? You could kindly interrupt them
by telling them 'excuse me, I'm the one with the checkbook here'. That
usually works. On a slightly related note, my car turned 1 year old on
NYE.

Billbill (1339) - I'm convinced that no state, as a general whole,
knows how to drive in the rain, aside, perhaps, from Western Washington
and Western Oregon (you know the joke "What day is summer?"). Tho'
quite to the contrary of what you said, Louisiana drivers tend to try
to prove that they *can* drive in the rain by going faster and even
more insanely than when the roads are dry. Maybe it's all the false
sense of wisdom of the bourbon in their veins. ;P

Belated happy merries and whatnot to the lot of you. My new year began
with going to bed early to get over being sick, only to be woken up to
loud gunfire at midnight outside my window, followed by one of the
worst days at work that I've had in a while. I figure it can only get
better from here. :)

toodles, squeaks
  

    
Squeaks said:
>>I'm convinced that no state, as a general whole,
knows how to drive in the rain, aside, perhaps, from Western
Washington
and Western Oregon (you know the joke "What day is summer?"). <<

Yeah, but we (westerm Washington) grind to a halt the minute a light
dusting of snow hits the ground. And god forbid we have a day of
sunshine - everyone is blinded and can't drive. And it apparently
addles brains, too, because the next time it rains, everyone's
forgetten how to drive in that, too.

Welcome to Washington, land of low attention spans a la lattes.

:-)
-Kelly
  

    
happy new year all my wellie friends. I live, I breathe, and,
according to the Bowie Quiz, I am Berlin-Era Bowie.  Woo!

Which Bowie are you? http://kaffee.150m.com/bowiequiz.html

This week-end, I shall be making 5 gallons of French onion soup,
inviting over 50 of my closest friends over to someone else's (much
larger) apartment which has no piano so that (God bless him) Jon
Krivitsky can't sing, and partying in a very sedate,
no-mixed-drinks-with-umbrellas sort of way.

Hope you're all well, and had a great holiday :)
  

    
Oh wow! I'm a Berlin-Era Bowie also. 
  

    

I appear to be Ziggy Stardust.