Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
E-mail from Michaela:

Pam - accent? which accent? zis one? vot? .. um. It is not that bad - I
like to remember the American guy asking me whether I was British or
whether I had spent time there. That was before I spent six months in
York. On the other hand my English is now good enough for me to notice my
accent. From time to time I wince and think that short of living in
England for good I'll never get rid of occasionally sounding awfully
German, even without the occasional blackout searching for words. Oh
well. So if you want to hear it in your head while reading my posts just
make it a muddle of sounding more British than American with German pitch
and melody some (hopefully not most) of the time ;)

Neil - just read your blogger about the Coraline UK signing tour - is it
really going to happen? You will be in Edinburgh for the festival? I'd be
willing to carry another few kilos of books and stuff across the channel
for you to sign - plus this time I'd have a willing porter in my husband
who already agreed to a short holiday in Edinburgh should you show up
there. So - even if you claim not to be anybody special at all apart from
writing good stories, he is one person you did impress at least as much
by being you as by your work ;)

Maure - yes, the recorder. I remember knowing it was called the recorder
and thinking that it is an odd name for this instrument. Sounds so
technical and not at all like what it actually is. My recorder is long
lost and had been chewed on by one of our dogs anyway. Sometimes I
consider buying a new one but it hasn't happened yet. Playing madrigals
sounds more fun than playing christmas tunes.

Michaela
  

    
John M: Well, I promised to participate in Nefarious Deeds for a copy
of ADVENTURES signed by Neil.  And you really don't want to know what I
promised for a copy signed by *both* you and Neil.  So I may be the
only person in fandom who's actually relieved that you won't be at
Boskone.  So I can get your signature in October myself, and avoid the
consequences.

Annie: Sorry!  My harper friend Stephanie's only about 5'2 and 95
pounds soaking wet, and it's pretty funny to watch her cart her harps
around sometimes.

Maure: I think I was imprinted forever about recorders in early
childhood in the 70's by my oldest brother's college friend, who used
to come home with my brother and play a recorder at random times.  They
said his name was Sandy, but I'm pretty convinced he was really named
Puck.  So they always have that feel about them to me--barefoot,
long-haired, impish and happy.

Michaela: Well, I imagined it to be a "soft" accent--not anything like
bad movies or something!  I just missed the British part, which was
sort of silly of me.  I like to remind myself of how people from other
places sound, so that I'm not shocked if I ever get the lovely
opportunity to meet some of you!  (And also to try not to be quite such
an arrogant American--imagining everyone speaking like me, even other
Americans.)

Mary: You continue to have the rockin-est reading list!

Adriana: What's the one that starts "Lost, on the island where you
brought her...?"  That's my favorite.  I think.  Maybe.  Cause I have
others.  Depending.  But maybe that's favoriter than other favorites.

For anyone who cares, I'm a very happy girl, because mortgage interest
rates dropped HALF A POINT today!!!

-Pam, who's praying that they'll let us lock in at this rate tomorrow
  

    
I'm so embarassed but I never saw the Iron Giant, and I know I really
need to.  It's cool to hear that cool, smart, interesting people like
The Barking Madders like it.  

My dear Pamela, that would be Lost, of which you can hear a sample at
cdbaby.  Good luck tomorrow, you know we are rooting for you.  
  

    <scribbled by uisgejack>
  

    
Adriana Rose & abbess: When "The Iron Giant" first came out, I created
a fan site for it at the now defunct ACMEcity (it's backed up,
however, here: http://ljconstantine.com/irongiant/) and I three
interviewed of the animators: Kevin O'Neil, Richard Bazley, and Vince
Truitner. They'remostly just little Q&As, and not great ones at that, 
but yes, I gushed and they gushed :) and I'm *still* waiting for a
collector's edition DVD with Brad Bird's commentary!
  

    
Hello everyone.  Just checking in after a long time away.  I've been
playing guitar at home, mostly, while looking for another dayjob.  (Got
laid off of my network support job, although I still go into the same
company once in awhile as a consultant.)   

Recently rewatched "What Dreams May Come," (a Robin Williams movie) on
local tv and liked it.  Saw LOTR and appreciated it, although I think
they could have done more with the gentler aspects of Tolkien's work
to complement all of the battle stuff.  (I'm still thinking that
Jack Vance's Lyonesse would make an excellent movie, with a soundtrack
composed by the David Grisman band -- which shows where I deviate
from conventional Hollywood wisdom.)   
  

    
abbess,....Well I'll be at BosKone,....it's my birthday present to
myself, I'm on the 13th and got the weekend off, well that's present
enough, but three whole days away,..and thingies and Neil and Sci-Fi.
:happy contented sigh:

Jinx finally watching "The Handmaidens Tale" and trying to remember
the book
  

    
Hey, I was just watching that too! And realizing, yet again, that it
is past time for me to re-read that book.  Strange how I'm always
astonished someone is watching the same thing as me, you'd think I
thought I was the only one up watching Sci Fi this time of night...
  

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

    
(_finally_ joining to help support lurkers as I have been so kindly
supported...)
Erynn- I saw The Mothman Prophecies yesterday and liked it. From 
interviews over the last few weeks promoting the movie, I knew it
wasn't going to be like the book (of the same name) by John Keel so I
wasn't too disappointed with the (mostly) fictional characters and
psychological feel to it.  
My friend kept a drawing of Mothman she did from gradeschool- she grew
up in WVa near Point Pleasant and heard the stories from her dad and
mom. She shared them with me when she heard my husband's family lived
in that area, too.  So, for the last few years I have been an avid
Mothman "fan", trying to find bits of info here and there.  (at arms
length though 'cause it is scary!)
Anyway, when the creature was first sighted it was called "the bird",
but then was renamed "Mothman" after a villain on the "Batman" TV show.
If there is a question in here anywhere it would be to Neil: in all of
your reading of comics or research into comicbook characters did you
ever come across a Mothman?                            

pc 
  

    

Welcome Patricia!

I've been wanting to see that movie.
  

    
Patricia: Welcome to the mad Earl Grey party!  Speak up, post long,
and nevermind the odd noises.

Hi, Lenny!  I missed you!  Fingers crossed for a job.

Tara: Thanks for the IG link.  I liked reading the interviews.  I
think it's cool that Richard Bazley likes Eyvind Earle.  He's one of my
favorite Disney artists.

On the home front:  THANKS ALL FOR YOUR POSITIVE BEAMS!  The loan
appointment went really well--we got very good rates, so... it looks
like we're definitely buying this house!  ACK!  Wow, we're so
excited!!!  Pics and details soon.
  

    
Pamela Basham: Last time I heard from him, Richard was working on a
short based on A short animated film based on "The Journal of Edwin
Carp" starring Hugh Laurie. Here's his website:

http://www.bazleyfilms.com/

He was a joy to interview, and I try and keep up on what he's up to as
he was a lovely person to talk with, given my penchant for completely
geeking out over animation. 

Dan: I couldn't agree with you more. It was like Disney's marketing
dept. killing "The Rocketeer" dead, only on a much, MUCH grander scale.
IG *should* have made a killing, but WB blew their entire advertising
budget that summer on the ill-fated "Wild, Wild West" remake and
totally blew it. IG should have been the one with the Burgar King toy
tie-in, and it got yanked out of most theatres to make more room for
"Blair Witch" and "Sixth Sense" and most folks I know never even saw it
until it came out on DVD. And even that deserved a much bigger launch.
It just broke my heart. I was a regular at the WB Iron Giant message
boards at the time, and a lot of the production crew used to post there
as well, and to a one, they all said that they had never had such a
wonderful experience as working on that movie. *sigh*

On a side note, Brad Bird does two of the commentary tracks on the new
"The Simpsons" first season box set. Liek I said before, I live in
hope for a deluxe collector's edition IG DVD with commentary and
goodies and such :)
  

    
good lord
a month with no net access
at least it is only 200 posts ......

Umm, Vegemite is of the good, but do get an experienced user to assist
you when you start out <stupid grin>.

Have to say though, that I am firmly in the ranks of ex-musicians
after ceasing to play the clarinet (13-17). I picked mine up the other
day and realised I had lost all traces of mouth technique, the only
noises I could make were suspiciously squawkish.

Now I'm really wondering whether we get the UK or the US Mars here in
New Zealand. It is really similar to a Moro, not that that is probably
any use to anyone :).

Jo

who will now go and see how bad her other conferences are, but had to
come here first.
  

    
On the positive PR front... I was paging through The SF Bay Guardian
(one of the two big independent papers here in San Francisco) and
stumbled across the review for the newest CAFE show, which was quite
positive and mentioned both Martha and myself by name (which was quite
nice, as I certainly wasn't expecting a mention in the papers for
adapting the piece...) Really, the only thing negative in the review
was about the chemistry between the male and female in Social
Contracts. (and since the female lead told me that she still didn't see
what her character finds so appealing about his character... I'm not
too surprised)
  

    
     Patricia -- I keep hearing the "'Mothman' was named after a TV
Batman villain" story, but I saw most of the run of BATMAN (terrible
thing to admit, but there you are), and I sure don't remember a
"Mothman."
     Now, toward the end of the run, there were a number of
single-part episodes (for those who weren't there, the show's original
format was as a two-part serial over consecutive nights).  Several of
these were designed mainly to suit a name star who wanted to do the
show, as a villain never heard of before or since (Milton Berle as
"Louie the Lilac" was probably the low point).  There -might- have been
one of those about a "Mothman," and I suppose I ought to go check
that.  But it sounds to me like a typical half-remembered half-rumor
that positive web feedback has turned into Accepted Wisdom.
     
     There -is- Arthur, the Tick's sidekick, who wears a moth costume
(though most of the villains think he's a bunny).
  

    
    Okay, sometimes websearches are amusing.  There's a complete
episode guide out there: 120 Bat-episodes, nobody called "Mothman," or
even anything like "Mothman."  (And it can't be from the animated
series, which came much later.)
  

    
But alas, the live-action Tick has been canceled.
  

    
        Mothman was the name of one of the characters in Alan Moore's seminal
_Watchmen_, and shame on all of you for not knowing that. :-)
  

    
ya know, there's still a ton of Iron Giant paraphenalia sitting around
here at work.  i should pilfer it and distribute to y'all...hmm....

can somebody quickly tell me what the story of who the Mothman is/was
(not the Watchman one, the one that the movie is "based" on)?
  

    
Just dropping in to say 'hey'...

'hey'

Never got a chance to see Iron Giant in the theatres, and every time
I'm up to grabbing it on video, it's rented. I think one of my friends
owns it tho', so I'm going to try to borrow it for an extended period
of time now. :)

Martha - Went to the Australian Store (couldn't find a Tree or Reg
there, though I looked) and picked up many packages of Tim Tams and
even a small jar of Vegemite - sure you don't want me to save it for
you? ;P

Neil - So good to see Harlequin Valentine in print in such a pretty
little package. :)

Um, that's it. Had a photo shoot on Sunday that I have high hopes for,
even tho' it was an extremely rushed shoot.

ACK! Angel's starting and I'm missing it! Gotta go (damned
addictions).

-squeaks
  

    
I always amaze myself with the way I seem to have less spare time on
the weekends than during the week...

Mary- Oooh, you want to learn to play the harp? Hmmm... if you're
really serious, I might actually be able to help you track down
teachers and harper/ists in your area. There's a harp network on
yahoogroups that's *huge*. There're something like 900 members on the
main list, and they're all over the US, Europe, Canada, Australia, etc.


Jo- I've never understood how people are able make such lovely sounds
with reed instruments at all. The few times I've tried to play them
I've only gotten really strange dying duck type noises from them. Now,
granted, at least a few of those were with medieval-type ones,
krumhorns, I think? and they sound very strange anyway. 

Okay, so now I have to go rent Iron Giant sometime. Y'all have gotten
me curious. I finally corrected one of my major movie oversights this
weekend by watching "The Wicker Man." Omigod, I've rarely giggled so
hard in my life. I now understand why it's considered a classic by a
good deal of the Neo-pagan community. A little disturbing, yes, but
very thought-provoking, and very amusing (at least to me. My best
friend thought I was off the deep end).

annie, trying not to think about the steadily piling snow outside her
apartment- ~7 inches and counting. so long as we don't get hit like
buffalo did...
  

    
    Streak -- eh?  While it's been a while since I looked at WATCHMEN,
I don't recall him, and he surely can't have been one of the major
characters, like Nite-Owl or The Comedian -- there were a load of minor
"heroes" mentioned in passing (like Captain Carnage), was he one of
those?
     Not that such a reference wouldn't be very Alan-like.

     But it still can't be the source, since again, WATCHMEN was more
than a decade after the "fact."  The "Mothman" was described as having
wings and glowing red eyes, so the name seems logical enough -- there's
no need to invoke any media source.
     Actually, Mothman seems very like the "Jersey Devil," and a
variety of other vaguely demonic critters that run around the fringe
world making nuisances of themselves, and have done for a very long
time.  (See also Nigel Kneale's QUATERMASS AND THE PIT, aka FIVE
MILLION YEARS TO EARTH.)
  

    
Just stopped by to say that Harlequin Valentine is v.v. good. 
Excellent essay on Harlequin & the commedia dell'arte at the end as
well.  I wish Neil had taught my theatre history classes!

Mary (reading Agyar by Steven Brust)
  

    
Have reconsidered.  After having read "A Little Scene to Monarchize"
by a certain Mr. Ford, I want him to have taught my theatre history
classes.  I'd be utterly confused, but seriously amused.