Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Happy Birthday, Martha!

Dan- Christopher Walken!?!?! *drools* Congrats on all of your success
so far:)

I got my copy of Coraline in the mail the other day, signed by our
very own Nerfgurl or Ner8url. It's a code, perhaps. I'm enjoying the
book.

Been very very busy writing a novel. Yes. A novel. I didn't think I
wanted to write one, but after weeks of no ideas that worked,
screaming, crying and nearly giving up, the muse finally showed up and
took a dump in my head. It's too big of a dump for a short story it
seems. So here I go. Everything's so clear in my head...it scares me.
The characters, plots, and sub-plots are living and breathing inside
me. All of the time. I don't think this has ever happened to me before.
It's strange. I want it to be a movie with Jake Gyllenhaal playing one
of the protagonists. I'd better shut up before it all goes away. 

Hi Kristina!

Squeaks- I hope everything is better now....

Erynn, off to watch movies
  

    
I thought the signature was "NerfMe". It puts me into deep giggles every
time. (Sorry, Neil; hope you don't mind being an inadvertent force for
benevolent hilarity.)

The Dreamhaven signing today went well, I am told. Adhering firmly to Mr.
Ford's practice, plus being a former employee, I resolutely stayed out of
the store so somebody else could have my chair. (Well, OK, it didn't hurt
that I had an appointment across the street at Hair Police at the same time
as the signing.) Saw Neil & co briefly beforehand, and again afterwards when
I came back to the store to pick up the things I had left to be signed. (On
e of the copies of Coraline is going to a very talented marble-making glass
artist named Kevin O'Grady, who makes these wild vortex marbles, and galaxy
marbles, and all sortsa cool stuff, and the other one's mine. Forgot to
bring mine from home, so actually I have one signed and one unsigned copy
now. I figure it'll be a good loaner copy for houseguests, the unsigned
one.)

When I saw Neil before the signing, he introduced Mr. Ford and me to Scott
and Ivy McLeod (oh, dear, have I spelled them right?). Scott's teaching at
MCAD at present. Ivy and I conspired on matters of Hair Color Excellence,
and had big fun. And when I came back from Hair Police, short-haired again
after the long-long extensions were taken off, Neil very kindly answered my
quavering "How do I look? Is it OK?" with "You look like a babe," which
helped immensely.

As for Tim-Tams, they're nice, and yes, Krisy Kremes are crack doughnuts,
but the truly fearsome taste treat is the Nanaimo Bar. Addictive at the
first hit. Too darn sweet, but still. I think the mint chocolate ones are
best. Then there's always the Pearson's Nut Goodie, proclaimed "the
indigenous sweetmeat of Minnesota" by the guys in 3 Mustaphas 3... I
remember a night when Steve Brust and I took turns throwing Nut Goodies and
longstemmed red roses at the feet of the bemused band, at (I think) the Fine
Line....

And Neil writing anything for Ripper or Buffy would rock utterly, but it
would be even cooler if somebody did a show about Emperor Norton, and Neil &
Mike did something for it. (OK, it's obviously time for me to go to sleep
now, since I'm dreaming awake. Lyla tov, you guys. Say goodnight to the
scary trousers, and sleep tight.)
  

    
Rocky, it's only funny if you know Dottie(Seka)'s personality. She erm
. . . commands attention. So she had a party, or was at a party, that
Walken attended, and while in conversation, he wasn't paying enough
attention to her, and apparently words were exchanged. I just remember
hearing her rant about him for five minutes solid, and when I asked
someone what that was about, she gave me details. It's sort of a
location story -- you had to be there for it to be funny. ;/
Personally, I'd be scared to death if Walken paid any attention to me.
  

    



Christy Smith writes:



Hope you're having a fun weekend!  Would you please post this to 144?
Thanks!

After posting my message to Martha, I was halfway home Friday when I
realized, "Hey, wasn't Dan Wilson's birthay the next day?"  Well,
fortunately, I'm online today in time to say,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STAGEWALKER!!!!!

And may you make just as much money as James Spader someday.  ;)

Peace,
Christy
  

    
Lioness - No fair, you have to *make* your own Nanaimo bars.  If you
can't unwrap it or take it away in a napkin, then it shouldn't count.
;>

Happy Birthday, Dan! 
  

    
Having finished Coraline and having a random Neil~ism happen this
morning I felt it was time to mourn the passing of yet another Neil
reading I've missed.
Actually had a wicked busy week at work and didn't even notice the day
pass, until the other day.
My comic guy was a little tripped out that it took me over a week to
get my copy, but the Death wall scroll was in as well this week so I
could let both pass.
(And finally to the point)
Finished Coraline in record time for me, I hadn't thought that I'd
heard as much as I had already. So I re-read it, and handed it over to
my b/f and he just was shocked at how short a time it takes me to
finish a book, not just Coraline, I re-read "Speaker for the Dead" the
other day, on my breaks from work and about an hour afterwards.
Does anyone else find themselves devouring books like this?

Tracey/Jinx
  

    
Well- I had a lovely post all written out and nearly done when AOL
randomly kicked me off and lost every word. ^&*#@*! AOL. So needless to
say I am a little miffed. And am too tired from my weekend of
rehearsing and workshopping all day in the blazing sun to re-write. 
All I really have to mention is that I enjoyed real campfire s'mores
for the first time since I was 12...and that just made it all worth it.

Neil- it turns out we have a friend in common. I got to know Kat
Pedini- who plays Chastity de Marque- and is a really nice chick this
weekend. Well- she showed me a beautiful tatoo that you designed for
her of the "Delerium Heart". Wow. I was quite impressed. And  she's
really excited about the possibility of you doing a full reading in
December. So I am supposed to keep her posted. ^_^ She loves the rat
puppet idea.

Well, I must to bed. I feel like one feels after they've been in a
chlorine-filled swimming pool all day. All fuzzy-like and quite
burny-eyed. So here's my evening brain-food:
"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a
butterfly."
- Richard Bach 
  

    
Kristina- I love that Richard Bach quote! *runs and finds "illusions"
for uplifting fun*

Dan- Happy Birthday! 

Lioness- You're right! It does say Nerfme! Buahahaha! That's amazing. 

I always read Neil's stuff pretty fast too. Neil's addicting. Almost
like drugs--fun and slightly dangerous:D American Gods took me a little
longer though, mostly due to my former employers working me like a
slave, and of course the legnth of the book.

I finally saw Amelie! I'll definitely be buying it on DVD. Donnie
Darko takes the cake though. Amazingness. You guys should recommend
more movies to me. Everyone here has such great taste. 

Okay. I meant this to be a more thought out post with less exclamation
points....this heat is really getting to me, I think. I have no air
conditioner. Just fans--which is fine when things aren't so...sticky.
Blah. I must now go and try to find a way to fit in the freezer.
  

    
Awwww, thanks Christy! It was actually the 15th, but I'm all fuzzy
that you remembered it was close to Martha's!

Squeaks - it's on my calendar. Hopefully that means I'll make it
there. For someone who isn't going to Burning Man this year, I'm making
an awful lot of the surrounding events. *grin*

Ok, me tired. Me sleep now.
  

    
Eep. Happy late birthday to Martha, avatar of interestingess.
  

    
So, I'm less one mouse, but the rest of the squeaks have made up for
it by scratching at me and scarring me up like there was another of
them they had to make up for. Not deep scars or anything, just... have
you every tried to trim the claws of an ADD rat with a penchant for
biting?

Right, birthdays - happy belateds to whomever they belong to. I tend
to forget to do stuff for b-days, as I tend not to do anything for mine
on any regular annual type basis. With me it's more like "<something
way cool> is happening? Neat! It must be my birthday!" which tends to
happen anywhere from 3-8 times over the course of each year. ;)

re: Hair Police... My boy recently got a comment about his hair being
as cool as George Clinton's - which wouldn't be nearly as funny unless
you knew that the girl who did my boy's hair is the same person who is
responsible for George Clinton's hair looking like that in the first
place. (um, she also started Hair Police, in case you were wondering
where the thought came from)

Neil - I just got "No!" on Tuesday and have listened to it tons
already. Isn't it fun!?!

squeaks, who has yet to get her hair done at HP - but then, why bother
when I can do my own extensions? never mind... rhetorical questions
from one sleepy mouse...
  

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

    
(holy cow - go away for the weekend, and come back to a flood! :)

Happy (belated) birthdays to Martha & Dan! I hope they were full of
spectacular weirdnesses and fun!

DanW - Christopher Walken?! That is absolutely the coolest, ever. He
and Udo Kier are high on my list of favorite actors, and I will see
-almost- any film with either of them in it, especially if its Udo Kier
and vampires. Here's hoping that all works out the way you'd like, it
sounds amazing.

On the subject of Krispy Kremes, they -are- crack. When I was very
small, we had to drive half an hour to get to "the city" - and we would
always stop for hot KK donuts. Several years ago, a coworker started
talking to me about his recent KK discovery (he'd never had them, and
proclaimed them instantly addictive), which put me into a serious
craving for them. I called my mother, and asked her to FedEx me a dozen
KK's, and the next morning I had the lovelies on my desk!  I couldn't
be happier, now that we have several KK's in the Bay Area.

I've just had two weeks of ceaseless activity - last weekend was a
trip to WY, and this weekend we drove to Morro Bay, and took the basic
tour of Hearst Castle. Talk about decadence!! The man took European
relics that were up to 800 years old (of the rooms we saw, which are a
small fraction of the estate!) and placed them all over his estate. It
was both breathtakingly beautiful, and grossly overindulgent. It is the
most fantastic place I have been in a long time. 

There is also a beach, along Highway 1 and not too far North of Hearst
Castle, where you can stop and watch the elephant seals go about their
lazy day of swimming, sleeping and snuggling with each other. There
are fences and park rangers to make sure that people don't bother the
animals, but you can get really very close to them, and they don't seem
to mind in the least. The day we went there were only about a dozen on
the sands, because most of the seals have already molted and begun to
migrate away. Still, it was fascinating!

These little trips have put the Travel Urge back into me, though, and
I am starting to dream up grand ideas for a trip to England next
summer...
  

    
Meg - Krispy Kreme is is also a good investment, the company's stock
didn't take a nosedive over the past few days.  ;>
  

    
Rocky - Crack^H^H^H^H^H^HKrispy Kreme addiction can be just as
lucrative as other drugs ;)
  

    
Meg - Dallas has been relatively Krispy Kream free forever, but I just
noticed that they are opening the first official store in the city
about 30 ft from my apartment. AIEEE! How am I not going to gain 50
unwanted pounds? 

If that's not bad enough, a new Central Market opened next to where
the KK will be, and inside they have a Pacciugos. I'm not sure how
wide-spread these are, but Pacciugos sells gellato that is slightly
more enjoyable than say, getting to beat Michael Bay over the head with
a film print of Pearl Harbor (that is to say, it's indescribably
wonderful).

Stagewalker - I can't congratulate you enough on having snagged
Christopher Walken. He's just one of those actors that can make any
movie watchable [ well, I'm holding out on Country Bears ;) ] 

And let's see James Spader pull off something like that!

And if Saar Klein is indeed the editor in question I'm also very
envious. Aside from having respect for anyone involved in Almost
Famous, the fact that he was able to slog through hours and hours of
pretentious (although beautifully shot) crap for Thin Red Line, and
managed to retain his sanity is a testimate to his character. :)
  

    
        Dang, I hate reading about all this fun people had at Neil's readings
that I missed.  Neil, drag yer pasty English butt up to Portland
sometime!  We have Laphroaig!
  

    
Shawn - Hoorah for Krispy Kremes! They started in my home town, so I
have a special fondness for them!

http://www.krispykreme.com/history.html
  

    
Meg - It cost $0.69 for one KK donut, but only $4.99 for a dozen.  Is
that *evil* or what?  

You know it's almost pornographic the way they frost those donuts and
send 'em piping hot down the conveyer belt.  And, uh-oh they've got a
"Friends of Krispy Kreme" club. >8o
  

    
Wow- I have become intrigued with this donut revolution. I don't think
I've seen any KK's in NYC though...Rocky, what do you know? Where can
these be found?

Erynn- I love Illusions and Jon. Liv. Seagull. Illusions is next on my
list to introduce my roomate to. Mr. Bach is definately an
inspritational philospher in a class of his own. Though- I haven't read
anything past Illusions...have you? I've heard that he kind of loses
touch with his message in later books.  I'd be interested to know what
you think. Eventually I'll read them anyway, though. Eventually. ^_^

Hey- does anyone here know anything interesting about the history of
wishing wells? I know a few vague details from celtic mythology but I
can't remember where I found them. If anyone knows of a good site or
book to pick up I'd love to know. 

Well- I'm off to the wonderful land of Radiohead's dreamy tunes...
Orange Faerie's Quote O' the Day:
"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when
the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in- their true beauty is
revealed only if there is a light from within."
- Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
  

    
Will -- 879 -- well. you could drop my name. I know Maynard to say
hello to.

Yeah, the UK edition of Neverwhere is now the US edition of
Neverwhere. Pretty much. it wasn't what I wanted...

Sorry about all the birthdays I didn't say happy happy for.

Kristina -- yup, I loved Mind Fields. No idea what's on his answering
machine currently -- every time I've rung in the last year or so some
bloke picks up the phone and says "Yeah?" or a lady with a trace of her
English accent says "Harlan Ellison's office..."

Erynn and Lioness -- they used to call Douglas Adams "Bop Ad" because
that was what his signature looked like....

Tracey-- I always used to get grief from family and friends about how
long it took me to read books. "You can't have finished it yet! You've
only just started it!"

Kristin -- Kat showed me her tattoo after the Barnes and Noble
signing, and I was very proud of myself, because it is quite gorgeous,
and decided to officially retire from designing tattoos, because it is
unlikely I'd ever do one nicer than that. So Kat has the only one.

Michelle -- yes, No! is wonderful. Best thing they've done in years
and years. 

Streak -- I'll get there eventually...
  

    
Today (yesterday) I looked at an apartment with which I am in love. We
turn in the application and fees tomorrow (today). I would be
unimaginably grateful if youse guys would cross your fingers for me.
It's indecent how much I want to live there. Tara/Mary/Debbie, it's the
one at 52something N. Glensomethingoranother, and it's everything I
wanted. It's lovely. I hope they let me rent it from them. It's
terrible to want something so much when it's entirely dependent on
another person. 
  

    

Sending "rent to Maure" beams to the landlord!  Good luck.  (That's how I 
felt about the place we have now, and boy was the competition stiff.  When 
we left our meeting with the landlord, people were offering more rent than 
they were advertising.  But we got it!  And I hope you do, too!)
  

    
Neat foodporn.com interview. Is that the eggplant sushi you're posing
with?

KK - If I liked donuts, I'd probably be addicted to Krispy Kremes. As
it stands, if I'm that hungry and the only thing around is a pile of
donuts, I'll eat the KKs, but starve if they're not KK.

meg - Hearst Castle is overdone in some of the coolest ways, isn't it?
The pool really bugs me though... planning on heading out to London in
2003? There's a group of thingies from the newsgroup trying to meet up
there then too.

orangefae - I know nothing about wishing wells outside of the
occurrence of one in Snow White, which is the first place I remember
thinking anything of them. 

Maure - crossed toes and eyes (who wants to cross fingers, they're
just too common these days) for apartment goodness.

And anyone in the bay area looking for something interesting to do on
Saturday, check out the link I got in my inbox:
http://www.beliefnet.com/frameset.asp?pageLoc=/story/95/story_9558_1.html&boar
dID=30262
(that's one string of letters and numbers)
http://www.leonardnimoyphotography.com
Apparently he'll be in SF this weekend (more info under 'updates').

squeaks, who hopes her houseguest won't mind being dragged along.
  

    
Oh, my God.  Richard Bach quotes.  Illusions completely changed my
life at 16.  What a bloody long time ago that was.....

I read quite a bit of Bach--and really all you need to know can be
found in Illusions.  The rest of the books are.....well, they require a
lot of belief, or willing suspension of disbelief.  

Martha--happy birthday!  Hope it was wonderful!

Stagewalker--happy birthday to you, too!  Sorry I forgot it.  You
share a birthday with a dear friend of mine, and I forgot his, too.

Friday night there was a meeting of the Unusual Suspects in an Irish
pub.  (Too fitting.....)  God, we have a good time.  We can amuse
ourselves with the *jukebox* for hours.... It is truly frightening that
Maure & Meghan's apt. will be midway between mine & Debbie's, and Tara
just lives a block or so down the street from Debbie.  It's like we're
starting a Neilfan commune....

Krispy Kremes are crack.  Everyone should be addicted.  There used to
be a KK at the Trade Center--I was surprised to find it there a couple
of years ago--I hadn't realized they'd made it to NYC.  <<sigh>>  I
don't know where else there is one in New York.  We still don't have
one in Chicago, just the suburbs.  :-(

OK, I'm supposed to be working on the Connecticut job app., not
blabbing on here......

Oh, before I forget--Chicago area folks--St. Martha's in Morton Grove
is having a huge rummage sale to raise money for my choir to go to
Italy.  So come by anytime from  Friday evening--Sun. afternoon.  We
have everything, including a room full of books, and it's for a good
cause!  8523 Georgiana in Morton Grove.

Thus endeth the plug.

Oh, and Neil--so glad to hear about your visit with the McClouds.  It
sounds as if it were lovely.  Yay!

Mary (yes, still trying to Make Citadel of the Autarch last forever)

"Sometime fictional characers are more real than people with bodies
and heartbeats"--Richard Bach