Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Briefly: all those who are enjoying _The Two Towers_, which is
legitimately a terrific film, top to bottom, should go check out _Gangs
of New York_, which is better.  I have spoken, and am off to disappear
again.
  

    
re: Pam #22

Congrats. Make it happy, and make it count.
  

    

Pamela -  Amazing grace sweetie! Be happy.   

Just discovered that my neighborhood movie theatre charges only $5 for
the first showing of any movie, so I've seen Gangs of New York, The
Two Towers and Two Weeks Notice. 

The Two Towers had me on the edge of my seat the entire time, but
Gangs of New York kept me wondering why this movie was made.  I love
Martin Scorsese, but this was not a compelling story, certainly not
enough to merit a three hour movie.  And I bet the book was better. 
But hey, Daniel, Leo and Cameron all managed to look great beneath the
grime.   

Bullock and Grant managed to make a very funny movie.  Yes, this
definitely follows the standard romantic comedy formula, but Sandra and
Hugh had such great chemistry, and she is really good at physical
comedy, it worked. 

Adaptation, Chicago and The Hours are next on the list.  ;)





 
  

    
Maure -- thanks. I think yesterday was the first real writing day in a
while, the kind where I'm late home for dinner because it's suddenly
working.

There used to be a terrific "Best of Arthur C Clarke" short story
collection, with stories like "The 9 Million Names of God" in it.

Dodge -- understanding that there are no normal families is one of
those weird ones, like probability theory, that you'll never figure out
intuitively. It takes years of meeting them...

Pamela - that's marvelous news. Huge hugs, and best wishes.

Stagewalker -- actually there are a number of parts you could take.
Some of which are in the graphic novel, and some of which aren't.

But getting an agent's a good thing. And getting known by casting
agents is as good.  (Sending a director headshots and a resume is
normally not much use.) 

Rocky, I've not seen Gangs yet. If I remember correctly, the author of
the book it's based on, Herbert Asbury, is the man who wrote THE
BARBARY COAST, the history of the lawless creation of San Francisco,
which is a rather wonderful book, and in the public domain these days.
(I used it for a bit of the Emperor Norton story in Sandman.) I assume
that the original Gangs of New York book is like that -- a big plotless
portrait of bustlement and danger and people. 
  

    
Hrm... ok. I've been meaning to get an agent all year, but keep
getting distracted by the constant influx of work I've had *without*
one. Still, it's time to see if I can penetrate the next level.

the problem with getting known by casting directors, however, is being
where casting directors *are*... i.e. Los Angeles. Still, it might be
worth planning going down there once a month or so just to audition for
things. It's only an 8 hour drive, after all. I should get in touch
with friends who have moved down there... feel out the couch
opportunities.
  

    
Well, I guess we didn't need to bother about thinking of new topic
names, after all.  Martha is silent but deadly... or something.  ;)

Look at this -- new topic, new account, [almost] new year!  Happy
Holidays, everyone!  This is Christy Smith.  My mom gave me some cash
towards a membership for Christmas, so I added to it to get the "buy 10
months, get 2 months free" deal.  So here I am for 2003!

I'd like to thank Jon, Linda, Martha, and David for all the forwarding
they did for me over the last 6 months.  Your workload just got
lighter.  :)

The new place looks nice!  New-carpet smell, lots of whitespace to
move around in, and a relevant title that does a former engineering
major proud.  Dodge and Davey, you've done a lovely job with the rose
garden.  And out back, are those Ents or Whomping Willows?

I'll try to do some "answering" tomorrow, my first day back at work,
but for now I'll leave you with my "skiffy poll" results:

Hal Clement (Harry C. Stubbs)
A quiet and underrated master of "hard science" fiction who, among
other things, foresaw integrated circuits back in the 1940s.

Cool!  As a computer gal, I just may have to look him up at some
point!

Happy December 29th,
Christy

Yes, I'll try to be agile
Like a lynx on the hunt
'Cause I don't want to knock any candles over
Or spill any punch
On your shiny floor...

-The Choir
  

    

Just came across an interesting article on Tolkien in THE WASHINGTON
POST, thought I'd share:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46263-2002Dec27.html
  

    
Oh, my God.  I thought I was the only person on the planet who owned a
copy of Al Stewart's 24 carrots.  Must now attempt to find it.......

If I don't see The Two Towers soon, people are going to get hurt.  Not
to mention Gangs of New York.  They keep being sold out at our
favorite movie theatre.  Saw Catch Me if You Can, though, and thought
Christopher Walken was brilliant.  Leo & Tom, not so bad either.

Welcome, Christy!  Go, you!

And I've been meaning to mention, for those of you who enjoyed The
Very Secret Diaries last year, there are 2 more up at Cassie Claire's
LiveJournal.  She has not lost her touch.  ;-)  I would post the link,
but the wonderful thing about webTV is that you can't.  Sorry.  Do a
search for very Secret Diaries, and she should turn up.  Several
websites host the originals, and have links to her journal.

Mary (Up far too late for someone working a 10 hour day tomorrow)
  

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

    
This stuff is from the last topic, so please bear with me.

Neil -- The real Abney Park... cool.

Maure -- Yes, it probably is true; Dave Barry (not Berry) is
hilarious!  He's one of maybe two writers who can make me laugh out
loud.  <i>Dave Barry in Cyberspace</i> made me amazingly noisy.

> Christy,  holidays are *for* reading time!! What is more important
than reading??

Hmmm... maybe family and friends?  :p

Good luck with the work/school situation!  I don't know how people
manage to do both.  You're a better woman than I.

Erynn -- Congrats on the move, the jobs, the new truck, and having
everything fall into place by Christmas!  Your apartment and its
location sound just perfect.  (Glad to hear the Sandman calendar is
beautiful; I just had one sent to my brother, along with the Sandman
postcards Amazon was also discounting.)  And can you possibly give us a
link to this Aphelion story, or is it subscription-only?

Hoping the HTML tags work,
Christy
  

    
> I'd like to thank Jon, Linda, Martha, and David for all the
forwarding

Erm.  Forgot to include Cynthia.  Thank you too.  :)
  

    
Christy, it's about time you started posting for yourself!

Welcome!
  

    
Neil, I have an agent, and will be willing to flood whichever casting
director works on your project.  Do you know who it might be yet?

Pamela, I surmised that this was what was happening, but was waiting
to hear from you.  I am so happy for both of you.  I really really
believe in Love and its power in your life.  I hope your House of
Dreams proves to be just that.  

Dan, your dream moved me.  Thank you for sharing it.  I'm still
waiting for a visit from my grandmother, who died last year, but I
think she knows I'm also terrified too.  

Sorry I've been so scarce of late.  It might be the multiple viewings
of The Two Towers, clouding my ability to communicate with humans. 
Well, that and loads of pumpkin pie consumption...
  

    
And yet more catching up....

Mary -- I'm echoing what everybody else already said, but:  Bummer
about Italy (maybe next time), but your choir project was way cool! 
You must have had so much fun, especially shopping for a five-year-old
girl!  I have a cousin that age, and I have a ball getting Christmas
gifts for my little dolly.  :)

How was the Christmas Eve choir concert?  I love it when they use
carols you don't hear that often, like the French ones and the
Victorian English ones.

Tara -- Sorry to see you go!  You'll have to pick up my slack in
getting the hosts to post for you; a little work is good for them!  :) 
Come by often!

Pamela -- Yyyyes!!!!  Your post <22> made me keep thanking God.  Oh,
how wonderful.  May you both be blessed beyond your wildest dreams. 
And I'm glad we were able to play some small part in getting you
through this year.

And in light of this new beginning, I can see why it felt so right for
you to purge and start anew, as you described in <8>.

Dan -- That was a cool dream.  Thanks for sharing it.  My mom has had
similar dreams about her parents since they passed away; she's found it
comforting, as if they were sending her a hug from above and letting
her know they're happy.

Been thinking about your mom, and praying that you all will be
comforted.

Neil -- I'm glad <i>some</i>one was looking after you, even if she
was a dream.  :)

Dodge -- your friend's family reminded me of <i>My Big Fat Greek
Wedding</i>, too -- and I haven't even seen it yet!  I really want to,
though; everyone I know is recommending it.

So your grandson likes Spiderman!  My step-nephew is about two, and is
crazy about his "Piderman" DVD.  Hee hee.

You know, I almost never hear about separated couples getting back
together; the few cases I have heard of, I've read about in these Well
threads.  (Remember Kelly Hills and her husband Mars?  Their renewed
love for each other always made me so happy.)  If that doesn't say that
you're a positive bunch of people, then I don't know what does. 
Dodge, I wish your son and his family the best, and will remember them
in my prayers.  Here's hoping they'll be aware that just getting back
together isn't enough, and that they can implement the necessary
changes that will keep them united.  I think it helps that they are
accepted by a supportive mother and mother-in-law.

Since I'm posting from my dodgy laptop, I think I'll post this so I
don't lose it.  Then I'll continue.

-Tiny tiny monster
  

    
Well, I guess I should have expected that from cheap Merlot in
glass-sized screw-cap bottles.  It tasted good with the leftovers,
though.

Rocky -- I caught Grant and Bullock on a morning TV show the other
day, and they were hilarious together.  I'll bet that one's funny.  I
thought <i>Miss Congeniality</i> was great, for what that's worth. 
("You think I'm gor-geous, You want to kiiiss me....")

<i>Gangs of New York</i>'s another one that looks good, especially
after reading an article on New York tenement living at the time. 
Being an Irish New Yorker, I may have had relatives who lived that
life.

Mary -- Oh yeah, I forgot Walken was in that!  Wow... guess there's
some good stuff out there right now.

DanGuy -- You two are expecting again?  Oh, goody!  Another
Washingtonian as cute as Xander in the works!  :D

Oh, yes... I gave a <i>Stardust</i> and an <i>American Gods</i> to
friends for Christmas.  I just can't resist sharing the joy!  :)

Neil -- Sounds as though you've been having a pleasant, relaxing
holiday with your family, and having way too much fun with that iPod. 
Good way to recharge your batteries for the upcoming European tour, and
stock up on some good music for said tour besides!  Please give my
best to your family, especially a hi to Maddy.  I hope you got the
pictures I sent (not to mention the stuff from FlaxArt).

Well, I think that's all I wanted to comment on for the time being. 
Now that I'm back and have an account, I (hopefully) can answer things
as they come.

Happy New Year to all!

Blessings,
Christy

P.S.  This spell-checker really makes very little sense.
  

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

    
Let it be known that Patricia Clarkson is all kinds o' cool!  She sent
me the promised <i>Cleveland Plain Dealer</i>... along with a card
and surprises!  :D
  

    
Dan Guy-- that's the name of our first imaginary daughter!  Very Very
cool.  
  

    
First post of the new year!




Man, it's awfully quiet around here.
  

    
Well, my excuse for not posting anything yesterday, is that given a
whole day with nothing that had to be done right away - my cable modem
signal went dead.

I should have taken this as a sign that I needed to clean out my
closet of all those clothes I no longer wear and other similar symbolic
acts of the new year - but instead I used it to sit for to many hours
in front of my new DVD player.  Hey, the whole first season of Buffy
isn't going to watch itself!
  

    
Just got done reading 6 large screensful of stuff Neil did during a
year in which it seemed "like [he] didn’t do very much."

Am now going to reevaluate my usefulness on this Earth.
  

    
no kidding.
  

    
Hey, Neil, congrats on being, as DanW would say, "nominated to be
nominated" for a Nebula!  That's cool.

Hmmm... maybe I should add Macdonald to my ever-growing list of
Authors I Should Read in My Lifetime, If I Live Long Enough.  (Frankly,
I remember enjoying the <i>Fletch</i> movies, but that could have
been my budding Chevy prejudice.  If the books are better, as they
often are, then I'm glad I know the author's name now.)

Miss you 'round here, but glad you're off doing what you do.

Christy
  

    
Ah. Anastasia. My best friends, the Greek family whom I've known over
15 years, are Chris and Anastasia. One of her nephews named his little
girl Anastasia so she's 'Tasia Jr. Then, strangely, unaware to me
because my little sis and I rarely speak - she was far away at the time
- she named her son Chris and her daughter Anastasia. Hm. Serendipity.
  

    
http://lotr.fistfulayen.com/

you'll thank me later.