Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Hmmm, scored 91% corrupt for both tests. Spooky.

I'll be thinking safe flight thoughts for Michelle tomorrow morning so
that she arrives safe and sound into the care of Sydney (and Brisbane)
thingies. We really didn't need the news reports of one plane crashing
on take off overseas and a UA plane going pear-shaped on the runway in
Melbourne the night before she leaves. Think good thoughts for the
girl!

It's been a joy to have her around, you learn more about your own
world by showing it to others. I also owe her beaucoup thanks and Tim
Tams for putting up with me after I found out I had been retrenched
from my job of nine years on the second day of her holiday here. She
has been a brilliant distraction (vicarious retail therapy is very,
VERY satisfying ;>) and a good friend.

Thingies (and Wellies) are just the bestest people. I don't know what
Neil does that he attracts the sort of people I'd be happy to spend a
fortnight with, but here's hoping he keeps it up.

Tree
Greek/Latin-shmatin, 'platypi' is just more fun to say.
  

    
Mousey - Safe flight, you.

Davey - Well, thanks to the 5 "Bonus Round" questions at the end of
the quiz, I'm at 99% corrupt (1% pure)... but I can skew that easily
just by spending a while online and doing some research. I'm guessing
that once I find out some of the more obscure things (all of Stephen
Merritt's bands, etc.), I'll top out at being over-corrupt at 104%,
since I don't think I'll ever be able to check off "Do you own all of
the Gaiman items you've read?" ...'cause I don't, and I doubt I ever
will. That's a lot of stuff.

...and what's this about me being on "Blind Date" ?! I've had two
people email me asking if I was on it... and they keep mentioning you
in relation to it.

Well, it wasn't me unless I was either A) Possessed at the time  or B)
Drunk beyond comprehension.
  

    
I re-took the old one, and barely over a year after discovering Our
Hero, am now at 24% corrupt.  (I could have made it a whole quarter, if
I could honestly say I get "really mad" at "just a comic book"
comments.  But I don't.  I just shrug and think, "Their loss."  So can
temperament keep someone pure? <g>)

I have yet to take the updated quiz yet.  Thanks for the links, Davey!

Walker, you just scare me.
  

    
Oops, didn't notice my double "yet."  I just love redundancies that
repeat back over again....
  

    
Walker, all I did was provide clarification, see
http://www.neilgaimanboard.com/6/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=733605825&f=588609765&m=8936042
552

(I'd've bet on "A", though, if it had been you.)

Christy, congratulations on sinking further into the swamp. Comfy?
(Walker's just this big scary dude, y'know?)
  

    
Christy - Me? Scary? <blinks>

I thought I was just a big, cuddly ball of snarly bi--er... goodness.
Is it the amount of Neil corruptness (is that a word?) that bothers
you? I mean... I *did* own neilgaiman.com for a while, so it can be
justified. Really. Somebody back me up on this...

Davey - I would have bet on posession as well...
  

    
NotStalker -- So I hear.  And from what I understand, it earned you a
glimpse of that "excellent glare."  ;)

I just think you do pretty darn well for someone who's not a stalker. 
<eg>

-Christy, who has a reputation on another board for "stalking"
satirical rocker Steve Taylor

P.S.  Neil can glare at me in a signing line any time... as long as
someone's there to catch me when my knees go weak.  Mm....

(Bad monster.  Wicked monster.)
  

    
Davey -- You're right, that would make an excellent screen saver. 
Heehee!

Mmmm, garlic and cloves... can I come over?  And would you call the
double-batch recipe "80-Clove Chicken"?

Tree -- Is "retrenched" another euphemism like "downsizing" and (my
company's personal favorite) "positioning ourselves to move forward"? 
If so, I'm sorry!  :(  Hugs and platy-pies!

I think what Neil does to attract such nice people is <i>being</i>
one.  And, apparently, it works very well!

Speaking of whom:

Neil, I'm pretty far behind on your journal, but I gather you're
probably in Utah by now.  Have a great time, and enjoy the change of
scene (and of weather, I'm sure)!  I'll bet all the fans will fuss over
you even more than usual this time.  Bask in it.

(One of my clients just told me he'll be in SLC this weekend for
meetings.  I was tempted to ask him to switch places with me.  ;)    )

Yup, you've plugged bookcrossing.  I remember.  The site search shows
a bit of the quote, but the link just points back to the current
journal page, instead of the proper place in the archives.  Oh well.

Re:  Dancing Ferret -- Ooh!  Neil cover album!  What a cool idea.

(And folks, I'm supposed to be working on a song for a Choir* fan
tribute album.  Wish me luck!  Heck, wish me _confidence_.)

Signing off until probably tomorrow night.  Have a good and safe
weekend, all!

*The rock band, not a choral group.
  

    
Christy - Technically, I'm the "Most-Polite Stalker" (and that's just
because Mousey is cuter)... and yes, that glare is rather... it roots
you to your spot. Ok, it's downright disturbing.

It was mostly the slow, Godfather-esque way he turned in his seat at
the bar to face me, while saying "One day, I shall come to you for my
name, and you will give it to me." That honestly creeped the living
hell out of me.
  

    
SWL (Screaming With Laughter)!!!!!  Oh, gosh, what a performer.  I
WISH I could have seen that!

OK, *really* leaving now.  Honest.  I think.
  

    
Oy vey ist mir.  I'm only 78% corrupt on the old test, and 81% corrupt
on the new one.  Obviously, I've been slacking  ;-)

Am off for the weekend to a small town in Southern Illinois to hang
out with a friend's parents, shop too much and sit in the hot tub. 
Also to grade about a thousand papers (many of them persuasive
essays--ugh).  

Hey, Neil--is Jill still doing the illustrations for Crazy Hair?  And
good on you for starting Miss Maddy's college fund that way.  You never
know, she might want to go to Vassar, and how will you ever afford
that island if she does?  ;-)

Mouse--there's lots o' micks in the Down Under, so St. Brendan should
know where Brisbane is.  I've asked him to keep an eye out for ya ( I
hate flying, too).  Safe trip!

Mary (who's going to finish Two Years Before the Mast if it kills her)
  

    
Oh, forgot to mention--yes, Neil does have a most excellent glare. 
'Walker, that sounds completely terrifying. 
  

    
91% Gaiman corrupt on each of the tests... Stupid Stardust completist
nature.

tinymonster - um, *I'm* the not stalker. Walker is the stalker. Got to
keep those things straight.

btw, I'm in Sydney and alive and stuff... though it appears I'll be
trapped in the house (hostage?) for the remainder of my holiday, as the
{loverly friend} I'm staying with has a rather extensive collection of
Neil stuffs that I've not yet read through.

grrr... completeists and comic book nuts. They are always my downfall
on holiday.

Thanks for the Well-wishes on the safe flight. 

FWIW, within 2 hours of landing in Sydney, I snagged a copy of Mr.
Mike's _How Much For Just The Planet_, for which I'd been looking for
quite some time. (No _Ghastly Beyond Belief_s though - rats!)

Oh, and DanW - the Boy seems to be concerned that his attendance at
your game night might have gone a bit wonky, and feels a bit odd about
it. I'd have emailed, but don't have access to that part of my address
book from down here.

-squeaks, who is afraid she may be picking up a bit of an accent.
  

    
I got this after I took the new quiz
"You answered "yes" to 100 of 100 questions, making you 0.0% Gaiman
pure (100.0% Gaiman corrupt); that is, you are 0.0% pure in the Gaiman
domain."

That's what working in comics does to you.

Jinxie
  

    
Christy, I call the double batch "_how_ many more of these have I
still to peel?" but if you give me fair warning next time you're coming
up to Boston I'll make a batch and you'll come over for dinner and
tell me if it's enough garlic. (I know, "enough garlic" is a difficult
concept, but give it a try.) 
        Big cuddly scary-dude Walker has an excellent glare himself, if it
matters. Come to think of it, I don't _think_ I've been caught in
Neil's Most Excellent Glare yet. Don't know if that means I'm lucky, or
I haven't tripped over anything yet, or maybe I have been and I'm just
oblivious (which would be a big oops, sorry). 
        Luck--and confidence--to you on the Choir song. Let us know what
happens, hm?

Squeaks-With-An-Oz-Accent: So, if you're going to read your way
through your Sydney friend's collection for the next few days, that
means you'll be even more NG corrupt by the time you leave Australia,
yes? Congratulations on scoring _How Much For Just the Planet?_, too.

Yay Jinxie!

Neil: 500 people?!? _500_, in what? four hours? maybe four and a half?
I didn't know it was possible for a person to write their name at
78rpm for that long. And, well, you might've expected the results for
_Love Sacks_, you know that yours is the only site people can ever find
directly in a search without being distracted by oddball results like
"norwegian bottoms." Sounds like you had a good trip; glad you're home
without mishap.
  

    
48% corrupt on the original test, 54% on the new test. 
This just goes to prove that I'm a lightweight, although I was
startled to realize that I with as much as I do know about Neil's life,
I don't know his wife's name! That seems very odd to me.

Squeaks - you're back by now, and WELCOME BACK!
I don't know why Boy hasn't emailed if he feels wonky about it. I
think he behaved himself extremely well, especially considering his
lack of sleep. 

Have we figured out when people are gathering together to greet and
chill with visiting Wellies? I want to have Squeaks and Boy over for
dinner and storytelling (as opposed to story reading, which is a
different event altogether) and don't want to get caught in a calendar
snarl.
  

    
Davey - Unfortunately, the stuff I'm reading on this trip is tending
to be so obscure that I'd have to construct an entirely new
Gaiman-knowledge test... (Can anyone else here - other than Neil -
claim to have read the book from which Neil learned to read? How many
people even know which book that is?) And damn it, there should be at
least one question up there about Ghastly...

DanW - Nope, still in Oz; Until March 12. Then I get to do a second
draft of March 12 in the Northern Hemisphere. That's assuming my plan
for escape from my 'hostage' situation here goes well. If not, I'll not
be able to go home, for I'll have spent all my travel money on the
Church back catalogue and will have to peddle for food on street
corners. 

Oh, and Kurt didn't seem to think he was a jerk, he was just a little
concerned that you might have had to explain him to your friends after
he left. But then, he knows himself :P. As for readings, I have no idea
what my schedule will be like when I get home, but might I propose
doing something over the weekend (<- pronounced with emphasis on the
second syllable) that Pam and Walker are here (21st?).

squeaks, who bought the Dawn French Coraline and who spent WAY too
much money on CDs by Australian artists... damn, I should have been
born here.
  

    

From HOLLEY NOWELL:



Miss Mousey: Enjoying your account of visits. MUST save some cash for the
pretty corsets.

Tinymonster: Didn't paint the room yet. Other things got in the way.
Literally and figuratively. My son delivered a couch which isn't in place yet
and a king sized bed to replace my old full sized which isn't in place yet
either. Did paint the big old heavy ugly bookcase. Looks great. AND it holds
lots and lots of books. I now have all my books unpacked except those
scattered in with other stuff in boxes and it looks like I have -gasp- enough
bookcases! Oh, yeah, my son also delivered a book case good for paperback
books which takes care of those. Yay. Now I just need some more book cases
for the video tapes in my other bedroom.

Did the Gaiman Corrupt test.
In the old test I am 27% Gaiman corrupt with a 33% Weirdness factor.
In the new test I am also 27% Gaiman corrupt.
This is pretty good considering I'm fairly new at Gaiman obsession. Like, 6
months or so.
I especially agree with the statement that Dream looks like Neil Gaiman pics
I've seen.
I resisted, see. Being an obsessive fan gets expensive. I'm an obsessive
Terry Pratchett fan. Own everything ever written except for the first version
of Carpet People that you can't get without spending muey bucks. Even the
maps. I don't have any figurines yet but... I don't have the space to get
that obsessive. Though the temptation nags at me.
Anyway, became Neil fan through Good Omens. And the Inkwell interviews and
now read the Journal every day. Was never into comics much though when people
talk about them it's amazing how many I've read. Possibly has to do with the
fact my son was into comics a lot and I read them. Guilty pleasures. Read
Swamp Thing comics back then. Also, my bestest friend is a multimedia person
and has been into Spawn for a while so have been Exposed. When I worked at
the Art Institute, one of the other guys in the Audio/Video labs was heavily
into Sandman and would sometimes allow me to TOUCH and READ his books briefly
if I was VERY careful but I didn't really pay much attention other than
liking them about who the author was. But now I'm buying Neil's comics for
myself. I only own two so far but am working on the others. Little at a time.
Own Stardust. Good Omens. American Gods. Quotable Sandman ( a NEAT little
book - the cover has these strange little bubble runs in it that look like
worms tunnels. Was that a part of the book or is it just mine?).  Sandman,
the Book of Dreams. And, oh, this weekend I went to Half Priced books and
found 100 Great Detectives which I bought even though I wasn't sure if it was
the one with Neil's story in it but it is. Haven't started reading it yet.
Unfortunately, they didn't have anything else of Neil's. I looked everywhere.
Finally, I went to the desk and asked the guy at the sale desk where they
would keep his work, in Fantasy, Horror or what and do you know - he asked me
who he was! I MEAN. Another guy working back there told me where the books
would be if they had any. Then the first guy tells me that if Neil's work is
too new, they wouldn't have it. Humph. OK. So, American Gods and Coraline but
the rest of it? That's ok. I can never find Terry Pratchett there either.
It's like people DO NOT sell their stuff once they get their hands on it.
There are 2 Half Price Books in town and I don't like this one because
there's no parking and it's not arranged right. The other one was perfect but
they moved recently and I haven't found them yet. Sigh. There's a comic store
across the street from where I live but I didn't go there Saturday because I
spent too much money at the Half Price because they had Farscape DVDs. Yay.
So. Payday. Comic Store across the street. First stop.

Must go and get to work now.
  

    
Whoa!  On the NEW test, I'm 46% corrupt!  That's a far cry from the
old one; almost half vs. almost 1/4.  And this with the aid of only one
"Bonus Round" question.

What probably helped me is that this one didn't have an "Own it?"
question on every other line.  Plus it was a lot more inclusive of
online stuff.  (Y'know, if the "own it" questions included "Bought
it?", I could say yes more, given the Neil stuff I've given away to
friends, family, and once, a book drop.)

Jinx -- Where you gonna go from there??  Oh, yeah, you can get up to
105% there.  Good luck!  (Good to hear from you again!)

Dan -- I know Neil's wife's name, her maiden name, AND their
anniversary (this coming Friday!), and you still score higher than I.

But it ain't hard to lose track of that most mysterious member of the
Gaiman clan.  Neil seems to do a pretty good job of keeping her out of
a spotlight that, after all, I suppose <i>she</i> never asked for. 
All I've ever been able to gather about her is that she must be REALLY
smart... and that's just my own inference.

I'M a little surprised to realize I don't know Neil's middle name. 
I've probably read it somewhere, though.  Which leaves me wondering why
I remember calendar dates so well, and not names.  Hmm....
  

    
To comment on the last journal entry I actually *read* last week,
before I decided to catch up over the weekend and then didn't have time
to do that:

Neil!  Omigosh!  I'm so glad the e-mailer (wee hours of 3/4) was
mistaken and your friend was fine!  Gawd, you poor thing, you must have
been so shaken.  (hugs)  Whew!

(Gee, not that I can identify at ALL with a scare like that,
recently... and no, Everyone Else, I am definitely NOT talking about
the car.)
  

    
Mousey -- I could go back and find Well citations, but I'm too lazy. 
The "official" story, as far as I could tell, was that you are the
"Favourite Stalker" and Nyte is the one who's Not a Stalker (because
after showing up at every signing with a video camera, he said, "I'm
not stalking you, honest.").  When Walker got jealous of you for being
the "Favourite," in fact, he had to be reminded that he was the
Not-a-Stalker one.  I'm just relieved to have you guys around so I look
normal.  ;p

Yep, I thought about you and your _Stardust_s several times during the
quizzes.  :)  Sounds as though you're having a grand time in
Aussie-land.  (*I'd* sure be curious to know the book from which Neil
learned to read.  He probably taught himself, in the womb.)  Did you
pick up any Oils stuff, or anyone else I'd have heard of?

When you see Dan, Pam, and Walker later, they will have to report on
whether you've gained an accent or not.  ;)
  

    
You can't read in the womb - its to dark.
  

    
Personal experience talking?  ;)
  

    
I don't remember.
  

    
aaahh... the weekend of the 21st.
Crap... ok, this is gonna be tight. Friday night is open for the
moment. I have a birthday party in Palo Alto Saturday night, but could
probably be back in the city by 10:30 or so. Sunday is going to be
similar. So I can't have people over for dinner, but would love to meet
for drinks!!

And Squeaks, I didn't feel the need to explain the Boy. Not with these
friends. He isn't any weirder than anybody else. :-)