Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Those of you with currently listed emails... please check them. 
Thanks.
  

    
checked... nada. Whassup?
  

    
<1350> -- Funny, I was just wondering the same thing myself.

Dan -- You don't HAVE an e-mail address listed in your profile. 
(Click on your username, and then mine, and you'll see the difference.)

-Christy, slightly envying Lorraine for being able to take care of
Neil, even if she does get growled at
  

    
Email from Holley:

Ah. Flat tires. I got up Monday to discover both right tires had nails in
'em. Luckily had cans of Fixaflat and drove the short distance to tire
place. Ended up having to shell out for three new ones, though. Knew would
have to in a month or two before inspection anyway but it was an
unexpected expense THIS month. Sigh.

Have foster family. Young niece of my Couple friends in the family is
around 13 or 14. She hasn't been making good grades in anything to do with
reading SO, The guy part of the couple is having her come over once a day
(they live next door with grandparents) and read aloud to him a chapter a
day of one of Eddings' books. I'm doing my part. I've given her the spare
copies - actually that's just what I tell them. Actually I buy paperback
copies - of Gaiman and Pratchett books for her to read. When I went over
Saturday, she made a point to come over and enthusiastically rave about
Coraline which she discussed in detail with me. I now have her reading
Pratchett's Maurice and have given her his Hogfather and next payday plan
to buy Stardust and some of the other many recommendations for young
readers I have listed over the years from Neil's journal. So cool having
such a resource. Of course, I plan to see to it she gets to read as many
of the Pratchett and Gaiman books as possible in the years to come and all
others of my faves. Hm. Think I'll go home now and put together a care
package of paperback SF I have left over from my own reading years.  
Heinlein. Clark. Etc. Much better to give to her to read rather than
selling them for pittance on EBay. I told her she should check Gaiman and
Pratchett in her library at school and was shocked, SHOCKED I TELL YOU,
when she told me they are so pressed for space and overcrowded that the
library has classes in it and she can't go in there to use it! Of course.  
I understand this may be an excuse from a child who would prefer not to
read. But I'm workin' on it.
  

    
Unfortunately, given the state of the schools in the No Child Left Behind,
Stimulus Tax Cuts For The Wealthy Bush years, I doubt her description of the
library being used for classes is an excuse.  It sounds all too familiar.
  

    
weird... there used to be information there! off to go fix!
  

    
Having just finished a long stint as a substitute teacher in several
districts, I have to say I'll bet it's not an excuse.  On the days I
subbed, regular teachers would very often go to the library with their
classes to use as a study hall.  And, while it was never closed to
other students, if the teachers were using it to actually teach, rather
than letting their students sit around at tables and gab, which is
what happened ninety percent of the time, I can imagine they might have
to close it to general use.  The state of education is rather pitiful
right now.
Topic shift--

Had a great weekend.  Went up to Manhattan and visited with friends I
haven't seen in years, and the new friend I just met a few weeks ago. 
I stayed with her, and had a lovely, relaxed time.  I was a little
worried, because I thought there might be some sort of tension (we've
both expressed interest in each other, we're open about it, but she has
a 'sort-of boyfriend.'  At the moment, anyway), but it turned out not
to be.  We fell into a strangely comfortable, half-intimate dynamic
that surprised me given that we've known each other all of a few weeks,
really.
I went to the Cloisters and the Met with her, which were both
phenomenal.  We walked around and looked at Vermeer and Rembrandt, saw
the Unicorn tapestries, wished on pennies in the Cloisters fountains. 
We went downtown to visit a friend of mine who runs a hip hop dance
troupe that recently supplied dancers for Timbaland, Missy Elliot, and
Sean Paul videos; I haven't seen that friend in over a year and haven't
seen them rehearse in almost two, and I was just blown away by how far
they've come, and how far he's taken what he's doing.  On Saturday
night, for the first time ever, I managed to get all my friends in the
same place, and we all had dinner and talked about work and writing and
movies and art theories and kick-started two ideas for movies we want
to do, started storyboarding on the spot, figuring out how to shoot
them.  My friend who studied film and cinematography at Yale is going
to handle that part, and the guy who runs the hip hop troupe is going
to be our fight choreographer, and the maid-of-honor is an actress with
actor-y type friends...

It was never as hard to leave the City as it was on Sunday.  I just
didn't want to do it.  But I did, and now I can't wait to go back. 
Whatever happens with the girl, I can tell we're friends, at least, and
I got along really well with her roommates, too (I sent them a bit of
amber, for their apartment, as a thank you for letting me crash with
them.  I thought that was cooler than flowers, and I'm hoping they
will, too).
It was always part of the plan to go back up there, eventually.  Come
home, regroup, move back.  It's been two years at home this weekend.
After last weekend, it won't be much longer.
  

    
Holley -- Argh!  Sorry to hear about the flat tires.  TWO at the same
time!  That's like the time I already had my doughnut spare on, and
then some creep STOLE one of my (good) wheels!
  

    
Hooray!  Neil got the entry titles to show up in the regular Journal!

Only Neil is clever enough that I'd be eager to read the TITLES to his
posts.
  

    
I got a poster in the mail this weekend.  It was a copy of the DVD
promo poster of Neverwhere.  There was no return address and no note,
so I'm not exactly sure where this came from.

Hmmm...
  

    
How appropriately mysterious.

I finally started reading _Neverwhere_ the other night.  I want to be
prepared when I get the DVD for Christmas.  (Which I probably will,
since it's the only thing I can think of besides "Uh... money" when
someone asks me what I want.)
  

    
I HAVE A PUPPYYYYY!!!

Rhapsody came home with us Saturday.  She's a one-year old Cocker
Spaniel we adopted from a rescue organization.  She's pale blonde,
almost white, all over, except for peachy colored ears.  And she's
sweet and smart and totally adorable, and it broke my heart to leave
her this morning to come to work.

After waiting for two whole years to get a puppy, I'm beside myself!

In other news:

I'm utterly exhausted from trying to finish everything up with my job,
in order to leave.  It's been every bit as insane as I was afraid it
would be. *gasp*  Just one more week, officially. Ack.

Also: I went downstairs at work this morning to get my bagel, and
ended up riding back up in the elevator with David Hasselhoff--who's
much taller than I thought (maybe 6'-3").  And I had a terrible time
keeping a straight face when I suddenly remembered Neil's blog (I think
it was his blog) where he mentioned Nightrider slash fic.
  

    
Hehe!

Congrats on the puppy!
  

    
I hope all you SoCal'ers are OK....
  

    
Well, I came over the hill last night, and the entire western mountain
range over Santa Clarita was on fire, with huge billowing clouds of
smoke over the entire horizon.  It's pretty scary, but most of it is
still several miles from town.

The air quality around here is... indescribable.  Our cars are covered
in fine ashes.
  

    
P.S.  For anyone else who, like me, has been nibbling a few
fingernails about Davey... I have it on good authority that she
lives--albeit as a frazzled gerbil, but still, it's livin'.
  

    
Oh, good.  I e-mailed her last week, but didn't hear back.
  

    
Pamela--Congratulations!  I want a puppy.  Someday, maybe.

I gots 3 new fishies, though.  They're Redcappped Orandas, and very
priddy.  And 3 new plants for my classroom (where the fishies will go
eventually).  It's starting to look like I want it to in here.

Must go write quizzes and see some Shakespeare tonight.

Mary (reading Diggers)
  

    
Congrats on the fishies!

What Shakespeare are you going to see?  I just saw _Othello_ about a
week ago.
  

    
Y'know, I read that as "must go write quizzes and some Shakespeare"
and I said, "huh?"
  

    
Cool, informative discussion of public storytelling in Bill Amatneek's
topic, around <198.227-231>.

My curiosity is definitely aroused about this Charlie Chin guy.  He
sounds wonderful.  Anyone here ever heard him?
  

    
My city's on fire.

They enacted a voluntary evacuation of the southern end of town today
and threatened to close the freeway.  Thank heavens the fires are still
several miles away from where we live, and aren't likely to vear
around that way.  But I left work early, to try to make it before they
closed the freeway, and the sky--in early evening--was pitch black. 
The whole mountain line to the southwest of town was glowing orange,
and flames were leaping up over the peaks.  There was so much ash in
the air that it looked like a light snowfall in my headlights.

My heart and prayers go out to all those thousands and thousands of
people who've lost their homes.

Anyone who'd like to help can donate to the Red Cross "So Cal Fire
Relief Fund" or somesuch.
  

    
I'm sorry you're among the so many caught up in this.
  

    

 I saw excerpts from Julius Ceasar, Twelfth Night & the Scottish play.

I can't even type the name.  One actor-trash, always actor-trash. 
Anyway, it was a showcase for teachers, for a company that hopes to
have all of Shakespeare up & running in 5 years, strictly for
students. 
They were very good.  Which had the unfortunate effect of making me
want to do a Shakespeare very badly.  Very badly.

My kids are finishing up the film version of "Much Ado" right now. 
Many of them have dug it, though many of them have also been put to
sleep by it.  I'm not sure I want to take them to see a live version,
no matter how good.  (Who can compete with Branagh, Thomson &
Washington?)

All of this has led me to imdb research last night that uncovered some
TV productions from the UK which I must search out & own.  Brian
Blessed's Lear?  Sean Pertwee's Mac....I still can't say it.  Anyway,
I
have to own them.  I must, I tell you!

And it's given me a huge yen to see my other favorite Shakesy film,
Twelfth Night with Imogen Stubbs, Ben Kingsley, Nigel Hawthorne, and
Helena Bonham Carter.  It's fabulous, if you haven't seen it.

Pamela--hope you guys are still OK.  Be safe.

Glen--yes, I've been writing those bloody plays for years, but since
they're in the public domain, I don't see a nickel.  Next time, must
remember to *copyright* first.  Drat.

Mary (with a cold.  Am blaming Neil. Convinced that reading about him
being sick has done for me.)