Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Happy Birthday, Neil!!!!!  <img
src=http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/birthday.gif>  <img
src=http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/party/biggringift.gif> 
<img src=http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/party/balloons.gif>

<img
src=http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/party/partygirl.gif> 
<img
src=http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/party/partygirl.gif>  

But what's this about you spending it alone in a hotel room?  <img
src=http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/party/bdayfrown.gif>  I
thought there'd at least be some UK Gaimans to play with.  I'll bet
they never see you on your birthday.  Ah well, I suppose sometimes a
day by yourself can be just the ticket.  I once purposely spent an
entire Thanksgiving weekend alone because I was so desperate for some
time to myself!

Anyway, I hope you have a wonderful day and a great time at Border's. 
(You're probably there now!)  Of course, we're all thinking about you.
 <<squeeze>>
  

    
Saw Eddie Izzard again this weekend-- funnier, of course, the second
time.  Even the first act I'd thought was kinda weak turned out to have
been hysterical.  Might've been minor tweaks (it was really cool to
see the subtle nuances changed across the nights).

I get my car back today.  My transmission crapped out the other week. 
I'm very glad, because I'll have transportation and and won't have to
rely on rides everywhere, but chagrinned as I'll be out the price of a
new transmission.  It's a good thing I'd been saving up for a new
laptop.  Because that's about how much a transmission is, it turns out.

I'm *so* envious of the Walker/Pam/Maure get-together.  Looks like you
guys had so much fun.

And, finally, happy birthday, Neil, and congratulations, Erynn!
  

    
Holley (NOTW) writes:



Yay. Erynn.

Great pics.

Neil not old. Still younger than me.

Keanu Reeves as Constantine.  I've considered the matter and except for the
blonde hair (not having) and lack of rugged. I really don't think he'll be
bad in this part.  Remains to be seen of course. But I think he'll do well
as slightly sleazy, sneaky clever but not really smart, loser guy who saves
people from hell but not from death. He does do nightmare ridden angst guys
pretty good. Hm. Of course, you never know how anyone will do in a part
until you've seen the final movie. But it's not the worst choice they could
have made.
  

    
Happy Birthday, Neil!
  

    
Holley - That's true... they could have cast Ben Affleck as
Constantine....
  

    
I am brimming with anticipation and excitement. I've been invited to
go to a screening of Tim Burton's new movie BIG FISH with this film
critic acquaintence (there's a cocktail reception after -- that part
I'm not so excited about) which has . . . 

a new Elfman score!!!

The film looks really interesting. It's not at all the type of thing
I'd have expected Burton to do. And there's a new Elfman score!! I
can't wait to hear it. And see the movie.
  

    
Holley writes:




And a new Elfman score!

Or they could have cast Hollywood's other flavor of the month pretty boy,
Hugh Grant or Tom Cruise.
  

    
Damn, I wish *I* could be a twenty-year-long flavor of the month!!
  

    
Mine!  Thanks!
  

    
LOL!  I've been pseuded!  :D
  

    
I'm really excited about Big Fish. For some reason the bigger than
life visuals and heartwarming struggle make me think of Edward
Scissorhands... not that they look remotely alike, but that he's going
back to films that have real heart and are eye-poppingly styleized.

makes me happy.
  

    
It was charming. It didn't feel like a Burton film though, although it
of course has lovely Burtony moments in it. I'm still not sure how it
fits in my head with the other Burton movies, but I was definitely
charmed by it.

It's interesting to me mostly because I don't think Burton's ever been
very good about letting moments be sentimental without something
absurd going on to pull away from the core emotion. [OK, Burton doesn't
write the scripts, per se, but this sort of thing is prevalent in all
his movies no matter who is the screenwriter, so I suspect it has a lot
to do with him.] Edward Scissorhands, which I consider to be a very
emotional movie, has lots and lots of examples of this (the line where
Winona says "Hold me," and Edward says, "I can't," is both beautifully
sad, and very funny. It kind of checks the emotion by pointing out
something absurd in the moment). But, BIG FISH really is a sentimental
film (but not, I think, in a bad way at all). I feel like Burton's
grown up emotionally. Or something. I have no idea whether I am
conveying what I mean to be conveying, but there it is.

I liked the score very much. It is being released via Sony Classical
mid-December or so. I suspect it will be one of Elfman's which stands
on its own fairly well.

I'd like to see it again. I think it comes out in a month or so.
  

    
You know, Maure, I'm glad you said that, because I'd been very
interested in *Big Fish* except that Burton was the director (I'm not a
Burton fan.  His aesthetic just doesn't do much for me).  To know that
it doesn't feel like a Burton movie gives me hope that I'll really
enjoy it.
  

    
Just because no one else has mentioned it, I just bought the newest
issue of 1602.
  

    
Will, I imagine that there will be a lot of non-fans of Burton who
will enjoy Big Fish. I can't seem to think of it as a Tim Burton movie.
It actually makes me a little sad, although I really did like the
film.

And I bought the latest issue of 1602, too!
  

    
Yep.  I bought it on Wednesday, and had a little adventure in the
process, which included trying to drive and park in downtown Bethesda
(anyone from the area is groaning already), slipping in the rain once I
WAS parked, and going down so fast I banged my head and spread purse
contents in a three-foot radius around me.  Now every time I think of
that comic store I get a headache.  But I read the issue in one sitting
that night, which I think is becoming a habit.  :)
  

    
Glad to hear how versatile Mr. Burton is turning out to be!
  

    
Holley adds:





Got my copy of 1602 also. 
SPECULATION: Does anybody else think that maybe the solution to
Virginia's problem and the witchbreeds' problem is the same? 

While I was there, got a copy of Shambles too. I can never just walk
in and buy one comic book. Seems there's always something else waiting
for me to pick up as well. Almost bought the poster for LotR. It was
impressive. But Aragorn is not my favorite.

Comments on Endless Nights.  I really liked the Dream/Killalla story.
It gave me a much better reason as to why Desire and Dream don't (now)
get along rather than just sibling rivalry and his treatment of
girlfriends. The fact Desire was Dream's favorite sibling at the start
of the story and not at the end was a lot more illuminating. 
  

    
Del as a child cracked me up!!

And the Destiny story was a perfect ending to that collection.
  

    
Sometimes I just want to be a beautiful blue-skinned witch.
  

    
Email from Holley:

And on a more personal note.  We've been under a Tornado watch, then
warning. One touched down a few miles from here and weather forecaster
places said our area was in the path. Little TV in the coffee room ladling
out dire warnings and terrible pictures of roofs torn off of houses making
them look like architectural models from the helicopter taking the
pictures, and 18 wheelers blown over on their sides, and tall street
lights for toll road with water lapping at the lights and the rest of the
road missing under the lake.  Then it veered or picked up or whatever and
now the weather is moving off toward Beaumont/Port Arthur and up the
coast.  We're still flooded, of course. It HAS been raining for 3 days
already and most of the morning it was black as night. My son and
daughter-in-law I could finally get in touch with. They're ok. Tornado hit
3 blocks from her building close to 59 and demolished an apartment
complex. He wasn't in any of it over off 290. Downtown took a hit close to
Minute-Maid (used to be Enron) Park and several buildings are damaged.  
Galleria was in the path but if there was a touchdown here, I haven't
heard of it. Heavy water of course. And lots of people leaving work early
to get to children or whatever. It will take them hours to get home. My 10
minute drive will probably take an hour. At least I can wait for a couple
hours and hopefully the water will clear a bit since the storm has passed.  
So. Breathing easier. Checking in. All that.
  

    
Whew.  Thanks for checking in, Holley.  Glad you and yours are safe. 
(I shall have to check on my Houston friends tomorrow, assuming they've
got power.)

P.S.  Pam -- Very pseud-able!
  

    
Holley with an update:



Well, I was wrong that it had all passed at 5 pm and last night as I
tried to sleep in my bed right next to the big WINDOW I saw on TV
during a can't sleep period that the next line of storms were entering
and we were once again under a tornado and flood and severe
thunderstorm etc. I didn't sleep well. But I was lucky. My way home,
while slow and in bad traffic, was not flooded so my car's ok. I know
some people that didn't even make it home until about the time I
finally went to sleep at 3am. And one of my bosses is off today to take
his car to the shop because it was under water. We didn't lose power
in my area. And this morning dawned bright sunshine and clear as a
bell. 
  

    
Gah!  Glad you escaped the worst of it!
  

    
I only recently made the connection that Jonathan Ross is Jonathan of
"Jonathan and Jane" -- the witty couple I liked instantly in the Miss
Finch story, and the nice folks who let Neil recuperate at their place
in FL earlier this year and thus won me over even more.

Yet I am having an awful time getting his streaming radio show to play
for me.  I am NOT amused.