Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Mary - :(

Melanie - I don't know. The illustrations aren't exactly light and
fluffy. The looks on a lot of the faces are grim enough for me to think
of Faerie as a dangerous place, while still being full of beauty and
marvels. /shrug To each his own.

And yes, my boy is a right good one he is. 
  

    
Did anyone else watch the PBS program "My Shakespeare: Baz
Luhrmann"[Moulin Rouge and Strictly Ballroom]?  It was really about
Patterson Joseph who played The Marquis de Carabas [sp]in Neverwhere
making his directorial debut taking people from a london ghetto who
have never acted before and getting them to perform Romeo and Juliet. 
It was wonderful!  And very moving in places.  
  

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

    
HAD to come in and tell y'all this.

Some of you may recall when I posted about a young girl in my adopted
family who was having trouble last school year in her reading class. I
gave her Coraline and she loved it.  For Christmas last year I gave her
Wolves in the Wall and some other books.

Well, this past weekend I got out there again and had Neil's Stardust
in paperback and the newest hardback Mirrormask which I had gotten from
Dreamhaven signed for her.  My friends, her uncle and aunt, told me
that she is newly turned 13 and has gone into the teen years with a
vengence. They are finding it difficult to get her to read anything
much less for pleasure.  Warned me she might not ever get around to it
but thanked me, politely and blandly, for thinking of her.  So, she
came home and I gave her the two books showing her Neil's own signature
in silver inside the Mirrormask one.  She seemed quite thrilled and
went over to grandma's house (next door) to eat supper while I stayed
to talk to my pals.  About an hour later, she came back in with
Mirrormask in hand and her eyes shining to proudly tell me she had
finished the entire book in one sitting! And boy was it good! And now
she is going to go to her room and start on Stardust though that was a
bit bigger.  And now my pals want me to let them know the MOMENT
Mirrormask comes out on DVD so they can get it for her.  They were
flabbergasted. I think I'll order her Anansi Boys - signed - from
Dreamhaven.  If Stardust isn't too old for her Anansi Boys shouldn't
be.  I may even start collecting for her every other book he's written
to be given one at a time as she completes the last one. 
  

    
*BEAM*

Is that how you look?  Congtratulations!  ( I want to say more but I
don't know what else I could say.  I'll just join in the beaming.)
  

    
Wow! Way to go, Dodge. :)
  

    
Dodge--you rock!  So, of course, does the author in question.

Wonder where he's wandered off to.  Antigua sounded nice.

*Must* see My Shakespeare.  I've read about it--in England, it did not
have Baz Luhrman's name attached to it, but the reviews were stellar. 
Pat is in Aeon Flux, too, which I saw just for him, but they dubbed
his voice.  Have I already complained about that here?  So stupid.

Hope you all had a lovely holiday season, and if you're not watching
"House" on Fox, Tuesdays at 8, you must start. Now. 

That is all.    M.
  

    
Roane, Thanks for reminding me that I saw him in the previews. 
Haven't seen the movie next but I'm glad of the warning.  I would have
been dead disappointed and probably not really watched after that.  He
has such a lovely voice.  
Just checked into the Journal and author in question is in beta-land
among other places.  Checked out the recommended Librarything.com and
it does look interesting.  Not that I need more books to know about or
anything.  Unless they are language books, of course...
  

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

    
Have we all emailed our suggestions for what to sell at the Gaiman
store?

http://thegaimanstore.com/store.php

I asked for writerly inspiration stuff.
  

    
I wanna DVD of Mirrormask. Now. Now. Now.  PleEEEEEEAASe.
  

    

While away on vacation I got a phone call from my housemate. "By the way,
don't pre-order anything." "Ok, I won't pre-order a Mirrormask DVD." "Or
anything else! Really. *ahem*"
  

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

    
Found the below on a website for DCDirect BUT it says to get in touch
with your local comics shop to get it.  The page said it was updated
01/2006. I now have an email into my fave local comics shop to get more
info.  Anybody else know about this? Or is it an out of date page on
their website despite the posting?

THE SANDMAN: THE ENDLESS Wall Scroll 

Featuring art by Mike Dringenberg

The Sandman and his siblings of the Endless are featured on this
deluxe wall scroll. Featuring art by Mike Dringenberg from a poster
that has been out of print for almost a decade, the Wall Scroll shows a
gathering of the Endless, including the Sandman (Dream), Death,
Destiny, Desire, Delirium, Despair and Destruction. THE ENDLESS Wall
Scroll is printed in full color on nylon and is approximately 27" x
40". 

$19.95 US 



Final product may differ from image shown. 
Contact your local comics retailer for availability.
  

    
I have pre-ordered My Shakespeare on DVD.  It's not out yet, but I
should have it in 2-4- weeksish.  Will report back on it when I've seen
it--hope it's something my inner-city students will dig.

Melanie--yeah, I was bummed, since I had seen the movie solely for him
(and it's not that great).  Much more of Paterson to be seen & heard
in The Beach--literally.  You'd have though that after his lack of
costume in that one he'd have gotten more work in Hollyweird.  ;-)

Mostly just posted to say that the Musicbox Theatre is running
MirrorMask this weekend at 11:30 p.m. for anyone in the Chicago area
that wants to see it.  http://www.musicboxtheatre.com/ for details.

Also, if you haven't checked out www.exonoise.com you should.  My
friend Scotty's band EXO was fantastic.  Their drummer was killed in a
horrific car crash last summer, and they have decided that without
Doug, it just isn't EXO.  So they released their last CD and did one
last gig as a benefit to raise money for a scholarship in his honor
last weekend.  They were magnificent, and the CD is terrific--possibly
the best of the three they released.  There are tracks available to
listen to on the site--go listen. I can't possibly do it justice in
words.  I just think Doug would be proud.

Have a great weekend, y'all!

Mary 
  

    
Roane--Have you seen "Looking for Richard"?  It's Al Pacino taking
apart Richard III.  I'll be interested in what your students think of
the DVD, also.  The people involved seemed to put their trust in the
process.
  

    
clotilde -- the Endless Wall Scroll came out a few years ago. I'm not
sure if they've found more stock and resolicited or not, but I think
they have a few left at DreamHaven (check their www.neilgaiman.net
site). Mine is in the downstairs bathroom, hanging over a poster with a
story on it.
  

    
(posting for TInyMonster)

<1208> "Unless they are language books, of course..." - Melanie, do you
study
linguistics?  That probably would have been my major if I hadn't gone the
techie route.

Dan - Tempting.  Are you offering rides?  ;)

Seriously, I thought about going, but it would be tough to get up there and
back on a worknight (especially now that I'm working all the way down in No.
VA
and get there by train), and I don't have anyone to stay with up there if I
did
take Friday off.

_My Shakespeare_ sounds interesting; I'm proud of Paterson Joseph!  I also
considered seeing _Aeon Flux_ just for him.  (I remember it being a weird-
a$$,
repetitive cartoon in its former incarnation, but I only saw a few minutes
of
it once on MTV.)  Are you sure his voice was dubbed?  It was my recognition
of
his voice in a preview that made me look up and realize it was he.  But
perhaps
they made the preview before they decided to dub in someone else.  Pity; he
does have such a great voice.

Mary -- I'm really sorry to hear about your friend's bandmate.  Did you know
him?

Neil -- Misty is beeyoo-tee-ful.  And YOU thought you weren't going to keep
her.

Got the _MirrorMask_ script book from Ben for Christmas, and just bought
myself
_A Short Film about John Bolton_ with a Border's coupon.  Not to mention two
of
my friends gave me a bunch of Tolkien and Lewis fiction.  I shall not be
bored
for a very long time....

Happy New Year* to You All,
Christy the Diminutive Chimaera

*Slightly late for Western or slightly early for Chinese -- take your pick







Oh yes....  Shouldn't the Temple reading be up on _Where's Neil_ by now?

TinyMonster
  

    
tinymonster--I probably only spoke about 10 words to Doug in my
life--I went to see the band on several occasions, but mostly just told
Scotty how good they were.  He was much loved, and terribly missed by
a lot of people, though.  The accident was all over the news here--a
young woman allegedly decided to kill herself, and started speeding
down a busy suburban street.  She ran 3 traffic lights, and was doing
about 70 when she hit the car containing Doug and 2 of his best friends
stopped at a traffic light.  They were all killed instantly, and she
walked away from the wreck.  All 3 were musicians in different local
bands.  Doug was 29, the other 2 guys were in their early 30's.  It's
just....awful.  It's been 6 months, and the families, friends and fans
are still having a terrible time dealing with it.  The benefit concert
really helped.

hamilton--I love "Looking for Richard"!  There's one called
"Discovering Hamlet" that is rehearsal footage of Derek Jacobi
directing Kenneth Branagh's first Hamlet that is marvelous, too.  I am
a total geek for this stuff.

Neil--thanks for the info!  I want one!  And Misty is adorable.  I'm
glad you kept her.  Any more info on when Death goes into production? 
I've been meaning to ask for a while.

I am very jealous of those of you fortunate enough to go to the temple
reading.  That is all.  Just very jealous.

M.
  

    
tinymonster: No I don't study linguistics and I would have had I known
how to go about it when I had choices.  I ended up in a very small
college with a very small life and didn't know how to go about
adventuring into things like "How" and "Why", and so didn't investigate
the possibility of linguistics.  I think my interest comes from having
parents who spoke languagges: My dad (3) grew up in it and my Mom (3)
because she was supposed to. I think I just really want to know what
people are saying and how they see the world differently because of it.
  

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

    



Melanie -- That's cool.  How many do you speak (or can more or less read)
now?

Dan -- Happy birthday to Lori!  Yes, she is definitely way cool.

I guess it's a weekend at home for me, and admittedly that's probably better
for me and my to-do list... but please give Neil my best.  Who'd have
thought
he'd be in my vicinity twice in one month and I wouldn't go to see him?  But
then, I suppose I did give my share of moral support in September (Two metro
areas!  Five events!), so that ought to hold him for another year.  ;)

However, Philly won't get off so easily the first weekend in March.  I'm
comin'
to see the Choir if I have to sleep in the concert hall!  >:D

ChoiryMonster

NR:  _Till We Have Faces_ by C.S. Lewis
  

    
I wish I could do languages. It's not one of my talents. My sister can
do 7. She got all the lingual capabilities.  But when her computer
acts up, she puts it in a closet and buys a new one.  Hah. So, we got
different talents.
  

    
I just went and ordered A Study In Emerald poster at Dreamhaven.  They
still have them and they are $10.  They also have the Death Gallery
poster for $7.95.  Yay. Pressie for me.  
  

    
Languages seem to come and go with me.  I touaght myself German a
while back and could read, write and understand it comfortably as a
beginner.  Now, I haven't a clue.  Was really surprised when I found my
Junior High Spanish was waiting in the wings on my only trip to
Mexico.  I hadn't had any luck saying "Hello" in Russian or German when
I was introduced to my brother's co-singers at a concert.  My latest
is Japanese and... Not.  I seem to have forgotten everything I ever
knew.

OH, my latest is really ASL.  I use it at work with a kid who has a
trach and needs to communicate.  I find more of it coming back when I'm
communicating with him than I do when I try to think of how many signs
I know.  I still think Sign should be our national second language. 
Make all those others much easier.

My next "language" is going to be Math.  Since I started taking
writing seriously and understand how grammar and punctuation work,
everything else is beginning to unfold as less mysterious.  Found a
great book that teaches Math as a language. Haven't really looked at it
seriously and am going to do it self-study in place of literature this
semester.


I think my interest in language as a system of magic is all I really
got from my parents.  The idea that there is more than one way to name
something, that sounds have meaning even when no one else around you
knows what they are... that kind of thing,