Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
You should look up Isaac Asimov's book on math. Yes. Asimov. Him.  He
was a teacher before he took up writing SF and has a really actualy
interesting book on math.  I read it accidentally as a teen when I was
checking out everything in the library of Asimov having just discovered
him.  Imagine my surprise when one of the books I took out was not
fiction.  
  

    
Dodge-- Absolutely Asimov.  I haven't found a used copy on those
occaisions when I've been out looking for one.  I seem to be saving
reading him for desert.  No idea why!

Just heard the Neil appearance at Tattered Cover.  He's fun!  I've not
taken the opportunity to go to one of his readings/appearances before
and now I see what y'all have been so enamored of all this time!  On
the website was another podcast of another author: Susanna Clarke!  Of
course I downloaded that.  

Anyone into McSweeney's Internet Concern?  Today's offering is a group
of e-mails:
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2006/1/26sacks.html
  

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

    
you *walked* many blocks in north Philly? brave!
(lived here all my life and i wouldn't do that!!)
  

    
Well, Dan walked many blocks around Temple, which is lit up like day. 
I've never really felt nervous there - but maybe I'm just naive.

Neil mentioned that he'd written "How to Talk to Girls at Parties"
months ago, and it would be months until it saw print - but he'd
written "The Day the Saucers Came" last week, and it would be on a
website next week.
  

    
On the things for the store. 

I want a tshirt for Scary Trousers.  I've got one that says 'These are
not my scary trousers.' but what if it wears out.

I want a little rubber 7 legged spider.  

A poster of spider's room filled with murderous flamingos

A model of the carousel in AG. 

A choice of posters made from every photo ever taken of NG. Or a
poster collage of same.  

A re-release of Still Life With Cats.  Every time that comes out, I'm
not looking for it and have missed it and then discovered its existence
too late to get one.  

A poster of the picture with Neil in his blacks and Terry in his
whites together.  
  

    


Christy Smith writes:




Dodge -- Speaking of pressies for you, I still do have that videotape I told
you about.  For a while there it looked as though I was going to have a
chance to transfer it to DVD, but guess not.  If I ever get some time off
I'll mail it to you.

Melanie -- I tried to teach myself German out of a book when I was 10.  I was
unsuccessful.  However, I may give the book another look so that I can at
least read German, if not pronounce it.

That math-as-a-language book sounds interesting.  Makes sense, really; I've
already been told that language skills are used in learning programming, so
math (and music theory) can't be too far off.  What's the name/author of the
book?

Dan -- Nice pics (from what I've seen so far)!  Neil is looking nice and
slim.  (And long-haired!)  And that building looks all lovely and collegiate,
and reminds me a lot of some of the new buildings on my campus.  So of
course, now I miss both Neil _and_ my alma mater!  Oh well.

So, unless you tell it in the film, how'd you hear about this Avery project?
(It's getting hard to imagine hearing about things like this _without_ the
Internet.)

Still Wishing I Could Have Come with You,
TM
Wearing her Irish-language sweatshirt today
  

    
Yay for readings, and especially with photos and video! Looks like you
guys had a blast. Alas, I suspect I'll not be going to a reading
anywhere in the world for quite a while. 

And I've already decided that I will not be purchasing any reprintings
of Stardusts I already have that have no difference other than the
knife bit (which, my husband reminded me, he did point out to me when I
read it out loud to him a couple of years ago - but then we got caught
up in the rest of the story and by the time I got to a computer I
forgot what is was that I wanted to say to Neil). If, however, they're
just new printings, like they always do to mess with my shelf space,
then of course I'll be getting them. I'm still concerned with the fact
that a movie is in the works though. Just, ugh.

Any way, sorry I've been incommunicado lately - amazing how much more
time there is to be had in a day when you just don't do much other than
skimming through your email every couple of days. Very slowly the
sewing pile is diminishing. Even slower on the 'to read' pile, but both
are shrinking, which is rather nice. :) Talk to you later, when I'm
feeling webby again!
  

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

    
Christy: The book is _The Language of Mathematics_ by Warren W. Esty. 
I got it through his web page (the book is self-published) here:

http://augustusmath.hypermart.net/
  

    
Where *are* you people?  If I had anything worthwhile to say, I would
post, but.......
  

    
Houston and Beaumont are losing Krispy Kreme donuts.  Yay.  Shipley's
is better anyway.  
  

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

    
I'm planing on BaltiCon.  We'll see what happens.
  

    
It's amazing how much younger and healthier one can look when one has
had sufficient rest and no stress.  Happens to me every summer about 2
weeks after school is out.  The grey hair fades, I no longer need the
cane, and my contact lens prescription drops 2 points.  ;-)
  

    
[from Christy]


> Where *are* you people?

 

Don't look at me; I sent the following almost two weeks ago!  I think my e-
mail's on the blink.

Â



> A model of the carousel in AG.


I wonder if the House on the Rock gift shop sells anything like that?Â
Maybe the Neil merch site could do a marketing deal with them.

Â

Dan, your brother is starting to sound like my brother!  Anyhow, looks like
the secret is now blogged.

Â

Thanks for the link, Melanie!

Â

Nice revamped Web site.  It looks mysteriously like HarperCollins's
"Authors on the Web" site for Neil, which makes sense.  And I've always
liked that (fairly new) picture of  him; it seems to capture his
personality rather well.

 

Heh... "It was meant to be a reasonably lazy sort of trip, of the kind where
I have a couple of hour's work each day and can spend the rest of the time
in a hotel room catching up on writing and email and overseeing the launch
of the new website and suchlike." 
(http://www.neilgaiman.com/journal/2006/02/my-adventures-of-last-couple-of-
days.html)  I dunno, Neil, a lot of that "rest of the time" looks like work
to me, too.

 

A lot of my co-workers tell me they can't sleep on planes, but I almost
can't not.  I mean, it's got this gentle vibration, terrific white noise...
and I'm not even in first class!  I've gone on all ready to play the
lullaby list on my iPod, and ended up never even turning it on.

 

Finished _Till We Have Faces_ the other night.  Woww.

 

TM

 

Close your eyes, I want to ride the skies in my Sweet Dreams....



 

New stuff:

Speaking of TWHF, who the heck was Lucius Apuleius Platonicus?  I can't
find anything on him other than quotes of Lewis's note in the back of the
book attributing _Metamorphoses_ to him.  Was this some pseudonym of Ovid's
known only to old Clive?



Dodge -- You're committing blasphemy against Krispy Kreme?  I see I'm not
the only person in the world who doesn't think they're that great...
although I'm told that if I got a REAL one at a REAL Krispy Kreme shop,
fresh, I'd like it.  (Can't say I remember what Shipley's was like, though;
if I ever had them back then, I was probably just excited I was getting
doughnuts!)



Mary -- They don't call it "beauty sleep" for nothing!



Later,

Christy
  

    
KK's are too sugary.  Melt in your mouth - not always a good thing. 
Shipleys are flakey soft donuts.  Great fillings.  Good kolaches also. 
Though Southern Maid, when I can find one, is better. Dunkin' Donuts,
of which we don't have a lot any more, has an almost artificial
texture.  Not hard. Like they aren't exactly real.  It's hard to
explain them, really.
  

    
Am I the only person in the world who really dislikes donuts? KKs are
almost tolerable, but it's still just too much sugar and grease for me.
  

    
Yes, I'm afraid you are! :-)
  

    

I'm afraid he might be right.
  

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

    
Krispy Kremes are manna.  It's true.

I was unaware that there was such a thing as too much sugar and
grease.  I shall have to explore this strange, new, concept.

Poor Neil.  You have to camp out in places with lousy cell phone
reception to get some peace and quiet.  You could be the anti-Joan
Cusack.  You could try changing cell phone carriers to one that doesn't
work in your area....

Maddy has a pop-out Dr. Who.  *That* is the coolest thing ever.

Mary (reading all the Anne Perry I can find)
  

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

    
Oh, my God.  Yeah, that's her.

When I heard that story originally, I didn't read mysteries, and the
name meant nothing to me.  Freaky.
  

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