Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Reg -- let me know what your senator says.

Len -- It was Knockabout's OUTRAGEOUS TALES FROM THE OLD TALES, the
story from the book of judges. If you find a copy of Oni's FREE
SPEECHES, you'll find a thing in there.

madman, I'd love to see a link to the pictures.

No-one ever -- ever -- comes to our house for hallowe'en. I think it
looks too scary. I took maddy - a princess, -- out trick or treating,
and made up Mike -- a vampire.

Amanda -- thanks so much for the links. I'll try them out and let you
know what happens.
  

    
There. Just ordered lots of interesting Indian stuff. Still want some
of the cool Indian Rama comics though -- I know there are LOTS of
them...
  

    
Neil--

Holy god... thank you for that marathon answering session.  Wow--
focus and stamina.

And now, if I may, one more question: Have you had halloween parties
in your house that are as cool as I would expect? (To clarify:  I
expect that they are enormously cool.)
  

    
Email from Shira:

Neil-

Are you going to do a reading/readings in the Twin Cities for various
things when they come out?  I am assuming so, but I guess probably isn't
the best idea to assume things.

I wish I could have gone to one of the GAT readings, but unfortunately I
am in the middle of 8th grade and have no means to travel wherever, much
less on a weekday. Sounds like they would have been fun to attend... do
you have any information about the video?

On another note...

All I really did tonight (tonight being Hallowe'en) was go to orchestra
practice, where we played, um, some spooky Shostakovich! I'm not really
into trick-or-treating these days, anyway. The idea of children going door
to door begging for candy is unsettling to me, somehow. Maybe I am just
being bitter and cynical... something like that, I'm sure. However, I
figure I should say that I would trick-or-treat at your house! Or rather,
I wouldn't. Nope. I'm not the stalker! <eyes Michelle>

Okay, done writing weird posts/e-mails for the night. (I seem to be
churning out some of the strangest correspondence this evening... maybe
it's something in the air...)

-shira
  

    
cranky- 'multipass' outfit... gawd, you would not believe how many
times people came up to me over the last two nights chanting "Leeloo
Dallas Multipass" in my face (some of them repeated the phrase ad
nauseum, as they were drunk and liked the sound of it). Next year I
think I'll be much more obscure (Lenore... not too many people chanting
anything... 'cept maybe the occasional 'kitty sleeping' bit, tho' I
prefer the 'got your nose' one). Leeloo photos will be up on my page in
another couple of days. Will post the link to afng when it happens.
And, um, prosthetics? Neat.

Aside from the repetition, Halloween was fun. Went to club, ran into
another Leeloo (thermal bandages outfit), and nearly had my eyebrows
singed off when one of the firedancers discovered that the wet rag was
coated in kero, not water. oops.

shira- I read 'for various thing*ie*s coming out' and thought maybe
some of us were headed to Mpls. Thingie on the brain? btw, Cassie's on
a plane for home and had a wonderful time 'stalking' Neil with the
ba-FOGs. Really wish you could have come out to play in LA, but I
figure we're even for CONvergence now.

Neil- Shira seems to be of the opinion that I'm stalking you these
days, so I guess the answer to the stalker/not-a-stalker question is
"stalker". (Now let's see if you remember that at the next signing.) :D

-michelle
who now has to figure out what to do with the Leeloo hair...
  

    
Email from Mary Roane:

Samhain greetings to all!
 
Neil--looking forward to Saturday.  Congratulations on being part of such
an interesting group.  Oh, and both of your events are sold out, by the
way.
 

Mary (who bought the last 5 tickets!)
 
  

    

Mike and I have been reading Stardust aloud, snuggled together on the
loveseat and looking at the pictures.  Currently we are quite furious with
the Lilim in the red kirtle about what she did to the unicorn.  We are
hoping that the oak tree grows blindingly fast.

And last night I read (thanks again to Jessie at the Alameda Free
Library!) "Death, The High Cost of Living."  Death is so cute!!

Fortunately, there is a list of Sandmans in the back, so I know what to
request next...
  

    
Len, no, no Hallowe'en parties. Every other year I have a Guy Fawkes
party around now though. 

Shira -- yes, I'll definitely do Minneapolis readings and things. 

No real information on the video -- keep half an eye on the CBLDF
website, but I'll probably mention stuff here as it comes in.

You know, I think you're almost the right age to be bitter and
cynical. I was at my bitter and cynicalest at about 15. It's been
downhill ever since.

I hate to say it, but Michelle is much too funny, helpful and friendly
to be a proper stalker.

Michelle -- er, right. Stalker. Okay. I'll remember it for next time.

Mary Roane -- I'll see you in Chicago then...

Linda -- I'm so pleased: Stardust is such fun to read out loud. 
  

    
Rereading the above, it struck me that the reply to Shira could read
as patronising, and it wasn't meant to be. I think that bitter, cynical
and disillusioned are very good things to be in your teens: I'd not
give up my teenpunkdom for the world.
  

    
Bitter, cynical and disillusioned became too exhusting for me.  I am
now I am working on a more Peter Pan approach. 
  

    
So far I think I have only managed to be annoying and chirpy :P
  

    
As an English teacher, I'm trying to encourage bitterness, cynicism
and punkness by teaching Threepenny Opera right now.  Some of my kids
like it, others find its cynicism to be kind of upsetting.  
  

    
Email from Mary Roane:

Len--what a fun thing to teach teenagers!  I just finished rereading
Neverwhere, and it seems like the perfect thing to teach after Threepenny.  
There's a paper in there somewhere about the relationship between Mack and
Croup & Vandemar.  (Goes off singing.."When the shark bites....)
 
                                                        Mary Roane
  

    
Len- 

Ooh!  You should have 'em listen to Nick Cave's version of Mack the
Knife on the cd 'September Songs'.  I don't think I've ever heard a
more bitter version of it.  At least, I know I would have liked it when
I was a spikey-haired, dollhead-decorating, angsty 15 year old
Grrrl...provided you didn't tell me it was musical theater.  :p  
  

    <scribbled>
  

    
Right, Sarah.  After all, every teenager knows musicals are uncool,
and are always full of sweetness and light, never angst.

Of course the indecent proposals were in New York.  After all,
if memory serves, you did tell the folks here at a Stardust book
signing that you would 'do them all'.  Apparently, some people took it
more seriously than others, and are still waiting :)

And if Michelle isn't a stalker, what does that make the rest of us? 
My god, we all might actually be normal.  There's a thought.

I would have figured people become more cynical the more the world
around you breaks your heart.  Unless it's just a matter of getting
used to it, or ignoring it.  Still, I'd put my grandparents up against
any teen punk in a bitterness competition, and lay odds that the punk
would drop out after the first round.

Two questions: where on the internet have you been misquoted, and more
importantly, what the heck is a reverse lemon scented bat gesture?

-randi

who went to her first Greenwich Village halloween parade this year. 
Very different than what I thought it would be.
  

    
Email from Ambar (Jean Marie Diaz):

The entire experience of Portland was a wild delight, even if I repeatedly
failed to come up with a snappy answer to the question 'Why /did/ you pay
over a thousand dollars to have dinner with Neil?'

If I had had my brain in gear, I would have observed that the jacket
auction got me reading the CBLDF page, and the CBLDF page caused me to
realize that *all* of my major hobbies now have, and need, legal defense
funds.  Sad but true.  And that's why, although I have never been a comics
fan per se, and I KNOW I am not Neil's biggest fan [true confession: I
haven't read Sandman], I enjoyed writing out that check, and will continue
to support the CBLDF.

I have, not a review of the readings, but some writing about my 36 hours
in Portland in progress.  At the rate I'm going, though (1800 words and I
am only four hours in!), Natasha may be in kindergarten before I get it
done, so it probably won't be very useful to Chris Oarr & co.  If it ever
gets done enough to be worth reading, I'll forward the URL along.  (You'd
think writing about the readings would be a big enough job, but no, I had
to go fall in love at the same time.  The Ladies of Never-You-Mind have a
sense of humor.)

Neil, thanks again.

Ambar
  

    
Email from Shira:

Neil-

It will be neat to see you do Minneapolis readings, then. That is a major
plus of living in the TC area. That, fabulous college radio (Radio K!!!),
a really good hip hop scene, some really cool punk bands, and nifty
weather.  Well, there's other stuff... but, y'know.

I've been bitter and cynical for quite awhile now, and I enjoy it. I've
been ... more cheerful lately, but that's all right. I would like to be a
teen punk, but I think I am a bit too privileged. Maybe, though! Hopefully
I'll be in a band someday. I'm working hard at making friends in the punk
scene.

Speaking of punks, I am sending you a copy of Cometbus #44. Aaron
[Cometbus] said it was fine to copy issues of Cometbus for friends, so I
am going ahead... if you're interested, that is.

You said yourself that Michelle was your favorite stalker, because she was
the cutest!

And I LOVE musical theatre! And OPERA!!! <sigh> I loooooove opera.

Okay, that's it.

Adios, 
Shira 
(listening to Cibo Matto-Birthday Cake)
  

    
Thought I would maybe announce that the lovely Ms. Sarah Rudek is
letting me use her account! So... lucky hosts will not have to post my
comments anymore.

In other news, my boyfriend just broke up with me.

-shira
  

    
I hope the two events are not related!
  

    
Don't think so. That would be crazy.

Anyway, this sucks.

-shira
  

    

Poor shira!!
  

    
<and shira has email>

Cinescape Insider posted a small bit from Variety Extra on "The
Confessions of William Henry Ireland" as it's front page today.
http://www.cinescape.com/insider/001102a.shtml

I know with Hollywood that's probably real premature for me to say,
but congratulations :)

Why this project?  And does the story really resemble "Ferris
Bueller's Day Off" for the 18th Century?

puzzled
-randi
  

    
Email from Mary Roane:

Shira--sucks out loud.  Most important thing to remember: it's *his* loss.  
Second most important thing to remember: even Gilbert & Sullivan knew
"There's lots of good fish in the sea".
 
Opera?  Good for you.  I've been playing classical for 25 years, even sang
in a few, & I never learned to *love* it.  Always wanted to, though.....
 

Mary
  

    
Shira--

Sorry to hear about your breakup... no matter how bitter and cynical
one makes ones self, it still sucks bigtime.