Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
And I don't think it's odd at all, the kids not sharing my taste in
books. I'm always happy and pleasantly surprised when our tastes
coincide: they are their own people, not smaller versions of me, and
that is why I love them and take pride in them and delight in them.
  

    
Rocky - no worries. I type too fast to pay attention to half my typos.
As for the math... that's what calculators are for. :)

madman - Um... earlier ones... in the teens. Honestly don't remember
much of it. Was never the biggest Silver Surfer fan, and it was 1992
when we studied it. I just thought it was great that such a cute, um,
'cool' teacher would cover everything from the bible to Marvel. :)

Jen - thank you. 

Neil - I know what you mean. I've been taking a bunch of NOLA cemetary
pictures for a collage I've been wanting to do. Spent two hours in the
rain wandering around Metarie crypts and getting sick again (just
after I fought off the last round of coughing and sniffling). Doubt
I'll use any of the photos. 

okay, back to reality - goin' clubbin' and still need a nap first!

-squeaks
  

    
Neil-  If it's not to late for some absentee ballots, I would like to
nominate Shoggoth's Old Peculiar for a CD reading.  I have heard you
read it twice, and loved it both times.  The voices are great!  I would
also like to second the motion for The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two
Goldfish, though I suppose I could wait for it to come out with Wolves
in the Walls.  It would be a great set for the Scholastic Book Club to
offer.

As for the Iceland passage, I would love to get a copy.  I will gladly
remind you, but I hope it makes the cut, and I won't have to.

Thank you for the birthday wish.  I took myself and the kids out to
dinner.  I am glad you had an enjoyable one as well, and I hope your
health is back to 100%.

Margret
  

    

1227- yeah, definately cool. Wish I'd ever had a teacher who had us read
comic books- best I had was one who had watched Dead Poet's Society _way_
too many times.
(Took us to the roof of the English building. At 8am. In late fall. In New
England. And read Thoreau at us. Now, I dig Thoreau, but this was a bit
zany. Turning pages with gloves on is tough.)
  

    
I agree with your comments about parents and children having different
tastes Neil. Turning my father into a Billy Bragg fan would have been
a lot less satisfying if his taste in music had not been more of the
Nat King Cole/Josef Locke persuasion and his politics so very
conservative.

When, gods willing, I propagate my line, I will be very disappointed
if my theoretical children agree with all my tastes and do not
challenge me to examine new genres, styles and ideas.

On the requests question, I would love to hear your reading of
"Harlequin Valentine" again and, since Shira reminded me of it, your
piece from "Breakthroughs."

As to Mr Moore's birthday greetings, it seems his reaction to his
birthday was a little more violent than yours.

And Randi, I wonder what my being born on Valentine's day says about
my parents then?

Reg (proudly Aquarian, even if it means he has a short attention 
  

    
Again, all requests noted. 

I really have to put some attention on the whole audio thing -- figure
out what and how we'll do it. My guess is we'll bring out CD #1 of 
WARNING: CONTAINS LANGUAGE's Chivalry and Troll Bridge as is; CD #2
will be the WARNING  short cuts one, but I'll add at least 13 minutes
of stuff to it. And then CDs  #3 on will all be new....

Although I might start with a new CD and move the other two a bit
further back. I can see advantages & disadvantages to both ways of
doing it: either way people who have WARNING :CONTAINS LANGUAGE will
grumble, and there's not a lot one can do about that except apologise
nicely.
  

    
Michelle -- get well.
  

    
Neil - thank you. Stayed in last night (missing 'glam night' in the
Quarter... <sarcasm>oh darn</sarcasm>) and got tons of sleep. *AND* it
stopped raining (for now), so I'm going back out to play today.
mmmmmm... begniets (however they're spelled).

As for the W:CL cds, I'd suggest starting with new material, thus
appeasing those of us who already own the original release, before
going and re-releasing the new and improved old version, which us silly
completists will buy any way. :) But that's just my $0.02.

-squeaks, who is about to drop way more money than she should on a
feathery hat.
  

    
A smoke machine?  Ewwww.  They are not great for your health even when
you are 100%  Dried ice is not much better but at least your throat
doesn't feel like it has been vacationing in the desert.  Hope you feel
better soon.

Ancient-booer
- Who would like to announce the addition of 'Patches - the amazing
curtain climber' to our kitty household :P
  

    
Hello from Brooklyn.  I am tired but here is a computer connection.
  

    
Martha? What are you doing in Brooklyn?

Amanda, I couldn't agree with you more.

Michelle -- hmm. So you'd say release an all-new CD or two first?
Okay, I'll take that on board.I'll add stuff to the shorts CD just
because I know that there is 13 minutes or so on that CD with nothing
on it....

...

I am home, one long flight and one scary drive through the snow later.
  

    
Neil, I am doing my combine-going-to-the-SFWA-author-editors-thing-and-see-
east-coast-friends-with-the-thanksgiving-trip-to-chicago thing.

I think once when I did this, years ago, you were in NYC doing a reading.
  

    
Hey Martha, welcome, I'm in Brooklyn too! Which part of my lovely
borough are you visiting? If you need good restaurant suggestions I've
got excellent food karma, but sadly not a great internet connection. 

Neil - I'd like to second Ms. Mousey's suggestion that an all-new CD
be put out first and then a re-release of W:CL. Jeeze..didn't that come
out around Xmas 1995? It's a good thing cds are nearly indestructible
or my copy would have quite a few holes in it.

Michelle - Did you yield to temptation and buy the hat?  
  

    
Hello all!

I have finally reached the end of re-reading my old books and have to
order some new ones.  One of the only unfortunate things about living
in a non-English speaking country is the fact that you can't just go to
a book store.  Any recommendations?  Someone mentioned A.S. Byatt to
me and I thought you all would know if she's good... plus anything else
people have been reading recently that's good and intricate and spooky
and funny and worthwhile.  Gotta make my shipping dollars count.

Also, any word on when Warning: Contains Language will be available
for sale from somewhere that ships overseas?  I would love to have Neil
talking to me from my computer as soon as possible....

Mmmm... feathery hat.  Sounds like you ought to get it, Michelle, as
there is always the option of ramen.  At 12 cents a meal you can afford
anything.  :)
  

    
Hello all--

I'm back from winter camping.  It was very, very, very cold.  It was
on the side of a mountain.  It snowed. Twice. We had to walk a mile to
and from the campsite to get fresh water.  In the snow.  My thanks to
those who offered best wishes.  They probably got me through.

I have never loved my apartment more.

Martha, welcome to the OUTER BOROUGHS!  I offer you a free tour of
Astoria in Queens of you're interested-- best Greek food outside
Greece.

Neil-- can I offer a very late bid for _The Goldfish Pool and Other
Stories_ to be somehow included in the cds?  Of all the stories in
Smoke and Mirrors, that's the one that haunts me the most.

Emily-- A.S. Byatt's Possession is beyond cool.
  

    
Hi all.  I already have more people trying to feed me than I have stomachs--
This NY trip is suddenly seeming very short.
  

    
Email from Daniel Loft:

Emily -- Bears Discover Fire by Terry Bisson is a great collection of
short stories.  And Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy (of which
I have only read the first two as the third has just come out but I am
sure is as good as the rest) is a good choice too.

Daniel
  

    
<trying to pull from memory the post I was in process of putting up
Saturday before the phone line got farkatke>

My parents are not readers, but they did drive me to the library and
never questioned what I took out, for which I am thankful.  I don't
remember a lot of what I read as a child, beyond the Boxcar Children,
Narnia, Judy Blume stuff, the Pern books, a lot of Andrew Laing fairy
tale collections, and for a while <short shameful confession> anything
that had unicorns in it </short shameful confession>.    

Michelle - Charles Fort obsession?  Oh, come on, don't leave us
hanging with a line like that - you have to tell us the whole story! :)
Whenever you feel better.

Rocky, I agree with you about V-day. But then, Valentine's Day is,
like trying to run in stilleto heels or live off Slimfast Instant
Breakfast, a *really* bad idea.  Oh, let's make a holiday where
everyone is focused on an idealized, non-attainable version of love and
are made to feel silly if it isn't sitting on your doorstep, roses and
chocolates in hand.

Phooey.  

Not that I can come up with better idea for a holiday. Anything I come
up with can be easily warped into a Sales Opportunity, or worse yet, a
Family Tradition!

<involuntary shiver>

Any suggestions for holidays out there?  

As for your birthday, Reg, I don't know what it says about your
parents, but it just proves that there are better things to celebrate
on 2/14 than Valentines. :)

Watched Madeleine L'Engle on PBS this weekend talking about amongst
other things, God, science, and loss. Thought this quote might be apt
here - it's her on the banning of her books.

"We have always liked banning. Hitler and his cohorts started banning
books, and then to killing people. You have got to be very careful of
banning. What you ban is not going to hurt anybody, usually. But the
act of banning is."

About half the interview is up at
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week412/profile.html

I would love to sit down with her (or for that matter, with Kevin
Smith) and ask how with the world being the way it is, they can believe
anything consistent and coherent, but I am sure it's one of those
things that can be explained.  

Neil - Maybe I missing something, but why can't the CDs be released
separately, like serials, rather than together as a three CD set?  That
way those who already have Warning: Contains Language don't grumble
about having to purchase it again, those who don't have it can pick it
up without scouting around eBay, and everyone can pick up the new
material? 

Martha - I'd show you Long Island, but why would you want to torture
yourself by going there?  Rocky isn't kidding.  She possesses amongst
her powers the Goddesslike ability the ability to finding good
restaurants in the city.  She's great company, too. 

(Testimonials available on request)

-randi
  

    
Randi -- that's exactly the idea: we'll release, and re-release, them
as single CDs, so you can pick up as few or as many as you want. 

I'm concerned about -- and soliciting opinions from -- the people who
already have Warning only because

a) if I release Warning as the first two CDs then the people who
already have Warning have longer to wait until there's something new

and

b) I'll probably add stuff to the short cuts CD, because it wound up
with 13 minutes of empty space, and I'll unhide the hidden track. Which
will make people who bought Warning grumble that they now have to go
and buy a whole new CD for 13 minutes.

Which is another reason for putting out another CD first, and then
doing Waring as CDs 2 and 3. 

The downside is that people who want WARNING and are paying silly
money for it on Ebay will have longer to wait, and the whole project
could probbaly start 6 months earlier if we began by reissuing the
stuff that already exists while we're recording and mixing the new
stuff (in my copious free time, he said a little wistfully).

But I figure it'll be a planned sequence of 6 or 7 single CDs -- and
possibly also STARDUST as a whole unabridged CD audiobook. (I do not
like abridged things.) (Shudders at the memory of the Neverwhere
abridgement.)

Emily -- they have CHIVALRY from WARNING: CONTAINS LANGUAGE up at the
scifi.com website. GO to:

http://www.scifi.com/set/readings/gaiman/

to listen
  

    
Incidentally, this:

http://www.herald.com/content/today/opinion/columnists/hiassen/digdocs/012831.
htm

is rather wonderful. I've lost a little enthusiasm for Hiassen as a
novelist, but I enjoy his journalism no end.

...

If you are one of the thousand or so people who sent me an e-mail I
haven't yet replied to about 13 days ago, be patient...
  

    
Neil - re: W:CL, As long as people have had to wait for it so far, I
think as long as people know it's coming, they'll be a little tolerant
of waiting a little longer. (Take my patience on the Vertigo Tarot
re-release as example.) And I'm all for un-hiding the hidden track.
It's a pain to get to on some cd players when you're an impatient twit
like me. :) Personally, I think all drives thru the snow are scary.
Glad you're back home and in one safe piece. Funny Hiassen link

Rocky - Dunno if the hat is such a good idea any more, as I'm putting
down a deposit on a very beautiful custom blade today. All the design
is ancient Egyptian in influence. The guy's even carving scarab beetles
into the carnelian stones in the handle. And between the materials,
craftsmanship, and magick, it should be able to cut chunks off an
anvil. Gotta check on funds, then see about the hat. But weaponry
always comes first. 

Emily - If I got the hat in addition to the blade, I might be needing
to go on the ramen-every-other-day diet... or postpone the Australian
Bat Excursion I wanted to take next year.

Martha - I've been in NOLA two weeks, done all the stuff I intended to
do while here, and then some, and I'm still wishing I could stay
another month. Trips and vacations are rarely ever long enough. Don't
get over-stuffed while you're there. 

Randi - More like obsessed with knowing more about him. Was introduced
to his existence by picking up a copy of Fortean Times and have since
been just plain intrigued. The visits to the Museum of Jurassic
Technology (LA) didn't help. And there's a reason I now call it 'flying
baby with arsenal day' (thanks to Luna).

-squeaks, who is watching A BUG'S LIFE again. "Look, the last leaf has
fallen", "Slapstick, get it?" heheh
  

    
Neil - Cool. 

I can't see people (well, me at any rate) being too upset at
purchasing a single CD twice.  Well, unless you felt like putting out
the extra tracks on their own disk without the trimmings instead, like
an audio equivalent of a computer patch.

Why did it have that much blank space in the first place, anyway?

But I disagree with Michelle.  If the rereleasing of the old material
is going to start the ball rolling that much earlier, and not push the
release of the new stuff back too far, then starting with the rerelease
makes sense.  

But that's probably the minority opinion.

wrt the Hiaasen. tee hee hee.

Been reading Mayhem 2000 at the Onion.  They're usually not so
topical, but the election has apparently inspired them to new heights
(depths?) of weirdness. 

Michelle - My friend Steve, who tends to know way too much about
anything esoteric or archaic, can't think of any sources for Fort
biographical info off the top of his head, but he's checking.  With his
library of odd resources, this might take a while.  Remind me.

-randi 
  

    
There's a lovely essay on Fort in the beginning of the Dover complete
Charles Fort. 

Randi -- well, we recorded over 2 hours worth of material.  There's 74
minutes (out of a possible 76ish) on the Chivalry/Troll Bridge CD, but
only about 60 minutes on the short cuts CD, which gave Adam Stemple 13
minutes to hide his hidden track. (I was naive enough in 1994 that
when I said "Let's have a hidden track" I thought it meant, don't print
it on the track listings.)

I'm starting to talk to people, record companies etc. We'll see what
they say.

......


So, the reason I'm here is to announce that Mike Ford has a new
kidney, and to gloat and exult. tra-la-la. Hear me gloat. Now keep our
fingers crossed that it isn't rejected.
  

    
okay, just a quick post in the middle of packing up to let everyone
know that I'm offline until the weekend.

Neil (and Randi) - Thanks for the Charles Fort info. Will look into it
when I'm home again.

Keep your fingers crossed for me and Fate on the ride home.

-squeaks
  

    
Michelle -- there's also a wonderful early rationalist antifort essay
by Willy Ley or someone called LO! THE BOLD FORTEANS in an old Galaxy
or similar magazine. If ever I get around to sorting and stacking the
boxes of pulps I'll see if I can find it for you.