Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Brief but heartfelt New Year's Greetings to all! Happy New Year!
  

    
Happy New Years to all.  Don't think I'll actually stay up to watch
the year turn unless I get bored enough to email friends in california
from across the millenium in a desperate attempt to be funny.  I have
been home from college for the last week which has resulted in me
gaining ten pounds.  Am extremely happy about this; have never weighed
130 before and I really should.  Methinks I should read this Keeler
fellow.  And Joyce.  I at least have some Joyce, bought a collection a
couple years ago when a philosophy professor compared me to him... have
never figured out if he meant this as a good thing.  Don't really know
why I'm posting except that no friends are online to blather at.  Just
went to OhioLink library system to request some Keeler.  Most are
residing in that damned special collection at Ohio State.  Cannot be
checked out.  This collection has foiled me time and again.  And it has
it's oddities:  It's dedicated to collecting American authors, and yet
they let me check out The Big U by Neal Stephenson and won't let me
get near anything by Neil Gaiman.  ::grumble grumble::  Anyway... happy
new year, I hope it's a good one for everyone.  :-)

Jen.
  

    
Happy New Year and Millennium!
 
May your parties be silly, your hangovers mild, and the photos only
incriminating if you want them to be. Best to all for the new century.

-squeaks, stickler for accuracy.
  

    
Excessively -- which two Keelers were they? I just finished The Skull
of the Waltzing Clown and got to the last two paragraphs and went "you
can't DO that...." and reread huge swatches of book, very fast, and
went "my god you can".

As Poundstone points out, in Keeler, all characters are McGuffins.  As
for the narrative traditions being broken... and your Joyce
comparisons, I can kind of see it, but I figure that  you just use
different engines to read it with -- just as you use different engines
to read modern poetry, comics, and Herodotus.

...

My own New Year's Eve was spent with a cocktail of a cold and a
reaction to the flu shot. Which meant that I hugged everyone at 12:00
and was snoring by 12:02....

I've answered the phone a few times today and scared people. I sound a
bit like Eeyore and a bit like something that's been dead for a long
time. No, really...

.....

And thank you Jenny, and thank you Michelle.
  

    
Feel better.

squeaks, off to beddy-bye to stave off the nasty icks going around.
  

    
Translation of the translator's afterword from the Japanese Dream
Hunters coming up...

-- Mimi ^_-
  

    <hidden>
  

    
Back at work today. Am now on Chapter 15....

And here, from chapter 13, is an exchange that sort of encapsulates an
awful lot of the novel for me. Which I stick in as I figure you may
get a kick out of...

....

“Okay. So if I tell you what I’ve learned you won’t think that I’m a
nut.”
“Maybe,” she said. “Try me.”
“Would you believe that all the gods that people have ever imagined
are still with us today?”
“... maybe.”
“And that there are new gods out there, gods of computers and
telephones and whatever, and that they think there isn’t room for them
both in the world. And that some kind of war is kind of likely.”
“And these gods killed those two men?”
“No, my wife killed those two men.”
“I thought you said your wife was dead.”
“She is.”
“She killed them before she died, then?”
“After. Don’t ask.”

....

Mimi -- you rock. Thanks....  (For anyone wondering, the translation
editor originally translated my text for Amano to read when he was
doing the paintings -- that was where they caught my use of the word
shrine instead of temple, and so on. And that translation would have
been given to Baku to do his translation from -- much as I was given
the subtitles to Mononoke to base a script on.)
  

    
Neil -- What a charming exchange. It sounds like the kind of
conversation I've had with my friends. I can't wait until the book is
finished and in my greedy little hands.

Speaking of hands...or Mr. Hand anyway...did you all hear that he
died? Yep, actor Ray Walston (who portrayed Mr. Hand in the film, Fast
Times at Ridgemont High) died yesterday of natural causes. Strangely,
with his death, I feel like a part of my childhood is gone. This to me
is the only downside to immortality -- the continuous loss of
everything and everyone over time. I wonder how "gods" deal with it?
  

    
Neil-- thanks for the excerpt...everything I read/hear from this book
makes me more crazy to read it!
  

    
...and the wind whistled through the abandoned topic...
  

                         whooooooooooo...................
  

    
'ey, some of us have more important things to tend to in life. And I'm
sorry but as much as I love Neil (um, I think you know what I mean),
my $800 mouse is simply more important to me just now.

-squeaks, who must now medicate said critter.
  

    

$800 mouse??  
  

    
$800 mouse???
  

    

e-mail from Mary Roane:

Happy New Year to all!  It must have been good, we're all so quiet!  :-)
 
Len--thanks for the latke recipe!  I'm not much of a cook, but I'll try
this one some day soon.....
 
Squeaks--congrats on the car!  And I know exactly what you mean about the
$800 mouse.  I have 2 goldfish ( I *bought* them!) who I swear are worth
$125 apiece when all is said and done.  And they've only had one little
fungus.  Sorry Fate is sick.  Hope she's (?) better soon.
 
Mimi--thanks for the translations.  
 
Jen--good to hear from you!
 
Neil--love the excerpt.  *Cannot* wait for this book.  My Christmas was
more ....interesting.....because it's not out, yet, that's for sure.  You
see, for the last 3 years I have given my friend Les the new Neil book
for Christmas.  Les is *very* hard to buy for.  (He also used to be
Stephen Sondheim's assistant years ago.  Next time you're in Chicago,
I'll introduce you.)  The best thing about Les is that for the last 3
years, he's gotten me *the same thing*.  It's to the point that when I
start to open a present that seems to be a book, I just point to the
package he needs to open at the same time.  So this year, there was no
new Neil book.  He got me tickets to "The Producers" with Matthew
Broderick & Nathan Lane (opening night, dress circle, on the aisle--he
rocks!)  I was stumped.  And then, I was in Barnes & Noble shopping for
someone else, and found 999.  Now I admit, I just wanted to read your
story--I'm not much of a horror fan, and I try not to buy stuff for me
when I'm Christmas shopping.  So I sat down in the cafe and read your
story.  (Loved it!)   And I thought, what a great prezzie for Les......so
that was his big present--the new Neil story.  Again.  He got a good
laugh out of it.   And there's so much good stuff in there.  I may have
to borrow it.....
 
                                                     Mary ( who just
read  Pratchett's"The Truth"& loved it!) 
  

    
Hey Neil- 

I was just bored and looking around amazon.co.uk.. I noticed they have
a cover for American Gods up. Is this the correct cover? (
http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/0747274231.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg ) If
so, it looks really cool!

-shira
  

    
Well, actually, she's a little over that just now. She's been attacked
by every non-lethal thing under the sun that I can't treat myself. I
mean really, if it's a case of a painful ear infection that isn't
deadly, am I just supposed to let her suffer? Or put her to sleep if a
few medicine drops will fix it? This last one was an abcess because one
of her ear problems healed oddly. 

My page is outdated (unless I fix it before you get to it), but
there's a picture of her on it.

http://www.snafu.org/michelle/

-squeaks - can you imagine if I ever have kids?
  

    

Great pix squeaks!  You are quite photogenic!
  

    
Len, it wasn't that abandoned -- I had to come out to NY to record...
well, I spent the day with Brian Smith from the sci-fi channel, and a
number of wonderful actors, recording the scifi.com Seeing Ear Theatre
adaptation of SNOW GLASS APPLES. I wrote the script, and had the
immense pleasure of hearing Bebe Neuwirth play the Queen... and getting
goosepimpled and magnificently creeped out by her performance. She
gave 150% percent, and was smart, funny and an amazing actress.

I think this will be even better than Murder Mysteries.

It seemed so strange that this came from stuff I’d written on a plane
and in a hotel anteroom one inspired day in Galveston in 1994. 

It was hard work for me – harder still for the actors, and Bebe must
have been beyond pooped.
...

Michelle -- I'm thrilled for you. An $800 mouse sounds very wonderful.
I hope one day you'll turn up at a signing or something with a mouse
or two in tow.

Mary -- how cool.... I wonder if your friend knows my friend Anne
Bobby, the actress, who's a friend of Sondheim's (I once gave her a
copy of Mr Punch to give Sondheim from me).


Shira -- that is indeed the UK cover. And wait until you see the
American Cover, which is even more amazing.
  

    <scribbled>
  

    
Bebe Neuwirth?  Jeepers.
  

    
Linda - Thank you. Need to update my portfolio. Meanwhile, I sent
Daddio an updated photo of the squeaker so it should be up tomorrow.
It's a much closer look at her lack of ears, but she's munching on her
treat, so she's happier (as opposed to just soggy, which is how she
looked in the other photo, taken right after a bath). 

Wow! Snow Glass Apples is among my favourite stories. And I think
Neuwirth will send many chills and shivers up and down my spine. As for
taking a mouse to a signing, if I can get her thru the front door,
she's there... but you're not to sign her. ;P

-squeaks, who would entertain you signing my leg before putting a pen
to my pet.
  

    
Mary - Hello.  :-)  I just very quickle wrote three book
recommendations for a site my friend Luna is doing and The Truth was
one of them.  Read it a couple of weeks ago in one sitting which I
never have time to do anymore with books and absolutely loved it.  

One of the other three recommendations was for a Keeler book.  I
happily got my paws on one the other day.  My.  Gosh.  The thing that
sticks out in my head is that I have never seen so many chapter titles
ending with exclamation points in my entire life.  I am only a third of
the way through one book but see myself becoming at least a 
semi-rabid fan.

I was just talking to someone about Snow Glass Apples in an english
class today.  The conversation started with I don't know what, jumped
to the X-Men movie (which I enjoyed), which got around to the "Oh
please god, no Sandman movie", which resulted in me making a new friend
and the conversation eventually ended with us agreeing wholeheartedly
that we could never look at Snow White the same way again.  

Michelle - I have pretty much given up on pets.  I'm the kind of
person who would be quite willing to spend large amounts of money to
keep them healthy but who ends up not having the money.  Went home a
year ago for my grandfathers funeral.  While home my best friend and I
found one of my families cats injured and when we took it to the vet...
I didn't have a thousand dollars.  That was quite the sucky week.  

American Gods - cool cover, although I think if my name was ever
written that large on anything it would make me very nervous.  Not
quite sure why, but it would.

Jen, who feels like it's 3 am rather than 1
  

    
Neil and Mary - You're welcome! ^_- And as for American Gods... Thanks
for sharing the excerpt. *anticipate* *anticipate* *anticipate*
*implode* When is it coming out again?? X_X Nice book cover too. Would
love to see the American one too. Speaking of book covers: has anyone
seen the British cover for Stardust (novel)? I thought it looked rather
elegant when I encountered it in one of the bookstores here... lets
see if I can find it anywhere... Here:
http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/0747263698.02.LZZZZZZZ.gif 

Michelle - Hope the mouse is feeling better... and she does look
really cute! (Btw, long time back... did vote for ya on that girls with
glasses site... that's a seriously kick ass pic of you!!! Love the
blue hair.)

-- Mimi
  

    
Mimi - It was one of the band photos; never thought it would be put up
on that site. Not the best photo of that lot either. The best one was
the silly photo with my bandmate (Ed) and I looking all "Matrix", doing
mock-kung fu.

Jen B - Yeah, I had a hard time deciding what was overboard with the
squeaker, but in the end, well, that's why I have mice and not
elephants. Mice are cheaper to fix up and easier to keep in the
apartment. ;-P

-squeaks, who is now sporting much shorter blonde hair, which will
probably be blue again next week.