Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
So I was at the Book Eddy today...
I came out happy.
"The Faces of Fantasy", great condition.
"Lord of the Fantastic", including "Only the End of the World Again"
by himself.
Both for total of less than $13, so I splurged.
That book store rocks.
  

    
Um, why didn't anyone warn me that I'd be seeing a picture of Peter
David NAKED!!!
  

    
Martha: That's (439) how I already feel about reading some of Neil's
writing.

DanW: Thanks for the website link.  I love the photo of you.

Jouni:  Yay!  New artwork!  What a great story about your neighbor.

On love: just because I love it doesn't mean I don't think it's
really, really hard to pull off, most of the time.  

-P
who misses her yellow.  Miss, miss, miss, miss.
  

    
Happy Birthday, Neil.  I'm so glad you're here.

I hope it's lovely, even if it's not with your family.
  

    
ooh, it's Neil's birthday?  Happy Birthday Neil!
(there, an excuse to post from my shiny new pico account.)
  

    
Happy birthday from me, too!
  

    
There's gonna be a lot of these... but 
Happy Birthday Neil! 

May there be many more where this came from.
  

    

Weighing in amidst all the birthday wishes, a question for Neil (or
anyone else who can answer it)-

In Sandman, during the Kindly Ones, Cain tells the Corinthian that crows
crapped the dry land, such that it would be there for the doves to
find. Was Cain (and by extention, Neil) just making stuff up, or is there
some source, some tradition, that says this?

Oh, and a happy birthday unto you, sir.
  

    
I think his birthday is tomorrow.
  

    

Yes, that's what was said, but I will likely not be logging in tomorrow, so
what the heck!
  

    
re: Living With Ex's - Well, my 'evil ex-' and I broke up a couple of
times and still lived together. Not easy or fun by any stretch. In each
case, we ended up getting back together, in small part because it was
just too difficult to either move on or not fight. When it was finally
very obviously over, I moved out, *THEN* we broke up. Then again, if we
actually got along as friends, it might've been completely different. 

pamela - One of the things that makes love so great is that it's such
a difficult thing. So when it works, it's that much more fulfilling...
eh, it's a theory. :)

Ooh! I just realized something! T minus 6 days and counting before I'm
sittin' on a balcony in the French Quarter, gorging on crawfish pie
(and deciding what else to get pierced, if tradition continues).

squeaks, who is skipping the club in favour of dancing around in fuzzy
slippers in her living room tonight. 
  

    
Forgot to add a Happy B-Day to 'the Neil'.

And a quick PSA to add to the pot: When dealing with an angry jealous
rat, NEVER put your face within jumping distance of the creature, and
particularly be aware of where the beast's teeth are relative to facial
protrusions - like your nose.

squeaks, who learned this lesson the hard way last night, and who now
has interesting blood stains on the carpet to explain to visitors.
  

    
Happy Birthday Neil! Best wishes for another wonderful year.

Michelle/Tree - Your "Baby Cakes" got mailed out today.  Finally! ;)
  

    
Happy Birthday, Neil.
Have you opened your present, or did it get lost in the shuffle after
MadCon?
  

    
Hi!

Have been asked to say "Hello" by charming Englishman with Crazy Hair.
 He seems to be in better health than last week, and hopefully well on
the way to a full recovery, if we don't wear him out making him sign
books (signing line *very* long after tonight's reading).  Tomorrow he
interviews Will Eisner. Can't wait!

Must crash--3:00a.m. local---

Oh, one more thing--Mike --Tara just made me read "A Little Scene to
Monarchize" in "From the End of the Twentieth Century", and then of
course as forced (at gunpoint) to loan me the book.  The Lament of
Adelaide?  I thought I was going to have a coniption.  You, sir, are a
riot.

<Yawn> snooorrrrgrxt.  'K, bed now.

Mary (still reading bloody Bury on St. Pat.  Aaarrgh!)
  

    
<singing> "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to yooooooooou!"
ok, quite enough of that.  Just thought I'd add my "well" wishes to
everyone else's for a wonderful happy healthy productive year.
  

    
Neil- Oh.  Right.  Well, then, Happy birthday wishes on time to you. 
A friend of mine goes to Loyola Medical School, so I'd planned to go to
the Festival this weekend, but it all fell through, as plans usually
do.  Sorry you're not spending it with your family.

Michelle- Um.  OUCH.  Damn.  I hope you're okay.

Saw the *One Giant Leap* show again (from the beginning this time),
and just wanted to say that they cleared the point up better than I
ever could; Stories are wonderful and intricate and sometimes simple
and sometimes complicated things, but they're not heart surgery.  Life
does not hang in the balance of a successful story.  Well.  Not
literally, at least.

Re: living with exes- God bless you guys.  Don't think I could ever do
it.

JaNell- not sure what I'm thinking about the whole 'If the story's not
going somewhere, something's wrong with it'.  I was just
sort-of-blocked with the last one, but, then, I finished it and I
realized I hadn't been.  I just hadn't wanted to write it.  It had been
disturbing me.  It's really sick and twisted (in a good sort of way, I
hope) and I just hadn't known how to handle it (it's about rape, in
case you wondered, and effects of it, and a rather not-nice element [as
if rape wasn't not-nice enough]).  But it's done.  It's called
"Murmur", and it's effective.
I remember Neil writing that it had taken him a good long while to
write "Tastings."  Not because he was blocked, but because he'd get
embarrassed.
I think, basically, it comes down to the story.  And, really, it's
been said many times and will be repeated.  Some days it don't come
easy, and some days it don't come hard.  Some days it don't come at
all.  And when you're far enough removed from those days, you won't
remember which ones were which.  Meatloaf said it.  Stephen King said
it.  Neil said it.  *I'm* not going to argue with 'em.
  

    

I suppose to chime in on the living with exes stories- for a while, I was
living with my gf back in late college. We and two other friends lived
together for a year. Then, my gf got her own place, because that seemed
better, and I moved in with two other friends.
She then dumped me for one of the people I was now living with.

I found someone to sublet my part of the lease to and moved out.
  

    
*yawn* Tori show last night. It was an interesting experiance. First,
I suppose, the concert report - we were in row T, isle seats, dead
center (well, I was dead center, Mars was over one) - great seats, but
I'm still slightly miffed that a server reboot cost me seats in row H.

In the spiked heels versus chunky huge platforms debate, last night
she had seriously scary spiked heels, with long platforms extending out
past the toes. I'm not sure how she walked in them! (They had very
sparkly black straps around the ankle, which had to be the only thing
holding them in place,...) She was wearing a pantsuit with the legs
slit high up to the thigh on the outside, and I swear to $deityofchoice
that it was coral coloured. Oh, and the skirt seemed to be made of
something shiny, like silk, and the top of something firmer, like
cotton. The top also had a very strict 80s business suit look to it,
with a little black bra peeking out.

Er, is that good enough a fashion report?  :-)

Music wise, I was pleased. She played a lot of things I've not heard
before, which is a treat after my fourth concert. :-)  I was especially
pleased to hear Upside Down and a thousand oceans. Mars was pleased to
hear Happy Phantom, as he's learning it on piano, and had timing
questions. Her encore cover was Daniel, which I'd never heard before
and was cool - tho not as cool as Purple Rain (I don't think anything
will ever beat that).

We didn't stict around after to see if there would be a meet and
greet, largely because I had A Revelation during the concert. See, the
concert was your typical 80% women, 20% men mix, which means the
shreikage factor was high - lots of piercing wails and "I love you"
flying thru the air,... and I realised that tho I am a fan, I am not a
Fan. In fact, I don't think I'm a Fan of anything/one.

You see, I love Tori's music. I love a lot of artists music, words,
works. I can have a deep emotional attachment to a lot of artists
output,... but that emotional attachment doesn't extend to the artist.
I don't love Tori, Neil or Mike (so sorry, I know you'll both be
crushed) or anyone else, save perhaps a friend or two and my husband.

It was a definite feeling of alienation to be surrounded by what felt
like near rabid people screaming their love at the tops of their
voices,... I just wanted to hear good live music, and maybe a little
chatter about songs, or really anything else.

So no, we didn't hang around after the show. She seemed tired - as
much as I hate to suggest it, it seemed like she was forgetting song
lines here and there (and rearranging on the spot), the piano was
slipping notes - once badly (and she was embarassed and started
over),... and she just looked tired. I know she's been on tour a while,
and I imagine part of it is just that. (Mind you, any slip and such in
concert is more than fine by me - in fact, I somewhat like it because
it underscores how the show is really real,...) But, had we stayed
around and tried to get her autograph, it would have felt like hounding
a tired person and   stepping on their generosity/obligation for being
A Name - and ultimately, a signature just isn't worth that to me.

So, er, yes, my long discourse is now over as I scurry off for
brekkie,
-Kelly
  

    
Will~ I just wrote an essay obliquely on that subject on my blogger
called "Writing, The Kudzu of Art", although it's more on why I'll
never be a "serious" writer...

Kelly~ I'm not a "Fan" of anyone that way either. If I pay attention
to you, famous or not, it's because I like you, or even love you, in
the truest sense. Being famous just doesn't make a person interesting
enough to bother with if that's all there is to them...
  

    
There we go.
My pseud & and my subconcious seem to be having a tiff lately...
  

    
>> You, sir, are a riot.

    Not a floating crap game?
    Well, riot is okay.  Thank you.
  

    
Oh, a general mention:
While watching *One Giant Leap* again, I caught a performance of David
Bowie performing "Man Who Sold the World" at the European Music
Awards.  He came out in a trench coat, and the stage was all smoky.
Ladies and gentleman, I give you our John Constantine.
And he wasn't even *trying*.
  

    
Mike~ a floating crap game does have a bit more panache.
  

    
Kelly - I think you did good. As much as I'd like to meet Tori, I
doubt I'll search around for the meet and greet, especially if she
seems at all exhausted. I seem to recall Neil talking here once about
how Tori's hard core fans relate to her, how her music and story and
personality have acted as an anchor in their personal storms. 
So, for me to take up space in that que would seem... well... kind of
wrong. 
Besides, what would I say? How meaningful is "I really love your work"
when thousands of people are clambering over themselves to tell her
the same thing?

That being said... I'm all bouncy about going tomorrow night. I still
can't believe my friend scored me a ticket.