Journal

Friday, October 27, 2006

old ghosts

I finished the New York Times piece I've been writing for their Hallowe'en edition.

It was due on Monday morning but wasn't ready, all I had were some false starts, and on Wednesday I sent them what I had so far, all 300 words of it, so they could get an illustration done. And then somewhere on Thursday the thing in my head started to pull together and finally it was starting to work, but I knew it would only make it if the last paragraph did what it was meant to and pulled all the themes together, and it did in my head but I wasn't there yet. And then, rather to my surprise, it was done, 1200 words long, just like they'd asked, and this afternoon the New York Times seem extremely happy with it (happy enough that the editor said if there was anything else I'd like to write about for them they'd like to print it, although that may just have been the adrenaline rush of actually getting the article talking).

...

I spent today at Mike Ford's memorial and the wake that followed. I gave the last of the eulogies, and it's done, and it's good, and he is still missed.

(Not unexpectedly, there were rather more people in Minneapolis, than at the UK John M. Ford memorial, which was described movingly here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/wormseyeview)

...

Over the last five years I've suggested to the webpeople behind www.Neilgaiman.com that I'd love it if clicking on a link in the blog opened a new window rather than taking you away from the blog, and each time I ask they've sent back emails explaining why this was impossible, in ways that sounded convincing.

I mentioned this, slightly wistfully, to the web-elf, who went off and did something technical and then, a minute later, let me know I should try clicking on a link in the journal. I tried. It opened a new window.

It is a fine thing for a website to have a web-elf. Expect a plethora of interesting improvements to the site in the weeks and months ahead.