Right. It's time to close lots of tabs, so without ado...
I've known John Coulthart for about 20 years, and loved his work, but this amazed me with its elegance. The ultimate Tarot -- http://www.johncoulthart.com/pantechnicon/tarot.html
In contrast, I've only known Stephen Merritt for about eight years and Lemony Snicket (who is a mensch) for about five. I have been a fan of the Gothic Archies since the HELLO CD OF THE MONTH Gothic Archies CD came through my door, back in around '96. I was fan enough that when the HELLO CD OF THE MONTH people called to let me know that they'd stopped doing CDs and they still had money of mine and what would I like to do with it, I had them send me the balance in Gothic Archies CDs, which I gave to friends.
More recently, The Gothic Archies has become the entity through which Stephin Merritt does Lemony Snicket songs (and also did the songs on the CORALINE spoken word CD I did a few years ago) and the Guardian has a delightful interview -- Mr Snicket and Mr Merritt in conversation. http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/childrenandteens/story/0,,1872355,00.html
(And there are two songs at the bottom of the article.)
A few people have asked if I knew that Beowulf proved the existence of dinosaurs, and that Grendel really was a T-Rex, as some Fundamentalist Christians maintain. I think I actually linked to the Grendel Was a T-Rex page a few years ago, but here's a page on Beowulf Fact or Fiction for home schooled children -- http://www.crosswalk.com/family/home_school/1261413.html
I answered ten questions for Politics and Prose in Washington DC... (Reading and signing there Friday, September 29th at 7 p.m.) http://www.politics-prose.com/gaiman.htm
(Incidentally, when I said "I love collaborating. And I love being in control too. As long as I get both I'm fine." I meant that I like the mixture, going back and forth from collaborating to doing things that were mine, and I did not mean that I only like collaborating if I'm in charge, which is how it reads.)
I don't get much reading time these days, and it takes a lot to impress me, but Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill was quite amazing, and I just gave it a blurb. Images of the UK cover are up at http://www.joehillfiction.com/
Did I already post this essay and video by Hungry Lucy for their song "We Won't Go" from Where's Wossname When You Need Him? Apologies if I did, but I think I forgot to... http://www.hungrylucy.com/WeWontGo/index.html
If you are the kind of person who stays awake at night wondering about the nature of Peter Straub's tattoos, finally relief is at hand. Read this and learn, and wonder. http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/node/2213
Someone, reminded of Sandman 1, kindly sent me a link to this Guardian article on bringing people back from vegetative states, using a sleeping pill -- http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,,1870279,00.html
And this article is posted without comment because there is nothing I can add to it... http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,1869992,00.html
A long interview with Yoshitaka Amano -- http://www.magnetic-rose.net/74x/?p=51
And 200 New York public school children singing Tori Amos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2otI1e3JLN0.
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Neil,
Not a question, but a comment: I lived in Bend up until a few months ago and I think it's awesome that you linked to the Bend Shire development.
I wish more developers and builders would take as much time planning their subdivisions as the folks behind the Shire obviously have.
They seem to have had a lot of delays in getting the project out of the ground. I'm not sure why that is, but it's not in the most desirable part of Bend and the homes are definitely more expensive than most people can afford--not that price seems to matter much in Bend.
The whole thing might be a little campy with Bilbo's house and the community auditorium, but the materials and design elements that the builders are using are quite forward thinking.
Perhaps you should follow their lead and participate in the design of a planned urban development based on the fantasy world of some of your novels...I would want to live there. :-)
I think a planned urban development based on Neverwhere would be the most fun for the planners. They'd have to figure out how people could live in sewers and on rooftops without violating Planning Codes and while still having two car garages.
Then again, the housing development based on the Dreaming might be quite unusual. The houses would have to be designed in such a way that the door to each room is never where you left it....
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And lastly, over at the Green Man Press Blog, Charles Vess unveils the new cover painting for the upcoming oversized DC Comics hardcover of STARDUST.