Dear Mr. Gaiman,
Practically a year ago (which is two days from today), you came over to Vancouver for your 'Anansi Boys' tour. My friend and I asked you the silliest question of all: Mr. Gaiman, why do you always wear black?
It's always bugged me that I asked such a stupid question.
Well, over the weekend, a weight was lifted from my shoulders.
The theme of one of our public libraries is comic books and graphic novels. They had a little piece of paper with your picture on it and some info on you.
They stated that you always wear black because you're into the gothic aesthestic.
Well, now I can write to them and tell them that the reason you wear always wear black is so that all your clothes will match, making it easier for you to assemble an outfit. And if they question my resources, then I can tell them that you told me so yourself.
I'll take care to refer blacksocks.com to them as well.
I guess in a way, that question that we asked didn't prove to be so useless. Thanks! (I do hope you were telling the truth that night.)
-alyssa
The fun thing about being among old friends in the UK at Fantasycon a few weeks ago was when someone reminded me that "that was back when you were still wearing grey, dear," and I realised I'd almost forgotten that I spent several years in grey before I went black, and mostly gave up because there are too many shades of grey (blue-greys and brown-greys and all sorts) and I could never get them to match...
Right. I promised I'd close some tabs... so here in no particular order are...
A chunk of a new art spiegelman project -- http://www.vqronline.org/articles/2006/fall/spiegelman-portrait3/
They're discussing lots of stuff by me at blogcritics -- here's the opener -- http://blogcritics.org/2006/09/28/140129.php -- and a Coraline review http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/09/24/042601.php...
Some hackers and a voting computer -- http://www.wijvertrouwenstemcomputersniet.nl/Nedap-en
A review of Fragile Things from the Times -- http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,923-2390657.html
and at SFREVU -- http://sfrevu.com/php/Review-id.php?id=4272
The San Francisco Bay Guardian - Very long link, here
and Newsweek's The Checklist -- http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15176521/site/newsweek/
and a Seattle review http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/books/2003290956_gaiman06.html?syndication=rss
An interview with Terry Gilliam about Good Omens (really, if someone would just give Terry $65,000,000 he could get going. Do you have $65,000,000 you don't need? Check your pockets. Maybe it's in a drawer somewhere. No? Look harder.).
Oh, and about that Terry Gilliam flash mob -- a full report is at http://ccinsider.comedycentral.com/cc_insider/2006/10/terry_gilliam_v.html
(See what a nice man he is? Now maybe you'll look harder for that $65,000,000. It might be in a jar somewhere.)
A few people have now written to alert me to http://www.h-net.org/announce/show.cgi?ID=153105 and to ask me to pass it on:
Special panel at the 2007 College English Association Conference
March 29-31, 2007
New Orleans, LA
...This panel seeks 10-15 minute papers that explore unexamined questions about Gaiman’s novels. Although this panel will be open to any subject regarding Gaiman’s novels, special areas of interest include:
# Theory of the fantastic
# Use of traditional formats in a postmodern world (e.g., American Gods as road novel, Stardust as pre-Tolkien fairy tale)
# Deities and faerie creatures as metaphors
# The interaction between reader and text/the real and the unreal
# Gaiman’s portrayal of America (broadly defined)/Gaiman’s portrayal of England
# Literary theories applied to Gaiman’s novels (e.g., psychological, feminist, reader-response, etc.)
Abstracts should be 200-500 words, and should be submitted by November 1 at the following website: http://english.ttu.edu/CEA/conftool/index.php
For more information, please visit the following website: http://www2.widener.edu/~cea/conference2006.htm
Here's a transcript of the RU Sirius radio interview... http://www.10zenmonkeys.com/2006/10/04/neil-gaiman-has-lost-his-clothes/
And then there's me chatting to Jessa Crispin at Bookslut - http://www.bookslut.com/features/2006_10_010057.php. Which is much too chatty I expect, but has the virtue of me forgetting very quickly that the tape recorder was on, and drinking lots of green tea, and Jessa asking things people don't usually ask.
If you're bored of interviews with me by now (I am) then here's a lovely piece on Alan Moore by Paul Gravett -- http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/books/features/article1770034.ece
If you aren't bored of stuff with me in then Lucy Anne is collecting links to interviews and things over at http://del.icio.us/thedreaming and doing a fine job of it too.
17 rules anyone who wants to be a professional illustrator (or a freelance anything) should know... http://megillustrations.typepad.com/beetlegrass/2006/08/anniversary.html
There's a March 2007 theatrical production of Mr Punch in Los Angeles -- details at http://www.rogueartists.org/projects/mrpunch.php
And a Discworld Cake: http://homepages.tesco.net/~janefisk/discworld/discworld.htm