What I Did to Celebrate National Library Week Part One: Vonnegut and Rollergirls

So...

when last seen, I was on my way to Indianapolis, where I gave the 33rd McFadden Memorial Lecture. I talked about libraries (because it was National Library Week) . This was a bit intimidating, as previous lecturers included John Updike, Maurice Sendak, E. L. Konigsburg, Lloyd Alexander, Norman Mailer, Margaret Atwood and Kurt Vonnegut (who had been an Indianapolis resident).

At the end of the lecture I was presented with the Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Award for Literature, a national literary award created and administered by the the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library "In celebration of those whose literary works uniquely document and define the human condition". The award itself made me ridiculously happy, as it's a beautiful sheet of metal with a Kurt Vonnegut self portrait on it, and Vonnegut was a writer who meant the world to me growing up: The Sirens of Titan was my first Vonnegut book, read when I was about ten years old, and it changed the way I thought. (We chatted only once, when he was in London, on the phone. He didn't want to do an interview, but was happy to talk, so we talked.)

This is me backstage holding my Kurt Vonnegut Literary Award.

Then I had dinner with a Roller Derby Team (and some of their significant others and offspring). It's the Naptown Roller Girls. They've been sending me wonderful things for a while now, and using the Octokitty from Coraline to bring them luck. Read all about it at Joan of Dark's blog http://joanofdarkknits.blogspot.com/2010/04/meeting-neil-gaiman.html (and she's just posted http://joanofdarkknits.blogspot.com/2010/04/mr-debauchery-talks-about-meeting-neil.html from the lovely people who were my ride to and from the dinner). I had a wonderful dinner, and even got to wear Joan's husband Dill's hat, which I am assured has its own Facebook page.

This is Naptown Roller Girl Joan of Dark. You may remember her from this blog back in January 2009, when she invented a coffee named after me: http://joanofdarkknits.blogspot.com/2009/01/neil-gaiman-needs-coffee.html

I was up more or less at dawn on Saturday, and I went to Chicago for the CBLDF event (the CBLDF has a spiffy new website at http://cbldf.org).

Oops. Someone just arrived to interview me...

And I'll finish this the next time I get a second.

NEXT INSTALLMENT: Chicago! Stillwater! The Wrath of the Volcano God!

Labels: Awards, In which it is discovered that I have been transformed into a cup of coffee, National Library Week

Batman & bits

A few weeks ago I showed the pencils of a Batman/Catwoman panel from the last Batman/last Detective story I wrote, which Andy Kubert is drawing, and nobody told me to take it down. Herewith some of Scott Williams' elegant inks for the same panel, and a word balloon to boot. (Click on it to see it crisp and clean.) The first part comes out relatively soon, and Andy is frantically pencilling the second even as I type this.

...

I just learned that there's a CORALINE exhibitionright now at Universal Studios in California. According to http://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/attraction_universal_experience.html

The miniature stop-motion animation set pieces and figures in this exhibit are shown courtesy of Henry Selick and the team of talented artists at Laika Entertainment.

If you're in the LA Area, you might want to check it out.

Of course, my secret dream is for, one day, a proper Universal Hallowe'en Horror Coraline House. (I suppose it's not secret any longer now.)
And I almost forgot:

http://www.metropolismag.com/story/20090121/behind-the-scenery is a wonderful article on, well, Coraline behind the scenes.

...

Is Neil Gaiman your cup of cup of novelty coffee? asks the Guardian, making the world wonder just why it's cup of cup of and not just cup of?

And I find myself wondering what a Neil Gaiman coffee ought to taste like, and what ought to be in it. Probably not peanut butter, anyway. If any of you have ideas, twitter them to me @neilhimself (edit to add, use a hashtag of #coffee) or send them in to the blog on the FAQ line if they are more than 140 characters. For that matter if any of you run coffee shops, especially the kind that are also bookshops and want to try out Neil Gaiman coffee on innocent coffee-drinking humans, let me know.

...

The short film we made of me (talking about an innocent article of clothing fastening) on Dec 17 will be released this evening, and I will link to it when it goes live.

Meanwhile, I'm starting to get tired of carrying an 80lb dog (36 kg, 5.7 stones, and if he was distilled water he would be a bushel*) up and down stairs. Which I only have to do for a couple of days. 

I don't recall if you addressed when you set off on your trip, but why DID you take a convalescing dog with you? Wouldn't he be "better off" resting up at home? Couldn't whomever was left at home (Lorraine, Maddie or anyone else at Chez Gaiman) taken care of him?

Actually, it was because of him I hit the road. He'd just had ACL surgery. It was minus 20F outside at home, and getting colder, and he had a shaved back leg with a freshly stitched incision on his back leg, and taking him outside to pee was starting to seem like an act of cruelty.

http://lorraineamalena.blogspot.com/2009/01/as-many-of-you-have-already-seem-to.html
tells the story of his visit to the vet, and his return at http://lorraineamalena.blogspot.com/2009/01/warning-wound-pictures.html.

* I know. Volume not weight. Please don't write in and tell me. It was a joke. It wasn't even a good joke. Do not waste the time you could be spending to make the world a better place telling me why my dog is not a bushel.

Labels: Coraline movie, Dog, In which it is discovered that I have been transformed into a cup of coffee, Killing Batman - it's like killing Amanda Palmer, Scott Williams, this is not my beautiful house

Happy and wise, in our giant hologram. Also, I am a coffee.

Yesterday was sort of washed out post-drive. But I slept last night, and am getting ready to get some real work done today.

Hey Neil,

You wouldn't know when exactly the Coraline movie is releasing in Australia, would you? Is the Feb 6th release date worldwide?

Thanks, Patrick.

I don't, I'm afraid. I know it won't get to the UK until the beginning of May, as we're trying to work my schedule so I can be there for the UK launch.

(And that reminds me -- one for the people in Portland:

Neil,

I just thought that the Portlanders interested in going to see the Coraline premiere should know that the tickets go on sale on January 28th at 12:00pm. They're sold through the NW Film Center at the Portland Art Museum. Evidently there will be signs. No idea what the price will be, but hopefully they won't be $250. Thanks, and hope to see you there.

Jason

Here's a link with information on phones and box office times. It looks like the tickets will be $50 each.

You will see me there. And there has been talk of Miss Maddy interviewing people on the red carpet.)

...

 I thought it was strange that Lisa Snellings, who had once turned me into a Rat, had now turned me into a poppet-pretending-to-be-me (The original is for auction at http://tinyurl.com/npoppet and the regular edition at http://tinyurl.com/8jbdc9). But that was last night. I did not know what strange was. This morning I woke up and found I was now a peanut butter coffee.

You are a peanut butter coffee.

A second hand English book shop/café in Bandung (West Java, Indonesia) named a beverage after you. Here's a link to my blog about the drink http://esduren.multiply.com/journal/item/322 and to a photo album that captures that moment http://esduren.multiply.com/photos/album/128

Wish you a great weekend!
Greetings from Bandung,
Tita

Honestly Tita, having read your review, I just wish I tasted better. Still, I am now a java from Java, and must not complain.

I just commissioned an original sculpture from Lisa Snellings. The Last one I commissioned from her was for my stairwell nook, and it can be seen in this video...

.

That time I told her the size I wanted and how much I could pay and left the rest to her. This time I told her I would like something happy and wise (and how much I would pay). And I left the rest to her. It's the best way to deal with good artists.

Nothing much else. My friend Michael Dirda now has a reading room at the Washington Post. It seems to be a combination of book forum, book group and review-place, with Michael at the centre like a wise spider dispensing wisdom and informed, honest opinions. (Also, it means you can browse Dirda's reviews, all in one place.)

...

We are living in a Giant Hologram, according to New Scientist.

Stacey's bookshop in San Francisco is closing.

 The piano scores that appeared above Schroeder's toy piano in Peanuts meant something.

And finally (a word mysteriously missing from the blog's word cloud), every day brings in three or four very much like this:

Dear Mr. Gaiman,

I'm an English/Art student from Germany doing a talk about one of your works. I'm not contacting you in terms of thesis or term papers. All I dare to ask whether you would answer some general questions concerning Popular American Literature. We are doing a seminar looking at this kind of Literature, started with the dime novels and your work "The Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes" will be the last to discuss. Instead of just presenting it, asking general questions and discussing your work, I thought it would be great add something like an interview with the author.
My Literature Professor told me that you, as an author, probably wouldn't do such thing, however, I'm kindly asking you anyway. If this seems rude to you, I apologize.

Sincerely,
Angelika Pilz

I'm really sorry. The reason I have a blanket "I won't do your homework for you, please pretend that I am dead" rule, is that if I spent the time needed answering questions, I would never get any writing done. You've got one and a quarter million words of me burbling away on this blog, and many, many interviews out there already. Research it.

...

Right. Breakfast and put pills into dog and then work.

Labels: Happy and wise, In which it is discovered that I have been transformed into a cup of coffee, lisa snellings, Michael Dirda, Planet of the Poppets