C.C.W.W.

When did it get to be 5:45 am? Seriously, when did that happen? 'cause I'm not in bed yet. There is light coming in my windows that isn't from headlights or street lamps.

WTF, weekends, you're always messing with my damned sleep schedule, making me all awkward and exhausted at work.

*sighs at eternally nocturnal self*

All in one entry!

*Movie. Stranger Than Fiction. High enjoyment. I, of course, as a writer/fervent reader burst out with laughter at lines that left everyone else in the room silent... But they really are funny. In it, Will Ferrell, plays a man obsessed with precision, numbers, exactness (which is illustrated in at first a baffling, then an amusing way visually). Slowly, his world and elaborate routines begin unraveling - because he hears a British woman's voice in his head, narrating his actions.

"That's schizophrenia," a dour lady psychologist informs Harold. But the woman has a better vocabulary than he does, and surprises Harold, like good writing does, with her depths of insight into his inner mind and thought life.

The narrator is a chainsmoking (surprise!) British woman, a novelist who, unfortunately for Will Ferrell, always kills off her main characters at the end of the story. Harold, however, is part of a story in progress, and we watch her tortured progress on the typewriter as the story progresses. Can Harold find a way to save himself while handling the new "real life" his disregarding of the rules has brought him? (I love these high-drama questions.)

I didn't like the plot so much as all the stuff it gives you to chew on. I like the ending. -What the narrator says about it, actually. I like how her voiceovers during Harold's segments vanish for whole scenes sometimes, other times refusing to shut up, just as a book might - letting dialogue speak for itself, or straightforward description, rather than narration. It actually makes the experience of watching the movie a tiny bit like reading a book, which is marvelous. And Dustin Hoffman's character is AMAZING.

I'm going to get at least one of my English-major friends to watch it. I think she'd like it. :)

 

 

By happy chance yesterday I caught glimpse of a sign for a new game store, one that had opened literally just a couple of hours earlier. I did a u-turn and went for a visit. It's been a while since I've stepped foot in place like that, since most of the RPGs I've bought lately I've gotten online.

Imagine my delight to find that 90% of the store was devoted to... meeting space. Places to play card games and tabletop RPGs. Refrigerators full of food and drinks. Even a more cozy room in the back for people who want a quieter zone.

I got to talking with the owners, ex-IT guys who'd rather make less money doing something they enjoy than go back to coding (there's an interesting story there I'd like to hear). Anyway, since I was a woman with a baby, the topic came up: Why don't more women hang out at this places? Because... well, they're no longer dark, mysterious little caves crammed full of angry miniatures, posters of scowling dwarves and elves in chain mail bikinis. They're... well... social clubs. Places for people to get together and play games. And a lot of women now play games, thanks to MMPORGs.

So they asked, "How can we get more women in here?"

And I started to answer and... I had no idea. How to get all the women in their Horde Warrior or Alliance Warlock t-shirts into a store like this. How to get all the women who loved reading Harry Potter and Narnia to try rolling some dice or roleplaying a fwooshy elf lord.

I just don't know. But looking at the place, I don't want it to go out of business (and not just because they offered to sell my artwork on consignment). It's a hang-out, a way to meet people who like similar things, and it's far more wholesome than having your teenage daughter (or son) socializing at a bar. Plus, you know, we all spend a lot of time staring at computers. Having a place for face-time is important.

So... how would you do it? If you're a woman, what would get you into a place like that? Or if you already hang out at gaming places, what attracts you to them? If you're a guy, why do you think women don't come 'round? How can I help this place get the other 50% of the population?



Stardancer Home.

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2008/05/drunken-air-part-two.html

This is a film that Sharon Stiteler took yesterday of our bees buzzing around in my plum trees. I actually started wanting the bees because of the plums, because there were never any bees when they were in bloom...

Title: Last Minute
Author: Bella Temple
Category: SPN, Gen, short, episodic tag
Rating: Teen
Warnings: none
Spoilers: Tag for 3x15, "Time is On My Side"
Characters: Bela
Disclaimer: The characters and basic premise within are property of Warner Bros, Eric Kripke, etc. No money is being made off this work of fiction.
Author's note: I originally wrote this for an application to the RPG polychromatic. But I think it works quite well as a short tag to the episode.

Summary: Bela's final moments.

( The dial tone sounds in her ear as tears slip over her cheeks )

( cut like a spoilery thing )

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2008/05/drunken-air.html

Under the plum trees, covered in blossom before they get leaves (so they look drifts of snow) the air is so thick with the scent of plum blossom that it's like walking through wine.



[Edit to add: this is what the plum tree looked like yesterday -- film courtesy of the birdchick, who was filming our bees.]

I had no idea my camera could get pictures this clear.





I got it last night at a restaurant, actually; it seems if you're female (maybe the guys are given the white ones? I don't know), they hand you one of these at the doorway.

The interior was smashing. All dark old wood and glass, a crooner like Frank Sinatra playing in the background, a little candle at the table. I told my friend this would be an excellent place to be proposed to at, and she agreed. I then retracted my statement, pointing out that on the man's part there really is no work involved. The entire atmosphere, including the flower, is practically handed to you at the front door. I, personally, prefer a bit more creativity than that. ;) But still. No need to say the food was amazing.

So, yes. A flower to commemorate a very enjoyable night.

OHMYGOD!

I have received awesome news in the form of a postcard from New Mexico!

( Cut for humongousness, about 700K worth. )

Also, finally getting around to pricing and listing the originals for sale. This isn't a full list, but it's a good start.

While doing it, it occurred to me (duh!) that another perfect perk for Patrons of a project is to get discounts on buying related things. So, in this case, if you donated even a dollar to finance the Aphorisms, you can get $50 off one of the original paintings. Not a bad deal!

I'm still figuring out how to weave these things together. But hopefully, it will all make sense at some point...


Stardancer Home.

Regardless of what you think of Mark Rothko, and his very-famous works in color fields, he is my kind of person. See here:

"Rothko mentioned to a casual aquaintance that he was to paint a series of canvases 'for the walls of the most exclusive room in a very expensive restaurant... where the richest bastards in New York will come to feed and show off.' He confided he had accepted the commission 'with strictly malicious intentions' and that he hoped to 'ruin the appetite of every s.o.b. who eats in that room.' " (Klaus Ottman, The Essential Mark Rothko)

The paintings he produced for the room are a bloody dark red with shadows moving over them.

 

 

I finally made it to Peter's IRC Game last night.

It was... awesome.

Seriously. It's hard work being a Goddess. lol

*bouncy*

And in the Cam requiem front... Lyric may have another job! Huzzah for stuff to do.

I am happy with my bookplate design, finally, so it's time to request information of the 55 people who sponsored the Aphorisms!

I need:

1. The name you want me to dedicate the book to;

2. Your current mailing address! It's been quite a while since the Aphorisms, I know a lot of you have moved.



Comments to this entry are screened, so your address will remain anonymous. I'd much prefer you respond here than in email, since I am email-swamped and I don't want to lose track of this!


Stardancer Home.

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2008/05/brief-trademark-ponders.html

A few interesting links related to Trademarks (not to be confused with copyright, but people do, and so do I). For example, the Open Rights Group (of which, last time I looked, I was Patron, but I don't have to do anything except be on the letterhead and possibly make the cucumber sandwiches) posted http://www.openrightsgroup.org/2008/05/08/bbc-removes-doctor-who-fans-knitting-patterns-from-the-web/ -- the story of a fan who was told by the BBC to take down the Dr Who knitting patterns from her website. Interestingly, the Head of Communications at the BBC left a message on the ORG blog, and amplified it on the BBC news site, pointing out that their problem was not with the creator but with the people who were taking her designs, making the toys, and selling them on eBay.

One commenter said, My own opinion is that the BBC would be correct to target Ebay sellers and anyone attempting to make a profit from their intellectual property, as is their right. Unfortunately rather than do this actively, they have chosen the easy option of attacking a person whose only ‘crime’ is she has the imagination and flare to design knitted patterns and make them available not for profit, based on Dr Who characters...

Which was the last thing I read before reading this Boing-Boing article, this Beat coverage, and this follow-up blog posting from the person who was running the ebay auction: Warner Brothers lawyers closed down a children's cancer charity eBay auction because it was selling original Superman drawings...

And mostly, I'm just glad that I'm not a corporate trademark lawyer.

(Also, I think -- and have thought for about 17 years, ever since the Comic Relief Comic problems -- that Warner Corporate needs to change its policies with regards to DC Comics and charities and allow DC Comics as much latitude as, say, Marvel. But it hasn't happened yet.)

An interesting post by rowyn over here.

It's a belated answer to some of the gender things that were flying around a couple weeks ago, the "how to act at a neurotic feminist rally" guide, and so on. I liked it.

It digs up a bit of sludge from my personal history, which I didn't feel like reposting here, but am not beyond pointing at if you're curious.

"Hey, come see, it's the fairy tale artist!"

The Cultural Center down the street has art exhibits and art classes, and while I have no time to take or teach the latter I like coming by and seeing what they're hanging. But it was while I was trying to enroll my daughter in their baby music class that one of them teased out of me that I draw.

"You draw?"

"A little," I say, mindful that I no longer do as much as I used to. A few hours a week is definitely the smallest slice of my life right now.

"What do you draw?"

I grin. "I paint dragons and wizards. Fairy tales."

"Oh, you must bring some of it for us to see!"

"All right," I say.

So I do. I bring Willow and Hadara, the Bone Dancer, Morgan and the Calligrapher. "Illustrative work," one of the women says.

I nod. "For fantasies."

They are delighted. They'd like a showing, or for me to teach or give a talk. I think an art exhibit sounds fun and promise to come back to talk to the curator next week.

On the walk back home, I remember days when I would have been sure that they wouldn't have been interested in my long-eared lords and furry ladies. I wouldn't have been sure what to call myself. "I do science fiction and fantasy art" is an instant ticket to a tiny niche. But fairy tales have always belonged to everyone. Wise witches, wicked sorcerers, genies, talking animals, people who can fly, magic swords, golden looms... spaceships and little green men, all of it. There's not a human alive who isn't heir to all these things. Why assume that people who might never pick up a novel from the SF/F section wouldn't like fantasy? It makes no sense.

So now I'm "that fairy tale artist"... one of thousands of people who have put pencil to paper to that purpose. No niches; no assumptions.

I think that'll be my line in the future. "I illustrate fantasies." What excellent company that puts me in!


Stardancer Home.

I'm taking a portfolio review class this semester. I hear it's quite difficult to pass on your first try because half of your grade is based on two professional interviews. Now, I know I've got quite a few artists on my flist so I'm hoping maybe I can get some advice:

What do interviewers like to see in a portfolio?

Mine will be print design, not exactly fine art, but I'm sure there are some good all around tips. And for the rest of my friends out there:

How do I make an awesome resume?

I've got some good ideas for the design, but I'm completely lost on what to put down for the content, and how to arrange it to best show off what I can do. O.o halp!

The Orlando Sentinel's job section has some interview questions which are being asked by various employers. Some of which they labeled as inappropriate, and they explained the others as likely a creative way of getting at an answer to a question they don't want to ask directly.

Anyhow, I thought some of them were fun, so I'll answer them here.

If you were a dog, what sort of dog would you be?
I'm a cat. Before I was a cat, I was a wolf. I not going to be the whipping dog again.

What would you do if I gave you an elephant?
Those exotic pets are difficult to find new homes for, aren't they? It would die of neglect at my hands, and I do not have a yard suitable. So, I'd go about contacting Zoos and seeing if any of them need a pachyderm increase.

What do you think of the painting in our lobby?
I can do better.

Which is your favourite Beetle?
I can't really think of them separately. John Lennon wrote good songs, had some interesting politics, but I'm not sure about Yoko. Paul, likewise was creatively skilled, and his solo carear worked. Ringo, did voices for Thomas the Tank engine, and was in the movie Magic Christian, which I liked. George, seems a bit understated, I'm not too familiar with him. Finally there's a bazillion '5th Beetle's out there, so I wouldn't say anything about them.

Is that your natural hair colour?
Yes...

Why aren't you married yet?
None of your business.

Would you join a church to get a job?
No. If the deeper question beneath this is 'Would you compromise your integrity to achieve success?' the answer is still 'no'.

Gods... that last one reminds me of some backpackers I met in Australia. A couple, looking for a 3rd or 4th in their car to share gas expense. They said, "We sometimes have a habit of leaving the campsites early, very early, so we don't have to pay the nightly fees. How would you feel about that?"
I said I wouldn't be very comfortable with that. They said thanks, they were also interviewing a girl as their potential new passenger and they'd let me know.