gaiman and mckean on quay and svankmajer

Random quirk like this just makes me happy.

the illusion of intimacy

Celebrity is a strange business. There's such a false sense that you know a person, when really all you know is photographs or trivia or some story they chose to share with Letterman. I always enjoy the Inside the Actors Studio interviews, because it's often obvious that James Lipton's research has rooted out some things the actor didn't expect, but even then we're hearing the response they choose to give.

The first time I felt this false sense of closeness to a celebrity was when I was fourteen years old and thought I knew everything about David Bowie. I found it amusing that he and his (first) wife had met because they were dating the same guy. I was fascinated that he only slept four hours a night, and I read his lyrics like I was reading his diary and felt like I understood him (which if you've read his early lyrics is a testimony to the depth of the teenage imagination - I'd be surprised if even Bowie knew what they all meant: "I got eyes in my backside. That see electric tomatoes. On credit card rye bread.")

From then to now there have probably been less than half a dozen celebrities I thought I understood or knew this way. This is probably because I'm rarely sufficiently interested in a person's work to launch into the intensive waste of time that is researching the details of a celebrity's life. Most recently I feel this false closeness to Neil Gaiman, as evidenced I'm sure many times in this blog. But Neil makes it easy. At readings he is generous with anecdotes and almost every day on his blog he shares details of how his work in progressing, significant events in his personal life and great stories of other artists and others he has been lucky enough to work with or meet. The fact that I've watched many, many interviews with him on Youtube also helps. He's an entertaining person who's had an interesting life ~ not a boring E! special life with riches and burnouts: a real life full of creative work and family he loves.

But recently I had an experience that made me realise just how false this sense of friendly intimacy is. A few weeks ago Neil's father died. Neil is really kind when he meets you ~ as generous with his attention to the 500th person in a line at a book signing as he was to the first ~ and it engenders a reciprocal care. Reading that his father had died immediately made me wish that I could do something, anything, to make this less painful for him. I felt that helpless feeling you feel when you want to reach out to a friend and comfort them, but (for whatever reason...distance, etc) can't.

But I'm NOT Neil's friend. It was sobering to realise that even if I had had the resources to jump on a plane to wherever he was, or to actually wangle the time with him to express my condolences or support, me doing that would have been more of an intrusion than a comfort. (NB: he was comforted by the presence of his fans on the day he found out, but I think it might have been a very different experience if they had known what was happening.) He chose to share the news with us, but then also announced that he would take a break from the blog to be with his family. As he should. There are just some things we, as fans, have no right to share. Even if we want to.

This is something I wish the people of the paparazzi industry could grasp. Because we are hungry for information doesn't mean we should always get it. It's not our right to know things these people would not have chosen to share, and the whole theory that a public figure has no right to privacy is terrible. Of course they have a right to privacy; as do their children. The public makes them famous by being interested in them, and there is an understanding that this comes at the price of needing to give something back 'to the fans'. But this gets blown out of all proportion when we treat them like a bug under our microscope and feel like it's okay to dissect and observe even the most minute details of their lives. In truth the relationship between a celebrity and their fans should be more like when a butterfly lands on your shoulder. It's a beautiful and touching experience to get close to something you usually only see from afar, but it should still be free to fly away, too. Even butterflies have a life to live. Celebs, too.

coraline

I'm so happy Coraline is being well-received (87% fresh at time of writing).

I'm glad that Henry Selick was the director.

I can't believe I have to wait until May 7 to see it in the cinema.

stronger than you think

I love these two print ads that the Kids Helpline has been running for a while. I've been meaning to post a photo of them for ages, but I had to find my card reader. Well here they are:

Click to see the poster larger. The slogan in the yellow box reads "You're stronger than you think." What a brilliant way (visually) to immediately deliver that message.



I'm posting them now for another reason. Neil Gaiman has won himself a Newbery for The Graveyard Book. I love this book (and I highly recommend listening to Neil read it on the audiobook) but the book being entertaining isn't the reason I'm glad it won this particular award.

I think the world is often a harsh place, especially for children. I sometimes feel like my life has been hard (woe is me), but the truth is that I never had to deal with even a small part of the truly terrible challenges that some children face growing up. I think those Helpline ads are amazing, because they're not just about helping kids understand that they are strong, but also that they are strong enough to ask for help when they need it and to deal with the fallout of doing so.

I respect the fact that Neil's children's books are centred around strong, curious, resourceful children who fear things that are worth fearing but are not defeated by those fears. Sometimes they rely on the strength of trustworthy adults. Sometimes that option is not open to them and they have to find the strength within themselves to move forward without that safety net. And Bod (The Graveyard Book), Coraline (Coraline), and Lucy (Wolves in the Walls (a picture book)) all face formidable foes ~ three dimensional villians with real power, acting out of genuine malice and/or evil design (okay the wolves are just wolves).

The 'Other Mother' in Coraline is so creepy (you'll never look at black buttons the same way again) and Bod's family have just been murdered when The Graveyard Book opens. I found it interesting when Neil commented that adults see Coraline as a horror story, whereas children tend to see it as an adventure. I'm sure the same is true of the Newbery winner. Just as well, or these would be the best children's books that children would never get to read, because they'd be too scary!

I think his books empower children and I like that Neil doesn't presume to talk down to his audience just because they are children. And yes, I know he isn't the first author to write stories about brave children or scary villians, but the deceptive simplicity of the language (remember the way it felt the first time you read The Alchemist?) ~ the way the words lend themselves to being read out loud ~ the balance between humour and intrigue and drama ~ as well as the strong storylines, all come together to create delightful reading. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

coraline figurines

I quite like the one in the yellow raincoat. Unfortunately it looks like they come as a set.

I wonder when the movie is starting here...

i don't often pine after riches

but some days...

(middle item)

Who would you like to have afternoon tea with?

plug for a free neil gaiman book

If you don't know Neil Gaiman is my favourite author, you haven't been reading this blog very long. Well for those who have wondered if he's actually any good, and for those who like him but just haven't read Neverwhere, here is a link to his recent reminder (from his blog) that until the end of this month you can get a copy of Neverwhere free online.

From the Wiki entry on the original series, of which the book is not merely a dramatisation, but also a forum for Neil to expand on certain parts of the story and change/insert things the BBC wouldn't agree to for the TV series. :)

Richard Mayhew, a Scot living in London encounters an injured girl named Door on the street one night. Despite his fiancée's protests he decides to help her, but that unfortunately also means that he suddenly ceases to exist for regular people and becomes real only to the denizens of 'London Below', whose inhabitants are generally invisible and non-existent to the people of 'London Above'. He loses his house, his job and nearly his mind as he travels London Below in an attempt to make sense out of it all, find a way back, and helps Door survive as she is hunted down by hired assassins.

I hope you'll take the opportunity to check it out.

strange how it only just occurred to me...

That Youtube is like having Neil Gaiman on tap. ^_^ I just added about twenty Neil vids to my favourites.

I go through phases with Youtube, getting onto one theme or another and pursuing it until some other shiny object catches my eye. These phases are evident when you look through my favs. Neil is the most recent addition. Before him there was a series of David Bowie interviews. Before that it was a pile of 80s music videos, including a lot of early Blondie and my favourite Elvis Costello song. For a while I couldn't get enough of Van Hansis and his storyline on a daytime soap we don't get here, which led me to discover a random Catalan soap opera. At one point I was collecting Post Secret videos and TV commercials I thought were cool. And there's always a healthy dose of random weirdness thrown in for good effect.

And now it's 5am. Playing in my favourites pool on a week night is not wise...

coraline featurettes

I'm pretty much happy to see anything Neil Gaiman-related. There's a fair chance that I'll like it. I enjoyed the book Coraline and even though the film was going to be animated, I was sure I'd enjoy that, too. I forgot that Neil's reached that point where he gets to work with really cool people who do amazing things. After watching these featurettes on the making of the movie, I'm now really excited to see the movie.

I think it's going to be utterly delightful. It will be made in stop-motion animation by Henry Selick, the director of The Nightmare Before Christmas. I love that Neil sent Henry the manuscript for the film 18 months before the book was even published...he REALLY wanted him to make the movie. ^_^

1. Henry Selick and Neil Gaiman bring Coraline to life (the girl in the green dress is Neil's daughter Maddy)

2. Crafting the world of Coraline. More about the stop-motion process.

3. The story of Coraline.

There are four more to come, but they are being released one at a time over the next few days.

And for you lucky bastards who can enter this competition, here's a link to a chance to win a trip to visit the set. Would be so cool to see all the models, puppets, etc. Ends on the 17th!

another humdinger from 8 out of 10 cats

After a story about how George W Bush's watch had been stolen while he was visiting Albania:

George Bush has stolen an election, invaded a country on false pretences, tortured, lied and not signed the Kyoto Agreement, but now...his watch has been stolen.

If you're watching, Karma...make an effort!

Oh and here's the video (thank you, Youtube!) of the my favourite insult post a bit back. I've watched all six seasons now (six episodes of about twenty minutes ~ it's not enough) so I'll stop babbling about 8 out of 10 cats until next year.



Another interesting conversation (transposed by me into direct speech) from Neil Gaiman's blog:

Neil: Hi, this is Neil Gaiman, I need to fix something on my account.
Visa Card Customer Service Rep: Hang on, are you the Neil Gaiman?
Neil: Yes, I am.
VCCSR: So...are you going to be writing an episode of Dr Who?
Neil: ... o_O?

I do wonder at what point this sort of stuff moves to the need for super-secret dealings. I know that authors don't pull the same kind of scrutiny that A-list actors do, though the man has quite the cult following, but when will he be so famous that he needs to ensure that the customer service reps he deals with have some kind of clearance? Does that come guaranteed with the Platinum card? I wonder...

alex zane

This is Alex Zane. He's on British TV. Apart from that I have no idea what he does really. I just think he's pretty.

In fact, it looks like someone mixed...









Neil Gaiman, my favourite storyteller,











with Daniel Johns, the most attractive man in the world, in the right light (I think he's the most beautiful man in the world, and I've seen him in person, but I have also seen some really crap photos of him).



If that were actually possible, he might be my perfect man, especially if Neil's worldview and lovely sense of parenting came with him. Daniel's probably nice, too, but I've only seen him on stage, whereas I've actually seen Neil make pleasant conversation with the 500th person asking him to sign a book, which seems a bit more revealing.

gosh but I hate waiting

Review.

And the reason I must immediately make plans to go to Melbourne in May:

Hi Neil,

Is it true you will be in Australia in May, 2008?

Cheers,Yoomi

Reply:

It is, it is. I'm out in early May for a conference on children's literature in Melbourne, and I'll do a couple of signings while I'm there. Details to come very soon.

~~~happy new year~~~

New Year's is my favourite holiday. I love the sense of renewal, the fresh start. I have no particular reason to think that 2008 will be better than 2007, but I choose to believe so anyway. The new year is always a hopeful thing for me. I hope it is for you, too. Hope for good things, and hope for strength to deal with the difficult things.

Let me quote this wish from Neil Gaiman's blog:

May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't to forget make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.

Did I make new year's resolutions, you ask? Sort of. My long term goals haven't changed, so this year I thought I'd make three simple resolutions just for 2008. And they are:

1. read more non-fiction
2. take more photographs
3. make more friends

Actually I made a good start on number three by seeing the new year in at a friend's party, where I met three new people I liked.

Did you make any resolutions?

stardust

I had no idea that there was a trailer out for Stardust, even though it's supposed to be released in Spring, which it is now in parts of the world where the release date info is given. There are some differences from the book in the settings or the way certain things happen, but overall I just love it. Can't wait to see the whole movie!

I occasionally want to copy stuff from other people's blogs...

but I resist fairly well. Today I had to resist the urge to add this tagline to my comments space, aka Webmistriz:

If you don't comment, the terrorists win.

Now if I could just recall which comedian it was that did such a great piece on that...

Another thing I want to copy, but it's hard to say from whom as it's so common, is a bit on the sidebar telling what book/s I'm reading at the moment. I'm always curious to know what others are reading, so maybe somebody out there is wondering what's got my attention at the moment.

Speaking of which, I am currently reading The Bourne Identity, which is a lot more complex than the movie and listening to Stardust (Neil Gaiman's fairytale for adults, about to be a motion picture) on audiobook. I am not always a fan of books read by the author ~ I am, for example, very glad that Stephen Fry and not JK Rowling did the audiobook version of the Harry Potter books as h.e. .i.s. .s.o. .v.e.r.y. .g.o.o.d. .a.t. .i.t ~ but Neil will always be the exception. He is as quirky as his stories and I love listening to him read them.