So very much to catch up on
Nov. 13th, 2005 08:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
peck72This has been a busy week.
Thursday I travelled into Manchester for a reading and signing from Neil Gaiman.
Organised by Waterstones, it would have been originally at their shop but due to overwhelming demand got moved to the Dancehouse Theatre. After picking up my copy of 'Anasi Boys' and my ticket from the store I (and another Neil fan called Dominic, that I met in store) battled our way through the centre of Manchester and the crowds there for the turning on of the Christmas lights. By the time we arrived there was already a long queue outside the theatre, but fortunatly we didn't have too long to wait until they let us in. Where upon we go up a flight of stairs to wait on a landing before they finally let us into the theatre proper.
Once everyone got sat down, the place was about 3/4 full (about 350 people according to Neil's blog). Neil was introduced by a lady from Waterstones wearing knee length britches and for a moment I was scared we were going to get a 'Bridget Jones' style gushingly embarrassing introduction but it was avoided. We were treated to two readings from 'Anansi Boys' and then Neil opened the floor to questions from the audience. I had intended to try and remember all the very funny anecdotes he came up with and to relay them here but I get the feeling they wouldn't quite have the same effect.
But some of them were; Neil really, really wishes that he had got a definite answer from Sony as to whether or not 'Mirrormask' will get a theatrical release over here, Angelina Jolie and Crispin Glover will be the only actors speaking Old English in 'Beowulf', it would cost $950,000 to make an animatronic dormouse but only $50,000 to hire one of the squirrels made for 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', Neil doesn't play the game of 'Fantasy Casting' for any of his projects anymore,because if he mentions an actor he might like for a part at a Q&A session then, thanks to the internet, their agent usually calls the studios the next morning to see when shooting begins. There was much more but I doubt I could sum it up in any way that would do it justice.
As the questions came to an end and Neil was about to start his marathon signing, the lady from Waterstones came back on stage with a bottle of Champagne and a cake and announced that it was Neil's birthday. This of course meant that there was a rousing rendition of 'Happy Birthday' from all the fans and much shuffling and looking at feet from Mr.Gaiman.
I had a couple of things I wanted to get signed and it took about an hour for me to get to the front of the queue although it seemed a lot less than that as there was much good conversation to be had in the line. I really hadn't thought what, if anything, I was going to say to Neil apart from the obvious "Thank you, I really like your books" which was pretty much all I managed but at least I did manage to hold my composure and not go to pieces (which had been a worry to me).
And so to the last train home and a taxi to get me to bed by 1am and then a 6.20 alarm to go to work.
Yesterday, Anna and I finally managed to see 'Howls Moving Castle' at the FACT Cinema in Liverpool (which also meant we finally used our last wedding present, a voucher for FACT). Firstly, I did really enjoy this film and I'm glad that they showed the subtitled version (I think Billy Crystal as Calcifer(in the dub) would have been too distracting) but I have to say I don't think it is as good as 'Spirited Away' with regard to the story. No, I'll qualify that. It is easily as good as 'Spirited Away' up until about half an hour from the end when they seem to realise that they need to conjure a happy ending from up their sleeve and then things just seem to happen very quickly for very little reason. Personally, I think that a darker ending might have suited the film (or maybe just suited me) better, since a lot of the subject matter was quite dark (the war ravaging cities, exchanging your heart for power, losing yourself to the monster inside you). It's probably just me, I like dark endings to films (where they're approriate) and just generally things of a darker nature.
An finally today . . . We had my friends Mark and Claire around for lunch and an afternoon of catching up. They are two of my oldest friends but since I married and we moved to Chester I just don't keep up with them anywhere near as much as I would like or should. I cooked (and managed not to poison any of us) and then we just talked about whats been happening. It was Mark that first got me to go out to Albania and while I havn't been since 1999 he is still very involved with the country and had been out there only last week and will be going out again for New Year. At some point I would like to go again, if only to prove to myself I don't need to go back, but it would make for a good photographic project and that was one of the jobs I had there first time out.
There was much talk about friends and how old some of the kids I used to teach in the church kids clubs are now (I feel very old) and what they are up to. There was also much hilarity had playing Muppet Uno (which I somehow won) and generally a good time had by all. We really need to do this more often, but then I think we said that last year as well.
BTW, hope you like the new icons. Whole seconds of preparation of them ;>
Thursday I travelled into Manchester for a reading and signing from Neil Gaiman.
Organised by Waterstones, it would have been originally at their shop but due to overwhelming demand got moved to the Dancehouse Theatre. After picking up my copy of 'Anasi Boys' and my ticket from the store I (and another Neil fan called Dominic, that I met in store) battled our way through the centre of Manchester and the crowds there for the turning on of the Christmas lights. By the time we arrived there was already a long queue outside the theatre, but fortunatly we didn't have too long to wait until they let us in. Where upon we go up a flight of stairs to wait on a landing before they finally let us into the theatre proper.
Once everyone got sat down, the place was about 3/4 full (about 350 people according to Neil's blog). Neil was introduced by a lady from Waterstones wearing knee length britches and for a moment I was scared we were going to get a 'Bridget Jones' style gushingly embarrassing introduction but it was avoided. We were treated to two readings from 'Anansi Boys' and then Neil opened the floor to questions from the audience. I had intended to try and remember all the very funny anecdotes he came up with and to relay them here but I get the feeling they wouldn't quite have the same effect.
But some of them were; Neil really, really wishes that he had got a definite answer from Sony as to whether or not 'Mirrormask' will get a theatrical release over here, Angelina Jolie and Crispin Glover will be the only actors speaking Old English in 'Beowulf', it would cost $950,000 to make an animatronic dormouse but only $50,000 to hire one of the squirrels made for 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', Neil doesn't play the game of 'Fantasy Casting' for any of his projects anymore,because if he mentions an actor he might like for a part at a Q&A session then, thanks to the internet, their agent usually calls the studios the next morning to see when shooting begins. There was much more but I doubt I could sum it up in any way that would do it justice.
As the questions came to an end and Neil was about to start his marathon signing, the lady from Waterstones came back on stage with a bottle of Champagne and a cake and announced that it was Neil's birthday. This of course meant that there was a rousing rendition of 'Happy Birthday' from all the fans and much shuffling and looking at feet from Mr.Gaiman.
I had a couple of things I wanted to get signed and it took about an hour for me to get to the front of the queue although it seemed a lot less than that as there was much good conversation to be had in the line. I really hadn't thought what, if anything, I was going to say to Neil apart from the obvious "Thank you, I really like your books" which was pretty much all I managed but at least I did manage to hold my composure and not go to pieces (which had been a worry to me).
And so to the last train home and a taxi to get me to bed by 1am and then a 6.20 alarm to go to work.
Yesterday, Anna and I finally managed to see 'Howls Moving Castle' at the FACT Cinema in Liverpool (which also meant we finally used our last wedding present, a voucher for FACT). Firstly, I did really enjoy this film and I'm glad that they showed the subtitled version (I think Billy Crystal as Calcifer(in the dub) would have been too distracting) but I have to say I don't think it is as good as 'Spirited Away' with regard to the story. No, I'll qualify that. It is easily as good as 'Spirited Away' up until about half an hour from the end when they seem to realise that they need to conjure a happy ending from up their sleeve and then things just seem to happen very quickly for very little reason. Personally, I think that a darker ending might have suited the film (or maybe just suited me) better, since a lot of the subject matter was quite dark (the war ravaging cities, exchanging your heart for power, losing yourself to the monster inside you). It's probably just me, I like dark endings to films (where they're approriate) and just generally things of a darker nature.
An finally today . . . We had my friends Mark and Claire around for lunch and an afternoon of catching up. They are two of my oldest friends but since I married and we moved to Chester I just don't keep up with them anywhere near as much as I would like or should. I cooked (and managed not to poison any of us) and then we just talked about whats been happening. It was Mark that first got me to go out to Albania and while I havn't been since 1999 he is still very involved with the country and had been out there only last week and will be going out again for New Year. At some point I would like to go again, if only to prove to myself I don't need to go back, but it would make for a good photographic project and that was one of the jobs I had there first time out.
There was much talk about friends and how old some of the kids I used to teach in the church kids clubs are now (I feel very old) and what they are up to. There was also much hilarity had playing Muppet Uno (which I somehow won) and generally a good time had by all. We really need to do this more often, but then I think we said that last year as well.
BTW, hope you like the new icons. Whole seconds of preparation of them ;>
