shoaty indulgences
For some reason, a switch flipped in my head today. Ari and I went up to Sydney for the Kinokuniya signing but got there with enough time to shop. And shop I did.
At Red Eye, I picked up the new Lisa-Marie Presley album (what? i like her voice and she's aquarian, i like to keep an eye on the aquarians to note any development), xo by Elliott Smith cos I've been meaning to get that for ages, and a Magnetic Fields album because damnit, Neil's been going on about them for years and now everyone else seems to be mentioning them and I figure it's time I finally caved and found out what the hell everyone's going on about. Neil did mention that Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields is an exceptional lyricist.
Went up to the counter and got completely flabbergasted when someone says my name and I look up and it's this vaguely familiar extremely quirkily attractive young guy on the serving side of the counter. Which totally threw me. First of all, vaguely attractive young guy who knows my name?? Secondly, vaguely familiar attractive young guy who works at Red Eye who knows my name?
It took me several moments of severe confusion to figure out it wasn't Tom from the Mercy Arms but indeed the very young sweet BJM fan I met at that farewell party in May, the boy who's in the Regular Johns whose name is either Ryan or Gareth. And he has my number and remembered my name and also recognised me, wtf??
Apparently I'm still freaked.
Over to Borders and I splurged a little when I realised there's a Michael Chabon book out that I don't have, The Final Solution, and omigod I still hadn't bought Blood Of Angels by Michael Marshall, and ha, finally someone stocked a Poppy Z Brite book, Exquisite Corpse.
So I've gone from having no new music and nothing to read to three books, three albums and spacequeen returns tomorrow so, gah, at least my brain will switch back on. Would have and could have bought more Bale films at Borders except that I got an attack of video-store-amnesia and couldn't remember any titles or couldn't find the titles I could remember. Maybe that was a good thing.
Damn, I so should have bought Jonathan Strange And Mr Norrell. Ari and I got to York Street about two thirty and saw no one outside Galaxy. So naturally we figured the signing there had concluded. Halfway down the stairs, I realised "christ, I think he's still here." And yep, sure enough, there behind the far counter was a familiar fuzzy head and that particular neither here nor there English voice that sounded a bit fluey. And yes, as Ari pointed out, my knees got a bit wobbly when I stood in the new releases section and could only hear his voice. Gaiman, that is.
The Hilton has reopened! I had no idea. We stepped off the bus and I squealed and several commuters walked into me while I oohed and aahhed about the glass and the weird flower arrangements and the gorgeous colours and omigod it looks so beautiful! Ari and I have decided that one day soon we will go have an obscenely expensive lunch at the Hilton just so we can stickybeak around. Have I mentioned I have a great great fondness for the Sydney Hilton? Possibly because I saw Terry Pratchett speak there years ago. Possibly cos it's just so damned lovely inside. Dunno, I just love the Hilton. It's just so pretty and kinda mine.
The Kino signing was very packed, very much a different crowd from the Canberra signing. Sydney people turned out in fine form for Neil. At Canberra, there were only two people with funky hair and I was one of them. At the Kino signing, there were many and lots and lots of black leather dusters. Even suits that had come straight from work. And a girl with a green blue fishie helium balloon which I thought was so awesome!
Neil was late and apologised and looked very rugged up indeed after the light leather jacket he wore in Canberra. And eee, he was wearing the scarf! And we discovered shaula82 and draicana knew the girl who knitted the scarf for him! Omigod that was too awesome.
So we were much closer this time. Z had prime position which was only right because it was her first time ever seeing him. And I naturally hid behind some tall guy in, surprise surprise, a long black coat. There were hilarious mishaps with "the most temperamental microphone in the history of the human race" (tm Gaiman) and he handled it with such humour and grace. God, I couldn't adore that man any more. And he read something like two and a half pages from Anansi Boys, glancing around, looking for reactions of which he got plenty. Such an appreciative audience. Maybe he felt bad that he couldn't show the Mirrormask stuff. And there was a brief q&a and he was charming and funny and intelligent and awwwwww, just so Neil.
So I gave into an impulse, grabbed a card I had bought earlier in the day just cos I liked it and seem to be into handmade unique cards these days, nicked a pen off Ari and wrote a very cryptic one word in the card, addressed it with simply 'Neil' and gave it gratefully to shaula82 before escaping Kino. Because he's been so lovely and I wanted to express some sort of gratitude without humiliating either myself or him and Ari had suggested earlier just giving him a card without requesting anything signed back. So I did. And we figure next time we will make him a little present and give it to one of the organisers to give to him.
And this time because we were so much closer and/or this was the second last signing of the entire tour, he looked sooo tired and kinda grey and awwww I just wanted to bundle his scarf around his face, pat him on the cheek, kiss him on the forehead, tell him he has silly hair and send him home to his family. Gawwwwwww the Gaiman ...
Man, if he came as part of the Writers' Festival in 2007, that would be ... the best.
Am tired. Excitement has concluded. Would like to sleep and read and listen to music and make some art and generally crawl back into my shell. Tomorrow I might go down to the park and lie back on the grass and stare at the sky for an hour. Just because I can.
And apparently as of last night, I've started reading Harry Potter fan fic. Began with rageprufrock because, well, I know she's fucking awesome.
At Red Eye, I picked up the new Lisa-Marie Presley album (what? i like her voice and she's aquarian, i like to keep an eye on the aquarians to note any development), xo by Elliott Smith cos I've been meaning to get that for ages, and a Magnetic Fields album because damnit, Neil's been going on about them for years and now everyone else seems to be mentioning them and I figure it's time I finally caved and found out what the hell everyone's going on about. Neil did mention that Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields is an exceptional lyricist.
Went up to the counter and got completely flabbergasted when someone says my name and I look up and it's this vaguely familiar extremely quirkily attractive young guy on the serving side of the counter. Which totally threw me. First of all, vaguely attractive young guy who knows my name?? Secondly, vaguely familiar attractive young guy who works at Red Eye who knows my name?
It took me several moments of severe confusion to figure out it wasn't Tom from the Mercy Arms but indeed the very young sweet BJM fan I met at that farewell party in May, the boy who's in the Regular Johns whose name is either Ryan or Gareth. And he has my number and remembered my name and also recognised me, wtf??
Apparently I'm still freaked.
Over to Borders and I splurged a little when I realised there's a Michael Chabon book out that I don't have, The Final Solution, and omigod I still hadn't bought Blood Of Angels by Michael Marshall, and ha, finally someone stocked a Poppy Z Brite book, Exquisite Corpse.
So I've gone from having no new music and nothing to read to three books, three albums and spacequeen returns tomorrow so, gah, at least my brain will switch back on. Would have and could have bought more Bale films at Borders except that I got an attack of video-store-amnesia and couldn't remember any titles or couldn't find the titles I could remember. Maybe that was a good thing.
Damn, I so should have bought Jonathan Strange And Mr Norrell. Ari and I got to York Street about two thirty and saw no one outside Galaxy. So naturally we figured the signing there had concluded. Halfway down the stairs, I realised "christ, I think he's still here." And yep, sure enough, there behind the far counter was a familiar fuzzy head and that particular neither here nor there English voice that sounded a bit fluey. And yes, as Ari pointed out, my knees got a bit wobbly when I stood in the new releases section and could only hear his voice. Gaiman, that is.
The Hilton has reopened! I had no idea. We stepped off the bus and I squealed and several commuters walked into me while I oohed and aahhed about the glass and the weird flower arrangements and the gorgeous colours and omigod it looks so beautiful! Ari and I have decided that one day soon we will go have an obscenely expensive lunch at the Hilton just so we can stickybeak around. Have I mentioned I have a great great fondness for the Sydney Hilton? Possibly because I saw Terry Pratchett speak there years ago. Possibly cos it's just so damned lovely inside. Dunno, I just love the Hilton. It's just so pretty and kinda mine.
The Kino signing was very packed, very much a different crowd from the Canberra signing. Sydney people turned out in fine form for Neil. At Canberra, there were only two people with funky hair and I was one of them. At the Kino signing, there were many and lots and lots of black leather dusters. Even suits that had come straight from work. And a girl with a green blue fishie helium balloon which I thought was so awesome!
Neil was late and apologised and looked very rugged up indeed after the light leather jacket he wore in Canberra. And eee, he was wearing the scarf! And we discovered shaula82 and draicana knew the girl who knitted the scarf for him! Omigod that was too awesome.
So we were much closer this time. Z had prime position which was only right because it was her first time ever seeing him. And I naturally hid behind some tall guy in, surprise surprise, a long black coat. There were hilarious mishaps with "the most temperamental microphone in the history of the human race" (tm Gaiman) and he handled it with such humour and grace. God, I couldn't adore that man any more. And he read something like two and a half pages from Anansi Boys, glancing around, looking for reactions of which he got plenty. Such an appreciative audience. Maybe he felt bad that he couldn't show the Mirrormask stuff. And there was a brief q&a and he was charming and funny and intelligent and awwwwww, just so Neil.
So I gave into an impulse, grabbed a card I had bought earlier in the day just cos I liked it and seem to be into handmade unique cards these days, nicked a pen off Ari and wrote a very cryptic one word in the card, addressed it with simply 'Neil' and gave it gratefully to shaula82 before escaping Kino. Because he's been so lovely and I wanted to express some sort of gratitude without humiliating either myself or him and Ari had suggested earlier just giving him a card without requesting anything signed back. So I did. And we figure next time we will make him a little present and give it to one of the organisers to give to him.
And this time because we were so much closer and/or this was the second last signing of the entire tour, he looked sooo tired and kinda grey and awwww I just wanted to bundle his scarf around his face, pat him on the cheek, kiss him on the forehead, tell him he has silly hair and send him home to his family. Gawwwwwww the Gaiman ...
Man, if he came as part of the Writers' Festival in 2007, that would be ... the best.
Am tired. Excitement has concluded. Would like to sleep and read and listen to music and make some art and generally crawl back into my shell. Tomorrow I might go down to the park and lie back on the grass and stare at the sky for an hour. Just because I can.
And apparently as of last night, I've started reading Harry Potter fan fic. Began with rageprufrock because, well, I know she's fucking awesome.