Classy

When I was in NZ last May, I picked up a copy of a magazine called frankie.

I read it in one sitting and decided I knew what I wanted my birthday present to be for the next who-knows-how-many years.
My first installment of this year's subscription came.  And I read it.  In one sitting.

Did I mention I love frankie?  This issue's best article was four different people writing about what was "cool."  As in, what defines cool, not what's in and out.
The second best was an interview with Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer.
You knew that was coming eventually, didn't you?

Check out more of frankie's awesomeness right here, right now.

m.

All of the images are from frankie's website, which, if you didn't get that it was the link above, is http://www.frankie.com.au.

Saint Valentine

Today is St. Valentine's day.

1,740 years ago--give or take--Valentine was a bishop, and Claudius II was emperor of Rome.  Claudius wanted to strengthen the army, and so decreed no soldier could marry, for if they did, their interests would be divided, especially while the were away from home.
Valentine believed marriage was God's institution, not man's, and therefore, no man could ban it.  So he continued to perform weddings, albeit in secret.  He was caught.
While he was in prison, he came to know his jailer as well as his daughter, who was blind.
Claudius was willing to free the bishop, as long as he acknowledged the Roman gods.  He would not, and was therefore sentenced to death.  He was killed on February 14, and before he died, he wrote a letter to his jailer's daughter, and he signed it:
"your loving Valentine."

m.



(Oh, and Neil Gaiman has his "Harlequin Valentine" audiobook up for free, but I don't know for how long.)

Letters

Okay, so I was going to post today's xkcd (don't worry, they'll go up soon) until I read this.

Oh. My. Word.

This makes me feel like an unmotivated idiot.

(It's a letter to Neil Gaiman. The unbolded bit at the bottom is his response.)

I wrote to you in 2005 about my son, Jared. I'm sure you don't remember, but you posted my comment on your April, 29, 2005 journal entry.

I had been told that Jared, then 5, had visual and auditory processing disorders and that he'd never learn to read. We went to a book reading of yours, and then, a couple of years later, Jared found his signed copy of Coraline and decided he would teach himself to read it. He did it!

Jared is 12 now, still homeschooled, and I'm happy to say is reading and comprehending on a college level. We found out that he 'only' has a visual processing disorder (VPD), a fine motor delay and he's highly gifted. Because of the VPD, he has no visual memory... he cannot make 'pictures' in his mind. He describes it as 'just being black in there'.

We were talking about his VPD, and I asked him how he taught himself to read. He replied that he remembered your book reading, so he decided to figure out how to 'translate' the weird squiggles on the page into auditory sounds so he could remember them. (This explains the difficulty he had transitioning from reading aloud to silently!)

I'm almost certain that if he had had someone try to teach him to read, he couldn't have done it. It seems that you gave him an idea that allowed him to figure out how to overcome his disability.

Over the years, this has given him the confidence to overcome a number of hurdles. He simply thinks back to teaching himself to read, after several adults had told him he never would, and he is reminded of how remembering you reading aloud gave him the idea to 'translate' written words into sounds... and he thinks outside the box to figure out a way around whatever he's having trouble with.

As I said, he's 12 now, and reading "Grey's Anatomy", the medical school textbook, for fun! He has decided to be a trauma surgeon.

I honestly don't think his life would have turned out this way if we hadn't taken him to your book reading.

So, thank you again for writing, for reading, and for changing my child's life.

Heather (Hubbard) Conrad

Thank you, Heather. Tell Jared I'm a fan.

Lifted completely from here.

m.

All Hallow's...

Typically: "Eve."

This year, and hopefully all subsequent years: "Read."

Only a few days ago, the illustrious Neil Gaiman (yes, him again) proposed that there be a holiday that involved giving away books.

In only a matter of hours, hundreds, if not thousands of people had gotten on board. For this Halloween. And we're not just talking about the nerds who wear "Flash" t-shirts (Sheldon Cooper, raise your hand). No, we're talking about people like the editors at the Huffington Post and Stephen King.

Read more (pun intended, even though it's terrible) at http://www.allhallowsread.com. And then go find some scary books!

m.

Drool-worthy shelves, even if I do look like an idiot.

There are a few downsides to living in a dorm room halfway across the country from your own room, let alone in one halfway around the world.

The biggest one, of course, being the lack of cohesion in my books.

My favorites went away with me to school, and then that collection was added to by way of gifts, textbooks, Half-Price Books, the occasional B&N gift card, and the sale of a deceased prof's entire 9,000 tome library.

Some books got shlepped home, and others got dragged out, eventually resulting in me needing more bookshelves no matter where I am.

And then I decided to study halfway around the world and brought with me only two books: a short novel entitled Stonehenge, but only because my mom had just bought it for me and it's sick and wrong to only take one book anywhere. The second was Les Miserables.

Thank goodness for iBooks, that's all I have to say.

I have an excessive attachment to print, though, so when I saw this particular room belonging to (yep) a Mr. Gaiman, I was instantly smitten. It's like the Powell's of home libraries

I want a room like this. Actually, I would like several rooms like this. I would also like this selection at this moment.

m.

see more photos at http://blog.shelfari.com/ronbrinkmann/2009/08/gaimans-bookshelf-details.html Which is also where I stole the ones you just looked at.

Morpheus

He is my favorite of all the Greek gods.

While I do understand the necessity of praying to, say, Ceres for a good harvest, it has always been a mystery to me as to why Morpheus gets passed over so often. We're talking a day-to-day thing here, and I don't think I'm alone when I say a "good" nightmare can put me off for the rest of the day.

As per most Greek deities, even lesser ones, his lineage is disputed. Personally, I think it makes the most sense that, as the god of dreams, his father is Hypnos (sleep) and mother, Nyx (night).

For a lesser god, Morpheus has had a fair amount of attention. There are the traditional paintings, of course, but there are two people who have really launched him (sheez, he sounds like a movie star, doesn't he?) to a wider-known circle of obscurity:

Laurence Fishburne and Neil Gaiman.

I think it's a toss up as to who brought him into the spotlight more. The Matrix (first movie alone) grossed over 171 million, and simply googling "Morpheus" brings up far more photos of Fishburne's "hero" than Gaiman's.

On the other hand, Gaiman's Morpheus (also known as Dream, or rarely, the Sandman) is a thoroughly well-rounded character.

Acceptable, since he is the main character of ten graphic novels and a secondary one in...fifteen, maybe?

Don't snort (which you may be doing) at the "graphic novel" thing. I'm not a big fan, but these are gorgeous--writing and illustrations (done by different artists, so he's always a little to a lot different). In other words, don't snort.

And then go read them.

(Dream with Death, his sister)

I prefer Gaiman's Morpheus out of all of the different renditions I've seen, but I think that's only because he's the closest to matching the Morpheus in my head.

No, I don't believe in Greek mythology, but he's just been...sitting in the back of my head for years. A character I'm sure I'll get around to using someday.

But then there's Evan Shaner's take on Dream and Death, and this Dream I love for completely different reasons.

m.

First image, Morpheus, Phantasos and Iris, by Pierre-Narcisse Guérin, courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morpheus_(mythology)

Second image (if you know the artist, or the title, I'll love you forever) from http://vovatia.wordpress.com/2010/09/18/hello-morpheus-i-think-im-going-down/

Typical Matrix promo shot, although better than most, since it lacks Keanu Reeves, http://rocksijenist.blogspot.com/

Dream and Death from Gaiman's most excellent Sandman series, volume I, http://www.totalfilm.com/features/7-films-that-must-be-saved-from-development-hell/page:5

Dream asking for Lucien (his librarian) in volume...three? I honestly have no idea. From http://forum.lostpedia.com/lostpedias-favorite-comic-characters-countdown-t41860.html?p=2054580

Best. Spoof. Ever. thanks to peanuts http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2008/morpheus-you-blockhead/

down (implied)

It's one of those days. You know what I mean? The kind when you've had an okay week, composed of ups and downs, but more down than up, and then the week after that is about the same, but with a bid more down than the week before?

That's pretty much the way my last two weeks have been.

It's been raining on and off all day here, which I'm used to (and actually like more than sun), but it doesn't contribute to the cheery atmosphere.

I've tried just about everything--Butch Walker, tea, Starbucks (not my favorite coffee place, but the best lattes I've found here), and chocolate. And nothing is working, not even chocolate.

Needless to say, I'm at a loss.

At this point, I have decided that one thing would make these two weeks good.

Curling up with Anansi Boys

In front of this fireplace (with different interior decorating, though)

With this boy

But that's not going to happen, so I'll try to see if french toast can do anything.

m.

Fireplace: http://www.furniturestoreblog.com/2009/06/22/20_fireplace_mantels_that_create_inspired_fireplace_designs.html

Most-wodnerful-book (but not Gaiman's best, in my opinion): http://www.neilgaiman.com/works/Books/Anansi+Boys/

Ben Barnes (Pictured in a Gap ad. I almost swooned when I saw the poster version. I used to work at the Gap. It was distracting.) http://thebosh.com/archives/2008/10/ben_barnes_gap_campaign.php