Wednesday, August 28, 2002

 
JR says funding for this years Graphic Novels Symposium is "very iffy" (no surprise there) but asked if I was still interested in being part of the planning. But of course! Then I took a brave step-- I mentioned I was working on a comics-related project. She expressed interest, so I sent her the same stuff I'd sent JW (and never heard back from him). She was fascinated and asked if she could share it with her husband, R. It's nice to have the brainchild get a first little pat on the head from someone outside.

Max forwarded my comments on The Rising to Wayne, and he wrote back to me, enclosing a review he'd written for an online music site. Of course, his was much more polished than mine, but it was amazing how many of the same things we saw in it: he mentioned the symbolism of both blood and kisses, noticed the "survivors guilt" in "The Nothing Man", other stuff. He and Rich saw Bruce last night in San Jose.
posted by Suzy 11:33 PM

Sunday, August 25, 2002

 
I saw MS yesterday at Upper Crust. I followed him and D into the store, and so it took a long time, as he was buying a huge assortment of pastries-- all I wanted was a loaf of whole wheat bread. Is there a certain irony in this? He looks the same, except the pony tail is longer, gray-streaked, and there is a bald spot. But I could not help but notice that he did not glow the way he used to, and he was not using The Voice. In the old days it was almost like the Bene Gesseret (sp?) described in Dune that could be turned on and off at will. He did not notice me, I did not speak to him. I wish now I had. I've thought about him a lot since and about those days. It's almost like seeing him and being in his presence was some kind of sign, that got me thinking along slightly different lines, at least briefly.

I finished the new Lynn Johnston collection (a treat, as they always are) and discovered that the new Stephen King is out September 24, not August. In the course of going to his website to learn this, I discovered that he has actually finished books 5 and 6 of The Dark Tower series, and is halfway through book 7! This is most excellent news-- I've been afraid for some time that, as slow as he goes with them (it's been 30 years now), that he (or I) would die before they were done and we'd never know how it came out.He sez 5 will be out in about a year, the other two following at 3 month intervals. Looks like there's hope for that both of us will make it. I'm reading Neil's Stardust now and enjoying it hugely. He has such grace, both in what he says and how he expresses it. I feel so lucky to have found him, and am trying not to race through all his work too quickly. Fortunately, he is quite prolific. Next on my To Read stack is Adri's second book. Max sent me email with the most wonderful story of her and Bruce.

Blue is very sick. Taking him to JiffyLube/ComputaTune yesterday just made things worse... he sprayed transmission fluid half the way home. We knew that it was probably the transmission that needed help, so he will spend some time next week in the shop. This puts a bit of a cramp in my routines, though.

posted by Suzy 11:09 AM