Yet another bizarro Neil Gaiman coincidence, or, "that bitch, Robin Slick"

Yeah, that photo of Neil Gaiman definitely deserved to be reposted. Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas to me.

Nah, I have a reason for putting that pic back up which I'll mention at the end of today's entry. But who needs a reason? I'd make it my permanent screen saver but you know, that would make me weird. Ha, not really, it's more like I won't do it because it's already been done by an internationally respected, happily married female writer pal of mine who lifted it off my blog last week for that very purpose but then had to replace it with Calvin and Hobbs when her husband saw it. (Ha ha - hi there, anonymous writer pal -- don't worry, I won't out you and I agree, Calvin and Hobbs are way cool.)

Besides, I have the infamous one of Eddie Vedder's arm around me post-pizza dinner for my computer wallpaper.

Yes, I know. I'm not only weird, I'm pathetic, too. But hey, good on me, I have mastered the fountain pen! I love it! Oh, I could do a dissertation on flex nibs now. I let Julie write with it yesterday and she went crazy. It figures she'd get into that, too (nervously clutching my checkbook).

So I know I've talked about my friend, author Tom Saunders, and his wonderful short story collection, Brother, What Strange Place Is This? but today I simply must direct you to his blog, where he from time to time posts his short stories, poetry, and examples of his awesome photography. Up right now is a short story Tom wrote (dated December 1, 2005 in case he posts something new before you read this) called Delayed Action which just blew me away, and you can read that, and the rest of Tom's blog, right here.

Eric is at David Ivory's studio this morning laying down some more tracks and that's all I'm saying on that subject for now. He's a very smart, complex kid with tons of talent but he's got a lot of soul searching to do as concerns his future. Gary and I are doing our best to both gently guide him and let him work this out himself but oh my God, it's so hard not to interfere. I have to keep reminding myself that by the time we were his age, we were already out on our own and we've hopefully raised him to be an independent thinker. But in any event, I feel pretty confident he's going to be a big star and having grown up in the music business, I know it's a crap shoot and there's more than talent involved, but Eric's got it all going for him (including two parents who insist that he not take a full time job which would limit his ability to tour and gig so we continue to throw money at him so he can pursue the dream...and buy me a place in the UK when he makes it, ha ha).

Julie is happy as a clam having taken her last final yesterday and is officially on a three week winter semester break. She spent last night baking these truly obscene Christmas cookies while I hung out in the living room on the computer yelling stuff into the kitchen like "Are you making a mess in there?" just to aggravate her.

She made two types of cookies which she invented (yep, she does that and she's amazing) -- one which will make her famous if she ever decides to market them -- a lovely toasted coconut number topped with melted chocolate. The other "experiment", however, I have rather aptly named "booger cookies". Because you see she made lemon shortbread -- totally delicious - but we were out of confectioners sugar so she decided to use this green crystalized stuff we had in the house instead, which you sprinkle on Christmas cookies as decoration. But Julie being Julie had to take it a step further because I mentioned that I think confectioners sugar is merely regular granulated sugar that's been whipped, so she decided to stick it in the mixer and for some inexplicable reason, added a few drops of red food coloring. When she got a very unpleasant brown result (d'oh), she immediately added some more green, which rendered the sugar and food coloring into a thin, olive green liquid. She glazed the yellowish lemon cookies with them, and when I broke out into hysterical laughter and called them "booger cookies" she tried to make them prettier by adding chopped almonds on top.

Trust me, it did not make them look better -- more than ever the topping appears to be something you'd find in a disgusting, used hankie. But here's some advice if you come over the house today. Eat one anyway. They are awesome tasting -- just shut your eyes when you take one and don't think about it.

One final reminder -- please go see the Paul Green School of Rock Music tribute to the Beatles at Indre Studios - the shows are tonight and tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. Details are in the post below. I will not be at tonight's show because I'm going to stay home and wrap presents (translation: stay home, get drunk, and fuck off at the computer) but I will be at tomorrow's performance for sure. Especially as I've been promised a midnight dinner out afterwards with Gary and the kids because both Julie and Eric are attending as well to support their dad. Gary and Nero have worked really hard on this show and are thrilled with the result, so I am really psyched for both of them and the set list is amazing. Okay, well, for me, there are only maybe five Beatle songs out of their whole catalogue which I don't like (can you say Octopus Garden or Maxwell's Silver Hammer?) but even the very worst Beatle song is still a million times better than Jesus Take the Wheel. Don't worry - I have not forgotten my plan to CRUSH THE JESUS TAKE THE WHEEL MOVEMENT and will probably go full steam ahead with that project next week.

Or not. Depends on how much last minute Christmas shopping I need to do. But in that case, the week after for sure!!!

Anyway, here's the Gaiman bit I was talking about. Because I am (a) an egomaniac or (b) an insecure, paranoid individual starved for attention/affection, or, if I want to be completely honest, I am both (a) and (b), I google myself to see what's up in my world that I might not know about and now I've found a new and better toy, google blog search. Or just plain blog search, or icerocket blog search. Lots of fun, that. You can type in your name and find out who is talking about you in their on line diaries. So imagine my shock to see an entry a couple of days ago that said in its title "That bitch Robin Slick!".

I'm a bitch? I am not! Crazy, yes, a big overgrown kid, for sure...but a bitch? Oh man, you should have seen me when I first read that. I went white; my stomach fell...I was fucking terrified. What did I do now? But despite feeling like I was going to vomit from anxiety, I couldn't help myself, I clicked on the link, and it took me to a woman's blog...a woman who calls herself "Liarbyrd" I do not know but who also lives in Philadelphia and also did NaNo (National Novel Writing Month) last month. Apparently, she blogged her novel...and one of her characters was "Robin Slick, an aging groupie". Err...it was kind of hard not to take that personally and get all, well, uber paranoid, but rather than get upset, I decided to be flattered instead. Anyway, I go to her blogger profile page and see her favorite writer is Neil Gaiman. Too funny. Anyway, I checked her out further; didn't read anything which would indicate she's a lunatic or had any personal vendettas against me, so I moved on and went back to working on my current book. End of story, right?

Nope, not in my world. Cos' yesterday I couldn't resist it -- I blog searched her again to see what other names she's called me in her NaNo novel and what other adventures my aging groupie character got into, and I almost fucking fainted when I saw a post titled Neil Gaiman Answered My Annoying E-Mail. So you know I had to immediately click on it, and ha ha, as you will see, she did write to him and was lucky enough to have her letter posted and commented on in his blog (which I'd even read a few days ago), but she neglected to sign her name. So she gets the great man's attention, but anonymously! Oh man, that is so something I would do, maybe I can't be angry at Liarbyrd whoever she is after all.

And of course you know I could not resist leaving her a little note on her blog to the effect of Nah nah nah, Neil Gaiman may have published your post in his blog but he came and visited mine and left a comment.

But how weird. Here's this woman from my same city -- I don't know her and let me tell you, the writing community in Philadelphia is SMALL and we all know each other -- she just happens to love Gaiman (okay, we all love Neil so that's not too much of a coincidence), but in one week, I find out she's writing a book with my name in it, Gaiman comments in my blog, and answers a post she writes to him in his blog.

Coincidence? I think not!

Man, life is strange. Oh well. Go see the Beatle show at Indre tonight. Or tomorrow, and come up to me and say hi. I'll even give you some cookies...

Later
xoxo

How cool is this?

Eric Slick reminding me scarily of the late John Bonham

It must be twenty below zero here today. I'm sitting at the computer wearing a black turteneck, jeans, and a huge zip up black sweatshirt over the whole mess. I'm tempted to add a black wool cap to the mix. I mean, I have a fire roaring in the fireplace, the heat turned up to high, and I'm still freezing. I'm not used to this in Philadelphia! Not on December 14, anyway. My poor son just left for the day -- he's got hours of rehearsal ahead of him and a long walk to the train and back. I don't expect him home until late tonight, when it will probably be like an ice skating rink out there. Oh the life of a musician. I am pretty sure he's got a gig this weekend but I know better from past experience than to advertise it here too early because these things change all the time. I will, however, strongly advise you to attend the Rock School Beatle show at Indre Studios in Philadelphia either this Friday or Saturday night because I hear first hand from the assistant music director of the show (ha -- Gary, Eric's dad) that it's unbelievable. It's one of those shows where every kid is enthused about the music; everyone's learned their songs; the harmonies are beautiful...Gary loaned them his sitar for a song or two as well as a couple other of his vintage axes...so I'm really psyched to attend. Also, following the Friday night show, there's a CD release party for Jukebox Zeros (hey, that's an awesome name) at the Pontiac Grille (okay, actually, it starts at 9:00 p.m., I'll just get there late) which is my friend Joe Ankenbrand's new band. I've known Joe since high school - he's been drumming for decades with musicians all over the city and had some success in Europe several years ago with a band called Bunnydrums. I think Kenn Kweder is in this latest band, but I'm not sure. Speaking of Kenn, he's got the world's greatest collection of names for his collaborations: Over the years he's founded:
# The Nasty Cookies 1969
# Wasted Lunch 1970
# The Band Aids 1971
# Franny and Kenny Band 1971-1974
# Kenn Kweder and his Secret Kidds 1975-1981
# The Tom and Jim show 1977-1986
# Kenn Kweder and the Electric Kwede Orchestra 1981
# Men from K.W.E.D.E.R. 1981-1984
# Men From P.O.V.I.C.H. 1984-1985
# Kenn Kweder and the Radio Church of God 1986
# Kenn Kweder and the Radio Church of KWEDER 1987
# Kenn Kweder and The Employees 1988
# Kenn Kweder and the Indian Guides 1988
# Kenn Kweder and the Memory Banks 1988-1989
# Kenn Kweder and the Few 1989
# Kenn Kweder and the Couch Dancers 1990
# Kenn Kweder and the Enablers featuring the Co-dependents 1991
# The Elvis Presley Tribute Show (20 piece band) 1989
# Kenn Kweder and the Rolling Blackouts 1992
# Kenn Kweder and the Greedy Little Miser Weasals 1993-1994
# Kenn Kweder and the Trustafarians 1995-1999
# Kenn Kweder and the Mechanical Athiests 2000
# Kenn Kweder and the Men From WaWa 2002

Cool, huh.

So how about this news I found last night on Yahoo and which I'm sure you probably all saw but I'm posting it anyway because it excites me...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Legendary folk rocker Bob Dylan to host weekly radio music show


Bob Dylan will start a new career as a radio DJ when he launches a new weekly music show on XM Satellite Radio next March.

The station said on Tuesday the show would feature music hand-picked by Dylan, writer of some of the enduring classics of popular music since the 1960s such as "Mr Tambourine Man," "Like a Rolling Stone" and "The Times They Are A-Changin'."

"Dylan will offer regular commentary on music and other topics, host and interview special guests including other artists and will take emails from XM subscribers," XM said.
************
You know, I wasn't going to do the satellite radio thing, but hmmm...

Jake from Jake's Pens came to my rescue again and forwarded me a link for wonderful journals, ink, etc. that work best with fountain pens. The name of the site is Pendemonium, and I do believe, after giving it much consideration, that I will order either a Fabriano or an Exacompta. (Click on stationary, that will take you to journals, click on that...and help me decide!). The Exacompta has more pages inside, but I'm tempted to just buy the leather journal itself with refill pages because that would seem to make more sense. And as I was embarrassed to admit yesterday, yeah, yeah, I do want a pretty cover, too. So...help! Which one should I buy? (Of course, me being me, wants to buy all of them, see them in person, and whichever I reject I'll regift or use for other projects).


Okay. Julie's at Drexel University taking her finals all day; Eric is out practicing the drums until tonight; the dog is sleeping on my foot...I should just end the blog post now and do some actual writing, right?

Right.

Ho f**king ho

How and when did Eric and Julie change from the above into this:



Please excuse me. I get all sentimental around the holidays and while the second photograph is from the Rock School premiere in late May of 2005 out in LA, the first photo I guess is from around 1993 or 1994 when all I had to worry about was having poster boards in the house for elementary school projects and making sure no one from the outside world told my kids that Santa wasn't real. (I managed to perpetuate that myth until Julie was in 6th grade and Eric in 5th grade and I don't care what they might say to the contrary, that is the TRUTH. And Eric was the one who told Julie!)

In that first pic, we were on vacation and we'd just come down the water slide. That was the first and only time I'd ever committed that act of terror, and after making several deals with God once I got to the top of the slide, yeah, yeah, I did it. Even my getting to the top of the slide in itself was no small feat because as normal people who enjoy that sort of thing (and who the hell are you?) are aware, you have to climb and climb and climb many stairs with throngs of over-active kids clutching huge tubes...and oh, have I mentioned in addition to being a lousy swimmer I also hate heights and tend to get claustrophobic when teenagers are pushing and shoving each other while next to me and we're fifty miles up in the air and a fall over the railing would result in certain death? So why I allowed the kids to even talk me into that debacle in the first place I have no idea...must have been during my Xanax period.

Kidding, kidding.

Anyway, I did in fact sit in the tube and allow myself to be pushed by a sixteen year old, gum cracking lifeguard into the chamber of terror where I screamed my bloody head off the entire time as I scraped my elbows and shins all the way down on whatever that thing is constructed of -- it's like freaking sandpaper and it also took the nail polish right off my fingers and toes, by the way. And if that experience alone wasn't gruesome enough, the grand finale resulted in my catapulting ten feet in the air into a pool of gross water way over my head.

So that explains my hair in that photo.

In other news, you would think that now that I'm no longer in nine to five world, I'd have Christmas all under control this year, but it's just the opposite. I have exactly two presents bought, and while the tree is up, it's half-assed because I swear I'm missing an entire box of ornaments and it's a box of the good ones - handcrafted gifts from friends, ones I made myself during my oh look at me I'm so crafty phase, and even a complete set of both the Three Stooges and The Beatles. The family of course thinks I'm crazy and tells me nothing is missing, but how could they not remember Moe, Curly and Larry? Or John, Paul, George, and Ringo? I would not dream I had these ornaments!

Or would I? Oh god, I feel so crazy anymore, I'm not sure if I dream half the shit that happens around here. Stupid female hormones. Grrr...

No, we have those ornaments. I just remembered the clincher. We have two angels - a pink Julie and a blue Eric, who sleep on clouds, that their grandmother bought for us when they were babies. Aha! Now the family will believe me when I tell them this box is missing!!!

Unless of course I dreamt about the angels, too, and the idea of Julie and Eric ever being angelic is just wishful thinking...

Har har.

Anyway, continuing on with this zoo of a house, as anyone who has visited knows, I still have all of my vinyl, and it's a pretty extensive collection spanning every decade (ha - I even have 78s and an old Edison crank up to play them on), requiring six huge built in shelves which take up a substantial portion of my living room wall. Last time I counted, and yes, once I was crazy enough to do stuff like that...before I had kids, I guess...I had over 5,000 records. Of course when Julie was born in 1986, that's kind of right when I started buying CDs, so maybe the 5,000 figure is still correct. To make a long story short, we were in the kitchen baking Christmas cookies Saturday night when we heard a huge rumble and then a crash. All six shelves collapsed, record albums spilled out everywhere; the complete stereo/tape/CD system went a-falling, too, and well, oh bitchcakes. Besides the fact that we had to hang new shelves -- not easy when you have exposed brick walls as your "wallpaper" -- I then had to put 5,000 albums back in alphabetical order.

I'm still not finished. I'm up to "L". But luckily it appears that everything still works, even the...snort...turntable. And thank God, not one album sustained even a scratch. I know because I checked. Hey, I have some serious collector's stuff here, like, original Beatle records only sent to members of their fan club in the sixties and tons of bootlegs plus stuff I bought in Germany and the UK that you just can't get here.

Okay, enough about my freaking record collection.

You can always tell when I have more major Julie or Eric music news that I'm sitting on and can't spill because my posts are inane bullshit like today's.

Sooo...if it's gossip you're wanting from me, you'll have to wait a few more days.

In the meantime, I'm off to play some more with my new fountain pen. I still haven't found out the best paper to use; I've been investigating journals on line and found some gorgeous ones but nowhere does it say "works well with fountain pens". Ha ha, I can't imagine why. So. If anyone reading this can fill me in on the best journal to buy for writing with pen and ink, please let me know. A link would be most appreciated. Especially a link to a journal that not only has superior paper but a pretty cover, too.

Hey, I told you I was hormonal.

Ho fucking ho.

Julie Slick, Eric Slick, and The Grammys

Okay, a coincidence? I think not.

For recordings released during the Eligibility Year October 1, 2004 through September 30, 2005 (Announced December 8, 2005)
*
Category 19
Best Rock Instrumental Performance
(For solo, duo, group or collaborative performances, without vocals. Includes Rock, Hard Rock and Metal. Singles or Tracks only.)

* Birds Of Prey
Stewart Copeland
Track from: Orchestralli
[Ponderosa]

Julie Slick with Stewart Copeland at the LA Knitting Factory (May, 2005)

* 69 Freedom Special
Les Paul & Friends
Track from: American Made World Played
[Capitol Records)


Les Paul with Max DiMezza on bass (hey, is that Julie's bass?), Eric Slick on drums, and in front with his head down, Rock School Uber Lord Paul Green at MPL Live, NYC (October, 2005)

* Beat Box Guitar
Adrian Belew
Track from: Side One
[Sanctuary]


Julie Slick with Adrian Belew at the Roseland Ballroom, NYC (October, 2005)


Julie's bass playing boyfriend, Matt Rothstein, with Adrian Belew

* Lotus Feet
Steve Vai (featuring Chris Opperman on keyboards)
Track from: Real Illusions: Reflections
[Epic/Red Ink]


Eric Slick with Chris Opperman at the Lion's Den, NYC (July, 2005)
**********


Eric Slick with Carlos Alomar, guitarist for David Bowie, etc., and President of the New York Chapter of the Grammys at CBGB's in NYC (June, 2005)



Marky Ramone with Joey Randazzo, Eric Slick, and Grace Hollander at Studio 4, taking a break while recording the Rock School movie soundtrack CD, produced by Phil Nicolo, President of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Grammys (January, 2005)
**********


Phil Nicolo in the studio being filmed by Don Argott, Director of Rock School, the movie

Oh, bitchcakes! (and in unrelated news, congratulations Chris Opperman!)

My absolute all time favorite picture of daughter Julie on stage.
**********************
Oh bitchcakes. Yeah, that's right. I said it. Oh, bitchcakes. And no, no, I'm not talking about Julie. Not today, anyway.

Don't know what bitchcakes means? Ha! You will. You'll be hearing it everywhere soon. Trust me - I know these things. It's the new "fucking insane" for 2006. Slightly more politically correct, don't you think?

Here's how it should be used in a sentence: "Everyone is going totally bitchcakes today."

Or, like the word "fuck", it is very versatile, and you can simply, as I did, say "Oh bitchcakes".

In fact, if my kids were smart, one of them would grab it as a name for one of their bands immediately. Because it was recently used by that author I said I wouldn't mention again, and immediately showed up right here.

Hey, congratulations to keyboard wizard Chris Opperman who played on Steve Vai's Lotus Feet, nominated yesterday for a Grammy! Yes! When Eric played drums on Chris' east coast gig in New York this past July, it was one of the highlights of my summer.

So get this. Amazon is having a sale. They team up two books together and offer a discount. So I find this out, and immediately do a search on Three Days in New York City. Oh, they've teamed up my book alright. You'll never guess with what. Okay, I'll tell you. "Erotica - My Dirty Thirties: Male/Female/Male" by Kelly Carr. Also, Amazon mentions that people who purchased my book also bought Dirty Thirties as well as a book by Emma Holly called "Strange Attractions". So if you are interested in a bargain and would like a copy of my book along with My Dirty Thirties, here is the link.

Personally, I think that is hilarious, but I much prefer Barnes and Noble. I recently learned that Amazon contributed heavily to the Bush campaign. So you know what that means. And, Barnes and Noble is far kinder to me. People who purchased my book there also purchased the following:

Afterburn by Zane
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Nervous by Zane
Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell
Star by Pamela Anderson

If you are so inclined, Barnes and Noble has my book right here.

Seriously, for the millionth time, while Three Days in New York City does contain some, um, graphic sex scenes, it is a comedy about a very dysfunctional woman who meets up with a very dysfunctional man. End of story. It is not porn; it only gets the erotica label because the male character has "exotic tastes" which completely freak out the female character with what I hope are laugh out loud funny results. Okay? Okay.

Anyway, Eric had an incredible day at the studio recording with the Control Freaks yesterday and he should be there today only it seems we're having a bit of a blizzard here so they've called off recording and Eric's headed to Wilmington, Delaware for practice all day so that they can continue onward on Monday. Oh god, I wish I could tell you what else is going to happen next week in that regard, but I can't. Ha. How's that for a tease.

Yes, I know.

Oh, bitchcakes.

Odds and Sods part 100940 -- and a moment of silence for the late, great John Lennon

No, I am not gay. Not that's there anything wrong with that.

Ha! I love this pic - that's my friend, the brilliant author, Maya, on the left. Her dad played with the Allman Brothers so she's had a life as insane as mine. Notice I am wearing my black NaNo t-shirt -- last year and prior years I actually won; this year...well...I made it to 35,000 words but hey, 35,000 words in thirty days is still nothing to sniff at. Once again, NaNo is short for National Novel Writing Month, which takes place during the month of November, and the goal is to write a 50,000 word novel in thirty days. No sense my posting a link to their site now, huh.

So a moment of silence for the late, great John Lennon. I cannot believe it's twenty-five years.


Gary and I got the news the worst possible way. I was half asleep and Gary was watching Monday Night Football on television and heard Howard Cosell announce it. We were so young to be married already (like, when most kids are just starting college) - my mom had recently died and we'd just moved into our new house -- I sat straight up in bed and Gary and I looked at each other in total disbelief. We immediately turned on the radio and with sinking hearts, we heard every FM rock station playing a Lennon song. We knew it had to be true but we were still in denial until the song ended -- and of course it was Happy Christmas (War is Over) which I have never been able to listen to without getting teary eyed since -- and the disc jockey was crying and taking calls from crying fans. Anyway, Gary and I went on a week long bender - we drank Irish whiskey straight from the bottle, smoked about three ounces of pot...ugh, it's hard to explain to our kids what it was like and what John Lennon meant to our generation, but we are very fortunate in that Julie and Eric, while of course loving new bands like the Flaming Lips and Shins, etc., also embrace our music as well. Hell, the two of them are the ones who turned me on to Frank Zappa. I was into British blues/rock only, which was in direct defiance to my jazz musician father. (Though he'd really have hated Zappa. Ha.)

They had a memorial service for John Lennon here in Philadelphia one day after it happened on the steps of the Art Museum, which is right down the street from where I lived at the time and still live, in fact, and they had Imagine playing over loudspeakers. When whoever was in charge asked for a moment of silence, the oddest thing occurred. It was a dark, gloomy day, and all of a sudden, the clouds shifted, parted, and the strangest single ray of sunlight illuminated everything. The crowd gasped -- it was totally surreal. Here's a photo of the museum - there were people crowded together on every step...yes, the same steps Rocky ran up (bleh).


Oh, I just realized this pic does not show the steps. Okay, well, you all saw Rocky (unfortunately, I'm sure) so you know what I'm talking about.

In other surreal news, Eric goes into the studio at 1:00 p.m. today and all day tomorrow with the Control Freaks and he's really stoked. Hey, we're all stoked. More on that in a future post. I've name dropped enough in that regard, but you know, until contracts are signed, etc. I'd better stay quiet on that front.

Speaking of new music (was I?), there are two guys out there I really like at the moment: Citizen Cope and Lewis Taylor. Trust me on this. They are amazing! Check them out and buy their music -- it's important to crush the whole Jesus Take the Wheel movement. Oh my god, I'm sure she's very nice, but Carrie Underwood makes me want to climb up in a tower with a high powered rifle.

And back for a moment to the Flaming Lips. Guess who else loves them? Pete Townshend of the Who! How do I know this? I found his blog! He's blogging an entire novel, complete with MP3s! Yes! (Though I was really surprised to learn one of his favorite authors was Patricia Cornwell. No comment, but can you say "formula"?)

Ah well, I'm sure there's more news and stuff going on with this crazy family and if I remember it, I will be back, but in the meantime, I am off to write.

But before I go, do me a favor. Listen to some John Lennon music today, okay? And may I respectfully suggest you google him and read about his philosophies and well, about his life, really. This blog is named in honor of his brilliant book of prose, poetry, and incredible artwork: John Lennon, In His Own Write. If you don't already own a copy, buy it.

Whoops - apparently I'm not writing yet. Eric, even though on his way out the door to go to the studio, left me with the DVD of Let it Be on the television. The camera just panned to John. Oh god, here come the tears again...

Peace
xo

What do Neil Gaiman and Julie Slick have in common?

I keep telling you, this is fate. Ha!

So. Neil? Julie?

Err...just so you know, Alice Cooper is a Republican.

But yeah, yeah, a hell of a nice guy, anyway.

(I obviously met Alice, too, on the night Julie performed with him but declined to have my photo taken. And of course that's Julie on the right, playing last year's Christmas present, the lovely Rickenbacker bass (refer to December, 2004 archives here for the story of the century about that debacle), and vocalist/guitarist Teddi Tarnoff on the left)

Okay, just so you all know, I had this post prepared yesterday but had it on hold, waiting for some more Eric news, which, unfortunately, I still have to keep under wraps.

In the meantime, what do you think happened? I got a post from Neil Gaiman himself in the comments section of yesterday's blog entry.

After my kids administered smelling salts and I stopped running around the living room screaming like a madwoman, I realized the implications of his post, which is as follows if you are too lazy to scroll down and read it for yourself:

"Neil said...

Truth to tell, the Waterman 52 is a wonderful signing pen, but it's only a so-so novel-writing pen. The nibs do lovely things on paper, but it's a little light and not the most legible pen you'll ever write with. My favourite novel-writing pen is probably the Lamy 2000 -- there's a write up on it at http://www.rickconner.net/penoply/misc.12.html
They retail for $145 but you can find new ones on eBay for half that..."

**********

Because guess what. Before getting that note from Mr. Gaiman, I decided to treat myself to the vintage Waterman fountain pen I mentioned yesterday after all (which, by the way, I learned was manufactured around 1926-1928), but since I have no idea even how to use one, I wrote to the seller with some questions. In a totally unbelievable for this day and age move, Jake from Jake's Pens, where I found the 52 vintage Waterman, is sending me the pen free of charge to try out. If I like it, I can paypal him; if I can't work it properly, all I have to do it return it. I'm kind of astounded by his generousity. Here's a copy of our correspondence to each other so you can all have a giggle at what a dork I am, but I cannot believe this kind of chivalry still exists:

Letter from me to Jake:

Hi - before I send off the paypal money for the pen, and you're going to think I'm a complete idiot when I tell you this-- but I've never written with one of these before and I want one because I'm a writer and a famous author I adore (Neil Gaiman) uses the same pen.

Sooo....my question is: Do I need anything else with this order? I'm assuming I at least need ink. Do I need extra "nibs" or whatever they are called? Do you sell this stuff and if so, can you put together a package for me and then tell me the exact amount so I can paypal it all at the same time?

I know, I know. This is so lame.

xo
Rob
************
Jake's response:

Hi Robin -
Don't worry about "lame" questions. There are not many of us left that actually write with fountain pens so having a "convert" is welcome. Even more welcome is a convert to vintage fountain pens.

Let's do this. Don't send any $. I will send you the pen and a bottle of ink so you can try it out. Actually I don't have any unopened bottles of the ink that I like, Parker Quink, but it is easy to get online. I do have some ink that I got at a pen show that isn't my favorite. You can have a bottle to try out the pen. If you like the pen, send payment for the pen only. Keep the ink, although I recommend Quink. (If you like the ink I send I have plenty more you can have for mailing cost only.)

Just send your address and I will get the pen and ink in the mail in the morning if the above is suitable to you.
Best, Jake
PS You do not need extra nibs, and, yes, the writing points are indeed called nibs. On quality vintage pens they are usually 14 kt gold and won't deteriorate. FYI they are 14 kt gold because 1920's ink was so corrosive that only gold could stand up to it. Today's ink is quite benign though.
*************

Seriously. How cool is Jake? Stay tuned for how this all turns out. But I am determined to do this and do it well. Only now it appears I have to also purchase a Lamy 2000 for writing my next book in longhand. I like what Neil has to say about that. He says using the fountain pen and writing in longhand slows him down...he takes more time with his writing and this helps him creatively. This is interesting to me and makes a lot of sense because I am sometimes stunned by the errors in my work when I strictly use the computer...when I print out what I've written, I see the same words used over and over; I see statements/thoughts which I begin but don't properly follow through...oh, it's a regular horror show.

And I rather like, no, love the idea of a vintage pen. And wow, a 14k gold nib. I'm really psyched. So I will save the Waterman for future book signings because you know, I sign thousands at a time. Hahahaha - well, I can dream, can't I? Hmmm. Now. To find out what Neil uses for paper. I picture him with beautiful leather bound journals, but of course if I research it I'm going to find out he uses black and white composition books -- you know, the kind we all used in elementary school and can buy three for a dollar at the discount store. But if I am going to be using a vintage fountain pen with ink, I think a beautiful journal with heavy expensive cream colored paper is in order, don't you?

But in other rather bizarre news, yesterday, before receiving his post, for the first time since I began reading his journal, I dropped Neil a note about all of this -- telling him that I'd bought the Waterman pen and I asked him what kind of paper does he use, etc. Because he usually publishes a Q&A thing from fans on his blog a couple of times a week but I never really expected to be chosen, and in truth, I'm pretty sure he stumbled on me via Google blogsearch or something and it's just an incredible coincidence.

Anyway, lest people start to think I'm the Kathy Bates character in the Stephen King movie, Misery, unless I have some momentous news, that's my last mention of Neil Gaiman for a while. Though he continues to be my hero writer-wise for 2005.

One final thing I will say on the subject, though, is that I've been really depressed this holiday season and have been struggling to write every day. While I haven't been able to pin down exactly why I've been so sad, I think, besides the war in Iraq and the other horrors in connection with the Bush administration, I'm still experiencing a let down following my return from England because I can't wait to go back, coupled with the fact that realistically, this is most likely the last year this family will all be together and living here at Christmas. Julie and Matt will surely have their own apartment by next December; Eric will be touring the world or living in that mansion, and I see myself alone with the computer, which will probably be the only thing decorated in lights.

But getting that comment from Neil Gaiman yesterday and the whole pen experience with Jake has me really flying high and excited to do some serious work today for the first time in weeks. Yay!

Oh, P.S. I am not taking the paralegal job. What was I thinking?????

Off I go, then.

What do Neil Gaiman and Julie Slick Have in Common?

Hmm...this is insane. My post above of the same title keeps disappearing and now this new one appears under it? I mean, I did type this one as a test as a new post, and it came in underneath? Ha ha - I was recently told I was a bottom (yeah right - I didn't even know what a bottom was).

Is it me? Is it blogger? The Anansi Boys? What??? Oh well, the intended post is the one above this, which I will delete as soon as I figure out what the hell is going on.

Ho ho ho

The above are known as Monty Python Rabbit with Pointy Teeth Slippers.

"The bunny slipper just got a bit bloodier with this pointy-toothed carnivore of a rabbit whose massive choppers do little to diminish his cuddly cuteness. But don't let the puffy tail and floppy ears fool you. Put your foot in the wrong end of this guy and you can expect to lose that foot, buster."

No, no, I did not write that advertisement -- it's how it appears in the Urban Outfitters catalogue. Yes, Urban Outfitters, the store I love to trash because of its customer base made up of clueless, trying oh so hard to be hip wannabes, but okay, I admit it...I want those damn slippers and I want them bad.

Family, etc., if you are reading this, you cannot buy them at Urban, they are a dot com special only, and they are one size fits all so you don't even have to bother asking me my shoe size, and even better, I'm going to provide you with a link to buy them right here.

However, if you are feeling more flush, what I really want is a vintage 52 Waterman fountain pen with a flex nib. Of course I am just being a frightful bore because yeah, yeah, Neil Gaiman writes with one of those -- he even writes his books in longhand with one for fuck's sake -- so now naturally I want one, too. Only my books don't sell millions like Neil's do so when I first saw the price of this pen, I stuck out my lower lip and pouted because I can't afford it or let's just say someone who isn't currently working should not be spending so much money on a pen.

But I want it. I want to write my books longhand in fountain pen, too, and after researching, well, nothing will do but a Waterman 52.

So I went on ebay and found some.

Ahem. Family? Friends? Anyone?

Hahahaha - here's what one looks like:



And here's where you can buy it cheaply.

Oh man, you know it's bad if I'm posting pleas for my own presents, but I'm kind of down right now and I can't shake it. I guess I'm excited for Eric but worried at the same time; Julie's so busy I hardly ever see her, and I just got an email from Rock School announcing the winter All-Stars tour and for the first time since Rock School has existed, neither one of my kids will be a part of anything. Well, that's not entirely true, there is a New Years' matinee at The Troc on December 31, 2005 at 2:00 p.m. which will include local bands, and Julie is in Sweatheart, so hopefully I'll be able to attend and see some...sob...old friends.

But hey, in case anyone is reading this outside the Philadelphia area, let me post the itinerary for the new School of Rock All-Star tours, because even though Julie and Eric have graduated the program, this is one hell of a group of talented kids and it's a great family event to attend, especially during the week between Christmas and New Years.

Actually, I'll just post the entire email I received from Paul so you understand it all:
************
There are new All-Stars, 2 groups of them (hence our ability to be in Chicago and Charlottesville on the same day), drawn from our 7 East Coast Schools. They are young, hungry, and awesome. Anyone who has seen one of our All-Star shows knows that these kids ain't no joke, and that the audience is in for a hell of a show.

So please: if you will be in one of these locations, please join us. If you know people in, say, Falls River MA, please tell them to come. And forward this to anyone you feel comfortable doing so.

Thank You.
PG

Tour Info
http://www.schoolofrock.com/allstars.htm

SUNDAY DECEMBER 18TH
*Trenton NJ: The Conduit

MONDAY DECEMBER 26TH
*New Yok City: BB King's
*Falls River MA: Narrows Center for the Arts

TUESDAY DECEMBER 27TH
*Pittsburgh PA: Club Cafe
*Burlington VT: Higher Ground

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 28TH
*Cleveland OH: House of Blues, 1pm Matinee
*Teaneck NJ: Mexicali Blues

THURSDAY DECEMBER 29TH
*Chicago IL: Martyrs
*Charlottesville VA: Starr Hill

FRIDAY DECEMBER 30TH
*Columbus OH: Little Brothers
*Virginia Beach VA: The Jewish Mother

SATURDAY DECEMBER 31ST
*Philadelphia PA: The Trocadero 2pm Matinee
BOTH GROUPS, PLUS LOCAL SOR BANDS, HOLIDAY SPECTATCULAR!!!
************

In writing news, Opium Magazine just accepted another one of my stories, Embouchure, and I'm guessing it will appear some time late this month or early next month. As readers of this blog know, I love, love, love Opium so I'm pretty happy about that at least. Oh, and I'm doing a reading with an incredible writer, Randall Brown (I have his link on the right hand side here) at Community College on January 31, 2006, so that's pretty cool, too. Though as I remarked to another writer friend of mine, "I should just decline to read myself and offer to hold/turn Randall's pages for him, huh."

That's how good Randall is. Of course I'll be posting more details about that event in late January. Wow, I just realized, that's one day after Julie's birthday. She'll be twenty years old. Holy crap -- someone please tell me how that happened. Wasn't I just twenty? Didn't I just give birth to that little b**** err, I mean, princess?

Oh, here's some other news. I got an email from someone asking me if I was interested in returning to work part-time as a paralegal. The scary thing is, I'm considering it. I mean, if it's only two days a week, I wouldn't mind, especially as it means I could buy five Waterman 52s if I want. What to do, what to do. Oh God, I swore I'd never go back to law.

But it is what I know, damn it.

Sigh.

Ho ho ho.

Neil Gaiman is evil...

Christ, he posts this pic of himself and what's a girl to do...not topple off her chair? Sheesh. This photo is of Neil taking a stroll yesterday on the grounds of his home in Minnesota.

I have a sudden urge to relocate across the country...sigh...

Nah. But I'm normal and admit it: I appreciate a good looking man and Neil, you've already captured my brain with your incredible writing but now, having woken up first thing to that photo, I'm completely lost. Lost, I tell you.

Har har.

So Eric jammed all last night with the Control Freaks and it's so great to see him so psyched.

Meanwhile, their manager just called Eric. Rather than even wait until the end of the month, they're going into the studio all day this coming Thursday and Friday -- that's how fast this band clicked together.

Julie played a gig with McRad last night at a college bar in West Chester. She's also playing with Sweatheart at 1026 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA next Friday night, December 9. So she's pretty happy and trust me, when she's happy, the whole family is happy. Conversely, when she's miserable...arghhh....

So I visited my Publishers Marketplace webpage yesterday for the first time in literally months and was shocked to see I'm in the top ten most visited pages, especially as over 30,000 people visit that site every day. The reason I went to the site was to change my information, because it was my old news from last year which promoted my book, The Tour, and since the book has totally been revised/rewritten, the title changed to Baby Boomer, and really, the focus entirely shifted, I thought it wise (d'oh) to amend the page though I'm still tweaking a few things -- oh, and still re-writing the novel, too, but I'm starting to feel way pumped about it. Finally. Anyway, while I was on the site, I checked out pages of some pals of mine, and they're really cool. Go have a look at Susan Henderson's and Ellen Meister's.

Anyway, speaking of writing, that's the plan for today. I've been really depressed over a few things happening with some people in my online writers' group if you can believe that insanity on my part (yeah, like how about living in the real world now, Rob...take this as a divine message of sorts), so speaking of Neil Gaiman, I'm going to take his advice. When you're down and out and miserable, MAKE ART! Eric is out teaching drums all day and then is going straight from that to spending the evening with the lovely Carolyn out in the suburbs. Julie is working a double shift at the restaurant and most likely sleeping at Matt's tonight, so I've got no distractions other than my own crazy brain.

And tomorrow Eric is rehearsing with the Control Freaks and Julie is again working a double shift, so that's double writing time in solitude!

Hey, one thing I do have that's nice are gorgeous Christmas lights all over the house and the promise of snow both tomorrow and Monday! Yay! See, now that I stay home and write full time and no longer have to walk to a miserable nine to five job, I can really appreciate things like snow and can actually spend Monday playing outside in it with my dog. Ah...maybe I shouldn't be depressed after all.

Okay. Let me go then.