(no subject)

A seriously cool collection of matchbox images on flickr. Matchbox labels from around the world but the majority are Eastern European from the 1950s and 60s.

~~~

Two bits from Neil.

One:

The Writer's Strike continues. I was delighted that the Weinstein Company has just made a deal with the WGA, agreeing to all the terms, as that means I can now go back to work on the Neverwhere movie. (A short history -- I wrote about eight drafts of Neverwhere-the-movie between 1997 and 2000, and then retired. Other people came in and wrote scripts, some of which were hated and some of which weren't, but it died. Last year my agents sent someone who asked about it the version of the script they had, which was the last draft script I did in 2000, and people read it, got excited and suddenly it came back to life, with the Hensons producing and doing it with the Weinstein Company. It needs to find a director, but at least I can work on it now.)

Neverwhere Movie! WOOOO! Oh, also, big yay to the Weinsteins. Woot even.:)

And B:

One very frequently asked question here is Can I Recommend a Book For A Young Reader? And the answer really is, no, I can't, not without knowing the Young Reader in question. Different people like different books, and age isn't much of a guide to that. But what I can now do is point anyone at this rather wonderful Daily Telegraph list of 100 books every child should read, broken into three sections (young, middle and older readers). It's a terrific list, and I say that as someone who's read to myself, or read aloud, many of the books they suggest, and not just because they've got Coraline on there.

~~~

Dear Spammers,

I don't *want* 250 business cards! I don't want *any* business cards! I had some (and liked them very much) several years ago and ended up giving out maybe five. Ten if you count the ones I gave to Sam. Besides, if I took you up on all the bloody offers, I'd have enough to paper every room in my house, and maybe the outside too. Jeeze.

Still don't think you're reading this,

Gessi

~~~

Ah, Valentine's day must be coming...the hypnotism spam has begun.;)

~~~

Doing okay. Counting the days, but we're surviving. We're doing *better* than surviving, even.

I do have to watch my playlist carefully though. I've got so many love songs, and lost love songs, and so on. "The Ballad of Mary Magdelene" can make me cry on the best of days. I don't have it in my playlist at all this week. I'm sentimental, not suicidal. *later* Aw damn. Got caught by Great Big Sea's "Boston & St. John". Oh well. It's a really pretty song. I won't hold a grudge.;)

The nice thing is, Jeff and Sam have been keeping in good touch. He made a couple of picture posts to our family community and she dictated a response, which he responded to. They've also talked on the phone a few times. I knew he and I would stay in touch, but it's so good that they are as well.

~~~

Oh, watched Northanger Abbey on Masterpiece Theatre (this season it's called "Masterpiece Classics" but I don't really care. Though, I apparently care enough to write this aside.) and it was marvelous. And the ending didn't feel rushed the way Persuasion did.

This is *not* to say I disliked Persuasion. I think I liked it even more than Northanger Abbey. But the end was a little rushed. Still...I will be acquiring the dvd. I figure that PBS is going to release a boxed set of "The Complete Jane Austen". If they do, *that's* what I'll get. If they don't, I'll get them separately, though I'll probably wait a bit for the price to go down.

~~~

Speaking of dvds (we were too!) I was a huge dork and got Stardust in full-screen. I didn't even *know* it was being released in full-screen, and picked it up at Costco without checking. So, we need to exchange that, 'cause I like to see the whole bloody movie, not just the middle.

When I was a kid, I noticed that the sides of movies were often cut off, and figured that people with *really* big televisions got to see the whole thing.

~~~

Hey kshandra, did you know that Thomas Dolby has a blog? (thomasdolbyblog) Nifty.:)

~~~

Oooh. Found a new web comic. It's called Thorn ( thornrosie) and it's set in the fifties...typical home with a mom, a dad and two daughters...the youngest plans to rule the world when she grows up.

~~~

Sam has a stereo again. It arrived yesterday. I was going to get her a small cd-only boom box, but realized that she had a number of story tapes, and we hadn't seen her tape player since before we moved here, in July of 2005. So, she's got a nice little stereo with removable speakers that she's currently not allowed to remove, 'cause I don't want the cords to be broken. This would bring much sadness.

She's so thrilled with it...I'm happy for her. :) And now she's going through her cds and finding out which are fine and which are mostly dead. There's a good reason I back up *all* the cds she's given before I give 'em to her. She really does do her best to take care of them, but I don't want her to be afraid to touch them. And, she is learning. At least, that's what I tell myself.;)

(no subject)

A seriously cool collection of matchbox images on flickr. Matchbox labels from around the world but the majority are Eastern European from the 1950s and 60s.

~~~

Two bits from Neil.

One:

The Writer's Strike continues. I was delighted that the Weinstein Company has just made a deal with the WGA, agreeing to all the terms, as that means I can now go back to work on the Neverwhere movie. (A short history -- I wrote about eight drafts of Neverwhere-the-movie between 1997 and 2000, and then retired. Other people came in and wrote scripts, some of which were hated and some of which weren't, but it died. Last year my agents sent someone who asked about it the version of the script they had, which was the last draft script I did in 2000, and people read it, got excited and suddenly it came back to life, with the Hensons producing and doing it with the Weinstein Company. It needs to find a director, but at least I can work on it now.)

Neverwhere Movie! WOOOO! Oh, also, big yay to the Weinsteins. Woot even.:)

And B:

One very frequently asked question here is Can I Recommend a Book For A Young Reader? And the answer really is, no, I can't, not without knowing the Young Reader in question. Different people like different books, and age isn't much of a guide to that. But what I can now do is point anyone at this rather wonderful Daily Telegraph list of 100 books every child should read, broken into three sections (young, middle and older readers). It's a terrific list, and I say that as someone who's read to myself, or read aloud, many of the books they suggest, and not just because they've got Coraline on there.

~~~

Dear Spammers,

I don't *want* 250 business cards! I don't want *any* business cards! I had some (and liked them very much) several years ago and ended up giving out maybe five. Ten if you count the ones I gave to Sam. Besides, if I took you up on all the bloody offers, I'd have enough to paper every room in my house, and maybe the outside too. Jeeze.

Still don't think you're reading this,

Gessi

~~~

Ah, Valentine's day must be coming...the hypnotism spam has begun.;)

~~~

Doing okay. Counting the days, but we're surviving. We're doing *better* than surviving, even.

I do have to watch my playlist carefully though. I've got so many love songs, and lost love songs, and so on. "The Ballad of Mary Magdelene" can make me cry on the best of days. I don't have it in my playlist at all this week. I'm sentimental, not suicidal. *later* Aw damn. Got caught by Great Big Sea's "Boston & St. John". Oh well. It's a really pretty song. I won't hold a grudge.;)

The nice thing is, Jeff and Sam have been keeping in good touch. He made a couple of picture posts to our family community and she dictated a response, which he responded to. They've also talked on the phone a few times. I knew he and I would stay in touch, but it's so good that they are as well.

~~~

Oh, watched Northanger Abbey on Masterpiece Theatre (this season it's called "Masterpiece Classics" but I don't really care. Though, I apparently care enough to write this aside.) and it was marvelous. And the ending didn't feel rushed the way Persuasion did.

This is *not* to say I disliked Persuasion. I think I liked it even more than Northanger Abbey. But the end was a little rushed. Still...I will be acquiring the dvd. I figure that PBS is going to release a boxed set of "The Complete Jane Austen". If they do, *that's* what I'll get. If they don't, I'll get them separately, though I'll probably wait a bit for the price to go down.

~~~

Speaking of dvds (we were too!) I was a huge dork and got Stardust in full-screen. I didn't even *know* it was being released in full-screen, and picked it up at Costco without checking. So, we need to exchange that, 'cause I like to see the whole bloody movie, not just the middle.

When I was a kid, I noticed that the sides of movies were often cut off, and figured that people with *really* big televisions got to see the whole thing.

~~~

Hey kshandra, did you know that Thomas Dolby has a blog? (thomasdolbyblog) Nifty.:)

~~~

Oooh. Found a new web comic. It's called Thorn ( thornrosie) and it's set in the fifties...typical home with a mom, a dad and two daughters...the youngest plans to rule the world when she grows up.

~~~

Sam has a stereo again. It arrived yesterday. I was going to get her a small cd-only boom box, but realized that she had a number of story tapes, and we hadn't seen her tape player since before we moved here, in July of 2005. So, she's got a nice little stereo with removable speakers that she's currently not allowed to remove, 'cause I don't want the cords to be broken. This would bring much sadness.

She's so thrilled with it...I'm happy for her. :) And now she's going through her cds and finding out which are fine and which are mostly dead. There's a good reason I back up *all* the cds she's given before I give 'em to her. She really does do her best to take care of them, but I don't want her to be afraid to touch them. And, she is learning. At least, that's what I tell myself.;)