life is short

Must be a slow day on BoingBoing--they actually used the link I submitted. Also lol Neil has a copy of Stephenie Meyer's The Host.

I really don't know what it is about Neil Gaiman's personal life that starts bringing out the Internet crazy. (And really, Interwebs. Do many people you know hang out in bathtubs naked with their friends? [If so, send them my way if they're above the mildly attractive threshold.]) It's creepy that people feel entitled to know what he (or any other famous people) are up to.

* If I was more clever, not writing this at work, and more familiar with this I would compose a snarky riff on said video, but alas, I am not. And thus you are grateful.

He's like that friend you have who is always up for anything, no matter how risky or foolish. And even if things go spectacularly wrong and you end up grounded, broke, fired or jailed, or all four at once, this friend will still say, "Wasn't that a blast?"

Chicago Tribune

Well, shit. They make Neil sound like The Doctor. This is totally okay by me.

(Also okay by me: cow's yuppie apartment, tiny boats, bagels, and paper store today. Why would I leave? There's grad school waiting for me back in the States.)

So apparently Bjork did a thing with Timbaland, and it is weird and awesome and techno and I love it.

How Neil Gaiman got his nickname "Scary Pants," and yet another article about him in The Independent.

Seminar bingo. Anybody who has attended an academic conference will know exactly what this is talking about. It's even better than hipster bingo.

I need proof of measles vaccinations before I can register for class. What the fuck is this, 1975? Or whenever measles outbreaks were still a problem. I'm really more worried about catching antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis (which some UW student did have) or some gnarly staph infection from one of the gutter punks in the U-District. Next they're going to want smallpox shots too.

Another interview with Neil Gaiman. The interviews done by Ms. Jessa Crispin of Bookslut are always a joy, because she asks the questions nobody else asks.

(And three book icons are not really enough, no.)

Thank you Neil, for pointing out this article defending the fantasy genre. I must save this and put it in my permanent links file. How people get away with saying fantasy isn't as real as, say, a romance novel or those crappy... things that Sidney Sheldon writes is still beyond me.

Well, I suppose since Neil Gaiman isn't stopping by Powell's to do a reading for American Gods ::growlwhine:: he just wrote a letter for us all to read. Don't get me wrong, it's a lovely letter, but after hearing Neil read for the CBLDF benefit, I wouldn't mind the experience again. It was truly lovely.

And I guess Powell's likes Neil, because they're offering American Gods for preorder with free shipping. I don't think I've ever recalled them doing that.

Update: I was pleasantly surprised to find out that at the CBLDF site they are taking preorders for the show Neil did at the Aladdin. And 1Bookstreet has American Gods for the cheapest price I can find. Free shipping too. I know there is another dollar off coupon floating around the Internet somewhere, just type "1 bookstreet coupon" into Google.