― Tom, Friday, 15 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
No I am not, have never been and never intend to be a goth. Does that answer the second one.
― Pete, Friday, 15 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
My Modern Novel teacher (Scott Bradfield - a pretty good writer himself; check out _The History of Luminious Motion_) went on a mini- rant about Gaiman one class - pretentious bastard, no-talent hack, bla bla bla. And this was back in 1995! I'd hate to see what he'd say now.
― David Raposa, Friday, 15 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
I never thought I was a goth though I was accused of it recently on wearing dark red lipstick and elbow length black lace gloves. No one seemed to realise I was doing eighties revival. Sigh...........
― Emma, Friday, 15 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
x0x0
― Norman Fay, Friday, 15 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
Of course Gaiman is a follow on from Moore - the latter was his mentor and I hear that they still send letters under pseudemoms to each other's columns.
David:
The History of Luminous Motion is a fine novel, probably the one I remember most fondly from 1996, but hardly gets Bradfield off the Gaiman hook. Teenagers becoming Warlocks and drawing pentangles on their hands? Neil would have been proud. Where is SB based, by the way? Is it East Coast?
― Magnus, Sunday, 17 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago) link
― Greg, Tuesday, 23 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― DV (dirtyvicar), Monday, 23 June 2003 19:19 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Lara (Lara), Monday, 23 June 2003 19:22 (twenty-one years ago) link
His children's novel was, uh, OK. I bought the special edition for the artwork. American Gods wasn't particularly special, but not awful.
I've never read any of the Sandman/Neverwhere/graphic novels... or really, anything else he's done.
― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Monday, 23 June 2003 19:27 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Lara (Lara), Monday, 23 June 2003 19:28 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Monday, 23 June 2003 19:57 (twenty-one years ago) link
am reading smoke and mirrors right now, will get back to you.
― anthony easton (anthony), Monday, 23 June 2003 20:03 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Leee (Leee), Monday, 23 June 2003 21:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
Good Omens is brilliant, and I keep meaning to nick it back off my mate who has had it now for about 4 years.
― Fuzzy (Fuzzy), Monday, 23 June 2003 21:04 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Monday, 23 June 2003 21:13 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Monday, 23 June 2003 21:18 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Leee (Leee), Monday, 23 June 2003 21:20 (twenty-one years ago) link
Andrew - I only bought Kindly Ones as a whole graphic novel, I was a bit of a late starter in the Sandman books. In fact I've only read about 5 so far anyway.
― Fuzzy (Fuzzy), Monday, 23 June 2003 21:42 (twenty-one years ago) link
As for his other work, my favourite Gaiman comics are actually Black Orchid and The High Cost of Living. The former is a clever subversion of superhero clichés (better than Frank Miller's attempts to do the same thing), and the latter just sums up perfectly what's good about Gaiman's writing (his endless humanism, mainly). The Time of Your Life wasn't quite as good as the first Death series, and Signal to Noise and Violent Cases were both interesting but somewhat artsy. Gaiman's books are entertaining, but not brilliant.
About Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore: I don't think Gaiman has ever surpassed his mentor. His work has been constantly good, unlike Moore's, but at his best Moore still beats him. Also, Moore is more visually oriented, and his comics are always innovative both on the visual and the textual level. Gaiman, on the other hand, is more of a traditional writer; his work usually has too much text, and that is always a bad thing for a comic.
― Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 24 June 2003 09:58 (twenty-one years ago) link
Well, that and the fact that Gaiman == Gilderoy Lockhart. (truth copyright Angela Cotter)
― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Tuesday, 24 June 2003 10:14 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Alan (Alan), Tuesday, 24 June 2003 12:53 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Alan (Alan), Tuesday, 24 June 2003 12:54 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Tuesday, 24 June 2003 12:56 (twenty-one years ago) link
this is arrant nonsense... well, whatever about the Kindly Ones, the Wake was a long essay in wanky tiresomeness that I only bought for the sake of completism.
― DV (dirtyvicar), Tuesday, 24 June 2003 12:57 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Alan (Alan), Tuesday, 24 June 2003 12:58 (twenty-one years ago) link
no way. kim newman rules. (and you're forgetting the velvet suits and cane).
― angela (angela), Tuesday, 24 June 2003 12:59 (twenty-one years ago) link
― angela (angela), Tuesday, 24 June 2003 13:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
― joni, Tuesday, 24 June 2003 13:44 (twenty-one years ago) link
― DV (dirtyvicar), Tuesday, 24 June 2003 14:08 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Tuesday, 24 June 2003 14:10 (twenty-one years ago) link
― DV (dirtyvicar), Tuesday, 24 June 2003 14:22 (twenty-one years ago) link
― j fail (cenotaph), Tuesday, 24 June 2003 18:33 (twenty-one years ago) link
The last two issues of Sandman (the Chinese story and the Shakespeare story) were unnecessary, admittedly. But being a long time reader of the comic, I couldn't help but be moved by seeing all the series' characters gather one last time for the wake and the funeral. Call me a sentimentalist.
What's Signal to Noise like? anyone?
It's a Gaiman/McKean collaboration, and it's about a dying film-maker who tries to direct his last movie inside his head. It's actually quite good, better than Violent Cases anyway, because it isn't as artsy and pretentious as that one.
― Tuomas (Tuomas), Wednesday, 25 June 2003 06:46 (twenty-one years ago) link
― anthony easton (anthony), Wednesday, 25 June 2003 06:51 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Tuomas (Tuomas), Wednesday, 25 June 2003 06:52 (twenty-one years ago) link
_American Gods_ was damn good, though. The best parts of thebook were the parts where the hero was going all domestic,renting an apartment, going on dates, etc. Neil Gaiman couldwrite great "normal" stories, minus murder and magic.
― squirl_plise, Wednesday, 25 June 2003 07:26 (twenty-one years ago) link
Incidentally, according to the TV credits, Neverwhere was based on an idea by Lenny Henry; although the concept of there being a secret underground London is a very old legend, especially the bit about the giant boars. They supposedly escaped from Smithfield market into the River Fleet, and their descendants are down there somewhere still.
― caitlin (caitlin), Wednesday, 25 June 2003 12:30 (twenty-one years ago) link
― toraneko (toraneko), Wednesday, 25 June 2003 13:20 (twenty-one years ago) link
― bass braille (....), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 04:12 (nineteen years ago) link
― Dan I. (Dan I.), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 04:55 (nineteen years ago) link
― seedy poops in the woods (Queen Electric Butt Prober BZZ), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 05:28 (nineteen years ago) link
― Kingfish MuffMiner 2049er (Kingfish), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 05:58 (nineteen years ago) link
― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 06:35 (nineteen years ago) link
― zappi (joni), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 09:43 (nineteen years ago) link
the whole thing has an element of Myst/Riven looks about it.
― Jaunty Alan (Alan), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 10:28 (nineteen years ago) link
― The Lex (The Lex), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 10:37 (nineteen years ago) link
― Mog, Tuesday, 1 February 2005 11:07 (nineteen years ago) link
I think it's supposed to be Delirium from Sandman:
http://www.obscure.org/~domino/images/delirium.jpg
...though if I remember correctly, Gaiman denies it in some of his introductions to the Sandman books and says Tori is more like Death. Anyway, the book where that strip is taken from does feature Delirium visiting an S/M club where a Tori Amos song is playing on the background.
― Tuomas (Tuomas), Tuesday, 1 February 2005 11:15 (nineteen years ago) link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/thewire/pip/4uyaw/
no Listen Again link on page but it's here:http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radio3_promo.shtmlunder 'The Wire'
― koogs (koogs), Monday, 7 March 2005 16:48 (nineteen years ago) link
Dud.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/19/neil-gaiman-apologises-skye-breaking-lockdown-rules-new-zealand
― Is Lou Reed a Good Singer? (Tom D.), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 15:18 (four years ago) link
lol I had no idea he was married to Amanda Palmer, but other than being a thread on ILX I have no idea who she is anyway.
― Is Lou Reed a Good Singer? (Tom D.), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 15:20 (four years ago) link
OMG!!!!! why did you not also post this to the Amanda Palmer thread???
― sarahell, Tuesday, 19 May 2020 15:24 (four years ago) link
He apparently has never opened that thread.
― Spocks on the Run (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 15:25 (four years ago) link
Bingo.
― Is Lou Reed a Good Singer? (Tom D.), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 15:27 (four years ago) link
simple simon met a gaiman going to his third home to spread some rona..
― calzino, Tuesday, 19 May 2020 15:28 (four years ago) link
Though I'd never opened a Neil Gaiman thread till now.
― Is Lou Reed a Good Singer? (Tom D.), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 15:28 (four years ago) link
he writes those shit comics that aren't viz or beano!
― calzino, Tuesday, 19 May 2020 15:30 (four years ago) link
lol if you can call that writing
― j., Tuesday, 19 May 2020 15:34 (four years ago) link
I watched about half of season 1 of American Gods and it was some insufferable shite that even the great Ian McShane couldn't ameliorate with his fine presence.
― calzino, Tuesday, 19 May 2020 15:37 (four years ago) link
I liked Good Omens and Neverwhere, have given up on everything I've looked at since then, including American Gods which I found not of interest from any angle.
― Wuhan!! Got You All in Check (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 15:46 (four years ago) link
It's easy to criticise but who among us can honestly say they wouldn't feel inclined to fly 11,000 miles to get out of being locked up with A. Palmer?
― Noel Emits, Tuesday, 19 May 2020 15:51 (four years ago) link
New Zealand maybe not a great place to go to patch up a rocky relationship.
― Is Lou Reed a Good Singer? (Tom D.), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 15:53 (four years ago) link
xp a guy who chose to marry Amanda Palmer and have a child with her?
― Wuhan!! Got You All in Check (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 15:53 (four years ago) link
We actually have the answer to that and it is no.
― Noel Emits, Tuesday, 19 May 2020 15:57 (four years ago) link
Fun fact: the Gaelic name for the Isle of Skye is An t-Eilean Sgitheanach.
― Spocks on the Run (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 16:00 (four years ago) link
I'm sure Neil Gaiman speaks it like a native... a native of Hampstead, that is.
― Is Lou Reed a Good Singer? (Tom D.), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 16:01 (four years ago) link
I bitched about this on the Amanda palmer thread. Theres no hospital for a couple hundred miles for the inhabitants of Skye and little reason for them to get covid without outsiders coming in
― COVID and the Gang (jim in vancouver), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 16:09 (four years ago) link
Who would have thought some rich entitled London wanker who 'loves Skye more than anything' could be that selfish?
― Is Lou Reed a Good Singer? (Tom D.), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 16:17 (four years ago) link
Runrig are from Skye, if he could take out one or two of them with his London diseases it'll all have been worth it.
― zoom séance goes tits up (Matt #2), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 16:21 (four years ago) link
think yr more of a londoner than he is, tom -- he grew up in east grinstead (parents = scientologists) , living there on and off till 1987, then moved to wisconsin in the early 90s
― mark s, Tuesday, 19 May 2020 17:37 (four years ago) link
Runrig also appear in the Duolingo Gaelic course pretty early on, probably before Skye.
― Spocks on the Run (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 18:12 (four years ago) link
(xp) A Sassenach incomer all the same.
― Is Lou Reed a Good Singer? (Tom D.), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 18:16 (four years ago) link
that i will not deny
― mark s, Tuesday, 19 May 2020 18:19 (four years ago) link
Reminds me, I work with a guy from the Canary Islands who told me their nickname for mainland Spaniards is 'los Godos', the Goths.
― Is Lou Reed a Good Singer? (Tom D.), Tuesday, 19 May 2020 19:13 (four years ago) link
I've been listening to the Sandman audio drama on Audible and it's...not bad, I guess? I don't listen to audio-books much as my attention span with these things is pretty abysmal. But some chapters have been enjoyable, in particular the Dr Destiny storyline. The episode set in the diner was creepy was fuck.
Can't say I care much for Death's voice actress. I know the character is meant to be quirky and upbeat, but she sounds far too high-pitch squeaky (I actually thought it was Kristen Schall for a minute) and a bit one-note. It's too bad, as aside from her the "Sound of Her Wings" episode was done really well.
― Duane Barry, Tuesday, 21 July 2020 17:26 (four years ago) link
Creepy as fuck
― Duane Barry, Tuesday, 21 July 2020 17:27 (four years ago) link
Didn't know this existed. Kristen Schall might actually be a good Death!
― chap, Tuesday, 21 July 2020 17:45 (four years ago) link
Schall would have more range, I'd reckon. I'll give Dennings another chance when the next Death story comes up, she might improve.
― Duane Barry, Tuesday, 21 July 2020 17:50 (four years ago) link
The second part of the audio series is out. They actually went ahead and cast Schall as Delirium, so in any scene where she interacts with Death (Kat Dennings), the two are impossible to tell apart! Still, Season of Mists and A Game of You are two of my favourite extended Sandman stories, so this should be good.
― Duane Barry, Monday, 11 October 2021 10:25 (three years ago) link
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00120cb
^ Desert Island Discs from earlier in the month
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4JQZ297tX36CzL1JSkQHy4D/nine-things-we-learned-from-neil-gaimans-desert-island-discs
and that link seems to be the bones of the talking.
― koogs, Tuesday, 21 December 2021 18:40 (two years ago) link
Anyway
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWJTB6FPVaA
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 6 June 2022 20:47 (two years ago) link
looks good enough
― akm, Monday, 6 June 2022 23:53 (two years ago) link
though there is a slight element of cheapness about it that seems unavoidable in every Gaiman adaptation for some reason
― akm, Monday, 6 June 2022 23:54 (two years ago) link
it's an issue with clive barker as well. something about british horror/fantasy.
― i cannot help if you made yourself not funny (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 7 June 2022 03:30 (two years ago) link
akmPosted: November 5, 2016 at 8:52:29 AMdid that not happen?lol(Candyman seems perfectly suited to its budget fwiw imo)
― Yul Brynner film festival on Channel 48... (sic), Tuesday, 7 June 2022 03:44 (two years ago) link
Currently being accused of sexual assault - allegations are being reported by right-wing/TERF sources but I wouldn’t be surprised if more people come forward just based on things I’ve heard.
― JoeStork, Thursday, 4 July 2024 00:09 (three months ago) link
Is that a fair description of Tortoise media? A couple people recently recommended their pod series on Amber Heard to me, it sounded like it was fighting the misogynistic narratives about her
― symsymsym, Thursday, 4 July 2024 02:25 (three months ago) link
the person who wrote the article is one of Rowling's friends or so I read
― I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Thursday, 4 July 2024 03:00 (three months ago) link
ddg'd and it's a three-hour four-part streaming audio thing, not an article, and the person who co-wrote and -hosts it is Boris Johnson's sister
― bae (sic), Thursday, 4 July 2024 07:27 (three months ago) link
someone has started a transcripion that podcast btw, for people who don't want to listen to 4 hours
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ql2bHdKtIYcu9EuLH2kakzMIAMfNnoDU/view
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pxWmmxfMTIbxJJ3WYFhiyVPph01UUMxx/view
Not sure if this is the whole thing yet, I only started reading the first one, where it's very explicit that the situation as presented by the accuser is complicated because she did admit consent at times.
― I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Sunday, 7 July 2024 17:22 (three months ago) link
I think it’s reasonable to debate whether a nanny can meaningfully consent to their employer on the first day of the job. I’m sympathetic to both positions. However, regardless of consent, he clearly has serious personal issues.
― Allen (etaeoe), Sunday, 7 July 2024 17:52 (three months ago) link
exactly
another thing people seem to be missing is that the accuser approached these journalists. Now, you may think poorly of boris johnson's sister (I do), but it is who she approached. she speaks in the podcast directly about the experience. I keep seeing people on social media acting like this is hearsay.
― I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Sunday, 7 July 2024 18:08 (three months ago) link
This is anecdotal obv but I heard from a friend who knows some people in his orbit and is absolutely sure the allegations are true, reports that this is a pattern of behavior towards young female fans - obtaining consent and then immediately pushing/violating boundaries to the point of assault.
― JoeStork, Sunday, 7 July 2024 18:25 (three months ago) link
i'm friends with at least two people close to him and palmer and they've been silent on this and I'm afraid to ask
― I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Sunday, 7 July 2024 18:54 (three months ago) link
idk who this person is, but here’s a summation: https://politicsdancingxyz.substack.com/p/manufacturing-consent
seems not great
― mookieproof, Monday, 8 July 2024 18:04 (three months ago) link
here's the transcript of the third episode, which talks quite a bit about the family involvement with scientology and is less relevant to the actual subject matter of the overall podcast, though it's interesting.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EzzSc5zfwgllD_FbG16-CyYv7-QyyvL9/view
anyway, these transcripts are damning enough. Gaiman and Palmer have both gone silent on social media, I assume looking for a crisis PR firm. I don't see how either of them recover from this, it is bad.
― I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Monday, 8 July 2024 18:18 (three months ago) link
Also, regardless of whether and when consent was obtained, a 61-year-old man should not be sleeping with a 21-year-old woman. That shit is creepy.
― bored by endless ecstasy (anagram), Monday, 8 July 2024 18:18 (three months ago) link
Out of all the summation in the Substack link above, this one infuriates me the most:
Responding to Scarlett’s allegations, Gaiman described her as “mentally ill” and said she had a condition “associated with false memories”
What an absolutely _disgusting_ argument to make. A "condition associated with false memories"? Is that what you call the result of being repeatedly lied to by someone you trust, repeatedly being betrayed by someone you trust? Mental illness, suicidality, _none_ of it justifies sexual assault, none of it makes someone's accusations of sexual assault less credible. For someone to say something like that, that suggests to me active predation. When someone is going to abuse someone else, they go for someone vulnerable. Someone who's mentally ill. Someone who's been taught to not _trust_ themselves, _believe_ themselves. Sexual assault is a confusing, disorienting experience. It galls and frustrates me how difficult it is for so many people to understand that reality.
The ones that hurt most, the ones who offend me most, are the ones who put on a show of being good allies. I'm not sure they're _lying_. The impression I get is that it never occurs to them that the rules could apply to them. That _they_ could ever be a predator. I've personally seen it over and over and over again.
I'm a trans woman. _Sandman_ was the first representation of a trans woman in media I saw that didn't treat her as a joke or a predator. Gaiman's work means a lot to me. Tortoise Media? I don't know what they'd think of someone like me. I don't know what Boris Johnson's sister would think of something like me. Based on what I know about them I don't think highly of them.
And NOTHING IN THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPH MATTERS. None of it. None of it excuses or ameliorates what Gaiman did. None of it invalidates the experiences of the women he did it to. I'm sad and I'm angry and I'm... not surprised. That's the worst of it. Anybody, at any time, could be accusing of sexual assault, and I wouldn't be surprised. That doesn't mean it's true. False allegations of SA exist. I've seen them happen. This, though? I know enough to be able to say that this isn't one of them.
― Kate (rushomancy), Monday, 8 July 2024 18:52 (three months ago) link
thank you kate!also xp, crisis management firm was engaged as of last week https://archive.md/cyoXt
― kinder, Monday, 8 July 2024 18:57 (three months ago) link