http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/07/day-2-of-ala-and-reading-things-aloud.html

Yesterday I had a breakfast with many librarians, then signed was interviewed in front of a crowd by Roger Sutton from Hornbook, signed for happy librarian-folk for three hours, then napped and went off to dinner with the Newbery Award Committee, the sort of dinner where you have each different course at a different table, and talk to everyone. Then I signed books for them (and for a few stray Printz Committee judges, who crept in).

This morning was Dim Sum with Jill Thompson for breakfast (Here is Jill. People always want to know where she got that bag, and she made it herself. I told her she should take orders for them for a ridiculous amount of money.) Then with Elyse Marshall, ace HarperChildren's publicist, to a local studio where I was interviewed for Barnes and Noble, then recorded some paragraphs from Kipling's The Jungle Book, Ray Bradbury's story "Homecoming" and James Thurber's The 13 Clocks. I loved doing them -- B&N will pick one sequence and have it animated and put up online.

Was fascinated by how different the voice of the narrator was in each case -- the voice of the book, and that reminded me that I had not yet answered this, and had meant to:

Neil ~ Thank you for many hours of entertainment, whether I'm reading your works, or you are! My daughter is finding that chapter books are a good thing, and wants me to read them to her. I'm glad to do so, but I'm looking for some suggestions from a masterful book reader (you) to a very coarse book reader (me). How do you keep the character voices straight in your head? I suppose it helps that you know the words particularly well since you wrote them, but any tips or suggestions? Any other pointers for engaging the listener? I know my daughter doesn't mind (she still wants me to read, after all!), but I'd like to be better for her and for me. Thanks and keep up the superb work, both here on the blog and in the offline printed universe! BRIAN

Let's see. Character voices are more or less easy: I sort of cast them in my head as I go. What's the person like? Who do they remind me of?

I'm appalling at doing accents, but not bad at doing people. And mostly you're not even doing impressions, just general brush strokes. How does a person sound? Well, you hold them in your head and generally sound like that.

When dealing with a larger than life story I'll sometimes go for a larger than life cast in my head: In (for example) The 13 Clocks, in my head, when I read it aloud, I tend to cast Marty Feldman as the Golux, and Peter Sellers (doing his Laurence Olivier in Richard the Third impression) as the evil Duke.

It's hard though, in a big book with a lot of characters, some of whom may nip off-stage for seven or eight chapters at a time. Do your best, and have a picture in your head. Borrow from your life. Steal voices shamelessly.

Most important, just do the voices (including the voice of the Book, which may not be your voice exactly, but should be close enough to it that it won't be a strain), and do not be shy. Even at your worst, you're doing better than you would if you didn't do the voices, and kids are a mostly uncritical audience, especially if you do it with confidence.

Read it as if you're telling a story. Read it as if you're interested and you care. And, the biggest and most important one, vary the tune.

I heard a young writer reading some of his own work in public a few weeks ago, and every sentence had exactly the same tune, the sime rising and falling cadences. They all ended on the same note. The beat that ran through the whole passage did not change from first to last. It was hypnotically dull.

Listen to people read who are good at it. BBC Radio 7 and BBC Radio 4 (here's the Radio 4 Readings website)are a great source of an ever-changing series of books and stories, fiction and non-fiction, all read aloud and read aloud well. Listen to the tune, where voices go up or down. Listen to what makes a reader speed up or slow down -- listen to what keeps you interested and where you lose interest. And do it as they do -- change the tune, change the pace, keep interested and it will keep interesting.

But mostly my advice is this: just do it. Enthusiasm and willingness to do it counts for most of it, and you learn by doing it and get better from doing it.

I've been reading in front of audiences now for almost 20 years. I've got significantly better in that time, mostly because I've done it so much. You learn as you go. You get better as you go. Practice makes if not perfect then at least pretty decent.

And that's all.


Except to wish Roz Kaveney happy birthday.

This was a challenge that I set for myself, to make icons from season one of Supernatural, and to make only so many icons per episode. There is one icon from episode one, two icons from episode two... twenty-two icons from episode twenty-two, etc. And I tried to give them all a bright, saturated coloring. Of course, not every cap would cooperate, so there are some black and whites sprinkled in. ^__^ ALSO. These are Sam and Dean exclusively. Either one or both of them, NO GUEST STARS. Just our boys. Occasionally in the Metallicar, of course.


HERE @ abendiboo

This was a challenge that I set for myself, to make icons from season one of Supernatural, and to make only so many icons per episode. There is one icon from episode one, two icons from episode two... twenty-two icons from episode twenty-two, etc. And I tried to give them all a bright, saturated coloring. Of course, not every cap would cooperate, so there are some black and whites sprinkled in. ^__^ ALSO. These are Sam and Dean exclusively. Either one or both of them, NO GUEST STARS. Just our boys. Occasionally in the Metallicar, of course.


HERE @ abendiboo

Well, let me just tell you that when you see a Beatle live? Any stress or worries you may have had lately about certain newer emo musicians and band lineups and drugs and drama melts away into absolutely nothing.

We had barrier, we worked hard for it, and it paid off. Hello, I'm twenty feet away from Paul McCartney.

The best way I can describe seeing Paul McCartney live is to list some of his setlist. Here are the ones I can remember.

Drive My Car
Jet
The Long and Winding Road
Back in the USSR
Blackbird
Here Today
Got To Get You Into My Life
I've Got A (MOTHERFUCKING) Feeling
Something
Paperback Writer
A Day In the Life feat. Give Peace a Chance
Let It Be
Live and Let Die
Hey Jude
Yesterday
All My Lovin'
Band on the Run
Eleanor Rigby
Helter Skelter
Get Back
Mull of Kintyr
Day Tripper
Lady Madonna
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band/The End

He played for three whole hours, never left the stage, never tired. I forget some songs, some of the ones I didn't know too well because they were solo things, etc. Also, he did NOT play Maybe I'm Amazed. Is that normal? I don't know. I really wasn't that disappointed. (Read: I wasn't disappointed AT ALL.)

Some notables: (ASIDE FROM, EVERY SINGLE SONG OMG)

During his acoustic version of Blackbird, for which his band left the stage, I cried. Like, a tear or two. Then he launched into Here Today, and then there were like, streaming tears. He also did this "step back and lift his guitar in the air for a moment of acknowledgment" thing for John. I mean, come on, we all know it's sad, but are we ever really that close? No we're not.

Paperback Writer, WHOA HI OUT OF NOWHERE. ♥

He rocked Helter Skelter so hard. I had no idea he would actually play this.

This is the first time since 1966 that Paul has played Day Tripper live. And I was there.

My brother was absolutely off his rocker when he started playing Lady Madonna. Max honestly looked like the young girls in the Beatlemania tribute video they were playing while we waited.

Imagine 50 000 people all throwing up peace signs and singing along with Give Peace a Chance. Let's not even mention the "na na na na"s off Hey Jude.

So much pyro on Live and Let Die that I thought I was at the Kiss concert. Oops, that's next weekend...

He played Something on the ukelele. Just freakin' saying.

There was also a time when he read aloud someone's sign that said "Sir Paul, Sign My Arm So I Can Get It Tattooed" or something, and the whole crowd started shouting "do it do it"... so he friggen did. I mean, COME ON. You expect that from like, I dunno, Bon Jovi or John Mayer or like, the Dixie Chicks, but PAUL MCCARTNEY. This girl was just young, and she absolutely freaked the fuck out. She jumped him and hugged him and promptly broke down into tears onstage in front of him. Paul McCartney, damn. Legend.

I could talk for hours about this show, but I am feelin' the floaty type of concert high and don't want to sit and type it up.

I'll just wrap it up by saying that I hadn't read any recent Paul setlists and had NO IDEA that he would play so many Beatles tunes, and that surprise kinda hit me hard. I was so emotional, which I hadn't expected. I anticipated the glee, the elation, but I was absolutely sideswiped by how much the show broke down every emotional defense that I have carefully erected. I stood there and cried, though I'm too cool to cry. I lost my shit, even though I'm too cool to lose it in front of so many people. I sang along to "Hey Jude" with thousands of other people, even though I'm too much of a music snob to be that mainstream. Last night? I was that mainstream, I was that dorky, I was that affected, and I did not care then and I still don't care now. It's like I've had a revelation, or a religious experience.

McCartney rocked me, oh boy.

Mannnn, I feel like I've done this picspam 3947283974 times, and I probably have. Sigh. Sorry if you've seen this picspam a hundred times before! I just really love Pete/Ryan. ;____; WHY ARE ALL OF MY OTPS DEADDDD.


( i am glad to have good souls in my life. )

IDK GUYS, I REALLY LOVE THEM AND I WISH THEY WERE STILL THE BOYFRANDS OF MY HEART. ;____________; CRI CRI, PETE/RYAN. I WILL ALWAYS SHIP YOU HARDEST.

;__________________;

... I hadn't realised I have not posted since July 7th. Oops. Hi. Happy fellow birthday to shaggydogstail and furiosity, and thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday as well!

All of my sisters and a couple of friends came over yesterday for a small birthday get together, which we followed with attending a shadow cast screening of Jurassic Park. Phenomenally terrible. Occasionally it was funny but mostly it wasn't and after awhile we just stopped watching the cast and watched the movie instead (while being silently annoyed that they were in the way of the screen). Alas, you win some, you lose some.

Here's the birthday cake my friend baked for me. ( cut for AWESOME )

I also (finally) finished my mermaid quilt this afternoon. ( cut for pics )

I was going through my old files today, and found some videos of Jasper that I hadn't posted.

I'm so glad I have them!! They capture his spirit and quirkiness :)

( 3 short vids behind the cut )

⌈ Secret Post #919 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

101.

( More! )

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 16 pages, 385 secrets from Secret Submission Post #132.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 1 2 - broken links ], [ 1 2 - not!secrets ], [ 1 - not!fandom ], [ 1 2 3 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 - doing it wrong ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Yesterday: cerchilaverita and I discovered that way too many of our friends didn't know who Paul Newman was, so we made a night of it and watched Butch and Sundance (and also The Sting, which doesn't really impact this story).

Today: We went to see Public Enemies, which was also excellent.

End result: We've decided to institute a ban on our watching of reality-inspired outlaw movies for a while. They're too good and too depressing at the end. ♥

http://www.yuletidetreasure.org/archive/77/alovely.html

"What's cooking? And by cooking I don't mean cooking cooking, because Ned's got that covered with the pie and the ovens."

Emerson looks up, scowling. "Where's my pie, woman?"

"We're out of Rhubarb." Olive hooks one finger through the handle of the middle mug and tugs it over. "Ned's obsessing about Mince and Peppermint Cream and Pumpkin and Plum Pudding."

"Christmas," Emerson says scornfully. "Only good thing about Christmas is the increase in murders."

Check it out at Ebay here!

After sorting through my merch, I came across some things I'm not using that maybe someone else can!

( fall out boy, panic at the disco, my chemical romance, the hush sound, the killers )

added some more items to my little store I guess you could call it.

I have items from:
Hot Hot Heat
Matisyahu
The Academy Is...
Anarbor

and more!

here at rmhs_selling
:)