transcript of his interview
(thanks to this person)
and here goes copied entries from his journal:
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
posted by Neil 7/12/2005
07:34:00 AM
I'm in Kuala Lumpur airport, where the lounge has free, working
wireless, so this is a very short post.Some Frequently Asked Questions from the
Philippines that I'm going to answer in haste.
1) The assumed name that Fully Booked registered me at the hotel under
was...
Mister Punch.
2) The pen I've mostly been using is a 1950s Omas flexinib. If you want one
like it it's cheaper to find old flexinib Watermans on eBay. The ink I've mostly
been using is Mont Blanc Bordeaux I got in Singapore. It's not my favourite ink
(I'm not a big Mont Blanc fan) but it's a decent colour and I love the bottle
design.
They're calling my flight.
____________
I go, farewell. Farewell, I go.posted by Neil 7/12/2005
12:58:00 AM
Okay. Leaving for the airport in a minute, in a thunderstorm of epic
proportions. And I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who made my
trip to the Philippines the most memorable trip ever. I'd thank you all
personally but there are several thousand of you, and my fingers would start to
hurt again.But thanks again to you all. And yes, I do want to come back.On to
Melbourne...
______________
Monday, July 11, 2005
Ten happy little fingers and they're mine all
mine...posted by Neil 7/11/2005
11:28:00 AM
There's nothing quite like coming back from a day of signing and
signing and signing and talking and talking and signing, to be met with several
thousand people pointing out that though my head thought "Leonard Cohen" my
fingers typed "John Cale".I do not blame my fingers. A number of times in the
last two days they have happily written inscriptions for people while my head
has struggled to catch up. "Gosh," I think. "It's a copy of Good Omens. What are
some of the things I write in Good Omens?" while my fingers have already
efficiently written most of Burn This Book. Probably they just got confused by
"Hallelujah" or something.I don't think I've ever been more exhausted at
any point in a signing tour than I am right now. (Having said that, I don't remember ever having felt so loved by so many people.)
But I get to sleep until I wake up and that's so good...PS. I think I'm
now addicted to calamansi juice.
___________
Sunday, July 10, 2005
"My friends are gone and my hair is
grey..."posted by Neil 7/10/2005
07:16:00 PM
I woke up with a line from John Cale's song "Tower of Song" going round
in my head "...I ache in the places where I used to play...". I ache pretty much
everywhere at this point, although I'm still enjoying myself. Still paying my
dues in the Tower of Words, I suppose.So yesterday I did the local MTV (an MTV
station so far out of the cultural mainstream that it still plays rock videos,
how cool is that? I think they'll put the interview out on Friday here) and some
more interviews and, after finally conquering the evil of the hotel's printers,
successfully printed some ANANSI BOYS out. And then I read to a large crowd, and
signed for about grateful 600 people (including, at the end of the night, the
ones who had stuck around hopefully outside in the heat but didn't have line
numbers, although they only got a signature).The FAQ line is completely filled
with messages from people in Manila saying "when I got to the front of the line
I didn't say anything/burst into tears/said something stupid but what I wish I'd
said was....", all of which are really nice and none of which I'm posting
here.And instead I'm going to get up and get dressed and fight with the evil
printers one last time before going off to the morning's first interview. (You
must imagine me on one side, all early-morning bleary, holding a golden sword of
truth and righteousness, while these printers lumber menacingly over the hill
towards me).
_____________
Saturday, July 09, 2005
In the Tentposted by Neil 7/09/2005 12:54:00
PM
In the Philippines, the people are enthusiastic on a level
that makes the Brazilians look reserved and polite. They shout very
loudly when they're happy, too. There's a noise that a few thousand of the
locals make when they all shout at once to let you know they're happy to see you
that made me finally understand the idea of a wall of sound...Apparently over
3000 people turned up to see me, although only 700 tickets guaranteeing you a
signature were given out (and had all gone well before lunchtime). (Which I
still don't quite understand as I was told it would be limited to 500. But there
you go.) It began late, due to overrunning tv interviews, followed by Printer
Hell, when I couldn't get something to print out on the hotel printer, so I had
to read it on stage from the laptop -- which left me feeling I'd made the right
choice in getting a laptop that weighs about 2lb. So the event began a little
after 4:00pm. A short ANANSI BOYS reading, a short Q&A, and then I
signed...I stayed till everyone still there in the tent was done -- I finished
signing for the last people in line, all of us more than somewhat shellshocked,
around 1:25 am.Goodnight.
i was lucky to have seen pat at the tent. since i had to leave when mr gaiman was still signing the 300th person, i just made him a pretty good deal. gave him my stub, which will be prioritized the day after (at promenade greenhills) but in return, he had to have my book signed. and so i waited and waited for it...
such a fucking cool drawing of sandman at my book. haa. i'm overwhelmed!
PS i don't regret having stayed at the place for 10 1/2 hours and not get to meet him personally. all the fun of listening to his reading an excerpt from anansi boys and getting a sneak peek of an upcoming movie he wrote called mirrormask, it was priceless. no regrets of missing the AMa meeting. serious.
PS2 saw someone there. hehehe. nice.
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