whirling dervishes...

has it really been a month since I posted an entry here?
almost!
January flew by, i was in NYC for Gaga shows, and a visit home with my family.
There was zero snowfall, but it was a grande trip east. (will do a whole blog on this over on the furrytiger site, as soon as I get to it...)



I got to visit Neil's agent, Merrilee's beautiful offices, what a place to go to work every day:



had a new year's chat with my favorite lions, Patience & Fortitude @ the New York Public Library:





When I got back on the west coast I met up with Neil, here for appearances, meetings and general good times...

Driving him around in Ghosty with the top down made his hair look even better, if you can believe it....
but the haircut by our friend miss punk-rock-choir Chris probably sealed the deal:



the hotel he was being put up in had a terrific toy in the elevator, a photo device that generated images of many many riders:



Neil had an appointment at a recording studio to do a couple different voiceover jobs, the crew & producer/directors were thrilled by his professional demeanor and general willingness to try anything.

In between meetings, I fed him a steady stream of fanmail to answer & things to gaze on:



here he doodles a terrific bookmark for charity:



perhaps my favorite:




we ate four-star sushi:



DC Comics sent over a lovely team of six guys to film footage of an interview with Neil for the 75th anniversary documentary.
Lorraine and I did quite a bit of fancy footwork with the hotel and we really enjoyed doc team leader Sean Welch's dry hilarious approach. Here he is in the hallway setting up:




these guys were stuffed like sardines in Neil's suite. Cannot wait to see the final results, the questions were intriguing & the answers, man, I always learn something from @Neilhimself---



We journeyed up to Santa Barbara for Neil's talk at the UCSB campus.

Look at the carpet where we had lunch (with the talented Michael Reaves)



UCSB was quite the schedule, Neil gave a pre-event talk & Q&A on the campus to selected students:



I sure hope someone got it on tape, all the gems that were flying back and forth...

Neil soundchecking at Campbell Hall:



this event was not meant to have a signing, but because of crossed communications, Neil agreed to not disappoint all those in attendance. The organizer kept reassuring me that it would go quickly. I kept saying, watch and see, we will be leaving here at 1 am...(& with a two hour drive down the coast, that would put our hero in his hotel by 3:30--with early morning meetings and another speaking event next day)

Neil read one of my new favorite stories, "The Thing About Cassandra"--you could hear people's shallow breathing as they hung on the story.

the line stretched around the building and looped all over the place. everyone was in great spirits, so excited to meet Neil.
we even had him signing a typewriter! (can you see Ray Bradbury's pawprint on there as well?)



this class came from Nevada!



so we DID arrive back in LA at 3:30 am after a four hour signing...

Next morning, I met him for meetings etc. That night was UCLA's talk.
Neil pre-signed a super-load of books for the event.







Neil read from "Odd and the Frost Giants" and gave a very thought-provoking speech. However, he did forget to mention that CORALINE was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Picture. ah, geez!

I finally got to introduce Drew's parents to Neil and also front and center is the legendary SuperKate:




The next day, another crew gathered into Neil's hotel suite. This time, led by the wonderful Marc Scott Zicree, Neil did a commentary track for the Bluray release of several Twilight Zone episodes. I learned so much...






there is so much more to add, but I have to fly to San Francisco in the morning, so I have to wind this up.
Can I say though, Neil not only introduced me to David J, Grant Morrison AND Stephen Fry, but he also let me trade two tickets to UCLA event for a tour of the Playboy Mansion...and so that's what Drew is getting for Valentine's Day (shhhhhh!)
thank you, Boss!!