Monday, June 08, 2009

full circle



Remember when I got this? The man who wrote the book the movie is based on saw it tonight, was quite amused by it, and then signed the button-sealed envelope for me.*

I will be shadowbox-framing this baby as soon as budget allows.

*I am not the first, nor will I be the last, to say that Neil Gaiman is a charming man, highly nice, a gentleman, and absolutely freaking hot. Oh, sigh.

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Where's summer Knitty? Soon, my pets. Very, very soon. In the meantime, the rest of the pics from tonight can be found here. I've done the best I can to title them helpfully, including a few choice quotes from the man himself that I remember quite vividly. Much better than a wordy blog post, no?

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Monday, February 09, 2009

Snippits, collected for your amusement!

Because those that care will likely wonder, and because I can't possibly write my feelings and opinions about the movie any better than blogger Joshua Starr, here is the review of Coraline that I would have written if I was clever enough.

Yes. What he said.

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For those who are sick of the Coraline talk [not possible!], you can expect the usual yarn, knitting, travel, teaching and ukulele blather to take over starting right about now.

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Oh! Speaking of travel and teaching, you might notice a new widget on the right sidebar of the blog: my 2009 travel/teaching schedule. Woot! I'm finalizing a few more and will add them to the widget when they're confirmed.

For the widget-averse, or to see everything at once, go here.

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And because you kind folk always ask when I post a big whack of tour dates, if you'd like me to come to your neighborhood, here's what to do: Contact your favorite yarn shop and tell them! If enough of you do that at any one shop, it just might happen! Just let the yarn shop know they can reach me at knittymagazine AT gmail -- and thanks for enabling!

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Thursday, February 05, 2009

Coraline movie premiere planning....Speak Up!

ETA: I'm very sorry. I bought tickets at the Beach Cinema based on information from movietickets.com and it turns out the theatre is NOT showing it in 3D despite the information on the website. I'll be getting a refund and I'm very sorry if any of you get stuck not seeing the version you wanted.

Cinema Clock has what seems to be correct information about which theatres are showing the 3D version.

Good luck, all! I hope we actually get to see the thing tonight!

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p.s. Don't ever buy tickets from movietickets.com. They don't stand behind their listings (they blame the theatres) and won't give a refund. I now have to go back to the Beach Cinema to get a refund. NEVER buying from movietickets.com again. Advise you to do the same. Grr.

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Okay! Info is finally up!

The Alliance Atlantis Beach Cinemas are showing Coraline in 3D. The showtimes are 6:50pm and 9:20pm.

So! I know some of those interested get off work at 6pm, which makes the early show a little tight. Is there anyone who can't make the late show? We could meet at the Purl, stock up on knitting-in-the-dark supplies and then all head out en masse for the later show. Tell me what you think! Quickly! Once we decide, everyone needs to buy their own ticket(s) here:

MovieTickets.com Alliance Atlantis Beach Cinemas. Movies, showtimes and tickets.

Then at least we'll have seats!

Summary: WOOOT!

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Saturday, January 24, 2009

A Saturday catch-all post, including Coraline! Flutes! And other news

For those awaiting the upcoming Coraline movie, a few things:

1. My favorite Coraline news source: Evil Buttons. Read back to the beginning to learn about the Coraline keys [I purchased mine on eBay...wasn't lucky enough to run across it in the wild on my own] and all the other interesting ways Laika is publicizing this upcoming movie.

2. Those following my Twitter feed already have seen this: From Mr Gaiman himself, his favorite Coraline trailer so far...and it's deliciously creepy. Finally.

3. Last Coraline post [for today :)] -- I call all those within driving distance of Toronto to join me on opening night, February 6, to watch the movie! It's too early to find theatres with showtimes, so as soon as I have details, I'll post here. I'll pick a theatre that takes online ticket orders, so we can buy ours in advance and actually all get in to the same showing! [It'll be the 7ish pm show and I'll confess now that I'm rather partial to the Alliance Atlantis theatre on Queen East at Kingston Road.]

4. Were you thinking of joining Franklin and I on the Alaska Sea Socks cruise this year? I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you, but it has been cancelled. Franklin and I were informed of this news by the cruise operator last week.

4a. I love cruising and teaching on a cruise is absolutely awesome, so I am quite sure that I'll be doing another cruise one day in the future and really hope you'll join me. Will report here when there are details, promise.

5. I joined a Ukulele Jam last week and had a blast. It's very embryonic, and my noob skills are not useless there, which is really encouraging! It's led by two guys who have played in bands and know what the heck they're doing, and it's filled with people of all levels of experience. The ukulele spotting alone is enough reason to go! This has me thinking of my next uke...and the one after that. Being a gear ho™ is not restricted to my knitting, you know. If you've got a uke and can play, you're welcome to join! Visit the site linked above for all the information you'll need.

5a. As a result of finally picking up an instrument I've wanted to play for years and loving it, I've decided it's finally time to sell my flute, which has been carefully stored, unused, for about 20 years. I received it as a birthday present from my parents when I was in high school and loved it for a long time, but it's just not the instrument for me any more.

SO! If anyone is interested in an Armstrong Model 90 sterling head/body flute, closed hole, with original case, leave a note in the comments. It's in gorgeous shape [except for two tiny dents on the back of the head -- I was a teenager. Cut me some slack]. Pictures here. There are a lot of them and the defects I'm aware of [just 3] are marked with notes on the pics.
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Okay! That's it for today. This post was kind of like a little brain burp, all the unrelated stuff in here.

I'm off to do Saturday errands!

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Saturday, December 06, 2008

you gots questions? i gots answers.

Thanks to everyone who shared my joy over the Coraline box! I'm still pinching myself...and while we're waiting for the rest of the boxes to turn up, I figured I'd answer the questions from the comments.

Liz: How do you get a job like that? I dunno, but the production company is Laika and here's their careers page. How cool a job would that be?

To everyone who mentioned the secret code [sweaterxxs], it's not really a secret...it's meant to be shared! In case you missed the WWW update last week, here are the rest of the codes for the website:

stopmotion : the Biggest Smallest movie ever made.
buttoneyes : Meet the cast...
moustachio : Bo Henry, art director of Coraline, shows off his remarkable moustache tricks.
armpithair : Every hair in the film was placed there by hand...
puppetlove : Director Henry Selick explains what it must be like for the puppets in the film.

To those who recommended mounting options, thank you! I do want it to be accessible somehow but can't just screw it to the wall. It also needs to be protected against dust if I'm going to leave it open. One other concern is that it was meant to be displayed flat, and hanging it up vertically may put the tools and their little leather straps under too much stress and they may come loose [!]. So I'm thinking about that, too. Maybe a coffee table with built-in display under glass? Hrm.

To everyone who didn't know about the book, I'm thrilled to be the one to share it with you. Jeloca mentioned the audiobook version, read by Mr Gaiman himself, and that's how I read the book -- or rather had it read to me. I bought it at Audible.com [click that link for a free audiobook download if you're not yet a member]. Perfection.

Jeloca: I didn't need a reason to buy a DS or a Wii. You bad, bad enabler, you. :-)

Sharon: Lucky Portland! And yay you for getting to go home again!

Seanna Lee: You beat me. I've never gotten to hear him speak live yet. He's been to Toronto many times, but I didn't learn about the man until long after his last appearance. If he comes back, I'll be there, though.

Dawn: You described it perfectly.

Andrew: I don't think I knew about him when we had our walk. But I do still have "Little, Big" on my wishlist to read some day. :-)

Anonymous: You said it. A brilliant marketing scheme that makes people feel good AND want to see the movie. I hope they give the person who came up with the idea a big raise. Also, a thought...there are 50 of these sent out to active bloggers, but less than 20 have shown up. I wonder if they're sending them out staggered to prolong the excitement?

Obi-Shawn: The customs slip [because I'm in Canada, so they had to get it through customs with proper paperwork] said this was an exact replica of the sewing kit used in the movie. It looks identical to me, and if it's not the one they used, perhaps it was their backup prop in case of disaster. It matters not to me -- it's just as fabulous whether it got used or not.

Kim: You absolutely said it. The internet has been called the spreader of a lot of things, but I think the warm fuzzies that this gift represents is something the media doesn't talk about much. We should do something about that.

Okay, it's late. Night, all.

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Thursday, December 04, 2008

My Coraline Box

All over the web, boxes have been surfacing, each containing artifacts from the upcoming stop-motion 3D animated feature, Coraline, based on the book by Neil Gaiman. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know that I adore the man and his work. And his voice. And all that. I'll stop now. Sorry.

Anyway, when I started seeing Coraline boxes appearing on blogs of all sorts, I dreamed of getting one, but didn't imagine I really would. And then this arrived in the Knitty mailbox. Dudes, I cried with the happy when I realized what it was.

There are 50 boxes in total. This is box #8.


















Now that you've seen the images, I have to tell you something: most of the tools are not metal, despite what your eyes tell you. I have seen them from millimetres away, and if I didn't touch them, I'd never believe they weren't metal, machined to look so menacing and evil. I don't know what they are made from -- some sort of modelling material -- but they're very light and perfectly sculpted and painted to create the illusion that they clearly have achieved. This is not CGI...this is all work done by hand. Remember that when you watch the movie next February.

I am so honored to have received such a gift and want to thank the team in Portland, Director Henry Selick and Mr Gaiman for the whole fabulous Coraline experience.

Because this Coraline box is so uniquely configured, I am hoping to find a way to mount it safely to the wall [in the Knitty office, of course]. Because having it sit, closed, on a shelf would just be criminal.

You'll find the full set of images in my Flickr stream, captioned, for those as obsessed as I am.

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