we have announced the newest NEVERWEAR tee designed by Olga.

I am putting up a contest, with the winner getting a solidly gorgeous signed-by-Mr.-Neil-Gaiman limited edition SAUCERS print.  (We only have about 75 of these prints left! you can still buy them HERE)

{note: they come unsigned though, which is why you want to give this contest a crack...get out your thinking caps...}

 

 

CONTEST DETAILS:

I am thinking of where and how to market this clever new shirt, and i thought I would ask you clever people.

One example i already got, advertise in Cat Fancy magazine.

That's good, but let's do some lateral thinking. 

You can either:

a. email me the ideas here: neverwear@gaiman.net

b. post comments here on the blog

c. go to to twitpic and comment on this photo , i will receive the comments as a twitter...

 

 

You have a week, on June 4th, I will post ideas here and we can pick the finest of the fine.

thanks all.

here is the tshirt:

 

 

 

 

 

closing a few loose threads on my laptop...

when we were in Oregon, we made a trip to Multnomah Falls.
It was a slice of pure nature, pine trees and river wild.




still testing out my little video camera but I took a couple of movies to remember the climb and the force of the falls.



you can see out over the Oregon coast in this one...



the food in Portland is always stellar.
we ate at PorQue No, and everyone called Drew TINA because of his tour swag jacket.



dim sum with the Nicola trio:



Nancye & William were on a food allergy tester diet, ruling out most everything, so we didn't dine out with them.
and MOXIE RX was still closed for the season. Next visit!

this week, we went to the new location of CAA, where even the pencils are at attention:



after, we stopped by The Palm and the first person on the wall my eyes rested upon?
Warren Beatty....



i do believe he is my lucky star.
more on this later....





this week, I picked up Mark at LAX, he came home for a visit from the AC/DC world tour.



I will never forget hearing "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" for the first time,
and falling in complete love with Bon Scott. I am sure Brian is a great guy, but...hmmmph. RIP Bon.

Thursday night, we had sushi with my brother, Chris, who was in town giving a lecture at CalTech. Yes, him smart.
The University put him up in these fancy digs, as it turns out that is where they shot a scene from BEVERLY HILLS COP--
the "twist o' lemon" scene....



Last night, we went to my old friend Brian's for a re-screening of that 80's gem APARTMENT ZERO...

tomorrow, it's Easter. I took this a million years ago on slide film, and like I said earlier, I miss Kodachrome..



meanwhile, over at NEVERWEAR
there is a new contest up...go have a looksee.

the newly re-vamped NEVERWEAR.NET will be up shortly, the WebElf & WebGoblin have been toiling away for me since December to bring the website out of the dark ages...

One of the new features will be a section where I will sell my comic book magnets, or my "glass candy bars".

Many years ago, I had a heart-breaking flood in my beach apartment, and i just couldn't chuck the (big) box of water-damaged comics. I put them out in the sun to dry and found that I could salvage many of the panels. These are all made out of the original comics, not reproductions or xeroxes, that would be some copy-right madness...
Some of the comics themselves were reissues, but I had some real old beauts in that box.
(have since changed from cardboard to plastic to store my collection)

...i never collected to resell, just to re-read. Everything from Sandman to HATE to Eightball to vintage EC horror books..House of Horror, Creepy. Comics form other countries... Greek THOR and French Spidey. Jim Lee X-men, Namor, Spawn and KISS comics. I had DUNE, Star Wars, Aquaman, Plasticman, WonderWoman, Batgirl, old Richie Rich & Archies.. all over the map.

Lately, people have been donating their damaged comics to my art cause and [[iframe]] them the panel of their choice in thanks.

The glass, I cut myself, sizing to fit and frame the panels (with the scars to prove it). I rescue the glass from the hardware store throw-away bins, so there is a truly recycled nature to this project. I then frame the pieces in copper and I make them into magnets and/or hanging art.

I first sold them at the Fiddler's Green convention in Minneapolis back in 2004.



At the convention, Neil picked out about 35 of my magnets and he put them up in the various bathrooms at his Addams Family mansion....that made me very happy, to tell the truth. thanks, Boss.







look how young our Maddy was! ... that's me in the top hat, third from the left:




MAGNET CONTEST:
to win this Batman magnet (the dime is just for size ref!):



come up with the best suggestion for a new Neverwear t-shirt.
source material is any of Neil's short stories or his books, Neverwhere, Anansi Boys, Graveyard Book, American Gods, Fragile Things etc... but sorry, nothing from Sandman, as that is DC territory.

send me your ideas: NEVERWEAR@GAIMAN.NET

You have a week from today!
results up on Friday, April 17th....after 5 pm west coast time...
thanks all.

ps my gratitude to Xtopherfor updating my blog page...do you like it?

i had the last bit of winter in DC with my parents, here my Dad burns some of my old paperwork for me, better than shredding.



came home in time to see some spring, it is wonderful to watch the changes here:






Red took this of Batters while we were gone:

:


took a trip down to San Diego to see Drew's family:

the three generations:



Sean and Mister Kitty:



Sean practices his playing:



spent a couple days under the spell of Twitter, judging Neil's #100K contest(results here)

Twitter is a pretty amazing thing, and when i got this on my phone, i was pretty happy, even though, I imagine Obama's ghost Twitterer most likely adds anyone...



Coop DJing at Stinkers in Silverlake:



where they have a huge neon skunk outside to greet you:






we went and got new tattoos…











tax time--- Selina Kyle helps me get the year end numbers together:



since my accountant is in Malibu:



Ghosty shed his hardtop:




and things change in other ways.

while in San Francisco, i took this photo for my stagehand friend Alex, "Big Al".



when we returned home, the next night, we heard that he had passed away at age 40, heart attack.

at his memorial, we said goodbye to our friend Big Al, gone too soon, but never forgotton:

I met Mr. Neil Gaiman while I was on Tori Amos’ Scarlet’s Walk tour in 2003. We kept in contact over the years, I wrangled him on some of his west coast events and helped his assistant, The Fabulous Lorraine, with her ever-growing work load... in between tours, I found myself drafted by Team Gaiman, becoming his Other Assistant. (Fablo wants me to add here, "to her delight" ...awwww, sweet.)
One of the projects we launched was NEVERWEAR the official Neil merchandise site, for all things original Gaiman and so our story begins...

When he asked me to judge the #100K contest (after forcing me to become a Twitter-er myself), I said, why sure, Boss...I mean who knew...? Days later, after trying to break my true Libra nature of indecision, weighing and balancing each of the nearly 6,000 entries, I enlisted the aid of @FabulousLorrain (her name says it all). Together, we found the glittery Twitters that slipped through my fingers.

Many thanks, miss Quiche, and thanks to all of you who entered, the level of creativity was stunning---
and to Neil, for thinking it all up.

The contest, for those arriving late, asked for captions for photo A:




and photo B:



As it happens, I went over the original limit of 20 winners---
winners should contact me @Neverwear to discuss how to redeem....oh the prizes...delicious...Neil tells me he is donating three WALKING TOUR OF THE SHAMBLES books, signed. Three CORALINE tee shirts, signed. Three CORALINE CDs signed. Neil also some signed Graveyard Book posters. Lorraine is donating some surprises, including one magical favor ticket (ask her about it @fabulouslorrain) and Neverwear is donating tshirts, stickers, mousepads, buttons, and a (signed by Neil) Jouni Koponen SAUCERS print. (of which we only have a few left...)

Without further narrative ado, I give you the 27 winners of the #100K contest, which celebrated @Neilhimself getting over 100,000 followers (and yes, he has 135,041 as of this blog publication).



(best rule breaker, it won a special spot by @Neilhimself):

vsivad: My entry for Neil Gaiman's #100K contest http://twitpic.com/2gx3w




(second best rule breaker, and apologies for the mix-up, some many tweets n' retweets flying around...)
SarahG42@neverwear my original tweet - http://...com/d3wkax #100K




(best HARLAN ELLISON reference):

zbluesy: #100K A boy and his dog... hell, it worked for Ellison.

(best for making @FurrytigerKitty AND @Neverwear laugh):
jesteram: #100K Photo A: "Other Mother ... Jonas Brothers ... I beat all comers."

(best for making @FabulousLorrain laugh):
MichaelClear
B) Neil is a bloke from Portchester. Cabal is a demon from Hell. Can this wacky pair run a Fish and Chips shop? Find out on BBC One.

(best use of poetic cleverness):
Dookyj_normaljustkyla: C is for Cabal, three years on a chain, Til’ his grim lord did claim him to stand in the rain.

(best use of sibling rivalry aka nanny nannny boo boo):
coralvfl: #100K A) Sibling Rivalry: "The fact of the matter is, furball, I got a movie deal and YOU didn't. So, obviously, I'M Neil's favorite."

(best ad for otherworld dentistry):
pixelz: "No, Cabal, down boy! Leave the fairies alone: they'll stick in your teeth!" #100k

(best Tori reference)
littleread: #100k B: Out of interest, where *is* Neil when you need him?

(best Clint Eastwood reference):
styromus: #100k http://twitpic.com/2jpcv -

(best way into our free speech hearts--a shout-out to CBLDF
Passeriform: #100K B "Boss, PLEASE let me be on the CBLDF board!" "No, Cabal. But I'll see if they need an enforcer.”

(best gentle mockery of Neil's mission statement):
mjolin: #100K A: Sure he SAYS he will eventually grow up and get a real job, but then he brings home a DOLL for chrissakes. I won't hold my breath

(Best LOTR mention was an even tie between these two):
MLopezC: #100k Photo A: And the beast wondered if the hobbit girl would taste good with some lembas bread.

joabaldwin: #100k b) Hey dog! merry dog! ring a dog dillo! Tom Bom, jolly Tom, Tom Bombadillo!

(BEST USE OF BOTH PHOTOS TOGETHER: Another tie):
christinahere: A) If that dog calls me Caroline one more time, it's gonna be him or me! B) See ya Caroline!!

pinkshirtfarmer: http://twitpic.com/2gzuj - Look what I found!



(best mention of chocolate cake):
cakewelsh: #100K I want royalties, Gaiman. In limeade and chocolate cake. Or I Button the dog.

(best short person joke):
gilldaniels: #100K A) The doll insists they are friends and the dog, politely but firmly, disagrees. He says, "We'll talk when you can reach the kibble."

(best Star Trek/Stephen King mash-up):
gavroche: #100K A spoonful of Gaiman helps the tribbles go down, in a most cujoful way!

(best for pandering to Kitty’s giant Henry Selick crush):
craig_church #100K A) "Tell Henry he forgot the wings on this one."


(best Doctor Who reference--and there were MANY):
dogeatdoug: My entry for Neil Gaiman's contest: http://twitpic.com/2hf30 #100K




(best use of a kindergarten joke that worked perfectly in this case):
Lacrimus: #100k What's black and white and read all over? Neil Gaiman and his dog!

(Kitty's favorite use of fewest characters with most punch!):
mysynergy #100K Mad dogs and Englishmen.

(Quiche LOVED this one so much it showed up twice on her list--two different times)
KristenIsKadu: #100K The dog wondered if he should eat the bubbles full of tiny beings. The man calmly took out his umbrella so none landed on his head.

(because Cabal think sticks are the end-all-be-all)
solo1y: #100K B: http://yfrog.com/0e100k2j

(this entry EVERY time was on both mine & Quiche's list, a real visual sentence, and compound to boot):
ferallon #100K Despite being armed with an umbrella and a spectral hound; a twinkle of will-o-the-wisps made short work of the man in the dark suit.

(best in that it absolutely got the whole point of this Twitter contest in the most succinct manner--well done!)
Pergamond: #100K B. Followed by 100,000. Led by one.

(this one may be made into a Neverwear sticker with Middlesmith's permission--
because it is closest I could find to A Grande Prize WINNER!!)

middlesmith: #100K There was a hand in the rain, and it held a milk bone.

Congrats all you winners, please contact me @Neverwear on Twitter.com
and I will give you an all new email contact for mailing addresses....

& give me a minute to reply---I just finished packing up all the buttons people won last week,
and I will be running an April special at Neverwear.net, any purchase of ten bucks or more gets a free set of 3 Neil buttons...

It has been two weeks time since the Blueberry Girl event in Manhattan.

We were in a taxi heading downtown from Neil’s hotel when Lorraine called me, saying, please, have Neil call home now, as she couldn’t get through to his cell phone. I heard the alarm bells of worry in her voice. He rang home and was given the news of his father’s unexpected passing.

I directed the cab to take us to the closest park. We walked in circles and from time to time, he would pause, staring into the trees while speaking quietly with his family by telephone. His morning meetings, we cancelled. Paul and Suzan were so gracious and understanding. I was somewhat of an dolt, not really knowing what to do or say, and I repeated my own dear Dad's patented lines...maybe one too many times, because Neil eventually looked up at me, squeezed my hand and said softly and kindly, "...you're doing just fine, Kit." The measure of that man...

He was scheduled to do a signing at Books of Wonder, and although I was pressing for a cancel, he wanted to continue with his obligations to Charles Vess and to his readers. We wandered up the street in the general direction of the bookstore. There was a huge line in front, and people jostled and cheered as he came through. Michael Stewart greeted us in front

No one knew his news except a few friends, and he kept a silent vigil.

Merrilee, his literary agent and Elyse, his publicist were there, we all wanted to just take him away. Continuing on with the event, I believe, bridged the sorrow of the day for him, which he did later thank people for.
Neil went on to do a brilliant reading. He signed for nine hours, six hours longer than he was meant to, until every last person had gotten a signature and a part of Neil.







He signed elbow to elbow with the fine Charles Vess, you can see his original artwork lining the bookshop walls.




stacks upon stacks of the Blueberry Girl:



Neil wrote BBG for Miss Tash Hawley, Tori’s daugher.
I toured with little Tash and her parents when she was
still but a merbaby age of three:



(i made this magnet for T's birthday many years ago)

here, Neil answers an interesting audience question:




At the event, I met with talented young Alice and her husband, Michael-- shown here with her stunning portrayal of Death and Dream:




Meanwhile, back on the home front, THE FABULOUS LORRAINE worked her otherworldly magic on the airlines to turn much "no" into "yes", all dust into gold-- she got the airline tickets needed to send him to his family immediately.

I remain in awe of Neil’s decision, and his strength of heart.
This more-personal-than-usual blog stands as a memorial to Neil’s father, David, who raised such a son.