Wednesday, September 21st saw Jeff and I trekking across Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois on a the ultimate geek road trip: a 9 hour drive to attend Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys book signing. We talked like schoolgirls the entire way…without pausing to breathe…and the trip flew by.
Thursday morning we picked up Scott and that evening attended the book signing sponsored by Anderson’s Bookshop. It was a great evening. Neil read a chapter from Anansi Boys, answered questions, and then started signing books. I’ve heard Neil on interviews and CD’s and he has a nice, conversational tone that is a real pleasure to listen to. It was a great thrill to finally meet my favorite living author. Thankfully I had ordered my tickets early and Scott, Jeff and I were numbers 11, 12, and 13 in line so we were in and out of the event in no time. A fact that was doubly important since Jeff ended up taking the wrong exit and I got confused about where we were on the map and navigated us to Indiana on our way back to Jeff’s sister-in-law’s house.
(A rather ghostly image of my chubby self chatting with Neil as he signs my books)
(As predicted Neil was dressed in black with leather jacket and his trademark mop of black hair)
I got 3 things signed including my copy of Stardust which is also signed by the artist Charles Vess so I was extremely pleased. It was all that I hoped for.
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Friday Jeff’s wife Keri joined us as we hit several used bookstores, Chicago Comics, and did some touristy things. Despite his personal ban on going to bookstores until he reduces his book pile Scott managed to come away with a few items. Keri was the big winner as far as number of volumes, however. I had a rather
serendipitous moment in one store. For years I have looked for a science fiction book that had the word ‘stars’ in the title. It was a book I always wanted to read from my uncle’s shelf when I was a kid and I could remember very well what the cover looked like. I had mistakingly always thought it was The Stars, My Destination by Alfred Bester. I was telling Jeff the story and I pulled a copy of Isaac Asimov’s book The Stars, Like Dust off the shelf…nope, not it. I then saw another copy and pulled it off and in mid sentence of my story said “…and oh my gosh this is it!” Very exciting!
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(Jeff and Keri waiting for the “L”)
The sky was cloudy and the temperatures were in the upper 60’s on Friday, perfect weather for walking around the city. We walked through Millenium Park. I’m not always impressed with the large sculptures that cities choose to display but I really liked the Bean.
(An interesting shot taken from inside the bean)
We also wandered around the Navy Pier area which was very nice. A dislike of ferris wheels kept the group from riding, but it was one of the neat things that could be done at the Navy Pier.
From the pier you could see a really nice skyline view of downtown Chicago.
We looked through some art galleries and, true to our childlike natures, ended up in a very large mall for the sole purpose of shopping in the Lego store. If you’ve never been they are very cool as there are several large pieces made entirely of Legos. In addition to Darth Vader, R2-D2, a giant snake and a dinosaur there was this large spider.
and Scott found a friend.
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I haven’t been to any other major league ballparks besides here in Kansas City so I was thrilled that we had the opportunity on Saturday to attend a Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field. Jeff’s brother-in-law Terry escorted us to the game and with inexpensive standing-room-only tickets we were able to get inside and ended up with great seats.
I love the history of Wrigley Field including the fact that the scoreboard is still largely done by hand.
The game was rain delayed mid-way through the 7th inning with the Cubs down 5-3 to the Houston Astros. Our schedule didn’t allow us to stay and that was probably a good thing. When the rain finally let up and they resumed play the Astros wound up with an 8-3 victory.
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And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for…the explanation of the mysterious picture on yesterdays filler post:
Saturday Evening we attended a show at Lookingglass Theatre.
Set in the heart of downtown Chicago in the old Water Tower Water Works building, Lookinglass Theatre seeks to make theatre more accessible by putting on productions in a more intimate space. The theatre seats a maximum of 270 people, allowing a very up-close theatre experience.
(The wooden structure was removed for the performace we attended)
Lookinglass Theatre was started by a number of people including David Schwimmer (of Friends). Its purpose is to use theatre, dance, music and the circus arts to put on productions that “redefine the limits of theatrical experience and to make theatre exhilarating, inspirational, and accessible to all.”
Scott used his connections to obtain tickets to the sold out showing of Hephaestus.
Hephaestus features world-class circus artists including: members of the Wallenda family, former members of Cirque du Soleil, Ringling Bros. and Blue Man Group in a circus that will amaze and exhilarate the whole family.
In this circus retelling of the Greek myth, Hephaestus, the son of Hera, was born disfigured and cast out of the heavens. He falls to earth and becomes a great artist fashioning beautiful jewelry and even men out of metal. Using the elements of circus, theatre, live music, and dance, the story follows the God of the Forge as he meets underwater sea nymphs, creates men out of pure steel, and ultimately falls in love with the most beautiful of the gods.
In the link above you can click on this picture:
to see a Quicktime video that shows some of the acts in rehearsal which will give you a small taste of this wonderful production. It was tremendous to see the performances. Each character in the mythological tale performed their own unique act. The lighting, music, intimacy of the space and talent of the performers made for a magical evening. Mythology is always fascinating and to see it interpreted this way was incredible. The contortionist (Aphrodite) and Sea-nymphs were personal favorites but each energetic, acrobatic performance was unique and jaw-dropping. If this piece ever travels I highly encourage you to attend.
As Scott pointed out a show based on greek mythology made a perfect bookend to a Neil Gaiman weekend seeing as how he often mines folklore and mythology for stories. Well done!
And that was Chicago. It was wonderful to get some of my friends together to meet for the first time and we enjoyed the hospitality extended to us by Jill and Terry. Thank you all.
Sounds like you had a great time! Lookingglass Theatre looks like an awesome place.
It was a very cool space. We were in the 4th (last) row and were right up close to all the action.
wow.. the theatre building looks really cool. i’m glad you guys had a great time!
and you all stopped through indiana & didn’t come visit?.. now i’m upset. 😛
We only visited the rather lovely smelling tip of Indiana’s industrial area before turning around and heading back into Illinois. Sorry.
it sounds like you had a fantastic time! Loved the pictures that accompanied your post!
Great post Carl. As with many events in life it’s the people you’re with that make things great. I can’t express just how much fun it was talking with and experiencing these events with Keri, Scott, and you.
It was also funny seeing how four people could get so jazzed up about shopping at used bookstores. We all found such great buys and yes my wonderful wife bought as much as Carl, Scott, and I combined. 🙂
I also can’t recommend Lookingglass theater enough. It is an incredible space and the show we saw was wonderful. Keri and I have resolved to go to the theater more often. This trip helped remind us how much we love it.
The Gaiman signing was great. He even drew a small picture in my copy of Stardust. I’m still grinning!
I know many of you have known Carl much longer than I but I just want to tell him again what a great guy he is and I’m so thankful for his friendship.
ah.. the lovely Gary area.. yeah, ok.. i don’t like to even admit that’s in indiana.. that’s ok then.
This goes along with Jeff’s comment about getting excited about visiting used bookstores………….I was going to say that for me the most exciting part of your trip would have been going to the used bookstores. I am very happy for you, Carl, that you found the book you had been looking for.
That Bean looks real shiny 🙂
I must remember to pay attention and go along to a signing when Neil eventually makes it to Ireland. He mentioned on the blog that he was coming at some stage, but didn’t know when.
It was indeed a shiny bean Fence.
I think you would’ve enjoyed the show also, Abby.
Thanks for the nice warm fuzzies, Jeff. You all are great as well.
And Angela, I have a lovely souvenier from Gary, Indiana in the form of 2 bite scars on my left arm. I was working in an adolescent tx center and we had a really rough teen from Gary there and he was going towards a staff pregnant staff member to attack her and I jumped on him. In the scuffle I got 2 pretty nasty bites, the scars of which are quite visible. So Gary, Indiana holds a special place in my heart.
hey. gee…i knew i was tired after the trip but after seeing all that we did i now understand why i’m still a little worn-out. well, at least i’m back to my restful, laid-back life in nyc and can take it easy!
it was a lot of fun carl, jeff and keri. thanks for including me in it. chicago is a great city and indeed, made even more intriguing by great company!
It is a really great city. I enjoyed the different areas we traversed. The unique shops and great architecture made for some very interesting neighborhoods. It is definitely a city I could visit again.
I think I neglected to mention that Neil Gaiman, according to his blog, signed for around 600 people that night in Chicago…thus making our 11,12, and 13 numbers that much more impressive!
wow, Carl.. that is a lovely memory.. 2nd only to your Chicago trip, i’m sure.
and Scott, i don’t know about you being worn-out from that trip.. Carl only has evidence of you sitting, talking on the phone..
He got worked over pretty good by that Lego Man for not sharing his phone so I’m sure that is why he is worn out.
Sounds like an awesome trip. Wow, such adult activities!
how’d you get such good tickets?
lego man does look quite large… and yellow.
Being the geek that I am I was checking the website constantly for updates and called the bookstore the first day they were offering tickets and just happened to be one of the first people who called.
We did adult activities Jules??? I figured the legos, comics, circus show and impromptu trip to Indiana would have definitely placed us in the child category…its good to be grown up!!!! 🙂
Wow, fun times!
They were indeed!
I think I also neglected to mention that this was ‘theatre without a net’ and there were some truly injury-defying, if not death-defying, performances during Hephaestus.
If there aren’t children involved, it’s an adult activity. If you didn’t have to change a diaper or feed anyone that counts as adult!!!
I was loathe to bring this up but now that you’ve broached the subject Jules I must admit that I did a great deal of diaper changing over the weekend. I won’t embarrass the poopy-pants parties in question, however.
speaking of theatre, i might have to take a road trip to see this next spring.. good bday gift to myself: http://www.theatermania.com/content/news.cfm/story/6749
Looks like the perfect musical for a sci fi chick like yourself! 🙂
I’m digging the lego creations Carl. Thanks for including those photos too!
The spider was actually part of a much larger piece that had rats and other stuff but I couldn’t get a good shot of it all.
Sounds like fun. That play looks interesting. I have seen Cirque du Soleil a couple of times and really enjoyed it..
I’d love to catch Cirque sometime.
i LOVE the photo from inside the bean. talk about vertigo.
now if only i had the time to watch the circus video…but alas, it must wait, real life calls.
i want to run away to the circus. i could…tame lions, probably.
Thanks, I thought that was a very cool picture and turned out really nice.
The video is only a few minutes…don’t let real life interrupt fun!!!!
Thank you so much for sharing your trip. It was fun just reading about it. Spending a day going to used book stores is my idea of fun. I love old buildings and the water tower theatre is great. Loved the pictures,too, especially the inside of the bean. great blog, Carl.
Thank you! And thanks for the wonderful Panera bread yesterday. My truck smelled delicious all afternoon.
Lookingglass has brought back Hephaestus. I hope you get a chance to come back and see it. It runs through 3/9/08.
How fantastic! It is a wonderful show!
You are funny… “We talked like schoolgirls the entire way…without pausing to breathe…and the trip flew by.” Hahaha…you, however, are not far off. That is one of the reasons why I like going to places with my best girlfriend -without children in tow- so that we can gab about all kinds of stuff – unfiltered. Next week, on our way to see Muse, we will get another chance for the gab session. 😀
I think it would be very cool to see Neil Gaiman. If I am ever afforded the chance to see him…I will be there! By the way, were the tickets costly? I am curious, considering that one blog post of his that shared with you. Also, so you know, I would be obsessive about calling the bookstore for tickets too…especially with my favorite author, and now with Neil Gaiman. Having photos of a signing on this level is a must; glad you took some.
I love Chicago. I love walking around downtown (The Loop), and the Bean is very cool. Actually, I really like Millenium Park; there is a cool water wall that kids can play in during the summer months.
Taking photos in the city is wonderful; too bad I am not very good at photographing city scenes.
Funny to note, I am reading this post almost exactly 5 years since you posted it. Today it is 73 degrees, wonderful weather, no coats. Also interesting to note, my sister, at the time of your visit, was living in an apartment complex right near the Bean…a short walking distance. Navy Peir does not impress me as much; no way will I go on that Ferris Wheel. The city’s skyline is fabulous. When I cycled in the LATE Ride this past July, we rode down Lake Shore and the beauty of the city’s skyline around 3 or 4amish was fantastic.
Wrigley Field is fun to visit just because the field itself, but I am a Sox fan so…ummm…no Cubs for me unless it a crosstown series.
I learned something from you; the Lookingglass Theater. I was unaware of its existance. It seems pretty cool.
Fun post to read; thanks for sharing.
Ibeeg: Lookingglass is wonderful. I was just looking at their season offerings today and wish I could wing my way to Chicago to catch them.
Chicago was a wonderful trip and I will go back again someday. It is weird to think that Jeff and I hadn’t been hanging out all that long and we went on this 8 hour road trip together, spent a weekend at his wife’s relatives, etc. I think we were both a little unsure how the trip would be, and as I said, it ended up flying bye because we just gabbed the whole way. It is one of my fondest memories.
Neil was free! Sort of. The bookstore that was sponsoring it gave you free tickets if you ordered the new book, Anansi Boys, from them. I was one of the first people who called in and we got a great place in line. The reading was great, the experience of briefly meeting Neil was great. It was just so much fun.
I consider the book signing as free because purchasing a book from the store is just a no-brainer for me…walk into a store that is hosting an event that I want to see is going to have me has a book buying customer. 😉 I wonder, would an event such as this one be free at this point in time? Considering the fee he currently charges. Still, I would love to hear him do a reading, in person, and I would drive fairly far too.
I think it is interesting how people can connect, and have lots to talk about even after only knowing each other for a short time. No awkwardness is a good thing. It seems that you and Jeff were able to connect. Neat, and rare…if you ask me, and you did not. 🙂
I just looked at the Lookinglass season, and it looks good. It looks fun, and very tempting. Actually, this reminds me, I should look at my local theater to see what productions will be playing there. It is a cool theater that was renovated several years back. At this theater I saw Cats, and Donny Osmond (yep, I like Donny…he is a fantastic entertainer).
Anyway, you should make a trip back to Chicago at some point. There is a lot to do that I am sure you will enjoy. Although, you may want to stay away during the dead of winter. The wind can be pretty wicked.
Ibeeg: I think he still does, and will do, “free” book signings as part of book tours whenever he puts new books out.
Yes, it was nice to discover a best friend, a true kindred spirit, at my local comic book shop. Its hard to believe there was a time living here in KC that we weren’t friends.
I don’t do enough local theater here in KC either. We used to do more, and the desire to keep getting out of debt is certainly a reason we don’t do much, but we could do more. We both love plays.
Good ol’ Donny.
Yes, we’ll definitely make it back to Chicago.