That sounds nice. I think it must be very interesting meeting one of the spring people like that. I mean we talk to each other so often, I wonder if one would suddenly not know what to say anymore if confronted with the other face to face.

So are you and Mike meeting in Manchester?

No, I'm afraid not. He's going to be too far South, and I can't take more than about 10 hours for journeying and meeting up. And anyway he is a working man now! But I'm sure we'll manage it next time I'm in London. Listen, a moment ago I wanted to respond to the bit about Seagal, but hit some button, and managed to go out of the net altogether. Now I'm back, but I can't remember the topic name anymore, so I'll just answer that question here. Yes, I did read the bit about him being elevated to tulku. I was somewhat taken aback, but he WILL be the coolest tulku alive!

Tonight is Jim O'Brien's vegetarian potluck. On Melridge, just above Barton Springs. A great event!

Will we see it on the spring cam?

It's tomorrow night. I went to a movie tonight. Maybe.

You movie-man, you!

maybe?

Nope, wasn't able to do any video.

Bruce Sterling's parties are not to be missed! PARTY INVITATION. In totally informal conjunction with the annual South By SouthWest Multimedia Festival, my wife Nancy and I are throwing another Open House Party on the evening of March 16th, Tuesday, starting, say, 7:30 pm or so. If you're in Dead Media Project, please consider this your formal invitation to attend. Bring anybody you trust. There will be cold beer. And (even more astonishing and provocative) there will be cigarettes. If you've never been to my house before (once memorably described by TIME magazine as "the leafy tranquillity of Sterling's well-appointed Austin, Texas home"), send email and I'll ship you the directions and a phone number. Mind you, the SXSW Multimedia Party we threw last time was not half shabby. These digital-arts people are definitely a self-starting crowd. No Charades or Twister was required to break the ice. Quite a good time was had by all.

I really, really wanna go to this!!!!!

It's at 3410 Cedar Street, near Guadalupe and W 33rd Street. The house with the big stone pillars, it's the most impressive house on the block.

Sounds like a cool bash!

Tres cool, indeed. I hope to see at least wer there.

Once more. ***************** PARTY INVITATION. ***************** In totally informal conjunction with the annual South By SouthWest Multimedia Festival, my wife Nancy and I are throwing another Open House Party on the evening of March 16th, Tuesday, starting, say, 7:30 pm or so. If you're on the Viridian List, please consider this your formal invitation to attend. Bring anybody you trust. There will be cold beer. And (even more astonishing and provocative) there will be cigarettes. If you've never been to my house before (once memorably described by TIME magazine as "the leafy tranquillity of Sterling's well-appointed Austin, Texas home"), send email and I'll ship you the directions and a phone number. Mind you, the SXSW Multimedia Party we threw last time was not half shabby. These digital-arts people are definitely a self-starting crowd. No Charades or Twister was required to break the ice, and a good time was had by all. Bruce Sterling (bruces@well.com) It's at 3410 Cedar Street, near Guadalupe and 33rd.

Hey Terry, I don't have time to fly over - do you webcast that MAJOR event?

I would but Bruce doesn't like cameras.

I have to f*****g work now!!!! How late will this thang go on?

Long time. Hey, we're doing the live webcast of Capzeyez as I write this. Call them up at 472-2225.

Bruce Sterlings party and his palatial digs, don't miss it!

I'm trying!!! (not too miss it, that is...)

Dont' Doug Block at Alamo Draft House in half and hour.

Correction, 5 pm tonight. I was a little early.

Justin Hall comments on the party at Bruces last night: we wandered over somehow to bruce sterling's house - he'd invited the near-whole of south by southwest to his 1912/frank lloyd writey custom designed/build admirable family pad. respected but unread pat cadigan science fiction author i should know better, bruce sterling holding court in his office, showing off computer crime books, ru serius and his wonderful welcome-matt-flinging ladyfriend eve, demi-stars and the 13 year old dj, who may have put on eminem more than once, though it may have been carl. adam powell told me about fugazi with the most incredible fervent look in his eyes, as he is want to do describing a trip to eat a burrito. paul with recent videos of me gathered persistenly at http://www.spring.net/ threw out occasional questions, still in his rather large but not laden vest-of-many pockets. jon lebkowsky i've felt somehow has been most host-behind-the-scenes all along and he was there looking quite impish in eyebrows and friendly in his belly, smiled much and suggested i think seriously about repurposing my web ramblings into a sellable book. his tome on netpolitics should be rescued from academic press in time for a presidential-era publishing this november if possible i suggested. joey anuff of suck did the usual rib-tickling rundown of myself or whoever availed. the woman from the ACTlab here described the collaboratively written opera she'd organized and had just seen performed. never having done opera before she was prompted by sandy stone to do something new first and therein find the necessary knomwledge. bruce sterling's youngest daughter of maybe 3 was eating candy necklace beads that had been already separated from the string. i sat near her on the wooden stairs and tried mimicry to initiate play - she had none of it and steadily rolled away from my ovations of friendship, beginning a slow moan that threatened to become a cry. a guy who's name slips me and i'm too tired to find his card had long red hair and a longer attention span than i for the subject at hand between us - managing web site collections of links. another fellow, jeff? can't recall; he mentioned wanting to auction me off on ebay. joey said a famous VC had auctioned off an hour of his time there and i should try that too. of my party carl david and ariana were leaving after 10 minutes. they invited my departure as well but i could not stand to leave a nice group gathered here under a writerly umbrella for casual chatting in pleasant audible surroundings so i abandoned any party hopping for 90 minutes wandering happy at the sterlings. his office was lined with books, many his, many cyber, much eclectica. sterling has a quite old mac (fewer wiz bang - maybe more work), while his daughter of 3 has a powerful PC that he is sure to be kicked off of if she catches him on it when she has work to do. over his desk, much like howard, strikingly like howard, sterling had a large ganesha. at first he dodged acknowledging the significance, but he came to share a dream of a visitation by a three foot high rat in some clothes the day he cleaned and installed the large painted statue (rat being the messenger of ganesh and the title of a story by a fellow i did not note and do not recall). later i paused in the kitchen a moment to say thanks yous ands goods byes to him my host. i introduced myself and sterling mentioned my hair change. somehow origin came up and he mentioned that garriot was an astronaut's sun who had famous halloween parties every few years. there was a large hammock outside between the house and my ride. i jumped in, it was a broad sweep, many feet between the anchors. amidst my late-evening breeze riding sterling ran by and snatched up an attached rope to pull me to exciting heights cackling something resembling "appropriate use"

sounds great, terry....wish i could have been there

And the complete blow by blow from film.com The Big Night It's a wrap at the Shrine Auditorium, and we give the show -- well, a solid B for effort. Things moved along snappily (although we're still not sure what Peter Coyote, giving his best impersonation of a headwaiter, was doing at that little desk), and the awards were spread out over a nice variety of films, reflecting the depth of movie offerings this year. American Beauty, as expected, won the big awards, but also well-represented were Boys Don't Cry, Topsy-Turvy, and The Matrix (which had a perfect four-for-four night). And Billy Crystal was at his relaxed best. But -- if you're going to remove the dance numbers, why replace them with interminable musical numbers and endless montages? And why bring out Isaac Hayes only to immediately cover him in smoke? On the fashion front, we liked Samuel L. Jackson's blue velvet jacket, Hilary Swank's goldish gown, and Cher's fabulously understated (for Cher) black velvet dress with a cross dangling at crotch level -- for which she apologized, saying that she had "dressed like a grownup" this year. Ah, well -- maybe next year. And, when last spotted, Annette Bening had still not gone into labour. All in all, a professional yet fairly uneventful evening without too many big surprises. (Blame it on the Wall Street Journal poll, which gave all the right answers.) And our favorite moment took place in the pre-show, at which Matt Stone and Trey Parker (of South Park, as if we have to tell you) unveiled their Oscar attire -- a Gwyneth Paltrow-ish pink spaghetti-strapped gown, and a Jennifer Lopez-y sheer green dress (accessorized by chest hair). Blame Canada, indeed. Just in case you missed it, here's the play-by-play as we called it; or click here for a complete list of winners. Complete List of Winners The Tally American Beauty: 5 The Matrix: 4 The Cider House Rules: 2 Topsy-Turvy: 2 All About My Mother: 1 Boys Don't Cry: 1 Girl, Interrupted: 1 Tarzan: 1 9:31: Clint Eastwood gives the Best Picture award to American Beauty. 9:27: Steven Spielberg gives the Best Director award to Sam Mendes for American Beauty. Here comes the semi-sweep? 9:20: Gwyneth Paltrow, with a bad case of bed head, gives the Best Actor award to Kevin Spacey, while Denzel Washington gallantly applauds. In his speech, he acknowledges the "real beauty" of American Beauty, and says he's proud to be an actor. And, for the record, says he's speechless and that he loves his mother. 9:07: Roberto Benigni runs around the stage for a while and says he'd like to be a dog, and then calms down sufficiently to present the Best Actress award to Hilary Swank for Boys Don't Cry. After smooching with hubby Chad Lowe, she gives a poised speech. 9:00: Mel Gibson presents the Best Original Screenplay award to Alan Ball, for American Beauty. He thanks, among other things, a plastic bag. 8:55: Kevin Spacey turns up to present the Best Adapted Screenplay award to John Irving for The Cider House Rules, providing us with the rare spectacle of seeing a bestselling novelist at the podium. He provides the first political moment so far, acknowledging the National Abortion Rights Action League. Go John! 8:51: Brad Pitt presents the Best Cinematography award to Conrad L. Hall for American Beauty. So, will this kick off the American Beauty sweep we kept hearing so much about? 8:32: Jack Nicholson, sporting a brush cut and a grim little mustache, gives a rambling intro to Warren Beatty, the recipient of this year's Irving G. Thalberg award. We're pleased to note that Warren's wife, Annette Bening, is still in the auditorium and not in the maternity ward. A nice standing O for Warren, who gives an equally rambling -- but very sweet -- acceptance speech. 8:28: Tommy Lee Jones and Ashley Judd, bringing back unpleasant memories of Double Jeopardy, present the Film Editing award to Zach Staenberg of The Matrix, which is pulling off a nice little technical sweep. He reads his speech from a piece of paper, and is not particularly compelling. 8:22: Julianne Moore and Russell Crowe stroll out to present the Art Direction award to Rich Heinrichs and Peter Young for Sleepy Hollow. 8:15: Edward Norton shows a remarkable lack of enthusiasm for introducing the annual "In Memorium" tribute to those who have died, which includes Jim Varney, Robert Bresson, Hedy Lamarr, Garson Kanin, Madeline Kahn, and George C. Scott. 8:10: Charlize Theron and Keanu Reeves present the Best Original Score Oscar to John Corigliano for The Red Violin. He says he's speechless, and then makes a gracious speech. 8:05: Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz (who, coincidentally, have both starred in Pedro Almodovar films) turn up to present the Best Foreign Film award to . . . Pedro Almodovar, for All About My Mother. Cruz gets really excited and jumps around, then the three have a group hug. Almodovar whips out a big piece of paper and thanks a lot of people until the music starts playing. 7:45: A rather emotional Burt Bacharach leads a medley of songs nominated for Oscars past, including "Everybody's Talkin'," "Over the Rainbow," "The Man That Got Away," "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head," and more, performed by the likes of Ray Charles, Faith Hill, Garth Brooks, Dionne Warwick, and Queen Latifah -- sometimes, alas, inviting unfortunate comparison with the originals. Really, nobody but Judy should sing "Over the Rainbow." The exception is Isaac Hayes, who turns up to croon "Shaft," and sounds as cool as ever -- until he gets enveloped by a smoke machine. And, in the obligatory standing O, Annette stands up again! Somebody stop her! 7:33: Arnold "I've been a visual effect" Schwarzenegger shows up to present the Visual Effects award to the guys from The Matrix. A guy wearing a really cool black outfit does all of the talking; the others, who look less cool, stand behind him. He goes on too long and gets cut off by music, but not before he can plug www.whatisthematrix.com. 7:31: The "exciting and talented" Salma Hayek summarizes the Scientific and Technical Awards. She is mercifully brief. So is her dress. 7:28: Chow Yun-Fat saunters out to present the award for Sound Effects Editing to Dane A. Davis for The Matrix. 7:21: Jane Fonda is welcomed back to Hollywood, and graciously introduces Polish director Andrzej Wajda, who is this year's recipient of an honorary Oscar. (Although we have no idea why Jane mysteriously crossed the entire stage during her intro -- perhaps to show off her Vera Wang gown.) A grinning Wajda gets a nice standing O, and gives a nice speech in Polish (thankfully, there are subtitles). 7:10: Dame Judi Dench and her impeccable diction present the Best Supporting Actor award to Michael Caine for The Cider House Rules. He gets a kind of half-baked standing ovation (including the elegantly gowned and extremely pregnant Annette Bening, who should stay seated), and graciously acknowledges his fellow nominees (telling Tom Cruise, "Have you any idea how much supporting actors get paid?"). 7:05: Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, also very cute, present the Documentary Feature award to -- surprise! -- One Day in September, directed by Kevin MacDonald. 7:02: Wes Bentley, Mena Suvari, and Thora Birch of American Beauty, all looking cute as can be, present the award for Documentary Short Subject to King Gimp, directed by William A. Whiteford, who has been seated in the last possible row of the auditorium (because he's not famous) and takes a really long time to get to the podium. 6:55: Cher enters, apologizes for her sedate and un-Cher-like dress (hey, we think it's pretty), and presents the Best Song award to Phil Collins for "You'll Be in My Heart" from Tarzan. 6:41: LL Cool J and Vanessa Williams introduce the Best Song nominees, performed by a strapless Sarah McLachlan, a wispy-voiced Aimee Mann, a follically challenged Phil Collins, the pretty boys of N'Sync with a strapless Gloria Estefan, and a rather hoarse Robin Williams, who did indeed manage to use the words "fart" and "bitch" in his rendition of "Blame Canada," and gamely participated in a final kickline. 6:33: Woody, Buzz, and the Rock-Em-Sock-Em Robots (yep, pretty darn cute) present the Best Animated Short Film award to The Old Man and the Sea, directed by Aleksander Petrov, who apologizes for not being able to speak English, but gives a speech anyway. 6:28: A very elegant Cate Blanchett and Jude Law present the award for Best Live-Action Short Film to My Mother Dreams the Satan's Disciples in New York, directed by Barbara Schock and Tammy Tiekel, one of whom is quite Annette Bening-esque (pregnant, that is). 6:20: Morgan Freeman talks quite vaguely about the past century, mysteriously using the phrase "global village", and introduces the obligatory Chuck Workman montage. 6:10: James Coburn strolls in to present the Best Supporting Actress award to . . . Angelina Jolie (Girl, Interrupted), who's wearing some sort of Elvira getup with major hair extensions. Contrary to her behavior at the Golden Globes, she does not bring her brother to the podium, although he is her date for the evening. She thanks everyone she knows. 6:05: Tobey Maguire and a high-headwrapped Erykah Badu present the Best Makeup award to Topsy-Turvy. A Topsy-Turvy sweep tonight? A write-in for Best Picture? Go, Mike Leigh! 6:02: Mike Myers, Heather Graham, and Heather's cleavage present the award for Best Sound to those guys from The Matrix. 5:58: Haley Joel Osment introduces an uninspired montage of performances by young actors. Gee, wonder why they picked him? 5:50: The Charlie's Angels girls (Lucy Liu, Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz) present the Best Costume award to Lindy Hemming for Topsy-Turvy. An upset! 5:30: Billy Crystal kicks things off with a 20-minute opening number featuring -- surprise -- a lot of song and dance. Not bad. A funny Kevin Spacey cameo.

Everyone she knows except John Long!

Eeyore's is the major event in Austin for the entire year. And Bob Nagy was there to capture it Saturday. http://www.botany.utexas.edu/facstaff/stfpages/bnagy/Eeore's/index.html (really worth a look)

Looks like a 60's love-in. Is there anyone there I might recognize?

Not me. Bob maybe. It's an incredible event, I have a tape of a couple of previous years that I'll play and the SpringCam, would that interest you?

Sure! Are you on it?

I think I am, cause I gave the camera up at one point to some folks and they videotaped me. I'll try and dig it out in the next couple of days, possibly tomorrow morning. Remind me, ok?

I'll do it before I shut down for the day - around midnight your time or so...

I may not get it today, I've got to run out to the other house.

That's okay...I'll just gently remind you from time to time until you tell me to cease and desist or you show it *grin* I'd be more than happy to watch you drink coffee in the hill country place you stopped. Fine-looking man, Terry!