K is for Kevin Bacon
is for Kevin Bacon, six degrees of!
There are the six degrees of separation, and then there are the six degrees of Kevin Bacon. Each theory posits that one is connected to another, a stranger, by only six steps, so that everyone in the world could conceivable become friends, through their friends. And that all actors can be connected to Kevin Bacon.
I wasn't on Twitter for very long before this connection happened to me! Not to Kevin Bacon, though, but to Neil Gaiman.
Before I started reading Neil's books, I hadn't realised quite how many authors live in nowheresville Wisconsin. Then when I was visiting Chicago last month, I realised they're only a few hours' drive from there, so not so middle-of-nowhere after all. And such gorgeous landscapes!
Of course, being an author in the middle of the woods means you need to emerge now and again, for book tours and other events, and temporary lodgings in Boston with your wife (yay for Amanda Palmer!).
House and dogs and cats all get left behind, though, and need looking after.
So Neil Gaiman gets by with a little help from his friends, one of whom is Matt Kuchta - here he is on another epic visit to castle Gaiman. Recently, he and author Kelly McCullough built a dragon in Neil's yard...
And guess what? I need fewer than six people!
Neil Gaiman --> Matt Kuchta --> Aydın Örstan --> me!
And how? Because Kuchta's an assistant professor of geology and studies snails, which my uncle does also!
There are the six degrees of separation, and then there are the six degrees of Kevin Bacon. Each theory posits that one is connected to another, a stranger, by only six steps, so that everyone in the world could conceivable become friends, through their friends. And that all actors can be connected to Kevin Bacon.
I wasn't on Twitter for very long before this connection happened to me! Not to Kevin Bacon, though, but to Neil Gaiman.
Before I started reading Neil's books, I hadn't realised quite how many authors live in nowheresville Wisconsin. Then when I was visiting Chicago last month, I realised they're only a few hours' drive from there, so not so middle-of-nowhere after all. And such gorgeous landscapes!
Of course, being an author in the middle of the woods means you need to emerge now and again, for book tours and other events, and temporary lodgings in Boston with your wife (yay for Amanda Palmer!).
House and dogs and cats all get left behind, though, and need looking after.
So Neil Gaiman gets by with a little help from his friends, one of whom is Matt Kuchta - here he is on another epic visit to castle Gaiman. Recently, he and author Kelly McCullough built a dragon in Neil's yard...
And guess what? I need fewer than six people!
Neil Gaiman --> Matt Kuchta --> Aydın Örstan --> me!
And how? Because Kuchta's an assistant professor of geology and studies snails, which my uncle does also!
Here's Matt with Neil's 20+-year-old cat Princess:
I love Twitter for that - being able to connect with people I've admired for a long time. Sometimes about the silliest things, too - here's me and Tim Burgess of The Charlatans:
Which authors and singers have you been lucky enough to meet or interact with?
Comments
I've met a few musicians (met Night Ranger - remember those guys?) and I met Peter O'Toole.
Jamie Dement (LadyJai)
#atozchallenge, Kristen's blog: kristenhead.blogspot.com
I've met Lois Lowry, Alice Hoffman, Tomie DePaola, Suzanne Collins, and Cynthia Lord. Those were all big moments for me! At this year's conference, I get to meet Susan Creech, which is pretty exciting. And, as I mentioned on another post, Neil Gaiman is coming to Cambridge!