Notes from the home front

[cleolinda]

Hmm, what's going on around here... we had some massive panic-induced cleaning yesterday because an appraiser was coming to look at the house today. The good news is that the house is now spick and span for Thanksgiving (and don't think I didn't hit the dictionary to check the spelling of "spick" right there), and the appraiser told us that the dimensions of our house were recorded totally wrong wherever it is that they record the dimensions of houses, and that we're likely to come out worth more than we thought we would be. Which is good, because we need money to keep sending Sister Girl to cooking school.

The bad news is that I was up until one o'clock cleaning, and then Lucky woke me up at about 3:30 by jumping on the bed, chasing his tail for about three minutes solid, and then getting right up in my face all "Hi! Hi! Hi!" So I got up, got vaguely dressed, and took him outside in the freezing-ass cold. Turns out no one took him out before going to bed, so he must have been pretty hysterical by three in the morning. And then he was so happy to have gone that he was hyper for a good half hour afterwards. In conclusion: there was no sleep.

So then the appraiser guy came, and Sister Girl skipped her morning class, which put her trying to get ready right in the middle of the appraiseration in this dancerie and that pissed her off, and then the guy was late and took twice as long as he said he would, which pissed my mother off (although I had tried to warn her that that's totally what was going to happen, because I'm the one who's usually home to answer the door for this kind of thing, and I am wise in the ways of Professionals Who Make House Calls). And then we had lunch at Ixtapa. Mmmfajitas. Fin.

What else... I got the new issue of Vogue in the mail last night (what? I like the pretty pictures, and sometimes they preview movies and stuff), and some blonde who looked weirdly familiar-yet-unfamiliar was on the cover. Seriously, I drew a total blank... until I pulled off the plastic and saw that it was KEIRA KNIGHTLEY WTF? I don't know what the hell the flowing blonde ringlets were for, but I loves Keira and am irrationally excited about Pride and Prejudice, and she has this hilarious Wizard of Oz spread inside (I think Jasper Johns is the Cowardly Lion or something? All the characters are played by famous arteestes). And then there's a big ol' section on Memoirs of a Geisha, with tons of pictures of Ziyi Zhang in the costumes, and... one lonely page for Tilda Swinton. Clearly the Narnia people forgot to call up merchandising and secure the oh-so-important cosmetics and herbal tea contracts.

Oh, yesterday! Christmas shopping! It was like a trip to the library, basically, except that we actually had to pay for the books. The aim of the trip was to get birthday and Christmas presents for me, for about four different relatives to give to me. And if I didn't have the long-term memory of a breath mint, it would be kind of off-putting that I ended up hunting down all the books myself, but I do--hell, I can barely remember any of them right now! Go me. Also, all signs point to a desperate family giving me the entire oeuvre of Gregory Maguire for Christmas, so I hope that I end up liking it.

And while I was there, I finally tried the Burt's Bees lip shimmer. It's... a little cakier than I expected. It's growing on me, though--I like the peppermint tingle.

Oh, and today, the book got slashdotted, and it's a lovely review. Please be advised, however, that hating on things in the comments is the Slashdot raison d'être, so do not go over there and try to argue with them. It's 1) pointless and 2) only makes me look worse, and 3) I'm happy with the review, so God bless us every one, etc.

Linkspam:

Mall Suspect Sent Message Before Shooting.

Prosecutors Say Pa. Girl Wasn't Kidnapped.

Student Convicted of Plotting With Al Qaeda to Kill Bush. 

Report: Bush talked of bombing Al-Jazeera.

6,644 are still missing after Katrina; toll may rise. 

"I know I didn't do it, but maybe there's a monster inside me," he said. "How do you know there isn't a monster inside of me?"

Gary Glitter Facing Child-Sex Rap. "If found guilty, Glitter could face up to 12 years in prison for obscene behavior, while a charge of child rape could carry the death penalty, which would be carried out by firing squad."

Man Who Kept Dead Mom in Freezer, Wanted to Marry Jennifer Garner Sentenced.

FBI Warns of E-Mail About Surveillance.

Shop at Anthropologie over the Thanksgiving holiday(s) and proceeds will be sent to Heifer International. No, that is not their way of telling you you're fat.

Ten to Avoid--the Worst Products of 2005.

"Darling, isn't that your man?"

Town votes to rename itself Secretsanta.com. 

All hail the Random Euphemism Generator.

Aww, Radcakes wants to "convert the heathens": "'If you look at bands who say they're punk now, like Sum 41, and then look at the Sex Pistols and what they stood for and what they meant and what they managed to do and... well,' he says, taking in the interior of central London's opulent Merchant Taylors' Hall, a 600-year-old banqueting venue, 'the others are just pop music really, aren't they?'" God bless.

Teresa Nielsen Hayden has a dead neighbor. It's pretty clear that he was murdered. Somehow, conservative girls slumming at a strip club get brought up. Wank and disemvowelling ensue.

In the tradition of Elijah Wood Is Very, Very Gay: Cedric Diggory Is Very, Very Gay. The photographic evidence is there, y'all.

Comments

[angevin2.livejournal.com]

Oh hey, I got the fake FBI surveillance email! Knew perfectly well that it was fake, of course. It's a bit tricky to report them, though, because it seems like the complaint form expects that you know against whom you're complaining...

[kalliopeia.livejournal.com]

giving me the entire oeuvre of Gregory Maguire for Christmas, so I hope that I end up liking it.

Oh dear. Good luck with that. I keep trying to like Gregory Maguire, but inevitably hate everything he's done. I saw a new book of his in the store the other day and as always, I said, 'hmmm,' and picked it up. Then shook myself, remembered that I couldn't get through Wicked and HATED Lost and Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, and put it back down. You live, you learn.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Oh shit.

But yeah, I've heard kind of mixed reviews--it's like people either adore him or can't get into him at all.

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

I feel like I've been slacking on the Sony-rootkit front, as my life has been consumed by The Movies (http://www.lionhead.com/themovies/) (warning: cracktastic). But Boing Boing's been doing a better job of keeping track (keeping a roundup with parts one (http://www.boingboing.net/2005/11/14/sony_anticustomer_te.html), two (http://www.boingboing.net/2005/11/17/sony_rootkit_roundup.html) and three (http://www.boingboing.net/2005/11/21/sony_rootkit_drm_rou.html)) and there are more of them than me.

Congrats on your positive Slashdotting. God, there's something I never thought I'd say.

Oh, and don't miss "FCC: All Programming To Be Broadcast In ADHDTV By 2007 (http://www.theonion.com/content/node/42809&rss=1)" -- "We're going to roll out an exciting lineup of major sporting-event highlights, late-night yell shows, and a brand-new season of The O.C. that will feature 37 new characters and—well, I don't want to give too much away, but let's just say it will have a lot more guys jumping up and down, saying, 'Hey! Hey! Look over here!'"

[elbales]

*icon love*

[luna-k.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the slashdotting! This is so exciting.

Question - are you using any type of social bookmarking sites, like del.icio.us (http://del.icio.us/lunalore) or Digg.com? Digg is fast becoming the new Slashdot.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Wow, I'd never even heard of either one until just now.

[sunihiroku.livejournal.com]

OH MY.

Those posters really, REALLY need to get laid. Or something else that would help them to stop HATING THE WORLD. That's all I have to say.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

People are actually telling me that that's a remarkably low amount of hate for slashdotters, and that I should be proud. ; )

[outinthestorm.livejournal.com]

Hi Cleo, I was hoping that you would be able to pimp Katy Towell's Book The Little Girl Who Was Forgotten By Absolutely Everyone (Even The Postman) (http://www.livejournal.com/users/katytowell/78376.html), based on her flash cartoon, as she is publishing it herself, and I would really love to see it do really well.

Thanks!

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

ARGHHHH! I didn't get a notification for this comment, and wouldn't have even seen it if I hadn't checked the Recent Comments page. I really liked her stuff when someone sent me to her website a while back, so most certainly can do. : )

[mystalkershrine.livejournal.com]

congrats on the slash dot :D

[sapphires13.livejournal.com]

I had a cat once who'd bite me on the nose every morning to wake me up.

And I love the Very Very Gay stuff. This one's better than Elijah's, I think.

[mouseykins1.livejournal.com]

Well, I know what I'll be doing this weekend: retrieving the trombone!

And OMG Dan, you are soooo at the top of my list. Finally there is a celebrity (?) who will crack down on all of poser-dom. *huggles him*

[txvoodoo.livejournal.com]

"And while I was there, I finally tried the Burt's Bees lip shimmer. It's... a little cakier than I expected. It's growing on me, though--I like the peppermint tingle."

If it's cakey, it may be an old tube. I wuvs my Burt's Bees lip shimmer! I own the whole line! ;)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Dammit! I got it at the bookstore; maybe it is old. They probably don't have a ton of turnover on that one. I got the rhubarb shade, although I want the really light shade now. Maybe I'll go to the website and look at the bargain/outlet page and snag some more there.

[sea-of-tethys.livejournal.com]

That euphemism generator is tremendous.

[sea-of-tethys.livejournal.com]

Oh... I'd never heard of Anthropologie before. That stuff is so beautiful (and so out of my price range) that I sort of want to cry.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

You too, huh? If it makes you feel better, half their stuff is completely batshit, though. There's a pair of knee-high crocheted boots in '70s brown and orange, I swear.

[missmp.livejournal.com]

Daniel Radcliffe is so adorably earnest. He's going to look back on that interview in ten years and be so embarrassed.

And thank for the Anthropologie/Heifer link. As if I needed another excuse to shop there...

[ambiguousreason.livejournal.com]

Cedric Diggory Is Very, Very Gay absolutely killed me. That's beyond awesome.

[scornedsaint.livejournal.com]

Lord, thank you for that Cedric Diggory is Very Very Gay link. I am in stitches.

[boarderbunny.livejournal.com]

Me and the other 1.5 million citizens of Idaho (minus those 115 morons): *facepalm*

[ter369.livejournal.com]

Cleo, I don't subscribe to Vogue or buy it singly, but even I recall their fairy tale artsy-fartsy high-concept fantasy spreads, with Alice in Wonderland (that Slavic model who looks like a sulky twelve-year-old) and Beauty and the Beast (Drew Barrymore and the kinky-masked string quartet).

Thanks for the warning! I continue to successfully avoid Keira Knightley's career after seeing only her creepy posing in Love, Actually.

*officially burned-out on dramatized-Austen*

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Awww. I didn't see Love, Actually (fortunately?). I have a completely irrational love for Keira, I will admit this up front. She does have a face like a frying pan, as Wing at Fametracker once said, but she's like a Natalie Portman I would actually like to hang out with, if that makes any sense. She just seems really unpretentious and a lot of fun.

[xotinabellexo.livejournal.com]

You may have heard this a thousand times...or this may be the first time you've read this request...
I, and at least 20 other HP fans (as well as fans of your work) would REALLY REALLY appreciate it if you would make a m15m of GOF.
Could you? Possibly? =/
< 3
Cristina

[outinthestorm.livejournal.com]

She said in her post on GOF:
"P.S. I've already had a few questions about a Fifteen Minutes for this one. GOF/15M will not be posted online. Make of that what you will..."

[elbales]

Congrats!

[all-ephemera.livejournal.com]

I took a peak at some of the posters at slashdot, and they don't seem overwhelmingly bad, go you! Although I did read one that said something about thinking it was all a hoax. Cleo, you're ARRIVED! You're an internet hoax!!

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Wait, it's a what how?

[bingodoggy.livejournal.com]

Cleo,
Admittedly, I have no idea what you're up to, so there's no telling whether you'll ever have time to do this, but... have you ever thought of doing an m15m for Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves? I think it's absolutely the sort of movie that would lend itself to a some friendly mockery.

[royalsongstress.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I second that! That is one of the best bad movies evah. I love it!

[royalsongstress.livejournal.com]

Hooray for Burt's Bees! I'm allergic to both red dye and soy AND I'm frequently onstage in heavy onstage make-up. The result of said allergies is me having dialated pupils, panic attacks, paranoia and bouts of hysterical crying, depending on the degree. Which isn't good to have happen when you're about to 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy' your ass off at a dance competition. So, I finally found red lipstick and red blush that don't have anything bad in them. So, hooray for Burt's Bees!

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Good God, that's awful. The allergies, I mean.

I was just at the BB site and saw that they have a $10 makeup sampler, and I'm really tempted to get it.

[sapphires13.livejournal.com]

Just in time for the holidays.

Someone has wayyyy too much time on their hands:

Fun with Christmas lights (http://homepage.usask.ca/~amn076/lights.wmv)

[squee1123.livejournal.com]

ah yeah...definitive bless towards Danny Rad

and was anyone else just SLIGHTLY slightly amused at Ben Affleck being referred to as Jen Garner's poolboy?

[laurelin-kit.livejournal.com]

I know your flist is tight so I'm not on it, but speaking of the cracked-out Wizard of Oz photoshoot, I made icons (http://www.livejournal.com/users/laurelin_kit/336834.html) tonight of them, in case you want to check it out and snag some. :)

[laurelin-kit.livejournal.com]

That comment came out weird. It's not passive-aggressive, I swear!

Tuesdays are such Mondays for me.