Wednesday evening, in a hurry

[cleolinda]

I'm having a really hard time writing, but I know exactly why: I can't write longhand anymore. I used to be able to write pages and pages in pencil, and now I can't, and you know why? Because I'm used to typing. And you know, it's not even that I can type faster than I can write; it's because typing means I'm thinking with both hands. I swear I read this somewhere--typing engages your left hand, and therefore the right side of your brain, in a way that single-handed writing just doesn't. And it's one thing to have a sudden inspiration and struggle to jot it down quickly enough, but when I actually want to sit down and try to work, particularly when I'm not sure what I want to say, but I'm not at my keyboard, I feel kind of thick and stupid. And I realized yesterday--it's because my right brain is tied behind my back, as it were. I'm trying to time dashes upstairs with the puppies' naps, but today they were particularly rambunctious and even bad as the afternoon wore on, and in the middle of this I was having to clean house for Sister Girl's new boy prospect to come over tonight.

Also, just because I feel like recording this, the air conditioning guy totally gave me attitude yesterday. Look, I don't care that my parents have called you over multiple times about the unit outside their bedroom window making an unholy racket. I don't care if you claim you can't do anything about it and that we'd have to buy a new unit, particularly after my stepfather witnessed you adjusting the unit at one point so that it stopped making noise, which means that clearly there's something that can be done somehow. I don't care if you and I have personally discussed the AC before. What I care about is that I opened the door and you just stood there and smirked at me for twenty seconds ("Uh... hi... you're here for the air conditioner?" I said), and then finally said, "We've talked about this before." And that's all you said for a full minute while I flailed about. And then you smarmed that you needed to see the basement unit as well but I didn't have to show you where it is because you know where it is, because you've been here before, gah. Look, pal: I am just the person who opens the door. You wanna take it up with someone, take it up with my parents and don't give me shit about it, okay?

And then there's the bricklayer working down the street--he was wandering around our front porch, smoking, when I was about to run upstairs for something. Apparently the brickwork around our front door is about to COLLAPSE OMG, and my parents had Bricklayer Guy up to look at it, and he said it'd be something like $15,000 (!) to replace, but that that kind of work was "over his head." So they went and talked to a contractor the guy's worked with before, and Contractor Guy says it would only be about $4000, which is obviously a lot better. But apparently Bricklayer Guy wants a shot at the job now, because he was very insistent that I have my parents call him. And then, I passed the front door this morning and saw a note taped to the front door. It repeated his name, his number, the date and time of the note-writing, please call him, etc. Here's what weirded me out for no good reason: the note was taped so that the writing was facing me. As in, I could read it through the window, like it was a little face peering in. Also, the handwriting was kind of serial killery. I'm probably being way paranoid here, but the whole thing was a little too Gift of Fear for my taste.



The South has the sniffles from pollen. See? I told you.

Dan Brown wins copyright infringement case.

Deathly Hallows Cover Art and Summaries Released. Meanwhile, Behance has an interview with set designer Tino Schaedler. Which just happens to include three conceptual images of the Ministry of Magic from Order of the Phoenix. You want to see these.

From the LemonySnicket.com newsletter: "We're sorry to tell you that, at the end of April, Lemony Snicket will publish an unsettling new book called Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid."

First Photos of Depp as Sweeney Todd! Normally I strip exclamation marks from movie news headlines, as they seem both silly and superfluous, but I was a little too a-squee to mind this time. And rather than let Coming Soon redirect you to Perez Hilton, here are the three shots, courtesy of skyblade.

" 'Blades' gets the gay jokes right."

Evan Almighty Poster: Exclusive First Look at Cinematical.

Clinton To Appear on 'South Park.'

Helen Mirren and Ed Harris Hunt National Treasure 2. Oh, Dame Helen.

Deadly Jellyfish Halt McConaughey/Hudson Fool's Gold Filming. Go jellyfish go!

Jennifer Hudson's Next is Winged Creatures, playing Forest Whitaker's daughter.

''Goonies'' might be Broadway bound. I... I don't really see how this is going to work.

Ray Winstone Joins Indiana Jones 4.

Mia Farrow Probably Kills Chances Of 'Indy 4' Cameo After Likening Spielberg To Nazi Filmmaker.

Cruise's beliefs may stop Hitler film.

Lost to Start Back Up in January? Meanwhile, Matthew Fox To Quit Smoking for Kids. Aww, Foxy!

Angelina Jolie Is A Hypocrite And A Bad Mom, Says US Weekly, and also she is a Big, Big Stupidhead for giving all her exclusives to People.

Did Clooney leak the 'Huckabees' videos?

'Idol's' Sanjaya draws heat. I'm pretty sure there will be a one-man riot chez Jones if he doesn't go tonight. Namely because my stepfather seems to think he's a "terrorist" of some sort. There's a part of me that's really disturbed that he's making a weird sideways racial-profiling leap like that (the kid's apparently half Indian and half Italian, for God's sake)... and another part of me that really wants to name my next garage band Audio Terrorist.

Comments

[cpip.livejournal.com]

How odd. I've actually come BACK to writing with a pencil and feeling lots more inspiration than when I sit at the keyboard. I find it helps more... I've scribbled notepads worth and can't seem to type ANYTHING.

[erinya.livejournal.com]

Are you left-handed by any chance? (Just going off Cleo's theory of right brain/left brain engagement.)

I find that it does help me sometimes to switch media because it kicks whatever part of my creative brain is in a rut back into gear. But I still can't write big chunks on paper, only scraps of dialogue and notes. Plus, my writing hand has trouble keeping up with my brain, while my typing doesn't.

[cpip.livejournal.com]

I am... not, as far as I know. *laughs* I come from a line of lefties but write right-handed. Most other things I DO use my left for, though.

Hmmm.

[bardintraining.livejournal.com]

If I know I'm writing crap, I'll break out the expensive bottle of ink and a nib--makes me feel like paper and ink is expensive (which is is, then,) and then my cheap-ass self forces every word to count.
On a word processor, I get quantity over quality, more often than not. But that's just me.

[marginaliana]

The Goonies as a musical?? Do the what now?

[allthelivesofme.livejournal.com]

That's kinda what I said . . . and I do find myself curious, but then, I'm a weirdo. ;-)

[mustang-bex1126.livejournal.com]

Have I told you lately that I love you? Because today- I totally do!

[nohara-megami.livejournal.com]

Speaking of love, massive icon love^_^

What can I say?

[mustang-bex1126.livejournal.com]

I'm an American Torchwood fan, I can't help it. The creator is credited in my userpics, and she made a ton, all snaggable.

[alpheratz.livejournal.com]

Amazon has the larger version (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0061240060/harpercollinspub/) of the Snicket cover. How I covet this book!

[morganwolf.livejournal.com]

1. Regarding writing, am I the only one whose muse inevitably pops up when I'm behind the wheel of a car or in the shower? Yeah, the red lights are never long enough to get it all down. And if someone can tell me where I can find a pen that will write on my shower wall and rub off with cleaning spray afterwards, that'd be great.

2. I'm rooting for the jellyfish, too.

3. Thanks for the Lemony Snicket link, because it brought me joy.

[arielchan.livejournal.com]

The shower is a good place for me. I go there when I get writer's block.

I told my writing class that last semester and they laughed, but the professor agreed with me.

[allthelivesofme.livejournal.com]

The shower and the passenger seat of a car for me. An aimless drive through the country almost always helps with writer's block. :-)

[morganwolf.livejournal.com]

I can't tell you how many times I've found myself pulled over on the side of the road on the way home from work at night, scrapping around for a spare napkin or receipt to jot things down on. I try not to do it WHILE I'm driving, since that's even less safe than using a cell phone behind the wheel.

But I'm glad to know I'm not alone in my inconvenient inspirations.

[stefficus.livejournal.com]

digital voice recorder, guys. i'm telling you, it has probably literally saved my life and the lives of other drivers. *grin*

but, yes, i do need to find one that's waterproof. how did people think before they had showers?

[mercat.livejournal.com]

Hey, I found this (http://www.instructables.com/id/E99C8B880HEP287XZL?ALLSTEPS) and I love it. So hopefully it will help you as well! =) (Just add more pages than they suggest... in my experience, at least, I run out of room!)

[judith-s.livejournal.com]

You're not the only one who gets inspired in the shower. And of course some brilliant marketer thought there may be a product (http://www.etravelergear.com/ershownottab.html) there. Not sure it's worth the money, but the product does exist.

[mercat.livejournal.com]

As a person whose ideas come both in the car, in the shower, or in class when I'm bored, I absolutely freaked out when I found this (http://www.instructables.com/id/E99C8B880HEP287XZL?ALLSTEPS). =D I made one and it works very well, but I NEED MORE PAGES. (And it's a pain in the butt to find the disks that aren't black.)

[morganwolf.livejournal.com]

Wonder if it would work with a white pencil on black disks? It might not, maybe something to do with graphite, but it's worth a little experimentation...

[mercat.livejournal.com]

It probably would! =) I think colored pencils are waxier (hence harder to erase), but if you found the right cleaner and everything I'm sure it would work. Good idea! Thanks!

[jessica-dwg.livejournal.com]

The pollen is freaking everywhere in Georgia. At work today, we had to go out to our open-air equipment storage building for a general cleanup, and when I walked in, I thought, "Damn, it's ridiculously dusty in here. We really do need to clean!" And then I touched my hand to a surface and it came back coated in yellow. Every freaking surface in the garage was coated with pollen. I'm a life-long southerner, and I have never seen it this bad.

We won't even talk about how many times I've washed my car this week.

[lauramcvey.livejournal.com]

Angelina Jolie needs to stop adopting. It's not fair to the kids. Also, she apparently (I'm getting this from the local newspaper) said that she couldn't connect with her own daughter, and said that she had "no personality" and was "a blob". I see therapy in this child's future.
I once saw her on TV talking about her expierences cutting a boyfriend during sex. Uh, TMI much?

[judith-s.livejournal.com]

Newborn babies are blobs. Cute blobs, admittedly, but still blobs. They really do not become interesting to talk to and interact with until they're 6 months old at least. And I say this as someone who has kids, and adores them.

[lauramcvey.livejournal.com]

I freely admit to that, but saying it to the media wasn't the wisest move. I mean, Shiloh is eventually going to hear about it, and it won't be fun for her. Then again, neither will going through life named bearing the name of a fictional dog.

[sound-of-bells.livejournal.com]

Oh, US Weekly. The fact that we still have a subscription to that magazine is kind of awful.

[sennical.livejournal.com]

It's so weird, going from Birmingham to Houston for college, I got all stocked up on Claritin D for pollen season and... had no reaction at all. There's a lot of pollen here and I'm not reacting to it, and I've finally realized that it's because there are no pine trees in Houston. And going from snuffly congested allergies of doom to no allergies at all is really odd. Not that I'm complaining.

[emerybored.livejournal.com]

What part of Houston are you living in? We're talking about Houston, Texas, right? Since it's still in the Piney Woods part of Texas, there should be pine trees everywhere.

[sennical.livejournal.com]

Heh. Perhaps I shouldn't go making assumptions.

I go to Rice, so smack in the middle of the West U/Medical Center area. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that most of the trees on campus are oak?

[emerybored.livejournal.com]

I was at Rice just a couple of weekends ago, and yes, there are fewer pine trees in that area... but trust me in that they're lurking around there. Hiding. Waiting to attack.

Also, if you stay in Houston long enough, you're apt to develop allergies to other things... such as the nasty nasty nasty oak pollen. So beware.

Is the owl still living on the bio building door? Or did he move? Did you know about this? It's the door closest to the street corner. He was so cute! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/emerybored/432986685/in/set-72157600025167417/)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_ravengirl/]

I'm not sure if you've linkspammed this or not, but I saw it on Cuteoverload and thought I'd share, it's probably the most adorable thing I've seen in a long time (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epUk3T2Kfno).

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I linked it yesterday, actually. : )

[http://users.livejournal.com/_ravengirl/]

Oh rats! Sorry. I totally went and scanned yesterday's list too to make sure, but apparently I didn't scan well enough. :S

[ter369.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for the concept art links from Order of the Phoenix, Cleo.

Very interesting ruminations on writing with hands versus typing with hands. So, you probably know, I'm waaay older than the usual LJer. I've been typing since I was eleven years old, which means forty years of typing. I already played piano when I began to type, and that technique has made a difference in lack of strain.

When I travel, I often fill an entire Moleskine in a week. I have to retrain myself to do that and to switch back to keyboards when I return. In between, if I hit Internet cafes, I have to switch my brain to work arund a non-English language keyboard. All of that is note-taking and correspondence.

Slowing down to write by hand works for fiction and essays at my first thoughts stage. Especially if there's world-building and naming of things. Your point about using the other, non-pen, hand in typing opening up another side of the brain, makes so much sense to me. I never wrote fiction until I owned a computer.

As for Dame Helen national-treasuring it, this may be a chance to film in a location she'd enjoyed, to do a genre she's not done much of, the money must be good, and Sean Bean was the best thing in the first one, so maybe her role will be as fun.

[misangeles.livejournal.com]

I saw this in my Netflix and thought this group might be interested!

The Netflix streaming video feature is slowly being rolled out to subscribers, so if you have a "Watch Now" button when you log in, you can watch the first two episodes of "The Tudors" starring Elvis. Just search for "The Tudors," and you'll see it listed in a blue box, "Available for Instant Watching."

Enjoy!

[eofs.livejournal.com]

The OotP pics make me ridiculous kinds of happy for one simple reason.

This year's big climaxy sequence will be in school uniform.

I'm hoping in the final scenes they won't look quite so cut and pasted in though ;0)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Well, that's because they're literally cut and pasted--that's conceptual CG artwork, not actual film footage.

[eofs.livejournal.com]

Oooh. I didn't actually read the interview.

I mean, I realised it wasn't finished footage obviously, but thought it might be in-progress. Obviously I got that the Harry/Arthur was concept art, but the Hall of Prophecies could conceivably have been unfinished CG. If you were going at it in a rather odd way. And it was the middle of the night ;0)

[kittygopounce.livejournal.com]

It has always amused me that the names of the two authors that took Brown to court rescrambled and/or added together are "Leigh Teabing". :X

[lifeinsomniac.livejournal.com]

Sadly, I wish I could be shocked/appalled/mortified at the Goonies musical. But after Lestat the Musical and Edward Scissorhands the Ballet, nothing is sacred.

Speaking of Edward Scissorhands, Johnny Depp's Sweeney Todd look reminds me quite a bit of ES. Except his hair is shorter and he traded in his scissors for hands...holding blades.

[ironclad1609.livejournal.com]

I am soo looking forward to National Treasure 2. I hope it will be as enjoyable as the first one. Although it probably won't be able to compete because the first movie covered all those cool places I been to in the US.
Cast sounds great!

Winstone is more of a villain guy, so my money is on that for Indy 4. Would love to be wrong, of course. I'd love them getting John Rhys-Davis back too.

[valancy-s.livejournal.com]

Someone really ought to start a rumor that Dame "Sixty and Smokin'" Helen's been cast in National Treasure 2 as Justin Bartha's love interest.

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

Via dduane, a great headline:
Revived Ninja Turtles Defeat Spartans At Thermopylae (http://www.playfuls.com/news_0006234_Revived_Ninja_Turtles_Defeat_Spartans_At_Thermopylae.html)

Hilarious Macro Alert

[morganwolf.livejournal.com]

Since I know people are fond of macros, dino_rider has invented the lawyer macro (http://dino-rider.livejournal.com/88185.html). We feel that people need to know.

[lotusbiosm.livejournal.com]

it is incredibly unfair for US Weekly to hound Angelina for her bisexuality. Get on her case for being a cutter, for wearing Billy Bob's blood around her neck, for making out with her brother on camera, whatever. But if she truly is bisexual, then that's just who she is, it's like being gay or straight. It's not something you "dabble in". You might experiment with it to see if you really are bi, but it's really annoying of them to be so down on "alternative" sexualities.

[derangeddarling.livejournal.com]

I kind of like the UK art better. Totally not as cool as any of the other covers.

I am intrigued about Lemony Snicket, though I have still not read ASoUE. =/

I can't decide how I feel about Sweeney Todd. I love Depp, but when I watched part of the other Sweeney Tood movie (with Angela Lansbury, I think?) I fell asleep out of boredom. But, I will be required to see it because junior year my highschool was going to do it and then parent's complained about the violent nature and it was cancelled. =/ So all my drama geek friends are like personally invested.

Do you know if such a thing as a movie calendar exists? I want a calendar of just movie release dates, so I don't forget any. If no such thing is around, do you know where I might make one?

Don't diss! I am really excited for National Treasure 2. I loved the first one. Honestly? I kind of hate Helen Mirren. Ever since she was the creepy lady with a fake hand on Boston Public. And she freaked me out as Mrs. Tingle, too. I guess I kind of hold it against her.
I am also looking forward to that McConaughey/Hudson thing, I loved them together in How to Lose a Guy. And I love Matthew all the time. =/

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I know that lists of movie release dates are at imdb.com, boxofficemojo.com and movies.yahoo.com. I don't know if they have literal calendars, but it would be pretty easy to add movie releases to a Yahoo calendar (reminders and everything). I've done it for DVD releases I didn't want to forget.

[hyperactivegirl.livejournal.com]

Wow his Sweeny reminds me of Edward Scissorhands. ^_^

that actually makes me a bit happy, and I'm not sure why.

Also--pinstriped trousers? *dies from hotness*

But maybe that's just me.