Tuesday evening, wet hair

[cleolinda]

Well, as soon as I said I was terrified to write, I managed to go downstairs and scratch out 14-15 pages by hand. Granted, they weren't quality writing, but a lot of "idea writing" and problem-untangling got done. Today, about five or six pages. Actually, it seems to be the computer monitor that strikes cold, clammy fear into my heart, which still isn't great, because I've got to type up my notes before they get lost or dog-eaten or something.

From juniper_75: A wired.com gallery of "Steam-Driven Dreams: The Wondrously Whimsical World of Steampunk," including modified desktop computers, a blog feed telegraph sounder, The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello, and A WEREWOLF RESEARCH KIT ZOMG. And, in that vein, from kosher_jenny, "The 20,000 Leagues-inspired office, complete with a couch built from cuddly tentacles."

beckyh2112: "Could you please post about this in your next linkspam? I think it's important, and I would like them to reach their goal. (I know you've already got the little breast cancer site button at the bottom of every post, but I think this would help.)"

CNN will go beyond reporting news "by directing its viewers to charity and relief efforts involved in some of their stories."

Yahoo CEO Semel stepping down: "Yahoo Inc. Chairman Terry Semel stepped down as chief executive in a surprise move Monday, ending his increasingly ineffectual pursuit of online search leader Google Inc. — a losing battle that had demoralized Yahoo’s shareholders and employees." Is a Yahoo deal in the works? "Yahoo could soon face an activist group which attempts to force the company to explore strategic alternatives."

Isaac Newton calculated apocalypse. Is it weird that I don't want to know when the world's going to end, unless the answer is "Ten million years from now"?

OJ "Did It" Manuscript Leaked Online.

Squirrels with Lightsabers.

The 60s were good to me, honey.

O HAI GOOGLZ. I CAN HAS PRIVACY?

Okay, the last comic/commentary made me laugh out loud.

'Lost' won't end 'with a blackout.'

"Someone has leaked a letter from Waterstone's Bookstore with the price list of promoting your book in their stores." And it's not optional, either: "If Smith’s offer you one of these slots and you say no, their order doesn’t go down from 1,000 copies to 500 copies. It goes down to 20 copies."

Stephen King picks the 25 greatest rock songs.

From thyroyalmajesty: "Someone figured out how to control the tones of a Tesla Coil and turn it into music. Stick around for the Mario Brothers theme." Slap a dialogue sample and some whoop-whoops on that puppy and it will be ready for the dancefloor. What I particularly love is how it seems to stop about a third of the way through the video, and then it becomes apparent that the coil has just gotten to the bridge, and some guy to the left goes, "YEAHHH!" And then the last third is kind of like a Gothic solo encore or something. Awesome.

Katie Leung Says Don't Expect Her Back for 'Harry Potter 6.' Or rather, the character of Cho. And really, I can see her point.

New OOTP wallpapers from the official site.

Dawn Treader Helmer Set: It's Michael Apted. Nice. "Ben Barnes [Caspian], Georgie Henley and Skandar Keynes will reprise their respective roles from the earlier Narnia films. Apted's directing credits include Amazing Grace, HBO's Rome, Coal Miner's Daughter and the James Bond installment The World is Not Enough." Yes, the one with Denise Richards, Thermonuclear Hotpantsologist. We won't hold that against him.

Speaking of which, Marc Forster will direct 22nd Bond film.

Indiana Jones 4 Starts Principal Photography; Shia LaBeouf Talks 'Indy 4' as Shooting Begins.

Poster Exclusive: 'The Dark is Rising.' But I have a feeling y'all aren't going to like it...

Bernal and Luna to 'Hook Up' for Cuarón Again. Yes, you saw that in a porno once, I know.

Hi-Res Photo of the New Batman Suit; Joker Sightings.

Neil Gaiman Looks Beyond 'Stardust' And Into 'Death.'

Burton Off Carrey's Believe It or Not?

Cruise's Valkyrie Girl; Tom Wilkinson and Bill Nighy Join 'Valkyrie.' You know you're a geek when you didn't really care about that Tom Cruise movie before, but now you have to see it. Also in negotiations: Patrick Wilson, 2007's Hardest-Working Man, and Stephen Fry.

Paul "Pee Wee" Reubens to Star in New Todd Solondz Film.

Aniston, Carell, Craig, Gosling, 112 Others Invited to Join Academy.

Keira Knightley's 'Atonement' Will Open Venice.

Stills: Michael Caine and Jude Law in the Sleuth remake.

Aardman Reveals New Slate; Cat-Burglar Movie To Star Cats.

New Line Invests in '$40,000 Man.' You know, like The Six Million Dollar Man, only...

Ridley Scott to Make Monopoly Movie? Hollywood rolls the dice on board games. I was getting my HOLLYWOOD U SUCK rant on when I remembered that one of my favorite movies is based on a theme-park ride. So...

No Sequined Ash for 'Bubba Nosferatu.'

Angelina Jolie Can’t Wait To Go Toe-To-Toe with Clint Eastwood.

Hannibal sinking. As a major fangirl of Silence of the Lambs, I personally just pretend that Hannibal Rising didn't happen. I'm loath to sling the accusation of selling out at people--my feeling is that doing what you love for money isn't selling out; it's when you change what you were doing for money (and even then, it's not always for the worse). And here's a writer whose book now comes out after the movie, and also, it apparently sucks. I'm just saying.

Comments

[lauramcvey.livejournal.com]

Not only is Orange Juice a murder, his writing sucks.

[pinstripe-bindi.livejournal.com]

I can almost gaurantee you that thing was ghost-written. I've seen the note he left before he went on the slow-motion lam with Al Cowlings, and The Juice can barely spell his own name.

Of course, he WAS under a lot of stress at the time, having just murdered his ex-wife and her friend.

[spectralbovine.livejournal.com]

my feeling is that doing what you love for money isn't selling out; it's when you change what you were doing for money
I agree! I mean, what, your favorite band isn't allowed to, like, MAKE MONEY from that music you love so much? Et cetera.

I was getting my HOLLYWOOD U SUCK rant on when I remembered that one of my favorite movies is based on a theme-park ride. So...
And don't forget the brilliance of Clue!! But, seriously, how do you turn Monopoly into a movie? More importantly, why? At least Clue came with characters and a basic plot.

[thyroyalmajesty.livejournal.com]

Ohhh, Clue. I love that movie so much that... flames... on the side of my face...

[morganwolf.livejournal.com]

Great linkspam today. You're right, I am not pleased with the Dark Is Rising poster. Smells more and more like Eragon to me. The thing is, though, I hated Eragon when it was a book; The Dark Is Rising is one of my favorite series.

Neil Gaiman, why are you making me go see so many movies?

And werewolves, why are you making me want to spend so much money?

[ter369.livejournal.com]

.....the price list of promoting your book in their stores." And it's not optional, either: "If Smith’s offer you one of these slots and you say no, their order doesn’t go down from 1,000 copies to 500 copies. It goes down to 20 copies."

No surprise. Chain booksellers have a similar influence in the USA. Check out this post (http://www.arghink.com/2007/06/18/covers-agnes-and-the-hitman/) by Jenny Crusie regarding cover art influences. ".....but Barnes and Noble didn’t like it so back to the drawing board. "

P.S.

[ter369.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the forward motion with writing, Miss Cleo.

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

Isaac Newton calculated apocalypse. Is it weird that I don't want to know when the world's going to end, unless the answer is "Ten million years from now"?

From what it said in the article, Newton wasn't trying to calculate the date of the apocalypse but to debunk the nutbars who were constantly predicting it would be next week by showing that the earliest date consistent with the Bible was later than 2060.

(Newton: "It may end later, but I see no reason for its ending sooner...This I mention not to assert when the time of the end shall be, but to put a stop to the rash conjectures of fanciful men who are frequently predicting the time of the end, and by doing so bring the sacred prophesies into discredit as often as their predictions fail.")

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Sorry, that was a thought I forgot to finish--my mother really likes watching those Discovery Channel shows that talk about when asteroids might hit the planet or the sun might burn out or whatever. It was more of a tangent, I guess.

[the-lone-jen.livejournal.com]

Is it bad that the first time I read the one headline I thought it said "Jason Issacs calculated the apocalypse", and I got really excited?

[caerbannog.livejournal.com]

I like your headline better. ^_^

[msilverstar]

The thing about Waterstones is so depressing, not surprising but still so blatant and crass. If publishing is dying, it's partly because the industry is killing it.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

This is why I'm always so amused when print-only types start bitching about the internet ruining Western civilization. I mean, when you're locked in a system of payola and graft, you don't really want to see a bunch of digital parvenus get started for free, do you?

[arielchan.livejournal.com]

Poster Exclusive: 'The Dark is Rising.' But I have a feeling y'all aren't going to like it...

Y HALO THAR, LOTR.

[missmiah.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure the last third of the tesla coil video is the Tetris theme.

[morganwolf.livejournal.com]

I just have to say, please tell me how that Cthulhu costume was made. Because it totally goes with mine (http://images.cosplay.com/gallery.php?cat=48745&member=42739).

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

Well, after seeing that poster I feel the cold clammy hand of Eragon slowly wrapping itself around Rising. I do sort of like Eccleston's ninja outfit though.

[greenwitch.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking that the ninja outfit is the only thing that might get me to see this movie. Heh.

[zrath.livejournal.com]

THANK YOU for the Musical Tesla Coil link!!
It's awesome and I love it so much I reposted the link in my LJ, crediting you of course.
The music in the last third of the video is "Tetris Theme #2", a delightful Russian tune.

Waterstone bookstore thing: sad, but not totally surprising.
This sort of stuff is rife in retail: end caps, SPIFFs, etc...
It's 3v1l!!

"...which follows last November's Casino Royale, the Bond franchise's highest-grossing film to date."
Wow, really? Highest-grossing Bond flick EVAR!?!?
Cool.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Well, that's probably not taking inflation into account. Earlier Bond movies might have made more, but in 1960s or '70s dollars.

[guinevere33.livejournal.com]

Indy 4 is going to start shooting in my town (read: New Haven, CT) next Thursday and will wrap here on July 7. Apparently, one of the (early?) scenes from the movie has Dr. Jones teaching at Yale. There will be a car chase filmed in town, and they're recruiting around 500 extras for various scenes. The application to be an extra asked about being able to play football or cheerlead (for men and women, respectively). It also emphasized that any men who became extras would get "short, 50's style haircuts". Alas, I'll be out of town during the actual filming, but I'll see what insider gossip I can get out of my friends when I get back.

[guinevere33.livejournal.com]

Link about the New Haven casting call (http://www.spielbergfilms.com/indy4/1418)

[redcoast.livejournal.com]

I heard that one way to get rid of the terror of the blank page was to write something horrible. You know, like that Churchill story.

[girlsetsfire345.livejournal.com]

Heyyyy Helena Bonham-Carter/ Bellatrix Lestrange, how you doin' girl.
She looks good, you know, for a crazy jailbird with the frizziest hair ever.
*sets as desktop backgroud*

[eofs.livejournal.com]

The interesting thing about the Waterstones etc "money for publicity" story is that it mentions one of the things you can buy being space on a table.

Interesting because that's precisely where I found your book. A little stack of them, sitting on a table in Waterstones. I mean, I had gone there looking for it of course, but there it was.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Weird--I know my publisher was supportive (I don't know *how* supportive, in the $$ sense), but I also wonder if the table space was due to a secret LJ supporter. I know at least two or three people told me they worked in bookstores and said they'd try to get me a good spot.

[everstar3.livejournal.com]

That Weasley siblings wallpaper is just the cutest thing I've ever seen out of the Harry Potter films.

[ladyaurora1ca.livejournal.com]

Love the artistic werewolf hunting box... I only caught two major glaring issues for me... muskets were still being used in the 1700's (no silver bullets... silver musket balls yes) and daguerreotyping hadn't even been invented yet... hence no photographs from the time period. Otherwise, the rest of the kit totally rocks!!!!

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I wonder if he meant "1800s" instead of "18th century."

[eruvadhril.livejournal.com]

Werewolf research kit = Made of awesome.

The Dark is Rising poster: CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON SQUEE! Ahem. Okay, I see the Walker, the Rider, Merriman, Will... who the hell are those other kids? Does Will only have two siblings now? And why has the girl got magic powers? *sigh*

Hannibal Rising: I lost interest in the movie when I learned that Sir Anthony wasn't in it. Seems like I didn't miss much. Also, Mum and I are still not over the fact that they fucked over the ending of the Hannibal movie.

[queenofattolia.livejournal.com]

Will has four siblings in the film -- the other four have evaporated into thin air. You'll notice that Merriman is short, dark and a little paunchy. The rest of the story has been changed radically to appeal to "contemporary" audiences (yeah, the original 1970s setting was so antique), which I suppose means "kids who like Harry Potter."

Feh.

[queenofattolia.livejournal.com]

Re Dark Is Rising poster: So. Much. HATE.

[aria624.livejournal.com]

The 20,000 Leagues-inspired office, complete with a couch built from cuddly tentacles."

Somehow I knew when I clicked that it would be the Three Rings office. They are the creaters of Puzzle Pirates (www.puzzlepirates.com), the online piratey puzzling game that has consumed my life. Fun times!

[kosher-jenny.livejournal.com]

So much good stuff in the linkspam today! I guess I'll take this by points:

-Werewolf Kit: DO WANT. Also, I'm looking at the Jasper Morello site and it appears that the DVD is only available in the Australia region? Damn, another reason for me to buy a region-free dvd player.

-Waterstone: publishing is one of those industries where the more I hear about it, the more depressed I get. How can they get away with something like that?

-Musical Tesla coil: awesome.

-Katie Leung: aw, that would be a shame, but I can see how that might happen, like Oliver Wood. Pity, she was really cute!

-New Batsuit: I like it. I wasn't sure about the bike-helmet look at first, but if it means that he can now actually turn his head, I'm all for it. The full cowl may look better in still photos, but it becomes a tad silly during action/fight scenes. Also, all the stuff being sloooowly released about the Joker and Harvey Dent, but especially the Joker (first official pic: not smiling, possibly pre-Jokerized, second pic: clearly full-on Joker, but very blurred behind foggy glass) seems to be calculated to slowly drive me insane. I take the on-scene report about Heath being so into character as to start smacking extras around to be a good thing, for now.

-Campbell not going to be in Bubba Nosferatu: NOOOO! What are they thinking? The performances were the reason why the first movie was so great in the first place!

[pistolharris.livejournal.com]

A board game movie might not be so bad. Remember Clue?

[annlarimer.livejournal.com]

Bookstore payola? Somehow, it makes me feel a bit better that the absolute crap that gets window and table space isn't there because someone thinks it's good.

[angelan.livejournal.com]

I always liked the 'staff picks' in Waterstones - a little blurb, handwritten, about a book someone liked. I haven't seen any lately, though (maybe they've been replaced by the typed up 'Waterstones Recommends...' labels?), and in any case I wouldn't be all that surprised to hear they were paid for too.

[eleigh.livejournal.com]

I don't have much to say about The Dark Is Rising poster because I don't think I ever read the books. However, 1) Christopher Eccleston, yay! 2) Is it just me or does Gregory Smith look hotter than he ever has before? I had to go to IMDb to make sure it was even him 3) Hi, Jonathan Jackson, nice to see you're still getting work.

have a couple of links you probably already have!

[morgan-c-hoax.livejournal.com]

creepy: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070620/ap_en_ce/people_larry_birkhead

cute: http://icanhascheezburger.com/2007/06/20/im-on-ur-broom/