Friday night, pleasantly chilly

[cleolinda]

Last night, my parents went out to see Phantom of the Opera (the show. Which I have never seen, by the way), so I was in charge of feeding the dogs for dinner. Scout and Shelby just get dry puppy chow, but Sam gets half a can of something or other every night. I mean, I guess, because half a can (with a reusable plastic lid) was sitting on the counter. I put it in his dish and stood back.

ME: Dinner!

SAM: ...

ME: Dinner! Eat!

SAM: You did it wrong.

ME: What?

SAM: ...

ME: ...

SAM: ...

ME: *microwaves*

SAM: *nom nom nom*

Meanwhile, this week in writing... has not gone so well. It hasn't gone so badly, but it hasn't gone so well, either. Earlier this week I was flush with the idea that finishing the novel would take a lot of work, but it was doable--a happy medium of realism and optimism. And then I started getting moodswingy and panicky again. I've just kept plodding on regardless, but it's kind of discomforting to realize I'm probably going to spend the rest of my life going through this exact process over and over again.

Linkspam!

Al Gore, U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change win Nobel Peace Prize.

Doris Lessing wins Nobel Prize for literature, is not impressed. "Doris Lessing pulled up in a black cab where a media horde was waiting Thursday in front of her leafy north London home. Reporters opened the door and told her she had won the Nobel Prize for literature, to which she responded: 'Oh Christ! ... I couldn't care less.' Lessing later said she thought the cameras were there to film a television program. Vegetables peeked out from blue plastic bags she carried out of the cab." I don't know why, but I find this incredibly endearing.

Anthony Bourdain dunks 'evil' Rachael Ray.

The truth about Hunter S. Thompson.

Most Popular Baby Names.

Are you left-brained or right-brained? I see the dancer clockwise, which means I use more of the right side of my brain. Interestingly, two of the right brain functions listed are "big-picture oriented" (which I totally am--you may remember me talking about how I figure out the ending of a story first and then start filling in details) and "spatial perception" (I love games where you have to move tiles to come up with three in a row, and I'm really good at packing suitcases). Also, "math and science"? Not one of the right brain functions. Suddenly, a lot is explained. That said? I'm not left-handed; I'm right-handed. I wonder what I could do to work out the left side of my brain more.

(A related thought: I noticed that I became a much better, faster, and more fluid writer once I had a computer to myself. Why? Because I was able to compose with both hands, rather than just my right, allowing me to even out my brain-side usage. By the same token, it's harder now to write by hand, and not just because it's physically slower. Also, my left hand gets bored.)

Top Ten Tips for Plagiarists. Best line in the comments of the article: "If she writes from the heart, her heart must beat like this: CTRL + C, CTRL + V, CTRL + C, CTRL + V…" Also, at Making Light, the crew is threatened with lawsuits and Wicca. Meanwhile, it turns out that this may have all happened when a wannabe writer was possibly duped by an infamous "agent"/"ghostwriter" who added plagiarized materials to the novel-in-progress she gave him (am I understanding this right?). Comment at that last link that strikes at the heart of it: "All of this, it is perfectly possible to believe - but what I find sad is that this is yet another instance of 'I wanna be a writer but I don't wanna write' syndrome."

More epic shenanigans: The guy who wrote A History of Violence has a friend, and she's e-dating this angsty cowboy/fireman named Jesse Jubilee James, and then he [Jesse James] dies, and then... well, the next thing you know, Harlan Ellison is spearheading an intervention for this girl, let's put it that way.

Pepsi guy loses it, whales on Coke guy.

Twisted Metal: Orlando Bloom Crashes Japanese Economy Car; Orlando Bloom issues statement.

Indiana Jones tops list of most anticipated movies. See, I'm really not looking forward to this, because I'm a little pissed that they'd make another one after the ending that Holy Grail had. How can you possibly be all like, "And now they'll live forever!" and then have them do something else? What could possibly top that? What new ending could you possibly come up with that would not be anticlimactic? Honestly, Cate Blanchett and my mother dragging me kicking and screaming is pretty much the only
reason I would go.

The Golden Compass Ending: Altered. Uh. Huh. Actually, it sounds like what they're trying to avoid is Fellowship of the Ring Syndrome, in which people like my mother left the theater grumbling that the movie "didn't have an ending." TGC actually has a huge cliffhanger ending--which I thought was fantastic, but then, I had the other two books sitting beside me ready to go. So apparently the last three chapters will be moved to The Subtle Knife, which makes me sad because 1) again, it was a fantastic ending and 2) there's already been several shots from those scenes in the previous trailers, and WANT NOWWWWW. (Here's Philip Pullman's response, by the way: "The [movie] ending makes every kind of narrative sense. The National Theatre production ended the first part plumb in the middle of The Subtle Knife, and nobody minded that because in the only terms that mattered it worked brilliantly. Every film has to make changes to the story that the original book tells - not to change the outcome, but to make it fit the dimensions and the medium of film. I’m very happy with the work the filmmakers have done, and no-one wants this film to succeed more, or believes in it more firmly, than I do." Aww, I feel fuzzy.

Also: ‘Golden Compass’ Trailer Leaves Fans Wanting More (christwise, are you in there anywhere?); Rockefeller Trailer Photos; New film stills; Sam Elliott on The Golden Compass.

John August will write and direct an episode of Heroes: Origins.

Harold and Shaun Go to Star Fleet Academy. Simon Pegg for Scotty? Really?

HP & Half-Blood Prince: First pictures of Slughorn's house.

'Bond 22' Plot "Tossed Out"?; Bond's Brazilian Beauties.

Zack Snyder and His '300' Gang Eye 'The Last Photograph.'

Cullen Says to Expect Two More Transformers.

'John Rambo' is Now 'Rambo to Hell and Back.'

HBO Responds to Cinematical's Story About 'Deadwood' Movies.

Del Toro Channels Hobbits for 'Guerilla.'

Tobe Hooper to Direct 'From a Buick 8.'

Frank Langella Joins Cameron Diaz in 'The Box.'

'Southland Tales' UK poster.

Daniel Waters to Adapt Lindsay Moran's CIA Memoir.

Thandie Newton Talks About Joining the Boys on Guy Ritchie's 'RocknRolla.'

And now I have to decide if I want to try to write more, or just pack it in for the night and start fresh tomorrow. By the way, redscorner mentioned that she's created a Yahoo Group for Project Download if you'd like a daily reminder to click.

Comments

[laddical.livejournal.com]

How can you possibly be all like, "And now they'll live forever!" and then have them do something else?

Indy isn't going to live forever. The power of the grail only worked so long as you stayed in the temple, and you would need to continually drink from it - which he can't do anymore.

And if I am mistaken, then it would suck to be Indy, living forever but continually aging - 90 year old Indy looked pretty bad (and pirate-like) in [i]The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles[/i].

[etherealshores.livejournal.com]

I've seen POTO twice, and both times were pure magic. And my Mom met the guy who played the Phantom at one of them. She's lucky. xD

[erinya.livejournal.com]

My dancer switches back and forth pretty consistently. It's kind of spooky because I could swear that she actually starts moving the other direction.

[word-herder.livejournal.com]

She does change direction. Just focus on the foot she's "bouncing" on. You can see her switch.

[mustang-bex1126.livejournal.com]

I'm so very excited for the From a Buick 8 movie- that book scared the daylights out of me for some reason! An absolutely excellence of linkspam, as always =)

[chris-walsh.livejournal.com]

I now propose "excellence" to be the collective noun for cleolinda's linkspam. "An excellence of linkspam" has a nice ring to it.

*salutes*

[girlalmighty]

I can't decide how I feel about the new ending. I mean, on the one hand, I guess I get why it makes sense, in terms of setting up the film and not wanting to have the major cliffhanger ending and all. On the other hand, AWESOME CLIFFHANGER. I'm totally okay with the awesome cliffhanger because I know what happens next, and anyone who wants to can just, you know, go read The Subtle Knife if they can't take the wait. DO WANT.

[lyrainverse.livejournal.com]

I'm with you on this. On the one hand, when I read the book for the first time, Subtle Knife hadn't been released and there wasn't even any mention of a sequel being forthcoming, so I thought the end of the book was just the end!! So I sympathize with the folks who want to know what's coming. On the other hand, now all the books are out and handily available, so people can pick up a freaking book if they want to know!!! I mean, does this mean we're not going to see the, uh, thing with Roger at the end? (Hopefully that's not too spoilery.)

[despairfaery.livejournal.com]

Can you make her spin the other way? It took me forever but I finally did it.

[ter369.livejournal.com]

Comment at that last link that strikes at the heart of it: "All of this, it is perfectly possible to believe - but what I find sad is that this is yet another instance of 'I wanna be a writer but I don't wanna write' syndrome."

That's exactly it. And I'll quote that with credit, ".....as someone said on the net ....."

And Philip Pullman is all kinds of classy. (Are you listening, Ms. Rice?)

[cran.livejournal.com]

I can easily change the dancer's direction at will by focusing on the legs and feet. I doubt it actually has anything to do with what side of the brain people use... I've seen this illusion on a lot of sites, and none of them explain the science behind the claim. No one even seems to know where the .gif originated.

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

Okay, it took me a minute to realize that Orlando Bloom did NOT crash the Japanese economy. Something about the way the syllables fell in that headline nearly led me to the opposite conclusion.

[token-girl.livejournal.com]

Says you. I think I like that story better.

[word-herder.livejournal.com]

So...if you watch the foot the image is bouncing on (in that right-brain/left-brain "test"), you can see her change directions. Kind of a dumb test, I think. Unless that just means I'm more left-brained because I thought to look for the source of the motion rather than at the motion itself...?

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Actually, someone told me to look at her foot and I still can't make her change directions. Apparently I'm right-brained like whoa.

[greenwitch.livejournal.com]

Dude, that dancer is bugging me out. I'm seeing it clockwise and for the life of me I cannot concentrate to make it spin the other way. Like, I literally cannot comprehend how anyone might see it turning the other way.

Also, is it entirely necessary that she has nipples? Heh.

[greenwitch.livejournal.com]

Woah. Okay, I tried what someone suggested above and focused on the feet and she did change direction after about 20 seconds. Trippy.

beam me up shaun...er...scotty.

[to-no-avail.livejournal.com]

funny, i thought simon was more of a star wars geek. but huzzah! the world needs more simon pegg.

Re: beam me up shaun...er...scotty.

[cmdr-zoom.livejournal.com]

You say that as if the fandoms were incompatible...

[kiandra-fire.livejournal.com]

I've seen POTO - the show - twice now, I think, and even though I'm not the Opera's biggest fan (sorry!), I think it depends largely on the theater. For instance, there's the straight-up version with the expensive sets, where no one breaks through the fourth wall, and where, to be honest, the movie was more memorable, and then there's the theater in Birmingham which was really cool, because the Phantom actually showed up on the ceiling and to the sides of the stage, and it was set up so the audience was in the opera, and it was the Phantom's domain all along. He was the only character, come to think of it, who got to break through the fourth wall. But then, as you're in Birmingham, and this (I hope it isn't) might be the show your parents saw without you...

Um. But hey! Your write-up of the Golden Compass made me want to read the books again. That has to count for something, right? *really hopes it counts for something*

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Hee, it does count. My mother said the show was fantastic ("There was fire!"), so I suspect they saw it in the good theater. I figure I'll see it someday. : )

[laurel-tx.livejournal.com]

christwise said she was misquoted: http://christwise.livejournal.com/102648.html?nc=1

[christwise.livejournal.com]

haha thanks for the shoutout dude. Sorry, just noticed this. My bad.

I did go to Olive Garden tonight and have the pumpkin cheesecake. It was delish.

[christwise.livejournal.com]

Heh, thanks for thinking of me. And yes, yes I am. I'm the old one amidst all the 12 year olds in the video. At least they picked a quote that was mildly intelligent. I did manage to out-dork myself with Lord of the Rings squee-age.

But hi, I'm the farty old 22 year old in the article and I did not say I would not let my (imaginary) kids read the books. I said I

might

not, it's a big difference, I don't ban books. Grr.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Awww! I do think that if I let my imaginary kids read the books, it would be with a great deal of guidance and discussion.

[robyn-ma.livejournal.com]

'John Rambo' is Now 'Rambo to Hell and Back.'

Apparently Stallone called up Harry Knowles and said it's now John Rambo again.

I can't get the dancer to go counterclockwise either. I foresee lots of left-brain/right-brain wank: 'How can you see hr going clockwise?' 'How can you not? She's obviously not going counterclockwise.' 'Of course she is.' And so forth.

[princessstarr.livejournal.com]

Coke and Pepsi guys are free to attack each other at will. It happened recently near Pittsburgh.

Hometown, never change. *sigh*

[thegeneralerin.livejournal.com]

Indy isn't mortal. That's why the knight wasn't able to leave the temple. He had to drink from the grail everyday. He presumably dies after they leave because the grail is lost (unless he fishes it out of the pit). The grail healed Henry Sr, and didn't really affect Indy other than he knew it was the correct grail. Henry will live out his natural life (and so will, Indy, obviously)

Also, that right-brain/left-brain site seems weird. I only saw the dancer spinning counter-clockwise. Supposedly, that means I'm a math/science/logic person which is just NOT TRUE. I'm left handed and have always been a right-brain person. Just saying.

[thegeneralerin.livejournal.com]

Ooops, I meant to say Indy IS mortal. Or isn't IMmortal. My bad.

[trash-addict.livejournal.com]

My brain refuses to believe she's doing anything but turning clockwise, dammit. Oddly, I associate myself a lot more with the left-brain functions, though.

[quasar360.livejournal.com]

Ditto! The right-brain list is simply backwards for me, and yet it took me about five minutes of intense concentration to convince my brain to see her go counter-clockwise. I actually had to analyze which points in the rotation might be seen in which ways, identify the points other people might use to determine her counter-clockwise direction, and then *talk myself* though seeing it that way. Now, doesn't that sound awfully logical for a right-brainer?

[edda.livejournal.com]

Daniel Waters to Adapt Lindsay Moran's CIA Memoir.

I got that for Christmas last year! May need to give it a reread. I remember it was pretty well-written, although not the action-packed bundle of excitement I'd hoped for.

[kelcea.livejournal.com]

The first time I looked at the dancer, she refused to spin any way except clockwise; it's true, I favour the right side of my brain and am left-handed.

But then I opened up the dancer link again, and now she spins both ways, albeit widdershins only for about one rotation. Hum.

[laughingacademy.livejournal.com]

I followed the link for the Sad Ballad of Jesse Jubilee James. Damn. There’s sick and wrong, and then there’s that.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Wellllll...If Pullman's all right with it then I won't get up in arms. But, really, yeah, the ending of TGC is kick-ass. Especially what it does with Asriel and Mrs. Coulter. I'm sorry they're not going there as an ending.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Wait wait--that dancer link--why is she spinning in the link right when you open it? I saw someone else link this--she was still, and they asked which way she was turning, and I chose based on how she was standing, and then you clicked on the picture and she started turning so you could see if you were right or wrong. Isn't that how it's supposed to go? Because she's spinning right when you open the page!

[poinsley.livejournal.com]

OK, that dancer freaked me out because I saw her going clockwise on first glance, then read the text, only to look back and see her dancing counterclockwise!