cleolinda | Waiting on Sister Girl to arrive

So, the mouse is still in residence, but the cat has discovered him (her?). Fortunately or unfortunately, whichever way you prefer to look at it, the cat hasn't been able to catch him, but we (the cat and I) have definitely been spending a lot of quality time together. Particularly at night. The way I figure it is, apparently the mouse is smart enough to stay out of my room when the cat's there, and that's sufficient for me. Meanwhile, I'm still cleaning, and I've probably gotten further in a week than I got all last summer. What my mother suggested was that I pick a given area of my bedroom (keep in mind that I have four large bookshelves, a dresser, a large closet, several boxes of unsorted crap, and an under-bed area to tackle) and work on it for an hour at a time. At the end of an hour, I can walk away and do whatever I want. As simple as the concept is, it's actually working for me, because I think one of my unspoken fears about heavy-duty cleaning is that it'll take over my life and I'll be shackled to a garbage can for days at a time, unable to escape until I've gone through every single thing I own and made the Sophie's choice of whether I get to keep it or have to throw it away. When you rephrase the task as "Spend an hour alphabetizing your CDs and then walk away," it's much easier to swallow. And since I've got this mouse hanging over my head (uh... metaphorically), I keep coming back for another hour, and then another. So... thanks, Reep!

(Why alphabetize the CDs? you're thinking. Isn't that unnecessarily fussy? Well, because most of my music is on my computer now. The CDs need to be straightened and arranged on a rack, so alphabetizing means I have them in a nice library format whenever I need to pull one out, and since I rarely touch them anymore, it's an order that can be easily preserved. I would never bother alphabetizing books, because I'd never be able to keep them that way. Although I do tend to group them loosely by author and genre--top shelf, right left side of room is historical biographies; top shelf, right side of room is fantasy, with a corner set aside for Harry Potter books.)

Anyway, it's a slow, sweltering Memorial Day weekend, and not much else is going on beyond cleaning and writing ~~oh God help me I am so bored~~. Linkspam:

'Laugh-In' comic Dick Martin dies at 86.

Buffett sees "long, deep" U.S. recession.

Parents claim racism in Harper Lee's Ala. hometown.

FDA warns of harmful nipple cream.

Spatterdashes for the Discerning Lady. Omg openwork leather steampunk mitts and spats! (I love collecting steampunk fashion links, particularly on Etsy. Even if y'all never see what's in my notebook, it's like production-designing Black Ribbon in my head.)

'Dollhouse' Fans Campaign to Save Show 8 Months Before it Airs.

First review of Viva La Vida/Death & All His Friends. I know the title is hugely pretentious, but the Coldplay iTunes commercial has me really, really wanting to hear this one. (Too bad my computer hates any Apple software more complicated than Quicktime. I tried to install iTunes the other day, just so I could browse the site, and Betsy 2.0 crashed halfway through the download.)

Indy Grosses $126 M... since midnight on Wednesday, with an additional $25M projected for tomorrow. Also: Cinematical Seven: Indiana Jones Influences, and io9 weighs in: "Plus, why did putting the crystal skull inside a burlap sack prevent it from being magnetic? Oh I know: probably the same forces that made gold and gunpowder ferromagnetic in the movie. The force of crap."

Winner of Cannes' top prize is unanimous; French docudrama wins top honors at Cannes; Live from Cannes: Boos for 'Palermo Shooting.'

Harry Potter star Robert Knox knifed to death in row over mobile phone. I really hate the way this story has been reported, or at least the reductive nature of headlines, because almost every one I've seen has been something like "Harry Potter star fatally stabbed." So then you go OH MY GOD WHAT? WHO? And then you read the article and go, "Oh, wait, it's some new kid in a minor role we haven't even seen yet, never mind." And that's a horrible, callous, inadequate reaction to have to someone young dying violently, and yet the bait-and-switch nature of the headlines leaves you almost no other way to respond.

New Dark Knight Photos; Gary Oldman Interview.

David Fincher's Potential Masterpiece - 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.' I'm really intrigued by this one, and a couple of y'all brought in some interesting info:

corkdorkdan figured out that the trailer music is "The Aquarium" from "Carnival of Animals," and

robyn_ma supplied a link to the original short story (Fitzgerald? Huh). Don't worry about spoilers there--the story sketches out the basic concept and takes it through to its logical conclusion, but it's far lighter than the movie seems to be--the movie reminds me a lot of The Fountain for some reason I can't put my finger on. (Maybe because Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett were the original leads on that one, actually.)

Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro's Hobbit webchat; McKellen, New Zealand location confirmed for Hobbit films.

Sneak Peek: 'Quantum' Boat Chase With James Bond And Camille; Avon And Arterton Team For Bond Girl Fragrance. The fragrance, created by Firmenich, evokes the glamour, confidence and sensuality of the famous femmes fatale of the Bond franchise. The scent is a sexy cocktail of velvety florals, cool freshness and warm woods. It features top notes of velvety white peach and orange blossom followed by mid-notes of jasmine, calypso orchid and freesia. The drydown consists of amber, cashmere wood and patchouli. Bond Girl 007 is housed in a sleek, seductive bottle reminiscent of a woman’s body. The cap is a stealthy homage to a Bond spy gadget. You had me at "white peach" and then you lost me at "freesia," Avon. Also, thanks to Bella Swan, I am now incapable of seeing the word freesia without laughing my ass off.

Hi-Res Photo of Kristin Kreuk as Chun Li; New Tropic Thunder stills.

Mel Brooks Talks Get Smart, Steve Carell, and More.

Camus to Hit the Big Screen with French Version of 'The First Man.'

Rumor: Robert Downey Jr. to Play Hugh Hefner?

Discuss: With Gyllenhaal Out, Who Could Play Spidey? It's not a certainty that Tobey Maguire won't, but after that last movie, I'm not opposed to seeing someone else take it on. Of course, if they write Peter Parker as an emo-banged jerkass again, it won't matter who plays him anyway.

The Uwe Boll Slot: 'World's Worst Director' Not Winning Any Converts.