Thirteen going on thirty

[cleolinda]

Oh, wow--someone sent me a book, but I'm not sure who it's from? There wasn't any name or card or information with it. It's something I had really wanted to read for Black Ribbon research, though, so--thank you so much, whoever it's from!

By the way, if you were working the upstairs register at the Brookwood Mall Books-a-Million on Wednesday night, and you sold a copy of Dead Until Dark to two women, the older of which kept saying "SHE WRITES ABOUT THE SHOW" really loudly over and over again, and the younger of which looked like she kind of wanted to die... I need to apologize to you about that.

("Mom, you really don't need to go announcing to people that you've heard how terrible the Twilight books are. You have to scope people out! You have to find out whether they like them or not first!" "No, see, you need to do that. I don't actually care if people get mad at me." "WELL, CLEARLY WE HAVE ESTABLISHED THAT.")

("I still can't believe you thought EDWARD imprinted on the baby. How long did you think that?" "Ever since you told me! When the book first came out!" "In August? Damn, no wonder you had such a weird look whenever you talked about the movie, if you thought that." "I'M SAYING! He's the love of her life!? And he was going to run off with THEIR BABY?!" "And it didn't strike you as weird that no one in the media raised holy hell about that?" "Look, I don't know. People are crazy. That's all I know.")

Also, I feel like I should say a bit more about The Gift of Fear, since several people raised this concern--it actually doesn't make you feel paranoid at all, or at least I've never talked to anyone who had that problem. (In fact, one of his subsequent books is called Fear Less.) What it actually does is tell you to trust your own gut feelings and how to recognize a true warning signal; it actually made me feel less paranoid, because I knew I could rely on my instincts to tell me if something was wrong. I mean, in addition to normal prudence (locking your doors at night, using the buddy system, not taking candy from strangers, whatever). I haven't read it in a while so I can't cite chapter and verse, but I actually found it comforting and kind of empowering.

And no, it's not culty (even though people like to give the book out to others a lot). It's not some kind of complicated self-help crock. There aren't "steps" or anything. It's just security expert extraordinaire Gavin de Becker (who is awesome, and understands violence against women in a way that so many people don't: "Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them") saying (and this is a gigantic paraphrase), "If you feel uncomfortable or anxious or scared in a situation and you feel like you want to leave or disengage, do that, and don't worry about being 'polite' or what other people will think of you. Trust yourself and put your own safety first." It's not about feeling more scared; it's about listening to the times you already feel scared, and giving yourself permission to act on that.

Linkspam!

helpvera was a complete success.

Rare snowfall hits New Orleans. None here yet, although schools actually closed in terrified anticipation of an inch of snow that wouldn't stick anyway.

Dakota Culkin Killed By Car.

Scientists extract images directly from brain.

8 Truly Strange Christmas Customs. I particularly like the German pickle ornament that no one in Germany's actually heard of.

From krazycat: Nine Inch Noëls.

Tennant Ruled Out Of Hamlet Until 2009.

Malkovich To Play Serial Killer In Austrian Play.

Entertainment Weekly Considering Going Online-Only? This would not surprise me at all, given how flimsy the print copies are now. It's the end of an era and yet... I can't link to print articles and I don't read the hard copy anyway.

The Hater: How Lost Can Get A Golden Globe Nomination Next Year. SERIOUSLY.

OSCAR NEWS: Host Won't Do Stand-Up; Protests Over Honor For Jerry Lewis ("The controversy is over his recent repeated and public anti-gay slurs"); Paramount Awards Site Hacked Just in Time For Golden Globe Noms.

Images: 'Duplicity' Poster is a Glitterati Equal Sign; 'Knowing' Images And Onesheet; Pair of ‘Inglourious Basterds’ Pictures Feature Pitt and Kruger; 'Madea Goes to Jail' Poster Makes Great 'Dove Grudge' Poster or Tattoo; Uma Thurman looks a lot like Sarah Palin in 'Motherhood'?; 'Unborn' Poster(ior) Looks Strangely Familiar. OH LIKE THE GAP BETWEEN HER THIGHS IS IN ANY WAY REAL.

Trailers and clips: 2009 Sundance Film Fest Trailers; The 'Watchmen' International Trailer Is Here!; Worth Watching: Natasha Arthy's 'Fighter' Trailer; EXCLUSIVE: New ‘Notorious’ Clip Features Biggie In Concert; 'Hit and Run' or 'I Know What You Did Driving Home Last Weekend' Trailer.

Sherlock Holmes: First look at Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler; More pics of RDJ and Rachel McAdams. Yes, I find this important enough to be THE LEAD MOVIE ITEM.

WGA Hopes You Won't Remember Who Directed 'The Dark Knight'; Heath Ledger’s Family Responds To Golden Globe Nomination; 'The Dark Knight' Breaks Blu-ray Disc Sales Record; Is Rachel Weisz Catwoman in Dark Knight Sequel!?? OH WHATEVER! THEY DON'T HAVE A SCRIPT YET! (That said... I endorse this product and/or service.)

Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio: EW's Exclusive Reunion Q&A! And they are ADORABLE. I really didn't buy into the whole Kate & Leo thing until right now. Also: DiCaprio Warns Young Stars To Keep Acting. It cracks me up that they specifically asked him about RPattz and Zefron, particularly having seen this picture of Efron nattering away while DiCaprio looks like he wants to die.

And for my birthday, I will get 'New Moon' wank: The Weitzening to be official on Sunday? I have pre-emptively begun feeling sorry for Chris Weitz just in case. I don't know--maybe I'm crazy, but I really liked The Golden Compass; I'm not saying it was perfect or even close to ideal, but I loved the look and I loved the casting, and I was pretty sure that the story wasn't going to survive uncut or unaltered no matter who directed it. So he's okay by me. Which is, again, why I am adding him to the List of People Involved with Twilight Who I Feel So Incredibly Sorry For (Please Upgrade Your Riot Gear, You're Going to Need It). Also: TwiMoms are already trying to get parts on 'New Moon,' find sets, avoid freaking the mundanes; the Twilight DVD will be loaded and giggly, basically including the commentary of my dreams.

BREAKING NEWS: Do we have a new Jacob?

(Related: Robert Pattinson Teams With Rosario Dawson For ‘Parts Per Billion,’ for certain values of "teams": "I don’t have a relationship to him in the film. So we never meet.")

(Hmm. Austenbook begets Meyerbook. Definitely read the former.)

Major Hints For Iron Man 2, Dragonball, T4, And Clone Wars [Morning Spoilers]

Film review: 'The Day The Earth Stood Still'; Don Draper Solves the Alien Problem With Scotch [Exclusive]; No Laughing Matter: We Give Keanu His SF Due.

Heyman to Kloves on Deathly Hallows: "There are times I think we could have done three movies" (I will skip the one about camping, thanks); Harry Potter: the Exhibition premiere announced; Book review: 'The Tales Of Beedle The Bard.'

'Terminator: Salvation' Update: New Image and Set Reports.

Hugh Jackman dishes on Gambit and Deadpool.

Del Toro says he won't make another film in Mexico.

Aronofsky's Plans for 'Noah' and 'The Fountain' Redo; Aronofsky Aims For Hardcore 'RoboCop.'

Benjamin Button Writer Heads Into Space With New Project.

Fincher's 'Torso' greenlit after all?

GI Joe Trailer Description.

Stiller Steps in for Ruffalo after Russian Roulette Tragedy; 'Us Weekly' Unable to Determine Mark Ruffalo's Problem ("MAYBE THAT'S WHY, Us Weekly ").

'Doubt': It's certainly one of the year's best; Review: Overly theatrical beyond a ‘Doubt.’

Review: Soderbergh’s ‘Che’ is quietly revolutionary.

'What Doesn't Kill You' makes a strong movie.

'Delgo': A fantasy world not worth entering.

Joby Harold Adapting 'Atlantis Rising.'

Oliver Stone Making Hugo Chavez Documentary.

'Brothers' Now to Bloom in May '09.

Duchovny Still Believes In X-Files. Yeah... you keep on keepin' on there.

The Suckiest SF Movie of the Last Twelve Months.

'Dragonball: Evolution' Movie Stills. So long as this movie is around, the Slot will never go empty.



ETA: Bettie Page passed away this evening.

Comments

[endless-reader.livejournal.com]

So many good links, so little time!

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

And that's the pared-down version that doesn't include the stuff I've started putting on FriendFeed. (http://friendfeed.com/cleolinda)

[renaissanced.livejournal.com]

I almost don't want to believe the article about Scientists extracting pics from people's brains. THAT'S SO COOL

[callmesyd.livejournal.com]

All I wanna know is if it works with the imagination, too.

If I could stop saying "well it looks kind of like x" and just pop an image directly out of my brain and onto a screen, I would be so giddy.

[jilu.livejournal.com]

We've done the Christmas pickle for as long as I can remember as "an old Slavic tradition".

My grandparents always rolled their eyes and told us we were loony.

[chocolat-violet.livejournal.com]

Seriously, all this New Moon reporting makes me want to move away from Vancouver. But then the possibility of bumping into drunken RPattz unfortunately brings me back.

[anolinde.livejournal.com]

OMG, I so approve of Michael Capon being Jacob it's not even funny. He was totally the hottest Power Ranger.

[skeptiik.livejournal.com]

The not-being-able-to-act is kind of a problem, though...

OH WHATEVER how about we just have Edward never leave? That'd be fine by me.

[anne-jumps.livejournal.com]

I must ask my father about this pickle thing.

formgeblasener Christbaumschmuck
God I love German.

[anne-jumps.livejournal.com]

My dad said that the pickle thing is Austrian, which is why the Germans didn't know about it.
Then he went off on a rant.

[megalion.livejournal.com]

I just wanted to say that A) I bought Gift of Fear off Amazon ($4.16 shipped from Amazon marketplace.. why not?) after reading your post yesterday AND....

b) last night it was after 11pm when I stopped to fill up in the valley in an area I wasn't familiar with. some guy starts trying to talk to me about the scratches on the drivers side of my car (my gas tank is on the passenger side so the drivers side was facing the street and much darker than where I was standing by the gas cap).

Usually I just say that I'm deaf or something that i can't understand them but I didn't so he persisted in trying to talk to me. Finally I just turned my back and finish setting it up to pump. BUT... at the same time he was saying "look I'll show you" and went around and crouched down.

So far I'm just standing there annoyed when I realize.. hey wait a minute... WHAT IS HE DOING TO MY CAR!! Is this a ruse to get me to go over to that side where the darkness of the street (it was a BIG street but at that time of night little traffic) away from the light and other ppl at the gas station?

So I walk around the front of the car... but I give it a wide berth and make sure I'm several yards away and I see him with his bag on the ground and he's got a rag in his hand and is rubbing at the scratches above the wheel well (yes I killed my side mirror on a giant cement pillar once thank you very much - was in a hurry pulling out cause I thought a friend was in danger)

I just start yelling at him to STOP And GO AWAY. He tries to argue but I just keep yelling STOP STOP STOP. In the back of my mind I was thinking to say YOU DO NOT APPROACH WOMEN at almost MIDNIGHT like this even if you are really just trying to scrounge a little job cleaning up the scratches on my car.

I was getting frustrated but I noticed that the gas had stopped pumping so I went back and closed it up while trying to think of what to do... yell some more or run into the attendant?

But he apparently had given up and packed up and took off down the street. I checked my tire area and then LEFT!

I was proud of myself because usually I never think about the danger of situations like that. Well not so overtly. But your post and the book was obviously still somewhere inthe back of my mind because it really clicked that HELLO THIS IS THE KIND OF THING that can end badly for me.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

See, exactly.

In the back of my mind I was thinking to say YOU DO NOT APPROACH WOMEN at almost MIDNIGHT

Basically--and I have to remind myself of this a lot--it's not your problem if someone acting sketchy really meant well. They were still acting sketchy Your situation was weird at best (who approaches unfamiliar women at midnight?) and dangerous at worst. This is not you freaking out for no good reason because you're paranoid; this is you protecting yourself, and you have good reason. Good for you!

[queenofattolia.livejournal.com]

In the late '80s I worked with a woman who was the sister of Jerry Lewis's former mistress. Although he was always touted as a big family man (no doubt because of his involvement in MSD), one of her better stories about him was this:

At the height of his career in the early '60s, Lewis used to love to have round table meetings with producers, writers and other Hollywood people -- during which he would have a prostitute perform oral sex on him under the table. Lovely. Not my idea of someone who deserves any sort of award despite his many philanthropic achievements. He's a pig. And yeah, I know he's not as bad as some other Hollywood figures, but the constant public
anti-gay slurs just negate his "saintliness" all the more. Ick.

[quietprofanity.livejournal.com]

He's one of the douchebags who started the "women comedians aren't funny" meme, which Christopher Hitchens picked up on.

I'm embarrassed he's from my religion AND my home state.

[thisiamdenied.livejournal.com]

I'm really intrigued by that Gift of Fear book.

[nik-bella.livejournal.com]

Oprah is really big into this book. She did a show on it when it was first published, and another one recently with the reprinting.

[krzychk12.livejournal.com]

OMG austenbook -- so awesome! haven't slogged through meyerbook yet..

[krzychk12.livejournal.com]

ok, not nearly as clever, or maybe the novelty is gone? but thanks for the austenbook link! :)

[la-petite-singe.livejournal.com]

I actually feel weirdly bad about the Jacob-recast. And I'm mildly horrified that I care this much. But really, the first guy presumably thought he was in for a few movies, and just sort of booting him feels a bit mean. And the ONTD proof of the new guy's casting is that the actor changed his FB status to "...is the older Jacob Black!" O____o What.

I'm seeing Doubt tomorrow! It's not getting the reviews I'd hoped for, but IDC, they are all super-badass and the trailer is intense.

[wolfsilveroak.livejournal.com]

It snowed in New Orleans. It's been raining here in SW Virginia since Tuesday.

What's wrong with this picture?????!!!????

And the weather people are calling for it to be in the 50s on Christmas. ARGH.

[ppyajunebug.livejournal.com]

Dude what is up with the monsoons weather down here? It was snowing IN TEXAS.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

I can't wait to see how they explain Jacob's aging ten years in this next one. If it's a "my Jacob's grown over the summer" I'm going to throw something at the screen.

My question is why can't they find a Native American actor? You can't tell me that there are no handsome young Native American actors out there. I don't know why that bugs me so much.

[robinmc.livejournal.com]

I thought that they mentioned it in the books, that when he starts fursploding he actually has a growth spurt and he looks older? Or am I misremembering that? I don't have a copy on hand.

[emmaorgana.livejournal.com]

Dear Kate and Leo,

YOU ARE AWESOME.

Love, Me.

Seriously though, they are so adorable together!

[bella-stella78.livejournal.com]

I know, I was squeeing on the inside all the time I was reading this article. I really, really hope Kate gets her oscar this time.

[princessstarr.livejournal.com]

Heeey, we do the German pickle thing every year since we moved into the current house! It's fun.

[scornedsaint.livejournal.com]

While it would make switching the subscription around easier when I'm not in school, I don't want EW to go online-only! Reading EW on Friday is this weird tradition I've had since 7th grade.

eta: My family has 2 pickle ornaments, but it's mostly because my mom thinks they're kind of funky.

[glyphs.livejournal.com]

We participate in the Hiding of the Pickle in my family! And two years ago, the pickle ornament was upgraded into this little tiny one that's only like an inch and a half long because the youngest of us kids (my cousins, my brother and me) is 20 now. The original pickle ornament just wasn't difficult enough to find apparently. Last year, the pickle prize was this hideous little wintery gnome carrying a tree. I found the pickle and the prize has been proudly displayed on my desk all year!

[redcoast.livejournal.com]

Gettin' colder in Alabama? It started snowing in middle Tennessee. School's canceled!

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Oh, they closed schools today because it might have snowed.

:O

[elizardbits.livejournal.com]

JESUS LAPDANCING CHRIST. I totally read that link as "Scientologists extract images directly from brain", and panicked accordingly. I immediately pictured the preserved brain of wacky old L. Ron, in a jar, on Oprah, talking about his special relationship with Tom Cruise.

NOW I HAS A SCARED.

ETA: it shames me deeply to admit that I possess not one, but several of those weird Catalan manger-poopers. *flees*

Re: :O

[falenimortal117.livejournal.com]

I was skimming and read the "Hugh Jackman dishes on Gambit and Deadpool" as "Hugh Jackman dies..." and flipped the hell out (it took me a while to get to the "Gambit and Deadpool" bit due to the spazzing). My best friend laughed at me. It was horrible.

So...hooray for dorks who misread headlines?

(Also? Yours is actually scarier...I mean...woah o.O)

[albauk.livejournal.com]

Out of curiosity, have you read the Southern Vampire books? (I found you after you started reviewing True Blood. :)) I just want to know because I've read all of them and think the series is godawful. Everyone I know who has not read them thinks the series is amazing. (Yes, I am really looking for someone to commiserate with!)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

No, not at all--I didn't want to read the first book until after the season was over. That copy we bought was for me, so I guess I'll be reading it after Christmas.

[elisa0984.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough our German friend did give us a pickle ornament. It is Grade A traditional German Christmas over at that house.

[orca-girl.livejournal.com]

I have to admit, when I read that they'd never heard of it in Germany, my first reaction was, "really? in every tiny little corner of Germany? You checked?" Germany: not homogenous. And it wouldn't be the first time that some very regionalized little tradition from the Old World gained wider currency due to an immigrant population in America, even if most of the home-country hasn't heard of it.

(See also: try to ask some Brits about eggnog. They invented it. But any number of Brits have never even heard of it, these days.)

[poinsley.livejournal.com]

A big NOOOO to EW going online only. I love getting it in the mail each week. Plus, my subscription goes into 2010 already (and they want me to renew!)

That Christmas tradition thing was fun. I was teaching my students about the German equivalent of Krampus/Black Peter and they were horrified. And I was like, well, wouldn't that make you be good? And the pickle thing is true. No one I know does that.

[scarolinagrl.livejournal.com]

May I second your EW comment...I'm paid up through the first part of 2010 too!

I love getting it in the mail as well, it's comforting somewhat. A little weekly nugget of gossipy fun.

[robinmc.livejournal.com]

My best friend had a subscription to EW all through high school, and then I had one for a few years, and she and I were such pack rats that we held on to each issue for years. I swear, at one point you probably could have made several stacks going up to the ceiling. End of an era, indeed.

You know, after the Jennifer Hudson tragedy, and Mark Ruffalo's brother, and now Macaulay Culkin's sister, I'm starting to think that being related to a celebrity is hazardous to your health. These poor families.

[greyduck.livejournal.com]

I was terrified at the prospect of a "The Fountain redo" until I read the article and realized that he just wants to put out an alternate edit. Okay, that's no problem!

Not because I thought it was a great movie or anything, but I'd hate for a complete remake of some sort to potentially take away from the awesome soundtrack.

(Weirdo? Me? Say it ain't so.)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Oh, I love the score to that movie, absolutely love it. "Death Is the Road to Awe" is probably one of my favorite pieces ever.

[roseredhoofbeat.livejournal.com]

Okay, so my Dream Team Batman cast is:
Paul Bettany- Mad Hatter
David Tennant- Riddler
Phillip Seymour Hoffman- Penguin

I'm still not sure about a Catwoman. I love Angelina Jolie, but I don't think she can lose herself in the role enough. For some reason... I think Keira could do it.