Cleolinda everywhere

And it is here. Keep in mind that this isn't the entire spring line, but still, I was hoping to see an Eowyn; no luck. And no preview of the Marvel character figures, either. Instead, what we got was... well.

The Vampire Diaries: Tonner Ian Somerhalder. This is a thing that's happening. ( Read more... )

Many things to discuss (I have been busy, sick, and enveloped in drama, as is usual):

The first Voyage of the Dawn Treader trailer! Also: the Star's Daughter (who appears in it) has been named Lilliandil. I see "dil" on the end and think "Tolkien warrior king," but there you are.

( Moar! )

So... The Werewolf Book is... not turning out well. I'm gonna read the whole thing because I paid for it, dammit, but it's not my top reading priority anymore. ( Jack the Ripper is! )

A few links:

Snackfood Deathmatch today features M&Ms vs. Skittles! ( Read more... )

Meanwhile, I'm going to cut the emails off at the pass:

Robert is bothered that Robert Is Bothered. Also, he will be on the Daily Show tonight. This fills me with an unholy glee I have not felt since Neil Gaiman was on the Colbert Report.

WHAT IN THE SWEET NAME OF FUCK OH GOD MADAME TUSSAUD NO. Was the Museum Quality Head not enough? WHY. I should admit here that wax museums completely freak me out. I have a number of irrationally particular phobias (an airline losing my luggage, eyeballs being injured or even touched, the humiliation of other people who are themselves incapable of feeling embarrassment, the mustache of Salvador Dali), and wax museums are one of them. They just feel so wrong to me. I was weirded out by the Clan Brangelina figures and I'm weirded out by this. So very very much.

(Place your bets now: will it take more or less than three days for this thing to be mangled, stolen, or otherwise compromised by rampaging fangirls? I'm putting five bucks on two.)

Where my Alice? : (

HOWEVER:

LORD OF THE RINGS

TIM BURTON'S ALICE IN WONDERLAND

I'm still going through the list trying to figure out what's new. No Doctor Who/Torchwood, though.


(Johnny Depp Tonner Mad Hatter? I just... are we sure that's a good idea? Really?)

ETA: No picture, but there will be a Tiana from The Princess and the Frog. (Jessica Rabbit? Really?) Also: Power Girl and Deluxe Harley Quinn. Okay, here's the Tiana, at the end of these photos. Thanks, jabberwockpie.

ETA: "Velvet" and "metallic sleeves" makes me think the Arwen doll will come in this dress. What, no cloak?

Re: Friday's Secret Life: People do this every time one of the characters refers to "Miss Cleo," so--I just want you to know that I'm not trying to hint that you have to call me that. I'm not a TV hotline psychic or the little old lady down the street or anything. Plain "Cleo" is just fine.

Also, if you feel creative in the comments or something, this is precisely what folks created slodfans for. I mean, fanfic of fanfic will probably destroy the universe, but that's what it's there for. (Newest post: Icons!)

(This afternoon: more guerilla photography, lest I get busted taking pictures of vintage toys again. "Is that--" "NO!" "--one of my forks?" "... Maybe." I did discover that the NECA action figures do have a bit more bendability than I had originally thought. I also put two characters close together in the same shot for the first time and it is TERRIFYING. Like something out of Gulliver's Travels, for real. Anyway. That'll probably go up tomorrow.)

I've rambled on too long already, so: remind me to tell you what I ended up doing to rescue my hair for the next chatty/linky post.

Meanwhile, I totally, deplorably forgot to link the big first-anniversary Made of Fail episode when it came out; there's also a poll up for you to weigh in as to whether you like the new intro better than the old one. (I'll be guesting on the next epsiode, which will be Harry Potter-themed.)

Also-also, from lightlack: "I was wondering if in one of your future linkspam posts, you might be able to post something about this story in the LA Times about a very young girl with severe schizophrenia. I don't know this family personally, but they're friends of a friend, and after I read the article I wanted to help spread the story, in case somebody out there with connections might know of some resources that could help this little girl out."

( Linkspam of major WTF )

1) House rules: Don't fight on my journal. Don't. Disagree, discuss, that's great. But you will be civil and non-snippy to me and each other on my own journal. Take it somewhere else if you can't.

2) My stepfather decided to buzzcut the Angry Jasmine again. The jasmine then got so much angrier, in fact, that it disgorged a swarm of yellowjackets that stung him upside the head several times. I'm not even making this up.

3) Yesterday, I opened the front door to take Scout outside on his leash, and there's a dead bird toes up on the doorstep. A fairly large bird, too--you know, the size of a pigeon, rather than a sparrow. We have no idea what it was doing there, because it was under the little porch overhang fairly close to the door, so it couldn't have just fallen out of the sky or something.

( Linkspam )

Won't be around much tomorrow--it's the birthday of a friend of mine, so we're going out to a movie and then meeting other friends for dinner. Have gotten a number of tiny things for Secret Life via readers--they'll be fun to incorporate, but I'm not sure when the next installment will go up. Looks like it's going to be a busy week.

Question from my mother: does anyone out here sell Lia Sophia jewelry? Her old pusher's moved away, and she needs a new hookup.

Also, I have worn out the beloved paperback of Jane Eyre that I have had since I was thirteen, and I need a new copy. I want a hardback this time --I heard something about an annotated version, but can't find one. Can anyone recommend a good edition?

(Man, I don't know that I'd actually sat down and read the whole thing through since I was in college, and it is such a different book to me now. Jane always seemed meek and retiring, in a virtuous heroine kind of way--in comparison to me as a modern, unrestrained teenager. Now that 1) I'm older and 2) I've spent a lot of time studying the Victorian era, it's amazing to realize what a rebel Jane actually is, in her own controlled way. I also thought I'd go back and reread something I thought was so swoonworthy when I was thirteen and find it kind of silly now, but--damn, it is so much more fiery than I remembered. Maybe because I know more about the Victorian era now, I don't know. And for the first time, I actually understood why the hell the stuff about Lowood and the Rivers cousins was in there, in terms of what it says about Jane's moral character, how it was formed, and how that plays out. [Of course, when I was thirteen, I was all just MOAR ROCHESTER.] I'm gonna have to get the miniseries they made a couple of years back now.)

( Linkspam )

A bit blah today, but not too terribly depressed. I guess that's improvement?

( Linkspam )

And now, to finish work on something else.

MOAR CHRISTMAS SHOPPING. I know it sounds like we do nothing but shop these days, but the thing is, we're going out a lot and to a lot of different places, but we're really not returning with all that much. Also, it's really hard to find the right gift for some of the people on our list. So there's that.

Meanwhile, on the way home from our last excursion of the day, we dropped by my grandmother's to bring her some more ornaments. On the way out, I stopped to play with a--I don't know, I guess you'd call it a banner? It kind of looks like a long flat bell pull? I don't know. She has it hanging on her front door, and it's this tan-colored strip of fabric with little decorated felt Christmas trees, edged with shiny gold rickrack. "I loved this when I was a kid," I told her, shaking it a little so the bells would jingle. "Ruth made that," my grandmother said warmly. "She really liked arts and crafts. She made all of this herself, every bit of it. Even the tassels. She sewed everything on it there--the sequins, the little ornaments, she even put the pearls on the trees. She's dead now."

I managed not to crack up until I got to the car. My mother couldn't understand why I was doubled up in the passenger seat crying with laughter. I'm not sure I understand it myself.

Let's have a little linkspam.

( OMFG HE CUT OFF HIS HAIR EVERYBODY KERMITFLAIL )

THIS IS SO IMPORTANT THAT IT IS ABOVE THE CUT:

From sabra_n: My Fair Lady: Thompson Wants Laurie as Higgins ("The only way that could be improved upon, as one genius on the Innerwebs pointed out, is if they cast Stephen Fry as Pickering").

( More movie linkspam )

ETA: Oh, I forgot to mention--someone (I've lost the comment! Who was it?) suggested I claim my author profile on GoodReads, so I'm over there now as well. If you have any idea what I should put under "about this author," let me know.

Watched the extended Goblet of Fire on ABC Family last night while I was noodling around--come on, how could I resist? ( Surprisingly, the following paragraph is about Ralph Fiennes )

Meanwhile, I'm going to try to cut down a bit on the amount of linkspam in each entry, if only to give myself a bit of a break. I need one anyway, and it's a tough time of year, etc. I'm probably not going to succeed at cutting back, but I'm going to try.

From ppyajunebug: "I was wondering if you could maybe put helpvera in your next linkspam? It goes to a great cause, and the objects in the auction are absolutely amazing, particularly for sci-fi/fantasy fans, or those who love handmade items." In fact, I just saw this headline: Sci-Fi Authors, Fans Rally to Support Struggling Publisher.

( More linkspam! )