Cleolinda everywhere

I am disappoint. Huntsville and Hothlanta are buried, and all Birmingham got was a thick, granular crust of ice--basically, an accumulation of sleet. It was enough to make everything dangerous, but nothing fun to make up for it. We had some actual snowflakes today, but nothing that stuck--just the same old crusty ice that had softened yesterday and then refrozen over night. We didn't even get enough snow to do this:




Meanwhile, Boston and New York seem to be preparing for the Snowpocalypse to hit them. Foresthouse also tells me that D.C. is expecting a few inches, so I have been designated her Emergency Representative. More seriously: I hope all my Australian readers are safe right now. We will be sending good thoughts in your direction.


ETA: You can donate to flood relief efforts here.

I am SO BEHIND on links and entries and answering comments (and work ) and things, which is not really unusual and probably the story of my life, but so it goes. At any rate, a number of people have sent in links pertaining to the Australian bushfires, and I wanted to post those, but at a point when they wouldn't get lost amid the regular linkspam. So here we are.

From purple_smurf: "This explains why these fires are different, and why the death toll is so high. (For the record, 46C = 114.8F.)"

Every year, it happens. Houses burn, livestock are lost, and people turn to each other and say that it sounded like a train, that the fire moved as fast as they could run. That they lost the house but the kids are okay. It's horrible, but it's normal.

None of this is normal.

.... The radiant heat [this time] has been described as like Dresden. Houses were exploding into flame ahead of the firefront. While normal ember attacks give you a decent length of time for the house to stand before it is unsalvageable (the eaves and under the house start smouldering, small fires begin, but it's usually after the front has past that the house really catches light), this time large properties were gone in minutes.

From foxo11: "Here's the link to the people who are known to have perished in the bushfires. The number is still rising." Three hundred is the number being discussed now, as victim searches begin.

From e_chan_21: "In regards to the bushfires, I wonder if I could turn your attention to this. It's a journal entry written by my brother, writer Andrew Hutchinson, about my eldest brother Ben. Ben has lost everything in the Kinglake fires but refuses to leave the town while there is still recovery work to be done. There are other entries in my lj about the bushfires, but I find that Andrew's entry pretty much sums things up." It actually made me cry, by the way.

My brother is still out fighting the Kinglake fire. He's been working virtually non-stop since it began. I think he's trying to keep busy so he doesn't have to stop and think about it. About the town being burned to nothing. The dead bodies in the paddocks. In the burnt out cars along the roads. About his house, his stuff, all gone. And the one thing that always stands out for me with my brother Ben is that he's a good person. He would do anything to help out anyone. He has always put himself out to assist others. His entire life is dedicated to taking care of his young daughter and helping the local CFA. He would sacrifice his personal happiness to achieve this, without any hesitation. Yet he's the one who gets the bad deal. It's always such a confusing equation, in that you want for good things to happen to good people.

Meanwhile, kaymbee reports, "I've been working at one of the relief centres for survivors and donations in my hometown Wallan for the past week - all my posts are here. And if nothing else, please pass on this article from the Herald-Sun, the more widely read state newspaper: Where the hell is everyone? - an account of the last few hours in Marysville."

From g_woman82, regarding Sam the koala: "People can also make donations to Wildlife Victoria and also the RSPCA to try and assist the animal carers too!"

And iamshadow has more links to help the helpless: Triple R Equine Welfare Inc ("scroll to the bottom for the 'donate' button"); Animal Aid; Wildlife Rescuers; WRAP - Wildlife Rescue and Protection Inc; Healesville Sanctuary. "Also, ABC forums have an excellent list of Things you can do to help, including donations of money, but also listing donations of time from skilled volunteers (such as electricians), temporary housing, blood donations and donations of non-perishable food and clothing."

And, once again: You can donate to the Australian Red Cross here.

ETA: The volunteer-run Bushfire Survivor list, to reduce strain on the Red Cross missing persons line by letting people check for friends and family themselves.

ETA: From jwaneeta: Sweet God almighty, it really does sound like a freight train.

Heartbreaking pictures of the Victoria fires and aftermath; Firefighter gives koala water, koala is recovering in shelter ("She has already got an admirer. A male koala keeps putting his arms around her"). Once again: the Australia Red Cross.

Remember the Etsy shop with proceeds going to the sick friend? She's restocked, and I particularly asked her to add some more lily earrings.

From dakiwiboid: "We are once again running our Cupid's Drop Box community at valentines_09. Could you mention it to your readers?" You can leave a message for any LJ user; the entries are divided up by first initial (D for dakiwiboid, for example).

Today's Snack Deathmatch: ice cream sandwich vs. fudgesicle, a contest dear to my heart.

( More linkspam )

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! )

Welcome to the big time, baby.

( Stewart sparks up, pie-eating on Tyra, Jacob to be recast? )

And finally, the news (well, speculation) I think y'all really want: Could Twilight’s Success Pave the Way for a New Buffy Movie?

Meanwhile, we're just going with the choicest linkspam of, oh, the last umpteen days I didn't post: ( Regular linkspam )

Feeling a little better. Not great, but better.

Oh, and I forgot to mention--the Shoebox Project's still hacked (comment with information); don't click anything over there. Update: It's back?

Only one Twilight link for the moment, and it is: reports of Robert Pattinson's death were greatly exaggerated. Particularly since he appeared on the Today show four hours after he supposedly died. Vampires: what're you gonna do?

diddakoi asks: Are guys actually intimidated by smart women? Do they really find intelligence unattractive, or is that one of those outdated fallacies? My personal theory is yes and no, in that order--a lot of guys do find intelligence attractive, but are too shy (read: intimidated) to do anything about it. Thoughts?

( Bad news for the Pushing Daisies folks )

I feel kind of... weirdly relaxed. Would you know what I meant if I said I didn't have any good tension? Like--you know how you can't play a violin unless the strings are taut? That kind of tension. Right now I just feel kind of... boneless. I mean, it's nice. It's just not helping me get anything done.

(No I did not take any drugs.)

(No, not even legal ones.)

(NOT EVEN A DRINK, I AM SERIOUS.)

Repeat of important note: LJ's going out tomorrow for a physical server move. Just in case, you might want to back up your journals with ljArchive. If you need to get hold of me for some kind of OMG LOOK AT THIS! reason, I'm on Twitter and Facebook (see sidebar), and you can get me at my Yahoo email (dailydigest @). I'm not going to assume that the cleolinda at livejournal.com email will work.

Hmm. "Another Way to Die" is growing on me. My policy of not listening to a Bond theme song until I actually hear it over the credits in the theater seems to be working well for me. Although I was not terribly impressed by the sandy ladies. Of course, I ran off to Vegas and quickie-married "You Know My Name" when the other movie came out, so I'm probably unpleasable at this point, in terms of Bond songs.

(What is it with me? Lately it's like I don't like anything until I've heard it four or five times, and then suddenly I'm like, I MUST NEVER STOP LISTENING TO THIS. I mean, I tend to listen to things on repeat so this works out for me okay, but it used to not take me quite so long to realize I liked something.)

(I can't think of a segue to this, so I'll simply say that Sister Girl whipped out her iPhone the other day and said, "You know that song 'Personal Jesus'?" "Um, I'm a child of the '80s?" "Well, Hilary Duff..." "OH GOD!" Fortunately, it's more of an extended sample called "Reach Out," in which one is exhorted to reach out and touch her instead of faith. The video is... interesting. Kind of like a Vogue photoshoot gone horribly wrong. We both love that huge ring she's got on in the closeups, though.)

Anyway. Another Twi-spam may go up tonight, I'm not sure. Depends on whether we get riots and/or sparkling.

(Watch The Twilight Premiere Live! HEY YOU GUYS IT'S ANOTHER WIDGET! Of course, I just like saying "widget" over and over again. It's such a fun word to say. "Iiiiiiiit's a WIDGET!")

(I personally find this to be related: DiCaprio: 'Titanic Nearly Ruined Me.')

Re: Mad Hatter pic: I'm not the only one concerned it might be a fake. Also, since a number of people sent me this link--Alice in Wonderland set pics. These are the same or similar pictures to the ones I posted a while back, though--there's Baby Bonham-Burton in her red riding hood and everything.

( Moar linkspam )

So... in case you missed it, the previous entry was about a crowd of 3000 fans rioting outside a San Francisco mall over wristbands to a Robert Pattinson event tonight. (Number of fans expected: 200-500.) Well, it would have been tonight, except that the mall canceled it after the police showed up. (I told my mother this story, and her response was an eloquent D:< .) No word on whether blood will be shed in Seattle at the event with the other actors. Of note, then: the Hot Topic Maul Mall Tour schedule, or, Locations to Avoid If You Value Your Life. Dallas (Pattinson) and Denver (Jacob and the bad vamps) (have you heard my new band, Jacob and the Bad Vamps?) will be tomorrow, with Chicago and Phoenix on Wednesday. The events will be running through Friday or Saturday, so, you know, check the list to see if there will be any huge traffic snarls or fangirl riots in your city.

(celticangel76 says she's going to brave the Dallas event, with updates at her journal tomorrow. Please be safe, y'all. Mob mentality is scary.)

Okay, this just in: I do not have print confirmation as of yet, but I'm hearing that San Francisco is still happening? WHAT?


More Twi-spam: ( Kristen Stewart: Yo, you have to protect us from this )

Regular linkspam: ( Tons o' stuff )

Ah, my eyelid twitch is returning.

And yes, in case you missed the previous entry: "OME" really does stand for "Oh my Edward." Like, not "OMG"... OME. I'm not making it up (am I ever making it up?).

There's a little more Twi-spam, but I'm holding it over for tomorrow. I'm not saying I'm going to do a separate Twilight entry every day (what do I look like, MTV?). I'm just saying that... where there is crazy, I will be there. And I kind of want to see how insane the Planet Hollywood thing turns out to be.

(Hey! Hey! You thought the Paramore playlist was bad? I now have a giant Roxette playlist for my new player. I HAVE NO SHAME.)

Non-partisan election links: Voters find 'we' not 'me' spirit in line; Voter: 'The best hour and a half of my life.'

VIDEO: Vote-Denied Tim Robbins Will Not Stand For this Election Chicanery!; Update: Tim Robbins Was Only Defending His Rights In His Polling Place Fit; Tim Robbins runs into voting trouble and did, in fact, have to "get a court order before he was allowed to cast his vote for president."

Goodnight, Dear Monster Lover [Forrest J. Ackerman]. "Forrest J. Ackerman, founder of seminal scifi/horror fan magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland, has been ailing for the past few days and is not expected to recover."

( More linkspam )

So Pete, Sister Girl's dog, is at the vet overnight on an IV because he can't stop throwing up for some reason (God, I hope he's going to be okay). So when she called to make sure he hadn't thrown up yesterday while I was dogsitting him, she started talking about trying to watch the final Twilight trailer, and I got to play Horrify the Twilight Noob (one of my favoritest games) with her as well. Except that she didn't get to see the whole thing, because Pete started throwing up shortly after she got to the "Kryptonite" line.

"Well, dude! That explains everything. Your dog is allergic to Twilight."

"That line was awful, by the way. Was it supposed to be stupid? Can Kristen Stewart not act?"

"No, trust me. I've read the books. She is doing the best she can with what they're giving her."

And then I read her that bit from the "I'm gay"/"He's impotent" interview and regaled her with excerpts of Growing Up Cullen. ("Oh, he would totally scrapbook." "You haven't even read the books!" "No, but he totally would.") I am slowly converting the people around me to The Dark Side, The Way of Lulz, so that someone will take me to see this movie next month.

Oh, and since we've been having Sherlock Holmes set pics: a flashback to the Case Book of Sherlock Holmes entry, in which I express some frustration with "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane." Also notable for "the zenith of Holmes/Watson slashiness."

Linkspam! ( Slutty baby pirates, zombie pinups, omgwtfpolarbear! *splash* )