Cleolinda everywhere

(so, yeah, Italian leather is a thing that's happening)

(Please note that we're back on Thursdays again)

(P.S. Zachary Quinto is going to play THE PATIENT)

So I am trying to make this the occasion of my return to recapping. "Mukozuke" creeps ever closer to being done. Pray for me; times is hard.

(That said, Kristen may have a Murder Sparkle surprise soon.)

Speaking of Aromaleigh, because I can never resist a good segue, I'm in the middle of Blade Runner/More Human Than Human robot eyeshadow inspiration posts. Tomorrow will be the Incept Date color, I think. We also announced that we're developing Twin Peaks eyeshadow, although I'm not sure when that collection would come out and I remain hellishly behind on the pilot recap. Also, there are new Asteriai star nymph and Galactic duochrome collections that I didn't even have anything to do with; I am pretty sure that Kristen never sleeps.

More cheerfully than it would have been last week: My sister had a serious emergency surgery (I'm being vague on purpose, not my health issues to talk about, etc.) at the end of February, but she's doing much better now. Still recovering, but I think this past Thursday or so was the first day she seemed like herself again.

A couple of weeks before that, I had a Sudden Dental Panic that turned out to just be "stop clenching your jaw." This was, therefore, the Best Dentist Visit Ever. I promptly went home, slipped on a sweetgum tree-ball, fell down the deck steps, and twisted my ankle. Except that it still hurts (but only sometimes, at some angles) a month later, but more the top of my foot than my ankle, and I think maybe I have a hairline fracture. Which... there's not much to do about that but stay off it (which I have not been able to do) and wear a Deluxe Ankle Stabilizer (CVS, $12).

I have started trying to get the ball rolling and the money saving for Dragon Con 2015, but I'm also concerned that at some point in the next six months I'll just be standing around somewhere and spontaneously fall down and break the other foot. However, I live in hope.

Also, I have a fantasy short story set in the War of the Seasons universe, through the latest Silence in the Library Kickstarter, with art by Dawn Murphy.

Also-also, foresthouse and I just did our first solo episode of Made of Fail, in which, among other things, I try to explain Jupiter Ascending to her (1:29:00ish) over the course of about seven minutes. That said, we do start off by discussing my haunted teeth.

I think that's about it for now, though.

Okay, I have nearly posted this entry like four different times, then held back for some reason, then needed to update it again, and it's finally turned into this mulch pile of an entry that I keep turning over every couple of days. IT NEEDS TO BE POSTED.

So. Doing somewhat better. Blood pressure is still a little high but nearly normal, after an initial week of self-imposed semi-bed-rest. (I gave up on trying to answer the comments on the previous entry, but thanks for your good thoughts, guys.) The day after that med check that I mentioned, when hypertension came up as a possible cause of my constant headaches, I stayed in bed and the headaches vanished. I've only them on the few rainy days since (which is normal for me). It took a while, and I'm still having to keep a pretty sharp eye on it, but I don't think I'm going to have to go on medication for it. Honestly, I spent the whole week until the GP visit being really anxious, but rationally anxious, like, how bad off am I, exactly? So, scared and a little sad, even.

And now, I think I've gone into a manic upswing, which means that I'm calm and rational, sure, but I can't focus. I'm having a really hard time maintaining a coherent train of thought; my thoughts actively wander, if that makes any sense. Like, to the point where it's difficult to read, the way it's difficult to get through a really dry text at 11 pm when you're supposed to have read it for class the next day, you know? It's like a mental dizziness, not a physical one. I had good ideas on Saturday, then was super productive on Sunday, and then it just all fell apart on Monday. (I had such a good idea for the book on Sunday, almost something of a game-changer, that I'm concerned it's just the mania talking and I'm going to do all this work on it and then sit here next Monday and wonder what the hell I was thinking.) I know, too, that I'm more liable to be cranky or lose my temper when I'm manic, and... that's not good for my blood pressure. Like, maybe I just need to not talk to people, any of them, at all, until this passes. But I digress. Mostly I'm managing it with, like, lavender and lemongrass-based BPAL blends, chamomile tea, and a glass of wine at night. The combination of my actual antidepressants was so difficult--painful, even--to get to a comfortable balance that, if adding on simple things like tea and aromatherapy are enough to settle me down for the week or two I need it--well, screwing with that is not something I would do lightly.

Here. Have a corgi being vacuumed.

Podcasts and TV shows I did (and, uh, did not) catch up on: ( Read more... )

ONE MORE TIME: Breaking Dawn in Fifteen Minutes.

@made_of_fail: Episode Forty-Eight: And Then the Werewolf Fell In Love With the WAIT WHAT

@NoelCT: Want to hear me kinda sorta somewhat defend the Breaking Dawn and the Twilight series?

@NoelCT: Want to hear my impression of Edward Cullen as played by Christopher Walken? 

@NoelCT: Want to hear about all the tasty treats one can make from a strawberry flavored uterus? 

@NoelCT: Want to hear me explain the mechanics of male wet dreams to three women? Check out Made of Fail!

@cleolinda: I am also on it. RT @queenanthai: HEY GUESS WHAT episode is up http://made-of-fail-pc.livejournal.com/25442.html

Oh, this is also the one where I have a very controversial answer to the "Edward vs. Dracula" question. "IT'S NOT FAIR, BUT SHE WROTE IT THAT WAY!" Also, in the last ten minutes: how the Eggward story one of y'all told me explains why I still like the first movie more than any of the others.

Also, I remembered the "dirty question" someone asked poor Chris Weitz. Bonus: My turn on the Meet the Failcrew Q&A. Also-also: what happens when y'all don't write in for Mailbag Mondays.


@alliancesjr: THE FRIENDSHIP IS OVER. OOOOOVAAAAAAAAAAHHHH

@cleolinda: OVER 9000?


Cleolinda Industries provides solutions.



 (the Cleolinda Industries tip jar)

@LiveJournal: Currently experiencing a DDoS attack for the past two days -- status.livejournal.org

@gildedbat: @LiveJournal  pity they're going to have to set that "days without a DDoS attack" sign back to 0.  They got all the way over 100.

@LJmysticowl: Russian news confirms, also says that paid accounts will be credited the time they lost due to downtime.

@chez_amanda: There's also this Time article about the attacks that I just read.

ETA: @LiveJournal: Please to say we are up and running again! Thank you, U.S. and Moscow teams, who have worked tirelessly to get things restored! Happy LJing!

So... that's what's up with that, then. I want to stay on LiveJournal, but in order to do that, I'm gonna have to have a LiveJournal to stay on. (This entry is posted on both LJ and DW. As long as I can crosspost, I will.)


As a reminder in case you didn't see it: the Made of Fail podcast with Kevin, sometimes Dayna, Mark, Rinna and me, "Mischief Managed"! If the LJ link doesn't work, this is the direct download (or you can subscribe in iTunes; it's free). You may also want to listen to the first Deathly Hallows review show ("In Conclusion, Alan Rickman" [download] ), which had just Kevin, Mark and me. Or even the Half-Blood Prince show further back that I was on! We have many wizard-based options for your aural entertainment.

Movie links! They are exceptionally organized tonight, in no small part because I have three days' worth, and this isn't even all of them. ( Read more... )

Some very sad real-world news in the previous entry. I endeavor to bring you escapism and raptors.

( Read more... )

The aftermath of the ~*YA Mafia*~ discussion:

1) Justine Larbalestier's second post on the kerfuffle, "I Love Bad Reviews," in which she notes, "The biggest enemy of our careers is not bad reviews, but obscurity."

2) Made of Fail Episode 40, "Join YA Mafia Wars [Accept/Deny]," on which I am the cohost and say, "the post by Justine--Larbalestier? I guess that's how you say it?" no less than three times, I'm pretty sure, and I feel like an ass now. Please mentally add "because I am pretty sure I know this but I hope I'm not an idiot" every time you hear it. (It was 8 AM on a Saturday morning, what can I say.) Our guests are foresthouseand ceilidh_ann, MOF's Fangirl of the Kind Native to Scotland, who has been close to the center of the discussion with the Sparkle Project. And if you didn't believe in e-cliques before, you will after you hear us say, "I was saying to Cleo on the phone..." or "Kevin and I were talking about how..." multiple times. This was my first time talking to Ceilidh in "person," however, and Kevin and I wanted to make sure we brought up some of the Sparkle Project issues--both pro and con, I hope. My basic position on the situation remains--well, listen to it and you'll hear, but "a little bit of both, and everything in moderation," mostly. Also, "Don't call the FBI on Amazon reviewers like that one writer did," because apparently this is something we have to specify now.

Meanwhile, because I'm curious--this whole thing has introduced unto my awareness, yea, thereunto, tons of writers with books that sound really interesting. And that's in addition to all the other great writers I already know of, whose books are already on my giant mental pile of Books For Which I Would Really Like More Hours in the Day and a Million Dollars with Which to Buy. In fact, that list is so huge that I am seriously considering going to the library, which is an expensive venture because I never get out of the house quite often enough to avoid paying an arm and a leg in late fees. (My current record, paid to a university library, is $163. I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS 25¢ PER BOOK PER DAY, OKAY.) My point is, there are tons of writers whose books I'd like to try, and many of them have not only multiple books, but multiple series. And sometimes the first book they ever wrote isn't the best introduction to their work as a whole. I'm particularly interested in YA at this point, but any author (including yourself) you'd like to suggest One Book for is good. #readthisfirst, if you will. So that's my question: name me writer(s) you would recommend, and tell me the first book someone should pick up. If you are the writer, obviously we will be extra-interested in which book of your own that you think we should read first. Seriously, this is your chance to promote yourself as well, even if you only have one book, it was put out by an indie publisher, and that publisher is called My Lulu Account, Inc.

No, I will not snark any of them afterwards. I might put up a few discussion posts like I have earlier this year, though--I just snagged the Wicked Lovely e-book on Amazon for 99¢ to throw onto the pile.


ETA: I woke up to dozens of new comments, as you would with an entry like this, and several of the comments apparently screened themselves? Which I wasn't even awake to see, much less do it myself? I'm unscreening rogue comments now. WTF.

ETA: @kaycadabra: "Did they have links in them? LJ's started screening links recently, 'anti spam policy' I think." That seems to be what the comments all have in common--links to the books suggested.

Internets, I have many things to tell you:

"THEY WENT TO THE WAR WITHOUT ME!" New Secret Life of Dolls thataway.

made_of_fail_pc's new Doctor Who episode is up.

foresthouse has posted an update on her keratoconus surgeries, and tinyplasticmeatis now auctioning off knitted goods of your choice (I have to say, the various arm warmers look fantastic). Meanwhile, I will be auctioning off a very cute doll (mint, unopened--no one's getting sold, Eowyn) later next month.

Meanwhile-meanwhile, the Write Christmas "imaginary Christmas movie synopsis" contest that I am judging ends this Friday, I think. Open to everyone everywhere!

More importantly, smadroniawrites in that "Aaron, a friend of a guy I went to school with, has terminal cancer. He and his wife have been doing a lot of things to help raise funds for their bills and his cancer treatments. As this point, he only has a few months left to live, and his wife ended up turning down a full time job because it would mean 40 hours away from him, now that his life is coming down to months. He's done some interesting things to raise money, he sold ad space on his urns, and done a comedy fund raiser": ( The first mission is to spread a message of hope )

You can get the Choose Joy bracelets (and t-shirts) or donate money at his blog.


To finish, I would like to bring you pictures of a tiny puppy who got frozen to the train tracks in Bessemer last week when it was 19 degrees and got rescued an hour before the next train came through and a lady adopted him and named him Track and now he is okay, because I think we need puppies right now.

I seem to have come down with a nasty stomach bug--the kind where you have those sporadic clutching pains--and so we're just going to put Secret Life off until Saturday. I'm in pain and surviving on toast and Coke at the moment, and it took me two hours to put this entry together. We'll make it through somehow.

Meanwhile, I don't think I'll be tweeting Varney the Vampire anymore. Some people loved it; others were annoyed. However, when I have more time, I might recap it properly (although quickly, because it gets incredibly paid-by-the-word repetitive).

I don't know when the new Made of Fail will be up, but queenanthai points out that it's nominated at podcastawards.com in the Cultural/Arts section.

Speaking of the new episode, Mark (who is on it) is now watching Firefly, reading The Hunger Games, and rereading Harry Potter.

Speaking of Harry Potter, there's a new Tonner Q&A up in which we are given hope for a Tonks doll. You put some changeable wigs on it, and I'll be all over that. Maybe. In a theoretical world where I have a money tree. Also: we're back to an affirmative on the Eowyn doll, which I at least want to see.

Also, briefly:

Veteran comic actor Leslie Nielsen, 84, has died in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. 

Empire Strikes Back director Irvin Kershner dies in LA at 87. 

James Franco and Anne Hathaway to host Oscars.  

Ian McKellen is back on aboard The Hobbit, thank Eru.

New preview for HBO's "Game of Thrones."

And finally: The Spider-Man musical on Broadway--now in mishap-filled previews--is "one of the most face-meltingly insane live spectacles I've ever witnessed."


Oh, oh! I don't think I mentioned this earlier--Bill Condon decided to troll Twilight fandom with the first image from Breaking Dawn, to the general confusion of mainstream movie news sites. I have a horrible feeling that the bruises have been photoshopped out.

The unifying theme of the day: interviews.

@cleolinda: Talking to a reporter later today about SOMETHING OTHER THAN TWILIGHT. #excite

@cleolinda: If you can't get someone of actual Potter importance, I am available for comments, interviews, birthdays and bar mitzvahs.

( Wait, you mean there are OTHER topics of conversation? )


Speaking of Tonner dolls, I have good and bad news for you guys, or at least bad for the Doctor Who and Firefly fans: Robert Tonner has had a three-part Q&A on Facebook. ( Read more... )

Meanwhile, I'm going to Midnight Harry Potter tonight, so I am trying to get some sleep in, and failing miserably. We'll have a discussion entry this weekend, once people have had a couple of days to see it. That said, counter-programming for Saturday is pretty much ready to go.

So. As far as I know, both of my grandmothers are stable.

Marie Claire is a bunch of jackasses who apparently set their "provocative blogger" up to fail for the page views.

And lo, the internet rose up as one and smote them thus.

Pallas cats playing in jack-o'-lanterns make me feel better. (Thanks, @giishu.)

I was able to put up the third signed copy of Movies in Fifteen Minutes for auction, and I am considering doing 1) a Year of Postcards from me, 2) a year from The Littlest Edward, because (as we all know), he is craftsy, and 3) a year from Galadriel, who would be able to drop dark hints about future Secret Life developments.

New Made of Fail episode: It Gets Better. I've just started listening to it, but it seems to be partly about this month's national bullying dialogue, if you will, and the horror genre for Halloween. Note: their January episode just went for $500 at the foresthouseeyes auction. I don't even know.

Also, you need a plush Wizard of Oz monkey in your life.


HEY LET'S HAVE SOME ACTUAL LINKSPAM.

( Read more... )