cleolinda | Entries tagged with picspam

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

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

( Read more... )

The linkspam is up a bit later than I had planned, but I had some very important business today.

@cleolinda: House of Bark CBO at a business breakfast http://twitpic.com/5simcd

@cleolinda: BARK BARK BARK RT @LJmysticowl: Chief Barking Officer?

House of Bark CBO at a business breakfast on Twitpic

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I have so much to talk about from last week that I've kind of had a mental logjam. But posting pictures of our zoo trip on Tumblr seems a nice way to organize that part, at least.

Foresthouse ("Emily" hereafter) is taking an epic trip around half the country on her way to NADWCON (she's the chair), and while we've been friends for years, we'd never actually met. We decided that this was ridiculous and must be remedied. She stayed with Dayna/queenanthai first, and I think she's currently with Kevin/alliancesjr, so it's sort of a Made of Fail tour. Anyway--I'll get into more of her actual visit later, but last Tuesday, I took her to the zoo first thing that morning. Part of my goal was to run around so much that she would pass out that night and actually be forced to get some sleep instead of letting the convention eat her (Dayna had to confiscate her netbook), and to that end, I took her to the zoo, lunch, X-Men (my second time. Somehow, I survived two more hours of hot guys. Somehow), a visit to our friend Julia's crafts store, dinner, and then a coma back at the hotel. SUCCESS.

But like I said: more on that later. Here are the more entertaining pictures from the zoo, with my image descriptions from Tumblr. ( Picspam intensive )

I won't get too deeply into this for the sake of my neighbor and her privacy, but yesterday afternoon, we had three police cars, two fire trucks, and an ambulance at the house across the street. I saw a couple of cops come out toting two different tackle-style boxes; the ambulance casually left without turning on the siren. Two cops stood on the front porch talking for a while, and one of them was on a phone or radio at a certain point. When all three cops left and got into one of their cars, I swear I heard one of them chuckle, so it couldn't have been anything too dire. I know I sound like your stereotypically awful nosy neighbor, but the neighbor's daughter was a couple of years younger than me, we had university classes together, and apparently the neighbor has an abusive ex. I still have no idea what yesterday in particular was about, but the ex hassled my parents about trash collection, of all things, and then went back and told her, "They'll hate you now." So he's tried to use harassment as a way to bully her... but she told my parents what was going on, so it didn't actually work. My point is, I wouldn't be surprised if the ex had called in some kind of false tip and sent all the emergency services of Homewood over there.

Today, it was our turn. ( Read more... )

Short version: I'm okay. Cullman and Tuscaloosa are not. If you are in Huntsville or elsewhere in northern Alabama, get safe now.

@cnnbrk: Emergency officials believe a #tornado struck a hospital in Cullman, #Alabama. http://on.cnn.com/dOF0yK

RT @myfoxal: Craziest photo we have so far of the tornado in Cullman as it roars near a Jack's restaurant. http://twitpic.com/4q93rs

Craziest photo we have so far of the tornado in Cullman as it... on Twitpic

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I'm going to hit post now--we've still got some strong winds blowing through the backyard trees, but I think we're okay now. It's northern Alabama that's got to watch out.

RT @whnt Meteorologist Alan Raymond confirms a wall cloud is approaching downtown Huntsville right now. Take shelter.

Stay safe, y'all.

ETA: Video of the Tuscaloosa tornado. I've seen horror movies that weren't shot with this much tension.

ETA 9 pm: Internet going in and out. Apparently more tornadoes coming through in an hour.

ETA: 9:08 pm: Never mind, we may be clear.

So. Much of my online life takes place on Twitter these days because I am often accessing the internet while away from my computer, and it is near impossible to tap out an entry on a phone. This is because, as I have mentioned, Sam is now mostly (but not entirely) blind and deaf, and he requires more care (help getting outside, to the water bowl, back to his blanket-bed) these days. He's happy, but he needs a lot of attention--and now that Scout has gotten really jealous and can't understand why Sam keeps bumping into him and reads it as aggression, he's started snapping at Sam. It's only gotten bad this last week, once Sam stopped sleeping most of the day and got active again. In fact, he rambles around way more than he did when he could see. So theere's a lot of watching and refereeing and wrangling that goes on if all three dogs are in the same room, and we're still working out how to handle that. We're to the point where I'm going to have to crate Scout and Shelby for a few hours sometimes, let Sam ramble around, and then tuck Sam away in the bedroom and let the big dogs out. If they can all doze peacefully in the same room, that's great. If they can all chill on the deck in dogly harmony, awesome. But if they can't, I'm going to have to put one or the other up somewhere, because I'm unable to get anything done and I'm near the point of hysteria from trying to micromanage them for eight hours at a stretch. Even my mother said, "You cannot sacrifice your life to these dogs."

( But I can totally take pictures of them! Plus a few other things to mention )

Meanwhile, the two links of greatest interest:

@SmartBitches: Have a look: think it's Poe fiction plagiarism? http://is.gd/5iV31Q http://is.gd/l2qlAB http://is.gd/bk3BIM

@McDougallSophia: @cleolinda could you maybe link to Genre for Japan charity auction? Proceeds to BRC Tsunami appeal http://genreforjapan.wordpress.com/

I'm not sure whether today is a good day or not to mention this, given that Elizabeth Taylor has passed away; this is either really heartwarming or really sad, depending on how you look at it. To update you guys on Sam... he's mostly blind now (cataracts). We've also realized that he's fairly deaf, although he can hear noises at a certain level; I suspect one ear is worse than the other, because he'll get confused and look in the wrong direction when he does hear something. He's also had a really bad spring allergy/sinus infection business that means he can't smell much, either. It's like Job's dog over here, I don't even know. I've been his seeing-eye human and primary nose-wiper, but the vet's given him an antihistamine, and now he can breathe and smell his way around a lot better. He's been more active and alert since he got it as well, which is like chasing a very fluffy toddler around, before he tries to climb over Shelby or gets stuck in another corner. But mostly, he curls up on his dog bed(s), with his blankets and/or beach towel, and just... smiles. That huffy, panting smile little dogs have, you know? He just sits there and, like... exists in a state of joy. I don't even know what to make of that.

@cleolinda: Sam's happy once he figures out where he is

Sam's happy once he figures out where he is on Twitpic

( More )I'm tired from attempting to sledgehammer out a functional draft of this chapter (which is good), so I don't really have a segue from this to anything else. So... "also, this."

@drgrist: Dude threw on scuba gear, jumped into a TSUNAMI, found his house & his wife, & saved her. I mean, damn.

I... I don't really have anything I can follow that up with.

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.

To begin! Thanks for all the birthday wishes, guys. I am now, for the record, 32.

Secondly, Sister Girl and I were going through some old pictures yesterday, and.... well. ( Festive baby Cleo )

Meanwhile, the real reason we are here:

Previously on Varney the Vampire: Please, spay and neuter your Norwegian vampires. ( As promised, an entire chapter about matches )

So, to begin: wow. The auctions at

foresthouseeyes have really taken off. Of note: Kevin and Dayna are offering up the January episode of

made_of_fail_pc; Kevin is offering a Straight Guy Review of a Bad Romance Novel ("Bodice rippers... anything with Fabio on the cover... Pregnesia"); and Dayna is giving up a book that Wil Wheaton signed because apparently she couldn't find a knife sharp enough to hack off one of her own limbs and offer that up. Everything else I keep wanting to go in there and fight people for myself, which is counter-productive to my own budgetary aims, so consider yourself lucky.

I'm still trying to figure out what (besides signed books on the auction comm) I can offer. I just really don't know that I can fulfill a promise to write a Movies in Fifteen Minutes. Shit, I was never able to go back and do Order of the Phoenix, and I wanted to do that. I don't want to promise something I can't deliver, and I'd also like for everyone to be able to read it. On the other hand, a terrible thought did occur to me: I never recapped The Host. And recaps are a lot easier to write. The dread spectre of some kind of recap blogathon, whatever people are interested in me torturing myself with, occurred to me. I'm open to suggestions.

Meanwhile: Valerie and I took little Henry to the zoo today. Guess I who saw there? ( Spoiler: LOOK AT MY ICON )

Okay, we have a lot to talk about. First of all, I have a question, since I do talk about mental health and the treatment thereof pretty openly: have any of y'all had any problems with Zoloft withdrawal? I'm moving from a fairly low dose to an even lower one, and I'll probably stop taking it entirely after my next med check. (This is my doctor's idea, and I am on board with it; I am very vocal when something does not work for me, so it's a whole process, and it's professionally guided.) I just want to know if there's something I should look out for. Because we tried to increase it a couple of years ago, before eventually moving to Lamictal (which, after a bumpy adjustment period, has worked out really well), the Zoloft increase was... bad. It was bad. So I want to know what to look out for, so I can recognize it and go back and say "This isn't working" if I have to. (ETA: It may affect your answer to know that I'm going to try to taper entirely off Zoloft after twelve years of being on it.)

Second: I have been sick the last two or three days. Not too badly, but a low fever, some sinus drainage, a sore throat, and I've had a cough for a while. So I've been dozing on the couch a lot. I would hate to think that I am such a ~delicate blossom~ that the anxiety of posting a new Fifteen Minutes--let's face it, I only do this 2-3 times a year, so there's kind of a psychological build-up to it--did me in, or smacked my immune system upside the head, or what. But it's possible. I'm usually a bit done in for a day or two after these things, after all. Because I am, apparently, a fragile little e-flower. Who knows.

Third: Let's have some linkspam. ( Read more... )

Meanwhile--bear with me, I'm going somewhere with this--this is my new favorite thing. Yes, it's actually a "mystical eye" design.

And there is a reason I am showing you this, because: ( Read more... )

Meanwhile-meanwhile, YA Highway has linked to me a couple of times this month---first to the "Twilight and the female gaze" entry, now to Eclipse in Fifteen Minutes--which is nice.

What I saw while I was over there was... not so nice. ( YOU GAVE YOUR BABY A PUNNY TWILIGHT TRAMP STAMP? )

I'm going to go lie down again.

After two weeks of me haranguing the internets to SAVE EDWARD CAT and his sad goldenscotch eyes--

--and

snowcoma spending much of that negotiating with the rescue foster family for his release, with the support of

sarasaid: may I introduce you to ~*Edward Chagrin Cleosara Slater*~ and his new sparkle collar. ( PICTURES )

Current Mood: happy

YOU GUYS. Pictures from

shadowmaat: Edward Cat is still precious. And homeless.

Fuzziest Edward can see you looking; JUDGING him. "I'm behind... on Twitpic

AND CHAGRINED.

We may have found a home that'll work out (and a back-up offer if it doesn't, I think), but it's not certain yet.

At least he has a special bed now.

(omg look at that face)

Meanwhile: the first Deathly Hallows trailer. Warning: there are scenes here that I did not expect to see until we got to the movies themselves. Also: you may tear up.

...my blogger gave to me: two feline chagrins and an article written by the AP. With my "team" preference, as promised.

Team Edward vs. Team Jacob: Which side are you on?

Christy did tell me that the article was edited for space--although she did insist on keeping my team preference in, because I told her y'all were looking forward to that--so my thoughts on Jacob were cut short ( Read more... )

Meanwhile, Edward Cullen Cat is losing his will to dazzle: ( omg pictures )

OMG BREAKING NEWS: In case you didn't see the link buried in a paragraph above, our long international nightmare is over: PETER JACKSON WILL DIRECT THE HOBBIT.

I discovered yesterday that Sam has been moonlighting as a superhero fighting crime. And that his masked alter ego is... Red Panda. ( BEHOLD! )

Meanwhile, Tour of Terror III is about to culminate in the Eclipse premiere in LA on Thursday. The last I heard, the tent city comprises 350 fans (no drugs, alcohol, cooking, or amplified music, plz), and ~~OVER~~ 9000 wristbands have been passed out. (For comparison, 6000 fans showed up for that San Diego Comic-Con panel in 2008.) ( In which I troll Twitter )

Meanwhile: The Associated Press has asked me to state whether I am Team Edward or Team Jacob. It looks like you will find out on Thursday. I think I did a better job of answering than Emma Roberts did, but I am prepared to stand my ground rather than be run off Livejournal, so.

A little afternoon linkspam: ( Read more... )

I am so incredibly tired and overloaded right now. So much for the concept of weekend-as-leisure.

A few things, including pictures of Sam: ( Read more... )

As a follow-up to yesterday:

Here's something that may help you understand my reaction to the Tonner Alice:

( Why I am so hung up on Galadriel (and possibly Alice as well) )

So! Titans are clashing very slowly for a number of reasons, one of them being that I keep getting air pressure headaches from the changeable weather, because apparently I'm one of those Old Folks who creeps around complaining about how their knee's tellin' 'em it's gonna rain. But it rained LIKE HELL last night--so hard it actually woke me up--so that ought to be settled, and also, all the pollen washed away! This is a good thing. Seriously, I walked outside yesterday morning, and the entire deck was a charming shade of yellow. Do not want.

I have pets conspiring to keep me from working, but I'm doing my best to reclaim the couch.

SOMEBODY doesn't want me to start working. on Twitpic

While we're here, I feel like we should document the current state of Sam's fluff before he gets his summer cut this weekend.

Let us document Sam before he gets his summer cut this weekend on Twitpic

Yesterday on Tumblr I had a general blue theme, and today is mostly vampires with a little general goth thrown in. Tomorrow will be a steampunk aesthetic, I think. (While you can use Tumblr for a number of things, my current explanation for it is "Picspam: The Website.")

Meanwhile, I seem to be a nominee for a thing! Specifically, the Author Blog Awards at Completely Novel.

I am pretty sure Cleolilnda and Cleoloinda, Destroyer of Lulz, are going to go conspire against me in an evil lair somewhere (but Cleolilnda will eventually come down with a bad case of remorse and switch sides in penitence). And I hope to lose things to Neil Gaiman for many, many years to come.