cleolinda: (Default)
So. Emily (foresthouse) came to visit for a few days and we ate our way through the restaurants of Homewood (the new Which Wich was hands down our favorite, although Dave's Pizza was also excellent) (although my favorite Chinese restaurant, the Dragon, CLOSED FOREVER the day after we had lunch there), and then we watched The Hunger Games while she sewed on her DragonCon costumes and OMG PROMETHEUS ON THE HOTEL TV BECAUSE THAT IS A THING THEY ACTUALLY DO

YEAH IT IS )

I was mostly clappy-hands because now she can read Prometheus in Fifteen Minutes (I refrained from doing a live recitation of it) AND THEN THEY EVEN COMPED OUR RIDICULOUSLY PRICED MOVIES BECAUSE HOTEL ROOMS ARE THE BEST and we also saw The Bourne Legacy in an actual movie theater and slept a lot and also she taught me how to play pool. And then I went home, promptly came down with a terrible sore throat in the middle of last night which turned into a chest cold and a twisted knee because... somehow. However, I interrupt my death blarg because there is something you need to see.

@Tonnerdoll: The Fall Holiday Release is NOW LIVE!! Place your pre orders now and get FREE SHIPPING!!






YOU GUYS. YOUUUU GUYYYYYS )


Then that thing happened where you are kind of run-on-sentence giddy and recovering from fun but then something serious happens and you are somewhat at sea with the record-needle-scratch suddenness of the tone change. My stepfather had had some health issues that I didn't mention, and spent a few days in the hospital several weeks ago. It's worse now, and he's going to have to have a fairly major surgery next week--stomach issues, not cancer or anything, but still a little scary. People usually give me the side-eye when they realize I don't live on my own, but at least I'll be here to help take care of him when he gets home. He's also just been laid off from work ("displaced" is the term they use nowadays) so... taking time off isn't an issue, at least...? I guess. I'm in "clinging to fun that was had in order to ward off anxiety" mode at this point. Things are not great, but we will be okay. I've had a lot of health and money issues to deal with for... well, a long time now. Several months, maybe a year or longer, honestly. Hence the infrequency of LJ entries, and why some of the ongoing series-type posts just... stopped. I'm going to try to post more, maybe start with more Varney the Vampire for the tip jar, put up an e-book of the Twilight book entries, annotate some more Fifteen Minutes(es), I don't know. We'll see. Also, I haven't done it yet, but I'm going to have to turn on ads here on LJ. It is what it is, I guess. You do what you can, and try to keep your chin up as you do it.


ETA: Ah, my stepfather's come back from the doctor; it looks like he'll have to have a CAT scan to be sure, but not surgery now. So we've got that going for us.



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YOU GUYS

Dec. 13th, 2011 05:44 pm
cleolinda: (Default)
@Tonnerdoll: The Hunger Games Concept Sketches...Check it! What do you think, you all? We can totally do this justice!

@cleolinda: WAIT DOES THAT MEAN THERE WILL BE A KATNISS DOLL? please Santa I have been ever so good

@Tonnerdoll: Cleo, we definitely have The Hunger Games license, so one would hope that Katniss is in the works! ^kv #dollchat


("kv" is Kevin--Tonner Kevin, if you will--who's also @mediasres on Twitter and usually runs the @Tonnerdoll feed. They're pretty dedicated to the whole #dollchat thing--actually, I think the next one is tonight--and talking with collectors, so don't get too impressed with my ~connections.~)


I don't really have anything interesting to say, I just thought this was Relevant to Our Interests.




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cleolinda: (Default)
I have a ton of catching up to do, but I slipped into a research/rewrite/productivity rabbit hole and didn't want to come out for a few days. So, here is several days' worth of linkspam, although I tried to stick to the essentials: Read more... )


I cut several news items for time (space?), but I'll see if I can't work them into the next spam, assuming one happens in a timely fashion.



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cleolinda: (Default)
I have a ton of catching up to do, but I slipped into a research/rewrite/productivity rabbit hole and didn't want to come out for a few days. So, here is several days' worth of linkspam, although I tried to stick to the essentials: Read more... )

I cut several news items for time (space?), but I'll see if I can't work them into the next spam, assuming one happens in a timely fashion.



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So sleepy

Jul. 19th, 2011 10:27 pm
cleolinda: (galadriel helpful)
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


Read more... )



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cleolinda: (valentine)
@Tonnerdirect: 2011 TOY FAIR RELEASE IS NOW LIVE!!! http://fb.me/VxYR6S1D

Twilight: The official reveal of Tonner Jasper (which I grabbed pictures of last week). The more I look at this, the more I am convinced that this will actually be a good likeness in person. As opposed to...

The Vampire Diaries: What. What. What is this. What. I don't even watch the show and what. What is this. Terrifying, is what this is.

I guess the Elena's good. I keep meaning to watch the show but haven't, so I wouldn't know.

Harry Potter: Blue School Uniform Fleur. I've also heard that a Viktor Krum is on the way. No plans for a Cedric, AFAIK, which baffles me. I mean, since it's a larger scale doll, I guess they'd have to go back to a certain very beleaguered actor to get his permission for the likeness again, and he may have decided that he is Done With All This. Because I have to imagine that Tonner knows how well it would sell. They can't just be like, "Nah, we already have a lot of dolls, we don't actually need the money."

DC Stars: A new Catwoman (goggles!), Wonder Woman, Raven (I'm not familiar with this character?), Dove (ditto?), Black Canary, and... Starfire. That's... quite an outfit there.

Disney Princess Collection: Pink Dress Ariel, which you don't usually see; a Jasmine that looks incredibly, incredibly off. Yeah... that is not going to be approved.

Freedom for Fashion: A line of Japanese fashion dolls ("Explore the fast-paced streets of Tokyo"). Tonner's usually so good at putting out a variety of skin colors and ethnicities (the Mei Li fashion doll sculpt is clearly different from the Japanese dolls' features, even), so I absolutely cannot explain that Jasmine face. Although the fact that the Jasmine reuses "the Snow White head sculpt" might be our first problem.


Meanwhile, I am sure you are all aware that this is a very important day.

@bestforfilm: Silence of The Lambs 20th anniversary is TODAY - pop open a nice Chianti with your lover & watch that romantic fear blossom

@cleolinda: @bestforfilm I confess, it is my favorite movie.

@bestforfilm: @cleolinda glorious film. Glorious. Anthony Hopkins' Maniacal Stare: Be my Valentine.

@cleolinda: @bestforfilm I first saw it when I was about 14. Clarice Starling (and thence Dana Scully) rapidly became my model for life.


I am unusually at peace with the occasion, actually. Also, do not forget Discount Chocolatemas tomorrow.



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Checking in

Feb. 9th, 2011 04:40 pm
cleolinda: (lolcat)
Huh. I had no idea I hadn't posted in more than a week.

1) So... here's Tonner Jasper. Or rather, the page seems to have gone up too early and is now down. (I think the Toy Fair 2011 reveal is supposed to be on Monday.) Too bad I'd left the "click for larger image" tab open! MOO HA HA.

Read more... )


2) I am feeling a lot better, although still busy and kind of winter-sluggish.

@cleolinda: After three days of fresh fruit intake, I feel much better. Maybe this whole time the Death Blarg was scurvy...?

@cleolinda: Yarrrr, we be at snow for three months, unable to reach the produce aisle. Two days ago, the salty dogs raided a Super Bowl parrrrty.

@cleolinda: Strangely, no one missed the fruit plate. Arrrrrrrr.

What I have been doing with my Feel-Bad Down-Time, besides feeling snerfy and/or lying in a quasi-tubercular cold-medicine coma, is reading. (Mostly research, a few classics, a new YA.) Writing is also going slowly but well. I was drafting a big "let's discuss all these books" post, but then I realized I ought to dole it out a couple of books at a time. And also, we need some more Varney.


3) I also saw True Grit on Sunday, but didn't mention it because--well, the Super Bowl. Which I spent curled up in my room reading Victorian vampire stories, but I figured no one else would be around. Feel free to discuss here if you want; I didn't really know what to say afterwards. The last fifteen minutes or so take the movie beyond what I had expected, and it stuck with me for a couple of days afterwards. I don't know. Oh, except that I officially endorse Hailee Steinfeld for Katniss in The Hunger Games.


4) Also, this:





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cleolinda: (galadriel tonner)
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... )



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cleolinda: (yahoo christmas)
omg so tired. Everyone's gone now, though, so I can have a timeout or a nap or something. My meds getting screwed up has made me slightly hysterical--well, let me rewind that. The night I mentioned the medication problems, I managed to get my doctor on the phone, and while she never addressed why she refused authorization, she sounded like nothing was behind that and she was eager to get things straightened out for me and cognizant of me not having any Lamictal being a Bad Scene. So... I don't know what kind of misunderstanding happened, and I kind of don't care. But a couple of days' disruption has thrown me off enough that I've felt like crying all day, not even for any reason. Like, intellectually, I feel fine, but I have this physical sensation of distress. It's weird. I'm just saying, I'm glad to have some alone time now.

(By the way, I ended up posting the Secret Life of Dolls entry last night.)

MORE IMPORTANTLY. I've got about as many character doubles as I could ever possibly handle, and I love my little Toy Biz Galadriel, so this is strictly off-story, but... IT'S... BEAUTIFUL )


Also: SNOW. Read more... )

If we've had a white Christmas before, I don't remember when it was. Five or six hours of it now, falling pretty thick and fast... and only just now starting to stick.

So, if applicable: what was your favorite Christmas present?




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cleolinda: (galadriel doll)
Previously on The Secret Life of Dolls: I tried to get the more contentious Shelfians to Play Nice, but Anna threw the d6 under the bed, and then... UPS came.


"Oh my GOD, look at YOUUUUUU. You are just PRECIOUS, LOOK AT YOU."

Read more... )



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cleolinda: (lolcat)
... is a combination of options I mentioned in the previous entry, having weighed various considerations and y'all's feedback, etc. What I'm going to try is this:

1) Continue posting things, like the suggested Varney commentary, in smaller increments, and for free. That way, everyone gets to read it, and I continue to benefit from any incoming traffic I get from people recommending things to others. If this turns out to not be the best idea, I can always switch to a pay-only model.

2) When we've got a good bit of content accumulated--like, say, Volume 1 of Varney--I'll put it up as an e-book/bound book to buy at Lulu, if anyone wants that. Kind of like a trade paperback in comics. I may do that for a couple of other things as well; people said they wanted to buy hard copies of the Twilight entries.

3) I'm trying to revive the Cafe Press store; we're working on some designs. One of the things I used to do was put up a number of little things--stickers, magnets--so I would get the markup but you could afford a larger variety of designs. I feel kind of weird to think that "Cleolinda Industries" is getting to be less and less of an offhand joke, but... I don't know. Most people probably think I'm crazy for not doing this sooner.

And finally: it only took me seven years to do it, but voila: a tip jar.

So. Um. Here is a magical dollhouse. Thank you for your time.





Oh! I nearly forgot. Tonner just got the Marvel license. This should be interesting.



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cleolinda: (twilight fever)
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 [livejournal.com profile] 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.




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Sleeeeeep

Nov. 18th, 2010 04:35 pm
cleolinda: (gof15m)
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.


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cleolinda: (galadriel tonner)
THERE ARE NEW TONNERS UP

Harry Potter: 17" Dumbledore (Richard Harris likeness, which is probably the more... dignified... one, but I would kind of love to see what they would do with a Gambledore). Note: this is not the original Harry Potter oversized scale; this is back to the regular Tonner scale. Which explains why they're doing another Dumbledore, because this is actually the second; the original was 19". Maybe they finally realized that it was pissing me people off that their oversized Harry Potter and Narnia dolls weren't compatible with any of their other movie dolls. If you'd given me a 12" Ginny or Luna to hang out with Lyra, I would have gone with that in a heartbeat. Or--

Okay, look: this is complicated. Let me try to explain this. Read more... )

More: Clash of the Titans and Tron? )



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cleolinda: (galadriel tonner)
Okay. Secret Life. The entry coding is done, but I am still working on pictures, because honestly, some of these are hard to set up (and still look believable), and I'm having to choose just two or three of the simpler ones to pull off. However, at least one of the pictures is unspeakably epic and I think you will enjoy it.

Meanwhile, the read-through is properly updated--even the briefest mentions from the early days now have entries For Your Convenience. You will probably want to revisit Shelf to the Future and A Very Shelfy Christmas I, if nothing else, because the next entry is the second part of Christmas, because yes, I am nine months behind. This does, however, allow me to tell the story in past tense now, which may make the narrative a bit--richer?--so we will just deal with it.

However, one of the problems with the nine-month lag is that a number of y'all have only just joined us this year, and thus you have not the slightest idea what I am talking about. The Secret Life of Dolls is the saga of my doll collection, their shenanigans, and their beleaguered owner (me). It even has its own TV Tropes page. ("Guilty Pleasures: Oh god is it this. A soap opera played by dolls. Multiple primary characters are from Twilight. And this male troper CAN'T STOP READING IT.") There are also, however, a large number of Lord of the Rings dolls, an Elizabeth Swann, an Anna Valerious, a Lyra and a Serafina, two Ellowynes, and I am still probably forgetting someone. We are also now up to three new characters who will be appearing as soon as I can bring them in--one of them was supposed to debut last August, but the Compocalypse happened, etc. One of the three, however, will not be a main character, and I expect will only make a few minor appearances, or otherwise--well, let's just say it would be counter-productive to my goal of doing more with the original group of dolls.

What I would like to ask of y'all, however, is to explain in the comments, if you would, to the newer people why they would want to read it. Because I've had a number of people tell me they just skipped the doll entries on purpose, because, you know... dolls... but eventually broke down and started reading, and discovered that it wasn't what they expected. Which is why I need y'all to explain this (if you would), because it's not something you can really take my word for. I feel really conceited asking you to do this, but I sound completely delusional when I try to explain it. So.

Meanwhile:

YOU GUYS

NOEL CRUZ FIXED THE ALICE DOLL

THIS IS WHAT ALICE WAS SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE, OKAY omg )


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cleolinda: (twilight3)
I didn't get shit done today in the work department, but: TONNER ALICE DOES COME WITH THE LITTLE GREY CHOKER! ALL IS FORGIVEN. Well, a lot is forgiven. I can mess with her hair; I can't make tiny dumbass doll heraldic crests.

(I think Alice, particularly Alice the doll, has become completely divorced in my mind from Twilight. Shit, I think pretty much all the Twilight characters in The Secret Life of Dolls have nothing to do with Actual Twilight in my mind. It's a coping mechanism, people.)

(There is a new Secret Life coming soon, once I work some logistics out. No, really this time. Sadly, we're still on... Christmas... but I think you'll like the presents they get. We're working up to one of the most epic things that has ever happened, which is what's hanging me up to an extent.)

Meanwhile, Tonner's Zoe doll from Firefly is up. I have to say, it actually looks good.

Linkspam! We may have a Hobbit ) 



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cleolinda: (twilight3)
I didn't get shit done today in the work department, but: TONNER ALICE DOES COME WITH THE LITTLE GREY CHOKER! ALL IS FORGIVEN. Well, a lot is forgiven. I can mess with her hair; I can't make tiny dumbass doll heraldic crests.

(I think Alice, particularly Alice the doll, has become completely divorced in my mind from Twilight. Shit, I think pretty much all the Twilight characters in The Secret Life of Dolls have nothing to do with Actual Twilight in my mind. It's a coping mechanism, people.)

(There is a new Secret Life coming soon, once I work some logistics out. No, really this time. Sadly, we're still on... Christmas... but I think you'll like the presents they get. We're working up to one of the most epic things that has ever happened, which is what's hanging me up to an extent.)

Meanwhile, Tonner's Zoe doll from Firefly is up. I have to say, it actually looks good.

Linkspam! We may have a Hobbit ) 



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cleolinda: (arwen)
I have been writing so hard and so fast lately--seized by an idea and therefore cheating on my long-term projects, which actually seems to happen a lot in the second half of any given year--that I am miserably behind on the news. (And I'm at the really exciting part, too, where you get to do lots of research and world-building. I'm letting it take over because I actually have a window of opportunity, it looks like, to pitch it to someone if I can get enough of it to come together. But it's also making me feel a lot more energized about writing my regular things as well. Except that some of them I've had to table, because of Things We Cannot Speak Of. I know it sounds confusing. It confuses me too, because everything kind of got thrown up into the air and now I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing, because I have so many things I can do that I don't know where to start. It's like walking into a really big buffet, or a a fairground, or a library, or a museum, and feeling a kind of wonderful panic because you don't know where to go first.

WHAT I AM SAYING IS that I feel like I also need to post here more regularly, because a couple of people have said things like "since you've moved to Twitter" and I was like OH BUT NO. Twitter's just an easy way to keep up with things (but not all things) and people (but not all people) with a minimum of effort. Which is useful when you're putting a maximum of effort into other things.

Of course, I did post here yesterday. You all may have come to regret that now.

(I'm sorry--I know how disturbing that whole Edward Fashion Cat thing was, but that last picture, I can't stop looking at it. It's like this perfect storm of hilarrible. I laughed so hard at it yesterday that I gave myself a headache, in fact. I think it's because the--victim, let's say--hanging over that woman's shoulder looks like a cat AND a child AND a goblin AND a serial killer, and he really only ought to look like two of those. Because no jury in the world would convict him if something "happened" to his owner. Even if cats got jury trials. What I'm saying is: that shit is so wrong.)

ANYWAY. Let us have a little linkspam! Read more... )



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cleolinda: (twilight3)
We here at Casa de Cleo are all cranky just now, because my mother had a really terrible day working-at-home on Friday that involved a lot of wailing "WHY ARE THEY SO STUPID" into her phone for about four hours straight; my stepfather has split his tooth in half (but has no idea how), and there's a lot of pain and swelling; and Friday the 13th basically shat on my head like an incontinent pigeon, but without any of the "luck" that supposedly brings.

However, no matter what happens to us, we still don't have it as bad as Edward Fashion Cat.





My first reaction to this was to scream and close the browser (this is my reaction to about 65% of links people send me). Then I opened it again (this is my reaction to about 83% of that 65%) and laughed my ass off. I want to feel sorry for this cat, but--look at him work that shit! Please.

However, the longer I laughed looked at it, the more questions I had. How does one measure a cat for a tiny jacket, and how many people die in the process? How does one keep a (rather amazing) wig on its head? Where does one buy wigs for cats?

Over the next 24 hours, I was able to answer at least two of these questions: ETA: It got worse )


Speaking of Tonners and Twilight, Alice Dollen starts shipping on Monday (8/16). Alice Dollen is not shipping to me on 8/16, but maybe I can get her for Christmas. My point is, Tonner Alices are now at large in the world, or will be next week.

@Ceilidhann: @cleolinda Does the Tonner Alice try and dress you up instead of the other way round?

There's only one way to find out.



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cleolinda: (galadriel tonner)
SHIT. I totally forgot they were announcing this today. Fall/Holiday 2010 at Tonner:

Lord of the Rings: Legolas. What in the sweet name of Eru. Read more... )


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