Cleolinda everywhere

First of all: in case you missed it, since I did post on a Saturday when everyone was out actually doing things, there is a new Secret Life of Dolls. And bless y'all for actually commenting on the "Explain what you like about Secret Life" entry; I didn't think you'd actually do it. I was hoping for maybe a couple of quotes I could use in the future, not 100+ comments. Bless. So I have now written the next four entries (you can see some of the titles here; two of them are just too spoilery to post), and I'll have to take pictures, but I hope we can get to #78 by Halloween, and since they're drafted, I don't see any reason why (OH GOD DON'T LET THE HOUSE BURN DOWN) we can't.

Meanwhile, I was extremely productive yesterday because my internet connection decided to hate me. Over and over and over again. As such, there was no linkspam. But a few key things happened, and I would like to mention them briefly and then catch other things later tonight or tomorrow: ( IT'S REALLY HAPPENING )

Re: the SDCC exclusive Tonner Edward variant: I think my problem here isn't OMG IT'S A TWILIGHT DOLL I MUST HAVE IT; it's that I love incorporating stuff into the Secret Life stories. And "stuff" often gets expensive, although not always--some of the best bits have been small reader gifts (The Littlest Cowboy Hat, for example), or stuff I found around the house (the dessert fork for pitching the ponies' grass), or old toys from my closet (the ponies themselves). I mean, there are dolls I want for myself that I haven't bought because I couldn't justify the cost (even crazy-fantastic bargains) by thinking of a way to incorporate them--but I see something that makes me go HOLY SHIT I HAVE TO PUT THAT IN THE STORY and it's like my brain just shuts down. I mean, I saw Super Special Exclusive Legolas with Cloak on eBay and fought for that thing to the $40 death AND STILL GOT IT FOR HALF WHAT IT USUALLY GOES FOR, SUCKAAAAAS. It's kind of my equivalent of "SQUIRREL!"

But I am trying to talk myself down off the Gratuitous Edward Variant ledge because: Alice. I have to have Alice. I can't not have Alice. I have to bring Alice's awesome to The Shelf. I can't blow this kind of money on a character I already have in a slightly different shirt and afford an Alice. So there's that. I... I'll have to see a picture of the variant Edward, I guess. *hangs head*

Oh, by the way, we have a reader question about dolls--where to find good sites for accessories for 4" figures?

Oh, and my mother has found someone who wants to buy the plates. Not the mugs yet, though.

( Linkspam )

Stayed off Mountain Dew today, although it was hard--interestingly enough, because I really, really missed the taste of it, not the caffeine. That's always what brings me back around to it--the taste, for some reason. Of course, I still had a caffeine-withdrawal headache anyway, but today's was less deathly than yesterday's. (I'll say it up front, though: I'm allowed to have soda if I go out to eat or see a movie. It's the habit I'm trying to break.)

And now, back to our scheduled Doctor Who wank (major spoiler for series five).

A little linkspam, before the storm potentially knocks out my internet again: ( Read more... )

The tree is up! And Sister Girl and her boyfriend are coming over to help decorate it tonight! Thus, linkspam will be early.

Oh, and I had a request to syndicate my ever-so-scintillating Twitter feed, so... here it is: cleotwitter. (Deeply fascinating sample Twit: "Aaaaand the new Britney song has eaten my brain. Well, it's not like Twilight left me with all that much of one anyway.")

From punzerel: "urbanfictions is pledging to donate 100% of her etsy proceeds in the next week to UNICEF, specifically for emergency relief of the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe. She has some very cool items (check out the doorknob hangers, especially) which would make awesome stocking stuffers or gifts. Would you be willing to post a link in your next linkspam post? Her post here has all the information plus a link to her shop. Thank you!"

Sci-fi’s grand old man Forrest J. Ackerman dies.

( More linkspam )

Whoa, is it 8:30 already?

Because it's worth linking again: the greatest Breaking Dawn macro that ever has been or ever will be made.

The rest of the EW Twilight covers. Foolishly, I thought they might actually have someone not playing Edward or Bella on the third cover. What can I say? It's been a long week and I'm off my game.

Video of Robert Pattinson on TRL yesterday. Good luck getting to the stage alive, dude:



Remember: in case of fangirls, stop, drop and hobo.

( I had some of the corniest lines I've ever had in this film )

For those of you just joining us this afternoon: JKR WON THE LEXICON CASE.

As much linkspam as I could pull together given that I have 130 146 158 unread Lexicon-related emails (and counting): ( VMAs, film festivals, deep chagrin )

Not much going on today, except HOLY CRAP AN AVALANCHE OF HARRY POTTER STILLS. Also, Sister Girl has gotten a Brittany spaniel puppy (she's living in an apartment on her own now, not here with us, so it's very much her first pet as an independent adult), and he is tiny and and skinny and recovering from some stomach parasite and darling. I held Pete in the car when she took him to the vet this morning, and despite how sick and sad he was when she first got him earlier this week, he kept looking up at me and breaking out into this huge grin, like, "This is the sweet life!" AWWWW.

( Day the Earth Stood Still trailer! New HBP stills! Werewolves and circuses and vampires! )

Sorry I dropped off the map there for a couple of days--we've had some updates in the Lexicon case, and I've been tied up with that. Today it looked like there would be a jury trial (!), until we realized that the court filing was actually saying that a request for a jury trial (as opposed to a judge-only bench trial) had to be submitted by March 14, not that a jury trial was already set. Unless that request is made, there's going to be a bench trial March 24-26, which was the announcement that spawned the initial update. We've also discovered what I consider to be some conflict-of-interest shenanigans involving RDR Books, the Stanford Fair Use Project, and something called "The Right to Write Project" at the Women's Center for... (wait for it) ...Ethics in Action. (Am I just crazy? Naive? Does there not seem to be something wrong about starting up a vaguely named "free speech" fund, of which Roger Rapoport--the "RDR" in RDR Books--is president, to make sure that FUP gets paid, rather than just saying, "Here, please contribute to a defense fund, since we're doing this pro bono"?)

Meanwhile, on a different subject, someone's spoken to Erin, and she hasn't had her surgery yet--she's in a holding pattern until the seizures are under control.

Today is my grandmother's birthday, yay! Yesterday we all had a birthday lunch for her with roast beast beef and carrots and potatoes and cake and ice cream and a creamy orange and pineapple congealed salad which is actually really yum, thanks for asking. We're Southern, what can I say. Also, we ended up talking about Britney Spears, and my grandmother was surprisingly up-to-date on the crazy ("That Dr. Phil said he was going to help her! She needs to stop messing with that married man"). It was a good day.

Greatest Journal: the final days.

Alleged Response from Cassie Edwards Issued via MySpace; Edwards plagiarized for author's note and from Britannica. Seriously? Seriously?

"I, seriously, was like the Lindsay Lohan of scrapbooking." Something I found wandering around from those links: a Nancy Drew keepsake box. Which I took as a sign that I should read the Nancy Drew book Valkyrie got for my birthday next.

(I feel kind of ashamed saying this, but... I kind of want to scrapbook now. Like, only with things I have around the house, because I'm cheap. I mean, couldn't it be fun? A page for a movie you saw, for a book you liked, for something you went out and did one night? Except that I don't even know what you scrapbook on. I guess I could do digital scrapbooking with image files and a scanner.)

Lupercalia 2008 scents are up at BPAL (did you hear! Beth's having a baby!), and Earth Rat sounds really good (I like citrus).

More linkspam: ( Read more... )

Sister Girl and I were talking just now, and I was telling her about this History of the Universe show Mom was watching (I think?), and how some of the people on it were, like, the dumbest people ever. ( Lauren, I think you're in the wrong field )

In other news, scrambled eggs for dinner last night laid me out but good, but a six-inch Italian sub and spicy corn chips for lunch today? Totally fine. I guess eggs really are hard to digest.

Oh! Cleoville! Cleoville is having some problems. I need more population so I can get to the point where they'll let me put up a clicky link to improve the environment, but the environment's already getting crapful and I have no way to do anything about it, unlike with the previous two things (transportation and industry), so people are leaving "for some unpolluted clean air." Which means that I can't get enough people to stay to get the population high enough to do anything about the environment. Also? Criminals are blowing up factories (I need more security), which is... kind of awesome, actually. I like to pretend the Joker's behind it all. Again, post your links in the comments and I'll click on them (ah, the joys of tabbed browsing).

L'Affaire Edwards: Cassie Edwards Plagiarism Recap; Romance novelist Edwards' publisher reviewing plagiarism claims; Signet: Cassie Edwards Situation "Deserves Further Review"; Why boycotting isn’t a viable answer to the plagiarism issue; Nora Roberts: 'Seems clear' author plagiarized.

While we're here: Another debacle in which Nora Roberts was totally awesome, or, That Time That Someone Thought Film Clips of the Challenger and Tiannenmen Square, The Latter Set to "Don't Worry, Be Happy," Were Appropriate for a Romance Writing Awards Ceremony.

( Massive linkspam )