(no subject)
Today's sort of a reserved-for-reading day. I just finished the new Lemony Snicket and now I have to get started on The Lamplighter, which is more in the vein of The Wide Wide World, and if you remember the occasional book recaps I do on the spur of the moment, you will know that that is a very good thing. (I still have to tell you what happened on Alice's wedding day in Venus in Boston, because that one's a doozy.) Next after that is the Lovely Emily's YA novel draft, and it comes last if only because I don't have to write a paper on it. (Snicket came first because 1) it's Snicket and 2) Em and I are doing a book swap--she gets Snicket and I get her book about honey and/or bees. I don't remember the name of it, because nonfiction books about honey and/or bees seem to be something of a fad lately, but I don't care, because I'm v. v. interested in old-fashioned beekeeping and honey folklore for The Fantasy Project That Shall Not Be Named, Because the Title Is Awesome and I Don't Want Anyone to Steal It.)
And then I get to start trying to catch up on Lost recaps and Another Project That Shall Not Be Named. Oh, and prepping Black Ribbon.
(Why do I write out all the stuff I plan on doing? Why do I do that, when I know it's like a jinx that will make sure none of it gets done?)
That said, I have been in a much better mood lately. Basically, since Friday, when it was apparent that people were starting to get the book and the world didn't, like, end. A lot of anxiety has been lifted--it's kind of like, "Maybe I can do this," you know?
Speaking of which, at m15m: Scans of the first review; Urban Dictionary; Play.com ships free to all of Europe; dropping from #8, above Snicket, to #15; lj_spotlight whee!; how to request signed bookplates (in lieu of, like, mailing your book to me); tell me about your favorite book signings.
In which I polish the banhammer. Please read this.
Am self-medicating with Silver Jewelry Club orders (plz send help) but my new moonstone ring and my blue leaf pendant and earrings are love.
Linkspam:mandy0x: "Man arrested in robbery of Lost actor."
trede: "Jonny and Phil from Radiohead (and some other bloke) as the Weird Sisters in the new Harry Potter film. It's like Harry Potter... if they were wizards." Jarvis Cocker's the third. Warner Bros basically got Cocker and the two guys from Radiohead to be the Weird Sisters band in the movie. I remember seeing an article last week where a Canadian folk group called the Wyrd Sisters, unrelated entirely to Harry Potter, are suing for trademark infringement, or something of that sort. "People will think we're singing about Harry Potter!" What, and people will actually start coming to your shows? OH NOES.
From hnk: There's a Toothpaste for Dinner book!
From Molly: "Hey... I just wanted to send you this link to an online petition on Petition Spot, bring back sailor moon to tv in the usa." Normally I'm not that big on anime or petitions, but... I really would like to see Sailor Moon back on TV. Ahhh, the days of watching it in the dorm. Good times.
Ann Coulter is going DOWN: "Citizens for Principled Conservatism (CPC) is currently in-production of a documentary named The Truth About Ann which aims squarely at political and religious hypocrisy of Rightwing commentator and author, Ann Coulter."
(One of the things that bothers me about any possible Coulter attack is that there will likely be a sexist edge to it, just because we wouldn't be fortunate enough to have someone persecute a woman for simply being an asshole; there'll have to be a "...and get back in the kitchen and make me a sammich!" subtext to it.)
An email I got from Narniaweb: "New Narnia Trailer Available! The new trailer for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is now available for viewing at Moviefone.com and it is incredible! A very large hi-res Quicktime download is also available. We've been working really hard on screencaps for you and they are now available for viewing. If you are going to the movies next weekend, steer on over to Legend of Zorro to see this trailer in the theater."
I started crying (again) just looking at the screencaps. Like, not even at sad things necessarily, just at weird little things, like the fur coats in the wardrobe, or Edmund creeping into the Witch's castle. I need to accept that I'm just gonna be a big ol' sobby ball of childhood nostalgia at this movie and just sit in the back with a megabox of tissues or something.
Giant 'corpse flower' blooms in Germany.
Police Probe Wash. High School 'Hit List.'
Accidental Invention Points to End of Light BulbsAccidental Invention Points to End of Light Bulbs.
Alpha Sets Record As 22nd Atlantic Storm.
Study Reveals Pittsburgh Unprepared For Full-Scale Zombie Attack.
Aaaand it's the Onion for the win! Two Publicists, Stylist, Personal Assistant Injured As Nicole Kidman Turns On Handlers. "Even experienced handlers can't turn their backs on these creatures," said celebrity behaviorist Laurel Fraser, who has conducted extensive field studies on such performers as Madonna, Bruce Willis, and an entire pride of Baldwins. "It's easy for people in the starkeeping profession to get complacent, and when stars sense that, they often lash out."
Celebrity-control officers working with the LAPD cornered the actress outside a sound stage at Hollywood Center Studios late Tuesday and shot her with a tranquilizer dart after failing to coax her into custody with an expensive gift bag.
"She was just calmly feeding at a craft-services table, unaware of all the havoc she raised," celebrity-control officer Rene Bofill said. "After being tranquilized, she began to snort and rave, knocking down tables and chairs before she collapsed near the set of That's So Raven."
"Sometimes, we love our celebrities so much that we want them to experience the same freedoms we enjoy," Hable said. "But if something goes wrong, you'll quickly realize that a lot separates a celebrity from an ordinary human being. And believe me, you never, ever want to find yourself in the powerful jaws of a Chris O'Donnell."
Ad Guru Leaves Job Over Remarks on Women. French made the contentious remarks during an industry discussion in Toronto on Oct. 6. According to a report in the city's Globe and Mail newspaper, French said women did not make it to the top because "they're crap." Nancy Vonk, a Toronto-based creative director at WPP subsidiary Ogilvy & Mather who attended the event, said French described women as "a group that will inevitably wimp out and go 'suckle something.'"
The comments sparked outrage among many women in the advertising industry. Vonk wrote on the advertising industry Web site http://www.ihaveanidea.org - sponsor of the Oct. 6 event - that "my jaded jaw hit the floor" at French's comments. "If our greatest leaders are busy quietly persuading girls they're just not cut out for this gig, how far is this group going to get - the brave ones who soldier on in spite of the discouragement?" she wrote.
British-born French, 61, known for his ever-present cigar, worked as a debt collector, trained as a matador and was agent to the heavy metal band Judas Priest before going into advertising. He was among a generation of innovative admen - including future film director Ridley Scott and brothers Maurice and Charles Saatchi - who made a mark on British advertising in the 1970s and 80s.
Singapore-based French - who during the Toronto event was served drinks onstage by a woman in a French maid's uniform - was unrepentant. In an interview with the Globe and Mail published Friday, French said there were few female creative directors "because you can't commit yourself to the job."
Shows of support. "The TV protest that began with fans running disparate letter-writing campaigns with limited success (Cagney & Lacey and the original Star Trek being notable exceptions), has since evolved. Now internet-organised terror groups send nappies, baby food, bananas, spoons and bottles of Tabasco sauce (the spicy kind) to TV executives. Others have funded TV and press ads, attempted to fund future series themselves, and created a Live Aid-style protest record. At the proactive savethatshow.com you can even protest before your favoured show has been cancelled. Perhaps even more bizarrely, these campaigns appear to be working."
Best part: "Family Guy (best described as The Simpsons with Tourette's) had already been cancelled and saved once when Fox axed it for a second time. Not letting poor ratings bother them (or that Fox wanted rid of a controversial show) fans campaigned for its DVD release, to have it moved to the Cartoon Network, and, after a three-year absence, forced Fox to commission a new and unprecedented 22-episode run. Protests involved over 100,000 signing a petition promising to boycott all Fox TV and every product they advertised (surely tricky if you don't know what products you're boycotting?), nearly bankrupting a business by sending (unloaded) nappies, and some less-than-subtle letters. 'There were threats of murder, burning of buildings, harming of pets...' remembers organiser Joe." Although the part about the failed Tick campaign is also mighty fine reading.
Damn, my eye twitch is back. And I haven't even told you about the candy-apple martini taste-test session we had on Friday night. I think we decided the one with more Apple Barrel and less Hot Damn was the winner.
And then I get to start trying to catch up on Lost recaps and Another Project That Shall Not Be Named. Oh, and prepping Black Ribbon.
(Why do I write out all the stuff I plan on doing? Why do I do that, when I know it's like a jinx that will make sure none of it gets done?)
That said, I have been in a much better mood lately. Basically, since Friday, when it was apparent that people were starting to get the book and the world didn't, like, end. A lot of anxiety has been lifted--it's kind of like, "Maybe I can do this," you know?
Speaking of which, at m15m: Scans of the first review; Urban Dictionary; Play.com ships free to all of Europe; dropping from #8, above Snicket, to #15; lj_spotlight whee!; how to request signed bookplates (in lieu of, like, mailing your book to me); tell me about your favorite book signings.
In which I polish the banhammer. Please read this.
Am self-medicating with Silver Jewelry Club orders (plz send help) but my new moonstone ring and my blue leaf pendant and earrings are love.
Linkspam:mandy0x: "Man arrested in robbery of Lost actor."
trede: "Jonny and Phil from Radiohead (and some other bloke) as the Weird Sisters in the new Harry Potter film. It's like Harry Potter... if they were wizards." Jarvis Cocker's the third. Warner Bros basically got Cocker and the two guys from Radiohead to be the Weird Sisters band in the movie. I remember seeing an article last week where a Canadian folk group called the Wyrd Sisters, unrelated entirely to Harry Potter, are suing for trademark infringement, or something of that sort. "People will think we're singing about Harry Potter!" What, and people will actually start coming to your shows? OH NOES.
From hnk: There's a Toothpaste for Dinner book!
From Molly: "Hey... I just wanted to send you this link to an online petition on Petition Spot, bring back sailor moon to tv in the usa." Normally I'm not that big on anime or petitions, but... I really would like to see Sailor Moon back on TV. Ahhh, the days of watching it in the dorm. Good times.
Ann Coulter is going DOWN: "Citizens for Principled Conservatism (CPC) is currently in-production of a documentary named The Truth About Ann which aims squarely at political and religious hypocrisy of Rightwing commentator and author, Ann Coulter."
(One of the things that bothers me about any possible Coulter attack is that there will likely be a sexist edge to it, just because we wouldn't be fortunate enough to have someone persecute a woman for simply being an asshole; there'll have to be a "...and get back in the kitchen and make me a sammich!" subtext to it.)
An email I got from Narniaweb: "New Narnia Trailer Available! The new trailer for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is now available for viewing at Moviefone.com and it is incredible! A very large hi-res Quicktime download is also available. We've been working really hard on screencaps for you and they are now available for viewing. If you are going to the movies next weekend, steer on over to Legend of Zorro to see this trailer in the theater."
I started crying (again) just looking at the screencaps. Like, not even at sad things necessarily, just at weird little things, like the fur coats in the wardrobe, or Edmund creeping into the Witch's castle. I need to accept that I'm just gonna be a big ol' sobby ball of childhood nostalgia at this movie and just sit in the back with a megabox of tissues or something.
Giant 'corpse flower' blooms in Germany.
Police Probe Wash. High School 'Hit List.'
Accidental Invention Points to End of Light BulbsAccidental Invention Points to End of Light Bulbs.
Alpha Sets Record As 22nd Atlantic Storm.
Study Reveals Pittsburgh Unprepared For Full-Scale Zombie Attack.
Aaaand it's the Onion for the win! Two Publicists, Stylist, Personal Assistant Injured As Nicole Kidman Turns On Handlers. "Even experienced handlers can't turn their backs on these creatures," said celebrity behaviorist Laurel Fraser, who has conducted extensive field studies on such performers as Madonna, Bruce Willis, and an entire pride of Baldwins. "It's easy for people in the starkeeping profession to get complacent, and when stars sense that, they often lash out."
Celebrity-control officers working with the LAPD cornered the actress outside a sound stage at Hollywood Center Studios late Tuesday and shot her with a tranquilizer dart after failing to coax her into custody with an expensive gift bag.
"She was just calmly feeding at a craft-services table, unaware of all the havoc she raised," celebrity-control officer Rene Bofill said. "After being tranquilized, she began to snort and rave, knocking down tables and chairs before she collapsed near the set of That's So Raven."
"Sometimes, we love our celebrities so much that we want them to experience the same freedoms we enjoy," Hable said. "But if something goes wrong, you'll quickly realize that a lot separates a celebrity from an ordinary human being. And believe me, you never, ever want to find yourself in the powerful jaws of a Chris O'Donnell."
Ad Guru Leaves Job Over Remarks on Women. French made the contentious remarks during an industry discussion in Toronto on Oct. 6. According to a report in the city's Globe and Mail newspaper, French said women did not make it to the top because "they're crap." Nancy Vonk, a Toronto-based creative director at WPP subsidiary Ogilvy & Mather who attended the event, said French described women as "a group that will inevitably wimp out and go 'suckle something.'"
The comments sparked outrage among many women in the advertising industry. Vonk wrote on the advertising industry Web site http://www.ihaveanidea.org - sponsor of the Oct. 6 event - that "my jaded jaw hit the floor" at French's comments. "If our greatest leaders are busy quietly persuading girls they're just not cut out for this gig, how far is this group going to get - the brave ones who soldier on in spite of the discouragement?" she wrote.
British-born French, 61, known for his ever-present cigar, worked as a debt collector, trained as a matador and was agent to the heavy metal band Judas Priest before going into advertising. He was among a generation of innovative admen - including future film director Ridley Scott and brothers Maurice and Charles Saatchi - who made a mark on British advertising in the 1970s and 80s.
Singapore-based French - who during the Toronto event was served drinks onstage by a woman in a French maid's uniform - was unrepentant. In an interview with the Globe and Mail published Friday, French said there were few female creative directors "because you can't commit yourself to the job."
Shows of support. "The TV protest that began with fans running disparate letter-writing campaigns with limited success (Cagney & Lacey and the original Star Trek being notable exceptions), has since evolved. Now internet-organised terror groups send nappies, baby food, bananas, spoons and bottles of Tabasco sauce (the spicy kind) to TV executives. Others have funded TV and press ads, attempted to fund future series themselves, and created a Live Aid-style protest record. At the proactive savethatshow.com you can even protest before your favoured show has been cancelled. Perhaps even more bizarrely, these campaigns appear to be working."
Best part: "Family Guy (best described as The Simpsons with Tourette's) had already been cancelled and saved once when Fox axed it for a second time. Not letting poor ratings bother them (or that Fox wanted rid of a controversial show) fans campaigned for its DVD release, to have it moved to the Cartoon Network, and, after a three-year absence, forced Fox to commission a new and unprecedented 22-episode run. Protests involved over 100,000 signing a petition promising to boycott all Fox TV and every product they advertised (surely tricky if you don't know what products you're boycotting?), nearly bankrupting a business by sending (unloaded) nappies, and some less-than-subtle letters. 'There were threats of murder, burning of buildings, harming of pets...' remembers organiser Joe." Although the part about the failed Tick campaign is also mighty fine reading.
Damn, my eye twitch is back. And I haven't even told you about the candy-apple martini taste-test session we had on Friday night. I think we decided the one with more Apple Barrel and less Hot Damn was the winner.