First: rachelmanija tells me that "helptheproject is to benefit the Virginia Avenue Project, a free after school arts and academic mentoring organization in Los Angeles. 100% of participating children graduate from high school. 95% go on to college. 98% are the first person in their family to go. I've been their stage manager for fifteen years, but due to the US economy's nosedive, they're about to lose their centerpiece program unless we can raise $15,000 by mid-March. The auction has some really cool items on offer, including gift boxes of local treats from all over the USA, home-made baked goods, fanfic and fanart, and signed books and/or offers to name a character after you by Sarah Rees Brennan (The Demon's Lexicon), Elizabeth Wein (The Winter Prince), Sarah Monette (Melusine), N. K. Jemisin (The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms), and many more, including yours truly." So do check that out.

Second: It's Lostnesday! Here is your discussion entry.

Third: I think all we Lost viewers will probably, at some point, find this picture of Bad Cat useful:

Tags: bad cat, lost, lostnesday, tv

Tonner Jacob.

Really?

Really?

From queenanthai:

Tags: alabama is the center of the universe, are you kidding me, dolls, tonner, twilight

I don't have much to say, but I figure I ought to check in and say it anyway. I've had an energy drain of a sinus cold this week, plus I'm trying to get some reading done. Mostly I'm trying to read up on vampire lore from a historical perspective--i.e., what someone living before 1900 would have known, culturally speaking. I'm about to attempt a reading of Varney the Vampire, which ranges from something like 160+ chapters to 223 chapters, depending on which version you tackle. (I'm sorry, but nothing should ever have 223 chapters. Nothing. Ever. Ever. Everrrrr.) But I and my love of trashy 1800s sensation lit cannot resist something with passages like,

With a sudden rush that could not be foreseen—with a strange howling cry that was enough to awaken terror in every breast, the figure seized the long tresses of her hair, and twining them round his bony hands he held her to the bed. Then she screamed—Heaven granted her then power to scream. Shriek followed shriek in rapid succession. The bed-clothes fell in a heap by the side of the bed—she was dragged by her long silken hair completely on to it again. Her beautifully rounded limbs quivered with the agony of her soul. The glassy, horrible eyes of the figure ran over that angelic form with a hideous satisfaction—horrible profanation. He drags her head to the bed's edge. He forces it back by the long hair still entwined in his grasp. With a plunge he seizes her neck in his fang-like teeth—a gush of blood, and a hideous sucking noise follows. The girl has swooned, and the vampyre is at his hideous repast!

For those of you more recently joining us, I've been working on a Victorian vampire series (eight books, it looks like) since 2003--yes, six and a half years now, and don't think I don't smack myself every single day of the week for letting the bandwagon leave me in the dust. ( Read more... )


ETA: Varney the Sparklepire, as it were.

Tags: black ribbon, vampires, writing
Current Music: That was "not much to say"?

Voilà: your Lost discussion entry (recap show starts now; two-hour premiere after that). And for your Lost-watching parties: Print out Dharma BEER labels. Speaking of which: Polar Beer MAAAAAAAALT Liquor.

Yes, I know it is Tuesday. IT WILL ALWAYS BE LOSTNESDAY IN OUR HEARTS.

Tags: lost, lostnesday, tv

1) Full list here.

2) Yeah, they're doing ten Best Picture nominees this year. I remember the Academy president saying, when they announced this change a few months ago, something to the effect of, "If I said this had nothing to do with The Dark Knight [not getting nominated last year], I'd be lying." So they're trying to be... more inclusive this year, because the big studios get pissed when they do put out genuinely good movies that then get snubbed in favor of blatant Oscarbait that doesn't really hold up a few years later. (Remember a couple of years ago on Extras, when Ricky Gervais told Kate Winslet that she'd need to play a Nazi if she actually wanted to win?)

3) THE BLIND SIDE FOR BEST PICTURE, WHAT THE FUCK?

A conversation I just had with my mother, who loves Sandra Bullock (aw, she's nice) and football (GRARRRRR):

"THE BLIND SIDE? WHAT."

"Well, when that many people see a movie..."

"But that doesn't mean it's GOOD."

"It IS good."

"You don't know! You didn't see it!"

"I saw enough of it!"

"ON COMMERCIALS!"

( Read more... )

P.S. Two reminders: the book episode (listener recommendations, plus Discworld discussion) of Made of Fail (guest: NADWCon co-runner foresthouse!) is up; and also TONIGHT IS LOSTNESDAY.

Tags: awards, cameron!avatar, coraline, costumes, harry potter, inglourious basterds [sic], movie discussion, movies, oscars, pixar, sherlock holmes, the hurt locker, twilight, young victoria

I don't know if Dracula seems so different to me now because I'm older, or because I'm a different reader, or because I'm a different writer than I used to be, but... it was a (say it with me) different experience this time around. (Of course, this is also what happened when I reread Jane Eyre, formerly my favorite book, for the first time in many years--it was a completely new experience.) Also, I had the Klinger footnotes sitting on my shoulder pointing a lot of things out, which cannot be disregarded.

( I have many, many thoughts )

Tags: book discussion, books, dracula, movies, sherlock holmes, vampires

Reminder: You can still donate to win prizes at Helping Haiti Heal (benefiting Partners in Health) until 11:59 tonight. Let's look at the new things they've added:

Guitar owned and signed by Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy)!
Donated by: Tom Felton

A hardback Deathly Hallows signed by the entire cast of the film!
"A truly special item: Evanna Lynch (who plays Luna Lovegood) is going to take a Deathly Hallows onto the set of the film and have everyone she can find sign it. We will update this listing when we have definite names, but you should expect all the main actors! A wonderful and personal gift from the original believer in Nargles!"

Genuine Radish Earrings and Phoenix Pin!
Donated by: Evanna Lynch
Another very special gift from Evanna Lynch, who plays Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter films! Evanna will make you or someone you love a very special, unique set of radish earrings or a phoenix pin. Evanna's designs, made well before she was cast as the sage Ravenclaw, have become part of the films and are now currently mass-produced and sold, but this special gift will come from the original designer's hands. Earrings from the REAL Luna. AWESOME!

Ring from UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION!
Donated by: Noble Collection
An authentic ring used in the movie UNDERWORLD - don't miss the chance to win a verified prop that would otherwise sell for thousands!
[My note: Noble Collection is the company that makes the really expensive replica stuff. This is not a replica.]

SIRIUS BLACK sketch by JOHN K SNYDER III
Donated by: John K Snyder, III


35 SIGNED YA NOVELS!
Donated by: The 2009 Debutantes
[My note: This is, in fact, a single prize package.]

And my signed copy of Movies in Fifteen Minutes (again: paperback, because I don't have any more hardcovers) is here. Other authors on that lot include Lev Grossman, Maureen Johnson, Rosemary Clement-Moore, and Lilith Saintcrow. And there are actual metric shitloads more of things to win on the list. You do have to donate separately on each section to be entered for the prizes therein, if that makes any sense. (They ended up with that setup so that people wouldn't end up with really rare/valuable/personalized prizes they didn't actually want. There's still an element of chance on other lots, but that way, if you're not a Terry Pratchett fan, for example, you're not going to end up with a copy of Unseen Academicals signed to you. This means that you may have to make some tough choices as to where you do want to donate, but that was the reasoning.)

Speaking of which, let's review some other prizes:

ONE FULL SET OF U.K. HARRY POTTER BOOKS SIGNED BY J.K. ROWLING plus HANDWRITTEN CARD
donated by J.K. Rowling

Signed copy of HARLEQUIN VALENTINE by Neil Gaiman
donated by Neil Gaiman

Five lots of one signed and DEDICATED copy of UNSEEN ACADEMICALS by Sir Terry Pratchett (VERY RARE!)
donated by Sir Terry Pratchett

( Read more... ) 


Meanwhile, Helping Haiti Heal Continues on Livestream Today at 2pm EST.

Tags: books, haiti, harry potter, jk rowling, m15m, movies, neil gaiman, terry pratchett, underworld

Where my Alice? : (

HOWEVER:

LORD OF THE RINGS

TIM BURTON'S ALICE IN WONDERLAND

I'm still going through the list trying to figure out what's new. No Doctor Who/Torchwood, though.


(Johnny Depp Tonner Mad Hatter? I just... are we sure that's a good idea? Really?)

ETA: No picture, but there will be a Tiana from The Princess and the Frog. (Jessica Rabbit? Really?) Also: Power Girl and Deluxe Harley Quinn. Okay, here's the Tiana, at the end of these photos. Thanks, jabberwockpie.

ETA: "Velvet" and "metallic sleeves" makes me think the Arwen doll will come in this dress. What, no cloak?

Tags: alice in wonderland, dolls, lord of the rings, tonner

This is just to say that I'm fine; I just looked up and realized how much time had passed without me posting again. I was tired from liveblogging two nights in a row, and--in a most likely related occurrence--my eyes have started burning a bit, so I've been trying to get away from my computer screen (... a little) the last couple of days and catch up on my research reading. A lot of it is refresher reading of books I already have, just to get back in a Victorian mindset, but since it involves vampire lore anyway, I'm using my reading both for novel-writing and for the M15M Vampires footnotes. Two birds, one stone, and so on.

So right now I have a just-arrived copy of The New Annotated Dracula, edited by Leslie Klinger, who also annotated my beloved three-volume Sherlock Holmes set. How I did not own this before now, I do not know. ( Read more... )

(It takes a while to scan back and forth between text and footnotes, though--sometimes there are pages of [fun! interesting!] footnotes and you have to flip back to the text. So even though I started reading last night, I'm only now at Whitby, just as Lucy starts to fall ill. Which was always my favorite part, oddly enough.)

As a segue, guess who wrote the introduction? Neil Gaiman! Who will be reading at the University of Alabama (about an hour away from me, in Tuscaloosa) on February 18th. I do believe I will try to go.

I still have that really good linkspam, but I keep being too tired to actually organize it. Perhaps I should look into hanging garlic by my windows.

To conclude: Fig. 1: My plum chenille arm warmer(s) from Sock Dreams (now back in stock! I had previously bought the last pair, sorry). Fig. 2: I am apparently a sparklepire, or at least a half-vamp mutant hybrid, because I glow in direct sunlight.

Tags: actual sparkle motion, book discussion, books, dracula, sherlock holmes, vampires

( Read more... )

Tags: liveblog, movies, sag awards, tv

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Tags: liveblog, movies, sag awards, tv

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Tags: liveblog, movies, sag awards, tv

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Tags: liveblog, movies, sag awards, tv

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Tags: liveblog, movies, sag awards, tv

Wow, I am tired. Blogged the Haiti telethon last night, which was challenging in its awkwardness; got to bed later than I meant (because I'm C-H-A to the T-T-Y on the phone); and then ended up running around part of today. I confess, I took a substantial nap in the middle of the Helping Haiti Heal podathon, but they had Evanna Lynch and Matt Lewis, so I'm pretty sure my tweets weren't missed.

By the way, who the hell has a televised awards show on a Saturday night? You couldn't have done this tomorrow?

( Read more... )

Tags: liveblog, movies, sag awards, tv

So. The HP Alliance podathon for Haiti is still going, I think; at the end of the last hour they had Evanna Lynch (Luna) and Matt Lewis (Neville) on--in fact, as of this writing, I think he's still on. Also, Tom Felton (Draco) is apparently donating a guitar. What I'm hearing is that the donations will keep going until the 30th, and I think a few of the prizes haven't even been listed yet. Also, I'm hearing something about Matt Lewis following you on Twitter for two weeks if you donate $50, but don't quote me on that. The last I heard, they had just hit $30,000.

http://www.thehpalliance.org/haiti/

http://www.thehpalliance.org/haiti/prizes/

Please also bear in mind that, because it's a raffle system, not an auction--as I'm understanding it--a full boxed Harry Potter book set signed by JK Rowling is basically going for $100. That's how little it takes to be eligible to win something that awesome. You do have to donate specifically "for" a given item to be entered for it, though.  Look at the prizes page, you'll see what I mean. I'm down in there somewhere.

Meanwhile, the Screen Actors Guild Awards are going to start up in about fifteen minutes, and I'll be liveblogging those, having had a good nap.

Tags: haiti, harry potter, podcasts

It starts in about half an hour--hell, it'll probably be in progress by the time I finish writing this entry--so I thought I'd update you on some of the prizes that have been donated, because some of them aren't listed yet. (ETA: Official prize list.) FOR REAL, I AM SO INCREDIBLY NOT KIDDING:

ONE FULL SET OF U.K. HARRY POTTER BOOKS SIGNED BY J.K. ROWLING plus HANDWRITTEN CARD
donated by J.K. Rowling

Signed copy of HARLEQUIN VALENTINE by Neil Gaiman
donated by Neil Gaiman

Five lots of one signed and DEDICATED copy of UNSEEN ACADEMICALS by Sir Terry Pratchett (VERY RARE!)
donated by Sir Terry Pratchett

Sir Terry Pratchett's WINTERSMITH, signed by the author on the title page (1st ed)
donated by Colin Smythe

( MORE )

In my head, I hear Headset Vince from the ShamWow commercials bellowing all of these out, by the way.


http://www.thehpalliance.org/haiti/


Oh, and now that Livejournal's back up from its incredibly well-timed scheduled maintenance, you can see the Hope for Haiti telethon liveblog I did last night; the first entry's here, and you can just hit "Next entry" until you get... well, back to this entry.

By the way, I have now been informed that help_haiti here on LJ will have raised $115,000 by the time all the pledges shake out.

ETA: The podathon has brought in $9100 as of this writing, about an hour in.

Tags: books, haiti, harry potter, jk rowling, m15m, movies, neil gaiman, podcasts, star wars, terry pratchett, true blood, tv

My sweet God almighty, what is that on Brad Pitt's face. It's like he took Robert Pattinson's beard as a personal challenge or something. "Sparkles ain't got BEADS!" ( Read more... )

Tags: haiti, tv

Sheryl Crow, I have never been so glad to see you. Kid Rock, I have never been glad to... you know what, I'll restrain myself. It's for the kids, y'all. Also: Keith Urban. An acoustic "Lean on Me," and it's surprisingly nice.

Back to Anderson, who starts introducing himself, then stops for about twenty seconds, and starts over. Live TV, y'all. He has a young girl here who got rescued after eighteen hours under the rubble; she only seems to speak French, and Anderson... does not. He manages to get out "très jolie" and "très brave." "She is strong, and she looks beautiful."

"Ever since Hillary and I took a delayed honeymoon to Haiti years ago..." Well. Unexpected Bill Clinton is unexpected. I  mean, I know he's the Special Envoy and all, but... wow. I just went back in time to 1992.

Hey, this kinda sounds like the first couple of notes of "Like a Prayer," that's kind of awkward due to that video back in the day but it's a really great song in its original non-video context, it was always one of my favorites, they've got a choir and everything, I wonder who's gonna HOLY SHIT IT'S ACTUAL MADONNA? FOR REAL? THE CAMERA ACTUALLY STAGGERS AND NEARLY FALLS OVER. I KNOW, RIGHT? WE SHOULD JUST TOTALLY END THE SHOW NOW.

@txvoodoo: Anything you put a choir behind automatically is 1000x better.

And now... Ben Stiller. Yeah. Well, no one could follow Madonna.

I missed a bit in there due to a phone call. No, I mean a phone call to me, not to the Celebrity Phone Bank. Now: "Hallelujah," as sung by a bunch of guys in beards and damn incognito hats. I mean, I can tell that Justin Timberlake's on piano, but WHO ELSE IS PERFORMING? DAMMIT, CLOONEY! I'll PAY FOR THE CHYRONS!

@wonderella: How cold is it in this studio that everyone is dressing like Eminem?#187799HAITI

Okay, I'm hearing that the other guy is Matt Morris, and he's on JT's label. There you go. I want to see more of that guy.

Chris Rock with Muhammad Ali (seated), who wrote down a few words and asked Rock to read them. And then I got another phone call. what I heard was very touching, so... go find it on YouTube or something.

Here's Jennifer Hudson with "Let It Be." I'm proud that I recognized her, although the super-short hair gave me a moment of pause. She looks fantastic, by the way.

Anderson Cooper's back with an update on the story Halle Berry was telling us at the beginning of the show; he is here tonight and "seemingly healthy," and he's here with Gabriella, the nurse who helped to save him. I'm going to hit post and get right back to you. 

Tags: haiti, tv

I'm getting behind on my typing, as I always do, but they just had a very emotional, wrenching earthquake survivor from Haiti itself and I kind of don't know how to summarize that, except that it ended with "Help my family" on the verge of tears.

So... here's Taylor Swift. ( Read more... )

Tags: haiti, tv