Tuesday, August 31, 2004

We're not done Drippin and Bloggin!

Ah, time to blog. How precocious it is.

Well I have nothing interesting to say. Well, only this. I think bad movies can sometimes be enjoyed for their badness. Example? The Musketeer, XXX. A horrible movie, laughable in its horribleness. Yes, there are movies that are so horrible they should not be seen by a member of the human species. Examples? Mrs. Winterbourne, the Avengers. And that's all I have to say. Except that this computer lab stinks royally.

Anyway, so I found this nice little excerpt from a Harry Potter fan fic. Something about Aunt Petunia being a squib. Or something. These are the first three lines, in their entirety.

"Harry was awoken for the third time that week, but unlike the first two, this time it was a large and dull shout from his gigantic and rather stupid, Uncle Vernon.
“Get down here boy, NOW!”
Harry was surprised to hear his skinny aunt Petunia sticking up for him, and by Vernon’s reaction he was too!"


And then the story continues with Harry looking at his school things. Never are we to know what Aunt Petunia did to stick up for Harry or what the gigantic and rather stupid did in reaction. Time to call Unsolved Mysteries!

Well, it's a sad thing but I must get on to class now. I'm trying to add a class on Mayan art. I don't know anything about Mayan art so I guess that's the point of the class. Anyway, hope y'all have a blogtastic day.

Monday, August 30, 2004

Sad day, Sad Blog

Well, kids, it's that time again. Time to come home early. In other parts of the world, however, like my part, it's time for school again. As much as I enjoy school, I will miss the endless summer hours filled with blogs, fanfics, mad shark and, of course, muffin art.

The upside of this is that I get to look at art all the time again, which is pretty sweetbees. I've decided that perhaps I need to replace Creative Writing with an art history class. Mainly because the section I am in is far more demanding than fun, which is what I wanted the class for. Good for the hardcore, English-major people. Not so good for the casual class taker. So I am on the hunt for something more suitable for my tastes. Keep your eyes "peeled".

The sad fact of it is is that Hinkypunk Station will no longer be the magnificent crossroads it has been. At least not until I've got DSL at my house, which will hopefully be this week. Can we survive until then? I hope so. I hope so.

Thursday, August 26, 2004

I always knew I was destined for Greatness



Which Pirates of the Caribbean character are you?

Will the fun NEVER end?

Today's sound byte has origins at Fanart Central, which is obviously not as good for fanfix as fanfiction.net. Still, this piece of fiction was just too... good to pass up. Enjoy the badness!

"'ASHLEY NICHOLE BEARY' yells Mrs.Beary. 'Yeah Mom?!' thats me Ashley Beary. I'm 15, and' am quit pretty. No really I am, just ask the bus boy, paper boy, and foot ball player. I have long dark brown hair that reaches to the middle of my back,that when the sun shines on it, has a copper glow. I have dark brown eyes that show my emotion easily if I allow it to. I have freckles all over my face, but every thinks their cute. Oh and I almost fogot I'm 5'5". Lately my mom has been acting really weird. i think it ahs to do with her chair moving without anyone touching it. I've been feeling strange myself lately too. But enof of that lets go find out what my mum wants."

Tuesday, August 24, 2004

Greetings, one and all

Well everybody's favorite Reimburser has been MIA today and that made me sad. :( So I think the Reimburser needs to put in an appearance. In order to lure him out I have found a fanfic excerpt with unparalelled use of the English language. (The "girl" is everybody's favorite Hermie.)

"The girl under the umbrella emitted a small and gentle sneeze from her nose, wondering weather or not anyone was there to be able to hear it while the giant storm crashed above her. Her shiny brown eyes stared gracefully towards the lightning as is flashed above her, illuminating the bellowing clouds above, filled with water ready to explode and flood the plains of land that lay below."

Unlike Herms, I sneeze out my ears.

Monday, August 23, 2004

Magnificent! Opulent! Tremendous! Stupendous!

A gargantuan bedazzlement! Or something like that. As addendum to last sound byte, I found another line in the Hermionrella story that is truly a step above all writing.

"Her mother felt like tearing upher brain only she didn't ."

Hiss hiss!

I just love a bit of Romance

Anyone who ever said fanfix are no good has never read the following excerpt from the Cinderelle-esque Hermione adventure:

"Then a bell rang she hoped it wasn't a costermer but bad luck . She saw her sisters and three boys one was Oh my god prince Draco , the other was duke Harry and dke Ron . She came to them with her notebook and stood politely at them . Prince Draco is realy hot , his drey eyes , broad shoulders , the manly odour , the chest the sweat and the skin she could just eat hem up but FLASH it was not going to be true."

For those who would like to see the whole magnificant story, here is the link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2023763/1/

Truth! Beauty! Freedom! Love!

Christian
Christian is the character that you are most like.
He is a charmingly bohemian, tragically
impoverished wonderfully talented young man who
beleives in love overcoming all odds.


Which Moulin Rouge Character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Friday, August 20, 2004

I am the Smarts

Currently Reading?Some silly "transcript"
Currently Listening to?Some song in a movie
Currently Wearing?A cat
Are you George Glass?No, I'm George Tropicana!
Favorite Food?Food
Favorite Movie?Underworld
Favorite Harry Potter book?POA
Favorite Harry Potter Movie?POA
Did you like Lord of the Rings trilogy?Hurrah!
Do you watch the Olympics?Yes, because I love Gatorade, and that's what they're about
Favorite Comic Book?Hamster Huey
What's your politcal party?Ice cream
Have you ever lived with in-laws?Yes
Favorite TV show?Simpskins
Favorite cartoon?YugiohYugioh Yu-gi-ohhhhhhh!
Last phone call?One from a crazed, anti-Olympics guy
Favorite computer game?The Skims
Last thing you ate?Chicken enchilada
Favorite Matrix movie?Underworld
Do you read fan-fiction? (Be Honest)Naturally!
Do you write fan-fiction?Naturally!
Favorite snack cracker?White cheddar cheezits
Favorite song of all time?Oo de Lally

CREATE YOUR OWN! - or - GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!

Worse than those OVERCOMMERCIALIZED Olympics!

Someone I know thinks the Olympics are the worst thing to happen to society as a whole. So here I am to show him that there are worse things. Like fan fiction...

"
Herm went thru a tough time durin the 1st few daes of her seven year in hogwarts. ron harry gin n lavender were tere for her.she made new frens fr slytherin. draco pansy n so on.they became close frens.bt,will herm n draco becum more than frens?"

I wish I could becum more than frens with someone but maybe.

"
Let me introduce myself. My name is Harry Potter; it might as well be mud if I don't survive the next few minutes. Sixteen and, through most of my life, single. I go to the Wizarding School in England called Hogwarts. There are girls there, but let's face it. I've got perpetual friend syndrome.

That brings me to my whish. I don't know if it was my raging teenage hormones of if I truly desired female companionship in a more than friendly state. Oh, I have my share of female friends don't get me wrong! But that's just it, friends. And all my guy friends, well they make me sort of jealous… Many of them are getting girlfriends, some of them more than one, but that's usually my quasi-friend most-of-the-time rival Draco Malfoy."

Poor Harry, sixteen years old and single for most of that! If only he could becum more than frens with someone...


Wednesday, August 18, 2004

Sweetbees to the Max

Today I have come to a decision. John Woo should not be allowed to direct movies. Ever.

Now for the sound byte of the day. Break out the angst, boys and girls, Harry's written a letter to Sirius "Dead" Black!

"
Dear Sirius,

I am communicating in a less desirable way than the way I should like. This is because it has been a while since I last saw you. I still will not accept the fact that you have gone. The suddenness of your disappearance was just...wrong. Everyone believes that you are gone forever, Sirius, and I do not want to face the word of what they believed happened to you, but in any case, they are trying to convince me that you are de-No! I will not say the word. It is too painful. The grief of the possible truth is too much for me to face. I do not believe what everyone says, Sirius. No one knows what happens to people when they fall beyond the veil, much less what happens to a living person when they fall beyond the veil. The veil covers many answers to many mysteries. You are one of those mysteries. What happens beyond the veil, Sirius? I wish you could tell me...I have my suspicions, but they can not be confirmed.

Before I met you, everything was about me. You can’t expect much from an immature 13 year old. You opened my eyes that there are other people in this world, by showing me the things you did for your friends. Of course I cared for other people before you came along, but I became even more caring and truly valued my friendships more after I met you, and after I heard how close the Marauder’s were.

Sirius, until I met you, I wallowed in self-pity. After I came to know you, I felt your pain of needing to run, and felt bad about the years you had to spend in Azkaban.

I am still wallowing in self-pity, but not as much so as before. That is, I wasn’t until you vanished beyond an object that I cannot comprehend.

You left me, Sirius, and now I do not only suffer from self-pity, but fear as well...

...Why didn’t you leave a diary behind? Surely you could have captured yourself in its pages, just as Tom had. I am ashamed to say it, but the reason I wish that you left a diary is because I know that if I were to find a foolish enough person to write in it, then they will transfer their strength over to you and you can live again.

...I think of crazy plans sometimes, Sirius; some involving a lone mission behind the curtain, to find you. If I wasn’t watched constantly, and if the curtain wasn’t also, than I would come, and there is no doubt there. If I only could...

I have nightmares of the veil. I walk through the department of Mysteries, and I come to the room with the veil, and there you are, falling, ever so slowly; and I always want to catch you, but I am always stuck in place, and when I turn, I realize why. Voldemort holds me in place. I yell out in frustration, and turn back to the veil, just as you vanish..."

Tuesday, August 17, 2004

*Hmph*

Just a quick gripe before settling down for a bit of fan fic writing. I just saw some pictures from the Goblet of Fire set, of a scene being filmed. (For those interested in the technical aspects of the thing, it was presumably the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione on the road to the Quidditch World Cup) On the good side, Harry was wearing his same black and white track jacket from POA, which I like for continuity's sake. But Ron...

Ron.

He was sporting his horrible shag hair. Too long and not like Ron at all. It irritates me intensely because it makes Mr. Grint look absolutely ridiculous as well as completely unattractive. People with thick hair (guys in particular) should not grow their hair out like that. It's a horrible thing, people! If any of my nephews were to try it at age 15, I would sneak into their rooms in the night and cut it off. I wish JKR would intervene since she's really the last word in all things Harry Potter, but she's busy with the book. Understandable.

Anyway. It vexes me. I enjoyed Ron's hair in POA, it looked fine. In my mind, Ron is too poor to be cool. And his hair style shows too much of an attempt at coolness. I am vexed.

I did find out an interesting piece of news though. I have always wondered why Harry's scar was moved to the side of his forehead in the movies when illustrations put it in the middle. Well, apparently this was done on JKR's instructions and is where it really is. The books never actually specify. Although when his scar flops to opposite side momentarily in POA, I don't think it was on her orders.

HAH! I am the ultimate!

Nirvana
Grunge! You're all about the music and would even
turn your back on fame just to stay true to
your roots... You reached your high in the
early '90s, but you're still making some good
stuff! Keep rocking!

What genre of rock are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Hah hah hah hah! That's all I have to say about that.

I always knew I was cool

But I didn't know how cool. Now, thanks to Quizilla, I know.

Cocktail
Cocktail

?? Which Alcoholic Drink Are You ??
brought to you by Quizilla

Kicks and Giggles

I'm Mrs. Cedric Diggory
The HP Boy Marriage Quiz made by Sapphire.


So he's dead now, but we had some rare old times.

Whoosh!

365
You're Elemant is Wind. You're light-hearted,
care-free, kind, sensative, and mysterious. You
have friends and most absolutely love you. You
can be calm and soothing one minute and ragging
in anger the next so no one wants to get on
your bad side. You're beauty is inspiring and
magical.

What's Your Element(girls)? (PICTURES)
brought to you by Quizilla

Monday, August 16, 2004

A Quick Lesson

Wow, have I got a treat for you kids today. In between "Witchy Woman" Bellatrix song fics and fix about a "surtain" Slytherin, I found the sound byte of the day in a James and Lily fic. This snippet is from a Christmas scene and here's what Sirius has to say about his presents:

"DUDE!! IT IS QUIDDITCH STUFF!! THANKS REMUS!! WHOA! NANCY THESE ARE THE NEW FIREWORKS I HAVE BEEN WANTING!! I SOOO LOVE YOU!WOW ALICE YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO MAKE ME A SWEATER! IT MUST HAVE TAKEN AGES!!! FRANK!!! WOW, MAN! MORE SUGAR!! HOW DID YOU KNOW IT WAS WHAT I WANTED? JAMES!!! BUDDY!! THANKS FOR THE MAGAZINES..... HEHEHEHEHHEHEE! JUST KIDDING NANCY. I MEAN THANKS FOR THE QUIDDITCH KIT. WOOOOT!!! SOME ONE GAVE ME AN ANT FARM!! GRETCHEN!! I SOOOOOOO LOVE YOU!! but not as much as Nancy.because she is my fiancee. WOW!!! PETER YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE BOUGHT ME MORE SUGAR BUT I THANK YOU!! I NEEEEEDED IT!!! WOOT WOOT!! LILY GAVE ME DUNGBOMBS!! YOU ARE SO AWESOME!!"

Yeah. H'okay. See you there.

In addition to this, I ran across one story that was just so great that I have to link to it in its entirety. The first two chapters are pure gold. http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1820912/1/


Rarrrrr!

Long-wang ~ The Dragon
You are Long-wang!
Mythological Background: Yes, the dragon represents
everything you think of when you think of a
dragon - fearsome and invincible. Also, it is
greatly respected just because of that fact.
The dragon has a very protective aspect to it.
Even Jupiter reminds you of intense smashing
power. The dragon is almost always surrounded
by rain-bearing clouds and fog; and the
appearance of its constellation always signals
rainfall and lightning. It's also a symbol of
authority worn by the nobility and the imperial
class. Japanese Name: Seiryuu.

Which Chinese Mythological Being Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Can I get fries with that?

Man, I'm so glad there's site like this. It documents the good plastic surgery that saved all these losers from ugliness.

http://www.goodplasticsurgery.com/

Shadow Card-- Go!!!

You are Kinomoto Sakura
You are kind and generous, often underestimating your own abilities. Though you may not often know it, you have a lot of talent. Relying on your friends is both your strong point and your weakness.

Take the "What Magic Girl are you?" Quiz

Potter for President!

First off, the new character is "McClaggan." I hate being misinformed. Anyway, I still suspect him to be the new DADA professor, but who knows. People keep talking about Lupin coming back which, I think, is ridiculous.

JKR also gave two questions that lead to really important things. One: Why didn't Voldemort die, as opposed to Why did Harry Live? In GOF, he (Voldemort) said he took a few precautions to prevent death so what would those precautions be? That is, apparently, the real question. I have no idea myself.

The second question is: Why didn't Dumbledore kill Voldemort at the end of OOTP? He gave Harry a reason, which I can't remember, but that wasn't the real reason. So, I have a theory. At the end of OOTP Nearly Headless Nick says people become ghosts because they're afraid of death. Voldemort is clearly afraid of death and thinks there is nothing worse. Maybe Dumbledore didn't want a Voldemort ghost wandering about for the rest of time? I don't know why exactly that would be a big deal, but there it is. I don't know what kind of death would void the ghost option, but maybe that's how Voldemort has to die. That's my thoughts on that.

OK, I read the whole transcript and Aunt Petunia is NOT a squib, just a muggle. But she knows more than she seems apparently. Also, Dudley is just Dudley, not the Half Blood Prince, as some silly people have thought.

It was an interesting read, I highly recommend it. I think she definitely said more than anyone understood. The link is here: http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/news_view.cfm?id=80

Apparently Sirius was the only other person at Harry's christening, which makes me wonder where the other Marauders were. Fighting Death Eaters is an obvious answer but maybe there's more to it.

Now for the big news. The Do Not Disturb door on her website opened again, and, after a few tricks, a vault opened and there was a scrap of paper with a snippet of, I assume, #6. Here's what it said:

"He looked rather like an old lion. There were streaks of grey in his mane of tawny hair and his bushy eyebrows; he had keen yellowish eyes behind a pair of wire rimmed spectacles and a certain rangy loping grace even though he walked with a slight limp."

Popular theories? Godric Gryffindor's description, which, I think is a nice guess with the references to lions. But... the spectacles? I don't think that goes. Other people think it's another werewolf--the one in Mungo's in OOTP, perhaps (when Mr. Weasley was there). I say no. Lupin will be the only werewolf, I think.

My guess? I think it will be the McClaggan guy. The busy eyebrows and wild kind of hair sound Mc-ish to me. And the spectacles sound scholarly, adding to my DADA professor theory.

Well, that's all the Harry Potter news for the day. Keep your eyes on the skies!

Sunday, August 15, 2004

Harry Potter Bonaza!

It's Sunday night and that can only mean one thing: Harry Potter news!

Well, JK Rowling did a reading of HP in Scotland this weekend and here is what she had to say for Harry Potter news. Here we go:

First, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is "halfway" done and she said it is her favorite book so far. That's exciting, right? But that probably means if it comes out next year, it will be later in the year, as we have to allow roughly a year after she's finished writing it. But we are getting closer!

Second, the bartender of the Hog's Head (See Order of the Phoenix) is, as I predicted, Aberforth Dumbledore. Hah hah!

Third, apparently Aunt Petunia is going to show hidden depths. What those depths are... we don't know. Squib perhaps?

Fourth, there's a new character McLagan. I would suspect he/she... hopefully he is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts. Maybe Sirius has been reincarnated and rapidly aged.

Minor information: Albus Dumbledore's patronus takes the shape of a phoenix. Grawp is more manageable by this time (*sigh*). RIta Skeeter will be back.. in what form, I don't know. Harry does not have a godmother. He also has no godfather now.

I think that about wraps things up. Exciting though, I think. Oh, a museum somewhere has Harry and Heron's POA outfits on display. Because everyone wants to see their clothes. Wheeeee!

*disapperates*

Friday, August 13, 2004

Fan fiction--the spice of life!

In my search for today's Daily Sound Byte of Badness, I ran across two... Well, three actually. Our first winner got the prize for bad technical writing. It comes from a Fleur/Oliver tale of romance.

"She walked to the Hogwarts Express and looked inside. There were compartments. She asked someone to help her with her trunk and then walked in. She attracted many looks from the boys because she is part Veela and glares from their girlfriends. Finally she arrived at one compartment almost empty."

The best part? "There were compartments." Nice.

The other two winners today are both from Hermie stories. The first is her diary...or something. Hermie's always been a really enthusiastic girl so her exuberance here is completely in character.

"Good Morning Diary! Today is another lovely day. Oh gosh, I wish I had something to do! I think I will go owl Ron and Harry a letter. I really can’t believe school is almost starting! Its really exciting, I really can’t wait to get back to the library and study a bit more. I have done my homework the week after school ended so I would have time to do other things, but now it seems as though I have nothing to do at all. You know that song “Never Be Replaced,” By 1st Ladi??? I like that song. Its really cute. Many people at Hogwarts probably don’t know I like music. I’ll bet Harry and Ron don’t even know! Oh! The telephone is ringing! I got to go! I’ll write later."

Our third Sound Byte and winner of the Angst Award is from a Lupin/Hermie fic. She's writing her suicide note...or something.

"Today is January 21, 2005 and it will be the last day that I write in here. It has been a terrible two long years (since the day Sirius died till now) and I find no reason to continue living it. I find that this will be the wisest decision I have ever done. I can't live without any friends and there is no need for enemies when your used-to-be-friends think you are the enemy. Well I don't know why Harry and Ron won't believe me when I say that I did not betray them. If they only thought for a moment why would I join the one man that killed my parents? It really can break a person and make them feel unwanted. I know this won't be read. I mean, who would want to read the diary of a teenage girl that just has problems? There are a billion people like me I can bet you that. Well I guess this is good-bye and I know I sound stupid saying this but I really feel like it but maybe. just maybe. I wasn't meant to live a happy life and maybe my fate was to suffer, and live a life full of pain, misery and loneliness and to say the truth, I don't want to find out how my life will be."




Thursday, August 12, 2004

The Daily Sound Byte

In all my eagerness to get to flash games, I neglected to post my favorite fan fic sound byte of the day. Today's snippet comes from a Hermione/Oliver Wood-centered fic. Not wholly bad, but quite Muggle-ish in its themes. It takes place in 7th year, and Hermie has "blossomed" over the summer. Anyway, here's a line from Hermione to Ron telling him about her experience with a boy the past summer:

'I hadn't meant for it to happen, but it did. He was just so....charasmatic....I couldn't resist him." She stopped, sensing he didn't want to hear more. "Anyway, he didn't call me the morning after. I called him after 2 weeks and he dumped me. Said he only wanted me for...." she swallowed in an attempt to get rid of the painful memory. "...for my body." Tears sprang from her eyes suddenly. "That's why I'm so upset about people liking others for their looks. He assumed that I was a brainless bimbo just because I was good looking. He used me because I was good looking...it took me the rest of the summer to regain even a little bit of my self confidence. He hurt me so much, Ron. It was horrible. I would have told you after it happened, but I couldn't. I just let it slip to Harry. I wasn't planning on telling anyone. Harry helped me a lot though. Helped me to realize that I'm not just a piece of meat and one day someone will think of me as more than just a body." Hermione swallowed again, tears still coming from her eyes.'

Alas, that such a paragraph should be written.

The Real Heir of Slytherin

Well here I am again.

The only real news today is about Joss Whedon and X3. Apparently he's ready and willing to sign on in Bryan Singer's absence. I'm still surprised Bryan Singer hopped shipped to Superman just like that. I mean, for the past million years he's been going on about doing the Phoenix in #3 and now when it's all ready to be done he bails. What a slacker. I'm kind of irked. What's Superman got that X3 doesn't? Sure doesn't have Hugh Jackman for one thing.

Anyway, since Singer has left and Joss Whedon is a likely substitute I will throw my thoughts on him out there. I think his writing on Buffy worked for that show, but I hope that wouldn't carry over to X3. After all, the X-Men aren't high schoolers. I've been reading his Astonishing X-Men and it's pretty good. Nothing fastasmic, but I'd be willing to go along for the ride. At least he likes comics and X-Men.

This is a boring blog. I bought my textbooks today so that was cool. I also had some Dreyer's ice cream, Blue Ribbon Chocolate Cake which is possibly the best ice cream ever invented. Chocolate is best in ice cream I decided. Yum yum yum.

In fan fiction news, any story revolving around Harry being pregnant should not be attempted. Unfortunately it's too late for that. No wonder people fear for the future.

Well, flash games call. Over and out.

Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Falling into Fan Fics

One of the fanfics I frequent was finally updated after a month. This story is a Hermione-goes-back-in-time-and-falls-for-Sirius tale involving lots of dramatic make out scenes and soul mate discussions. This latest chapter takes place post-dramatic break up, and now Sirius and Hermie are having those "Why are you hurting me?" conversations that are so wonderfully cheesy. And, of course, History of Magic and transfiguring shoes were mentioned to make it a Harry Potter story.

The favorite sound byte of this chapter? "You can be so much better than the Hogwarts playboy, Sirius! I can't believe that you're not even going to try to be the person you could be!"

Ah. So fulfilling.

Greetings, Adventurers

While some people spend their time working or trekking through the wilderness I spend my time here, blogging. Because I have no life at the moment.

I watched Mansfield Park yesterday for the first time in approximately twenty years. It was pretty good. I like the style of it, the "direction" of it. I guess that's considered cinematography, but that word sounds so snooty. So, I liked the direction of it. Frances O'Connor has a very pretty nose I decided. And Mr. Crawford resembles Willoughby too much to be a reputable character. (Willoughby being from Sense and Sensibility, which I want to see again)

I have a strange hankering to watch Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. I say strange because I don't like that movie at all. I think the draw is the Alan Rickman factor, since he was basically the best part of that movie.

Life is pretty boring at the moment. I'm rereading Chamber of Secrets. JKR said that the only remaining connection to the Half-Blood Prince in COS is a "discovery" Harry makes. He doesn't see the significance of the discovery, so as I'm reading I'm trying to notice seemingly insignificant information he picks up. There was one bit of information but I can't remember what it is now. I'll keep you posted.

At the airport I saw a guy with the flattest leg hair I've ever seen. He had plenty of it but it was lying completely flat on his legs, like arm hair does. I stared at it for at least 3 seconds.

Do you know, I am beginning to think that Gilderoy Lockhart will be significant again in the end of HP. I mean, maybe he just showed up in #5 to show what happened to him, but...maybe not. We'll see. I do enjoy Lockhart as a character. He brought a lot to the amusement factor.

In other news, my current book recommendation is Sky Dog because it is an awesome book and unfortunately out of print.

Tuesday, August 10, 2004

The Queen has Returned

Well, in order to fight rumors that I'm too cool for blogs, here I am. Blogging away.

As we have probably all heard Collateral was #1 at the box office this week. It made 24 mill., which is isn't bad. The Village was #2 with 16 mill, but dropped about 60%+ from last weekend's take. Which isn't so good. Apparently other people wanted non-Adrien Brody creatures too. Mr. Matt Damon and his sweetbees flick maintained at #3 with 14 mill. So far, its take is up to 124 million in about three weeks. Compared to some of the "sure things" of the summer (Troy, Van Helsing), it is doing very well for itself. Catwoman has fallen to #10. The funny thing is that I still see ad campaigns on commercials and in magazines. I guess there's even a line of Catwoman-inspired clothing, like stilletto boots with sparklies on the heel. Because that would be cool. *snort*

In other news. I have relocated myself into a dry air climate and am already shriveling up. I've put lotion on a few times already and still feel like my skin has been very unpleasantly stretched. Like I'm being tanned. Like leather. Like all sorts of unpleasantness.

In other news. I'm amazed at how some people will believe anything they're told, without any attempt at finding out the truth for themselves, even if it sounds completely irrational. Like there's going to be an 8th Harry Potter book. No, people, she said maybe an encyclodpedia of sorts. Not Harry Potter and the Land Beyond Hogwarts. Do your research so I can stop correcting you.

I haven't seen a movie for a while. I did see Sense and Sensibility a few weeks ago, and liked it a good deal more than I remember liking it. I still don't really care for Hugh Grant in it, but About a Boy always puts him back in my favor.

There's really nothing of interest to discuss today. No interesting movie news or anything...Oh, I met my latest nephew today, and he is scrumptious. I got frisked at the airport by two ladies. Upon seeing the picture of my other nephews in my wallet said, "Are these your keeds?" I said no, but they giggled over the boys for a few minutes anyway, commenting on their cute little cheeks.

Well, I'm supposed to be getting ready to leave right now, but it's so dry outside I just want to sit in a pool or something. *Sigh* Oh, here's a piece of injustice for you. The move-out date for the current occupants of my house is Aug. 20. But the move-in date for that house, along with every other residence in the area, is Aug. 27-28. Wow, that's a really good system. So everyone can move and shimmy their stuff to a friend's place and spend a week on a sofa. Cool. I'm really excited for that. Well, I think that's enough from me right now.

Laters.

Wednesday, August 04, 2004

Lord Voldemort has risen!

...in the form of Ralph Fiennes!

Yes, friends, it's official. Mr. English Patient himself is on board Goblet of Fire. Miranda Richardson has also been confirmed for the part of Rita Skeeter.

Now read about the lack of Creepy Woods Creatures.

Creatures in the Woods!

Except they're not really creatures, they're really a group of middle-aged people tired of living in a world where people die. So they create a myth of freakish creatures living in the woods that need meat sacrifices. That way all of their happy villagers can live their lives in FEAR. Wooo! Can I move in?

Yeah, so as you may have guessed, I just saw The Village. And, as you may have guessed, I am--in the words of Zorg--a little disappointed. So maybe not a "little", but maybe "quite a bit." The good? Joaquin Phoenix, Bryce Dallas Howard. Probably some other stuff. What else? Hmm, the LACK OF CREATURES. NO, Crazy Adrien Brody does NOT count as Creepy Wood Creature. And NO there weren't even any INDIANS. And NO there weren't even any CANNIBALS. And NO there wasn't enough Joaquin Phoenix.

*grumble grumble*

So to say that in a more orderly fashion: I was severely disappointed by the lack of creatures. Any and all fear (and there wasn't much) went right out the window, even when Crazy Adrien Brody showed up. No creatures. I want creatures. Creepy Woods Creatures. I want the movie the trailer got me wanting to see! OK, so I'll grudgingly give Shamaylandifna some respect for doing something different--the "time", the strong "romance" element, the lack of supernatural. I loved Signs because in the end the story wasn't about the crop circles or Creepy Corn Creatures--it as about Mel and his nervous breakdown. That was great. For Village I don't think the human element was all that strong. The Joaquin/Blind Girl romance didn't really build naturally for me. In a related note, I spent much of movie trying to decipher Shamaneytslf's statement that the story was taken from Wuthering Heights. I am still thinking about that one.

More ranting. Judy Greer was a miscast. One or two things I thought were interesting (in a good way). The dialogue. I spent the first 1/2 hour mentally complaining about it because their manner of speaking was so unnatural. It just didn't sound like the "time". But that made sense by the end because that kind of talk wasn't natural for the core Villagers. So that was cool. Also...I forgot... what was my other point... Oh, yes. I was starting to think Sigourney Weaver was a miscast because she just looked too modern. Hah, well, that made sense too.

In a related casting note I was suprised to see Horace from Dr. Quinn in this movie. He looked just as I remembered. And that's not good.

In short. I am disappointed first and foremost by a lack of Creepy Woods Creatures, but also with the overall story. Not as finely crafted as its predecessors. The trailer was scarier, which is funny since it was just parts of the movie.

No Creatures. Just Crazy Adrien Brody.

*grumble*

(Disclaimer: my opinions are known to change a second time around)

Happy Christmas

First off, let me address recent rumors of a new Harry Potter trailer. Such a thing does not exist. That is all.

Second, I have some follow-ups to the recent Pride and Prejudice news. Rosamund Pike (Jane) is not as old as I thought, and, therefore, does not have such a large age gap with Kiera Knightley. Small comfort. Also, I watched Wuthering Heights today and feel Matthew MacFadyen might pull off a poor-man's-Colin-Firth Mr. Darcy. Still, Kiera Knightley and Donald Sutherland are still in it so I am still displeased.

Not much movie news today. None at all actually. I'm watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Here is food for thought: the book title in the UK is Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone so that must have been odd for the UKers to hear "sorcerer's stone." Poor Brits.

In other Harry Potter thoughts, this movie seems awfully long compared to #3. Not necessarily bad. I mean, this one did have a lot more backstory to take care for, like, the first hour.

Harry Potter trivia for today: Erised (as in, Mirror of) is "desire" spelled backwards. Also, the words above the mirror read (backwards): "I show not your face but your hearts desire." In other Erised news, I love the part in the movie when Harry sees his parents in it. It's almost as good as the part in the third movie when he looks at the photo of them in the beginning. I don't know why, but I enjoy seeing his parents.

I love how the movies use birds to show the passage of time. "Time flies...like a bird"

Happy Christmas!

Tuesday, August 03, 2004

Ah, happy day

So Halle Berry has said that she isn't interested in doing another superhero movie. What does this mean? X-Men 3 is now safe from Halle and, possibly, Storm as a whole. *Whew* (The first X made over 200, the 2nd over 400) She would however be interested in playing Catwoman again. (Catwoman has grossed about 30 mill. so far) So, instead of playing a character in a group, in a movie that gets good reviews and $, she would rather play the lead character in an ill-conceived, ill-exectuted Catwoman sequel. Yes, Halle, you make lots of sense.

Moving on. This Fantastic Four movie keeps getting worse and worse. For starters, Jessica Alba is in the cast. I know nothing about FF, but I know that's a bad sign. Now Dr. Doom is apparently cast by the lead doctor dude on Nip/Tuck. I don't know anything about that show either, but it has possibly the worst title on television. In short? X3? Good idea. FF? Bad idea.

So I was possibly going to be in Chicago this week. For various reasons I am not, and guess what is doing some filming there right now? Yeah, you guessed it. Batman Begins. Scenes with the Batmobile no less. In broad daylight too. *sigh* So, I miss the museums, I miss the schools, I miss the botanical gardens AND I miss the Batmobile. Why is life so hard on me? I don't know, friends.

Well, in non-movie news... I guess I don't have any. Well, for one thing, I guess, I just had some Breyer's Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Yes, it was fabulous. In other news, I had a dream that I moved into a new apartment complex with a bookstore down in one end. Who ran the bookstore? Yeah, you guessed it. The Marauders, minus Peter Pettigrew and plus Lily. Sirius was even "played" by Gary Oldman (ala The Professional). Anyway, Lupin watered all the plants without magic and somehow the whole store got drenched so they were drying everything with their wands.

Then I woke up and fell asleep again and had the same dream. So what I gathered from that is that I think about my fanfiction a lot before I fall asleep.

Well, kids, for a lack of subject matter I am flying the coop. And, no, I have yet to experience The Village. *sigh*

See y'all on the flip side.

Monday, August 02, 2004

Greetings, Earthlings

Well, here I am to impart all sorts of trivial information.

First, as some of you may know, Universal Studios is remaking Pride and Prejudice. For those of you who may of missed this, here's a rundown of the cast:
Judi Dench- Lady Catherine; Jena Malone- Lydia; Rosamund "Lady Harriet in Wives and Daughters and Double Agent Chick in Die Another Day" Pike- Jane; Tom "Osborn Hamley in Wives and Daughters" Hollander- Mr. Collins. Now for the real dirt: Donald Sutherland- Mr. Bennett; Matthew "Hareton in Wuthering Heights, I-was-his-first-fan" MacFadyen- Mr. Darcy and... Drumroll please: Kiera Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet.
There are so many things wrong here that I don't even know where to begin. First Rosamund Pike is like 10 years older than Kiera, and, not to mention, looks completely different from her. Donald Sutherland isn't even English AND he's Donald Sutherland. Third, Matthew MacFadyen. So good in Wuthering Heights but...there is one Mr. Darcy on the face of the earth and we all know who he is. And... KIERA KNIGHTLEY? What up with that people?
In short, I am boycotting this movie, purely on principle. OK, so I will see it, just for Wuthering Heights sake. But I won't be happy about it, dang it!

So, now for the box office rundown. Well, naturally The Village took the top spot at 50 mill. + My man Matt Damon colleted another 23, and The Manchurian Candidate did a respectable 20 mill. Now for the failures of the week. Catwoman in its second week, still made 2 million less than Spider-man 2, now open for a month. Still, the loser of the week (and the summer) is the ill-fated Thunderbirds. In its opening week it opened at the hot spot of #12, with 2.5 million! No surprise but a death knell for the careers of everyone involved.

Next. James Bond. Well, apparently the same screenwriter/s involved with Die Another Day is writing the next James Bond hijinks so I hope no actor is ever involved. Still, for some reason some actors are still interested so let's run down the options:
Hugh Jackman: good looking, good with accents, used to action flicks, right age. However, I feel Van Helsing has taught him his lesson about bad action flicks, and I hope he has the common sense to stay away from Bond.
Orlando Bloom: Pfffft.
Ioan Gruffudd: English (Welsh, but let's not get technical), right looks and could pull off action. He's a little too young, however, and isn't enough of a name. Too big of a risk for Bond.
Clive Owen: English, but not the right suave looks or attitude. He's good with cars for sure and he rocks in general. Bond? Not the right crayon in the box.

Eric Bana: Well, E! has said that he was in negotiations but Bana's camp has now said that's not so. Good thing for him, as lesser known actors can only take so many tanking movies (Hulk, anyone?) If he were still in the running, I would vote no. Looks, attitude...not right for Bond.
So who is right for Bond? I don't think there's an actor I dislike enough to put in the franchise, but if they were going to go for a younger look I would put Jude Law on the list. I don't think he'd ever do it and I think he has a weird face but you never know...

Well. Moving on. You know, back to movies, I have a small gripe. OK, why is that some people watch a semi-silly movie like The Princess Bride and then say something to the effect of "You couldn't jump on a horse like that. It'd buck you right off." ... OK, at what point did this movie become realistic enough that how Prince Humperdink jumped on the horse would matter? I mean, did they not notice the shrieking eels earlier? Seriously, people. Save your nitpicking for Star Wars.

Moving on again. In Harry Potter news, it was his birthday on Saturday. Also, the portkey-to-the-Quidditch-Cup scene was filmed recently. Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid) isn't sure how much longer he'll stay on as Hagrid. Do these people realize what the movies will lose if half the cast changes midway through the series? This isn't James Bond, people. These movies are seriously connected. Besides the fact that if, in scenario A, New Harry is better than Old Harry the reaction will be "Dang, movies 1-4 would be so much better with New Harry!" If, in scenario B, Old Harry stomps New Harry, people will mourn for decades that Old Harry didn't stick around. What would this add up to? Suckiness, my friends. Suckiness.

Other Harry Potter news? Ralph Fiennes is reportedly thisclose to getting the part of Voldemort. How do I feel about this? I really don't care as long as it's not Richard E. Grant (NOT Hugh Grant's brother, despite what kids on Mugglenet say).

In other news. I watched Sense and Sensibility and enjoyed it a good deal more than I remember. I remember thinking Alan Rickman was the ickiest man ever, but Alan Rickman is sweetbees. The only reason to ever watch Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. The whole Rickman/Winslet thing is still kind of weird, but whatever...

Well, that's about it from my side of the fence. Yeah, this blog was movie heavy, but that's what happens when I don't blog for three days. So apologies to all.

Keep on truckin.