Friday, November 30, 2001
11:21 ~
Started rereading the HP books again, because I got a fic idea and I need to pay attention to parts I didn't pay enough attention to. Well, anyway, ran across.. Dedalus Diggle.
So we've got..
Albus, Augustus, Bartemius, Cornelius, Dedalus, Lucius, Mundungus, Remus, Rubeus, Severus, Sirius
Tuesday, November 27, 2001
04:32 ~
I've made what I would term a 'major' update to my website. I'm not going to tell you what all was updated though, so you'll have to hunt it out for yourself (most pages will say at the bottom that they were updated today). And to say it was long overdue would be an understatement.
03:00 ~
Oh yes, "Planet of the Apes" review.
What the frell?!
I'm still puzzling over the ending. The 'first' ending wasn't a surprise at /all/, but Dad was all surprised I guessed it correctly. Yea, whatever. The 'surprise ending' was spoiled for me by Leno months ago, sort of anyway. And it makes no frikking sense!
Oh, and otherwise, it was pretty boring. Unless you like seeing grown men and women jump around and hoot like apes and bash each other into walls. Would've been more interesting if we'd had more human on chimp action! At least we got the kiss. Yea, baby. Course.. Sam did that much years ago. ;)
02:53 ~
Song: "Save Me" by Remy Zero
Finished Goblet of Fire reread days ago. Finished Fire's Stone by Tanya Huff after that. Wanted more of that. They'd just worked out their relationship and it was about to get good!
Been playing games on The Station. All sorts of games. Ad nauseum. But that's okay, because you have to use the mouse and I only use the mouse when the computer I'm using is actually on a desk with a chair in front of it and everything. So once I get back, I can easily break the addiction. Or it'll prompt me to finally put the computer on the desk. One or the other. :)
Been trying off and on to talk my parents into going to see Harry Potter, but no go. They say they /want/ to, but never seem to make time to do anything. They've got too many things they're involved in. I'm surprised they manage to watch any of these videos they rent. Not that any of us saw The Grinch all the way through. Dull as dishwater. As has been said by others, would've been better if it were about half an hour long and animated.
Thursday, November 22, 2001
00:46 ~
Here's another. Mundungus Fletcher. This is pretty ridiculous.
Wednesday, November 21, 2001
07:38 ~
Just tried this in IE and it bluescreened on me, so we'll try it with Netscape. :P
I had forgotten two names and ran across another, so before I go to sleep (or back to sleep), I had to add them.
Cornelius and Rubeus. And Augustus Rookwood.
Thought maybe all these -us's meant something in Latin, but just tried a few and no go. And this Netscape input window is too small and won't scroll, so I'll end it here.
00:56 ~
I already typed this up once, but then the computer locked up. So I hope you appreciate this. (Well, the first part anyway)
Random HP thoughts:
* Is there a secret society of Us's or something? Lots of male adults with similar names. Severus, Sirius, Remus, Albus, Lucius, Bartemius, and I'm probably missing one.
* Birthdates, before I forget 'em. Harry - 7/31, Twins - April, Hermione - September, Angelina Johnson - 3rd week of October.
HP Movie Thoughts:
First, a comment: Jee, ykw, amazing how almost everything you said, Takepon or I said while we were walking home from the movie. I seriously doubt you remembered the book that well, considering you had no clue who Scabbers was and were bothered that Crookshanks didn't make it into the movie.
Length: The movie was /not/ too long. I haven't yet heard a kid say it was, even though all the adults interviewing kids feel the need to ask them 'Did you think it was too long?'. Kids have sat down and read the frikking 734-page GoF, I think they can handle a movie that's not quite 2 1/2 hours long. But other than the missing Potions scene, it wasn't too short. Sure, we would've liked to see a whole bunch of other scenes, but they weren't necessary. Face it, the only way to /properly/ do all the books is to make a miniseries out of it. And there's not enough money in miniseries that require special effects like that.
Special Effects: CGI students? Bad idea. If you're going to do them, take the time to do them as well as the Final Fantasy movie, otherwise, do /something/ else. I'm talking Neville flying and falling, I'm talking Harry riding the troll, and I'm talking Harry flying around after the keys. I thought I was watching a commercial for the video game again. Everything else was fine.
Nitpicky Not-Like-Book Things that YKW Probably Missed:
*We skipped a month in the beginning. Harry lived with the Dursleys during August, not spent time who knows where with Hagrid.
* Neville getting Petreficus'd, he fell the wrong way.
* McGonagall isn't supposed to show the students she can turn into a cat until their third year. I just have images of Ron tapping Scabbers with his wand going 'Come on, turn into a person!'.
* As mentioned before, Potions challenge got dropped.
* Students didn't get Sorted alphabetically.
* Harry and Ron get their presents at the foot of their beds, not under some tree in the common room.
And I'm sure there's plenty of other things, and I need to see the movie again. And maybe even read the book again. Loaned it to Dad to read, but I have doubts whether he will finish it before I go back.
Other random comments:
* Snaaaaape. He does some nasty things in the books, so I have trouble liking him. But /man/, he was cool in the movie. :)
* Draco. Poor Draco. I know he's not the bravest sort (otherwise he'd be in Gryffindor), but I don't remember him being such a scaredy-cat. Anyway, he was cool too.
* Percy was cool! And was apparently wearing contacts or something. You know people other than Harry are allowed to wear glasses, I promise we won't get confused! Anyway, Percy wasn't terribly Percy-like.
* Are there 3 hoops in Quidditch? I need to reread. There was the whole Quidditch World Cup in book 4 that I just reread, but there was nothing to indicate the number of hoops.
* Lee Jordan. Never had it in my head that that was a girl. He did seem rather young though.
Hrm, and I think that's it for now. My overall thought? It stuck too closely to the book. Yes, it was cool seeing everything come to life and acted out. Which is the reason they make OVAs out of beloved manga. But there was very little new in it. A few lines, and a few random other things, and that's about it. So.. it failed at paying strict attention to the book, and it also failed at being new and imaginative. But still, it was cool.
And that's all I have to say about that (at the moment).
Tuesday, November 20, 2001
03:33 ~
Woo. Thanks, T. This is the most awesomest song ever. (Not that I've heard it sung.)
Other than that, I don't have anything to blog about. So I don't know what you want me to write, K. I'm reading HP4 and have gotten fairly far. You know, I forgot how frikking huge that book is. Oy. Hey, maybe if we're lucky, they'll show us the Weasleys hanging out with Bill on holiday in the third movie. Well... we /could/ get lucky.. couldn't we? Wanna see Bill. Don't wanna wait 'til the fourth movie. Though the third movie will already be chock full of bishounen goodness. :)
Ack! Bobby Flay! Run away, run away!
Saturday, November 17, 2001
23:55 ~
Grr at blogger. It insists on using black text in this input window, yet draws its background color from my Windows settings (bypassing my IE settings). So I absolutely couldn't see what I was typing until I changed my Windows bg color to something other than black. Grr.
I tested as Prowl.
Of course, now I can't see the silly cursor.. apparently /that/ is the same dark grey color as I chose for the bg. Aiyaiyai.
Thursday, November 15, 2001
08:59 ~
Oh, the Babylon 5 is, of course, the only Babylon 5 book I've actually read. So now I have two copies. Just that one's here and one's at my parents'.
The blurb before the short story says that the Theodore Sturgeon one is part of a novel-in-progress. Now to see if that novel ever.. well, progressed. And well, even if it had, it might've been published under another name. Hrm. Not that I've very enamored of the chars and the world or anything, but it might be interesting to read the whole thing. No hit on Amazon for the given title. Hrm. Hey! He wrote two TOS episodes including "Amok Time". Woo. Turns out the novel was divided into three parts.. this story was one part, the title given in this antho was the title of another part and the entire novel is "More Than Human" which sounds really familiar. Yet I don't think I've read it. Pretty sure I would've remembered reading it.
And dump trucks take waaaaaay too long to empty one frikking dumpster! They started before I started this entry and are only now leaving.
08:19 ~
Yea, my sleep schedule's all messed up. But what's the point in laying here trying to sleep and not? Waste of time. I slept a reasonable amount of time yesterday and only until 1. Then I fall asleep around 1 or 2 for an hour or so, and have been awake since. Cable went out, including the net, around 4.
Finished The Teen Witch book. Very blah. It wasn't about her being a witch /at all/. It was all about how living in the pre-Civil War South was no picnic. Well, /duh/. And there were way too many clothing descriptions. Why are so many YA books such drivel?
Started reading the anthology, Children of Wonder. Found one story that was in the book that I want to get! Yay! The book is, I think Analog's Children of the Future. Anyway, story was "Baby is Three" by Theodore Sturgeon. Of all people. Maybe I should actually like.. read some of his stuff. I'm unlikely to find the other stories in this anthology (of which there are at least 3 more that I can remember) as this book was published in 1953. 1953! They had sf/f back then?! :)
And that's all I have to say about that.
Wednesday, November 14, 2001
14:34 ~
This isn't a new thought, but it came into my head while I was reading this book. You know why Harry Potter is so great? It's not that he's a wizard. It's not even the wizarding school. You think that's an original idea? Look up Jane Yolen's Wizard's Hall if you think so. No, what's great about it is that Harry's not told not to do whatever he wants with his powers. What rules do they have? Don't use it in the corridors. That's just common sense. Hundreds of kids using magic in a crowded corridor on the way to class.. high school hallways are dangerous enough!
He's not supposed to use magic when he's not at school. That's a bit of a weird rule and there seems to be something weird going on with it. But anyway, not much of a rule.If you can't go three months without using magic (and it /doesn't/ forbid flying on brooms and other magic equipment) then you're as bad as Willow.
Anyhow.. Harry does all sorts of horrid things with his magic and nobody cares. Well, I suppose the Dursleys care. But the real authority figures in his life, like Dumbledore, they don't care. Do whatever you want to Muggles. Turn your classmates into newts. Whatever. Go for it.
But /most/ stories about witches include a rule about not using it for frivolous or /potentially/ harmful reasons. This Teen Witch book, Diane Duane's Wizardry series... Samantha married a Muggle who was constantly telling her not to use magic. Willow's being told not to use magic (not that I don't agree with Tara in this case). Sabrina and her aunts are /always/ getting in trouble with their magic.. that's the point of the show.
But Harry (and some other exceptions like MTT) can use his magic willy-nilly. He can use it frivolously, he can use it maliciously, he can do all the things a boy his age /would/ do with magic. It's a wonder the Weasley twins don't get into /more/ trouble.
There's a freedom to it that most stories about modern-day/real world witches just don't have.
14:09 ~
The other book was Teen Witch #3: Gone with the Witch. Yes, hokey. Anyway, this book is starting to creep me out. First she has a cat named Bandit. I had a cat named Bandit for.. a real long time. And she has a friend, a rather nerdy friend, named Matt Neville. And now I'm in the midst of chapter 2 and she has another friend named Tina Jordan. I'm almost afraid to keep reading!
Tuesday, November 13, 2001
09:30 ~
Forgot to add.. exclamation points in narration... /very/ annoying. It's sloppy writing. Just because you're writing for kids is no excuse to use them. If the kids don't find your writing exciting, exclamation points aren't going to help.
07:47 ~
Finished Star Trek: Starfleet Academy: #3 Cadet Kirk by Diane Carey.Cadet Kirk is assigned to ferry Ensign Spock and Ensign McCoy to a conference. But they get pulled off course and hijinks ensue. Namely, one bookish, regulation Kirk does some un-orthodox things, saves the day, and wins the approval of both Spock and McCoy. Whoop-de-pickle. The story was uninteresting and if it wasn't a short kids book, I doubt I would've finished it. She (meaning the writer/narrator) starts calling him Jimmy partway through and it's very annoying. Do 17 year olds honestly like to be called Jimmy? I don't quite recall that episode with his old classmate.. was it.. Finney? Something like that? He called Kirk "Jimmy", but I thought he did it just to be annoying.
Kirk's transition from nerd to hero seemed rather forced. I would've rather it be a much more subtle part of the whole thing. And it seems very contrived to me that you could place these three together when Kirk's still a teenager. In fact, there's references to Spock and McCoy already knowing each other, and even Kirk and McCoy having run into one another before. I assume these events occurred in the other two books in the series. Give me a break.
So far my favorite Starfleet Academy book is Capture the Flag.. and I can't even recall whose story that was. I also don't remember if that was a Peter David, but I bet it was. I suppose I should look it up to give credit where it's due. ...... la la, hurry up Amazon... John Vornholt. Okay. Well, that was my favorite, I think. All the Peter Davids are good too though, because some of his New Frontier characters are in 'em.
And that's enough about that. There is nothing on TV this early in the morning.
Oh yea, go sign up for Shoujocon, you know you wanna.
Monday, November 12, 2001
07:55 ~
First person to post in their blog the source of said quote wins...a chocolate frog.*
*Disclaimer: Chocolate frog may be virtual, entirely unreal, or a figment of my imagination. Or JK Rowling's for that matter.
07:53 ~
Bought more books. Let's see if I can remember without looking.. cuz it's late and I'm tired and I don't want to look. B5 book cuz Peter David wrote it.. might even have it already. Starfleet Academy book that I was fairly certain I didn't have. And a Children of Wonder or something like that anthology. Should be fairly interesting. And.. there might've been one more book, but now I don't recall what it was.
Been playing FF7 and that's my reason for being awake atm. Got as far as Shinra Building floor 67 if that means anything to anyone. :)
And anyway.. quote for the day:
KISS ROCKS!
Why would anyone want to kiss rocks?
Friday, November 09, 2001
15:50 ~
This snippet from an overheard conversation says a lot about our nation's educational system:
"Anyway, Wolverine isn't a tiger. He's a wolf."
Went to the store.. they didn't have any fake meat! (Morningstar Grillers) Well, actually Morningstar Grillers /used/ to be the name of their burgers.. but they renamed those to Grillers Prime (and several other things depending on flavor, like Better'n Burgers). The fake meat used to have a different name, so I just call it fake meat. Anyway, the store didn't have any. Suckage. They /did/ have meatballs though! Yay! Not Morningstar though.. that other name brand.. I forget.
Also didn't get any vitamins. The kind I wanted, both stores had a total of 3 boxes between them.. all open. And I'm indulging in paranoia.. I'm not buying an open box of vitamins, sorry.
Toy store had Harry Potter games in. でもちょっと高い。Maybe I'll put it on my C'mas list. Or buy it online. Or see if this tax free thing goes through.
04:29 ~
Here. Something to read.
I'm reading The Bone Doll's Twin by Lynn Flewelling. I picked it up for two reasons: 1) I'd read some books by her before, with some really great m/m content.. though I never did finish the third book. 2) The back cover sounded interesting. And here's why. The book's about a set of twins who're born. They kill the boy twin so the girl can take his form. Because the King is doing away with all the female heirs. And well, it's a little more involved than that of course. Anyway, the dead twin is hanging around as a ghost. And it's all really good.
It's a really long book (compared to average) and I'm getting towards the end. Problem is, the kid's still only about 11 or so! I can sense a sequel even from this far away.. I just hope this book has /some/ sort of satisfactory conclusion so I'm not dying too much waiting for the next book. Her previous books (same world btw) were a trilogy, so... trilogy is likely here too.
Anyway, it's really good and y'all should read it. No m/m content, but the kid's only 11ish still, so.. what do you want? :) And well, also technically a girl, but /I/ wouldn't let that stop me if I were the author. :)
Tuesday, November 06, 2001
09:20 ~
To: You know who you are.
You wouldn't have these problems if you applied for financial aid (no E) on time.
I don't appreciate being IGNORED when I expressed displeasure about a blog posting. I think I had very valid concerns.
But since you don't seem to think I did, then you shouldn't mind me posting this.
Anyone wanting said person's address, let me know. She's been robbed once already, so it should be fairly simple to do so again. Want to know other details about her life? Just ask. I'm a wealth of information.
Childish? No... If I was /childish/, I would've posted it! Now people have to put out some effort to get the information.
08:46 ~
Re: HP Trailer
Yes, it was the third book. She comments on how it usually gets an impressive reaction from her class, but it /didn't/ that time because their minds were somewhere else. So.. Ron's reaction in the movie is all wrong for that scene, never mind the fact that the scene is in the wrong movie.
08:44 ~
Re: Monsters, Inc - The One - HP Trailer - Ep II Teaser
As others have pointed out to me, the Ep II think was a /teaser/, not a trailer. Well, it still sucked. The sight of all the chibi clones at Battle School was intriguing though.
HP trailer rocked. But aren't we psyched enough already?!
Monsters, Inc. I didn't see any plot holes. Sure, it didn't have a deep plot or anything, but few movies do. I thought the whole idea behind it was very creative, unique, and interesting. Sully's fur was really good, but.. well, it was clear they only did it to prove they could and that they're awesome. But on the other hand, they're Pixar, so they are awesome. :) What's interesting is that I didn't remember/figure out that Billy Crystal was doing the voice until the credits. That's pretty impressive, because I would've thought he had a distinctive voice. John Goodman I recognized, and um.. that Cheers guy. :)
The One - It wasn't deep. It wasn't cerebral. It was as transparent as Monsters, Inc.. but that's okay. There were some very funny parts in it and it kept my attention for the most part. Which is pretty impressive for an action movie like that. The trailers before it sucked big time.
Oh, and that D'Angelos managed to make a sub that wasn't overloaded with cheese! Hurrah for them!
08:35 ~
Finished rereading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Otherwise been rereading my way through a Japanese language book that's a good overview of the language, but riddled with typos.
I'd like to thank Fleet for making a credit card mailing that was incredibly easy to tear up without even opening.
No one had gotten the mail yesterday.. tsk tsk on all of us. Got my unemployment determination. Yay, money.
And Happy Birthday, Mom, even though you'll probably (hopefully?) never see this.