12:32 am to 6:18 am. I watched the sun come up as I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Well, damn, JK. You did a good job. The ending was pretty exciting. Satisfying, even.
Gonna put this next behind the cut just in case people don’t want to know, but it’s not all that spoilery, especially if you already read the Washington Post review, like I did.
Author: etoiline
Shush, I’m reading
StandardI’ll let you know when I’m done.
Ready for Death(ly Hallows)
StandardJust finished the 6th Harry Potter book (to the accompaniment of the 5th movie soundtrack, natch), and so am ready for the midnight release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows this weekend. I’m totally dressing up. It will be fun. And perhaps good that I didn’t manage to finish my Gryffindor scarf, as it will be in the mid- or upper-90s Friday, and unlikely to cool off much before midnight…
Found a bookmark in my copy that mentioned HBP’s release date, and found it sort of scary that I started rereading the book for only the second time almost exactly two years to the day I read it on release day. Weird. Was rather more warm to it this time, what with taking two days to read it rather than only eight hours…I’ve got some thoughts, and I’m remembering how much I miss or hate certain characters. JK Rowling still has some odd ideas about teen romance (or perhaps I just had an abnormal experience in high school) but she’s not *quite* as bad as George Lucas.
It will be interesting to see that one made into a movie.
Did a lot of web design over the weekend and today. October is going to be a good month. And I’m seriously (Siriusly) thinking of going to Archon, since I’d have HP friends going…gotta decide soon. Deadline is Friday.
Time for bed.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
StandardWhew! Another fandom midnight movie premiere. Saw HP and the OotP last night (with friends! finally!) and enjoyed it. The Post-Dispatch reviewer gave it a B+, and that’s probably what I’d give it too…there was an awful lot missing (when you have to distill 820 pages into a 2:18 movie, of course there will be) but I think they did a good job at editing.
Daniel Radcliffe is still too cute for his age. His acting is better in this film than the others, though he was pretty good in Goblet of Fire. However, his acting is almost all we get to see. The other characters have been pretty much cut to secondary roles. Usually the most is made of any role, however small.
There are some tough scenes in the movie (as they were in the book, and if you haven’t read it, I won’t spoil you) but they’re done well. One of my friends remarked that this one was the first she’d seen where she’d read the book first, and it is a little odd to see it, knowing what happens. I think this one did a good job at keeping the suspense up even if you knew how it would end. Of course, I don’t think I’ve read OotP since the last book came out, so it’s been a while, and things had sort of faded into the fogginess of my mind.
I liked the ending (in the sense that it was well done, not the it’s-a-happy-ending way), though I wish it could have explored the book storyline a little more. There were some slow parts, and I wonder that they chose not to expand on the conclusion. People would watch it no matter how long it was. It’s the shortest movie of the five that are made, yet the longest book. It could be longer.
The music wasn’t wonderful. Nicholas Hooper composed it, and while there were a few times of hearing Hedwig’s theme reworked, most of it was new. It was very unobtrusive except when there were establishing shots, which I’ve never understood. Yes, let’s have sweeping orchestrals while showing you castle turrets. I’ll probably buy it anyway. I miss John William’s score, though.
This one won’t make me rush out and see it again immediately, unlike Pirates 3, but I’ll be happy to go with my parents or other friends.
I always did like Matrices
StandardOMG I BOUGHT A CAR.
Well, almost. Financing still has to be worked out. But for all purposes I have a used Toyota Matrix. It’s bright red. LIKE WHOA.
I always have to pause when I refer to multiple Matrix cars. I know, since I went through the lovely engineering math classes at WU that the plural of matrix is matrices but I don’t know how many other people do, and I feel silly saying “Matrixes,” but that’s how most folks would pluralize it…I can’t figure out which one to say. And I suppose it’s silly, since I’ve only bought one…you get the picture. Regardless, matrices were something I actually understood in Engineering Maths…course, show me one now and I don’t think I could do much of anything with it. But at least I have a cool car.
Dunno, do I look like a red Matrix girl? No? Too bad. That’s what I’ve got 😉
‘Twill be expensive. Looks like no more Borders runs for Jen…but I’m writing my own, right? Oh Lord please let this be the right decision!
car repair
StandardLast month I took my car in for an oil change and to have the mechanic look into why the car was shimmying and seizing when accelerating uphill. It needed new spark plugs and a transmission flush. Not cheap, but if it gets me through another summer, it would be worth it.
Bah. In the last two weeks the car has started to rattle loudly when idling and squeaking when the wheels turn. So back to the shop it went, but of course it wasn’t due to shoddy work on the previous trip (which I didn’t think it would, because Butch at Fred’s Auto Body is a nice guy). No, it’s a possible timing chain issue…’possible’ because to make sure, they’d have to pull the engine or whatnot (I’m not a mechanic, I don’t know the anatomy of a car) and that’s $150 right there. Of course, paying that much to see what’s wrong and then not fixing it is silly, so I would have had to pay a lot to fix it, which I elected not to. I think it’s to the point where I can’t put any more money into that car and feel good about it, because I’m reasonably sure I’ve put more into the car that it’s worth in the four years I’ve been driving it.
The teal Saturn is 14 years old, so I guess it deserves a break. But I’m dreading buying a new car. My dad really wants me to get a new one, so I can get deals or whatever. We stopped by a Toyota dealership last night for a look at what’s out there. There was a green ’03 Prius hybrid (Green! Hybrid!) that I theoretically could afford, but it has pretty high mileage. No luck there. I don’t have a lot of cash, and no more time this week to go looking, and I’ll be busy this weekend so it will be next week before I can spend more money. Guess that’s a good thing. I don’t get paid until Friday 😉
Wish me luck on the car issue. I don’t like being without one, but thank God I live near the Metrolink and can take the train to work.
At world’s end
StandardWell, I’ve seen Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, and I’ve had a few hours to think about it (after a dream involving Orlando, natch), and I’ve decided I liked it. There were quite a few funny bits, and lots of clever references to previous movies in the series, and romance (and you all know how much I like that), and some jaw-dropping moments when I could not believe what I saw on screen could possibly be how the movie would go. Yet, it all wraps up quite nicely, even though I didn’t get to stay to the end (you should…I will for certain when I see it again), if in some slightly creepy ways. I’m not completely satisfied, and there are certainly some clunker storylines in there that could easily be trimmed. But I only checked my watch once. And I can’t wait to see it again. Perhaps not at the Moolah, for while they did have drink specials and I was able to have a Will Turner (vodka or rum, blue curacao, and lemonade), they’re expensive and I dunno if the couches are worth it.
Read on for spoilery talk…
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://i0.wp.com/img.zemanta.com/reblog_a.png?w=720)
off the edge of the map
StandardHere there be monsters…
So here you go. After nearly a year, a new layout. Pirates, again. Sorry for the long wait. Things in RL decided to be more important. Besides, I really liked the old layout. This one isn’t so fancy, but I had fun with it.
Tonight I get to see PotC 3 with Leah at 9:30. Yay for advance showings! Will let you know all about it tomorrow.
Boo for my poor little iBook which is currently (hoepfully) on its way to the Apple Depot to get a new logic board. Maybe. It has been acting really funny, but of course it acts fine for the people at the Apple Store. I actually stopped in twice, and neither time did the laptop go wonky. I made them take it anyway. It’s still under warranty, after all. Here’s hoping it doesn’t get erased. At least I have my story file.
been a long time
StandardI’ve been on the same floor at work for four years. I wonder if they’ll count the time in Applied Physiology as part of my time with this department; I had the same ultimate boss, after all…not like I get anything for being there four years, but if it is, then next year I get a certificate or something…I missed it, actually. It totally slipped my mind on the day that it happened. Of course, that could be because I was shopping…spent a horrific amount of money at the mall with Leah, who has much better taste in clothes than I. But I’m happy with what I got…will have to go back to Target at some point and see if they’ll give me money back for charging me twice for one pair of shorts…
happy news: check your local theaters for sneak previews of Pirates 3 on the evening of Thursday the 24th! Be on the lookout for a new layout 😉
AttS is five
StandardYes, I’m late on posting. But lest you thought I’d forgotten what a momentous day it is today, I thought I should put something up…
It’s Kate’s (friend) and Gordon’s (coworker) and Leah’s boyfriend Peter’s (you need more clarification?!) birthday today. (triple yay!)
My parents have been married for 31 years. (double yay!)
This website has been live for 5 years. (yay!)
Anything else I’ve forgotten? Aside from the writer’s meetup tonight…
Hard to believe I’ve been writing on this thing for five years. Just like it’s hard to believe that a) it’s been five years since I rocked it at the UAA championships in GA and b) I was actually *in* GA this past weekend. I’m not completely recovered, but I do have a nice tan 😉
I promise you that there will be a new layout this year. Yes, I have had the same Pirates 2 layout since the movie came out last year, and *of course* I know that the 3rd comes out next month. I actually have three layouts started, just not finished. I’ll get one up soon. Possibly after neurobio ends.
Thanks for reading. Let’s see how long I can stick it out.