I'm switching this journal over to Friends-Only mode or higher security, depending on the entries. Comment here if you want to be added as a friend (or if you add me and I notice, I'll add you too... well, depending on who you are....)
FU, TV (8:37:26 PM) Suninos: go blackmail rtd (8:37:30 PM) Suninos: i'm sure you can come up with somethnig (8:37:33 PM) Suninos: seduce him and take pictures (8:37:36 PM) muskratio: ... i would if i could!
I am never watching anything but soap operas again.
As a note to anyone who got to my journal through seifen_slash but is interested in keeping up with the story, you should friend randomhouses to get chapters directly on your friends' list. Friending me will only get you sporadic updates as I don't habitually post a notice for each new chapter on this journal.
HOME COOKING AT SCHOOL WE COOKED! AND IT TURNED OUT GREAT. HOORAY FOR NOT BURNING DOWN THE APARTMENT BUILDING.
The full meal was, I believe: Turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, salad with italian dressing, edamame, mashed potatoes, banana nut muffins, raspberry and orange muffins, cranberries, bread and butter, yams, steamed vegetables, pumpkin pie, and apple pie. With orange juice and lemonade.
We were also going to make corn on the cob, miso soup, and chicken pot pie, but uh, decided there was enough food as it was and saved that for an encore later in the weekend. ( More pictures )
Current Location:Los Angeles Current Mood: stuffed :P
Election 2008 Voted by mail over two weeks ago. Hooray for being in a precinct too small to get a polling location. Coerced most of my roommates into voting as well, though two got their parents to fill in their absentee ballots instead.
I just want tomorrow to be over.
BUT BEFORE IT IS:
Being in California, the major ballot battle here is over Proposition 8 (because there's no way Obama doesn't have CA), the ban on gay marriage, though Proposition 4, the attempt to place restrictions on abortion, is certainly one to contest as well (and is on its third attempt to pass already; why won't people just give up?). The get-out-the-vote operation is hugely important here. The higher the turn-out, the more likely Obama gets more votes. The more votes Obama gets, the more no votes 8 and 4 will get.
If anyone outside of the state wants to help fight Prop 8, please click the link below. We need all the help we can get.
The spoiler-free version is this: the atheists are too picky. It's true the movie is only a decent film. In fact, if it wasn't based on my favorite books of all time, I'd probably not recommend it.
However, the main points of the novel remain completely intact. Fine, so they never say the word "Church." Well, I don't know where people were the last twelve years, but they don't say "Church" very much in the books either. It's "the Magisterium" in the books, with "the Authority" as a synonym for God, and that's what they go with in the movie. The major theological debates don't even begin until late Book 2. So I don't see what people were expecting. Anyone who wanted a film with Lyra and Lord Asriel jumping up and down screaming "THE CHURCH IS EVIL! CHRISTIANITY IS EVIL!" for the entire movie never read the books or really missed the point.
So what does the movie cover? Well, click the cut to find out, but if you don't want to be spoiled, be forewarned.
Meanwhile, as for the rest of the movie, the story is fairly thin. None of the characters are allowed time to develop. Lyra's personality shines through fairly strongly, and Dakota Blue Richards does a fantastic job. She seriously carries much of the movie, and I had doubts about her casting at first, but she's the perfect Lyra. The script lets her down, though, because by modifying some of the scenes to make the story more concise, the scriptwriter ends up making Lyra do some fairly out of character things (like when she first meets Serafina Pekkala).
As for everyone else, they're totally there for plot dressing. Lord Faa just stands there and pontificates in an impressive manner. Lord Asriel is brilliant for the two minutes before he turns into James Bond and then vanishes for the rest of the movie. Ma Costa reminds me of Mrs. Weasley, but for no good reason 'cause she doesn't really do anything. Iorek is there entirely to serve Lyra, which... doesn't work well... and Lee Scoresby is cool but why cast an Oscar-winner as Hester's voice just to have her say "Hi" and vanish for the rest of the movie? Oh, and making Billy the kidnapped kid was a great idea, except the pay-off was non-existent. The saddest, most poignant part of the book (that was in the movie; the best part got cut and moved to the second movie) was glossed over and stuck between pounding Gladiator-esque music and slow-motion shots of polar bears running in the snow.
Speaking of which, they screwed over the polar bear storyline. Yeah, it makes for a brilliant fight scene (except for that last bit where body parts come flying at the camera, causing a lot of uncomfortable giggling from the audience), but it could've been a lot better if they'd given us any of the interesting backstory associated with it.
And finally, my biggest gripe with the movie, THEY CUT OUT THE END. Now, see, that wouldn't be a problem if those scenes hadn't been in the trailer. Not only were those scenes in the trailer, they made up basically half the trailer. AND IT WASN'T IN THE MOVIE! Can you say false advertising? Damn you, promo monkeys! Damn you to the Authority!!!
In other words, the most inspired casting choices for a film adaptation yet.
Based on the His Dark Materials trilogy by |Philip Pullman|, this is the story of Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards), a girl growing up in the London of an alternate universe where the Magisterium (or the Church) dominates every aspect of life and where the souls of humans manifest themselves as animal companions known as daemons. When one of Lyra's friends is kidnapped by Ms. Coulter (Nicole Kidman), a representative of the Church, Lyra is propelled into the middle of a war for the fate of every parallel universe in existence.
Oh, and Ian McKellan is an armored polar bear. How much cooler can you get?
Since I haven't seen the actual movie yet, I'll say that the books are definitely what should be checked out. Even if the movie sucks (which is increasingly unlikely, as the commercials and sneak peeks look at least decent), that doesn't change the fact that these books are, simply put, the best-written books I've ever read. However, I'll note that the choice of director has me worried, along with reports that most of the major religious, philosophical, and political undertones (or overtones) of the books were removed. On the other hand, if the movie does well, they'll make sequels, and that means we get to see the producers' heads explode when they try to remove those same undertones from The Amber Spyglass which would basically entail rewriting the entire story. Oh well; I'm excited, and I might even get to see it this weekend with my friends as opposed to waiting until I get home.
This has to be a joke: Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee's first television spot to begin airing in Iowa on Monday: "My plan to secure the border. Two words: Chuck. Norris," says Huckabee, who stares into the camera before it cuts away to show Norris standing beside him.
"Mike Huckabee is a lifelong hunter who'll protect our Second Amendment rights" on gun ownership, says the tough-guy actor, who takes turns addressing viewers.
"There's no chin behind Chuck Norris' beard, only another fist," Huckabee says.
"Mike Huckabee wants to put the IRS out of business," Norris adds.
"When Chuck Norris does a push-up, he isn't lifting himself up, he's pushing the earth down," Huckabee says.
"Mike's a principled, authentic conservative," says Norris.
In closing, Huckabee says: "Chuck Norris doesn't endorse. He tells America how it's going to be. I'm Mike Huckabee and I approved this message. So did Chuck."
Huckabee acknowledged that the ad probably will not change many minds.
Source: Associated Press Oh it changed my mind all right. It's convinced me he's a complete lunatic. Three words: WHAT. THE. HELL?
California burning Wildfires have been burning in Southern California since Sunday from Malibu to San Diego. Estimates of people displaced range from half a million to one million in a disaster that has already claimed an area the size of New York City and continues to grow at an unstoppable rate.
Currently, hurricane force Santa Ana winds and temperatures 10 degrees above average are only aggravating the situation, with forecasts predicting the weather conditions won't begin to let up until mid-day Thursday.
Those of us in the city of Los Angeles have been lucky as it is perhaps the only part of the region that is largely unaffected, and even we're getting some smoke drifting in overhead. The sunlight's been turning reddish every so often throughout the day. I know California's been getting wildfires a lot lately, but this is seriously the worst one the state has seen.
FINCA is an organization founded in 1984 that operates in 21 countries around the world. As one of the organizations created on the basis of microfinancing, it uses money donated by people like you and me to give loans to people in poverty to allow them to start up their own businesses. Serving primarily women and children, it enables people to break the cycle of poverty and raise the standards of living of not just those receiving money but those around them who benefit from the prosperity of those whose businesses succeed. Empowered women can leave abusive relationships, raise and educate their children, employ others around her and just take control of her life in general.
Although it is non-profit, FINCA's clients pay back the money loaned them with interest so that it can then be loaned back out again. In this way, donations go to help more and more people, growing along the way. Although it is just one of many microfinancing institutions, FINCA currently serves more than 600,000 people. It has a repayment rate of 97% and is definitely worth a look for people who want to help others but are, currently, of limited means. If you're looking to donate to a worthy cause, this is one organization where your gift will keep on giving.
Most people think you're ineffective, but you are trying to completely save the world from itself, so there's always going to be a long way to go. You're always the one trying to get friends to talk to each other, enemies to talk to each other, anyone who can to just talk instead of beating each other about the head and torso. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, and you get very schizophrenic as a result. But your heart is in the right place, and sometimes also in New York.
Aw, screw it I've been staying up late for three days now trying to finish a fic for a fic challenge that I impulsively signed up for (this after delaying the next chapter of my fic with muskratio for three months). And... it's so not going to be done by midnight. So I'm going to sleep and finishing tomorrow. After all, they sent out their fic prompts 2 days late; I can be a day late myself.
Who needs real life when you have computer games? Oh my god. Between Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Starcraft II, my head is just about ready to explode today. Actually, I've been jumping around my room screaming at the top of my lungs for several minutes now.
The reason?
|Super Smash Bros. Adventure Mode| was announced today featuring a fully fleshed-out single player campaign mode--with Peach looking even more bad-ass than in Melee, if that's even possible--and it looks freaking AMAZING.
However, it doesn't hold a candle to the |news coverage coming out of Blizzcon| in Anaheim, CA about StarCraft II (oh, and a second World of WarCraft expansion, called Wrath of the Lich King, for those of you into that). For one thing, they unveiled details of their single player campaign as well... ( Cut for StarCraft storyline spoilers )
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows review THERE WILL BE SPOILERS BEHIND THE LJ-CUT. HUGE SPOILERS. WHOPPING SPOILERS. DO NOT READ ON IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS.
No personal life Mmph, yet another media update. I do a lot of those, don't I?
Saw Transformers and Order of the Phoenix on their opening weekends. Transformers was a lot better than I expected--fairly action-packed, rather funny, and even a bit heartwarming--and Order of the Phoenix was about as poor an adaptation as I expected, in line with the showings of the previous Harry Potter films. I mean, seriously, for a series that's been criticized for following the books too closely, WHY THE HELL CHANGE THE FIGHT SCENE, WHICH SEEMED LIKE IT WAS BEING WRITTEN SPECIFICALLY WITH THE MOVIE IN MIND???? Ugh.
Other than that, though, it was actually a pretty good film. It cut a lot of stuff out but got all the scenes it needed. Pity it had about the emotional depth of a roundworm. Which basically drives home my conclusion that nowadays, Hollywood doesn't know how to tell a good story or choreograph a good fight scene. So that means it's only good for turning out lots of blood and gore and sex and blowing a lot of money on god knows what. I guess that's why we got Hostel II. But that's okay. At least RTD isn't responsible for this particular travesty.
Here come the drums Doctor Who 3x12: "The Sound of Drums" is amazing. It's like an episode of Torchwood! It doesn't fully make sense and there's stuff that makes you want to kill the writers and yet you don't really care because it's AWESOME! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! BEST. FINALE. SO FAR>>>>>
Oh, and looking over the coming next preview again in slow motion, JACK IS IN IT! WITH BIG GUNS! HOORAY!!!!!!
And have I mentioned yet that Murray Gold is a genius too?
Of course, one does have to worry about the sanity of RTD when he names his episode for a dance single and has no qualms about changing Time Lord history yet retains the incredibly '70s outfits.
*runs off to rewatch again*
ARCHANGEL = IPHONE! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Current Mood: bouncy Current Music: "Voodoo Child" - Rogue Traders Tags:doctor who
Doctor Who: 3x11 "Utopia" (spoiler-free) HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! OMG. You know how people say RTD's Who is the ultimate in style-over-substance? This episode so so so so proves it.
AND IT'S BRILLIANT!
OMFG! JACK JACK JACK! AND THE DOCTOR! AND YOU-KNOW-WHO (no, not Voldemort). And THERE WAS NO PLOT WHATSOEVER. AND IT WAS GLORIOUS. OMFG
Best part of the episode, though?: JOHN BARROWMAN'S NAME IN THE CREDITS RIGHT AFTER FREEMA AGYEMAN'S!!! Yeah, I'm a geek, I know.
Actually, I'm still not sure whether I'm on a Who high or a His Dark Materials high, but it really doesn't matter.
I am so stunned. The reaction posts were all: "You'll be jumping up and down and screaming for the last 10 minutes" and I just thought Yeah, right because the reaction posts are ALWAYS more exaggerated than I find the episode, but I'll be damned if I wasn't actually jumping up and down and screaming at the TV for the last fifteen minutes (and I was standing by the third minute in). IT WAS THAT AMAZING!! Sort of...
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stuffed :P
pensive
enthralled
blah
dorky
sad
impressed
ecstatic
tired
bouncy
IZ DEAD