Thursday night, done with my DH reread

[cleolinda]

Soooo, let's see. First the cat escaped and we cursed at each other and beat the bushes for an hour and a half; that was a couple of nights ago. (I've noticed that the cat has been unusually civil ever since, as if he/she/it is sort of embarrassed about what happened; instead of opening doors just for the fun of watching the dogs escape, s/he's been sitting very patiently in front of the door, possibly maoing, until a human arrives and rectifies the situation.) Then today, the Enemy Insurance Agent called my sister about her wreck--yes, it's been three or four weeks and that whole mess isn't resolved yet, mostly because The Insured won't answer his phone. But after the Enemy had a long debriefing with my sister as to what happened, we figured, the ball's in their court. They weren't accepting liability yet, but it was more of a "couldn't" than a "wouldn't," because they hadn't finished the process yet, right? And then The Insured does get back to his stinkin' insurance agent and proceeds to tell him that my sister pulled around in front of him from the right lane. You know, instead of him just plowing into the back of her car while she was at a standstill in front of him.

"How long were you in the left lane?" asks The Enemy.

"A while," says my sister; he hasn't yet told her why he's asking.

"Ten, fifteen minutes?"

"Well, I was coming down from Tennessee, so... about fifty miles."

"Oh." A pause. "Well, what about the bus? Where was it?"

"The bus? There was no bus!"

So now we've got some weird story about an imaginary bus that blocked his view of Sister Girl's car as she pulled in front of him from a lane that she was never in. It took him three weeks to come up with this? "Someone's been watching too many AllState Swoop and Squat commercials," she snorted.

So... that's my week so far. On the upside, I do have free passes to a preview of Stardust next week.


LJ is finally back up and talking about what happened: "Let the angst and false entitlement begin!" Also: What really happened to the LJ server? Take it with a grain of salt, folks.

I did make those icons, by the way. I finally thought of something to say about Trelawney--something I couldn't get to come out quite right when I was originally doing my writeup. So, here she is. No Neville and his gran, because... we don't really have a picture of his gran, do we? (No, Snape!Gran does not count.)

‘Harry Potter’ Watts - Townsend - Fiennes Casting Rumors Untrue, Say Actors’ Reps. DAMMIT.

In New Interview JKR Says She is "sort of writing two things at the moment"; Spoiler Alert: JKR Reveals Names of Two Characters She Had Intended to Let Live in Deathly Hallows and More.

Rowling answers 'Deathly Hallows' Burning Questions; JKR reveals what jobs the trio got and that she's open to a relationship she had previously nixed.

Snape ushers in the Potterdammerung? I particularly like the review bitching that the series doesn't have a moral unless Snape is the protagonist.

From Cynara: "Don't want to be caught, as an alleged responsible adult, reading Harry Potter? Here are some alternate covers. COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY NWS." And awesome.

Linkspam proper:

Etta James hospitalized.

NASA suspects space-bound kit sabotaged.

When death comes calling, so does Oscar the cat: "His accuracy, observed in 25 cases, has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen someone. It usually means the patient has less than four hours to live.... Dosa said Oscar seems to take his work seriously and is generally aloof. 'This is not a cat that's friendly to people,' he said."

Swimming pool stolen, not a drop spilled.

Voracious jumbo squid invade California.

Soap actor surprised to find himself dead.

Dakota Fanning is... different... now.

Departed 'Lost' character returning to show.

Groening: 'No end in sight' for Simpsons.

The Smoking Gun: Tom Cruise Extortion Plot.

50 craziest celebrity baby names.

Silence! The Musical bites into Off-Broadway this September. I... I don't even know what to say about this.

J.J.'s Mystery Movie: Secrets revealed!; Comic-Con: J.J. Abrams Speaks, “We Need Our Own Godzilla”; Greg Grunberg added to 1-18-08 Cast.

New Paramount Posters and Photos for Cloverfield (hi-res), Sweeney Todd, Star Trek, Beowulf, Spiderwick Chronicles. Note: The hi-res Cloverfield poster does not feature a title, "Monstrous" or otherwise. ETA: Apparently "Monstrous" is one in a series of three "[Adjective]" posters, not a title.

Strathairn Prepares For The Magical World Of ‘Spiderwick Chronicles.’

‘Watchmen’ Cast Revealed At Last.

Comic-Con 2007 Preview: 12 Questions Cinematical Wants Answered.

Comic-Con: A first look at 'Beowulf'; The New Beowulf Trailer and Site; Becoming Beowulf; Exclusive: Roger Avary on Beowulf.

Comic-Con: ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean’ Drops Anchor At The Show; Pirates Hitting DVD and Blu-ray Dec. 4.

Short Ends: The Return Of Marion Ravenwood; Indy IV Teaser Poster.

Taraji P. Henson talks about her role in Fincher's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."

Comic-Con: Rosario Dawson says 'Barbarella' remake will be made before 'Sin City 2.' Are you shitting me?

Guardian Joins Cinematical's 'No Funny Bond' Campaign.

Neil Gaiman on Sandman Movie.

The Hulk to Face Tim Blake Nelson.

'The Dark Knight' Teaser Bootleg.

New Trailer for Keira Knightley's 'Atonement.'

'Alvin and the Chipmunks' Trailer, because our God is an Angry God.

Comments

[etherealshores.livejournal.com]

I'd die if Stuart was in a HP film, too bad. :(

Stardust! CHARLIE COX! I'm jealous. :( I hope it's true to the book.

[lauramcvey.livejournal.com]

Why? The only book-to-movie I've seen him in was Queen of the Damned, and I'm still trying to erase it from my memory.

Speaking of NASA...

[dakiwiboid.livejournal.com]

I assume you haven't seen thisarticle in the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/26/science/space/26nasa.html?ref=science) yet?

"NASA has lost $94 million in office equipment over the past decade, looking the other way as employees give computers to spouses or claim missing laptops are lost in space, according to a Congressional report."

Yup, it's true. One employee made a particularly ridiculous claim about a missing laptop, worth $4,265:

“This computer, although assigned to me, was being used on board the International Space Station. I was informed that it was tossed overboard to be burned up in the atmosphere when it failed.”

The employee was not disciplined.

Ain't it great?

Re: Speaking of NASA...

[msilverstar]

To be fair, old computers have pretty much zero resale value and are an accounting bitch to deal with.

[lederhosen.livejournal.com]

I suspect Oscar is waiting to pounce on the departing souls and devour them utterly.

[fuchsoid.livejournal.com]

I wonder if he isn't just sitting on their oxygen lines.

[elendiari22.livejournal.com]

Yep, the kraken has invaded Monterey. It's a match made in heaven. We always knew there was some strange stuff in our bay...

And am I the only one horrified by the idea that they're turning Beowulf into a movie? I can't see this working. Being a medieval studies major, I'm just terrified to see what they're going to do to the poor saga.

[laddical.livejournal.com]

I would love to see a Beowulf movie. Unfortunately, what Zemeckis has done is take his Beowulf movie and then painted over it with not-quite-photo-realistic CGI to make an animated Beowulf movie.

If he'd just cut out the part where he shot the movie before he shot the movie, I'd be a lot more interested.

[laddical.livejournal.com]

Truly, Alvin and the... is a sign of the end times. Jason Lee why have you forsaken us????

[rahrahmah.livejournal.com]

it could have been worse, dude. I recall seeing them dressed up as thugs at some point (probably here) and I wanted to die. Seeing them in their old costumes was such a relief I actually thought it looked cute.

[paradise-loved.livejournal.com]

what did you think of the reprieve vs. the characters that ended up dying?

[finding-her.livejournal.com]

After the reveal of the jobs that the HP trio got, I want to see some sort of Law & Order: Ministry of Magic tv show.

[flameow.livejournal.com]

Hahaha, that's such a sweet idea.
I'm glad she answered all those questions, it'll definitely get a lot of people to settle down (including me) after the whole Hallows ruckus.

Dakota Fanning looks like a ghost :(

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

Dakota Fanning is... different... now.

I love the way you phrased that.

Re: Snape

[shesnotallthere.livejournal.com]

I think the problem with Snape is that Rowling couldn't flesh him out as fully as she did other characters. The story she was telling made it necessary to keep this character only roughly sketched out...the reader had to wonder about him and his motivations and his ultimate goal until nearly the end of the series. That gave those of us who were drawn to the character plenty of room to get ahead of Rowling in our imaginations.

We liked him, we wanted to know more, Rowling couldn't give us that kind of detail yet. So we filled the vacuum. Each of us wrote the character in our heads the way we wanted him to be, and we each wound up with an entirely different Snape than Rowling did. (Frankly, most of us didn't end up with Snape at all...we ended up with Susan Kay's Erik, minus the singing.)

Re: Snape

[tabbyclaw.livejournal.com]

My Snape ended up being pretty damn close to hers, really. Most of the reason I sobbed so hard throughout chapter 33 was that it all felt so right.

[freezingeva.livejournal.com]

I am going take one of the icons. Will credit. That cat is scary.

[edda.livejournal.com]

I sincerely hope this accident mess gets straightened out soon. Eesh.

And thank you for the lovely, lovely linkspam.

[angevin2.livejournal.com]

because our God is an Angry God.

Why did I watch that trailer?

At any rate, its frank depiction of rodent coprophagia has kind of ruined my appetite.

[cosmob.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if the link for "JKR reveals what jobs the trio got and that she's open to a relationship she had previously nixed" is supposed to go directly to that comment, but... well, I read that Yahoo article by the crazy lady, and, is it just me or did she say that Disney's "Snow White" and "Cinderella" have moral centers and Harry Potter doesn't?

I mean, "...while Disney's focus was entertainment, the moral still mattered"? There are morals in "Snow White" and "Cinderella"? I mean, beyond the girls--be-pretty-and-obedient-and-put-upon-and-you-too-can-win-the-man-of-your-dreams.

The mind... it boggles.

[br0k3nsoul.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that article seriously confused me. Good guy struggles with a dangerous destiny (destroying the Horcruxes), is tempted by power (the Hallows) and considers just running away from it all several times, but ultimately chooses the path of righteousness and self-sacrifice. This is a plot lacking a moral center? By that logic, I guess she must have gotten angry at the Gospels for lacking a moral center, too.

[megmatthews20.livejournal.com]

I always imagined Cate Blanchett as Narcissa...she certainly has the high class beauty for the role. Also, she just plain roxors...

And from the moment I read the part, I always wanted Rhys Ifans as Morfin Gaunt...

And possibly Christopher Lee in some role just so he could be in SW, LotR, AND HP...

Also...what does that mean about not caring as much about Fred or whatever...*is saddened by this*

It's interesting how I can get a different feeling about a series or character than the one the author may have or be trying to convey...

cheers

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I always imagined Cate Blanchett as Narcissa.

I just long to see her literally look down her nose at someone. Kind of like this (see icon).

[riari.livejournal.com]

The bookcovers were hilarious. Most of them anyway. ^_^

[wirrrn.livejournal.com]

Hey,

Another BEOWULF? What's the point, when the definitive version with Christopher Lambert and a CGI Grendel was done some years ago?!!

[vampychick.livejournal.com]

I was under the impression I was the only person who'd seen that movie.

This project has Neil Gaiman and Angelina Jolie attached. I fail to conceive of a universe in which it will not rock.

[caligogreywings.livejournal.com]

Oh snap, free preview! Lucky. I'm going to make sure I see the film sometime before it leaves theaters; I'm bad about missing movies I want to see.

[heyorion.livejournal.com]

possibly maoing

Your cat is a sekrit communist!

(I'm not picking on your typos, I just like the comedy that they provide. earlier I typed "kidnapl" instead of "kidnap" and subsequently felt the urge to define it - it is a verb meaning "to kidnap using apple juice".)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Nah, I said "maoing" on purpose--I've referred to my cat being a Communist (http://cleoland.pbwiki.com/Bad+Cat) before.

[all-ephemera.livejournal.com]

Um, why is your sister talking to the other guy's insurance agent at all??? You let your insurance agent handle all the communication, you don't talk to the Other Guy because they will twist the story around in an attempt to weasle out of having to pay for the wreck.

[lauramcvey.livejournal.com]

I knew they weren't the planned deaths. I think Teddy was a fairly recent development.

In other news, Hairspray is awesome. More awesome than Grease, even. Plus, I got a bunch of awesome trailers.

[pinstripe-bindi.livejournal.com]

Neville + Luna = OTP! Finally JKR sees reason. (Disclaimer: I AM NOT A HARMONIAN)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Hee! But yeah, I don't quite know why, but they just seem to *go* together. And they were really cute in the last movie as well, in the Ministry.

Also--and man, I am putting way too much thought into this--I think Luna would be really good for Neville. She's been completely oblivious to any reason he should feel insecure or second-best, but she would also be completely oblivious to any kind of hero-worship that sprang up around him after Nagini, etc. She seems to really see people for who they are, the best of who they are, even, and be really accepting in a very calm, matter-of-fact way.

[ailaes.livejournal.com]

Thought you might enjoy this -

Berlin Zoo introduces children's book (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070726/ap_on_en_ot/books_knut;_ylt=Al8K6aKuoHtBiCsPMo4Q8iBxFb8C) [and it's all about Knut!!]

[chorusgirl.livejournal.com]

Now you have me thinking of witty things that could work for all the HP characters.


So far, I like "Sybil Trelawney: ballbuster" best....

[lyn-thorne.livejournal.com]

Ugg, I'm sorry to hear about the insurance deal with Sister Girl. Hopefully it'll all work out.

Totally snagging the Molly Weasley icon, that is fantastic!

Also, did you see the Bellatrix figurine that Gentle Giant is doing? It's frigging amazing! (About 1/3rd down the page):

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/33455

Sorry if you've already seen it.

And yay! for The Grunberg being in 'Cloverfield'. I love that guy.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Holy GOD, Bellatrix.

[faeriemaiden.livejournal.com]

My theory? LJ really did explode from Potter. All of the other explanations are a CLEVER RUSE.