Season 5!

Supernatural has been renewed for another season! WHOO-HOO!!

http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/02/breaking-the-cw.html

Not Another Book Report

A friend from college recently invited me to join a Facebook group she created in which the members must set a number goal of books during the year and see if you can reach that goal. Considering how much I read, I naturally decided to take her up on the challenge.

I've set up another blog dedicated to tracking the progress of my year of reading. I know you're all wondering why I did that when I barely even post here regularly. The answer is, I honestly don't know. But I thought it would be fun to have a whole blog dedicated to this project.

So, if you're interested in following my progress just head on over to: http://notanotherbookreport.blogspot.com/ (I know, real original with the name, right?) I'll be looking forward to reading your thoughts on the books as I review them.

Day 12: And then we came to the end

As they say, all good things must come to an end. We have reached the end of our trip, which is ironically also the beginning. This afternoon we arrived back at Bunratty Castle Hotel, where our journey began.

This has been an amazing trip; everything about was just awesome. I have very few complaints ... actually I don't really have any other than there are a couple stops where we could have used more time, but that is the nature of these kinds of trips. This is an amazingly beautiful country and the people are just wonderful. If you ever have a chance to visit, take it. You won't regret it. And if you ever come, make sure you find an older Irish person and aske them to tell you about their country. The Irish people are so good at telling the history of their country. Our guide in particular was amazing. He knew more times and dates and names of history than I do of our history, and our history is so much shorter than his country's history. It was impressive.

Our flight leaves at 9am tomorrow, and we have to be at the airport by 6. Way too early. Then, when we arrive in the states it'll only be 11. How weird is that? Tomorrow is going to be such a long day. But I'll get to see my dog! I can't wait for that. I think she's the only thing I've really missed about the states these last two weeks.

I hope you guys have enjoyed these posts while I was here. I'll probably post some more about Ireland in the coming weeks. There's a lot of things I would have liked to include here but didn't have time. For now I have to get to sleep, because 4:30am is going to come way too early.

Ireland Day 9: Catching Up, National Stud Ranch and Blarney

I’m sorry I haven’t been posting regularly. A combination of late nights and lack of internet access has prevented me from being able to post anything recently. But we’ve been having an awesome time, and I can already tell I’m not going to want to come home.

Thursday was cold and rainy. We toured Glenveagh Castle, which isn’t a real castle. It was built in the 1800s to be a hunting lodge of sorts and designed to look like a castle. However it was amazing inside. Then we stopped briefly in Letterkenny, the sister city of Elizabethtown. I found a book there that is a collection of letters written to a man who immigrated to Lancaster County. Thursday night we went out to a small pub nearby (and I mean small, the bar itself took up half of the room) it was full of other members of our tour and we all drank and sang and had a good time. I have several videos of that night (mostly of our driver sing for us) that I’ll probably post on youtube at some point. It was possibly the most fun I’ve had so far.

Friday we drove up to Northern Ireland and took a tour of (London)Derry. What you call it is based on whether you’re a Loyalist Protestant or Nationalist Catholic. The town was the site of a lot of struggle during the fighting between the religious groups. Then we toured Giant’s Causeway. Unfortunately it was another rainy, cold day so it wasn’t as much fun as I was hoping it would be, but the rock formations at the causeway are amazing. I’ll have to get some pix posted so you can see them. Friday night we stayed in Ballygally castle, which is haunted but unfortunately I did not see the ghost, though I very much wanted to.

Saturday was a beautiful and we took a driving tour around the town of Belfast and heard about the history of the town. Belfast is one of the many towns that was divided and became a battleground between Catholics and Protestants for years. It was sad hearing the stories and see all the reminders of that time period. In the afternoon we stopped in Downpatrick to visit St. Patrick’s grave, then took a long, scenic drive to Dublin. We had to take a detour, so it was longer than anticipated, but it was a nice drive and took us through a part of Ireland we wouldn’t have seen otherwise.

Sunday was another beautiful day, I can’t believe we had two in a row. We visited Dublin Castle and the Guiness Storehouse in the morning. We had our free pint in the Gravity Bar on top of the storehouse, which offers an amazing view of the city. I’m not a beer fan, so I couldn’t finish my pint, but it was fun anyway. Then the afternoon was free for us to wander Dublin. We saw the Book of Kells, which was another item on my must-see list. The book is amazing; so much detail and artistry went into making that. We couldn’t take pictures but I bought a poster and a book with lots of pictures. The rest of the afternoon was spent shopping. We stopped and bought shirts in Hard Rock Dublin and wandered around for a while. I fell in love with Dublin during that time; the sights, the sounds, the smells, the people – everything is incredible. I would love to live in this city for a while. For supper we went to The Abbey Tavern and had a traditional Irish dinner and entertainment, including singers and dancers. It was a lot of fun. On the way home our drivers led us in singing some traditional Irish songs. That was even more fun. Our guide, Ken, sang this one song called “Four Green Fields” and it was just amazing. He has so much passion for his country and his people and it really came out while singing that song.


Today started out nice as well, and most of the day wasn’t bad. I think it only really rained while we were on the bus. First we stopped at the Irish National Stud Farm and learned more than we really needed to know about breeding horses, and saw the most expensive horse in Europe. In the afternoon we drove to our hotel at the Blarney Woolen Mills then spent some time shopping after checking in. We wanted to see Blarney Castle, but it costs 10 euro to get anywhere near the castle so we decided it wasn’t worth it. All in all it was a pretty good day, not as busy as usual. I can’t believe we only have three more days left, I don’t want to come home (although I really miss my dog).

Tomorrow it’s supposed to rain so naturally our itinerary includes a walking tour of the town of Kinsale. Oh well, I getting used to being cold and damp by now. I have some pictures of the first couple days posted, I just have to figure out how to link to them. Keep an eye on the links to the right of the page, if I figure it out it will appear there.

Update: Pix are up! Some at least, check out the link in the list on the right. Hopefully more will come soon!

Ireland Day 4: Knock, Yeats' grave and Belleek

This will be a short blog, because believe it or not I'm actually trying to upload some photos! Not many, because I'm afraid of going over my limit and it takes a while to load them. I have over 300 pix at the moment, so there will not be a shortage of them to view when I get home.

This morning we went to the Knock shrine, which is a place some people saw an apparition of the Virgin Mary back in 1879. Since I'm not catholic it wasn't too interesting, but there was a cool graveyard nearby.

We stopped at Yeats' grave next. It was a lot more plain than I had imagined for Ireland's greatest poet. But I got some pictures and I bought a book of poetry edited by Seamus Heaney.

Last was a tour of Belleek pottery, they make some really nice pieces. I bought a small jewelry box.

Tomorrow we go to Glenveagh castle and stop in Letterkenny, which is Elizabethtown's sister city. Should be fun. Now, if this internet connection can hold up for more than a couple seconds I'm going to go upload more photos.

Ireland Day 3: Walking Man tour and Galway

Today we spent most of the morning driving through Conemara area of Ireland.

Before we left Galway and stopped at St. Nicholas and Our Lady Assumed into Heaven Cathedral (I think that's the name, it's at least something like that). The cathedral was beautiful, though it was hard to get good pictures because the lighting wasn't great. In the one room was a larg mosaic of Jesus, and at each side was a smaller mosaic. One was of Patrick Pearce who led the Easter Rebellion in 1916 and the other was John F. Kennedy, who was apparently just as well loved in Ireland as he is in the states.

Conemara is a beautiful part of Ireland, though it's extremely rocky. I hadn't realized how rocky the terrain was. It's amazing. I wouldn't want to try to farm this land, that's for sure. We stopped for lunch at Eddie's Bar or Pub, (I'm really having trouble with names). Apparently Eddie is related to one of the four men who discovered the Comstock Lode and also has a relative who married a Vanderbilt. This all came from Eddie himself.

In the afternoon we went to the village of Cong and toured some of the sites used for the filming of The Quiet Man, including Pat Cohen's Bar. Now the bar was not a bar at the time and actually just opened as a bar for the first time a few weeks ago. Apparently only the exterior shots were filmed here the rest were done in the states. Thanks to this tour I am now "married" to Ken our tour guide. If I ever get those pics posted I'll show you the "family photo." They pick people to dress up and I had to play Maureen O'Hara's part. It was kind of emabarassing.

Before dinner we had some free time to wander around Galway, which is a nice city. I bought myself a zip-up sweatshirt that says Ireland on it. It's pretty cool.

Dinner was fancy again. I wasn't expecting any less. Then afterwards we went to an Irish pub for a little while. As I'm still exhausted I didn't stay long. I wanted to come back and pack some stuff up as we leave Galway tomorrow and I wanted time to post this.

Tomorrow we do some driving around in the morning and visit some random places, one of which is the grave of William Butler Yeats. I'm really excited about that (that was one of the places on my "must see" list when we were selecting the tour). Then in the afternoon we're touring the Beleek pottery factory. I have no idea if I'll be able to post tomorrow, I've been lucky so far. I still haven't uploaded those photos (sorry!) I'm starting to think I might just wait till I get home. I will try hard to get at least a few posted before then, but I already have almost 200 photos so it's unlikely that I'll get them all posted. However I promise if I don't get them posted before I get home I will when I get back.

Ireland Day 2: Cliffs of Moher, Celtic Crystal and Galway

Tonight we're staying at an awesome hotel in Galway. I think this is the fanciest hotel I've ever stayed in, which isn't saying much since I haven't stayed in many, but it's pretty fancy. And we don't even have the best rooms! My aunt are staying on the top floor and they're room is like a mini-penthouse. Oh well, ours is nice too.

Today we were treated to typical Irish weather, cold and rainy. It was kind of disappointing; the Cliffs of Moher are so much more amazing in sunlight, but I still got some decent photos. And it was cool to actually be there after seeing so many photos of them.

This afternoon we stopped at the Celtic Crystal place and saw how they etch designs into the crystal. It was pretty amazing. It takes a lot of talent and its all done by hand. Mom bought a little dish that's just like the one we saw made.

I've quickly learned that the one stereotype of the Irish that is definitely true is they're love of drinking. There are pubs everywhere. There was one tiny "village" that was basically about 20 houses and 3 or 4 pubs, that was the entire village (that may be a slight exaggeration, but it's pretty close). One night we're going to have dinner in a pub and here the local music. That should be fun.

Tomorrow we go to Connemara and visit the village of Cong, where the movie The Quiet Man (starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara) was filmed. We're taking a tour of the places the movie was filmed. In the afternoon we have some free time to hang out in Galway. I'm hoping the weather is a little better, though I'm not going to get my hopes up, since it rains so much here to begin with.

I know I promised pictures, but once again it's starting to get late (ok, so it's not even 9:30, but I'm still working on making up the sleep lost Saturday night while I was flying) and it'll take me a little while to load them onto my computer, then upload them to the internet. And actually, I have to decide where I'm loading them. I never installed webshots on this computer and I don't know if I really want to. We'll see. How easy is photobucket?

Anyway, I hope everyone is having a good time in the states! We're staying in the same hotel tomorrow, so hopefully I'll get my photos uploaded then, I should at least be able to have another blog on tomorrow's activities.

Ireland: Day 1, Arrival and Bunratty Castle

Hello everyone! I'm writing this from Ireland! We got here around 6:30 am local time (that'd be about 1:30 eastern time). I didn't sleep much; it's kinda hard to sleep on a plane, you know? Besides that, Continental has these cool screen/entertainment systems on the back of each seat that allows you to pick a movie to watch, or play a game or do all kinds of things. So I ended up watching Mis Pettigrew Lives For a Day, because I couldn't pass up a chance to watch the adorable Lee Pace (and now I might have to go watch the second season premiere on my iPod).

Ireland is amazing. We're staying in the Bunratty Castle Hotel, which is amazing. We just got back from a medieval banquet held in the hotel. It was so much fun. Tomorrow we're going to see the Cliffs of Mohr, I can't wait.

I'm hoping I'll have free internet access throughout the trip, but I can't count on it. Whenever I do I'll try to update this site for you guys, so keep an eye out. I'll also try posting photos sometime, but I don't really have time tonight (I am way too tired to worry about that).

Midnight Sun - The Partial Draft

For Twilight fans:

Apparently some moron got ahold of a partial draft of Stephenie Meyer's Midnight Sun (Twilight from Edwards POV) and posted it online. In a statement on her website, Stephenie said that she's put work on the novel on hold indefinitely, meaning it may never be published. I'm hoping once things blow over and she's calmed down she'll change her mind and complete the novel.

However, I can't blame her. I know personal the writing process is, and it truly is a violation to have something read publicly before it is completed to your satisfaction.

On a brighter note, Stephenie has decided that since the copy has already circulated the internet, she herself would provide access to the novel, so fans wouldn't have to feel guilty about reading it and being curious. The portion posted goes up to about halfway through chapter 11 ("Complications") of Twilight. There is a link on the main page of her website, as well as a letter from Stephenie, for anyone who is interested. I'm definitely going to be reading it; if there's a chance it won't ever be published then I'll at least read what I can.

There's a link to Stephenie's website in my list of links to the right, if you're interested.

Breaking Dawn

I just finished reading Breaking Dawn, and ... Wow. That's all I can say. This book was amazing. I got home from work around 1:30 and immediately started reading and didn't look up from the book till I realized it was 4am and decided I should probably get some sleep. I work up around 8, started reading again and continued reading until I finished about half an hour ago.

These books really took me by surprise. I still can't believe I love them as much as I do. They're just so engrossing. I already can't wait for the release of Midnight Sun (Twilight retold from Edward's perspective) and Stephenie Meyer hasn't even finished writing it yet.

If you're at all interested in the Supernatural and aren't adverse to romance, I highly recommend these books. They may be about high school students, but they're not as immature as you would expect. Definitely more along the lines of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Twilight Takes Me By Surprise

This is one review that I never thought I would be writing, mostly because I never expected to read Stephenie Myers’ vampire/romance saga. I guess it’s true what they say, “never says never.”

When I began reading Twilight I was convinced I would not like the book at all. I had pretty much grouped it into the same category as the Gossip Girl novels or one of those other teen novels that I see as a waste of time to read. There are so many other books on my reading list that seemed so much more worthwhile. However, as the release of Breaking Dawn got closer, I began to get more and more curious. When the schedule came out and I realized I would be working the night of the release I decided I would give Twilight a shot, just so I would have some idea what was going on. Once I started reading I could not stop. I started Twilight Sunday night; four days and three books later I am now hooked on the Twilight saga.

I have a lot of favorite books and even more books that I love though I may not consider them favorites. But very few books draw me in entirely – completely consume my time and thoughts. Rarely am I so hooked that I spend every available waking moment caught up in the book. However, since I started Twilight Sunday night, until I finished Eclipse last night I could not put the books down. The only time I spent more than five minutes away from the books was to sleep, work or watch The Dark Knight (which was amazing, by the way). This is the first time I’ve been on the computer for more than a few minutes since Sunday. Even when I wasn’t reading all I could think about were the characters in the books, and what was going on. I haven’t felt that way about a book since Harry Potter.

This series was about 200% better than I anticipated. Bella is an amazing character, well written, developed and her thoughts and emotions are real. I could really identify with her, which I think is part of the reason I became so engrossed in these books. I could understand Bella, sympathize with her, feel her excitement and pain. And of course, as every girl before me who has read these books, I fell too fell in love with Edward.

I think what impressed me most about these books was that they are not like the usual books, tv shows and music that are popular with teens these days. These books didn’t glamorize underage drinking or sex and these teenagers seemed to have a decent taste in music and literature; they also realized there were more important things in life than clothes, who’s dating who, etc. I think that must be why I liked these books so much, why they took me by surprise. I was expecting Gossip Girl or One Tree Hill with vampires and what I found was more like a cross between Buffy and Moonlight.

In a way I’m kind of glad I just discovered these novels, because I don’t think I could have waited the year between Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. As it is, it’s going to be really hard waiting until next Friday, especially since the books will be arriving in the store any day now and I’ll have to wait until after we close Friday night (actually early Saturday) to start reading.

So I guess the moral of the story is, never judge a book by its cover. You just may be surprised. I was.

The Other Wizard Called Harry

The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher are quickly becoming some of my favorite books. Lately I’ve been on a huge Dresden kick and have read the last three books in the series in less than two weeks. If you’re a scifi fan and haven’t read this series, or if you were a fan of the television version on SciFi last year, then I highly recommend these books.

A quote on the cover of one of the books described the Dresden novels as a cross between a grown up Harry Potter and Spencer, and I must agree. While these novels are full of magic and fantasy, they are also more firmly grounded in reality than Harry Potter. You could almost believe that that there really is an underground magical community out there under our very noses.

Each novel is narrated by Harry himself, and he provides a very amusing description of events as they take place. I love the wit and humor, and I love the fact that I actually get the majority of the pop culture references used in these books; Tolkien, Star Wars even Darby O’Gill and the Little People, these are all references that I get and understand. Harry Dresden certainly isn’t a perfect man, like everyone he has his flaws and personal demons (literally, in his case) but it’s those flaws that make his character so realistic and so likeable.

The supporting cast of characters in these books are extremely diverse and they’re all just as interesting as Dresden himself. There’s Karrin Murphy, the head of Special Investigations and a friend of Dresden’s; Bob, the talking skull; Thomas, a vampire who is more than he seems (Thomas is quickly becoming my favorite character after Harry, but I won’t tell you why because that may give too much away) and Harry’s friend Michael, a faithful, God-fearing man who wields a powerful sword said to be forged with one of the nails from the cross of Christ. There’s also an equally diverse and intriguing cast of villains, including werewolves, vampires, demons and a powerful mobster known as Gentleman Johnny Marcone.

While many fantasy series these days seem to borrow heavily from classic tales such Tolkien’s works, Butcher has created a world all his own. However, like Tolkien, Butcher takes inspiration from classical mythology and folklore (Queen Mab, Merlin, etc.) as well as various religions. What fascinates me is the way he blends Christian tradition with his magical universe. Most often books of this genre tend to view the existence of magic (witches, wizards, etc.) and God as mutually exclusive; but in Dresden’s universe God and those doing his work have just as much power as the wizards.

Some book series tend to dry out, become less interesting with each novel published, but that’s not true in this case. Each novel is better than the one that precedes it, the stories become more intense, the stakes are higher and I love Harry more and more with each page I turn. So far I’ve finished each book thinking this one is my favorite, only to fall even more in love with the next one as I’m reading. I’ve also finished each novel faster than the one before it, because I just get more and more involved in the stories.

I also love how each novel builds on the one that preceded it. These aren’t completely individual stories. While the first few books seem fairly stand alone, with only a few references to previous novels, by the fifth or sixth book you begin to realize that there is a much bigger picture, and Butcher is just starting to reveal his plans to us.

Okay, I’m done raving now. I really love these books and definitely recommend them to any scifi fan. These books are terrific, and just get better with each one published.

Small Favors, book 10 of the Dresden Files, goes on sale Tuesday and I’m looking forward to it almost as much as I was looking forward to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I’ll let you know what I think of it when I’m finished reading.

Beautiful Children and Other Odds and Ends

I just finished reading Beautiful Children by Charles Bock and this book is absolutely amazing. While it's kind of hard to recommend to people unless I really know them and know their taste in books, I think this was an incredible read and definitely worth the time.

The story is set in Las Vegas around the disappearance of a young boy named Newell Ewing. The novel follows his parents as they deal with the tragedy, while also weaving together other stories to create the overall tapestry of events that took place the night Newell disappears. Other characters include a geeky comic book artist, a group of runaway street kids, a stripper named Cheri Blossom and her boyfriend Ponyboy (named after Hinton's characters in the Outsiders).

I loved the author's style. This is his first book, and rumor has it it took him 11 years and 4 drafts to complete the novel. His hard work was worthwhile. His style is extremely raw and real, and as your reading you get the impression that he actually knows these characters intimately. He knows their lives and motivations and everything about them. The old addage is true, a writer should write what he knows. Bock grew up in Vegas, so he probably did know many people like these characters.

I must offer a word of caution though. This novel is at times extremely provocative, graphic and sometimes shocking. There's a lot of language, sex, pornography, etc. But the story is amazing. Usually I would have been turned off by a lot of the content of this novel, it's not something I would have chosen myself to read (we started a book club at work and one of the guys chose this, not knowing much about it) but something about this story captured my interest and kept me reading till the end.

Other Stuff:

I planned on reading Neverwhere next, as it was recommended to me by a friend, but we were out of copies at work so I'm currently reading Smoke & Mirrors, short stories by Neil Gaiman. Some are kind of strange some are really interesting. I'm beginning to love Gaiman's writing.

I'm planning on adding a list to the left with my current list of planned reading. If anyone has recommendations please feel free to mention them. I'm willing give almost anything a try (with the exception of romance novels or manga).

"You will fly and you will crawl, God knows even Angels fall..."

As much as I love the entertainment industry, I don't usually get very emotional over the death of celebrities. While I know it's sad, I've never really understood getting worked up over the death of someone you've never met. However, that changed at about 4:39 p.m. on Tuesday, January 22, 2008.

For some reason the death of Heath Ledger has hit me really hard. I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe it's because I've been a fan of his since the first time I saw 10 Things I Hate About You almost a decade ago (don't laugh, I was about 15 and that smile could win over anybody). Maybe it's because he was so young and good looking. Maybe it's because he's left behind a 2-year-old daughter who will only know her father through the movies he's made. Or, maybe it's because I saw so many good things in his future. For years I believed he would become one of the Hollywood's greats - a legendary actor/director with multiple Academy Awards on his mantle.

Heath Ledger should have had a brilliant career. He was already well on his way. He was an amazing actor and by all accounts a good person. Sure, he wasn't perfect, but then, nobody is.

Since Tuesday I've been reading as much as I can about Heath, focusing on stories about his life, as thinking about his death is too sad. My favorite story was sent into CNN by a Dan Bova from Larchmont, NY:

"Once when I was driving in Brooklyn, I got a flat tire. As I was jacking up my car, this deep voice from behind me said, "Need a hand?" It was Heath Ledger. I couldn't believe it. He helped jack up my car and change the tire. He was really good with tools!"

No matter what the circumstances of Heath's death, this is how I choose to remember him. Despite his fame, he was not above helping a stranger on the street. He was a compassionate person, a caring father and a talented actor. I believe we were just beginning to see what he was capable of, and I am saddened by the fact that we'll never have the opportunity to watch him achieve everything I know he would have in his life. He accomplished so much in 28 years, who knows what he could have done with 28 more.

Rest in Peace, Heath. You will never be forgotten.

I'm Still Here

Hello everyone! I realize it's been a long time since I've posted anything here; I apologize for my absence. One of my New Year's resolutions is to be better about posting here. It's kind of hard to use this site as a reference for my resume if I don't keep it updated. Work got crazy with the holidays, but hopefully things will slow down now. I have a couple blogs planned out, so hopefully I'll be posting more regularly from now on.

I hope everyone had a great holiday and Happy New Year!

In This Fateful Hour...

This past Thursday a truly amazing woman and author passed away. Sadly, this story was buried under the latest celeb gossip, Pavorotti's deatha and other things so that I didn't hear about it until a customer mentioned it to me today.

Madeleine L'Engle was my favorite author when I was younger. I must have read A Swiftly Tilting Planet at least a dozen times. At one point I had even memorized the poem that the the chapters made and would list it as my favorite poem. "A Ring of Endless Light" was another favorite, which I also read countless times. Her books were more than your typical fantasy fiction. Unlike some authors, she did not underestimate the intelligence of your average teenager. Her novels were intelligent and complex, and I loved them.

For more on the life of Madeleine L'Engle, here is a link to the New York Times article posted yesterday: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/08/books/07cnd-lengle.html?ex=1204776000&en=b8c04cc938dda37f&ei=5087&excamp=GGGNmadeleineengle

Harry Potter - "We've got something worth fighting for."

Warning: This review was written under the assumption that everyone reading would have at least read the book, whether or not they’ve seen the movie. In other words, I didn’t hold back while discussing the ending.

Last Friday night I went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I was a little hesitant about this film because I hadn’t been too impressed with The Goblet of Fire, but I quickly learned I had nothing to worry about. I think this film is the best of the series so far. I heard that Daniel Radcliffe has stated that it’s his favorite film so far and I can see why. While it had the expected deviations from the book, they managed to cover the really important scenes and they didn’t add in too many random unnecessary scenes that had nothing to do with the book. I think they managed to stay as close to the book as they could given the obvious time constraints. The effects and everything in this movie were also very well done.

Ralph Fiennes is so good at playing Voldemort. The guy is just downright creepy. After watching “Maid in Manhattan” (don’t laugh) I really wouldn’t have expected it, but he is. I think Ralph Fiennes was my favorite part of the fourth film, and he was just as good (if not better) this time around.

I think they did a great job of portraying Harry’s isolation in this film. Even when he was around Ron and Hermione it was easy to tell how alone he felt. Since this isolation was one of the larger themes of the fifth novel, I was happy to see that they were able to translate it onto film so well.

I was also happy with the change to the fire scene in this movie. I know that changing how Sirius appeared in the fire doesn’t fit with the fourth film, but I still liked the change. I was never happy with how they did that in the last film. Of course, I was also bitter because that was the only Sirius scene we got, and I really wanted to see more of Sirius in the fourth movie. Which brings me to my next point.

I loved the increase of Sirius’ role in this movie. I knew we had to see more of him in order to make the ending of the movie more emotional, but I was really worried about how they were going to do this and was afraid they would cheat us out of some good Harry/Sirius moments. Instead, I think they did a really good job of making the scenes impactful; in some ways they were even more meaningful than the interaction Harry and Sirius had in the book. It was more than just Harry and Sirius interacting, you could feel the bond that they had formed, which was really important, since we didn’t get to see Harry and Sirius really interact during the last movie. I was even okay with them changing the scene with the Order of the Phoenix photo because it gave Harry and Sirius more screen time together.

It figures that I would just begin to like Gary Oldman as Sirius Black while watching this movie. When he was first cast for the role I wasn’t thrilled because I’m not a huge Oldman fan (nothing against him, I just haven’t seen many of his movies) and I was expecting someone younger (same with Lupin, I was expecting someone younger and better looking than David Thewlis). However, the more I watch the Prisoner of Azkaban and while watching this movie I really starting liking him in the role. He’s still not quite the Sirius Black I had imagined, but he does a really good job. So good in fact, that I cried every time Sirius and Harry interacted with each other. I’m not kidding. Right from the beginning, when Sirius saw Harry walking up the hall towards the kitchen in Grimmauld Place, there were tears. And I nearly died when he told Harry, “When this is over we’ll be a proper family, you’ll see.” Oh that hurt. And I had tears from the time Harry had the vision of Voldemort torturing Sirius until well past the time credits started rolling. I cry every time I read the book, but seeing it on screen and actually watching Sirius fall through that arch was horrible.

Dolores Umbridge was just as foul as I imagined her. I think they did a good job casting, and writing her part. She was even more sickening in the movie than in the book. I despised her even more on screen and I didn’t think that was possible. I really wanted to smash every one of those kitten plates hanging on the wall in her office; I cringed every time they did a scene in there (and from the sounds I was hearing in the theater I wasn’t the only one), but that’s a good thing. I think it’s great that the Umbridge in the film was able to evoke such strong emotions in the audience.

As I said earlier, I think they did a god job of staying fairly close to the book. I had created a list in my head of the scenes that I thought were most important to have in the movie, and I’m pretty sure they covered every one. Of course, some were slightly altered from the way they were written in the book, but most times that didn’t bother me with this film. It seemed like the changes they made were at least reasonable within the context of the film. And a lot of times if they changed a scene, or added one, they at least included dialogue from the book, so the scene wasn’t entirely a throwaway scene. One of my biggest complaints from the fourth film (aside from the lack of Sirius time) was the lengthening of the dragon scene. They spent a lot of extra time and money creating a whole sequence of events that didn’t even take place in the book, when they could have been adding in more important scenes, or at least making the maze a little cooler (I wasn’t impressed with the maze scene either).

I think my favorite moment in this film would have to be Sirius apparating and punching Lucius as he tells him to “get away from my godson!” I loved every scene between Harry and Sirius, but I really loved this scene. While I hated it at the same time (like I said, tears, lots of tears) I think those moments before Sirius fell through the veil were the best in the film. Hearing Sirius tell Harry he had performed, “beautifully,” seeing them fight side by side; I know it wasn’t exactly as it was written in the book but I think it was amazingly well done, and as I said before it all worked to make that final, horrible moment all the more powerful. And I know this is probably heresy, but I think I almost liked this scene better in the movie than I do in the book.

I think they also did a good job with the fight between Dumbledore and Voldemort, and I liked how they showed Voldemort possessing Harry. I think the visuals were great and I liked how they flashed through all those important memories that helped Harry regain control. Finally, I loved the expression on Fudge's face, "He's back!" Duh! haha.I also how liked how they left the ending hopeful for Harry.

Did anyone else notice that during the scene with Luna? I can’t remember her exact line, but it was something like, “The things we lose have a way of finding they’re way back to us; though maybe not as we expect.” It was almost as if they were foreshadowing Sirius’ return, or at least leaving the door open for it. When I first read this book I was in utter denial and was convinced Sirius could not possibly be gone forever. I’m not quite as certain of that anymore, but I like how the ending of this movie left it open, as if the screenwriter is also hopeful that Sirius might still return in the final book.

I think that’s all I really have to say about the movie. I would really like to be able to see it again, but there’s still a lot of other good movies coming out so I don’t know if I’ll get the chance. But I really enjoyed this movie, which is good since I didn’t expect to. Now that I finally finished my review I’m looking forward to hearing what everyone else thought about the movie!

Daniel Craig - Not a bad Bond after all

Now, before I begin I must admit that I have not seen many of the early Bond Movies (though I fully intend to see them all someday), and it’s been a while since I’ve seen any of the Pierce Brosnan movies, so I can’t really compare Casino Royale to the other movies, but I will do my best to review this movie as it ties in with the rest of the series.

I never saw Casino Royale in theatres; a decision which I now regret. At the time I was disappointed with the casting of Bond. I had loved Pierce Brosnan and was upset that they hadn’t asked him to reprise the role. Then I was even more upset that his replacement would be an actor who doesn’t look anything like the stereotypical image of Bond I’ve had in my head my entire life. I just couldn’t imagine James Bond with blond hair and blue eyes. I love Daniel Craig, I just never would have pictured him as Bond. Until now.

At first I was worried that this movie might seem confusing, or disjointed in a way, since they were telling the an origin story in the present day, as if the first 20 movies never happened, but I thought they did a great job telling the story. My brother had a little trouble wrapping his head around that premise, but it never bothered me at all.

I loved the opening black and white sequence. It really set the tone for the entire film and made it feel very much like a spy movie right from the beginning. I think that is my favorite part of the entire movie just because of the feel of that scene. I also loved the opening theme sequence. I think it was much more creative than the previous ones, and I must say I appreciated the fact that there were no half-dressed women in this opening sequence.

Craig’s Bond is much more rough around the edges than the Bonds we are accustomed to. I know some die-hard fans may not appreciate that, but I think it works seeing as this was basically an origin movie. He hasn’t yet gained that suave, debonair personality that we tend to associate with Bond. But I really liked the more raw feeling that came with this movie.

Another thing that I liked about this movie was that they didn’t try to find an actor to replace Desmond Llewelyn as Q. The man will forever be remembered as Q and there is just no way to replace him. And his replacement, R, wouldn’t have made any sense in this film, since it would have taken place while Q was still working for MI6. Along the lines of Bond technology, I actually liked the fact that this film didn’t rely so heavily on all the gadgets Bond usually carries. I know the gadgetry has become almost synonymous with Bond films, but I liked the deviation from that this time around.

It was kind of fun to see how they played with the typical Bond stereotypes in this film. Such as, his preference for martinis “shaken, not stirred.” When the bartender asked him if he would like it shaken or stirred he just looked at him and replied, “Do I look like I give a damn?” You will James, you will. Also, this film sort of explained Bond’s aversion to using aliases, which is something I always wondered about. Why did he always use his real name? Simple. If the bad guy does his homework he’s already going to know who Bond is anyway, so there’s no use for an alias. It actually kind of makes sense.

Finally, I loved the final scene of the film. When we see James, and that oh-so-familiar theme music starts playing you can feel it. He has become Bond. This entire movie was about James Bond becoming the agent we all know him to be, and that final scene made it clear that he had completed the transition. I loved it.

Now, after watching “Casino Royale” I’m completely sold on the idea of a blond-haired, blue-eyed James Bond and I’m looking forward to the next film, which, according to imdb.com, will also star Daniel Craig.

So if you haven’t seen this Bond film yet, or you’re hesitating because you’re not sure about its star, then I would definitely recommend renting it. You may just change your mind about Daniel Craig as Bond. I certainly did.

Of Bikes and Men

“I have nothing to hide. As far as I’m concerned, people can know everything about me if they want: how much money I’ve made, when I’ve been a fool or felt regret or shed tears. I don’t care. There’s no reason to hold anything back. I don’t feel the need to be selective in order to create some image of a person who isn’t me. I’m me. That’s it.” – Floyd Landis in Positively False

Before I begin, I must add a small disclaimer. A week ago I knew absolutely nothing about the world of professional cycling. I knew who Lance Armstrong was, I knew what the Tour de France was and approximately when it takes place and I knew all about the controversy surrounding Floyd Landis’ win last year (at least, I knew what the media was saying about it). However, I knew nothing about the details of cycling until this past week.

For those of you who may not know, I work in a bookstore. Last Sunday, June 24, I went in to check my schedule for the following week and I learned that I would be working the night of the Floyd Landis book signing. Not only would I be working, but I was assigned to be the “Book Passer,” the person to take the books from the customers and hand them to Landis. This was nerve-wracking for two reasons: 1) I’ve never met anyone as internationally famous as he is (except maybe Danny Glover) and 2) Standing right next to Floyd all night would put me right in the path of all the cameras and reporters who were sure to be at the event. I’m not a fan of attention, but I got over that quickly. I was more concerned about the first issue. I decided since I would be spending that much time near the guy I had better know something about him, so I borrowed a copy of his new book Positively False (one of the many great perks of working for a bookstore: we can borrow any hardcover book we want to read).

I read most of the book in less than 24 hours. It was actually rather fascinating. I had no idea how much effort goes into cycling, and how much work is involved. Aside from learning a lot about Floyd’s life, I learned a lot about the sport itself. Here’s just a few things I learned from reading Landis’ book:

1. Professional Cycling is really a team sport. If you’re a cycling fan, don’t laugh. I really didn’t know this. I knew there were “teams” but I always thought it was still every man for himself. I didn’t realize that no one could win without a team, and that entire team basically works so that the leader can win.

2. There are many strategies involved in cycling. Again, I had no idea what all is involved in this sport. Once I learned that cycling is a team sport, I was fascinated to learn how that team works together to help the leader win.

3. I learned what the big deal about the color yellow is. It now makes sense to me why Lance Armstrong chose yellow for his “LiveStrong” bracelets.

Aside from everything I learned about cycling in general, I also learned about the anti-doping system, and about Landis’ case. I had already decided a long time ago that I didn’t really believe he was guilty. I figured he was fighting way too hard and just didn’t seem like the type to cheat. After reading Landis’ book, I’ve decided that he’s really been given a bad deal. From the evidence that his defense team has uncovered it seems like he never should have been accused of doping in the first place. There’s a chapter towards the end of the book that outlines just a few points Landis is using in his defense, and it would seem that the accusations against Landis are the result of some severe gross negligence on the part of the lab.

But enough about his book, time to get to Landis himself. While I was reading his book I thought Landis sounded very cocky and arrogant and I had no idea what to expect when I met him. And, like I said, I had never met anyone as famous as he was.

Friday night arrived and the store was packed long before Landis arrived. What you have to understand is Floyd Landis is from this area. He grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. These people know him, know his family and they are very proud of him. He has become quite the hometown hero. And of course everyone here considers him the true winner of the 2006 Tour de France. So naturally it seemed like half the county had shown up to support Landis and get his book signed.

As I said before I wasn’t sure what to expect, but what I found was that Landis was no where near as arrogant as he sounded in his book. He was very honest, open and friendly and he even seemed a little embarrassed to have so many people turn out to meet him. If I hadn’t already decided I believed his side of the story I certainly would have after meeting him because he just does not seem like the kind of guy who would be willing to cheat to win. I don’t think he would want to have anything that he did not work hard to earn.

The evening went by fairly quickly. Landis signed autographs for about three hours. I even got my copy signed (I returned the one I borrowed and just bought a copy). His publicist told us afterward that this was the biggest turnout they’ve had so far (according to the newspaper there were over 500 people there), which is no surprise considering this was his home before he went pro.

After all this I’ve decided I’ll have to follow this year’s Tour, since I now have a better idea what is going on, and I’m really fascinated by all the teamwork that goes into winning the race.

“I’m proud of myself for winning the 2006 Tour de France and proud of the way I did it. If something is worth fighting for, then I’m going to fight, no matter what. Give me a week of bad days like Stage 16 – a month of them – and I will not give up. Once I put my mind to something, I see it through to the end, no matter how hard things get and no matter how long it takes. I am not going to quit, and I am not going away.” (from Positively False)

Now, does that sound like the attitude of a man who is guilty? I don’t think so.

Friendship, Loyalty, Love and Redemption in The Kite Runner

Over the last couple of months I've had many customers and co-workers telling me that I had to read The Kite Runner, so I finally took their advice and read the book while I was on tour with Shining Light last week. I'm really glad I did because I think this is one of the best modern fiction novels I've read in a long time.

The Kite Runner is the first novel written by Khaled Hosseini, but you would never know it as you're reading the book. Hosseini's writing style draws you in and keeps you hooked until the last page. The story is powerful and haunting and amazingly well-written. I was hooked after reading the very first paragraph:

"I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975. I remember the precise moment, crouching behind a crumbling mud wall, peeking into the alley near the frozen creek. That was a long time ago, but it's wrong what they say about the past, I've learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years."

If that paragraph doesn't draw you in and make you want to read the rest of the story to find out what the narrator is talking about then I don't know what will.

The story opens in Afghanistan in the late sixties and tells the story of Amir, a young boy growing up in Kabul and his friendship with Hassan, the son of his family's servant. We then follow Amir through his life, the ups and downs, including what happened in that alleyway and how it impacted the rest of his life. It also discusses the Russian occupation of Afghanistan and Afghanistan under the oppressive Taliban control. This book shows us an Afghanistan many Americans are not aware of; we meet the proud people who have suffered, not the terrorists and bin Ladens that most Americans now associate with Afghanistan. This is a very real and human portrait of Afghanistan and it's people.

I won't tell you that this book is easy to read. On the contrary, there are some portions of it that are extremely difficult to read, but it's those portions of the book that make the overall story so powerful and moving. Hosseini's style of writing makes the difficult parts all the more raw and haunting. This isn't a book that you can just set down and walk away from, you'll be thinking about it until you're finished reading, and even after.

Last week while I was reading the book a friend of mine kept asking me what why I liked the book so much and what could I possibly gain from reading it. At the time I was just amused by his arguments, but I've been thinking about it a lot since I got home and finally figured out how I would respond. I think what appealed to me most about this book was that, while it's a beautifully told story of Afghanistan and it's people, it's themes are universal. This is a story of friendship, loyalty, love and in the end, redemption. I also loved that Hosseini's writing style is very straightforward and honest, which lended well to the overall tone of the novel.

I would highly reccommend this book to anyone, whether or not you're interested in modern history or current events. The events in Afghanistan are only the backdrop for this story. This is really a story about the people, not the country.