HP and the OOTP

Saw the movie last night. I thought I could wait, but I started getting antsy Wednesday, and so I guilted the Vansome into agreeing to see it with me after he got off work Thursday. I had a roast in the crock pot and he wanted some down time at home first, so we decided on the 8:30 showing. That also gave me time to watch the Live Eviction on BB, and watch Jen win HOH just as I knew she would. Seriously, the show is more scripted than reality. I just go with it now, so it doesn't make me mad anymore.

But about that movie... I loved it. Loved it! I purposely didn't re-read the book ahead of time, so it's been at least a couple of years. I had hoped that would give me enough distance to not have too many expectations as to what they would show. It worked. There were scenes I would have loved to see on the big screen, but I understood the need to leave so much out. It is a huge book. I was hoping they could make the movie a little longer, but all in all I think they did an admirable job in shrinking down a very busy story.

Spoilers coming, so if you haven't seen the movie yet (or read the last book), and plan to, stop reading here. I'll put anything else I have to say in another post, so you won't miss anything but movie talk. So stop reading now. Unless you don't mind being spoiled. You have been warned.

SPOILERS
What I loved about the movie: Evanna Lynch's portrayal of Luna. I liked her even more than I did in the books. She was amazing. Imelda Staunton was equally scary/nasty as Umbridge. Not quite the toad I pictured in the book, but still very very sickeningly ick. I thought Helena Bonham Carter was beyond brilliant as Bellatrix. All in all very good casting. I was happy that they left in one of my favorite scenes from the book, the Weasley twins grand exit, and while I would have loved to have seen their swamp, I understand why it was left out. The thestrals looked great! Exactally the blend of creepy, ugly, and yet very likeable creatures. The subtle set-up of the future Ginny/Harry relationship was done well, with some admiring glances from Harry over her magical prowess and some mildly jealous looks from Ginny when Harry and Cho were together. I was really glad they took the time to show what a great witch Ginny really is. She's been all but ignored in the last few movies, and she plays such a large role in Half Blood Prince. Snape was great, as usual. Movie Snape is so different than Book Snape for me, but I love them both equally. The Ministry of Magic was phenomenal. I really loved the special effects. They looked very "real" and not over-the-top, aren't-we-talented-look-what-we-can-do. It was much better than what I had pictured.

The Head-in-the-Fireplace special effect was much more the way I pictured it from the way it was shown in the last movie, but at the same time it was distracting to me because I had just seen that scene from Goblet of Fire earlier this week. I thought that it was kind of bad form to do it differently, even if it was better.

My favorite thing was Harry's reaction when Sirius feel through the veil. It was perfect! They showed the depths of his emotions without schmaltz or obvious emotional manipulation. It had a much greater effect in the silence. I have to say my worst ever scene from an HP movie was Harry's "He killed my parents" breakdown in Prisoner of Azkaban. The losing Sirius scene from OOTP makes up for that bit of crap.

What I didn't like, or wish was different:
I missed Mrs Black. She would have made for at least one good scene in the movie. I loved Sirius' line in the book: "I see you've met my mother." I hope that shows up in deleted scenes, but it probably won't because I'm guessing they didn't even make her portrait for the movie. I wish they would have shown Dumbledore's office sealing itself against Umbridge. They didn't explain about Aurors, or even mention them. There were a lot of missing explanations for things, such as Phineas Nigellus' portraits, why Grimmauld Place was such a great hq, where Neville's parents are, what Fred and George are going to do and where they got the money for it, and lots more that I'll add as they come to me.
I don't mind them leaving out the Quidditch, but it was interesting about Harry, Fred, and George being banned and all of that about Ron. They really stole all of Ron's glory that was in the book. I would have loved to hear a rousing chorus of Weasley Is Our King. It also cost us the beginning of Fred and George's grand exit when they call their brooms from the dungeons and the bits of chain and rock clinging to them ats they made their final fly through. I like Fred and George's exit much better the way it was written. It was almost anticlimactic the way it was on screen, knowing what a brilliant scene it was originally.
I was mildly disappointed by the set up for the Room of Requirement. It was pretty lame to just have Neville walking by and it appeared. I loved that in the books, it was first mentioned by Dumbledore, who had need of a bathroom.
I would have liked to have seen St Mungo's, but I see how that would be a really expensive set for something that wasn't as necessary to the movie. And I highly doubt they could have gotten Kenneth Branagh to reprise Lockheart for such a bit part. I would have liked to have seen the heartbreaking scene with Neville and his parents, though.
I'm sure there is more I will want to say, but I'm taking a break for now.

Prepping for Changes

BB has really sucked me in again. These are some seriously boring Hamsters this year, and yet I can not look away. I don't have strong feelings for anyone yet. Except Joe and Jen. Very much not liking those two. I think Nick may be my fave right now. His ambiguously gay thing (that only shows up on the feeds) just might be brilliant strategy. I'm hopeful. I'm getting all of my feed action in the form of Hamster Time recaps. It's better than watching myself, and cheaper! It's not so hard keeping up because these Hammies never.do.anything. I do waste too much time reading about it, though.

I haven't been completely worthless over the last week. I babysat Jett yesterday. That was something. I had a shake at Purple Cow with Ame Friday night. That's about the extent of my leaving the house. The Vansome intended to work on the Kitchen last weekend, but got sidetracked by shopping for hunting gear with his dad. I'm just so happy about the new dishwasher that I don't care so much about the rest of the kitchen. I've instituted deer camp rules, which means putting your dishes in the DW as soon as you are finished with them. If they can handle that at deer camp, they can handle it at home. I also have a "you open it, you unload it" rule. The new DW has a little green light that comes on when it's finished, so no more wondering if the dishes are clean or dirty. So far I'm the only one who can see the little green light, because I seem to be the only one unloading anything.

The Boy and I have been busy with getting-ready-for-college chores. I had been avoiding it for a while because I am Not Ready. I really don't want it to be happening yet. But I forced myself to start thinking about it again, and I've had a little fun buying a few supplies and working on schedules.
One thing I've had to face and come to terms with is the money situation. I will be getting a job soon. A real job. I know I won't be able to make as much as I did before, but I think I can get close. The Vansome's coworker and friend, Tony, moonlights in a lab at the Med Center. He gave me some job leads yesterday and I'm working on that today. I'm really hoping to end up in the Cytogenetics Lab. It sounds sort of close to the kind of work I used to do, so the training should be relatively easy. And the bonus is that I really have missed microscope work. Wish me luck!

BB is Back

For the third time in four years, at the end of the Big Brother season last fall I swore that I would Never.Watch.Again. The show starts back up again tonight. I'll be watching. I am so weak.

I first got sucked into this show 5 long years ago, Season 3. I'd heard of it the previous two seasons, thought it sounded a little sick and twisted, and wasn't interested. But that summer, I just happened to have Entertainment Tonight or Extra or one of those 6:30 shows on the night of the premiere, and they introduced a few of the contestants. The only one I remember from that was Lisa, who went on to win, but she piqued my interest and so I decided to watch, to see what would happen to her. It helped that the show was starting later that night so I didn't have time to forget about it. It also helped that TV used to be pretty boring in the summer.
I really enjoyed Season 3. I loved Jason, and wanted his secret alliance with Danielle to pay off. I wanted Danielle to win. I got caught up in Lisa and Eric's showmance, and actually cared whether or not they stayed together after the show ended. (they didn't.) I adored Amy and Marcellas. I hated Roddy with a white hot passion. I was happy enough with the outcome. My girl Dani didn't get it, but at least she got the second place money. So I watched again the next year.

Season 4 was fun. The twist was interesting. I liked Jack the former FBI guy. I liked Erika. I even came to like Robert, mostly because of his love for his daughter. This was the year that I discovered internet recaps of the live feed. I found a guy, close to the end of the season, because I was looking for a recap of an episode I had missed. I still don't know who he was or where to find him again, but he provided me with my first glimpse of the difference between what CBS chooses to show you and what's really going on in the house. He showed me that Allison and Jun were pretty nasty mean girls, and neither of them deserved the money. I was sorely disappointed when they ousted Robert and ended up in the final two. I didn't want either of them to win, but I didn't want Allison to win more. Thankfully, Jun took home the big money, but I still swore off future seasons of the show.

Season 5, I conveniently forgot my vow, and I perked up when I started seeing ads for the coming season. The Vansome and I watched the first night, and when Cowboy started to speak, I knew it was hopeless. No way the Vansome could listen to him. He is very sensitive to voices. Cowboy's voice was hard for me to hear, and I'm not nearly as particular. So I decided to wait it out. I figured, he looks and sounds an awful lot like an idiot, he doesn't look like he's going to be fitting in with anyone else there, I don't see anyone being able to stand being stuck in a house with that voice for very long. He'll be out the first week. Then I'll start watching. I checked the official website every week, and every week Cowboy was still there. Finally, it was time for the finale. Final two? Cowboy and some other guy. I watched them award the prize to the other guy, but that damn Cowboy caused me to miss the entire season.

Season 6. I watched, but I didn't care. Then one day one of the peas posted a link to a fight from the night before. Someone, or more acurately several someones, who subscribe to the live feeds, had recorded a fight between Michael and Eric. It was very very funny. I was hooked again. This time, I found a couple sites with live feed recaps. (I'll add them to my sidebar later) Dingo's Hamster Watch just gives a really good summary of what he observes each day. Hamster Time is a message board where an assortment of clever feedsters document, complete with comments, literally every thing that they see on the live feeds. It's beyond addictive. Did I mention that this was the first summer after I quit my job?
Things got ugly fast. The battle lines had never been so definitively drawn before. This was one entertaining show, but the best stuff didn't make it to television. After a particularly brutal but hilarious rant from Howie, the infamous "Busto" rant, in which he made April cry, the Vansome and I broke down and subscribed to the live feed. We Loved It! We fell head over heels for Jedi Janey, Huricane Howie, King Kayser, and sweet Rachel. We despised the FriendSith. They were evil, I tell ya. When Maggie (known to feedsters as Haggie or Maggot) won, I was devastated. Not quite to the same degree as the presidential elections the previous fall, but close. I vowed to never watch again. This time I meant it.

Season 7 rolled around, accompanied by talk of an All-Star version. My Jedi Janey was returning! And Kayser was getting the second (third) chance he deserved. Plus Howie would be back, along with Erika from 4, Dani and Marcellas from 3, and I would finally get to watch the Evil Dr.Will from season 2 in action. We didn't get the feeds this time because we had some problems cancelling our subscription from the previous summer. I was okay with that, though, because it's actually more entertaining to read the feedsters from Hamster Time than to watch the feeds myself. And the really good stuff ends up on youtube anyways.
I enjoyed the season immensely. Except for my burning hatred for Mike Boogie. When Janey didn't make it to the final two again, I knew what was coming, and I couldn't stomach it. I turned off the TV after she had her chat with Julie, deleted Dingo and Hamster Time from my favorites, and swore that I would never watch again. I knew that Boogie was going to win, but I didn't even bother to verify it after it happened. I just couldn't stand it.

Season 8 starts tonight. I'll miss my Janey Doll, but at least there's no more Boogie. I'm such a sucker.

It Was the Perfect Storm (of Stomach Aches)

The Boy has always had a thing for hot and spicy foods that burn his mouth. He has a high tolerance. When he was 10, he had a hot sauce eating contest with the Vansome, who was well known for his love of heat. The Boy smoked him.
Last week, while we were taking care of the dog, The Boy snagged a bottle of hot sauce from Grammy's. "HOT SAUCE Salsa Picante de CHILE HABANERO El Yucateco Much More Habanero!" read the label. It was a small bottle, most likely bought during one of her trips to San Antonio. The hot sauce itself was that unnatural flourescent green color, a glow-in-the-dark version of the green ketchup that was on the market a few years ago. He loved it.

Last night, The Boy made his new favorite snack, a hot sauce sandwich. Two pieces of whole wheat bread bleeding flourescent green. He ate it a little too quickly. Then he got stupid, I mean macho. He made a second sandwich. The Vansome had one of his dead-bunny-in-the-garage moments. (see the last paragraph of this post) He encouraged The Boy to add sliced jalapenos to his flourescent green hot sauce sandwich. The clashing colors of the two greens were enough to hurt my eyes. But I wasn't eating it. I could look away. I did warn and nag and worry out loud, like any good mom. He was immediately sorry. He kept coming out his room throughout the evening (interrupting our Lost Season One DVD-athon) saying things like, "Man, my mouth hurts" and "It hurts to talk" and "This is really burning me." Once he came out to tells us "When I drool, my spit burns me." Niiiiice.

Today, when I picked him up from work, The Boy informed me that we were returning the hot sauce to Grammy's at my earliest possible convenience. "It is the devil," he said. "The hot sauce has won." He told me he believed Beelzebub himself had tried to crawl out of his butt. He was in pain. A lot of pain. He was pretty sure he had second degree burns on his intestines. But that's not the worst of it.
To ease the burning in his mouth last night, I encouraged him to drink lots of milk. Milk neutralizes the chemicals that cause the burns. He drank more than one large glass full. Downed them, one after the other. He's lactose intolerant. Lactose, guess what, upsets his stomach.
There was a third actor in this trifecta of stomach hell. The Boy suffers from what he and I refer to as "a nervous stomach." He (and I, because he inherited it from me) get painful and inconvenient stomach problems whenever we are nervous or anxious. The Boy spent a good part of fifth grade in the bathroom. School hours yesterday were devoted to working on college stuff, which left him feeling stressed. Which led to nervous stomach problems. On top of the lactose intolerence stomach problems. On top of the hot sauce sandwich overload.
He said, "Mom, I'm pooping flames." I laughed, or laughed harder, because he had me in stitches the whole way home. As we rounded the last corner, he made a vow, in his most solemn, vow-making voice. "I will never eat hot things...for a while."

Happy Fourth!

I've got some parade watching to do this afternoon. I may even stay for fireworks. And I'm thinking hard about that Gator-on-a-Stick.

So I guess you're wondering if I'm ever going to blog about the BFDT. I've been wondering the same thing myself. I keep telling myself, "Self, you really need to blog about the trip." But then I don't. I'm all rebelious that way. I hate when I tell myself what to do.

The truth is, I just can't seem to wrap my brain around it. Words like "awesome," "great," and "wonderfully spectacular" just don't even begin to do it justice. I feel woefully inadequate at expressing what this trip meant for me. The whole thing just overwhelms me and I know I can't really get it down in words. I have a list of memories, just one line reminders, really, that I wrote in the front cover of my Black Belt Sudoku book while I was babysitting Jett on my last night in Disney. Maybe I'll copy that here. But maybe not.

Will you ever get to hear my thoughts on that amazing trip? Probably. It's just gonna take a little more time. I need a little more distance.