Immediacy
Being a précis of recent noteworthy sensory explorations, by way of staving off the boredom associated with the last (synchronise watches) two and a half hours of my working week. Firstly, and foremostly:
OMGWTFBBQ SERENITY SPOILERS IN YOUR FUCKING USER ICONS??!!11 ARE YOU INSANE? So you got to go to the preview. The rest of us mortals don't get to see it for another two months. Please stop now.
Right. Amusement: The current issue of She magazine, as touted by the double-sized cover splash outside the newsagent's, features a picture of Teri Hatcher. The first time I saw it, I thought it was ageing superbitch Janice Dickinson. Seriously, the resemblance is uncanny, although you probably wouldn't see it from any other picture. New Zealand ANTM fans: get thee to a newsstand.
Not at all what I was expecting: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was good, but not the cinematic marvel everybody was hoping for. It was nice to see them sticking so closely to the book (and I loved that they used Dahl's original lyrics for the Oompa Loompa songs), but I think that, while Depp played the role of 'boy who has been locked in a chocolate factory for twenty years' pretty well, I think he was missing some of the charisma that made Gene Wilder's Wonka stand out. (Then again, Johnny Depp was Jack Sparrow, and Gene Wilder played the Fox in the abysmal screen version of The Little Prince, so who's counting?) Freddie Highmore was another disappointment: he didn't have the range he had in Finding Neverland (whether that was his own shortcomings or just the script letting him down is unclear; after all, the movie was much more about Wonka than about Charlie), and I found myself enjoying the supporting characters (David Kelly, Christopher Lee, Deep Roy) much more. (Incidentally, I won my first Matt Versus Jeff IMDB Cage Match the other night when I asserted that a much younger Deep Roy was in The Neverending Story as Teeny Weeny. Fatality!) Verdict: See it, but maybe only once.
Also in cinematainment: Trailers for Serenity, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and The Corpse Bride all look good. I can tell I'm going to have to finish watching Firefly soon, but every time I get a few episodes in, I find someone else who needs to watch it, and they have to watch the pilot first, so I watch it with them, and then we watch the next episode or two or five... Besides, I made a solemn promise to a young lady that I would not, in her absence, advance beyond the point that we'd reached together until her return from Parts Unknown.
Bad habits As may be clear from the end of the preceeding paragraph, I find myself with increading Regularity drifting into a Mode of Expression more commonly used in the Epistolary Communications of a Former Time, particularly when engaged in the Composition of an Electronic Message or Note. This Pastime is made all the more enjoyable when the Recipient of said Communication takes it upon himself (or herself, as is more often the Case) to respond in Kind. The Flavour with which this Imbues the otherwise Tedious Writing Process makes the Task at Hand pure Joy to Undertake, and increases the Frequency with which one is compelled to Correspond with such Worthies.
Ahem.
The little show that could: The Silver Lining Experience was quite a pleasant surprise. Granted, the quality of the acting varied uproariously, but, as is not always the case, the better actors were also the better singers, which helped enormously with the pacing. Since the evening essentially amounted to Musoc buying memichal and myself drinks to sit in the Upper Common Room for an hour and a half with our friends and listen to some nice music, I'm really not complaining at all.
I keep missing: Veronica Mars, and it looks like I'm going to miss it again tomorrow night as well, which is a shame. I've only seen about two thirds of an episode, which was nonetheless very nearly enough to get me hooked, although apparently not enough to make me remember to watch it again. Mental note: THEE HOTT LAYDIEES!!
Twinge of guilty pleasure: If you know kphoebe like I know kphoebe, you'll recognise that her musical taste is exceedingly ecclectic, so that I am instinctively wary of any recommendation she might make to the public at large (although her targeted pitches are usually on the money). I am unlikely, for example, to develop her immense love for Disney songs, although there are one or two notable exceptions.
With this in mind, then, it is perhaps not unreasonable that it has taken me six months for my level of curiosity to exceed the threshold dictated by the strict filter with which I temper my exposure to the vast morass of modern entertainment, in the case of Kelly Clarkson's debut album, Breakaway. I can now confirm to my eager readers (should this post be friends-locked?) that it is, indeed, a Good Album. I can't get the songs out of my head, and I have to say I don't mind. A real-life copy of the album may find its way onto my shelves; were my CD collection not strictly alphabetised, it would probably sit somewhere between Nelly Furtado and Scribe, in the collection of CDs people look at with distaste and say "Matt, I can't believe you would own that". Suck it and see, bitches.
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