Happy late birthday, Patrick Swayze
Hey kids, how are we all? Today I went out with mum and got a lime green messenger bag, and also put some bathers (read: swimming costume, bathing suit) on lay-by. Tomorrow we're going into the city, so it's been a nice weekend so far.
In Thursday's LJ news: bunch of new v-gifts, including sponsered v-gifts which take the form of one can, one bottle or a slab of Diet Pepsi, which you can send for free no matter what your account level. It has received the usual LJ IS SELLING OUT ONOEZ reaction, though I don't really think letting us send free cans of Pepsi to our fellow LJers is a sign LJ is teh evilz. There is also this comment regarding the new v-gifts, which is TEH WINZ. I think every news post needs a Sylar reference.
Oh, and also, all Paid users now have a $1 gift certificate to send one free v-gift to someone. And people say they don't give us Payers enough. (BUT WOT ABOUT THE PERMZ!!!)
I found a couple of things on Lifehacker that I thought would be useful for you guys: a new program called Ted works like a Tivo for bitorrent, finding the latest eps of a show for you and downloading them automatically. And, this site has some details on how to get music off your IPod and onto a computer.
I've finished Twilight, Lily!
In brief, I can say I didn't think a whole lot of it. My mum has just finished reading it herself (she loves vampires and is a huge Anne Rice fan) and she, personally, thought it sucked, LOL. It got good towards the end with the 'chaser' going after Bella - the action scenes were really well written, which leads me to believe that perhaps Meyer is writing in the wrong genre. The mythology surrounding Edward and his family, how they became vampires, how they feed, the history etc; was all top-notch fascinating stuff, the logic behind why Bella was in danger and why he wanted to feed on her was understandable, and all that was written wonderfully. It's just the characterisation I can't get over. Whenever Edward and Bella were together and not discussing vampire stuff I was either bored or wanting to chuck the book out the bus window from some of the dialogue, LOL. It ventured a little into cheesy territory for me, like a romance novel, which leads me to believe she can't write character relationships as well as she thinks she can. Even in the young adult psuedo-fantasy genre I've read better. And while we're talking about characters, I have to say it - oh my god Mary Sues, LOL. I do like this book and don't want to get anyone angry over it, but Edward? Um? Is there a way he's not a idealized representation of the author's perfect man? I will be blunt: he read to me as a Gary Stu the author justifies by having him be a vampire. Bella is a little better, but with her over-the-top clumsiness, the amount of suffering she has to go through, her plain looks, descriptions of herself and even her name being Bella as opposed to Isabella...it's all a bit Sue-ish to me. I think Edward being Stu-ish and the overwhelming EDWARD/BELLA OTP thread in the book ties into Jacob being hated as a second love interest. Like, some dude named Bob could probably be in love with Bella and some people would probably be like ZOMG GO AWAY BOB IHU.
BUT! As I said, this book does have some really good parts in it. I'd love to see the vampire mythology explored a little more, though I think this book could have been better with not so much focus on the relationship aspects in terms of Meyer's writing. On the whole though, I don't really see how this book became such an LJ success, probably because nobody is analyzing it as closely as I am LOL. It's intriguing and interesting, but not my kind of book. Not my thing. I don't deny that it is good in parts though! I'd like to see how her writing develops later, outside of the Twilight trilogy.
Now, the actors. This book would indeed make a good movie once adapted a bit, and I find it fascinating that fandom as a whole has overwhelmingly agreed upon Emily Browning and in particular Gaspard, when the author has said she won't be considering Gaspard (though I doubt she would have much influence over casting). Personally, I've been thinking about, because I think a movie from this book would be fantastic, and my picks are the following:
Bella
K, I don't really buy Emily Browning as Bella. I have no idea why, but she just seems too pretty or too feminine for such a character - though God knows she needs a breakout film and this one would be great. However, Ellen Page:
She just screams Bella to me. Just plain enough, just captivating enough. I would go Amber Tamblyn as well, but she's well into her twenties now. My second choice would probably be Danielle Panabaker.
Edward
Who knows. He's perfect-ed so much in the book, whoever they choose is going to get slammed by fans. I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE PEOPLE THINK IT SHOULD BE GERARD WAY LOL (scroll down in that thread to the Meyer quote for relevance). Of all people!
BTW, is it weird to only me that Meyer has a list of people she thinks should play her characters on her website? Do any other fans think this? I dunno, as someone who writes and hopes to be published one day, I would never openly discuss who I want to play my characters on my website, particularly for a movie that's not even a certainty yet. I might mention it but I wouldn't start a page with pictures. It seems a bit...unprofessional to me, I guess? Or weird?
Anyway, I'm glad I've read this book now so I know what people are talking about, LOL. I've seen mixed reviews on it around LJ so I'm glad to have my own informed opinion now. This book really reminded me of Roswell.
Also, I have to quote my mum's reaction while reading to finish off here: "He leaves a dent in the car? Vampire = superman now?!"
Oh, and it probably deserves a longer dissertation or more alarm, but CU is down, or possibly gone, but probably just down. More news as it happens, I guess?
LOL new 3:10 To Yuma poster. As if the slash wasn't obvious in the trailer, we now have a poster...with Bale and Russel seperated by a slash. Glorious. Speaking of Bale, I think I may buy Batman Begins this week as it's really cheap at JB, and when I really think about it wasn't that bad. At least not as bad as Superman. Yek.
New House S4 promo picassos. Not all that spoilery. I looove the Wilson ones, but WTF VICODIN BATH? Man, are the kiddies at capslock_house gonna go nuts.
Alright, I'm out. Didn't get any comments last time so you all owe me some. Give me things to icon! Writing prompts! Explanations of your favourite cereal and why! Anything!
In Thursday's LJ news: bunch of new v-gifts, including sponsered v-gifts which take the form of one can, one bottle or a slab of Diet Pepsi, which you can send for free no matter what your account level. It has received the usual LJ IS SELLING OUT ONOEZ reaction, though I don't really think letting us send free cans of Pepsi to our fellow LJers is a sign LJ is teh evilz. There is also this comment regarding the new v-gifts, which is TEH WINZ. I think every news post needs a Sylar reference.
Oh, and also, all Paid users now have a $1 gift certificate to send one free v-gift to someone. And people say they don't give us Payers enough. (BUT WOT ABOUT THE PERMZ!!!)
I found a couple of things on Lifehacker that I thought would be useful for you guys: a new program called Ted works like a Tivo for bitorrent, finding the latest eps of a show for you and downloading them automatically. And, this site has some details on how to get music off your IPod and onto a computer.
I've finished Twilight, Lily!
In brief, I can say I didn't think a whole lot of it. My mum has just finished reading it herself (she loves vampires and is a huge Anne Rice fan) and she, personally, thought it sucked, LOL. It got good towards the end with the 'chaser' going after Bella - the action scenes were really well written, which leads me to believe that perhaps Meyer is writing in the wrong genre. The mythology surrounding Edward and his family, how they became vampires, how they feed, the history etc; was all top-notch fascinating stuff, the logic behind why Bella was in danger and why he wanted to feed on her was understandable, and all that was written wonderfully. It's just the characterisation I can't get over. Whenever Edward and Bella were together and not discussing vampire stuff I was either bored or wanting to chuck the book out the bus window from some of the dialogue, LOL. It ventured a little into cheesy territory for me, like a romance novel, which leads me to believe she can't write character relationships as well as she thinks she can. Even in the young adult psuedo-fantasy genre I've read better. And while we're talking about characters, I have to say it - oh my god Mary Sues, LOL. I do like this book and don't want to get anyone angry over it, but Edward? Um? Is there a way he's not a idealized representation of the author's perfect man? I will be blunt: he read to me as a Gary Stu the author justifies by having him be a vampire. Bella is a little better, but with her over-the-top clumsiness, the amount of suffering she has to go through, her plain looks, descriptions of herself and even her name being Bella as opposed to Isabella...it's all a bit Sue-ish to me. I think Edward being Stu-ish and the overwhelming EDWARD/BELLA OTP thread in the book ties into Jacob being hated as a second love interest. Like, some dude named Bob could probably be in love with Bella and some people would probably be like ZOMG GO AWAY BOB IHU.
BUT! As I said, this book does have some really good parts in it. I'd love to see the vampire mythology explored a little more, though I think this book could have been better with not so much focus on the relationship aspects in terms of Meyer's writing. On the whole though, I don't really see how this book became such an LJ success, probably because nobody is analyzing it as closely as I am LOL. It's intriguing and interesting, but not my kind of book. Not my thing. I don't deny that it is good in parts though! I'd like to see how her writing develops later, outside of the Twilight trilogy.
Now, the actors. This book would indeed make a good movie once adapted a bit, and I find it fascinating that fandom as a whole has overwhelmingly agreed upon Emily Browning and in particular Gaspard, when the author has said she won't be considering Gaspard (though I doubt she would have much influence over casting). Personally, I've been thinking about, because I think a movie from this book would be fantastic, and my picks are the following:
Bella
K, I don't really buy Emily Browning as Bella. I have no idea why, but she just seems too pretty or too feminine for such a character - though God knows she needs a breakout film and this one would be great. However, Ellen Page:
She just screams Bella to me. Just plain enough, just captivating enough. I would go Amber Tamblyn as well, but she's well into her twenties now. My second choice would probably be Danielle Panabaker.
Edward
Who knows. He's perfect-ed so much in the book, whoever they choose is going to get slammed by fans. I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE PEOPLE THINK IT SHOULD BE GERARD WAY LOL (scroll down in that thread to the Meyer quote for relevance). Of all people!
BTW, is it weird to only me that Meyer has a list of people she thinks should play her characters on her website? Do any other fans think this? I dunno, as someone who writes and hopes to be published one day, I would never openly discuss who I want to play my characters on my website, particularly for a movie that's not even a certainty yet. I might mention it but I wouldn't start a page with pictures. It seems a bit...unprofessional to me, I guess? Or weird?
Anyway, I'm glad I've read this book now so I know what people are talking about, LOL. I've seen mixed reviews on it around LJ so I'm glad to have my own informed opinion now. This book really reminded me of Roswell.
Also, I have to quote my mum's reaction while reading to finish off here: "He leaves a dent in the car? Vampire = superman now?!"
Oh, and it probably deserves a longer dissertation or more alarm, but CU is down, or possibly gone, but probably just down. More news as it happens, I guess?
LOL new 3:10 To Yuma poster. As if the slash wasn't obvious in the trailer, we now have a poster...with Bale and Russel seperated by a slash. Glorious. Speaking of Bale, I think I may buy Batman Begins this week as it's really cheap at JB, and when I really think about it wasn't that bad. At least not as bad as Superman. Yek.
New House S4 promo picassos. Not all that spoilery. I looove the Wilson ones, but WTF VICODIN BATH? Man, are the kiddies at capslock_house gonna go nuts.
Alright, I'm out. Didn't get any comments last time so you all owe me some. Give me things to icon! Writing prompts! Explanations of your favourite cereal and why! Anything!