Since I hate debates anyway, I'm seriously thinking about not watching tonight. I especially dislike these town hall ones YUCK! With their "undecided voters" -- yeesh, right, pull the other one why don't you? "Undecided" like the guy NPR trotted out who turned out to have been a Kerry and DNC donor. And why are all the moderators always liberal MSM types? It would have been nice for a token attempt at balance to have someone from FNC moderate one. Anyway, back to the audience asking questions... the other thing is that these people almost always ask stupid questions, they never seem like they've studied any issues in depth, and that they got most of their info from Jay Leno's monologue. Okay, maybe this time it will be different, and I won't come away from it thinking that the questioners should be ashamed of themselves. Juuust maybe.
we got an apartment! We went at lunch yesterday to look, and within the hour had done the paperwork and written out the deposit check. We can move in the 19th! The landlady loves cats, doesn't require a pet deposit, and said I can have all my cats with me -- she doesn't care. It's a large, garden setting type complex, pool, playground, all the units have a deck, and really large rooms wih huge closets, and a storage area. No lease, month to month. We can even grill/BBQ on our deck. The rent will be a bit of a squeeze, but worth it IMHO. I could even walk to work in a pinch, or if I'm feeling really motivated :) Oh, and all the apt's have their own small furnace and hot water heater. We have a corner unit, downstairs.
I can not tell you how relieved I am! and pretty happy the first potential landlady was so obnoxious! I'm not even sure why I called this place since it wasn't on my inital list, but something drew me back to the ad. I think God was looking over my shoulder.
Now, as a housewarming gift to me, I went and ordered some housewares off of my Amazon Wishlist. They had a deal going on, plus free shipping, so that made it easy [g] If you've been dying to know, my kitchen theme colour is blue! I think between what I stole from mum, and the stuff I got a few months back and this order, I have all the basics. Maybe next month I can get a few more things off the list. Still need to buy an air mattress, since I'm dumping my water bed, and a futon sofa for the living room, so we have something to sit on, and it will double as a guest bed. Oh, and a tablecloth for the outdoor plastic table that will now be my dining room table. Tea towels ... Dishcloths... Wooden spoons, spatula/bowl scraper, vaccum. Okay, maybe I'm not as set as I thought! Big surprise there! But soon, precious, soon!
Still no news on the house in Utah since we changed lending companies from the evil conglomerate to a local one recccomended by our realtor -- so keep your fingers crossed.
On the apartment hunting side, I thought we had it nailed down yesterday, but when I called to arrange paperwork, deposit, etc... suddenly they want me to sign a years lease. I didn't want to do that. I said six months, she said she'd ask her husband, call back later. So, I call back, and she gets very aggressive and bossy about signing a year lease. That's an instant deal breaker for me. I react very badly when people try to browbeat me into doing something. Really, really bad.
Back to looking. I have an appointment to look at a place tomorrow at lunch. The landlady was really very nice, so I'm hopeful. More than I wanted to pay, but I'm resigned to rent bankrupting me.
Oh, we looked at a Victorian in Pacific Grove yesterday that had been turned into a triplex. I was sooooo tempted -- I dearly love old houses. But, they wanted an enormous security deposit, and the apartment was on the rundown side. The two didn't mix for me -- if you want nearly a $2000 deposit, the place had damn well better be pristine! Plus there was no furnace, so I would have had to use space heaters in all the rooms. Been there, done that, and at least in that place we had a wood stove!
Tonight is Townhall Meetup night, so I get an evening out!
This part in particular is something I brought up when the "Phantom Menace" came out. The timing doesn't make sense!
.... INFINITELY WORSE is the end of the new DVD version of Return of the Jedi, which has been altered so that when Luke looks over at the ghosts of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Anakin Skywalker, the actor who played Anakin in the original trilogy, Sebastian Shaw, has been replaced by Hayden Christiansen, the actor who portrays Anakin in the prequels.
Again this seems a small matter, but on closer inspection it nearly unravels the entire Star Wars universe:
(1) Hayden Christiansen is 23 years old. When he filmed Return of the Jedi, Shaw was 78.
(2) This creates a timeline problem for Lucas: If Anakin Skywalker is in his early twenties when he becomes Darth Vader, and Star Wars introduces us to a Luke Skywalker who is also in his twenties, that means that (a) When Darth Vader dies, he's only in his forties; and (b) the reign of the evil Empire has been barely 20 years--not nearly long enough for all the drastic changes we're led to believe have happened since the Emperor took over. For example, after only 20 years, would people already be regarding Jedi knights and the Force as "old wizards" who practice a "hokey religion"?
(3) Making Anakin Skywalker younger runs counter to everything Star Wars had told us about his character. In Episode IV, Obi Wan tells Luke that Anakin was "the best star fighter pilot in the galaxy and a cunning warrior." In Jedi, Obi Wan says that Anakin was "a good man" before he turned to the Dark Side. To hear Obi Wan tell it, Anakin was a grown man when he suddenly turned evil, which is dramatically interesting. Now, Lucas is saying that Anakin was simply an adolescent who went bad. Not a particularly epic theme. After all, when people are young and irresponsible, they're young and irresponsible.
(4) Forget the epistemology: At the end of Jedi, Mark Hamill is 32 years old, so he's now looking on beatifically at his 23-year-old father. Even worse: At the end of Jedi, Luke removes Vader's mask and sees the face of his father for the first time. This face belongs to actor Sebastian Shaw. So when Hayden Christiansen appears as Anakin's young ghost, Luke wouldn't have any idea that this kid is his father.
(5) By inserting an actor from the prequels, Lucas has made it philosophically impossible to separate the original trilogy from his weaker and less interesting work. After seeing The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, some Star Wars fans believed that they would be able to stick their heads in the sand and continue to enjoy the originals by pretending that the new installments never happened. George Lucas has now denied them even that cold comfort.
We have a new member of the OnDragonsWing blog family. Please welcome my lovley guest blogger, Cranky Beach to the wonderful world of having your own blog.
A musical version of the 1984 SF movie The Last Starfighter takes the boards in an off-Broadway production at New York's Storm Theatre, Oct. 15-30, Playbill Online reported. Lyricist-composer Skip Kennon (Time and Again) based the musical on Jonathan Betuel's screenplay, about a teenage video-game player enlisted to save the universe. Fred Landau wrote the libretto, the site reported. Storm artistic director Peter Dobbins directs.
The Last Starfighter, which starred Lance Guest and featured the final feature-film performance of Robert Preston, was notable for marking the first extensive use of computer animation in a movie.
The musical Starfigher will take the stage Monday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m.
The movers never brought more boxes, so we've actually been lazy today. I've spent the day playing on the internet, watching FNC, and now I'm starting on my set of season four Stargate DVDs. (thanks, Roberta!) I'm also doing laundry, so I'm getting something done.
Nothing seems to be on PPV, so I need to rifle through the DVD box and see what movie i want to see again. Though I did buy "Cold Mountain" a few months back and have never watched it. Or I could watch "Pirates of the Caribbean" for the 634th time! I really wish the extended version of "Return of the King" was out. [pout]
Oh, and I'm trying to read Neil Stephenson's "Quicksilver", but I'm finding it really hard to get into. Does it get easier farther in?
Season one of Due South is freakin' $111!! I really want it (Nin's taped off the TV tapes finally died), so I decided to add it to my Wishlist, and was amazed at how much they were. Someone is going to have to really love me to get me those! Geepers....
Some great news on Forever Knight -- season two is being released on DVD in a few months. And, unlike the first season, this one will have some extras:
Commentary Tracks:
* Killer Instinct - Jim Parriott and Geraint Wyn Davies
* A More Permanent Hell - Nigel Bennett
* Curiouser & Curiouser - Nigel Bennett
* Crazy Love - Jim Parriott and Geraint Wyn Davies
"About the Show" featurette (20 mins)
Questions from the fans (7 mins)
I am so bummed right now, you have no idea. I watched the series because of RM, and it even got me to read the books. (I'm not much into mysteries). RM is Adam and he's irreplaceable.
I finally saw the movie, "When Harry Met Sally" last night. It was amazing how many segments of the movie I'd already seen over the years even though I'd never actually seen the movie.
I've had a "Buffy" & "Angel" email list for awhile, but with the death of those two shows, the list kinda died along with it. So, today I changed it to an SF & F genre discussion list.
:: ".... visiting her site is much like visiting her at home, curling up in a chair and chatting about all kinds of different things. It's hard to convey warmth over cyberspace, but she does it." ~ Debbye, "Being American in T.O."::
I get a tuppence for everything
purchased through this site. So if you're
considering an Amazon purchase, I'd appreciate it
if you clicked through here, or on any of the items
linked on the Bookshelf or Entertainment Center.
Thanks!
