Reason #34 To Go See Twilight

The longer, better trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is shown before it, giving us that wee bit of needed Potter to sustain us until July ... after our multiple viewings of Twilight, of course.

My Twilight Movie Review

As I'm sure you've all been biting your nails and waiting anxiously to read what I think of Catherine Hardwicke's movie version of the Stephenie Meyer book, I finally sat myself down at 10:35 this morning in sweet anticipation for that one "scene of sensuality" and Robert Pattinson's cornucopia of intense looks.

I have to say I was impressed with the choices of all the secondary characters. The high school kids, Bella's Dad, Jacob (yes, Jacob), Billy, Mike, Jessica, etc., all do a wonderful job of bringing a natural humor to the film. I did find myself chuckling at scenes that were not perhaps intended to be humorous, like when Edward first "smelled" Bella in Biology class. In fact, most of my untimely chuckles were unfortunately based on the expressions of the two main characters. Where most of the actors/actresses seemed comfortable in their roles, it felt a bit like Pattinson and Stewart were told to attempt to cram thousands of emotions into a 3 or 4 second closeup and the result was Stewart's facial features running through about six emotions in painful succession before muttering, "Um, yeah." Or Pattinson morphing from intense stare to angry intense stare, confused intense stare, and/or mildly amused intense stare.

Don't misunderstand, I love the movie, love the casting even, but I hope the director eases up a bit in the future (and yes, there is most definitely a future!) on pushing the actors to put so much emotion into one scene that it seems over the top ... even more over the top than is the norm for a vampire movie. You see glimpses of how well the two actors can be together when the intensity is toned down a notch, as in the scene in Edward's bedroom that ends in a genuine (read, not overly intense) Pattinson grin before he whisks Bella out the window. And, of course, that one "scene of sensuality" could just be put on repeat and most fans would be entertained for days. Oddly, my little sister's description of what she thought was goofy in the movie (a twinkling sound when Edward's sparkles make their appearance) was not at all as distracting or cringe-worthy as I expected. In fact, I found some of the flashbacks a bit more comical. I'm sure I'll think of other particular examples after I've seen the movie again (or a few more times).

We should all expect now that a movie will never be able to tell the complete story, that certain aspects are changed to make things easier in movie land. Two scenes I personally would have loved to have seen were Jasper and Alice coming into Edward's room to suggest the baseball game, when Alice quips that she thought Edward might share Bella (as a snack), and seeing Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmet dancing at the prom. *sigh* But, overall, Hardwicke does an excellent job sticking with the book, and I think most fans will be pleased with the adaptation.

What about a sequel? It seems the studio was simply waiting to see if the hype of Twilight lived up in monetary terms on the theater screen. The result was the biggest opening for a female director ... ever. And so a New Moon, based on Meyer's second book in the series, will soon be shining (sure to have thousands of females throwing popcorn at the screen and/or growling within the first 20 minutes - if you don't know why then read the book).

After my fear that Hardwicke would Eragon *shudder* this movie, I am highly pleased. If you are a fan of the books, or even of just pretty pretty people, you'll find something to enjoy.

Don't Mess With My Biggby Mocha!!

Biggby, Biggby, Biggby ... just when you've brainwashed me into calling you that ridiculous name instead of Beaners ... just when you've reclaimed the Monroe Center location from the menace of an evil owner (sorry Ryan) and turned it into the successful, thriving coffee shop it now is (thanks be to Steve, Justin, and crew) ... you do your loyal customers wrong once again.

Biggby is changing their frequency card program. Instead of the paper cards that are stamped with a "B" each time you partake in the java, luring you back for more so that you can obtain the blessed 13th free, Biggby is giving their customers a plastic frequency card to be swiped with each purchase. Cool idea, right? Less waste of paper, one card to worry about instead of five or six, Biggby heading into better technology. But wait. They swiped my card but I got no credit on my account. What happened? A glitch? A problem with the program?

Nope.

See, I used a $1 off grande coupon when purchasing my drink.

Now, I understand that the old cards did say that you get the free beverage after purchasing 12 beverages at full price, but most locations I knew of continued to stamp for purchases made with coupons since, let's face it, if you are a loyal customer, those most likely to use coupons in the first place, local owners/managers WANT to keep you happy. They recognize that their "regulars" still drop a lot of cash in their shops even while using the coupons. And they recognize the importance of keeping "regulars" happy in a business where competition is so high. I walk by at least three local coffee shops on my way to Biggby ... not including the Starbucks that is right across the street from them.

Biggby! Don't piss off your regular customers by lessening the effect that a frequency rewards program has to that all important group!

Hell, you changed your name from Beaners to Biggby in response to a small group of uninformed people upset about a name having nothing at all to do with an alternate derogatory meaning and everything to do with ... gee ... I don't know ... COFFEE BEANS ... and now you're going to change the rewards program in a way that hurts the customers that have remained loyal to you?

Dumb ass move. You know, I hear those Starbucks Frappecinos are yummy.

Score: Halloween Hair Color - 3; Me - 2

I scored with the bathtub (this tub is clean) and my clothes from that night (also de-pinkified); however, Rotten Red scored so far with my bathroom counter (almost clean but I keep finding more spots), two washclothes destroyed, and my bathroom floor, by far the worst casualty.

Please please please tell me what hope I have when pure bleach holds no power over the pinkness on my bathroom floor!! Anyone? I'm open to suggestions here.

What's In A Name?

I was searching my PC earlier for old photos I'd already scanned for safekeeping and ran across a series of early shots from my family's B.J. (before Jenny) days. You know ... back when I was the baby of the family ... those blissful, fondly remembered days of old. *sigh*

The shot depicts my sister Linda's birthday during a time when somehow we each got a gift (in this case, totally cool transistor radios in yellow, blue, and red!), helped blow out the candles, and apparently wore matching nightgowns. Beyond relishing just how adorable I was (am), I look at this picture and have to wonder why on earth you'd choose "Uncle Wiggily" for the title of a children's board game. Really? Uncle Wiggily? Perhaps it is only a result of being bombarded daily with criminal cases involving crimes against children at work but to me Uncle Wiggily sounds a bit more like the username for a pedophile on his favorite kiddie porn site.

My only exposure to the rheumatoidal rabbit was through this game; however, apparently Uncle Wiggily Longears (who knew Wiggily was a first name?) is the main character in a whole series of roughly 79 children's books by Howard Roger Garis, who began writing the stories in 1910. The stories included a number of bad guy characters including Woozy Wolf and Bushy Bear and, according to the Wikipedia article, they were all intent on nibbling the "souse" off Uncle Wiggily's ears. Did anyone know what "souse" was without looking it up?

I'm completely grossed out now.

Halloween Aftermath ...

You know what's fun? Having blazing red hair for a ghoulish Halloween night of candy and multiple spidermen and princesses. How does one get such blinding hair, you ask? Why step right up and gander at the Fright Night Temporary Hair Color in Rotten Red. As noted on the can, "Instantly change your hair color to go with any costume design. Streaks 'N Tips sprays a fine mist of color accents or sparkling glitter. It's the perfect touch for parties, holidays, special occasions, or just for fun!"

You know what's not fun? Trying to figure out how to rid yourself and your surroundings of said "fine mist of color." The directions state, "REMOVAL: Brush hair thoroughly and shampoo and condition as usual. Those with prelightened hair may need to wash hair several times for complete removal."

Somewhere in the land of Fright Night Cosmetics, the cackle of an evil scientist can be heard. You see, there are several things not noted on the can.

1. "Light mist" = everything within a five foot radius of where you're standing when you administer the spray will be hit, you just won't know it yet.
2. "Wipe off excess with a damp cloth" = you'll push said mist around on your counter top and bathroom floor (which you stupidly forgot to cover with an old bath towel) trying in vain to wipe any of it actually off these spaces. The thought of turning your bathroom into a Pepto-bismol ad flashes through your mind.
3. After throwing an old towel onto the now pink floor and removing your now pink socks, you move on to your makeup and file away these troubles until later.
4. You sport brilliant red hair, give out all the candy except the Heath bars you've discovered you now love as an adult, and generally have a wonderful night with friends.
5. Later arrives. You pull a brush timidly through your rock hard hair once or twice then scoff at the "brush hair thoroughly" command and stumble into the shower.
6. "Wash hair several times" = five ... so far.
7. You step gingerly from the shower and steadfastly refuse to acknowledge your new slightly pink tinge or the light pink streaks across your cream colored bath towel. And, no, not the towel used to dry your hair.
8. You cover the now pink shower/tub floor with Comet since, come on, if Comet can't cut this color, nothing will.
9. Nothing will.

I'm going to need a much bigger bath rug.