Trudi Canavan

When you send someone a postcard on postcrossing.com, you take a look at their profile to see what kinds of cards they like and their hobbies, etc.  In the last batch I sent, I found a kindred spirit, an anime lover and a Harry Potter fan.  She lives in Germany and her profile mentioned Trudi Canavan so I looked up the author and immediately put the first of her Magician's Guild trilogy on the library hold list, which is becoming increasingly long.  Well, I fell in love.  The story revolves a young girl who lives in the slums of Kyralia.  She inadvertantly magically throws a stone at the magicians as they try to purge the city of these dwellers each year.  As Sonea thrawts the Magician's Guild time after time, she, herself, is thrown into danger as her powers become more and more uncontrolable.  The story is simple but the characters very rich.  I could not put the book down and I am now immersed in the second. You have to love postcrossing.

my favorite so far

TH-10759
Originally uploaded by snshn98
Chiang Mai, Thailand. The umbrellas are the most adorable thing.

the perfect trailer

I love trailers. This one has the perfect mix of music, action, and imagery. Have fun watching this sucker.

the white knight, the joker, and the Batman

I have been listening to the score for several weeks now but I just saw the movie this weekend.  The Dark Knight was classic superhero but definitely with a more twisted villain than anything that has come before.  While it is star studded, Heath Ledger made this film the ratings garner that it is.  I have said it before, I love the darkness and the broodiness of Batman.  Bale plays him a little too cheery for me sometimes though but the sacrifice and evidence about what he had become by the end of the film was definitely known.  Ledger, on the other hand, is a spot on Joker.  He never falters as the crazed lunatic and we know that he will not kill Batman because it is too much fun playing around with him.  I like how he wants us to know his many scar stories, he revels in them and the terror he can create.  Harvey Dent was also pretty perfect.  We see the bright white knight he was before the tragic dual personalities took over his soul and his mind.  It seems more likely that we will see him again rather than the Joker, given Ledger's death.

The score has more of the same themes we heard in the first movie, only with this lovely James Newton Howard twist.  It is definitely a Media Ventures now known as Remote Control Productions work with its electronic undertones  I have read that The Joker theme, especially, was recorded with orchestra and then resampled with electronics.  It makes for a difficult listen but a good theme for the tragic character. The third track "Harvey Two Face" takes on the Howard I know and love at the end with a big douse of the Dent theme in all its glory. It has grown on me with each listen.

Besides the really good movie with the really good music, I was blessed with the trailer for the next 007 movie and, in my opinion, it is one of the best trailers I have seen. Truly, this franchise has been lifted into an even better direction than with Brosnan if the trailer is a sight to behold. http://www.007.com/

my love for M*A*S*H

I was looking through the old posts, certain that I would have mentioned M*A*S*H.  But I never had and I absolutely love the show.  I still watch the reruns, over and over, especially any with Colonel Blake or Colonel Flagg, both having the epitome of comedic timing.  The show was amazing, the perfect blend of comedy, tragedy, and friendship.  Before medical dramas were the norm, this show blasted you with 'meatball' surgery without all the fast talking jargon and it feels more real than anything on television these days.  Some of my favorite scenes are when Hawkeye or one of his cohorts plays the pun.  The actors are of the highest calibre, the writing unspeakably tight, and the characters unforgettable. With memories of my dad, this show prevails and will probably keep doing so, at least for me, for a very long time. 

chaos of unpacking

Yes it has been a month since the actual move but being the obsessive person that I am, I have to organize rather than just unpack.  Things have to be observed, recorded, and then put in their place.  My extensive soundtrack CD collection is going to be the last thing that gets done because I have to upgrade the storage.  Therefore the boxes get moved from unfinished section to finished section and back again.  The boxes just could not hold out today and the bottom of one finally opened.  The beautiful chaos had to be recorded.  Luckily, the CDs survived and there was nothing beyond slightly cracked cases.  One of them just happened to be a Danny Elfman signed copy of Tim Burton's The Corpse Bride but thankfully a case can be swapped very easily.  Note to self and all others planning for a move: tape box bottoms securely!

the Brits can tell a story

Two British series ended their seasons this week on American television.  Both of them left open questions as to what was going to happen.  The first, Robin Hood, played the emo card and killed Marian, effectively killing what made this series.  Lucy Griffiths was an excellent Marian, beautiful yet spunky.  I enjoyed her performances with Jonas and she was always an integral part of the story.  In my opinion, it seems unlikely that this series can keep its audience without the main drive of Robin.  Doctor Who, on the other hand, took the lonely route, erasing Donna's memories of the Doctor and leaving him yet again traveling through time and space, alone.  That last scene, with him entering the Tardis from the rain, knowing full well that he had within him the power to destroy worlds yet missing the human element that grounds him was very special.  Apparently, this series does not return until 2010 under new direction.  I eagerly and worrily await to see how the Doctor copes with losing another leading lady.

happy endings end

around the world

Now I have received eight postcards from around the world. I have added them to flickr to share with postcrossing.com and now you can enjoy. This is so great!

anyone got a frying pan?

I know that it is July in Texas but this is awful. And August, the hottest month of the year, is still a week away.

simply beautiful

A little rougher, a little snarkier, what a gorgeous trailer.

My mother, the cat lover

Have fun, mom!

http://blogoscoped.com/files/stripes.html

Avatar returns and then ends

How excited am I that Avatar: The Last Airbender returns this week?  A week long run of new episodes every day with a two hour finale on Saturday.  Well, since this is it, the end of Avatar, my excitement has no bounds.  Though, I typically get too excited and my anticipation outweighs the actual product.  But because it is Avatar, I am hoping that is not the case this time.  Make sure you watch Nickelodeon this week!

The Force Unleashed

The saga continues as Darth Vader takes on a secret apprentice.  This game looks amazing combining the things I love about Ninja Gaiden and Star Wars into one piece.  Take a look at the trailer to drool over the graphics and fun that can be had. 

http://www.lucasarts.com/games/theforceunleashed/

God love Joss

I love Joss Whedon.  I have since Buffy the Vampire Slayer the movie.  He is hilarious in person, hilarious in his writing (http://www.drhorrible.com/plan.html), yet poignant in both aspects as well.  The man is pure genius when it comes to the video medium.  And here he goes again.  Straight out of the writer's strike, Joss puts on an internet extravaganza starting July 15.  Make sure you watch, it is going to be so much fun.

Teaser from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog on Vimeo.

In the midst of my packing craziness

Macgyer Gets Lazy 

Is that Jet Li?

I would not have thought that Jet would make an appearance in this film but there he is. I am a big fan of this series but am apprehensive at the missing Weiss and lack of Jonathan. They made the movies actually funny. Still, it is pretty nice looking.

Clermont-Ferrand, France

How appropos that my first post card was from France. Caroline writes in French and describes the beautiful view of the volcanoes. I am so loving this postcrossing thing.

I love postcards

I love postcards and the stamps that come on them. My collection spans two photo albums. I mentioned this in my French class a few weeks ago and one of my classmates told me to sign up at postcrossing.com. This is a place where you send and receive postcards from all over the world. It maps them, tells you how long it takes to get to its destination, and even has some pictures of cards that are sent. Boy was this ever the best thing. The first thing I did was head to our local tourist shop and buy $10 worth of post cards and then to the post office to buy $0.94 stamps for international postage. Then I sent out five cards which is the limit. I just received notice that my first card was registered in Finland. I can not believe how happy it made me feel. Imagine my delight when I will receive my first card. You have to try this.

http://www.postcrossing.com/

Bleach: Memories of Nobody and other anime movies

Viz Media decided to release Bleach: Memories of Nobody, a movie based on the famous anime, for two days in the United States. I was lucky enough to live in a city where it was being shown. As part of the promotion, there was a neat little introduction with interviews of the Japanese and American staff and actors about the anime and the movie. It started with one of the animators just sitting down and drawing Ichigo... fantastic. The movie itself was funny and fun. Best of all it was on the big screen where Ichigo, Rukia, Renji, and Byakuya come to life.

I have also watched a few other movies of late. Origin: Spirits of the Past was great, almost Miyazki-like only with a weaker story. The characters were great, the animation beautiful, and the music stupendous. Unfortunately, you can not find the soundtrack in the US but I have been listening to the opening and ending songs on repeat for a few days now :) 5 Centimeters Per Second was also another beautiful movie. Filmed in three parts, the inner thoughts of two friends is voiced over some of the most graceful images I have ever seen. Definitely a must see.