I am nothing of a builder.

But some guy asked me if I was an architect. Hee! It's the portfolio. I said no, and then he asked me if I "drew." I said yes - because that's not really a lie.

This is interesting!

Amy Highway Fame City 3 Bankruptcity 12 Family Farm 52 Childbirth Hospital 158 Wealthville 287 Please Drive Carefully

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Where are you on the highway of life?

From Go-Quiz.com

Not bad, just interesting!

Incidentally, I will tell the reason Season Six sucked in the plainest of terms: They dropped the show's gimmick. This was bad, as it destroyed the entire premise of the show. Noxious (I think) is the one who said the 'switch up' for S6 was going to be the theme "Life Sucks." Well ... yeah. That's always been the theme of the show. Only the incidences of life sucking were manifested in the form of evil demons that needed to be physically fought. It was clever because it laid bare what most people experienced; whereas the "demons" most people fight are internal, here they were external. Then, in S6, they internalized all the character's problems, leading to the complaint that many people had that it felt like a "soap opera." The alienating factor is that while Buffy used to embody an average person's experience with life in a more literal way, now she was a person with a really unpleasant life - who also, in her spare time, fought monsters for some reason. Who can relate to that?

It's nice to see Samantha Mathis getting work again.

Man. I totally thought I posted this, but I had it saved as a draft. I would have made this entry "yesterday", but apparently my computer is in desperate need of more memory. As such, AOL decided to throw a tantrum for most of yesterday and would not let me online.

So, anyway, Sunday and Monday nights I watched the TNT world premiere of 'Salem's Lot, based on the novel by Stephen King. There was a post on the WD about it, and I posted some reflections there, but the post was a bust so let's pretend I didn't.

I read the novel 'Salem's Lot when I was in sixth grade. I liked it very much. Possibley because it was about vampires, but also because it was just well written. For some reason my school system thought Stephen King was what you should read in middle school. I was ahead of the curve, I suppose. Whatev! Anyway, the novel contains the most definitively suspenseful sequence I have ever read. What follows are spoilers.

[Begin Spoiler for 'Salem's Lot. — Highlight to view]

In the book, Mark Petrie is knocked unconscious and when he wakes up, he's locked and tied in a bathroom. In the film, the struggle isn't as great, but I realize they had a lot of film to go through, and 10 minutes watching someone try to get out of ropes would probably make for ass boring television. Instead they upped the suspense by having him need to get the gags and such off because help is right outside the house. And the evil guy is coming up quicker. It was still great. Mark Petrie is such a great character. I loved the kid that played him in the film, though I had envisioned him blonder and geekier. Oh well. I particularly loved his final scene. I'm sure make-up assisted the effect, but he looked seriously wan and shell-shocked and haunted. It was great. They also changed the ending. It was an upnote. Well, relatively. More death, but a better finale. The tone of the ending was something that had bothered me.

Sutherland and Hauer were good too. The first was good being overwhelming creepy, and the second is good as quietly evil. So they created a nice sense of menace together. And Andre Braugher kicked all sorts of ass. He really is a terrific actor. I totally want him on my side if my town is taken over by the evil undead.

There are only a select few things that I didn't like about the movie, and most of them were in the second half. And the very beginning. Rob Lowe's voice-overs made me giggle. He really didn't sell the words, and King's words are pretty cool. He was good in the straight acting (though I never would have picked him for this character) but just ... stupid in the voiceovers.

The other major niggle - the vampires were way inconsistent. Sometimes (in the case of Mathis and Hauer, and all the main characters that get vamped, really) they were totally lucid and normal - like people. But what was with the eyes? They had a good hypnotic effect going, but then why did some of them start glowing green? Heads up effects crew: NOT THE TOMMYKNOCKERS! Wrong King flick! Oh well. Also, towards the end, the mass of them started acting like zombies. The fuck? They hit two with the car! They're not zombies! Why are they all sluggish and unresponsive suddenly? In addition - the "wedding" scene I felt lapsed into cheese. And I was disappointed. By contrast, I loved that Ruth and Dud got together. It was sweet. I have so many issues.

Finally, what was up with Samantha Mathis's hair once she was dead? Why was it crimped in certain places? I understand that she was ... done up, but what the fuck? Barlow has a crimping iron? Weird, man.

[End Spoiler]

So that's that. It's over, but I'm glad I saw it. It entertained me. Really need to read that book again.

I'm sure there are other things I meant to talk about when I was initially going to post this, but I've forgotten them. So, in their stead, I will say: "Dance With Me" by The Sounds is quite good. It's not as dance, and more rock than its chorus would suggest. So, thanks VH1.

Stacy Ferguson!

Oh my goodness! So, I was watching the Maxim Hot 100 yesterday, right? Incidentally, I find it superior to the FHM top ... whatever because Kirsten Dunst is listed much higher. That's using your noggins, people!

So, anyway, they feature this girl who is called "Fergie" perhaps someone has heard of this because Lord knows I haven't. She apparently sings with a hip-hop group of some sort? Anyway, I have no idea what that's about. But! But! In this highlight of her that they have, it is revealed that her name is actually Stacy , and that she is, in fact!, one of my favorite characters from one of my favorite childhood shows!! Kids Incorporated! AWESOME!

She looks completely different. She's less blonde, more tan, and she was wearing an appalling amount of makeup. And I don't care for her choice of musical genre. But this news makes me very happy, because I loved her on this crappy show when we were both younger people, and now she is rising into moderate stardom. That's great! And apparently she's hot!

I wonder what happened to my other favorite, Renee. In the show, they were sisters. Renee was replaced by The Satan, whose terrible acting, stupid head bopping, and lemon-squinted ugly head totally ruined one of my most beloved shows, and began my most long-standing vendetta. You'll get yours someday, Hewitt.

Also, I wrote a letter to the man described in my previous entry. I am INSANE? I don't even drink and I do things I regret in the morning. Yeesh!

New important mission!

Dude, what's up with the every-day entries? It won't last. I guarantee it! Incidentally, the "guar" in "guarantee" and "guard" and such was, in Old and possibley Middle English, pronounced "gwar." This has been your day's pointless trivia.

But now, for the dreadfully important news! Jason Done needs to be cast in a lot of high profile movies, right away. Because he is hot. Thank you.

So accurate!!

Thank goodness I found this at Crystal's Blurty, because I was wondering how I was going to start this entry.

How to make a Amy

Ingredients: 5 parts anger 1 part brilliance 1 part empathy

Method: Blend at a low speed for 30 seconds. Add a little wisdom if desired!

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Personality cocktail
From Go-Quiz.com

Anyway, now for some more random things. My hair is turning gray. I know I've said this before, but I really mean it this time. It's not just a few hairs scattered around the head. It's 11 strands in just the small section I fingered through. "Oh, Marge has been gray as a mule since she was 18." I mean, is this normal? I had really hoped that I could go gray gracefully in my life, because I've begun to think that strands of silver in dark hair, especially if the woman is not too old, looks rather nice. It's strong and defiant somehow, and that's how I wanted my hair to be. But this is too soon.

I can now add "Lebanese" to the list of "Nationalities I've been Mistaken For." I've been thinking of adding this to my acting resume under the "other facts" section. The complete list is as follows: Belgian, Cuban, Dutch, Egyptian, English, French, Greek, Indian, Irish, Italian, Lebanese, Mexican, Native American, Palestinian, Romanian, Russian, Sicilian, Spanish, Swiss, Turkish, Ukranian, Venezuelan. Guess which three are right! Yes I listed Sicily as a different country.

In my final bit, I'm going to talk about Harry Potter yet again! I must be butter, because I'm on a roll. Please forgive me for saying that.
[Begin Spoiler for Ron, up to Prisoner of Azkaban. — Highlight to view]

I was thinking of my Katy quote (two mentions in as many days!) and thinking about how Ron's been used in the films thus far, and I've decided that there is one thing in particular that shows Ron's true nature better than anything. Scabbers.

Ron is poor. Ron is sensitive about the fact that he is poor. Scabbers (yes, let's nevermind that he turned out to be evil - I felt so bad when I met the characters, and Ron's introduction of Scabbers is what made me fall in love with his character) is sort of a living incarnation of Ron's poverty. He's a old, crusty, toe-less, slow, patchy rat. Whereas everyone else has brand-spankin'-new pets, Ron has a hand-me-down one. And yet Ron cares about him - is upset when he thinks he's hurt, and is honestly delighted when it turns out that he's alive.

Ron doesn't have much, and he does have the desire to have more than he does. He wants to better himself. But when someone else is involved, he puts his needs aside for theirs. He makes sure that they're tended to first. Whether that be his best friend or an old rat.

In conclusion, Ron's great.

[End Spoiler]

In other news, I may be the best person ever. Discuss.

An entry about Harry Potter, no, seriously this time!

This afternoon, I saw the film Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban , at the aforementioned multigigagoogleplex. I realize the follow statement might run the risk of alienating approximately half my readership, but: Yay for fathers. Mine is terrific.

It was pretty wild, because it was like I was seeing it for the first time. That's how bad the other theater was.

And now, some spoiler tags.


[Begin Spoiler for The Prisoner of Azkaban. — Highlight to view]

I adore the scene where the boys are eating the joke candy in the dorm. I almost cried, seriously. It's my favorite scene of the film, possibley. This just reinforces something I've known about myself for a long time: I'm am completely queer for movies about young boys bonding at prep schools. You might think this would be a very select thing to be ridiculous over, but really, more movies fit this description than you think. Anyway. Young boys bonding at school. I love it. I also love the scene where Ron wakes up from a nightmare, and Harry talks to him before he goes back to sleep. So cute. Great acting by both boys.

One of the things that I had really wanted to see on screen, and I'm serious about this one, was the picture of the Weaselys in Egypt. It was great; exactly the way I thought it should look. And because they had that, I wasn't bothered by anything else that was omitted or fiddled with. It's the little things.

I really don't care that the names on the map were not explained. Because really, if you're paying attention, they're already explained. I figured it out in the book long before it was explained, just as I knew that Lupin was a werewolf. You know, I think, if you name your child "Remus Lupin" that you're sort of *asking* for something abnormal to happen there. "Boy, I hope nothing wolf-related happens to my son! That was not my intention in giving him this name!" Anyway, the only thing that I couldn't figure out immediately was Prongs, and I think that's cleared up in the movie by relating the figure of the stag to his father. So, everything was good with that for me. I do, however, think the explanation of *why* they all became animagi was sorely needed. Because without it, it opens up major plot holes. Even if you've seen the other movies, and know that you have to register (sort of like a handgun, isn't it?) and you carry this knowledge over into this movie, a lot of assumptions, then you'd simply have to ask, well, if everyone's looking for Sirius, why aren't they checking all the black cgi dogs in the neighborhood? Plus, I dunno, it just felt like something was missing, and I even knew all the explanations and stuff.

In other news, Draco's hot. That's wrong to say, isn't it? Anyway, he also backs up all my theories because he's evil and blonde. That's my type! But as I've said elsewhere, I don't know why people expect him to be such a menace to Harry. I mean, he's a thirteen-year-old fucking kid! Harry's had to defeat, not once but twice, the evil and powerful psycho that murdered his family! And you want him to be scared of Draco? Draco is menacing in the way that he's meant to be menacing: in the way that states that old, evil money pulls a lot of sway. They're pretty much subjected to his whim, really. He can cause as much trouble as he wants, and his father's wallet is going to back him up on it. But he's not going to, say, come after Harry in the night and murder him in his sleep. And to finally talk about the fifth book for Stephanie, I think despite what most people thought (that Draco's threat was lessening) I thought it was strengthening. The older Draco gets, the higher up his influence can go. Eventually, he's going to be controlling some things you'd probably rather not have a nasty, spoiled, vindictive person like that running. This combined with the fact that Harry keeps coming out on top regardless of how Draco tries to fuck with him, is going to brew some deep resentment and jealousy in his little blond head. And when his retribution comes, he's going to make it as bad for Harry as he can. However, for the time being, he's a idiot teenager. Harry's busy saving his own neck. So shut it about Draco.

I need to directly quote the divine Katy and say: "My one gripe was the giving of the line 'If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too!' to Hermione rather than Ron. Maybe they were making up for Hermione's relative abscence from the last film, but Ron seems to be becoming more of the comedy side-kick to Harry and Hermione, which is not in keeping with the books. Yes, Ron isn't as sharp as those two, but he's courageous and loyal and a true friend to Harry. When he says that line in the book, he's prepared to crawl across the floor with a broken leg to protect the life of his best friend. It's a great moment, and its a shame they gave it to Hermione as she already had plenty of great moments in the film already." Totally. I hadn't even thought about it before, but, yes. If Fred and George weren't my favorite characters, then Ron would definitely be. ... I also have a thing for redheads. As well as blond boys. Blah. If by the end of the series Ron doesn't wind up saving the day and getting the girl, I'm going to be very disappointed. And by girl I do mean Hermione. Theirloveissoobvious! Hermione is not meant for Harry. In their group, Ron is actually the new James. Hermione is the new Lily, and Harry is the new Sirius. I know I'm just throwing that out there, but think about it.

Sirius: money, popularity, and the more you know him, a bit of a dick. Still likeable, but seriously, kind of a dick. Compare, Harry.

I still love David Thewlis. With all my heart. I think some of his mannerisms were off as the character, but I think the personality was perfect. I really liked his exiting scene, where he said "...Let's just say, I'm used to it." Perfect mix of humor, resign, bitterness, and tiredness. I love David Thewlis

I don't think Gary Oldman's really too attractive, but in the book, I dimly recall of description of Sirius that says you could see in his face that he was once a handsome man. And there was a closeup of Oldman in the film, possibley the last one, where this completely struck me, because it saw it very clearly. It was actually a perfect way of describing him. So, yay Gary Oldman!

For a closing remark, I'll say: dark, schmark. I like the books because they're all depressing and ominous and stuff. This film touched on that, but I still don't think it's as dark as it should be, given the matierial. They suck your soul out through your face!

[End Spoiler]

It figures.

That when I finally bundle up all my things to mail, they declare the day a federal holiday. Stupid dead president.

So, none of you are expecting anything, anyway.

I am a rock band. And also a girl. I'm all excited about babies and weddings.

Incidentally, if you have blood tests on a regular basis, can you give blood? If so, I probably should, since I am a universal donor, or so I've been told. I'm such a giver.

This entry is about Harry Potter.

So, this afternoon, my mother and I went to see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban . I was actually unaware that it was premiering this weekend, but apparently that's the case. Then why have so many people seen it, I wonder? Anyway, I was entirely unsatisfied with the whole experience, which had nothing to do with the movie. So, my mother wanted to go to this absolutely crappy theater in my absolutely crappy town. It's absolutely crap. However, it's showing at 4:45. And it was three o'clock and she was ready to leave, so we went to the multigigagoogleplex two towns over. It was playing on five screens, but the nearest shows were all sold out, and the next available showing was at 6. So it seems my mother would have her crappy theater after all. So we go there. It's still crap. It's small and cramped and sticky. They kept the lights on through the whole picture. I mean, they had been dimmed, but *they kept the lights on through the whole picture*. The main problem, however, was that the sound was horrendous. The audio was completely unbalanced. The background noise and music was deafening. The dialogue was low, and it echoed. So I could hear about one word per sentence. I sat throught it for about ten minutes before I could take it no longer and got up to complain. I explained the problems, and the staff that was berting around claimed it would be immediately rectified. Which means they made the volume louder. It was marginally better, but it still wasn't balanced, and there was still an echo. I got up again and complained again. They said that perhaps where I was sitting was the problem. a.) I was sitting in the dead center of the theater, b.) what the fuck difference does it make where I'm sitting - it's a fucking movie theater! They also said that they had people pole their heads in from various points, and it sounded fine. Oh, that must have been the banging doors. It did not occur to me to ask if they had actually stayed a reasonable length of time to see if they could actually hear any of the dialogue. Because they didn't. Finally they suggested that I must be the only one having this problem, because I was the only one who had come out to complain. ... I'm sure I don't need to comment on this little particular. They offered me free passes to return to their crappy theater, and I declined and returned to the crappy audio film. If I had been there with someone other than my mother, I would have suggested that we leave. I had to fight the urge several times to just get up and walk out. I honestly can't even tell you what I thought of the movie, because I was just so irate about the whole ordeal. The experience of the movie was utterly ruined for me. Utterly.

Someone should take me to see it again, or something.

Anyway. I did have a few comments that I wanted to make from what I was able to glean purely from the visual, but I'm tired now and I don't have the energy for spoiler tags. And I don't really want to talk about it anymore.

I had chicken fingers for dinner. This quells my rage somewhat. Somewhat.