Just a brief update, I stopped over by the British Museum for a couple hours today, and took some more photographs. I actually recognized a number of the items in the Egypt room from several books and photographs, which was really cool.
Because I'm having problems with photobucket, all of the pictures that I'm going to take will be uploaded onto facebook, and they can be accessed through here:
Ramses II
A better image of the Rossetta Stone
Burial Coffins
Had my first class today, on Multiculturalism in Britian, which has proven to be fairly interesting so far. London, from what I've seen already, is a very diverse city, with a huge number of different ethnicities in it, which I'm finding facinating to live in, especially coming from Vermont, which is one of the whitest states in the union.
I've also managed to put some pictures up online, some of which are displayed below. I'm really enjoying my digital camera, although I'm trying to avoid all the touristy things that I could be photographing, although I did get some of those.
Big Ben
The Tintin Shop
The Reading Room of the British Museum
Statue of Winston Churchill
Red Telephone Booth
I have more online, which you can see here.
I was especially happy to find the Tintin shop, and picked up the DVD set of the cartoons that were released. I've since watched the first two episodes, and really enjoyed them, fun show, great stories and artwork, and they follow the book series really well.
Well, I'm in London. Quite a few things have been going on, but I haven't started classes yet, that'll be in the coming weeks. Currently, I'm working on getting a little more intigrated with things here. The exchange rate is not terribly good, but I've gotten used to the £ symbol everywhere.
The flight over was good, as well as the other flights down to JFK and Newark. The flight over was pretty good, only 6 hours, and it went quickly. I sat next to a woman, a professor from Liverpool, and we talked about the country a little, which helped. Will (another student from Norwich) and I found Barbera right after our flight, and we got to the flat where we both me Fran, our roommate.
The last couple of days have been mainly walking around, getting our bearings and things of that nature, as well as some tours and walkarounds around the city. We saw the London Tower, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guard, the Needle and London Eye, among other things. I'll be getting photographs up shortly, whenever I remember to bring my connection cord with me to a computer lab. Computer access will be kind of spotty, whenever I get time, and we don't have access in our flat, which is probably a good thing.
Alrighty, time to find some dinner sometime.
Well, in a couple of hours, I'll be off. My flight for JFK doesn't leave until tomorrow, but I'm leaving early to sleep in Burlington, before hitting the bank and getting that flight. Friday morning, I'll be on a plane out of Newark headed to London. As I said to my friend Rachel last night, I cannot believe that it's come up so fast. When I applied, tomorrow was forever away. But now, it's so close that I just sit in shock at how quickly it's come, and how quickly it'll go. Hopefully, not too fast. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I'm packed and ready to go. Just got my digital camera last night, learned how to fiddle with it, and still trying to figure the thing out. It doesn't have any internal memory, so I need to figure out how to get more pictures out of the memory card (It's currently only able to take 16, not nearly enough.) So, this isn't going to be updated in about a week, more than likely, depending on when I get computer access again. So, hopefully everything will go smoothly. See you on the other side, in London!
I just read some kinda saddening news on the SciFiWire this morning: There will be no more Firefly, according to Joss Whedon. However, that doesn't mean the end of stories from that universe:
Whedon: No More Firefly
Firefly/Serenity creator Joss Whedon told USA Today that he still hopes to tell more stories set in the futuristic universe, but added that there's no chance he'll do another Firefly TV show. "We'll never make Firefly again, because that was a thing that existed and is now gone," Whedon told the newspaper before Christmas. "And Serenity isn't Firefly, and whatever comes next won't be, either. But I would love to tell more stories of this universe and to hang out with these people on and off for the rest of my career."
Serenity, based on the canceled Fox TV show Firefly, hit theaters last September and has pulled in a disappointing $25.4 million domestically since opening Sept. 30, 2005. The movie is now available on DVD.
"The best-case scenario is that the DVD is such a spectacular, monster hit that we get to make another movie," Whedon said. "Then we get to make another movie. After three movies, we're all very tired. After Serenity: Revolutions, we feel like we've played it out. And then we make another series."
Whedon is currently writing the script for Wonder Woman, which he is slated to direct once Warner Brothers signs off.
Let's hope that there will be more from him someday about this.
Happy New Year everyone! Year #6 into the decade. It's scary that it's almost a decade after 2000, the future. Just spent much of the day up in Burlington at their First Night Celebration, watching the YVO and a couple of chorus groups, one of which my former librarian in highschool was in. It was good to see her again, after her retirement. Met up with Sam and his girlfriend Miranda, and with my sister, we walked around a lot, seeing various things. Had a really fun time.
My resolution this year: Not to let people slip away like last year.
A year can teach you a lot about people. It can take a small thing that can really change your opinion of someone, for better or worse. Looking back, it seems like this year has been nothing but ups and downs.
It’s always disconcerting when you have someone tell you that someone else can’t stand you. Not that I really mind that. There are plenty of people who I can’t stand, and there are probably a large number of people that can’t stand me. But it’s always annoying when they don’t come out and say something. Why do people leave things hanging like that? I don’t get it.
I think that this year has been one of the more difficult ones. I’ve had my heart broken worse than I’ve ever had it, but I got over it, and realized how much of an idiot I was for it in the first place. I guess some things are catching up to me. I’ve been disappointed more times than I can count this time around, and it really hurt, for the first time, it really pained me to think about some people. But, as the saying goes, time heals all wounds, and it did. Didn’t help much with self-confidence, but there’s other things for that, like Sky Diving or landmine removal. I still can’t seem to get things right around women. People have offered suggestions, some of which have worked, some of which have completely backfired, but I guess I’m learning. Maybe sometime, somewhere, somehow.
I’ve also seen people close to death, and despite all mental preparations, it shook me more than I could have thought possible. My grandfather has been in and out of the hospital, and for a while, we thought that he wouldn’t make it. It was sobering to see it happen, and to my family as it was happening. I don’t know how my mother or aunt got through it the way that they did. I don’t really know how I managed not to get as upset as them. I guess that I do have to thank my friends for what support they gave me for it, especially during the really bad parts.
I value friends more, I think. At one point, I completely stopped hanging out with some people because of their girlfriends or other friends, and the ways that they’ve changed because of that. Sometimes I really wish it didn’t happen, but sometimes, I’ve found that if I step back and look at them from a different perspective, I don’t blame myself. There were other times when I just wish that people would open their eyes a bit, earlier, and see the people around them.
I’ve become a little too opinionated with some groups of people, and less so with others. There’s a couple people at the University that I absolutely couldn’t stand at all the past two years. They talked too much, were annoying and everyone was annoyed by them. One of them, I’ll never enjoy being with – mainly for the things that he was arrested for, and given my work at a summer camp. But the other, I’ve grown to like more. I’ve listened more, and better, and realized that he’s not a bad guy. By the same token, I’ve grown to really loath some types of people, mainly when I go up to Burlington – the rich, liberal freshmen that seem to populate UVM, and who’ve only taken on their own political views just because that’s the environment. They dress like they’re a couple of pay scales below what they’re really at, not to save money, but because it’s hip and popular, just as being a geek seems to have somehow been vaulted into popularity by the movie Napoleon Dynamite. Geekdom should not be trendy. Ever. But then again, I’m opinionated about this subject. But, I just wish that people would stop pretending who they aren’t, and be who they really are. That being said, I’ve realized that among some of my closer friends, you see them and they are who they are. They don’t pretend to be something different, they don’t act different because of different social situations. They are as you see them, and for that, I truly enjoy being with them.
My summer was a big change as well. I worked at a Geo-Hydraulic Consulting company that my Dad works for, writing reports and doing fieldwork, something that I enjoyed a lot. I learned a lot about the field that I was working with, but also about myself. I learned not to make excuses for a poor job, and to take blame when I messed up. I learned how to prioritize, how to focus on a job and to finish it on time. It’s something that I carried with me when I went to my next job at Camp Abnaki.
This was also a change from my prior years, a larger challenge, because I was now working in a new role: Village Director, a promotion of sorts. I was the guy with the radio, the one that people looked to for the decisions, when they needed help with something, and the guy who came down on them when they didn’t do their job, when they slacked and mouthed off. It was an interesting adjustment this time around. I was in charge of my friends and learned how to distance myself from things that I might not ordinarily do. And despite that, I’ve always wanted the job, I’m not going to deny that, but I genuinely missed being a counselor, where I could put my head down and worry only about myself and my own cabin, not about the other counselors, or the overall picture of what was going on. I learned how to deal with bitchy people who couldn’t and/or wouldn’t realize that they’re doing a crappy job.
It was hard. My dad told me at the beginning of the summer that Management was the hardest job that I’d ever do. I didn’t believe him when he said it, but after this summer, it turned out to be correct. It was hard, exhausting, rewarding and exciting all at the same time. I got to see a side of Camp that I really hadn’t put as much thought into before, and really took a look at what the job required, on all levels. And I’m going back to it. Hopefully.
And during the school year, I tutor people in geology. But there’s not too much that’s interesting in that.
Merry Christmas everyone, or any other holiday that you happen to celebrate this time of year- hope that you had a good one. While I'm not religous, I've always enjoyed the giving and recieving of gifts, especially the escuse to do so. I got my family members things that they all liked - and it was really easy this year too.
Got some cool things - A suitcase for when I go overseas. I swear, you can fit a couple of lost civilizations in it. No way that I'm going to fill it. Got a book on London from my sister, a Borders card from my brother and a new jacket, among other things.
Spent most of yesterday with relatives. We traditionally meet with my grandmother on Christmas eve, sometimes at our house, sometimes at hers, this times at hers. We then visited my other grandmother aunt, uncle and little cousin (She's getting huge- walking AND talking. It's amazing). From there, we went and visited my maternal grandfather in the assisted living center where he's currently staying, it was good to see him again. I think that he's starting to get a little better from the problems that have been happening since this summer.
I spent the entire day up in Burlington today, visiting people. Went by very fast. I left the house at around nine this morning, and drove up, stopping by to visit my friend Sam for a little while. We walked around Church Street and Borders for about an hour, while I looked around for a final Christmas gift for my Father. (Didn't find it) But I did find that there's a new Worst Case Senerio Handbook out there, which is awesome. I love those books, and own the original and Travel editions, which will be in close reach while I'm overseas. At around noon, I drove over to Rachel's apartment, and hung out with her for a while. We talked for a while, and walked downtown to the Merril theater and watched the movie Syriana. I was totally blown away by everything in that movie. Outstanding story, characters, acting, camera work and score. I was completely fixated on it the entire time, and found it to be an extremely powerful, moving and terrifying story. I'm going to type up a full review tomorrow, but in a nutshell, it's a number of intertwined stories that revolve around Oil, Terrorism, the CIA, Politics, Oil Companies, and a bunch of other related things. It's written by the same guy who did Traffic, which I was also amazed at, and they do an even better job here. Rachel enjoyed it. We talked about it over some food at the Red Onion, a small resturaunt at the base of Church Street, which I'd never eaten at before. They made some good sandwiches. After that, we went back to her apartment and talked about a number of things, as usual. I was a little frustrated with myself. There were a couple of things that I wanted to say and do, but I just can't seem to get the right words into my mouth at all. :-\ . I wish that I was better with that. It didn't help that the cold walk was really making it hard to talk anyway. It was great to see her again. After that, went by and met up with Sam at the U-Mall, hung out with him for a while longer at his house, talked about Syriana and politics with him for a while, then returned home. Long, fun and busy day.
The reason: Serenity came out on DVD today. And, exams are over for me. So, for an entire semester, I'm through with Norwich, and am not officially on Winter break, until the 5th, whereupon, I'm leaving the country. So, it's a good day.
However, I had to run around throughout the entire campus to try and find a number of people to get approval to study abroad. I hate paperwork. First, to the Bursar's office. Then across campus to the Study Abroad office. Then to Financial Aid and the Registrar, to my advisor and the department head. Then I was given another slip of paper that made me repeat most of that. Now, I'm trying to fill out a transfer of credits form with no one around to sign off on it. I'm really hoping that I can get this finished this week.
Now, Serenity. The best movie of the year + No Class = JOY!
AND - The Supreme Court ruled the Intelligent Design theory unconstitutional to be taught in classrooms. Another point for intelligence.
I’ve developed a taste for travel. This year, I traveled even more about the States, visiting Nevada, Utah and Arizona. Hit some major landmarks, such as the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, the Hoover Dam and Zion National Park. Visited some not so common places that you’ll never hear about, such as that little convenience store, run by three Mormon women in dresses, where I was able to call home for the first time in a week. I slept over in an airport after a seven hour drive down and through New York City to get out there in the first place, and that first campsite at the Valley of Fire, surrounded by ten meter tall dune cross beds.
I took off from school for half a week and flew out to Indianapolis, Indiana to attend a Star Wars convention, dressed up as a Storm Trooper. I stayed out in a hotel right across from the Convention and every morning was surrounded by thousands of fans of the series. I met some of my favorite authors, Timothy Zahn, Matthew Stover, Karen Traviss, Jan Duursema, and Joe Corroney, as well as the other workers on the Clone Wars Site that I work on. I met some crazy people there, some interesting ones and some people that I still talk to, even after several months. I went with my family to New York City, to Carnegie Hall, not once, but twice, to watch my brother perform with first the Vermont Youth Orchestra and then a national wind ensemble that he was accepted into. I found, each time that I was there, that I really enjoyed walking around the streets with such a large number of people. I also found that I especially liked Central Park, and walking in general.
Those were the major trips. My geology class took a day and we drove out to Central New York, looking at the rocks and examining a progression of strata as the mountain ranges shed material off. I went to Maine to visit my friend Sam at school, taking a much needed break from Vermont. 400 miles and a hundred dollars on the credit card later, I still maintain that it was a good idea. Then of course, there were the spontaneous trips up to Burlington with Eric or to meet with Rachel over the weekends. Then there were the times when I hiked around my house, ten miles at a time.
Someone mentioned to me that the end of the year is a perfect time for reflection. Every year brings about a number of new changes in ways that one cannot anticipate, and along with it, a number of gains, losses and hopes for the future. I guess this year is no different. It’s been an interesting year thus far.
I’m nostalgic. I like to remember things, and one of the best things, I’ve found, it reminiscing with friends about games we’ve played, history, life, politics, other camping years, school and everything and anything that comes to mind. I’m a history major, and I’m finding that a lot of that carries over to other things. I look back to see where I messed up and to try and fix it, but also to the good times. So here, where I rant and rave and talk, it seems like a good place to look back on the year, for it’s good and bad things that have happened. Funny thing is, despite everything that’s happened; I don’t know that I’d trade it for anything. 2005 In Review.
Taking a quick break from studying. Apple sent me my iPod back - a brand new one. I'm amazed at how fast they shipped it back and got to my problem. It broke a week ago today, I got the box on friday, shipped it out on Monday, they worked on it tuesday, shipped it back on Wedsnday and now I have it. Woohoo!
Found this article on Yahoo- Very strange.
Former Canadian Minister Of Defence Asks Canadian Parliament Asked To Hold Hearings On Relations With Alien "Et" Civilizations
(PRWEB) - OTTAWA, CANADA (PRWEB) November 24, 2005 -- A former Canadian Minister of Defence and Deputy Prime Minister under Pierre Trudeau has joined forces with three Non-governmental organizations to ask the Parliament of Canada to hold public hearings on Exopolitics -- relations with “ETs.”
By “ETs,” Mr. Hellyer and these organizations mean ethical, advanced extraterrestrial civilizations that may now be visiting Earth.
On September 25, 2005, in a startling speech at the University of Toronto that caught the attention of mainstream newspapers and magazines, Paul Hellyer, Canada’s Defence Minister from 1963-67 under Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Prime Minister Lester Pearson, publicly stated: "UFOs, are as real as the airplanes that fly over your head."
Mr. Hellyer went on to say, "I'm so concerned about what the consequences might be of starting an intergalactic war, that I just think I had to say something."
Full article up in the link.
And in other news, Banks/Money issues suck. Competely.
As do exams. Rest of the week until the 20th will be exam time, with several in the next couple of days. I shall be hiding under a rock for that period of time. Hopefully.
End-of-year meme from Mastadge
1. What did you do in 2005 that you'd never done before?
Worked as a Village director. Kissed someone for the first time. Visited Utah and Nevada.
2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
One of them, another no. And maybe.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Not that I know of, although my Aunt had a baby towards the end of last year.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, although I know someone who was in a bad car accident.
5. What countries did you visit?
None this year, although next year, January - London, England, and hopefully a whole lot of other ones.
6. What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005?
Hm, a couple things.
7. What dates from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
End of June, saving several campers from getting crushed by a runaway wagon. Couple of random things from camp. Getting stuck in Burlington Airport after finding that our tickets weren't there, and then driving down to New York City that night. Seeing my brother play in Carnagie Hall in New York City - Twice. Waiting in line for Star Wars in Armor. Meeting Matthew Stover, Timothy Zahn, Karen Traviss, Troy Dennings and a ton of other people at Celebration 3. Seeing Carbon Leaf in concert.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Not messing up too much as a Village Director.
9. What was your biggest failure?
A couple select moments over the summer as Village Director.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Twisted my knee pretty badly this fall, but nothing more than that.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
My iPod. Best investment that I've ever made.
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Hm.. Quite a few people over the year.
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Several people over the summer - complete failures as counselors at times.
14. Where did most of your money go?
That is the question isn't it? Books, movies, comics, food. Too much on things that I probably shouldn't have.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Serenity coming out. Hanging out with a couple certain people.
16. What song will always remind you of 2005?
A couple- Life Less Ordinary, by Carbon Leaf. Burning in the Sun, Blue Merle. Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight, Amos Lee and Best of You, The Foo Fighters.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? A mix of both. It's been a rough semester at times, but I'm looking forwards London.
b) thinner or fatter? Probably a little heavier. I haven't gotten out to exercise (Rock Climb) in a long time.
c) richer or poorer? Poorer.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
I wish that I was more realistic. Maybe a little less worrisome and paranoid.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Too much.
20. How will you be spending Christmas?
With family.
21. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
Probably Rachel or Eric.
22. Did you fall in love in 2005?
Yes.
23. How many one-night stands?
None
24. What was your favourite TV program?
Battlestar Galactica. Stargate and Arrested Developement as well.
New program?
Also Battlestar Galactica.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No one that I can think of.
26. What was the best book you read?
Hm, there's been several. When Egypt Ruled the East, by George Steindorff and Keith Seele, a definitive history of Ancient Egypt. The World Before by Karen Traviss. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis, Travels with Charley, by John Steinbeck, Americana by Hampton Sides, America: A Narrative History, most likely a couple others.
27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Oh boy. Quite a few new artists and CDs. CARBON LEAF, John Butler Trio, Blue Merle, Mike Doughty, Amos Lee, Great Big Sea, Nickel Creek, Zero 7, Foo Fighters. Carbon Leaf was the greatest though.
28. What did you want and get?
My jobs at Abnaki and KAS.
29. What did you want and not get?
A girlfriend.
30. What was your favourite film of this year?
SERENITY!
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Turned 20, didn't do anything.
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
NOT having a string of bad luck with women.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005?
My coat, cargo pants, boots, a couple of button down shirts.
34. What kept you sane?
Hm. My friends.
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Jewel Straite, Kate from LOST.
36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Probably the recent news on regarding the secret prisons in Europe used by the US. FEMA's response to Katrina. Various other things that the Bush Administration has done.
37. Who did you miss?
Rachel, Sarah, Sam.
38. Who was the best new person you met?
Hm. Probably Naomi at Climbing the other day.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2005.
Probably to relax.
40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Live a life less ordinary
Live a life extraordinary with me
Live a life less sedentary
Live a life evolutionary with me
Well I hate to be a bother,
But it's you and there's no other, I do believe
You can call me naive but...
I know me very well (at least as far as I can tell)
And I know what I need
The night you came into my life
Well it took the bones of me, took the bones of me
You blew away my storm and strife
And shook the bones of me, shook the bones of me
By the way, I do know why you stayed away...
I will keep tongue-tied next time
Live a life less ordinary
Live a life extraordinary with me
My face had said too much
Before our hands could even touch
To greet a 'hello'
(So much for going slow...)
A little later on that year
I told you that I loved you dear
What do you know?
This you weren't prepared to hear
I'm a saddened man, I'm a broken boy
I'm a toddler with a complex toy
I've fallen apart, since the ambush of your heart
The night you came into my life
Well it took the bones of me, took the bones of me
You blew away my storm and strife
And shook the bones of me, shook the bones of me.
By the way, I do know why you stayed away
I will keep tongue-tied but...
Honey understand, honey understand
I won't make demands
Honey understand, honey understand
We could walk without a plan.
Honey understand (honey), honey understand
I won't rest in stone all alone
Honey understand, honey understand
I'm all ready to go
But you already know...
Live a life less ordinary
Live a life extraordinary with me.
If I could name you in this song
Would it make you smile and sing along?
This is the goal: to get into your soul
If I could make you dance for joy
Could that be the second-chance decoy?
The bird-in-hand I would need
To help you understand?
The night you came into my life
well it took the bones of me, took the bones of me
You blew away my storm and strife
And shook the bones of me, shook the bones of me
By the way, I do know why you stayed away
I will keep tongue-tied next time
I went out with a bunch of friends last night to see the newest fantasy movie for the winter season. Although I've only read the novel that it was based off of once, I found it to be a wonderful adaptation on the story and technical levels. It's certainly one of the better Fantasy movies that I've ever seen, easily topping the three Harry Potters, although not as good as the Fellowship of the Ring.
However, comparisons to these two major franchises is unfair. They have almost nothing in common, save that they take place in fantastic locations and things along those lines. Narnia stands alone, with a very different feel and color to it's pictures, while Lord of the Rings and Harrpy Potter do the same.
Narnia, however, is the only one that I can really remember where I didn't feel that I was sitting watching a movie. I felt very much apart of the story, as a spectator while all of the action went on before me.
Storywise, the adaptation is almost flawless. A couple of scenes have actually been added, but they are not very intrusive to the overall story and add to parts of it at times, namely the London Blitz that we see in the beginning. The only other scene that I can recall being added was the waterfall fight, which also worked fairly well.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the story, you're missing out. It begins with the 4 children, Lucy, Edmond, Susan and Peter Pevensie, who are relocated to the London countryside during the bombings of London. While they are in the house of a Professor, Lucy stumbles across something wonderful- an entrance to the world known as Narnia, in the back of a wardrobe. There, they find a world covered in a hundred year winter, with a number of animals and creatures, under the rule of an evil queen. Their coming to the land fulfills a prophesy that "Two daughters of Eve and Two sons of Adam" would come to free Narnia from the queen, and are caught up in the fight for the land. It's a very fun little story, mainly for children. And the movie does this story exactly, and it maintains the same feelings of wonder and hope that the book contains.
The main strength of the movie are the four child actors, who really bring the movie along, especially Lucy, who excells as a young, innocent girl caught up in all this. However, Peter, Edumond and Susan are all done outstandingly. They each have their moments and there are some scenes when I felt like laughing and crying along with them as the story progressed. It was a good move on the part of Andrew Adamson, the director (Who also directed Shrek and Shrek 2) to cast unknown actors, and it really helped to not know who these actors were. One of the best things with the children was seeing in the beginning, Peter, Susan and Lucy standing together with Edmond standing slightly apart, but at the end, they are all together. And eye for detail such as that does wonders.
The animals of Narnia were also brilliantly done, especially the two Beavers, Aslan and the Fox. The CGI involved with these characters were very very good, and at times, I forgot that I was staring at a CG construct. They work extremely well with their real environments and the intigration helps a lot. Aslan is probably the best, with Liam Neison voicing him. Every scene in which we see him, he dominates, with a roar or with his words. While I think that James Earl Jones might have done better, Neison does an excellent job. The other character to note is Mr. Tumnus, who was played by the very good James McAvoy, who I remember from SciFi's Children of Dune series. He does an outstanding job as the Faun.
The world of Narnia is also extremely well done, and was filmed in New Zealand, but it manages not to look like the world of Tolkien's epic. Instead, we see locations that are shrouded in snow and ice for most of the movie, and some of the locations could be set here in Vermont. The landscape doesn't play as big of a role in most shots, but there are some outstanding visuals in which we see some wonderful countryside.
The other thing about the filming is Adamson's style of shooting, which maintains a very grand, yet artistic at points. There are some sweeping shots with the camera as the children run along an ice river at one point, and some interesting placements at others. One of the very cool parts was after the White Witch was killed, when Peter and Aslan stand almost still, while people streak past them in a blur. Very interesting choice, and very cool looking. At other points, such as when Edmond is gravely wounded, the sound drops out of the battle completely, which was also a very good thing to do. The battle cinematography is very well done, although much cleaner than anything Peter Jackson did with LOTR. It's definently more family friendly than Rings.
But above all, the story is what counts, and what we get is a superb adaptation with a truely wonderful story. I'd highly recommend this to anyone.
Just read two reports on the Bourne Ultimatum script that's apparently in the works. I must say that I'm really excited about it- I love both the Bourne Identity and the Bourne Supremacy, and I count them among some of my favorite movies. Knowing that it was a book trilogy, I remember reading that they're looking into getting the third one done sometime in the future. Looks like they will be doing that. IGN Filmforce rolled out a report about the assumed plot, essentially filling in all the last questions about Bourne. Who is he really, what was Treadstone, etc. Apparently, this will cover that to some degree.
From IGN:
Jason Bourne is on a mission to get to the bottom of things – the Treadstone project, which created über-assasins like him for the US government, and the conspiracy among those who would like to eliminate the evidence, namely Bourne. Along the way, he discovers his pre-Treadstone past in the military, his mother, and his real name.
In the meantime, Noah Vosen is a government official who wants Bourne dead. Vosen enlists the help of Pam Landry's character and the remaining Treadstone soldiers to get him. There's also a sinister side to the story that involves mind-control techniques applied in Treadstone.
Action in the film ranges from London to Paris to Gibraltar to New York. The story as it currently stands may go through revisions before production begins, but that should give spy thriller fans a good idea of what to expect from The Bourne Ultimatum.
The second source that I read was the Latino Review, which does a lot with scripts of upcoming movies. You can read their review here: Latino Review.
Man, I'm already getting excited over this. I know that Matt Damon, who I really like as an actor, is interested in coming back, and it's looking like they're going to bring back a couple other characters from Supremacy. I guess that this means that I'll go watch the first two back to back.
I really like my iPod, carry it everywhere, listen to it constantly. So it's a major problem when it decided to stop working, shortly after it fell out of my pocket into a snowbank when I was getting out of my car. When I get home later today, I'm going to call up their customer service department and see what I can do about getting it fixed, because everything that I've tried hasn't worked, from trying to restore it to resetting it. My computer won't even read it now. Gah.
This comes after I get some really cool news about what Apple's done now. They formed a partnership with the network NBC, which allows them to distribute a total of twelve shows through iTunes, including the new Battlestar Galactica, of which I'm a big fan, and run the website: http://galacticacic.blogspot.com. I downloaded the newest version of iTunes at school and installed it last night, looks great, and I'm really liking the way that I can store videos in iTunes. I'm extremely tempted to bring my entire computer to school and download some of the episodes that I've missed, or all of the second season. It's extremely shiny because it costs an entire $30 less than the physical boxed set, which is coming out later this month, and with only half the season. I just wish that I didn't have dialup, and a faster connection.
Still have 4-5 more pages to go on my paper. Hopefully I'll get everything finished tonight, along with the powerpoint for a presentation tomorrow. w00t!
It would seem that the arrangement between the ABC network and Apple Computers was a success. Indeed, in the first month of downloading video content, there were almost 2 million downloads of music videos and television episodes, the first of which were the hit shows LOST and Desperate Housewives.
Earlier today, it was announced that the NBC network has followed up with an arrangement of their own with Apple, putting a number of new shows on to the program, including the new Battlestar Galactica, Law & Order, Surface and the Jay Leno show, among others, all told about 12 new shows to now download and watch on your iPod or computer.
Apple has proved that the world of Television can now enter the Internet, given the huge number of downloads in such a short amount of time. It is not, however, the first foray into the downloading business that NBC has looked into. Shortly after the announcement between ABC and Apple, NBC and CBS both announced that they were starting DirectTV systems, where you can download an episode of a number of their shows for 99 cents, for a twenty-four hour period. The problems with that, is that it’s only a twenty four hour period, and for a dollar cheaper than what iTunes charges. However, with iTunes, you can watch the same thing just twice in two days and make back the extra dollar. NBC seems to have realized this and has moved to this medium.
With their addition to iTunes, users can now download 3,000 separate music videos, short videos, television episodes and Pixar movies.
This represents a big change in the landscape for Television. It’s entirely possible that it can help add to revenue quickly instead of just relying on ratings. Episodes of LOST are placed online after they have aired, allowing for a couple of things:
· While Cable is popular, not everyone has it, either by location or by expenses. Downloadable content gives networks access to a huge number of people who might not be able to watch some of these shows.
· This also affects the timing of episodes. Dead slots might not be as lethal to a show any more, as Threshold and Firefly have shown (Friday nights are killers). The ability to download a show could make an otherwise dead show somewhat profitable if people are able to download it at their leisure.
· Cost. At 1.99 per episode, it’s a very small expense, and iTunes also offers entire seasons as a bundled package at a slightly cheaper price. The entire 1st season of Battlestar Galactica is around $25. The first half of Season 2 is just 20. Compare this to the price of their respective boxed sets at around $50 per season. I’ve decided that I’m going to start downloading all of my music albums because it’s so much more cost effective this way. I can now theoretically download the episodes of TV shows that I want to watch and never have to pay for cable TV.
· No commercials. For the past two years, I’ve caught up on major SciFi shows on DVD, and it’s such a nice thing to watch entire episodes without commercial breaks.
It has been suggested that the direct download market, because of these conveniences to consumers, may have saved shows that have been cancelled, namely Firefly. While the shows that have been put on iTunes have for the most part been highly successful, they certainly aren’t going to be hurt by this arrangement. Fledgling shows that are struggling to survive, such as Arrested Development, may very well become profitable this way should their networks and Apple come together. With ABC and NBC’s push to the web, it’s expected that other networks, such as CBS and FOX, will follow shortly thereafter. As this happens, networks are most likely going to look at how shows will do in the ratings, but also how well they will sell online.
three more from on high
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