Entertainment News of Interest (To Me)

Fascinating things have come up at last weeks Comic-Con in San Diego and elsewhere:

• Next spring, we have a 'Heroes' spinoff called "Origins" to look forward to, and Kevin Smith will Direct an 'Origins' Episode


• EW got an exclusive interview with Dan Radcliffe on the final Harry Potter book. Warning: *spoilers* (if you haven't finished it)


• NBC's Bionic Woman, coming this fall to the small screen, cast includes Galactica's Katee Sackhoff who has no fashion taste, as witnessed by these awful photos from the Comic-Con


• Good and bad news for Joss Whedon fans. Joss is in talks with the BBC to do Ripper, the Buffy prequel. For us Firefly fans, this probably means no Serenity 2: Bigger Damn Movie. Since Nathan Fillion may be joining Desperate Housewives, next spring on Fox Summer Glau will be a female terminator in The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and Jewel Staite has joined Stargate Atlantis, etc., it all seems less than likely. Would you pay $11,000 to have dinner with Joss? I wish I could've =)


• Peter Jackson has finished a screenplay of Alice Sebold's Lovely Bones; Rachel Weisz and Stanley Tucci reportedly part of the cast.

And that's all she wrote this morning.
 

On the Full Moon

Some bright thing pierced my eye. Was it you
Or the moon that sadly sways
Like an outworn gaslamp in the sky?

That rascal, Sleep, evades me like you
And those blameless clouds that fly
And I, outworn I, I sit and gaze.


(AJ 7-31-07)
 

Anniina Simpson - Simpsonize Yourself!

The Simpson's Movie is now in the theaters, and whether you've already seen it, intend on seeing it, or couldn't care less, it's fun to "Simpsonize" yourself. Create a Simpsons avatar on the movie website. FUN!
 

Hyperliterature Book Reading Club

We're starting Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake at Mark's blog Hyperliterature, if anyone wants to join in. It's really relaxed. At the moment there's a handful of us, we read about halfway in the book, discuss our initial reactions and surmises, then do more in-depth discussions once we get deeper into the book. Or, you can just wait till the next book and just 'lurk' for now and see what it's about, but don't feel too shy to join in. There's people with English degrees and people without, native speakers and a few of us 'foreigners' — we read Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go last month, and SzélsőFa read it in Hungarian translation which even worked, so don't be shy — you'll miss out on a nice experience otherwise.

xo,
A

The Most Beautiful Aria Ever Written: Puccini's "Nessun Dorma"

Performed by Andrea Bocelli in Tuscany. While this is a Pavarotti standard, no one sings it like Bocelli in my opinion. I have never found a recording of it.

Principe Nessun dorma, nessun dorma, Tu pure, o Principessa, Nella tua fredda stanza, Guardi le stelle Che tremano d'amore       E di speranza.	The Prince No one sleeps, no one sleeps... You either, O Princess, In your chilly room; Look at the stars That are trembling with love       And hope.
Ma il mio mistero è chiuso in me, Il nome mio nessun saprà,       no, no, Sulla tua bocca lo dirò Quando la luce splenderà, Ed il mio bacio scioglierà Il silenzio       Che ti fa mia.	But my secret's locked within me; My name no one shall know,       No, no, Onto your lips I'll tell it When the dawn grows splenderous And my kiss brushes away The silence       That makes you mine.
Chorus
Il nome suo nessun saprà E noi dovrem, ahimè, morir.	His name no one will know, And we must all, alas, all die.
Principe Dilegua, o notte! Tramontate, stelle! Tramontate, stelle! All'alba vincerò!       Vincerò! Vincerò!	Prince Dissolve, O Night! Set behind the mountains, Stars! Set behind the mountains, Stars! At dawn, I will win!       I will win! I will win!

Nessun Dorma libretto from Giacomo Puccini's "Turandot."
English translation Anniina Jokinen.

"Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict" by Laurie Viera Rigler: A Review

As a fan of Jane Austen who has, on occasion, been disappointed by Austen adaptations or re-imaginings, I approached this book with reservations. No-one can be more pleased than I am to say my skepticism proved undeserved. Here is a book that any lover of the books of Jane Austen is sure to relish and appreciate!

What would happen if a recently and multiply heart-broken modern-day woman, who has fallen asleep drinking vodka and reading Pride and Prejudice while mourning her broken engagement, were to wake up in Jane Austen's England? This is how the book begins. Courtney wakes up to find everyone calling her Jane Mansfield, doctors wishing to bleed ill humors out of her, and a marriage-obsessed mother threatening to put her into an asylum if she keeps insisting she is not, indeed, Jane. Courtney decides to play along convinced she'll soon wake up back in modern day Los Angeles, until she realizes perhaps it isn't a dream after all.

The reader gets to experience the early nineteenth-century English countryside, Bath, and London through eyes at once modern and Austenian. Throw in a bit of pride, a bit of prejudice, and a host of characters, plots, and subplots, and it all melds into a wonderful kaleidoscope of Austen.

The story is so deftly plotted, simultaneously familiar and new, the characters so likeable (and dislikeable), the prose so fluid and fresh, that the book goes by in a flash. Austen's words and world are ever-present, without weighing the story down. Laurie Viera Rigler has accomplished a marvel—a delicately-mastered fusion of the beloved and known with the sure-to-be-loved, not-yet-known.

I meant to read a few chapters before bed and ended up foregoing sleep, staying up all night, to read the book in one sitting. Whether you are a die-hard "Austen addict" or just discovering Austen's world, this book is sure to delight.
 

Harry Potter Final Book - I Love Amazon

Amazon brought me the book as promised today so guess what I'll be doing until it's finished. Nothing else! Wheee!

The last few days I've been working feverishly on getting the main updates done at Luminarium which has been tedious and repetitive, but since it can't be avoided, might as well get it done right? :)

I have so many books I need to do write-ups on but I'll get to them after HP. Saw the movie last night and loved it. Dumbledore's Army, peeps!

OK, I'm off to read. Stay good!

Hugs, A

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Status Update

HI guys,

Sorry for making you worry. No, I'm still alive, but the show opens this week and it's making me miserable. I'm done costuming, but it's been a g'awful experience. If I say that I'm going to do something like this again, someone smack me upside the head.

On the happy news, Lasse (my dad) has been here since Friday night last week and we've had a good time going to the movies, barbecuing, shopping, and doing a little bit of home improvement. But only a very little bit, because it has been so hot all the time. Things involving paint have, of necessity, been excised from the schedule.

Anyone else want to join the summer reading club? We had a good time with Kazuo Ishiguro's "Never Let Me Go" and will most likely start reading another one soon. It's really relaxed and fun, so if you want to join in, go to HyperLiterature and drop Mark a line.

What's everyone else been up to? I promise I'll take a really long read over everyone's blog next week and also come back to FFXI where I'm sure Riykere and boys are wondering what happened to me.

Huggles,
A