Favorite Quotes of the Year

So here are a collection of my Favorite Quotes of the Year. Some are simply lovely. Most are hilarious. Enjoy!

Text Message: 'So get any Head last night?" -Michelle [refering to Anthony Head].

Moderator: "So any interesting anecdotes?"

Lisa E: "Um... I made out with Hugh."

"Incidentally, there is a Wii currently being installed on the writers' room TV. So there will be no more episodes of HOUSE, ever. Sorry." -Sara Hess (writer, producer of HOUSE MD).

"Plague and pestilence laying waste to our offices. I'm not saying it's BONES's fault, but...actually, yes, I am. It was totally BONES. I'll tell you one thing: if I get sick, I'm taking LIE TO ME down with me. You hear me @hiwire? I will lick ALL your doorknobs." -Sara Hess

"I'm going to be singing "life is a show" for THE REST OF MY LIFE." -Carla

"I wonder how many geeklings are being conceived at. this. very. moment." -Michael Doughtery during Comic Con.

"I can't steal anything [fron the set]. Only successful person to steal stuff from set was Rickman." -Michael Gambon.

"Characters on dramas need to laugh more. Sometimes that's how you can tell someone's heart is breaking... because they try to cover it." -Jane Espenson (writer of Buffy, Battlestar Galactica, and Caprica.)

"I used to have a lot of bad habits. Now I just call them habits, and don't label them." -John August (currently working on the Dark Shadows screenplay [hopefully]).

"Want to thank everyone who tweeted nice tweets about the House finale. We only mindf*ck you because we love you. (Seriously)." -Doris Egan (writer/producer of HOUSE MD).

"Robert Pattinson has an anteater..."

"What'd you mean an anteater?"

"............."

"OH."

"Last thing that made you laugh?" "Mitchell's Evil Laugh of Doom."

"Drunk Minds speak gibberish which sober hearts remember and make fun of them until it gets old and unfunny."

20, 40 years from Now

I sit in the kitchen, stupidly barefooted and freezing, drinking hot cocoa (fat free, here's looking at you, Sims!), and thinking of the years ahead. It is something I do on occasion when sleep evades my weary mind and teases me with yawns that lead to more browsing on youtube or reading through the books I've yet to finish. I should also be writing a reply to a friend but that can wait until tomorrow.

So I sit here, shivering slightly (my iPhone told me it is currently 40 degrees Fahrenheit) thinking of many tomorrows. Time is a fickle broad. I can remember walking through a red bricked amphitheater, dressed in white and carrying red roses, thinking time should speed the hell up and let me get on with my life, let me be who I am meant to be, let me experience all I have yet to experience. I was fresh faced, having virgin hair that had no dye near it, my skin unblemished and clear of the tattoos that I would get six months later, my nose and eyebrow were still whole, no metal gracing such features. I certainly do not miss that girl. She was laughed at, good-naturedly mind you, about three months later in an Irish pub in Las Vegas by the waitress and people who would become extremely good friends. If you want to know why, it was because I was a non-risk-taking 18 year old who was served an alcoholic drink. The nervousness I felt as I sipped the forbidden treat would leave me by the end of that weekend. I had heard horror stories of underage drinkers being thrown out of the buildings, my mind creating the image of two hulking Italians with obvious mafioso ties, grabbing my arms and throwing me right on my ass in front of a bus full of tourists, camera's poised and ready for the perfect shot of humiliation.

Thanks to three cups of coffee, my imagination is as good as ever.

I laugh at that girl now, also. She's no longer as shy as she was. The only thing she fears is spiders and being thrown in front of celebrities she loves, doing an excellent impression of a deer about to be slaughtered by a semi truck. She's a lot more trusting and more cautious at the same time. She's happy and that's all that really matters.

From the age of 18 to present, 22, I've done so much, seen so much, read so much, that it baffles me how life will be in twenty years. Will it slow down to a crawl, drudging along at a snails pace, letting boredom and monotony invade a once vivid life? Should I savor each day instead of each moment, balancing out time?

In all honestly I don't know. I'm a bloody optimist who always has hope and views the silver lining.

I bring all of this up because it had me thinking of an older actor I admire. No, it isn't the dashing Mr. Rickman nor the ruggedly handsome Mr. Laurie. Let's just say that I know only 3 of you reading will know who I am talking about so to put it out there, it is the ever-bumbling yet charismatic Mr. Jonathan Frid. ["Really, Alex, pick actors from this or last decade.... not from four decades ago!"]

I've met Mr. Frid three times. My first experience in his company is the memory in which my racing mind has me thinking of at the moment. It was a 40th anniversary dinner held in his honor. The anniversary was celebrating his first appearance on the small screen. It took me two hours to get ready and work up the courage to walk downstairs by myself in a silver and black tube dress, which was very short to me, and strapy silver high heels. Thank you, Chaffey College Swim program,, for allowing me to wear such a thing. I needn't have worried. I sat at a black baby grand piano, waiting for a new friend, watching the fellow attendees walk in with jeans and t shirts on. To be fair, it was about 50/50 with people dressed nice and others like slobs. My friend arrived and we were seated in the front of the ballroom. Mr. Frid was sitting diagonally to me, not five feet away. His hair had turned from jet black to iron gray. He stood slightly bent, the arthritis evident in his long fingers.

Before they served dinner, they showed a montage of all his greatest scenes between 1966 and 1971. My eyes flickered between him and the screen. He sat there, smiling and watching calmly. The audience knew all the scenes shown by heart but gave the appropriate applause and gasps when necessary. He was watching himself, 40 years younger, back straight, handsome in a Charles Bronson kind of way. His voice was even different (smoking explains the change). I wondered what he was thinking. It was a sure bet it included how marvelously awful the dialogue was and about how he forgot his lines and tried to ad lib with little success. Did he think of what he did those days and nights when he wasn't on set? Did he sit reminiscing about the difference between his screen and stage career? Or did he sit there thinking of himself as a young man, enjoying all the pleasures of New York City in the sixties?

He seems like a very no-non-sense type of person so he would likely cuff me around the ears if I suggested he was basking in days long past.

I wonder, with all the technology present, if 40 years into the future, I'll be able to look up photos and video and suddenly remember what was going on during that event, trapped, frozen by time and gigabytes.

I once wrote that I would be fully content when I was an old woman, surrounded by old friends, sitting on a porch, telling stories to a generation that would never know a time when there was no television, no Alan Rickman [the man is that unique], no internet, and whatever else they create in between those 40 or 60 years. All the stories would be adventurous and exaggerated to epic proportions though they would be all true. Hell, I tell stories now and people do not believe me. I would sip tea (with maybe a pinch of brandy included), laugh, and think "I don't regret anything." There is something so freeing in that line of thought.

It's probably the end of this year that has me thinking about this topic. 2009 was a pain and a pleasure [School (ugh), books (yay), Hugh Laurie (three cheers), stress (boo!), injuries (oh bloody hell), Hugh Laurie ("Didn't I see you last week?"), photography (woo hoo!)]. 2010 is the freshest start I have had in a long time with no school breathing down my neck and new employment I'm dying to start. May we all enjoy ourselves immensely, help Cindy catalog and distribute the 5,000 random photos she will take throughout the year, get over the fear of embarrassing oneself in front of handsome people (wait, no one else has that fear? damn it!) and remember and cherish all the events that will come.

I'll make sure the next post will be full of sarcasm, comedy, and fiction instead of more of this soppy mess. I'll be back to reviewing old, obscure, terrible horror films in no time.

Lie To Me *

So on my down times (when the fanatic in me doesn't have anything to obsess over), I checked out "Lie to Me" since I'm a fan of Tim Roth. He's another actor who plays mostly villains magnificently. He literally stalks in, steals a scene with a look, and then walks out just as stiffly out of the scene. Plus, he's partially a redhead and everyone knows I like gingers.

Anyway, the show centers around two main characters: Dr. Cal Lightman and Dr. Gillian Foster (played wonderfully by Kelli Williams). They set up a private firm in which they investigate people who may or may not be lying; being contracted mostly through the US Government. Foster is the foil to Lightman's crass, sarcastic, standoffish personality. While Lightman figures out who's lying, Foster figures out the why. She's sweet, a bit eccentric, yet she has steel behind her gaze. Their additional staff includes Loker (Brendan Hines), a former employee, now intern due to a screw up, and Torres (Monica Raymund), a natural walking lie detector.

Lightman and Foster look for "micro expressions," facial expressions that last less than a second. These expressions are involuntary and therefore are very subtle "tells" (ie. like having a poker face but blinking or your cheek twitching whenever you have a good hand). From the little back story we have, both have studied human behavior for years. They are hired by the government or by private firms in order to get to the truth of a situation.

The main theme for the show so far has been "Truth or Happiness? Never both." Cal cannot help but "read" everyone he comes into contact with. He's divorced and hardly has any friends because he can never let anything just be (hm... sounds like a certain doctor we all know...). Honestly, he's a pain in the ass. He has a daughter, Emily, who tries to make him act "normal" and like a good daughter, wants to see him happy. Emily hints that her Dad is only happy when Gillian's around, which leads us to Gillian's character flaws. I think its kind of obvious she likes Cal as more than a colleague, but she won't do anything about it. Gillian is recently divorced from her coke addicted husband. She's trying to get use to the single life again. Cal takes advantage of her loyalty to him, something she allows no matter what the situation. I can see the show going into the direction of an all out brawl between them which strengthens their ties or breaks them apart. Most fans root for the former yet FOX shows always kill their characters' relationships.

This show is still in its infancy, having only one full season and half a second one. FOX approved of the rest of the second season but it won't air until April! So far, I'm enamored with it. Not the writing quality of HOUSE, but it works well and the story lines are interesting.

And here, I leave you with a cheeky, cleverly edited promo: House VS Lightman.

Parting is such Sweet Sorrow.

My dear beloveds.

I write this in order to pay homage to the passing (well, dismemberment) of one of our favorite things: Tasha's bed. Myself and many others have been very acquainted with that bed. It has been the site of numerous memories. It has witnessed the various fan stages of all our lives, from Harry Potter to Twilight to True Blood. It has kept many of us warm and safe, especially after nights we do not remember. Rock stars have enjoyed the comforts of it with four or five other occupants. Also, they were the cause of the bed breaking, leading to this sad day. With three legs, it boldly withheld its place of honor for several months.

We mourn this terrible loss.

Survivors and dear friends of this bed are Tasha, Milton, Macy, Dennis, Marisa, Cindy, and many others including myself.

Though to be honest, I never slept a whole night in there. I always slept on the couch with Dennis and/or Milton.

A Wake will be held tomorrow evening at Tasha's.

When Fans Attack!

Disclaimer: I know for a fact I have young readers so read with caution. I don't want your parents pissed at me.

I am a very accomplished fan. Most fans have not done or seen half the stuff I've participated in. Most fans will never get to meet the man that makes them brain dead or travel thousands of miles to hear their favorite authors read excerpts from books yet to be written. I've been backstage, chatted with producers, toasted with musicians... you get the picture. Yes, I am bragging and pointing out that it is all about location and lots of luck. I'm passionate about the stuff I love. Based on those experiences, this is where this sudden tirade comes from.

There is a point when fans become too involved though.

They sit at their computers and bitch and complain about every little thing wrong about their beloved obsession and curse the production teams of said obsession to the lowliest depths of Hell.
The ratings dip slightly and suddenly it signifies the displeasure of the fan base. [Not necessarily, folks.] Critics who will never win a Pulitzer prize are suddenly trusted. They, the fans, feel the need to start voicing their opinions and start telling the producers and actors how the show should run. They're "the fans," of course they know best.

Seriously, shut the hell up for just a minute and listen to yourselves.

How many people read a novel half way through and then tell the writer that they don't like how it's progressing so fix it? How do you know the ending isn't the one you want already or once you see the bigger picture that you won't love it? If the writer is anything like yours truly, they'd tell you to stick to your day job, finish reading the bloody book, and then pass judgment. Or burn the fucking book and see how much I care. I'm not making you read. Writers already have a blurry vision of what the future will be. They write and explore the natural progression of the story line. If it takes them to some depressing and dark places, they go on because its what feels right. Some writers express surprise at how a story turns out.

Jo Rowling said something similar. Once she finished "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," she thought, "People are going to hate this." And they did. There are still people who write to her and beg her to right her "wrongs". "Please, Snape couldn't have died!" "NO, you can't have it end with Harry alive!" "You have to write an eighth book!" She's not going to fix any of the above. It's not that she doesn't care about fans; its that Potter is her creation and what she says, goes. She has stayed true to herself and her work. For her, writing is her art. And people tend to forget for those thousands who hated it, millions cried with joy. Fans who hated it thought they were the majority like most fans who hate what's happening in their fandoms.

So if you're one of the above people who send hundreds of letters, messages, emails, tweets, or anything voicing your displeasure, good for you. It's your right. Just don't be pissed when you get a "thanks, but no thanks" reply. They don't tell you how to do your job so stop telling them how to do theirs. Don't be a tosser and obnoxious prat. Don't become indignant because "they aren't listening to ME; how dare they!" Who the fuck are you to them?! Really, the complete narcissism of some fans is astounding.

So to end on a (kind of) positive note: be patient, trust that the writers know what they're doing [because they do], and then judge the whole story once it is revealed.

[To the fans this is directed to: take a deep breath. We know the story is going into some serious shit, but keep faith and stick it out. We'll be okay.]

New Moon

First and foremost, mostly everyone knows I am not a hardcore fan. I like the stories but know that they will never be classics, nor will they be literature. The Twilight books are a step above harlequin romance novels. Or maybe only half a step. Anyway, they are a guilty pleasure.

I liked New Moon so much more than Twilight. Twilight felt like a badly done art film trying to appeal to the "indie" kid in everyone. Enough with the first movie. The acting in this movie left much to be desired, but they could improve with the third film. I have a lot of hope with Eclipse. Director David Slade also directed 30 Days of Night, an excellent vampire film. His vampires were primal, fierce, deadly, and savage. Eclipse has a lot of fight scenes in it so I'm hoping for some insane choreography. Pattinson's accent still has something that bugs me. Taylor needed to blink a little more naturally and speak his lines with less drama. He would do well on a soap opera. Luckily I had a row in the theater by myself since I had to stifle my laughter at that thought.Michael Sheen. That man stole the movie with his scenes. His Aro was equally sophisticated, creepy, and frightening. He was the undisputed leader. Spot on with the casting! I can't wait to see how he does in the fourth film. The fights in those scenes were excellently done. The slow-fast motion pace in which they were filmed brought out the best perspective.

Overall, the fluffy, closet romantic enjoyed the movie. I'd go see it again!

Film Accuracy, or why "Sherlock Holmes" is going to ruin an Icon.

If there is one thing I can pride myself on being regarding films, is that I am a purist. If I could, I would put every piece of dialogue from a novel into its film adaptation. I think that is why I love Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet so much. You could flip through basically every page in the play and follow along in the movie (all 242 minutes of it). Yes, certain scenes were switched around; however they were done in order to keep the story linear on the screen. Branagh didn't give the Prince of Denmark superpowers or anything else as fantastical as that.

I think that is my main problem with Sherlock Holmes. Holmes, as even Conan Doyle has written, was not a handsome man nor one who did "brute work." Watching the trailer for the new movie had me gagging just a little. They (the collective "Hollywood") have made him into a bloody comic book character! And before anyone argues, Guy Ritchie pitched the movie in comic book form. That was the only way Warner Bros. was going to agree to make the film. If this film is successful they will be doing [dreaded] sequels to create a new franchise.

After reading several reviews, Hugh Laurie's House is closer to Holmes than Downey's. Holmes is not a superhero. Holmes was not a nice character. He was disagreeable, a cocaine addict, experimented with other drugs "to relieve the boredom between cases," not afraid to break the law, and was a racist ("along with having a deep mistrust of foreigners") and chauvinist. If anyone did a close adaptation in today's filmland, the MPAA would assign it an R rating. I personally love the character because he is an anti-hero.

I fear anyone who will read the complete works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle after seeing the movie will become quickly bored and disinterested for the lack of "action." Action has taken over the observation aspect in this movie. How the hell is Holmes going to solve the case without observation, his trademark? Ritchie will be smart and try to sprinkle in some "clues." Conan Doyle would be rolling in his grave if he found out Holmes had "inspiration" or a "light-bulb" moment without the appropriate clues. The audience needs to be able to piece together the mystery in the second viewing themselves. If they cannot do that, the film has failed miserably.

Hopefully kids will see the movie and then read the original stories. Anything that gets people reading is good, my public service announcement of the day. It will be a measure of their character if they can understand and appreciate the real Holmes though.

Welcome to the Beginning of the Rest of Your Life.

This will be short and pithy to allow you, humble readers, to know that I am still alive. Yes, I am still here even though my last post was on August 2nd. Even that last post was late and horribly rushed.

Alas, I shall endeavor to neglect this blog no longer!

My new hobby was stealing away all my writings. For now on, I'll be writing everything here first and posting what I've written on other sites I'm affiliated with instead of keeping everything separate. I've watched films that need to be discussed and read books that do need to be stricken from my mind. I will be back berating lazy critics for not doing their research properly in regards to the books and films they review. I'll rant on the current politics that no one seems to be ranting about. I will write stories that are steeped in truth yet so far-fetched most will question whether I am lucky or a BS-er.

So without further ado, sit down, pick your poison, and enjoy.

Ramblings I

First of all, here's the long delayed second part of my night at Paley since I never posted it here [Skip if you've read this at my art site]:

Most actors hardly ever get to interact with their fans on an intimate level. They see millions of faces, some hollering or even crying (tears of embarrassed joy) for their attention. Some fans might get a wink, a smirk, and a second of eye contact. Some actors don't really care to see anything else but blurred faces in a crowd. After Wednesday night, I could tell Hugh Laurie and Lisa Edelstein were the actors who were curious what kind of fans they have.

During the panel at the start of the Q&A, the tables were suddenly turned on the crowd. Lights blared from the top of the stage directly at us. Hugh and Lisa straightened themselves in their chairs, eyes scanning the now visible faces of the people that sat in front of them. I slouched deep in my seat because I'm vain as hell and seriously would have turned an ugly shade of red if a certain pair of bright blue eyes made contact with mine. Come on, I know other people would have done the same. Anyway, the questions at this panel were good. Others I've attended have been horrible with people asking the same question that could be easily answered with a Google search.

The youngest person at the panel ended up being a cute little boy (sounded 5 or 6) who asked Laurie what was the grossest thing he ever did or saw on the show. I think his mother wanted to know and knew cute kids really could get anything they want. The scene with the tape worm from "Painless" was Laurie's grossest item.

"I kept pulling and pulling, and as I pulled it suddenly started to become more real," he said. Mind you, it's two days after so it is not verbatim.

Now here's the part I add three people whom I've neglected to mention so far: David Shore, Katie Jacobs, and Greg Yaitanes. Where would a panel about the creative process of House MD be without the creators? I have not posted the photos that I have of them because they didn't come out good. I caught Katie mid blink or got the head of the guy in front of me in most of the frame of the other photos. David Shore is a quiet genius. He didn't speak much but what he did say, was significant.

Asked on how they would end the show or when: "I don't know." They aren't going to even think of it at this point. Why? House is an interesting character. There are still a lot of aspects of his life that we haven't even touched.

Will House ever be happy or at least be content? According to Katie and David, No. If House was ever truly happy or content, the show would be over. So... for all the Huddy fans out there, don't expect a happy ending or even if they do get together, they won't be happy for long. I was a bit sad, but it's understandable. My favorite stories are always about the hero never making it, no matter how hard they try.

I did not write anything for July even though it was an exciting month. I just did not have the focus to write anything. I did not write a review for Half-Blood Prince because everybody and their mother had one. No need to put my two cents in and be redundant. Nevertheless, it was amazing and that day and night was well worth it. I spent a total of 16hrs at the Irvine Spectrum waiting for the 12:12 (what the hell?) showing. There is nothing better than spending time with your friends and 4000 other fans.

Here's my Comic Con adventure:

I'll be damned. Everything that could go right today, did. My friends and I headed down to San Diego for the International Comic Con. We weren't registered nor had even bothered to try to register. Last year we did and the programing was rubbish. This year, it was anything but! First off, we got pretty decent FREE parking. That is unheard of. We were waiting for another friend who was inside the vendor's room when a man approached us, asking if we had passes. We replied in the negative to which he countered, "Do you want some?" He gave us all FREE passes!

So we step inside the air conditioned convention center and decide to just wander around until our friend met us. Not even two minutes in, JOHNATHAN ROSS steps out of the vendor's room. I couldn't believe it. He was on his phone though so we decided not to bug him. I had to grin because he was dressed up in an air force jump suit. I am content with just hearing his slight lispy accent.

We ate a quick lunch and Tasha and I headed to the "Being Human" and "Torchwood" panels. Really, there is no excuse not to watch both these shows. You have eye candy, good plots and stories, comedy, tragedy, everything all packed into these shows! John Barrowman was hilarious. He is one of the most flamboyant personalities I have ever seen. I missed seeing David Tennant and John's kiss! Oh, Captain Jack just has to jump everyone's bones, eh?

So, yes, we were extremely lucky. This summer has been more exciting than I thought. I was depressed about not traveling since I've flown somewhere every summer since I was 17. I have a plane ticket that I can use whenever I want so I still might fly somewhere (New York or New Orleans, I'm thinking) in late August or September for a couple days.

Hmm... I'll be seeing Juliet Landau at her comic release party in LA. I love her as Drusilla of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame. On her twitter she has remarked about inviting other "friends," so I'm even more excited.

I've never gone to the red carpet hours of the Emmy's so I'll be a fangirl there. Here are all the people I want/need/have to see.

Hugh Laurie, because seeing him once was not enough.
Gabriel Byrne (I am in love with his theater work.)
Mary-Louise Parker, “Weeds”
Steve Carell, “The Office”
Jemaine Clement, “Flight of the Conchords”
William Shatner, “Star Trek!” lol.
Kristin Chenoweth, “ Pushing Daisies” and "Wicked."
Kenneth Branagh, “Wallander: One Step Behind” [I really want to see this man!]
Brendan Gleeson, “Into the Storm” Prof. Moody of HP
Kevin Kline, “Cyrano de Bergerac”
Ian McKellen, “King Lear” "X Men" "Lord of the Rings" (who doesn't know this guy?)
Kiefer Sutherland, “24” and "Lost Boys"
Sigourney Weaver, "Aliens" and "Snow Cake" (with Alan Rickman).
Bob Newhart, “The Bob Newhart Show."
Carol Brunett, "The Carol Brunett Show"
Ed Asner "The Mary Taylor Moore Show" and guest starred on The X Files.

Well, that's it for now.

A Night with the Cast of House MD. Part I.

Last night was amazing. I had never been to the John H. Mitchell theater, home of the Paley Center for Media, but it did not disappoint. Rather, its my new favorite setting for these types of events. If you have looked through my gallery, the photos can say all I can't about the theater.

Enough about that though... Let's get on to the cast!

I still wasn't a true fangirl about Hugh Laurie until last night. I was a flip flopper; "ok, I could see his attraction and he is a great actor, but..." I had that hesitation. Not anymore. I love him and will probably do anything to sit in on another panel with him. I think he's more attractive in person actually. Hell, even my Mum agreed. He's so personable and is a very nice man. We didn't get to take photos with him because there were too many people at the stage and the Paley staff were trying to usher us out of the room. I was content. I loved how attentive he was to the questions. I've been to many of these things before and the actors tend to give the shortest answer or explanation possible. Yes, they have time restraints, but they do the ability to string together better stuff. Hugh Laurie was not one of those actors. He apologized for talking so long. The audience scoffed at him and told him to go on! We were eating it up! What type of audience doesn't love to here from the main actor himself? Laurie spoke about how he was cast and how he had also read for the part of Wilson.

"But once I read about Wilson having a boyish face I knew I wouldn't be cast," he remarked while pointing to his face. Robert Sean Leonard laughed. Leonard did not look like he was comfortable at all being there. He wasn't abrasive but he looked bored. He even zoned out a bit.

Moderator: "So what is your favorite episode?"
RSL: "Of what? House?"

That got giggles and laughs from everyone in the room. He turned slightly red and asked to think about it a while. He is really handsome with that boyish charm. Omar Epps was very quiet, but unlike Robert, he paid close attention. His answers were clearly heartfelt. I wish he did speak more, but he looked shy. [I can't understand a shy actor. Its an oxymoron to me.]

Lisa Edelstein. I'm a straight woman, but hot damn! The only other woman that had that much real beauty and had me gobsmacked, was Gillian Anderson. Lisa is a fan favorite and I could see why. She's adorable and hilarious. She was not afraid or shy to talk about sex scenes and making out with Hugh Laurie. Laurie on the other hand blushed and was horribly embarrassed. She brought up the make-out when the moderator asked if the cast had any stories in particular they'd like to share or some random anecdote they thought was interesting.

Lisa: "I got to make out with Hugh." She had the chesire-cat grin in place. Everyone got a laugh. "Clarify!" Hugh shouted over the din. I'm betting he didn't want the missus or the public (mainly the dreaded paparazzi) to misinterpret that statement. Lisa did explain the scenes. Everyone in the crowd cheered for "Huddy" action. To Laurie, it was "odd."

"It was odd... doing that with a friend I've known for the past five years."

"Odd? I would have used some word like passionate!" Lisa goaded him. She was playfully offended and tried to get him to use some other adjective rather than odd. I truly believe she has a crush on him or at least is an admirer. The way she smiled and whispered together really spoke volumes. The chemistry is there and plays out well on screen. I can't wait for season six!

So there are a ton more things I'd love to write but I shall continue with this later on today. It's almost noon and I unfortunately have to return to reality. Feel free to check out anything in the gallery and download the photos! I should a couple more up soon. Someone apologized for leaving a ton of comments earlier and thought they were spamming my inbox. Quite the contrary! I only consider comments spam if they have nothing to do with the photo being commented on (Example being, talking about Daniel Radcliffe while viewing the Alan Rickman photos. That's spam [and blasphemy]). Like my profile says, I like my ego stroked.

My All Time Favorite Fictional Couples *Slightly Spoilery*

I've seen and read hundreds of these. Most are quite good but they tend to stick to the "mainstream" television/literary/whatever couples. The Geek sector is overlooked. As an intense member of the "Geek faith" (saw this earlier and made my day), I have to add my two cents in. These couples are tragic and dysfunctional and just oh so much fun to watch and/or read. So here's my list of the best couples ever: [Disclaimer: I took major liberties with some of these "couples" since I know a couple of them were just "friends." Haha, yeah right!]

Bill Compton and Sookie Stackhouse ("True Blood" and the Stackhouse Books)

This was a doomed romance from the beginning a la Romeo et Juliet. He's a vampire, ousted from society for being dead. She's a hick waitress with an unusual "gift." Bill doesn't really get being "human" anymore since he's been a vampire for over a century. Sookie is all human and more so with her compassion and understanding. Her friends are against her dating Bill and the vampires Bill associates with, don't get why he's trying to go "mainstream." I won't spoil the story since season 2 of "True Blood" hasn't even started, but if the books are any indication, Bill and Sookie have a long way to go.

Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling (Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, etc)

Everyone, and I mean Everyone, knew there was something between the FBI student trainee and the cannibal when Lecter ever so slyly brushed his finger against hers when she was handing him the file on serial killer Buffalo Bill in the movie "Silence of the Lambs." The tension in rooms and movie theaters was electric! Just that little contact caused the whole chemistry between them to change. The sequel "Hannibal" did a good job with keeping up that strange, dark attraction, but Ridley Scott should have kept the original book ending... Yes, audiences would have been thrown into the 8th ring of Hell shrieking, but it would have worked better than the lukewarm ending they used.

Josette DuPre and Barnabas Collins (Dark Shadows)

Love really does make you do the wacky to borrow from another hit vampire show. You just knew Josette and Barnabas were meant for each other but they would not be able to be together due to Angelique's resentment toward Barnabas. If Barnabas had only kept himself in check... Josette's death is really the breaking point for Mr. Collins who turns into the blood thirsty, insane vampire after being the first sympathetic, self-loathed creature most vampires are portrayed as now. I'm dying to see who is the lucky actress to be chosen to play Josette in Johnny Depp's "Dark Shadows."

Jenny Calendar and Rupert Giles (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

You're still in a love with a guy who had raised a demon decades ago and then possessed you, making you torture said guy? You forgive the woman who practically destroyed your surrogate daughter's love life in one fell swoop and lied to you about practically everything, even her true name? Don't forget she shot you with a crossbow, too. Giles and Jenny were the nerdy couple that I seriously thought were going to break the Hellmouth's hold on relationships. He was the bumbling librarian, brave and stalwart when facing evil. She was the computer nerd, quick witted and beautiful. They learned that neither of them were perfect but they loved each other regardless. Giles finding Jenny's dead body in his bed was the most horrifying, tear-jerking scene I've seen in a while. I still haven't seen anything so sad. Giles was never the same afterwards. In my book, that proved she was his soul mate.

Severus Snape and Lily Potter nee Evans (Harry Potter series)

After reading "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" you have got to be crazy to argue this couple with yours truly. Yes, they weren't together romantically, but damn it! Snape did anything and everything to avenge her death! Almost two decades went by with Snape mourning and planning in his own sadistic mind. He risked his life and swallowed his pride to help the "Chosen One" even though he wanted nothing to do with him. I would be as hateful and resentful as Snape if I had to look into the eyes of the person I loved, shinning through on the person I hate most's face. He died for her. To take a quote from Marryanne (Sense and Sensibility), "what's more glorious than dying for love?" Plus, even if you hated Snape and think he was the world's biggest bastard, you know you balled your eyes out when, after Dumbledore asked if he was still in love with Lily, he replied, "Always."

Fox Mulder and Dana Scully (The X Files)

There is nothing like a good extraterrestrial event to bring opposites together. From the pilot to the last (awful) episode, Mulder and Scully were the "it" couple. From the moment they met, you knew they were destined to be together. I think audience's fell in love with that tension that always surrounded them and that indecision on both their parts. When they finally got together in season six and seven, I think the writer's relied too much on the fan's expectations instead of letting the characters grow naturally.

Doctors Gregory House and Lisa Cuddy

These two are the Mulder and Scully of the medical world. Bickering about anything and everything, they just can't stand each other. But they can't keep away from each other either. We really don't their history, but we do know they've known each other since their college days. The deception of the season five finale though has me questioning my own sanity on whether they really were as "friendly" as we all thought. Hopefully we won't have to wait long to see where their relationship goes.

Let Me Hear that Triumph Purr.

Has it been so long since I have written anything of substance? Yes, I believe so, but that is not directly my fault. Blame it on higher education and its insane need to preach the inane and prove that ineptness is not cured by a doctorate or bar exam. After two years of law classes, I never will be a lawyer. You truly sell your soul and I cannot even fathom some of the moral ambiguities that have presented themselves this quarter. Plus, personally, they are miserable people. Anyway, that is my gripe.

To the fun stuff...

Due to the persistence of a Ms. Sanchez, I finally gave in a several weeks back and gave House, MD. a chance. I've always liked Hugh Laurie but never was really a fangirl. I was more enamored with Stephen Fry and his quick wit. Anyway, I ended up watching all five seasons. My sleeping pattern has well and truly gone to Hell. Sarcasm and satire are my favorite types of comedy. I'm a fan of "bad good guys" (example: I'd pick Batman over nancyboy Superman any day). The tragic/conflicted "hero" types are so much more interesting. So now, I'm officially a House fan.

Did I mention Ms. Sanchez and myself are seeing Mr. Laurie in person? No?

Well then, thanks again to the Paley Center for Media, we'll be at a panel where Hugh Laurie, David Shore and Katie Jacobs will be speaking on the creative process of House. Paley has the best presentations. This panel will be held at the John H Mitchell Theater instead of the Arclight. I was surprised but after seeing the room its going to be held in, elated. The room is tiny! It holds only 150 guests which means I was pretty damn lucky to get tickets in the first place. Never having been in that theater, I'm praying they allow photography. Hugh Laurie is a nice addition to my gallery. Worse comes to worst, I'll find the backdoor. There is always a backdoor. Additional panelist are to be announced so says the Paley website. Bryan Singer, Lisa Edelstein and Robert Sean Leonard better show up! My Mum will be on hand to make sure I don't give my famous portrayal of a "deer-in-the-headlights" if we're allowed to rush the stage. Oh Dear God, will I ever let that go?!

Live Long and Prosper

So I let this review stew for almost a week because I wanted to do it justice. I saw "Star Trek" on Thursday night, by myself (reason #345 for why I dislike this part of Orange County). The theater was relatively empty. I would have to guess there were about 20 people, 3 Trekkies among them. I sat in the very back as usual to get the best view.

I have to say that all my bad-mouthing of the film was thrown out half-way through. I still don't like Abrams (overrated) and Chris Pine who just bugs me acting-wise, but I have a new found respect for them. I went into the movie thinking it was going to be as bad an "Indy 4" with way too much nostalgia and not enough substance and plot. The plot of this movie was very well done. Sequels are a must now. Leonard Nimoy was fantastic! I have heard a lot of bad press because people didn't like Simon Peg's Scotty. Give the man a bloody break! I loved it! The actors are not going to copy the originals because then that would be too wooden.

I'm avoiding spoilers so this is going to be very short. Just go see it if you haven't already. It was a perfect start to the summer movie marathon.

Real Down Time and Wolverine.

Seriously, I don't remember the last time I just stayed home or just relaxed for relaxing's sake. Maybe some random weekend at the beginning of last year? No clue. I'm burnt out though. I just can't stay home. I'm not the type of person to "not do nothing" if that makes some sort of warped sense. I'm always on the run; always "on the town" as my Mum says.

This weekend we'll be going to the range again. I come from a family full of law enforcement and a line that has always owned firearms. Anyway, the range is in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by hills and wild Californian floral. I have about ten photos in my gallery that show where I'm talking about. I don't think I'll be shooting, but rather walking through the trails a couple miles away. The trails have been there since the early 1800s. I can easily picture cowboys riding through the shrubbery. There's an old iron bridge that is rusted through. Squirrels might cross it from time to time. A creek runs under it. I can't remember if there's anything living in the water. I think its too shallow. I have seen mountain lions and other creatures. Most walk away. For the others that don't, noise and a flash of steel usually do the trick (literally a flash with the light, not a stabbing gesture [semi-vegetarian here]). I've missed that peace of the wild; that calm that you can only get with a couple hours away from civilization. And, of course, I'll have my camera.

Just a quick word on Wolverine, the X-Mens Origin film. It wasn't as bad as the third X-Men movie, but it was bad. There's hardly any dialogue and the plot jumps and then abruptly ends. I think the ending was a lousy cop-out to tie it to the other movies. They really needed to add another twenty minutes to explain the story properly. I heard that Marvel was going to do a "Deadpool" movie. Ryan Reynold's is NOT a good actor!

I plan on seeing Star Trek tonight so hopefully that will kick off my summer movie theater-going... Or kill it completely.

Worse weekend ever?

I just had a bad weekend. Period. The only highlight was seeing my best friend and getting a couple sexy outfits that are guaranteed to get jaw drops. Other than that, my weekend was utter crap.

I'm still in disbelief about Friday night/early Saturday morning. Hell, I'm usually a pro at pinpointing where people are going to be or at least my friends and sources are much more on top of things when I find out stuff through them. My sources are the ones that didn't cut it this time. For me, it makes it just that much worse that I picked the wrong date. I went to last month's show thinking "he'd" [Anthony Head] show, but it was a no go. Tomorrow night is what has lifted my spirits.

Musician George Sarah is playing with his old band, THC, tomorrow night at the Knitting Factory of Los Angeles. A lot of people have heard his music, but just don't know it. If you're a Buffy Fan, his music was featured in Season 4's "Beer Bad" and "Wild at Heart." He even cameoed in those episodes as Veruca's keyboardist. I bought THC's cd this past week and love it. Sarah Folkman on vocals is totally sultry and wanting.

Ok, so I have to fess up to something embarassing. I went to a friend's Vampiric Valentine's Birthday party and saw he was there. She's known him for years and laughed at me when I couldn't introduce myself. I was in heavy make-up and my poor guy friend was sick as a dog so I had to get him out of there asap. I had a million excuses. I think it was the week before, I'm talking to my cousin and venting a bit when he stops me and with an excited expression, says, "George?! We've been friends for almost 20 years!" [My cousin works in the music industry and practically knows everyone. He's really The Master (best nickname ever).] Worse yet, George knows I was trying to talk to him because he asked the Master if we were related or I came up in their conversation somehow. So tomorrow night, I'll be holding my chin up high, camera on my hip, trying not to be super obvious that I'm scouting the whole club for familiar faces. Really, its been ages since I've gone somewhere and just relaxed. There's a vodka tonic with my name on it and an empty, dark booth that is waiting for me.

Just Whinning. Grr.

"Speak English, not whatever they speak in, um..."
"England?" -- Buffy and Giles

The first Buffy convention I learn about is the first I cannot attend! This is seriously hurting my fangirl spirit. The reason I'm not going is a good one (major job training, both physical and mental) but it still smarts. Seeing that the Con is being held in London put the nail on the coffin.

I absolutely adore London. Normally I'm no city girl (reason why I visit LA instead of live there), but from the moment I stepped off the plane at Heathrow, I knew there was something that called to me. I did the whole tourista thing but I still went off and "people-watched," seeing how life really was. I ran in the soaking rain, loving it. I took trains, cabbies if it was 3am, and walked everywhere. No matter how hard they try here, we'll never have the public transport they have across the pond. So Buffy Fan Con and London together? Oh, it cuts right down to the bone! I won't even have time to go for a day (since I'm about that desperate to go). I've been torturing myself by checking out the guest list. The one person I want to see isn't on there, at least not yet, and I'm taking a small comfort from that. Hmm... maybe the department will give the recruits some "out of the blue" vacation or even a couple days off? That's wishful thinking, but you never know... Right?

"Did anyone ever tell you you're kind of a fuddy duddy?"
"Nobody ever seems to tell me anything else."
"Did anyone ever tell you you're kind of a sexy fuddy duddy?"
"No, actually, that part usually gets left out. I can't imagine why."
-- Jenny and Giles

True Blood at Paley

I really love the Paley Festival. The set up is marvelous and the presentation is just spectacular. I did get there later than I wanted to so I didn't get the best seats. Blame LA traffic and the Dodgers for that. The Fest started right on the dot with the VP of the Media Center saying a quick word about the Paley Foundation and then introducing a short clip of past presentations. After he then introduced a clip that the current Paley (William S. Paley's son) picked out to show the audience before the panel.

It was a Dark Shadows clip. I felt like a 3 year old jumping out of my seat when I saw the black and white scene and heard the music. I actually cheered. The people next to me turned to stare for a moment before looking back at the clip. Mum rolled her eyes as she smiled next to me. The only thing I was a disappointed in was that they didn't show the man himself, Jonathan Frid, as vampire, Barnabas Collins. I seriously think they are setting up for a large panel with the former cast of the show and the new cast of the movie. I am still rooting for that to happen.

Anyway, the moderator was then introduced and the show got rolling, as they say. All the actors were introduced to warm applause and a bit strained enthusiasm. I was surprised to see the audience was mostly older men and women. I thought there would be more 20 to 30 somethings present. The actors I think we surprised at this as well. Alan Ball (writer and director) was hilarious and probably the best speaker. Sam Trammell (plays Sam Merlotte) was also a conversation starter.

The only thing that I have not liked about any of these presentations are the audiences' questions. Really, folks, in the words of Ana Paquin, "Who cares about where the dirt comes from?" That was an actual question. She was nice. I would have slipped a more colorful word in there just to shame the questioner. There were about 2 questions that were decent. The others just made the cast look puzzled and wonder where these people are coming from.

The panel ran out of time at that moment so they abruptly ended the show. The audience at the front immediately flooded the stage to get autographs and closer photos. I was up in the Mezzanine and tried to push my way into the front. A group of old bitties (that reminded me of the dreaded "Twilight Moms") would not budge! If you got a photo and an autograph, move over and let someone else in, instead of hogging up the space with your not-small body. It's simple fan etiquette in my opinion. Even when I met Rickman, I immediately moved over so other people to get their share of the love.

The panel was worth it. Clips from the new Season look fantastic! I won't write what they were to not spoil any of you out there.

Photos of the event can be seen HERE.

1000 Miles

I originally had a four day weekend for the Easter holiday. I took Thursday off to enjoy all that Disneyland has to offer, including the long walks to the parking lot that mysteriously ended up a mile away. Mum treated me for my birthday. It was nice, but Disneyland is always so damned crowded. If there were about a couple thousand less people, it would be perfect.

Anyway, Friday I drove to Tucson, Arizona, to pick up my great-aunt (or biabuela in Spanish). I made extremely good time. I hate driving through Phoenix though because of the cameras. You think the street cameras are annoying? Try having those suckers on the interstate! A delicious meal of tamales set me to rights though. The next morning I drove back and just took my time. I didn't realize how tiring it is to just sit there and pay attention. Hell, I'm still tired. I seriously need rocket fuel-styled coffee.

It feels at the moment like I only had a day off. The thought of seeing the cast of "True Blood" tonight has me struggling to be cheerful and awake. I'll try to post photos here, but more than likely they will all be in my gallery tomorrow. Tonight I just want to enjoy the panel and hope I can get a salad and flaming margarita at El Compadre's afterwards.

Favorite Quotes of the Moment Part I

I am a bit bored and looking to fill in a bit of time so here's my favorite quotes of the moment. Hopefully I can at least put a smile on your face.

Text from Mitchell: "So, get any Head last night?"


Terrance Zdunich: "He was a hot looking girl."


Ryan (9 year old cousin): "I liked Repo!" [I had to ask how and where he watched it. I fear for his sanity... though I am a major contributor to his 'delinquency'.]


Chris (bro): "Nice jump, Officer Trull!" [referring to how I sprained my ankle.]


Mum: "That Grave Robber is hot." [Mum heard "Zydrate Anatomy" on my cell and then had me show her "Repo!" I only had to tell her where the gory parts were so she could close her eyes. Bless Her!]

Jonathan Ross to Tom Jones: "Can I see you naked after the show?"

J. Ross: "He (David Walliams) told me you got an errection and pressed up against him?"
Tony Head: *snorts* [So classy, eh?]

Weary

At the moment I am moping. Yes, I am feeling sorry for myself. My ankle is throbbing and my foot looks like a white canvas with purple, green, and blue paint liberally applied to it. Every time I stand, it shoots a pain through my foot and causes me to shift all my weight onto my right leg. My right leg is now sore. My shoulders are sore from the crutches because I tend to "strong-arm" them instead of using my leg to help me along, too. I slept much better last night since I had the splint off, but I still feel tired.

This month is usually a very good month for me.

On April 13, I'll be at the Arclight in Hollywood for the "True Blood" panel of the Paley Festival. Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin along with all the main cast will be present. That is a lot of beautiful people in one room. "True Blood" is an excellent show and I love how Alan Ball has made it his own. The "Stackhouse Books" aren't well written at all and tend to drag. The show is much more exciting and in depth.

I'm actually looking forward to seeing the Curator, David Bushman, of the museum and hoping to speak with him, too. He had a very interesting idea in an article he wrote sometime ago. With the Vampire genre coming back into the mainstream cinema, why not have a panel with a Legend and a devoted Fan seated side by side? Bushman in the last article hints at trying to set up a panel with Johnny Depp and Jonathan Frid. That would be too bloody cool. It would be every die hard fans wish! Plus, it will be fascinating to hear Depp's take on Barnabas Collins and Dark Shadows in general. Frid would be the wild card in this case. He has been attending the fan conventions, but not sure if he'd be up to traveling down for the panel. I'm sure the Festival would "wine and dine" him and give him every comfort. Depp would be a bit difficult, too, because I don't see him doing this kind of thing. I'll be very surprised if Bushman can pull it off.

I will also be the first one to pay for the membership fees so I can get better seats for that historical event... if it happens.

Darling, when are you going to get rid of Sebastian?

Miracles really can happen. So last night I couldn't sleep. It's probably due to the splint on my left foot and leg at the moment (severely sprained ankle) and its inability to be comfortable. I was just wasting time online and trying to find something extremely boring to read/watch at 2 a.m. I searched through all the news sites I have bookmarked and re-read old news.

It was boring and did not help me sleep. The link I barely noticed did not help me sleep either. I was checking my Yahoo! account and saw I had an email from a certain fan site I joined some months ago. Inside was the link to these gems.

I have two tickets to a semi-private review... featuring a Mr. Anthony Head. Yep, didn't sleep a wink last night. The review is being held at Hemery College of the Arts in Beverly Hills. Tickets are still available HERE. The review is held a la "Inside the Actor's Studio" type of interview. The theater where its held does not have a bad seat in the house. I have seats in the first five rows! Mitchell is joining me as my back-up "slap-Alex if she goes deer-in-the-headlights zombie." I do need back up in these situations. Look what happened to me at the Jimmy Kimmel show. I hang my head in shame!

I must apologize to all those who are going to Chain Reaction on Friday. I love the 100 Monkeys but... We're talking about Tony Head! Scariest villain of Dr. Who (except for those darn monsters from "Blink"), the Prime Minister of Little Britain, The RepoMan, and last but certainly not least, Ripper Giles of Buffy!

So I'm stoked.

In other news, I'll be joining my maternal grandmum, Queen Elizabeth, or Lizzie as the family calls her, for tea this afternoon. I do love the cucumber sandwiches the servants whip up. They've been helping me here at work with my impending sexual harassment case. How was I to know that wasn't a flashlight in his pocket? Well, back to my life as an undercover secret agent of the X-Files department.

[The only true this about this is entry is my sprained ankle sadly.]

"Don't Tase Me, Bro!"

Last night was something! First good food and company at Pinche Tacos, then a beer at a sushi bar right next to the Laemmle's while peering over my shoulder to see the cast sitting in the main part. Other fans were preaching the word of Repo! to the bartenders who laughed and seemed a little interested.

Everyone was in the theater by midnight.
Darren Lynn Bousman introduced the Shadowcast and again told the audience to give it their all.

We sure as Hell did not disappoint. The Shadowcast was really impressive. They were even mostly accurately cast. I have to say they were much better than the Rocky troupe I saw here. My friend, Tasha, and I laughed so hard. The Sunset 5 is going to be holding these midnight showings once a month so go down there and support the Shadowcast or even go if you don't have anything fun planned. This is a guaranteed fun night.

At the Opera Tonight!

I will be at the Sunset 5 tonight for the midnight screening of "Repo! The Genetic Opera." It's the "Shadowcast" premiere, so good luck to all those folks. Director Darren Lynn Bousman will be there with all us crazy people. Still no clue on who these "Special Guests" are, but I guess we will find out.

I am a total "Repo!" supporter, so if you're in the Southern California region, take a trip to Hollywood. You won't regret it, especially if you love horror and eccentric films. The creators and actors need the support especially if we want to see the rumored prequel. Let's show Tinseltown we won't take mediocrity and unimaginative films anymore.

For Tickets and more information, go HERE.

Oh Crickey, Batman!

Damn it! When you say "Special Guests" does that include main cast? How about the actor who plays the main character? And why, in all that is holy, are you such a bloody tease?

Darren Lynn Bousman is evil. He leaves these very vague statuses on Facebook or messages on the Repo! boards, hinting at unseen treasures... He'll be at the Sunset 5 in Hollywood on Friday for a midnight showing, with special guests. Who are the special guests?! The only two people I have not seen of the main cast are Paul Sorvino and Anthony Head. Terrence Zdunich is an awesome guy so I'll go if he's there, too. Hearing the jeers and cat-calls will liven up a night that looks to be a dead one for me.

So quick POLL: Do I go to the Sunset 5?

A) YES. You never know what will happen or who will be there. You have run into interesting people before.
B) Sure. At least you can hang out with the other deviants of the Repo! crowd.
C) Curse Bousman for his inability to be clear and just be around the area just in case...

I hate being indecisive.

On Being a Vegetarian.

I'm not a hardcore vegetarian (at least, not yet) but I gave up meat for Lent. It's been tough especially coming from a family where beef and chicken is always the main entree. I miss carne asada and ribs and steak... well, you get the picture. I've always liked duck, lamb, venison, and even alligator. I'm not a picky eater. For Lent it came down to a choice between coffee and meat. I shot down the coffee choice because of finals. It wouldn't do me any good to be going through caffeine withdrawals while trying to concentrate and study. It's bad for me, too, since I've winged myself off coffee once. Shakes, headaches, bad moods are just some of the symptoms. I've gotten down to about a cup and a half a day and supplement the rest with tea and water.

Anyway, like the good Catholic that I am, please, hold those snickers, I gave up the next best thing: Meat. I feel pretty good about it. The hardest thing is actually eating enough veggies. Do you realize how much veggies you have to eat in order to get a full days nutrition? It's crazy! Anything less than that though and your body will start to think you're starving it so then you'll start gaining weight (ie. why starving yourself will ultimately backfire and you'll gain more weight than ever). I'm taking vitamins and making sure I lay off the cheeses and breads so I don't get an overload of sugar into my system. Cold and Hot soups are a Godsend. I do love veggies plain and snack on mushrooms, carrots, and even cauliflower.

But man, just planning meals is tough. I'm trying to loose more weight for the Sheriff's department and think I plateaued. IT sucks and its making me a bit stressed. I'm suppose to be a young, cute 21 year old who can loose weight just by thinking about it! I feel like I'm working much harder than I did in HS. If this is growing old, may I please stop now?

I'm off work in an hour so I'll this griping has now made me motivated to do an extra hard work out later on this evening. Need to get extra fit by August because at 5'4" I need to be able to handle a 6'4" guy. Hmm... I think I should go running on the beach again.

Comics *Very Spoilery*

During this quarter I ended up reading the "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" Season 8 comics. I really can't read full novels (since I choose books more than 500 pages most of the time) because of time and class restraints. One of my classes had four books alone. I hate stopping in the middle of a novel and leaving it for a couple days or even whole weeks. I'd rather wait and read it when I have oodles of time to enjoy it. Such as now and summer break.


Anyway, the first comic is called "Long Way Home," and was written by creator Joss Whedon and George Jentry. Of course, it is a semi-introduction comic, starting with Buffy explaining how she changed the world. 1800 Slayers now exist with her closest friends the leaders of the squadrons. Buffy, as usual, is alone, feared and revered by the world. The new big bad of the series is a character called "Twilight." He only makes cameos throughout the series and has an intricate plan involving pitting slayers against each other, the governments of the world, and the demons that haven't fled underground.


"No Future for You" is my favorite so far in the season 8 comics ("Tales of the Vampires" is my favorite overall, but as a spinoff, it doesn't really count in this section). "NFU" brings back badass dark Slayer, Faith, with all her trashy talk and self-loathing. Faith, I have to admit, is one of my favorite characters. She doesn't bitch and complain as much as Buffy does. We find out that she's the "go-to girl" for dirty deeds in the new slayer order. You have little kids turned into vampires? No prob, just get Faith to kill the little buggers. No need to burden new slayers with such a difficult job. Faith lives in a shabby apartment in Cleveland (the other Hellmouth) by herself and its there where she finds Giles waiting for her. Giles gives her a mission that involves killing a rogue slayer. That starts off the story with Giles teaching her everything there is to know of the English aristocracy in order for Faith to go undercover and get close to this dangerous slayer. All in all, Twilight's symbol makes an appearance and Faith and Giles team up to help other slayers who are going down the wrong path, "a slayer's social work program" as Faith says. The next comic out this May continues this story line.


"Wolves at the Gate" brings back Dracula! A group of Japanese vampires steals Dracula's secrets of turning into fog, animals, etc, and plans to elimanate the slayers by using Buffy's scythe to return the girls to normal. Buffy get Xander to visit the Dark Prince and they set off to Tokoyo to stop these new vampires' plan. The only thing I didn't like about the story? Buffy's sudden interest in Satsu and their sleeping together. Really? After Faith, Buffy was the straightest person on the show! Oh well, I guess they had to in order for Buffy to realize how alone she really is, again.


Now onto the spin-offs...


I absolutely love "Tales of the Vampires." You could know nothing about Buffy and enjoy the stories interwoven throughout. The stories flip back and forth from the past to the future. An elder vampire tells the tales to a group of young watchers-in-training. I love how the writers included stories about Spike and Drusilla's time in Prague and Angel's nightmares of his past victims (including Season 2 favorite, Jenny Calendar). The main story of the young watchers is frought with anxiety when one of the watchers, Edna Fairweather, becomes aware that another vampire is in their mist. In between the stories, she pieces together who it is and ultimately faces off with the sire of the elder vampire. My favorite line as Edna blacks out is "He was right. I am in love with the Baker's boy." Edna then wakes up and tells off all the adult watchers for being stupid. One of the Watcher's remarks that she'll be running the Council in no time with her attitude. The next set of frames shows Edna letting off steam with a walk through London. It shows her going into the Baker's shop. The last frame is the hook. The name of the shop is Giles's. (Which if you don't get it, the whole story was about Rupert Giles's [Buffy's current watcher] Grandmother! Ok, I'm a nerd for getting spazzed out about that.)

The next comics are the Omibuses which are stories that are "inbetween" the seasons. The first one is a preseason one and then the others follow suit with explaining what Buffy does during the summers. Interesting and Entertaining. I think they have one more before they catch up with the Season 8 comics.

"Fray" was a pleasant surprise. I was leery reading about a totally futuristic slayer, but Wheadon doesn't disappoint. Since there is only one anthology out there, I'm not going to go too into it. The next one should be out soon so I'm looking forward to it.

So that's it for now on comics. I can't wait to get my hands on the next season 8 one. I should have more blogs up soon with movie reviews, news, etc. Dark Shadows has been more "active" so I'll be posting about that. Cheers!

SPRING BREAK

"Spring Break" are the key words every college kid has on their lips at the moment. Mine started last night. I have almost two weeks of no school to worry about. Well, I do have one thing I have to do over the next week, but it's not going to be very hard at all.

Anyway, as an "anglophile" and theater lover, I am shocked and saddened by the very sudden passing of Natasha Richardson. Everyone has probably read over her career highlights in other publications so I'm not going to be repetitive. I just feel for her poor family.

The weather here in Orange County seems to be reflecting my mood. It's foggy, dark, and a bit cold. The ocean breezes are icy. I hope it clears up so I can go walk along Newport again or even go a bit farther into Huntington (that way I'd make a stop at DVD Planet). I must be bored if I'm musing on the weather. I'm dying for my hot as hell summer.

100 Posts! Whoa! Spoiler Warning for Watchmen.

So this will be short and sweet. Well, maybe. Writers are liars and you can't trust the lot of us when it comes to our passion. The Spoilers for "Watchmen" will be the last paragraph so if you haven't read/seen it, skip the last paragraph if you are sensitive to being spoiled.

First off, I always say I'm going to post photos for events and hardly ever do because Blogger's photo uploader takes forever and then I get lazy since I write most of these entries at work. So I'm going to be an attention whore and post the link to my photo gallery that I have on DeviantArt.

http://acollinsvampire.deviantart.com/

You can see larger photos of people like Alan Rickman, Ray Bradbury, Gillian Anderson, David Selby, and a lot more from the events and places I've gone to. I've posted Repo! cast photos there but they are not very good. I bought a new camera last week and am already extremely happy with it. PaleyFest is in April this year and I will be attending the "True Blood" Panel. The whole main cast will be there so stay tuned for blogs and photos on that.

Now onto "Watchmen."

I liked it more than I thought I would but I still hated the ending. Zack Snyder, the director, went for the happy ending and killed the sense of hopeless the comic portrayed. I thought he had just taken out the Squid Monster (which in my opinion would have been cool to see) but he did more than that. He or the studios thought about the effect it would have on the "general" audience. The "general" audience are a bunch of morons; I won't even go into that more. Anyway, the effects, sets, and CGI were perfect. I must say the music was the best soundtrack I've heard in a while for a film. Having Nat King Cole sing while the Comedian was being beaten to a pulp just made the beating that much more brutal. Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, and Jimi Hendrix all have their music threaded throughout the film. It really helped explain the time periods. The story did have some trouble shifting and moving on, but they were able to keep the integrity of it. Overall, it was good, but not the great film every fanboy was wetting his pants for.

Update

Um... yeah... Real life snuck up on me and held me in its thrall for a while there. It was hectic, but it came with good news that will allow me to travel around a lot more on my time off so viola.

I'm planning on seeing "Friday the 13th" tomorrow or Thursday depending on if my current plans go through or not. I have a lot more dvds, too, that I'll finally be able to watch and go through without interuption. I'm especially looking forward to new giallo films and need to pick up Argento's other works. I rushed and bought "His Name Is Jason" and am looking forward to seeing it. I finally got "American Psycho" since it was only 4 bucks.

Hopefully I won't take forever to post the new blogs. School, work, future work, and family can be blamed for that.

Repo! Last Stop: Los Angeles

I am so tired at the moment so I apologize for any stupid grammatical mistakes I might/probably will make. I didn't get a lot of sleep on Friday because of good times with friends and Saturday because I was all hyped up to go see "Repo! The Genetic Opera" again.

I was not disappointed. I took two of my cousins who hadn't even heard of the movie with me to the Royal Theater that night. They're young ones, but they aren't sheltered at all. Most kids don't know about screenings and other stuff until much later. I'm starting their "education" now. I made them dress up since I did. Another friend helped out with make up and made me a latex scar and applied more to my hairline to make it look like my face was falling off. I put more make up on them than they'll wear in their entire lives and dyed their hair. I don't think they believed me about other people dressing up until we stepped out of the car and into the brisk, cold night air of Santa Monica. People were waiting in a line that wrapped along the building. Most were dressed up and I'd bet everyone was wearing black. Zydrate addicts, scalpel sluts, Repo men, and Genterns lined the sidewalks. The first person who caught my eye was Terrence Zdunich who was walking up and down it with a camera guy in tow. People burst into song and yelled all manner of fun vulgarities that only Repo! fans would get.

We didn't wait long outside before they herded us in and we rushed to get seats. It's always a pain to decide whether to sit in the back where the director and cast will be, or sacrifice and move to the front for better photos. I sacrificed so I apologize for the quality of the photos I shall be posting later. Fans were rushing up and down the isles. Darren Lynn Bousman, the director, was pacing in the front. The same camera man who had been following Terrence was running up and down the main isles, yelling at people to shout and generally trying to get the crowd into a frenzy. It didn't take a lot of effort.

Once everyone was seated, Spooky Dan from Bloody-Disgusting.com started off the night with his own "Puppet Zydrate Anatomny" short film. It was great! Is it so wrong to write that I got a little hot when the Repo Man puppet jumped the Grave Robber? Probably is, but I laughed and hollered like the rest of the crowd. Darren Bousman introduced the film and the cast. Paris Hilton and Alexa Vega had just been taking their seats. He then encouraged everyone to "be as loud as fucking possible!" Oh, I think LA showed we kick ass in that department. No song went unsung. No corny line was given mercy. I cracked up every time I heard Bousman or Zdunich shout something from 10 feet away from me.

"Dead man walking!"

"Fuck, that looked like it hurt!"

The only thing that bugged me that night was the group of bloody Buffy fans behind me... I really feel for actors who have obnoxious fans. I cringed every time I heard one of them shout "Giles!" when Anthony Head was on screen. Finally one of the chits shouted something during a rare quiet moment and didn't receive a laugh, but did get a couple of glares. They took the hint at last and shut up about Buffy. Really, it was all about Repo! that night.

My cousins loved the movie. I filled them in on who's who and stuff like that during the credits. The cast and crew did a wonderful Q&A afterwards. It made me appreciate again how ignorant and challenged mainstream critics are. This movie is really the "film that would just not die." Bousman, but especially Zdunich, and Smith are so passionate about this story. They lived with it for years. I say its a tragedy if this were just to fizzle out and die with out any prequels or sequels. It was mentioned the cast is all up for it but they need the financial backing.

At this point, I was going on two hours of sleep and needed to drive the primos back to my house. We lingered in the cramped lobby for about two minutes and then split. Somehow after getting onto the wrong freeway and passing by the pier at 1 am, we made it back to my house in one piece. We didn't sleep until 3 though. No one ever told me latex was such a bitch to take off, especially when it got into one's hair. I loved the Road Tour though, so it was worth it.

A Couple Treats...

A couple things have come to my attention in the past couple days since I'm back at work and able to read the news a lot more.

First thing up, Big Finish Productions have a couple new Dark Shadow audio dramas that they will be releasing. At the end of this month, they will be releasing "The Wicked and the Dead." I really can't stress on how well made and brilliant these things are. I have the first series and can listen to it straight through for hours. They are more entertaining than most of the television shows up there right now. The stories are classic "Dark Shadows" themes with all the darkness and macabre comedy there for any fan of horror. As a die hard fan, I love how the original actors have worked on these, some even coming out of retirement. John Karlen sounds the same as he did in the 60's! I can't wait to hear Jerry Lacy's voice as the evil witch hunter, Reverend Trask in this new installment.

Next thing up... "Repo! The Genetic Opera" is returning to Los Angeles! For one day only, it will be screening in Santa Monica on January 24th as part as the 3rd Tour director Darren Lynn Bousman and Writer Terrance Zdunich will be on hand presenting it and signing autographs. This article mentions the actors showing up, but it doesn't mention who, where, or when... Los Angles is a safe bet in my honest opinion to see at least a couple of the main cast. These showings have sold out very fast so get your tickets if you live in one of the cities they'll be visiting! If for some reason you've missed the other hundred blogs or reviews out there about "Repo!" read this one HERE. It's a very good one that expresses just the simple joys of this movie...

One more thing regarding "Repo!" that I have to add. Apparently it is the middle movie of a trilogy planned, but we'll just have to wait to know if the "prequel" and "sequel" will pan out. I'm always against sequels because they are never done right, but who knows, right? Yay for pep and optimism!