The Daily Adventures of Mercat

Despite my general feeling of melancholy lately-- and, oh, how I hate that word-- melancholy, ugh-- (and I do mean, literally, the word itself, not how it is defined or used or anything, I just have this bizarre intense dislike for the spelling and sheer existence of its sound) I also feel rather victorious the past few days.

I don't know which one of these to post last, because I am a save-the-best-for-last person, because three out of four of these just make me stupid-smiley-happy.

...I may have also been spending too much time on Tumblr being all internet-y and fandom-y so my brain is kind of running in that mode lately, too. So... sorry. (Also, damn, there is a lot of problematic posts on tumblr. But you know what? I deal with enough shit everywhere else, I can't turn that epic little corner of crossover jokes into another space where I get mad at people. I just can't deal with that, bleh.)

(Also, there was an adorable episode of the Simpsons with a Pixar parody and a Wallace and Gromit parody and they were SO well done and cute.)

(Umm, and Taco Bell has an ad with Pagliacci and I feel like with all the Phantom of the Opera I've been seeing and possibly going to see the limited showing of Les Mis that I should go see some real opera again? I think the last one I saw was Aida, and I always liked Carmen, and I just HAVE NOT SEEM MUCH THEATER LATELY I would even go for some Shakespeare. As long as it's not Much Ado About Nothing or As You Like It? I can't remember which, but one of them is terrible. But mostly I just feel like I should see a real version of Pagliacci because everything I know about Pagliacci is from Spike Jones. And possibly Merry Melodies/Looney Tunes.)

I aced my interview for Pier 1 today, so I am now seasonally employed. And it sounds like it's not many hours, which is good for me. You can't see my face right now, but I'm giving a sort of evil smirk, because sometimes I am a little conniving and I hate myself for it, but the little kid who read the entire Hardy Boys series is so proud of any time I am successfully involved in subterfuge.

Uhhhhh and I found out that when you put your dvd codes into Disney's Movie Reward program you also get a "digital library" hosted on their site which is PERFECT for while I'll be in Hawaii because I'll be taking maybe like two dvds with me. (Buuuut a lot of books. Like too many.) [EDIT: Actually, possibly, it might be only a discount to a streaming version. Which is a little skeezy IMO.]

Yesterday I found out that a few of my friends told some epic tales of me to the rookies this summer, and that just made my month. I miss the Troop so much. <3 WHY ARE ALL MY FRIENDS OUT WESSSST

Uh, also, I forgot how good horizontal stripes look on me and can I just say this sweater looks fucking great? And it's Hufflepuff colors. (And so are my socks.)

HUFFLEPUUUUUUFF

Okay and then I made a ridiculous joke yesterday on facebook, it was so great, and it just made me feel really awesome because my seat partner from last year was being a smartass about it and I feel the joke's quality is on par with the stuff the rest of my family (read: mostly my dad and uncle) crank out. It's a bit... audience specific, BUT! Here it is:

The set-up: a drum corps' tuba section has to break into their friend's dreams on a long overnight drive states away in order to save him from making a terrible tour-goggles-induced mistake. The title? C O N T R A - C E P T I O N


Oh my god my brain is in meme mode I'm so sorry.






:D

LET ME SHOW YOU THEM.

First off, where have I been? Alas, busy. Trying to get a job/internship, and drum corps. That's pretty much all of it. Trying to catch up on my huuuuuge list of to-dos so I can get back to sitting around and actually posting.

Anyway.

I did see the last Harry Potter movie last night, which was great up until the epilogue, even though I knew it was coming. Because really, their makeup was Not So Hot and I really still dislike Ginny. Despite Chamber of Secrets being my favorite book (BECAUSE BASILISKS), I feel like she really is just an accessory or leftover character after her role in Chamber, and she was Harry's consolation prize because Ron would get the shaft if Hermione ended up with Harry.

P.-the-fuck-S., their kiss was straight-up pandering I-hate-fangirls-and-this-audience-rolling-my-eyes grade ugh. I mean, please.

On the other hand, I thought 7.2 developed very nicely and flowed very smoothly. I was a bit bummed to see Neville didn't get played up more, but then I found out I misremembered THE ENTIRE ENDING OF THE LAST BOOK?! Which was because I read it on tour in '07 (the week it came out! Lucky WalMart stop on that bit) and I stayed up until three or so in the morning, ON THE BUS, reading it. Man oh man. Here's what I thought. Harry gets "killed" and carried back, we see the final little showdown happen and Neville whips the sword of Gryffindor out of nowhere and finishes of Voldy, making him the TWIST ENDING UNSUSPECTED FULFILLMENT OF THE PROPHECY.

So... I pulled that out of my ass or dreamed it or misremembered everything or just straight up my brain blocked the real ending out?! I DON'T KNOW. Because I am a little pissed that it wasn't Neville, and it kinda seemed like More Glory Harry Didn't Need Because He's Kind of Spoiled and Whiny Like James. Yes. Anyway.

CGI on the brooms = STILL FUCKING BOTHERSOME. IT HAS BEEN A DECADE-PLUS OF MOVIEMAKING, PEOPLE, MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, AND YOU ARE TELLING ME THAT PEOPLE STILL FALL FASTER THAN GRAVITY AND MOVE THROUGH AIR FASTER THAN DRAG WILL ALLOW?! WILL YOU FUCKING CUT THAT SHIT OUT ALREADY. Okay then, pet peeve, obviously. (Third one was still the best in that regard despite everyone's boo-fucking-hoos about "uhhhh waaaaah omg the weeeerewoooolf". Shut up. It looked pretty damn realistic. You know why? BECAUSE WEREWOLVES ARE NOT REAL)

Aaaaaand it definitely felt like the end of an era to watch it. And I was a little disappointed I didn't dress up, but I don't have the whole outfit and it would have cost a pretty penny to get a Hufflepuff outfit together, and Huber is a terrible place to hang out (seriously, the crowd was awful-- all fangirly teenagers who cheered when a fucking Taylor Lautner movie ad came on, PLEASE, and no one dressed up well [seriously ghetto central] and there was a girl behind us with a shirt that said "I'M SLEAZY FOR WEASLEY" [classy] and STOP CLAPPING AUDIENCE, WHO ARE YOU CLAPPING FOR.) and et cetera.

But. I miss reading the books already and I want to make a big fort and set myself up with a cooler and a bunch of premade snacks and just read straight through the whole series again. It really is a quality series, despite how much I pick on the movies.

And I do wonder, when will they decide that it is time to remake the movies more true to the books? I seriously fucking miss all the house ghosts and Peeves and all that. And you know they pretty much hired every actor in Britain anyway so it's either going to be American actors (please for the love of god NO) or B-list actors in which case either 1) more production money for sets and CGI or 2) made-for-TV-becomes-a-years-long-television-show. A "miniseries" as it were, but, more actually, a "mega-miniseries".

At any rate. I want to go to Universal Orlando now and GET A FREAKIN' HUFFLEPUFF PIN. I got a Gryffindor one for Christmas from my great aunt, but, alas, I am not a Gryffindor.

True story, when the books first came out my cousins got a little magic-8-ball-style sorting-hat keychain and we sorted the whole family. I still have the list somewhere. Out of something like a dozen people, I was the ONLY ONE to end up in Hufflepuff. Poor Hufflepuff!

Also, in relation to Greek mythology, I suspect that Hufflepuff's "black" color is perhaps iron? Like, wrought iron is black, as is cast iron, and all the other houses have their respective metals: gold, silver, bronze. According to the Greek mythological ages there were the three failed ages, gold, silver, and bronze, and the iron age which resulted in Humans As We Know Them Today. (That is, not Titans, etc.)

As a civil engineer and a mythology aficionado, I APPROVE HEARTILY. (Not the shiniest but we are the strongest? I can deal with that. ;P)

Anyway, um, I think that's all of it. As for other books being made into movies, American Gods is, and I kind of want to refuse to see it, based on the same reasons I refused to see Chronicles of Narnia (it ruins the version in my head). BUT, at the same time, American Gods is REAL PLACES, some of which I have already been to and were in fact the entire reason I got the book in the first place (House on the Rock). So... I am conflicted. We shall see.

Oh, also, I watched the original Planet of the Apes yesterday. It's a shame I already knew the ending, but still, the storyline is sadly relevant to a lot of today's politics and still extremely well done. Well, except for the part where the space crew is two white guys, a black guy, and a white woman, and [SPOILER ALERT] the woman dies in the first ten minutes, and the black guy dies in the first maybe thirty minutes, and the savior of humanity ends up resting on the shoulders of one stuck-up asshole white man who apparently is willing to attack his cagers for their paper instead of signaling with, you know, HAND MOTIONS, the motion of writing or handing him the paper or something. For reals? Sadly. Aaaaaaanyway.

Aside from that, I also couldn't get over how VENTURE BROTHEEEEEERS the whole thing felt, sorry Charlton Heston. Your voice-acting is just tooooo much. (But also, that was the times. I get it. But it's almost a parody of itself, so many years later.)

At any rate! I recommend it nonetheless.

Oh! Trailers attached to HP. Batman was a huge letdown. Sherlock 2 was AWESOME but I can't wait until Christmas, PLEEAAASSEEEE (and where was Stephen Fry?!). Cowboys and Aliens is going to BLOW MY FUCKING MIND. Taylor Lautner makes terrible career choices and sometimes Alfred Molina Satipo does too. The Borat guy, on the other hand, is some kind of mad genius (he's in Hugo, which looks good but odd).

Oh, and Ciaran Hinds was Aberforth, who for a split second I thought was Stephen Fry and was SO CONFUSED, and I remembered how awesome Ciaran Hinds is (Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, the second Tomb Raider), and then I remembered I hadn't come up with Alfred Molina's name yet and we were halfway through the movie (DAMNIT SATIPO) and I also remembered that I hate Daniel Craig's American accent (Tomb Raider, the first one). So. Yes. Also I still have not seen the new X-Men, but I did see Horrible Bosses last week and it was okay but really slow to start and not great but maybe rent it if you're bored and looking for a comedy. Why is Kevin Spacey so good at being evil? (LOL Lex Luthor.) Also I still have no goddamn desire to see Captain America. It just looks so lame and STOP RECASTING DC CHARACTER ACTORS AS MARVEL ONES, CAN WE PLEASE. Fantastic Four was awful. I hate Captain America's costume. FOR SERIOUS.




...HUFFLEPUFF PRIDE! NO SHAME. GO BADGERS. (AMIRITE, WISCONSIN?)

I am slipping in under the midnight radar. Speaking of midnight radar, I'm really liking LJ's new shooting star header. That's some classy/sexy stuff.

Harry Potter is a brilliant series. HUFFLES FOREVER






That is all.