I LOVED the OotP trailer. LOVED.

But WHAT are the filmmakers trying to do giving Voldy the 3-piece suit sexy makeover?

Between this and his very fey dialog delivery in the 4th film, every time he opens his mouth to speak to Harry I'm going to hear subtext.

Voldemort says, "Haaaaarrrrry Poooooootter." And I'll hear:
"I know I killed your parents, but let bygones be bygones. I've seen pictures of your happy trail online and I WANT MORE!"

Harry says, "You killed my parents!" And I will hear:
"NO! You disgust me. And yet, I'm strangely attracted to you. You're looking very svelt in that 3-piece suit. Show me your Magic Wand. NO. I mean...I HATE YOU...Die...DIE..DISROBE! Gah!"

Vodemort replies, "I hate Muggles!" And I will hear:
"I have turned out to be a rather natty dresser, haven't I?!"

It's KILLING me. Apparently any character can get a Hollywood makeover and look fabulous even if they don't have a nose. My, my, my.

I cannot seem to keep up with my own personal life. I am very, very busy at work (can't remember if I've mentioned it here, but I produce websites, mostly for the entertainment industry). Where once I had at least an hour's slack time to catch up on LJ, etc., I now only have time for quick lunch and then it's back to work. My commute isn't terrible, but it's at least an hour. So between morning travel and the arrival back home, I'm pretty beat. If I exercised more, I'd probably have more energy, but first I need to muster the energy and motivation to actually get my rear in gear...and it just isn't happening. More often then not I pass out on the sofa in front of the telly, and that's an odd common practice for me. I HATE falling asleep watching TV. Not to mention it's disruptive to the sleep cycle and often gives me bad dreams.

Once upon a time I read fanfic after work, but I don't want to stare at a computer when I get home after spending 8 hours plus using a computer at work. My online life has been taking a backseat, and my actual social life is a wilting rose. I really should do something about that.

On the plus side, I finished a lovely book called Tales of Protection, and I'm almost done with Beagle's Tamsin, which has been both lovely and thrilling, and once again I find myself aching to visit England, in particular Dorset. The last time I felt this way was after reading Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series. A friend of mine and I may be planning a trip for next year; I want to hear the Wild Hunt for myself.

So...on the Potter front, I haven't started rereading the books yet, but I'm sure I will. I HATE the British (young adult) and American cover for The Deathly Hallows, though the adult Brit cover is rather compelling. And as for the picture of Gary Oldman as Sirius, I can totally buy him in that outfit. Buy him, and it makes me kinda wanna do him. But that may have more to do with Gary Oldman than anything else.

Have a mentioned that work is a bear?

Have I also mentioned that, due to lack of funds, the dirty clothes pile far outweighs the clean pile, my roots are about 1/2 inch long - grey bastards, and I desperately want some new sun dresses for summer and I'm pining away for them? Pitiful.

An entire apartment of my own.  Bedroom.  Living room. Kitchen.  A bathroom with a separate shower and bath. 

I am very happy.  The cats...less so.  But they'll get used to it.

My first night in the apartment (last night) I slept like a corpse.  Until the morning.  When I had a perfectly salacious dream.  Dirty.  I never wanted to wake up.  Damn my sleeping eyes!

If I've missed your stories and failed to review those I happened to catch, I apologize.  I've been so busy at work and then with making preparations for the move, I've had little time for anything else.  I also tend to read less fanfiction around the time Rowling announces the release date for the next (this time last - le sigh) book.  It's my way of ensuring that I don't allow my love of fan fic Snape characterizations to cloud my opinion of Rowling's plans for the character.  This may sound silly to some, but I'm a gal who is easily swayed. 

Have been reading your ramblings on LJ if not always responding.   I hope you've all been well (or mostly well, at least).

No spoilers, but I was able to watch a sneak episode of Daniel Radcliffe's episode of Extras and he was very, very funny and very good at poking fun at himself and the Harry Potter persona.  If you have HBO, or have a friend who can tape it for you, I highly recommend. 

Cheers, mates!

A marriage fic.

Bride of the Potions Master by SamusAran.

Where couples are forced to consummate their union and submit to Ministry tests. The marriages are all about forcing people of good magical stock to breed.

And though I'm not sure how I feel about the believability of such a set-up, when compared to canon, I'm quite enjoying a relatively canon Snape having to go through the, uh, motions.

It manages to be graphic and cerebral at the same time and I find it interesting that the characters are, for the most part, horrified, disgusted and depressed by their situation; the story doesn't begin with either harboring a secret crush/lust for the either.  It's curious how it's evolving over time.  Well played, I'd say. 

Snape is made human by these rare moments of surprise or vulnerability, but the character is mostly written to be as cruel, inconsiderate and self-serving as he often is in the books.  As for Hermione, there's a lot of great stuff going on in her mind as she's suffering and I'm enjoying her very much.

The story could fly off in so many different directions, I find it very exciting.  Though it's not always easy reading sex scenes between two people who would pretty much rather be doing anything but have sex with each other.  Heh.

A brief week in review:

There was a second viewing of Pan's Labyrinth, a perfect trip to Disnelyand with actual Disneys, an incredibly busy but mostly fulfilling week at work (a promotion + raise = no more time at work to slack and therefore actually earning every penny), an early screening of an upcoming comedy that I quite enjoyed (a work perk; I produce websites for the entertainment industry) and a weekend with some much loved purchases.  And I stopped by the new place to select some furniture the current tenant was planning on giving away.  I'm just a few weeks away from moving into my dream apartment.

So, the new purchases...

Purchase 1: Tennis shoes that don't hurt my ankle.  I broke it a few years ago and there's some hardware in there.  If shoes rub against the skin/screws it's an agony.  Most tennis shoes hit the bottom of the ankle bone and are no good.  These new shoes will go along nicely with my newly activated gym membership.

Purchase 2: Heels!  Wedge heels!  With height!  Comfortable and SUPER cute.  The big deal, for me, is that I haven't been able to wear heels since I broke my ankle.  Truth be told, my ankle will likely swell up to roughly the size of a tennis ball if I wear the heels for a few hours, but I DON'T CARE!  I'm sick of always wearing flats with skirts that would be much better served by an impractical heel. 

Purchase 3: A new hairstyle.  Bye-bye fake red that looks terrible after it's been washed for a month and the grey/brown roots take control of the top of my head.  Hello more natural brown with chesnut highlights that will wear and tear much better and hopefully disguise the grey/brown roots when they grow out.  And the hairdresser did something quite fetching with the cut.  I'm not winning any beauty contests, ever, (well, maybe in certain parts of rural Ireland where all the women have left and only 70 year old men remain) but I'm happier with my appearance than I've been in months.

New hair.  New shoes.  I feel like real girl, Gepetto!

AND, Dyce finished up Accountable, which I was very much enjoying.  Minus the slight to the Weasley twins which I thought was undeserved.  They are my favorite characters in the novels and I really cannot stand seeing them torn asunder or made out to be completely thoughtless bastards.  Other than that, a nearly perfect fic fix, and a pregnancy one at that.  I find those are pretty hard to pull off well, so hats off to writers who manage it so well.

Also, any Rome watchers out there? 

THIRTEEN!!!!!!!!

Cheers, mates.

I must secretly crave celebrity.  I'm meme-ing like crazy these days.  It feels like I'm being interviewed.

Taken from the lovely keladry_lupin