Counting down the days

[blodeuedd]

You know how the curve of technological development, like with computers, keeps getting steeper and steeper? It's like that with Christmas lights as well: before, you had your strings of basic, coloured lights that changed little except maybe for the colour selection. A few years ago, they came out with the dangling, icicle-like lights. A couple of years after that, light nets became popular, especially on cedar hedges. Last year those huge inflated soldiers/snowmen/Santas lit up from within started showing up and this year, they've come out with LED lights that have cool colours (although only three of them) which people are combining with their old lights to sometimes odd effect.

I got the beautiful sari I ordered this week. It looked so tiny, folded up to the size of a hardcover book, but when I took it out of the envelope and wrapped it around myself, I almost got lost. Bright red silk with gold and purple and green designs, it's absolutey gorgeous. I was planning to make a (or several!) dresses out of it, but now I don't know if I'll have the heart to cut it... *gurgles*

Tuesday the 14th of December was a very important day. Not because of bashy's birthday, but because The Return of the King Extended DVD Edition was put on sale! You know what that means? That means LOTR marathon over the holidays! If you'd like to attend, let me know so we can arrange a date. Otherwise, it'll be me, Aragorn and a bag of chips.

Of course G got me the set with the mini Minas Tirith. For some reason it's in two parts; the base had a round velvety-lined hole with the White Tree printed on the bottom, as though it's meant to hold -- gah, I can't remember the English word for sous-tasse! -- those thingies you put under your glass or mug. Minas Tirith the Mug Holder? The city part fits into the hole but not right to the bottom; there's still space to hide a Precious, I guess. XD

So,

Saruman, oh, Saruman. *shakes her head* I guess that deep down inside, I was still secretly hoping for a scouring of the Shire, so this demise of the Wizard of Many Colours had me exclaiming in dismay. I'm trying to get used to the idea, and I suppose that it isn't really a bad idea in itself, but still...

The added parts didn't seem as noticeable to me as they did in the other two movies. Granted, I hadn't seen TROFK as many times as I'd seen the other two, so I didn't remember it as well, but the major parts (important plot-wise, I mean) that were added were Saruman's death and the Mouth of Sauron. The part with Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli beneath the mountain was lengthened considerably as was the Battle of Pellenor Fields. Look, more Rohirrim falling off horses! More Orcs getting killed! More detail with Pippin in Minas Tirith, Eowyn having a bad dream, etc. I'll have to watch it again to remember more. Tomorrow, maybe.

I started watching the Appendices last night and at one point, Peter Jackson mentions that he was never entirely happy with how the ghosts from Dwimorberg turned out. Lots of people complained that they looked too cartoony, but I have to admit that I loved the effect. It reminded me of Les Douze Travaux d'Astérix, my second-favourite Asterix movie when I was a kid. One of the tasks Asterix and Obelix have to accomplish is to spend the night on an ancient battleground, haunted by the ghosts of dead Roman legionaries. They're drawn as glowing green Romans and that bit of the film always seemed incredibly spooky to me and I loved it, as I loved (and still love) ghost stories. The one quibble that I have with the extended scene is, that's an awful lot of skulls. I read a rewiew that said the skulls made it creepier, but it just looks silly to me.

What else? I still don't like the bit with Frodo sending Sam back home, but I sort of have to agree with P.J. as he explains it in the extras. However, I think that having no payoff of Gollum trying to come between the hobbits would have shown that even the Ring couldn't separate them. *shrug* Whatever, Sam is still my favourite character.



That's enough of that. Today, I'm buying a serger! You know, I really, really needed to get serious with the whole sewing thing and post pictures. I read about someone starting a NaNoWriMo-like sewing challenge and I've got a whole drawer-full of material just screaming to be made into something lovely.

I've just discovered Squirrel Nut Zippers and I love them to death. It's like swing and blues and jazz and folk and this one sounds like klezmer or East-European traditional all rolled into one.

Only one week of work before the holidays. *dances a happy dance* Ten glorious days of nothing to do. This weekend I have to finish cleaning up my apartment, which is looking pretty good already, because my family's coming over for our traditional Christmas Eve Chinese fondue. Don't ask where that tradition came from, I have no idea, but we've been doing that for years. It's a damn practical tradition, because it demands little to no preparation (just broth and dipping sauces) and then there's a ready-made soup for lunch next day when my mother's busy cooking the bird for supper.

Comments

RotK

[kimchii.livejournal.com]

Pat's parents have been trying to buy the extended set for me for Christmas. But it's nowhere to be found. It was sold out pretty much everywhere the day it went on sale! Gaah! :(

So let's arrange for this marathon thing! XD