Back Homeness
Aug. 31st, 2007 10:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blodeueddThe past three days have been mostly spent scanning slides, which is what I'm doing right now. I brought them all the way from Tokyo in my carry-on (go ahead, ask me how many tonnes my luggage weighed, what with the slides and the presents for my family and the six pairs of shoes -- actually, the shoes weigh nothing compared to the knitted blanket for my brother).
The secondary school reunion on Saturday was fun. I wore my yukata, determined as I was to get more use out of it this season. Some people hadn't changed at all but I was surprised that more people had gained more weight than I'd expected. Some, myself included, have simply filled out our frames and are no longer our skinny, adolescent selves, but there were more beer bellies and heavy hips than I'd thought there would be.
It wasn't only at the reunion, though; ever since I got back to Canada, I've felt a lot thinner. It's not that I have self-esteem issues because of my weight, it's that living in Tokyo with the knowledge that you can't buy big enough pants (except in one store and even then you take their largest size) is enough to make anyone feel large. Though I also feel tall, there, so I guess it averages out. Here, I'm back to being on the short end of average!
And now for some reviews, because I finished Harry Potter!
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (J.K. Rowling): For the last three books, I ended up reading them rather soon after they came out, but only because I had friends lend them to me, as I was never a big enough fan to buy them myself. Because honestly, I don't get the obsession. Actually, that's not true, because I do understand it on an intellectual level, having been a rather passionate fan of various books and anime series in my day. I wonder what my reaction to Harry Potter would have been if I'd read it as a kid, because I fail to comprehend how some adults have become such otaku, for lack of a better word. The story is interesting, yes, it's fun and entertaining and the characters are for the most part engaging, but I don't find the prose anything to write home about. There's nothing, not a single sentence, that I found quote-worthy in any of the seven volumes, no instance (that I can recall) when I said to myself "I'll have to read this over again".
When I started the series, back during the Christmas holidays in 1999, the whole phenomenon was just taking off. I remember liking the first book, finding the second one rather unmemorable (it wasn't until I saw the movie that I even remembered what it was about) and finding the third one enjoyable enough, though I was completely unmoved by the fate of Sirius Black. Indeed, I never really warmed to him as a character, and couldn't understand why Harry was so attached to him, apart from the fact that Sirius is his godfather and a link to his parents. And when Sirius started playing a bigger role in the story, he spent most of his on-page time whining and acting even more immature than Harry was! Though I must confess that Harry's behaviour during the fifth book (the angst, the "Why me?!", the whining, the frustration, the fifteen-year-oldness of it all) was what made me enjoy it so much; it was just so believable on an emotional level.
So what did I think of the end? Apart from it invoking shades of George R.R. Martin (let's kill off some main characters!*), well, when Rowling said she'd had the last chapter (I'm assuming the epilogue, right?) written from the beginning, I was reassured that she at least had a direction (unlike some *coughStrangersInParadisecough*). Still, with an epilogue like that, she still could have written pretty much anything that didn't kill off the characters mentioned. But come one, Scorpius? Poor kid. I would have liked to know what happened to Luna, though, she was one of my favourite characters.
One thing I didn't get was Harry's whole "Draco is the true master of the Elder Wand" reasoning. It fit, retroactively, but where the hell did he come up with that? Did I miss something? Or was it just a lucky guess? Not that I'm going to go back and look, but I thought Rowling was good at recapping things from previous books that readers might have missed or forgotten, so I was confused about this one.
Oh well, no matter. So ends the epic that wasn't epic, in my opinion, just a good bit of fun.
* Only Martin always makes me care about the deaths and make the repercussions on the other characters resonate. In this, Dobby's death was poignant, but that was it. At the end, I felt as though the author had decided that some deaths were necessary for realism, but didn't want to kill anyone major, thus Lupin and Tonks, whom she didn't even see fit to off on-page.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: I saw the movie in Tokyo, and did you know that in Japan, cinema seats are numbered, like in theatres? Fascinating. Anyway, I didn't like the movie as much as the fifth book, but it wasn't bad. Felt rushed, considering how long the book is, but my aunt, who saw it with me and hasn't read any one the books, liked it and had no trouble following the story. My one complaint was the screenwriters making Cho into the one who betrays the secret of the Room of Requirement (exonerated later on with the revelation of the veritaserum). I can understand that it meant one less character to write and gave a good reason for Cho and Harry to break up, but I still liked the original events better.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Saw this dubbed in Japanese, on television, though I missed the first half. I must say that it was much easier to understand the young 'uns, as my Japanese isn't quite good enough to follow a lecture about magical theory. ^_^
Stardust: Loved the book, loved the movie. The closest I've ever seen a movie come, in spirit, to The Princess Bride. Adventure, fantasy, love, comedy -- what's not to like? I really have to read the book again to see what was left out and/or changed, as it's been several years.
You Got Served: On So You Think You Can Dance, they keep plugging Shane Sparks as the choreographer of this movie, so I figured I'd better see it, seeing as how I like his choreography and all. The parts in between the dancing are nothing special, but the dance bits are worth it. I must warn you that if you're disappointed by the lack of gravity-defying tricks at the beginning, they're saving them all for the final showdown, when they bust out all their best moves. It's worth watching that last sequence a few times; not only is the dancing amazing, but it features Wade Robson playing himself as a judge, so if any of you find him rather hot...
And speaking of So You Think You Can Dance: My little Sabra won! I'd predicted the final four a while back, but didn't want Lacey to win (for reasons I've already mentioned) and didn't want Neil to win because, though his attempts at sexy were not as painful as Lacey's, he was way too harmless to seduce anyone except all the tweens in the audience. I wouldn't have been disappointed about Danny winning, but Sabra was still my favourite. But what were the judges smoking, that they didn't get Lacey's and Sabra's fox routine? I might not have guessed "fox", but I certainly would have understood it was a mother and her cub, and I don't agree with their "It wasn't really dancing" argument. I thought both girls did it brilliantly and I thought the brilliant Wade Robson's choreography was brilliant, so there!
In the time it took me to type this, I've finished scanning the last role of slide film from Eastern Europe. And for my next trick, Greece!
Yes, I'm going back in time. I've done Iqaluit, Newfoundland and Poland-to-Bulgaria; left are Greece, Vietnam and Western Europe.
The secondary school reunion on Saturday was fun. I wore my yukata, determined as I was to get more use out of it this season. Some people hadn't changed at all but I was surprised that more people had gained more weight than I'd expected. Some, myself included, have simply filled out our frames and are no longer our skinny, adolescent selves, but there were more beer bellies and heavy hips than I'd thought there would be.
It wasn't only at the reunion, though; ever since I got back to Canada, I've felt a lot thinner. It's not that I have self-esteem issues because of my weight, it's that living in Tokyo with the knowledge that you can't buy big enough pants (except in one store and even then you take their largest size) is enough to make anyone feel large. Though I also feel tall, there, so I guess it averages out. Here, I'm back to being on the short end of average!
And now for some reviews, because I finished Harry Potter!
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (J.K. Rowling): For the last three books, I ended up reading them rather soon after they came out, but only because I had friends lend them to me, as I was never a big enough fan to buy them myself. Because honestly, I don't get the obsession. Actually, that's not true, because I do understand it on an intellectual level, having been a rather passionate fan of various books and anime series in my day. I wonder what my reaction to Harry Potter would have been if I'd read it as a kid, because I fail to comprehend how some adults have become such otaku, for lack of a better word. The story is interesting, yes, it's fun and entertaining and the characters are for the most part engaging, but I don't find the prose anything to write home about. There's nothing, not a single sentence, that I found quote-worthy in any of the seven volumes, no instance (that I can recall) when I said to myself "I'll have to read this over again".
When I started the series, back during the Christmas holidays in 1999, the whole phenomenon was just taking off. I remember liking the first book, finding the second one rather unmemorable (it wasn't until I saw the movie that I even remembered what it was about) and finding the third one enjoyable enough, though I was completely unmoved by the fate of Sirius Black. Indeed, I never really warmed to him as a character, and couldn't understand why Harry was so attached to him, apart from the fact that Sirius is his godfather and a link to his parents. And when Sirius started playing a bigger role in the story, he spent most of his on-page time whining and acting even more immature than Harry was! Though I must confess that Harry's behaviour during the fifth book (the angst, the "Why me?!", the whining, the frustration, the fifteen-year-oldness of it all) was what made me enjoy it so much; it was just so believable on an emotional level.
So what did I think of the end? Apart from it invoking shades of George R.R. Martin (let's kill off some main characters!*), well, when Rowling said she'd had the last chapter (I'm assuming the epilogue, right?) written from the beginning, I was reassured that she at least had a direction (unlike some *coughStrangersInParadisecough*). Still, with an epilogue like that, she still could have written pretty much anything that didn't kill off the characters mentioned. But come one, Scorpius? Poor kid. I would have liked to know what happened to Luna, though, she was one of my favourite characters.
One thing I didn't get was Harry's whole "Draco is the true master of the Elder Wand" reasoning. It fit, retroactively, but where the hell did he come up with that? Did I miss something? Or was it just a lucky guess? Not that I'm going to go back and look, but I thought Rowling was good at recapping things from previous books that readers might have missed or forgotten, so I was confused about this one.
Oh well, no matter. So ends the epic that wasn't epic, in my opinion, just a good bit of fun.
* Only Martin always makes me care about the deaths and make the repercussions on the other characters resonate. In this, Dobby's death was poignant, but that was it. At the end, I felt as though the author had decided that some deaths were necessary for realism, but didn't want to kill anyone major, thus Lupin and Tonks, whom she didn't even see fit to off on-page.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: I saw the movie in Tokyo, and did you know that in Japan, cinema seats are numbered, like in theatres? Fascinating. Anyway, I didn't like the movie as much as the fifth book, but it wasn't bad. Felt rushed, considering how long the book is, but my aunt, who saw it with me and hasn't read any one the books, liked it and had no trouble following the story. My one complaint was the screenwriters making Cho into the one who betrays the secret of the Room of Requirement (exonerated later on with the revelation of the veritaserum). I can understand that it meant one less character to write and gave a good reason for Cho and Harry to break up, but I still liked the original events better.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Saw this dubbed in Japanese, on television, though I missed the first half. I must say that it was much easier to understand the young 'uns, as my Japanese isn't quite good enough to follow a lecture about magical theory. ^_^
Stardust: Loved the book, loved the movie. The closest I've ever seen a movie come, in spirit, to The Princess Bride. Adventure, fantasy, love, comedy -- what's not to like? I really have to read the book again to see what was left out and/or changed, as it's been several years.
You Got Served: On So You Think You Can Dance, they keep plugging Shane Sparks as the choreographer of this movie, so I figured I'd better see it, seeing as how I like his choreography and all. The parts in between the dancing are nothing special, but the dance bits are worth it. I must warn you that if you're disappointed by the lack of gravity-defying tricks at the beginning, they're saving them all for the final showdown, when they bust out all their best moves. It's worth watching that last sequence a few times; not only is the dancing amazing, but it features Wade Robson playing himself as a judge, so if any of you find him rather hot...
And speaking of So You Think You Can Dance: My little Sabra won! I'd predicted the final four a while back, but didn't want Lacey to win (for reasons I've already mentioned) and didn't want Neil to win because, though his attempts at sexy were not as painful as Lacey's, he was way too harmless to seduce anyone except all the tweens in the audience. I wouldn't have been disappointed about Danny winning, but Sabra was still my favourite. But what were the judges smoking, that they didn't get Lacey's and Sabra's fox routine? I might not have guessed "fox", but I certainly would have understood it was a mother and her cub, and I don't agree with their "It wasn't really dancing" argument. I thought both girls did it brilliantly and I thought the brilliant Wade Robson's choreography was brilliant, so there!
In the time it took me to type this, I've finished scanning the last role of slide film from Eastern Europe. And for my next trick, Greece!
Yes, I'm going back in time. I've done Iqaluit, Newfoundland and Poland-to-Bulgaria; left are Greece, Vietnam and Western Europe.
