30 January 2008

The Hobbit

I know, weird that I have two blog posts so close together. :P

Anyway, there's a whole lot of news about The Hobbit movie kicking around lately. Peter Jackson's settled his lawsuit with New Line Cinema (which had to do with him or his employees not getting their due share of the profits from the Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition) so they can now go ahead and do the movie. I'm quite thankful that they were smart enough to realize that fans were not going to go for a Hobbit movie if PJ wasn't involved, and waited until he could be. Anyway, now that they've got the go-ahead, there's a lot of speculation about details.

PJ will be producing the movie, though not directing, and from what I've read he'll have some say in what happens as far as script goes, and some creative input. So even though I'd like it if he were directing, this is the next best thing, and I don't think it's a possibility anyway because he's already committed to other movies.

Who WILL be directing is still a tad up in the air. There's an article here that says Guillermo del Toro is a definite possibility, which looks promising to me. Quote: 'An ill-chosen director for "Hobbit" could put billions of dollars at stake for New Line and MGM and could turn off an audience that encompasses millions of passionate readers, Tolkien fans and obsessive geeks.' Um, yes. Obsessive geek over here. So we know they're being careful with who they choose.

Ian McKellen as Gandalf? Yes. Article here. Not having him as Gandalf would be as bad or worse as having no PJ. Another plus.

Hugo Weaving as Elrond? Not as imperative, but still important. I haven't seen any confirmation of his role, but it's probably still open because nothing's been said.

Andy Serkis as Gollum? Come on, they have to. Nobody does Gollum like Andy Serkis, that's a no-brainer.

And the big question. Bilbo? The actor who played Bilbo in LotR, Ian Holm, is out of the question in my mind. He's perfect, but he's also 87 years old. In The Hobbit, Bilbo's hardly old. He's middle-aged, but he's quite an active little hobbit. Goes bounding around after goblins and giant spiders and whatnot. So much as I don't like the idea, a different Bilbo is probably better than a different Gandalf.

All that said, depending on when the Writers' Guild of America goes off strike, they'll start on a script, and I think filming is tentatively set for 2009, one film to be released in 2010 and one in 2011. Oh, and that's the other thing. According to most articles on the subject, the project is for two back-to-back films - one of The Hobbit, and another as a link between The Hobbit and LotR. I'm a little skeptical of this idea. Who would they have as a main character? Tolkien didn't write a *ton* for that period. I think I'd like a two-part Hobbit movie better. But I guess we'll see. Anyway, I'm kinda thinking I'd like it if they filmed in 2009 or 2010, cause I'd be eighteen, and I'm sure they need extras for a movie like this. I could hop on a plane to New Zealand and oblige, I'm sure. Hehe.

~Sil

28 January 2008

Cue - global warming!

[Temperatures in Celcius)

Wind chill warning for: City of Edmonton-St. Albert-Sherwood Park

Issued at 4:33 AM MST MONDAY 28 JANUARY 2008

EXTREME WIND CHILLS TODAY. THIS IS A WARNING THAT EXTREME WIND CHILL CONDITIONS ARE IMMINENT OR OCCURRING IN THESE REGIONS. MONITOR WEATHER CONDITIONS. LISTEN FOR UPDATED STATEMENTS.

AN INTENSE WINTER STORM CONTINUES TO TRACK THROUGH THE PRAIRIE PROVINCES. MANY AREAS OF ALBERTA HAVE SEEN BLIZZARD TO NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS. HEAVY SNOW CONTINUES IN THE COLD LAKE REGION HOWEVER SNOW IS EXPECTED TO TAPER OFF THIS MORNING. IN THE SYSTEMS WAKE AN ARCTIC RIDGE HAS INVADED THE PROVINCE BRINGING COLD TEMPERATURES. THESE TEMPERATURES COMBINED WITH BRISK WINDS ARE GIVING WIND CHILL VALUES BELOW MINUS 40. WINDS WILL GRADUALLY DIMINISH AS THE RIDGE SETTLES INTO ALBERTA HOWEVER TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN COLD. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS FROM THE STORM WERE GENERALLY IN THE 5 TO 10 CENTIMETER RANGE THROUGH MOST OF THE PROVINCE. BLOWING SNOW GAVE DRIFTS MUCH HIGHER THAN THIS HOWEVER A FEW OF THE LARGEST SNOWFALL MEASUREMENTS AS OF 4 AM MST INCLUDE: COLD LAKE...............23 CM
PINCHER CREEK........17-22 CM
CORONATION..............12 CM
THE COLDEST WIND CHILLS IN ALBERTA RECORDED AS OF 4 AM MST INCLUDE:
GRANDE PRAIRIE..........-49
CALGARY AIRPORT.........-48
CORONATION..............-48
DEL BONITA..............-47
LACOMBE.................-47
VEGREVILLE..............-47
THREE HILLS.............-47
OLDS....................-47
EDMONTON INTL AIRPORT...-46
WHITECOURT..............-46

THE STRONGEST WINDS THIS SUNDAY IN ALBERTA CAME FROM ONEFOUR NEAR THE CYPRESS HILLS WITH A GUST OF 93 KM/H.

PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST PUBLIC FORECASTS FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

...and, according to theweathernetwork.com, as of half an hour ago the temperature at the Edmonton International Airport was -51 with wind chill. Frostbite can occur with five to ten minutes of skin exposure to the cold.

Yeah, global warming please? I dunno, it might not be wise to preach to these Canadians about how the world is doomed to go tropical. I'm really not seeing it.

However, as I'm not in a mood to list my objections against the global warming propaganda, let's try a different controversial subject. I was reading the paper this morning (and I had to venture out into the -51 degrees onto my snow-covered doorstep to get it, so it's good that something interesting was in there) and the ongoing discussion about abortion continues. What with the 20th 'anniversary' of a decision by Sir Henry Morgentaler approaching, the debate seems to have flared up again. I say 'anniversary' because, as one columnist pointed out, the word anniversary implies joyous celebration, and I hardly see a reason to celebrate the day Canada decided that its babies were no longer people.

Morgentaler was charged again in 1983 in Ontario for procuring illegal miscarriages. He was acquitted by a jury, but the verdict was reversed by the Ontario Court of Appeal. The case was then sent to the Supreme Court of Canada. He was acquitted once again, and the Canadian Supreme Court declared the law he was convicted under to be unconstitutional in the case of Morgentaler et al. v. Her Majesty The Queen 1988 (1 S.C.R. 30). This ruling essentially ended all statutory restrictions on abortion in Canada.


- Wikipedia on Henry Morgentaler, emphasis mine.

In Canada, it's legal to abort a baby up until the moment it's born. There's a slogan by a pro-life association I know of (I'm not sure of the name) that goes with a picture of a newborn baby and says, "Yesterday it was legal to kill me. Today it's not."

The frequently repeated defense by the pro-choice side of the debate is that a fetus (a word which, incidentally, means 'young child') is not a person, but a collection of cells. So why isn't a newborn a collection of cells? A fetus has distinct DNA, brain waves, its own heartbeat. It's a fully developed baby after three months in the womb. So why is it okay for a woman's choice to supersede a baby's right to life? Is a child only a child if it's wanted?

An excellent point made in the paper today: Canada relies so heavily on immigration why? Because we're killing our own children.

~Sil

15 January 2008

Heh...oops

Um, yes, it's been a while since I posted. And I don't really have an excuse, other than the feeble and overused one that you guys probably aren't interested in the trivialities of my personal life. Anyway...

Not much has gone on lately, just life as usual kinda thing. School is a lot easier to get done efficiently now that I have my laptop, which is really nice, and means I have more time left for hardcore quizzing. The quiz meet's coming up this Friday and Saturday, and even though it's a Regional one and therefore supposedly easier (though I don't think it really makes much of a difference in Div A) I'm kinda nervous to keep my stats high enough to make it to Great West in April, so I'm studying quite a bit.

I've really been meaning to write more now that I have the laptop and it's easier, but somehow it hasn't been happening lately - so guys, bug me to do that and actually write down the giant tangle of story in my head. I did send off a finished short one (3000 words) called Honor Bound and starring Raign, who is a bit of a newer character of mine, to New York for the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. I have pretty much no expectations of winning anything, cause there are some amazing writers out there and I know I can improve a lot, but you'll never know if you don't try, right? The beginnings of a long story involving Raign are spinning themselves out in my head, so I need to get those organized somehow.(By the way, I can send Honor Bound to anybody who wants to read it and critique. Critiquing = good.)

Uh...let's see...I've been reading some interesting stuff lately, Doomsday Book by Connie Willis, The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum, and currently affectionately rereading Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey. Doomsday Book was okay. It's about a young woman in 2052 who goes back in time to 1348, for scientific purposes, and happens to run smack dab into the Black Plague hitting England. I liked the characters and I thought the plot built itself very well, but the plot resolution had problems. I like happy endings, thank you very much. The Bourne Identity is kinda intriguing, cause I don't read that type of novel much. The romance isn't really up my alley, but it's suspenseful. And I've always loved the Harper Hall trilogy. (Dragonsinger and Dragondrums come after Dragonsong.)

And that would be my life in a nutshell. Fascinating. Except not. But that's okay :)

~Sil

"See? I could totally do quizzing!"
"I need to send you a video of me quizzing sometime."
"...thanks, I like my self-esteem where it is."

03 January 2008

First post of the New Year

Which I am typing in my pyjamas, with my laptop on my lap. That must be somehow symbolic. Anyway.

So...getting ready to go back to school...which isn't exactly a thrilling thought, especially since I'm well aware that January/February are generally the most depressing months of the year (MY year, anyway) and seeing everybody else go back to school, too. People getting back to their insanely busy lives...a couple people going back to getting drowned in homework, which is maddening when they're three thousand million miles away and you ask if there's anything you can do to help and they're like "Unless you're an expert on American history in the 1850s, not really." The other thing that comes with the realization of going back to school is that I'm halfway through Grade 11. Meaning that in a year and a half, I will have graduated grade 12, and I'll almost be an adult. That's a scary thought, but not as scary as it was. The idea of getting a job used to scare me spitless, and I'm still a bit nervous, but I think I could do it now. And the idea of university. I mean, I've never gone to a public school. I have basically no idea how university would even work. Also, before I make that decision, I'd like to know for SURE what I want to do. I love to write and I want to write books, but is an English major worth all the saving I'd have to do? Maybe it's more worth my while to go after getting that book published.

Anyway, all that said (and I don't even really know where I was going with it) is that with school comes the onset of life, and I'm not as scared of life as I was. I've gotten a lot better at not worrying, and actually trusting God. What comes will come, whether I worry about it or not, and you know what? When that happens, I'll deal with it. But there's really no point in trying to deal with it now.

It's like the subject of dating, which I seem to have been discussing with a lot of people lately. Like, I turned sixteen this summer, and it sort of got me thinking how in actuality, sixteen is not very far from eighteen at all. And eighteen means I'll be an adult, which has got me thinking about all this dating and marriage stuff. Do I believe I'll get married? Absolutely. I don't think God would have given me the desire to be if I wasn't meant to. And somewhere out there, there's a guy (Prince Charming, if you will) that I'll get married to. I don't know who he is yet, but in time, I will. It's all a matter of time. So like I've said to various people - I'm taking it slow. No point in trying to hurry life along, it goes fast enough as it is. I might as well enjoy it where I'm at, and not try to jump ahead into what may come when I'm older. So dating? If the right guy came along, maybe. Right now, I can wait.

And those are kinda my ruminations for this post.

Over the holidays I played a bit more with graphics, and made some things I'm pretty proud of. A couple were Christmas presents for people, and a couple were for contests on A-U. So:
Probably one of my best yet, a desktop with the poem I wrote a while back. 'Twas a present for LDM.
A desktop of Anberlin, music group I happen to know zeh Inverted Frog likes, which was his present.
A smaller desktop with the theme of winter/snow/etc for an A-U contest.
A blend of shoes, for a different contest, of which the subject was 'random shoes'.

So those are cool. GIMP has a couple frustrating limitations, but those aren't half bad in my opinion. I can rival all you people with photoshop. Mwaha.

~Sil

[okay, okay...]
"You know your computer's slow when you keep your knitting by it."