Comment to this post and I will give you 5 subjects/things I associate you with. Then post this in your LJ and elaborate on the subjects given.

connielane gave me the following:

( Terry PratchettCollapse )

( PiratesCollapse )

( EssaysCollapse )

( HoustonCollapse )

( Religious skepticismCollapse )

My Time in the Harry Potter Fandom

Sensing that an era is coming to an end, my inner editor feels a strong urge to forge some kind of satisfying dramatic conclusion, some type of synthesis or reconciliation of the forces that have shaped my six or seven years of fandom existence, or at least some consciousness of lessons learned and personal growth achieved. Perhaps life doesn't naturally fall into the neat, satisfying patterns found in fiction and expository essays, but we can try, can't we?

( cut for lengthCollapse )

HA! Once more we have successfully put out an issue of Scribbulus, though for various reasons the fifteen essays we thought we were going to be putting out fell to a more manageable eleven. Check it out, though - FOUR essays on that Snape guy!

In the meantime, all sorts of things have been happening. Like lots of birthdays! Let me see if I can just indicate the magnitude of what I've missed:

( beware of scrolling textCollapse )

What else? Oh! The results of my HP chapter favorites poll. With roughly 100 people voting, here's what you guys think:

( the envelope please...Collapse )

Let's see, what else?

Books have come out that I haven't had a chance to read yet, most notably Lois Bujold's and Glenn Greenwald's newest (links lead to sample chapters).

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End has crossed $900 million in worldwide ticket sales and is edging up on $300 million in domestic take. Go see it, if you haven't! It has this whirlpool battle scene, see, that really needs to be seen on the big screen.


And...

I leave for my trip in 6 days!

The OotP movie comes out in 10 days!!

DH comes out in 19 days!!!

Something occurred to me this morning while I was thinking about Norrington's journey in the PotC movies. Maybe everyone else noticed it long ago, but I hadn't!


From this transcript:

Groves: Hands, come about. Run out the guns. [to Norrington] We open fire on our own ship, sir?

Norrington: I'd rather see her at the bottom of the ocean than in the hands of a pirate.

Is this a deliberate reference (by the screenwriters I mean, obviously not by Norrington!) to Elizabeth's recent rescue by Jack?

"I'd rather see her at the bottom of the ocean than in the hands of a pirate."

I rather think it is.

[An essay on freedom and love in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie series - contains spoilers for all three movies.]

The Pirates of the Caribbean movies are about freedom. I actually managed to figure this out all by myself, but if you want confirmation, the screenwriters (Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio) have said as much many times, like here, here, here, here, and here. Also, the executive producer says so. Oh, and Orlando Bloom. And Keith Richards. And Johnny Depp. And pretty much every critic, even those who hate the movies. So I guess it's pretty obvious.

We often explore concepts by showing their opposite. That being so, it is not surprising that one of the most common motifs employed in these movies is imprisonment. This tableau from the original Disney ride is developed and played off of throughout all three movies:



Send This Pestilent Traitorous Cow-hearted Yeasty Codpiece To the Brig

In At World's End, Elizabeth tells Sao Feng "Pretty words for a captor... but words whispered through prison bars lose their charm." ( cut for length and more imagesCollapse )

This should have been done long ago, but what can I say? I'm behind! I hope this is not too late to come in handy for someone.

Here is what you need to know before, during, and after watching Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. All spoilers will be cut.

1. There is a scene after the credits, and it isn't a little animal joke as in the first two movies. I suggest staying for it at least once. You can see it here.

2. If you want to buy the junior novelization, buy the Hardcover Special Edition, not the paperback. It has a lot of scenes left out of the paperback. Borders has an exclusive Collector's Edition with all three movies, including the special edition version of AWE. If you speak German, I understand the German novelizations are really good.

( 3-9 cut for mild spoilersCollapse )

10. If you're wondering anything else, ask and I'll try to answer!


Now is the part where I ask for help: Can anyone send me the 100-page script?

If you want to trade ("you know I demand payment"), I've got the 56-page and 36-page partial scripts, and I also have the final DMC and CotBP scripts, plus an early CotBP script.

Also, does anyone know of someone working on a transcription of the movie?

In the tradition of my previous Matchup Comparison Scorecard, which I used to scientifically determine that Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl is better than Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest by a score of 14 to 11, I have now compared all three movies in the trilogy for a completely unbiased and factual ranking.

As I said before:

This is based on the matchup "analyses" done by sports reporters before big games. I compared the lineups and intangibles to see how the second Pirates movie compares to the first one. In the case of a tie, both movies receive a check. Naturally, all of these are 100% objective, verifiable judgments and not in the least simply my opinion:

( cut for a kind of wide graphic. Also for suspense!Collapse )

Note: all decisions by the judges will be final, but they she is open to discussion, persuasion, and bribes.

I had so hoped this would go away, but it hasn't. WTF, LJ, WTF? And with the mass protest movement using my favorite song from my favorite movie, how can I resist joining in?




Anyway, I've joined fandom_counts with my few fannish journals and put my data into the poll on fandompays. I was surprised to see that I've only spent $162 on LJ over the past four years - it felt like more (get your data here!).


And, yeah, as much as I've been happy here at LJ, if they don't clear this up soon and restore the harmless journals I won't be renewing my paid status and my extra icons. I have a permanent account at Journalfen, so I'll move there, or wherever most of my friends seem to be going. And, not to be paranoid or anything, but I deleted "pirates" from my LJ interests. Because, yo, piracy is illegal - who knew?


ETA: LJ has finally made a statement. We'll see if they come through with the reinstatements.

Does this mean we have to stop singing? Because I LOVE that song!*

* Note: Loving that song should not be understood as constituting support of actual thievery and piracy, or stealing queens from their beds and binding them in their bones. I do not approve of such behavior.

HOW could they take this scene out?

( SPOILER though not really since they CUT IT >:-(Collapse )


Yes, I know there's no fool like a shipper, but res ipse loquitur tabula in naufragio! Latin fixed as per tunxeh

In lieu of a proper review... ( WARNING: SPOILERS NUMEROUS IN QUANTITY AND OF A SINISTER NATURECollapse )

There are several exchanges in this convo about topics other than male nudity and sex! That's 'cause we're so classy.