Jackson doesn’t give too much away on the first day, and manages to avoid showing any of the cast in costume (the closest you get is the back and semi-profile of one dwarf, but they never show a face). He does give you a tour of the newly rebuilt (exactly they were) Bag End and Rivendell sets as well as Gollum’s cave (which is pretty creepy). You also get to see most of the cast as they rehearse/block out the scenes where the dwarves have dinner with Bilbo in Bag End.

Side Note (and girly confession): I was a little sad to see that Aidan Turner has completely cut off all of his hair, though it can be understood given the fact that I’m sure a dwarf’s wig is going to be enormous and heavy.

Seeing this video and knowing that filming has begun has me that much more excited about this movie. I reread the book about a month ago, and that’s when I started getting excited, but after seeing this I’m totally excited. I don’t think I’ve been this excited about any movie prior to its completion, must be the fangirl in me coming out. I sadly had never read the books prior to seeing The Fellowship of the Ring, otherwise I probably would have been this excited then too. I’m looking forward to Jackson’s Vlogs from the set, and cannot wait for the first film to be finished!

Disclaimer #1: This post will be entirely about the US and UK versions of the series Being Human. If you haven’t seen either and/or don’t care to, you may as well hit the back button on your browser now.

Diclaimer #2: This post will contain spoilers for the season 1 finales of both series, so if you haven’t seen one or both and do not wish to be spoiled, you may as well hit the back button on your browser now.

Oh yeah, and the following does not reflect the views of Barnes & Noble or any or all of it’s employees. These ramblings are entirely mine. (Sorry, inside joke)

Ok, now for the 3 or 4 of you who are still here with me, I will continue…

As I’m sure many of you are aware, Being Human is one of my favorite television shows in the universe. I absolutely adore everything about it (not just the hot Irish vampire). The writing, the acting, the directing, the cinematography… everything about it is terrific, and I’m sure other fans out there would agree. There isn’t much like it on television. Last night, as I was lying in my bed planning out this blog I was reminded of how much people loved Buffy when it was on the air. How a show about a vampire slayer became a metaphor for so many dealing with high school and other real life issues. Being Human is kind of like that for those of us who grew up on Buffy but are now trying to deal with other real life issues, finding jobs, apartments, fitting in as adults, etc.

Recently Siffy has been airing an American version of this series, and I gotta say I don’t love it at all. I watched the entire first season and will probably watch the second as well purely out of curiousity. I can’t help but wonder what they’re going to do next. Fans of the British series would definitely recognize pretty much every single plotline in the series, as most of them are just recycled and “Americanized” versions of the original series. Some of the best episodes of the US version were actually the ones that had little or nothing to do with the original and just explored their own storyline.

This habit of following so closely to the original has bothered me all season. It’s like watching a movie made from your favorite book; it follows the plot closely but changes all your favorite parts too much to allow you to really like it. Most of the time I just found these changes annoying or ridiculous. I mean, is it really necessary to have Bishop (Herrick) jump through a window into the apartment (burning up since he’s never been invited in) in order to stake Aidan (Mitchell), when the doorbell in the original worked just as well and was just as tense? Why must Americans make everything so much more dramatic? Like Aidan beating the crap out of Danny (Owen) to scare him off and turn himself in. I found the three of them in the original confronting him together so much more satisfying (and more unifying for the roommates).

But like I said, I always found these things more annoying and just ridiculous displays of how Americans need to make this flashier. Until the finale. In the final episode they messed with something I feel really messes with the entire integrity of the show and the dynamic of the roommates and that really bothers me.

British fans will remember how, in the finale, George asks Mitchell to allow him to take the message to Herrick for the meet. Instead of telling Herrick to meet Mitchell on top of the hopsital, he tells him to meet him in the isolation room in the basement where George spends his full moons. Mitchell and Annie realize it too late, after George has already shut himself in with the vampire and will not allow them to talk him out of it. They allow him to take this one for the team, but not after Nina runs in during the transformation, getting herself scratched by George. Then Mitchell, Nina and Annie stand by outside the room as George tears Herrick apart.

That is how it’s supposed to happen. The episode started with a flashback Mitchell rescuing George from vampires and them becoming friends, and ends with George returning the favor and doing something for Aidan. It helps to solidify that bond between them. It also enforces the unity between all three roommates (and, since Herrick was killed by a werewolf not a stake sets the stage for season 3). I think this ending was extremely important for all the characters, and it helped remind everyone that this is an ensemble cast, not the John Mitchell show. I have no doubt that Mitchell could have killed Herrick, and probably would have liked to have saved his friend from that horror, but it was a really important moment in George and Mitchell’s friendship. George needed to do this … and partly because of this he’ll need to do something much more horrible (and heartbreaking) at the end of season 3.

The Siffy version robbed us of this ending. Instead, it’s Aidan (Mitchell) and Sally (Annie) who go behind Josh’s (George) back and change the meeting place. So Josh transforms alone, except for the few minutes where Nora (Nina) tries to run in and gets herself scratched by a wolfy Josh. At some warehouse somewhere Sally and Aidan meet Bishop and after a huge fight Aidan beheads Bishop. There were a few minutes where I thought Sally was going to stake him, and that would have upset me even more.

Maybe it’s just me, but I felt like this ending robbed Josh of the chance do something for Aidan, to make themselves equal, to return the favor for Aidan saving him from those vampires two years ago. Sure, we know he would have been willing to kill Biship for Aidan, but he never got  the chance to actually do it. Also, I feel like it took the spotlight away from the three roommates as a whole and shined it directly onto Aidan as if he’s the star of the show, which he is not. It’s supposed to be about all three roommates, but I feel like it’s becoming all about him. Especially with the vamp returning at the end to take Aidan off to meet someone (though that part also gave me hope that maybe next season they’re going to go their own way and not follow the UK show so much, since I have no idea what was happening there, and there was no creepy priest interviewing Danny).

This just really irked me. I already feel like the US cast is missing the chemistry and bond that the UK cast shared, and now they have missed out on something that really helped to bond the UK characters.

Another side note; maybe it’s just that Aidan Turner (and everyone else) was so amazing in the last season of Being Human, but I felt like Sam Witwer’s performance in this episode was a little stiff, and not at all up to par with Aidan. Don’t get me wrong, I like Witwer and he’s one of the main reasons I’ve been able to keep watching (even my curiousity can only get me so far) but I felt like there was something missing from his performance that is always present in Aidan’s. I don’t know exactly what it was, some kind of deeper emotion or connection or something.

Ok, so that’s my rant about the Being Human US finale. I feel so much better now!

In the past our celebrations have involved my mother making this extemely yummy dish called “Irish Coddle” which is just potatoes, bacon, sausage and onion all cooked together. I think it’s supposed to be a breakfast dish, but we eat it for dinner and it’s amazing. Last year I found a bottle of Bunratty Mead at the local liquor store. We had first drank the mead at Bunratty Castle during our trip to Ireland. There it was pretty good. Here in the US, not so much. But it was a fun way to celebrate. After dinner we usually watched a movie, most likely The Quiet Man, starring John Wayne, or Darby O’Gill and the Little People, which stars a young Sean Connery and has been a favorite of mine since I was very young (back when the banshee at the end terrified me and gave me nightmares, but still didn’t stop me from watching the movie repeatedly).

This year I had to work, so instead I am spending the last hour of my St. Patrick’s day with a glass of wine and writing this blog, while listening to Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly on Pandora. I will probably watch some episodes of The IT Crowd and/or Being Human before going to bed, both of which contain Irish actors, thus fulfilling the Irish film portion of my evening.

But I thought before St. Patrick’s Day is over I would share with you five things to love about Ireland or the Irish.

5. Who doesn’t love a little bit of Baileys poured into a cup of hot cocoa or coffee? I was introduced to the drink while in Ireland, and I must say while I don’t drink much, I do enjoy an occasional shot of Baileys. What’s also great? They now make non-alcoholic Baileys coffee creamers, so you can still have the yummy flavor without the alcohol!

4. Irish Literature. Ireland has a very rich literary history. Many great classic authors come from Ireland for example, Jonathan Swift (Gulliver’s Travels), Bram Stoker (Dracula), James Joyce (The Dubliners), Seamus Heaney, Oscar Wilde, etc. Modern authors include Maeve Binchey, Colm Toibin, Cecilia Ahern (she wrote P.S. I Love You, which is a phenomenal book, but have tissues on hand) and many, many more.

3. Irish Actors. I’m sure you girls out there would agree with me. Ireland has produced some great actors such as Aidan Turner (above, from Being Human), Jonathan Rhys Meyers (The Tudors, August Rush) and Colin Farrell, just to name a few. Not only are these guys very good looking, but the accent is absolutely to die for. (Oh, and David Boreanaz isn’t Irish but Angel was! Or should I saw Liam?)

2. Music. I love a lot of the classic “Pub Songs.” Songs such as “Whiskey in the Jar” and “Irish Rover” are great. I also love how people always sing along to them in bars. There are also songs known as “Rebel Songs” which are written about the Irish desire for freedom from British rule. One of my favorite Irish songs ever is “Four Green Fields.” My favorite memory from my trip to Ireland is hearing my tour guide sing that song, and the emotion in his voice as he sang. Ireland also gave us U2, one of my favorite bands ever.

1. Ireland. I’m pretty much just in love with the country itself, because honestly, what’s not to love. I absolutely loved every second I spent there and truly hope I can go back some day.

So there’s just a few of the things I love about the Irish. There are so many more that I could list and I could show you many more great photos. But these are just a handful of the reasons Ireland is awesome. So I hope you all had a great St. Patrick’s Day! I’ll leave you with one of my favorite Irish blessings.

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand

The First Ammendment has been a hot topic lately, as the Supreme Court recently decided that the Freedom of Speech clause protects people like the Westboro Baptist “Church” in their decision to picket the funerals of children and soldiers killed in action.

As someone who has many family members in various branches of the armed forces and has buried a cousin killed in Iraq, I find it disgusting that our Bill of Rights could allow something so horrible. As a former jounalism student, I understand that no court in the country is going to rule in favor of violating anyone’s First Ammendment right. Unfortunately, as long as their protests remain “peaceful” there is nothing that can be done to stop them, any more than you could stop any other form of protest.

But what about the family’s right to privacy you ask? The First Ammendment is First for a reason. Our founding fathers felt this was one of the most important things to be included in the Bill of Rights. They wanted to make sure that at no time could anyone infringe on anyone else’s freedom of religion or speech. The result being that whenever the First Ammendment comes into conflict with another ammendment, the First will win out almost every time. While most of the time we are grateful that these freedoms are protected so diligently, at times like this it’s extremely frustrating trying to understand how our government could allow such a thing to happen.

Make no mistake, I despise this so-called church just as much as the rest of the country (at least, everyone who is not a member of the insanity), and I truly wish there were a way to stop them, but with the First Ammendment on their side, there’s not a lot we can do but sit back and pray they screw up so they can be prosecuted without its protection.

One thing we can actively do is support and protect that families who are targeted by these people. And maybe if the media would stop giving them so much attention, they would eventually fade away. They’re mostly doing this for the attention. If the entire world turned its back on them, ignored them and showed them that we’re not going to let them affect us anymore, eventually their fanaticism would fade.

Of course, I keep saying the same thing about Charlie Sheen but so far the media (and America as a whole) is too fascinated watching the train wreck he calls his life to understand that maybe if he wasn’t getting all this attention he would just retreat back into his crazy life. The media and attention just adds fuel to the fire.

What Americans can’t seem to understand is that these people, whether they are members of Westboro Baptist, Charlie Sheen or some other crazy person, only have the power that we give them. And since we gave it to them we can just as easily take it away.

And I’m begging, please America, take it away.

For years it’s been my dream to be a writer, and occasionally I’ll manage to actually write paragraphs, or even whole chapters of different books that I think up, but never actually complete anything. Lately I’ve been giving it a lot of thought and decided that it’s time to stop putting it off. If I want to be a writer, I need to actually start WRITING. So here I am, publicly making a promise to myself to actually take the time every day to work on something that may ultimately help make one of my dreams come true.

Today, another dream came true. I and several other people had the pleasure of spending an hour with Christian Kane, listening to his music, watching the extended directors cut of his video for “House Rules” and just chatting with a man I have had a crush on for the last 10 years. In some ways it was an intimidating experience, I’m not good with going to completely unfamiliar places without anyone I know being there. But this step out of my comfort zone was entirely worth it.

Now this blog will probably take a turn to detail my afternoon, mostly for my fellow fangirls who were unable to be there with me, so I won’t be insulted if you get bored and tune out.

As most of you who will be reading this know, Christian Kane is currently one of the stars of the show Leverage. He has also appeared in numerous other shows, most notably Angel. Soon he will be releasing his first country album (though true Kaniacs know he’s really already released albums, just independently). He’s currently touring the country, visiting radio stations and getting them to play his first single off that album, “House Rules.” This afternoon he was visiting WIOV in Ephrata, and had a meet and greet with some fans.

When Christian first walked in it was a little surreal, because I’ve been watching this guy on TV and listening to his music for 10 years now, and here he was standing right in front of me (fangirls will be happy know his eyes and smile are just as gorgeous in person as they are on television).  He showed us the video and we also listened to “Whiskey on my Mind” and the album cut of “Let Me Go.” Throughout the time he also answered a lot of question and told us some amusing anecdotes, which I’ll try to relay for my fangirlfriends

(Side note: “Let Me Go” is one of the only songs on the album not written by Christian, and when he heard it he immediately asked the writer if he would trust him with recording the song, he loved it so much. At the time it was on hold for George Strait, but it ended up being given to Christian)

One of the questions was what will happen if his music really takes off and he starts touring, will he give up on TV? His response was that, except for Leverage, he already has. He has turned down numerous roles and doesn’t plan on taking on anymore acting jobs. Once Leverage is done he will focus on the music. He actually wasn’t too interested in Leverage at first, but the role was written specifically for him and he couldn’t turn it down (“It was the role I’ve wanted to play since I was 15!”) He also mentioned he was the one who asked to leave Close to Home, which is why he was written out (and it sounds like he really didn’t get along with the actress playing his wife, “she was a b***h to work with”).

One of the few guys in the room jumped on his response and asked if that means he wouldn’t be willing to make an appearance on Supernatural (“as a lawyer with tattoos…”) Totally stealing my question! Haha. Christian’s response was that Jensen has to come down and make an appearance on Leverage first (I could totally get behind that).

He then went into a story about being in Jensen’s wedding, and the two of them arguing over who has killed the most vampires (“Dude, I worked on Angel, what do you mean you’ve killed more vampires than me?”) I wish I had been more prepared because he did a hilarious impersonation of Jensen being pompous (with the frown, voice and everything, it was great).

When asked about Trace Adkins recording one of his songs (“Happy Man”) he shared a story about bumping into him (literally) in the airport on day. He turned around to complain and act all tough (“nobody bumps into me”) then realized the guy who bumped into him was huge, THEN realized it was Trace. So he introduced himself and thanked him for recording his song.

He talked a little about Leverage, how they were struggling a little on Sundays (not in any danger, just not doing as well as they had been) until “The Studio Job” when they got their highest ratings ever, and he pointed out to Dean Devlin that means their fans are country fans (previously Dean hadn’t allowed him and Timothy Hutton off work to present for the CMT awards when he was asked, now he’s pretty sure he’ll be allowed).

Christian told us the rest of season 3 of Leverage is going to be epic (my word, not his, but same thing). Especially the two-hour finale, which according to Christian may show us a not-so-nice side of Eliot. Actually he brought this up several times, so I’m inclined to believe it really is gonna be huge. He said it’s the biggest thing they’ve done. He also said Goran Visjnic will be in that episode (at least, I’m pretty sure he meant that one). Apparently there are some other good guest stars coming up, but he didn’t name anyone else.

One of the ladies asked about the great hair debate, and he told us he’s been fighting Dean about that, because Dean wants it cut but Christian says its part of the character. He has a feeling Dean may win and it’ll get cut before season 4 starts filming, but not cut too much. Apparently he has a team of 8 people to tame his hair every morning.

He also shared a story about how back in the `90s when he was on Rescue 77  he used to have to go to Aaron Spelling’s office on a weekly basis because he would never let them fix his hair the way they wanted it fixed for the show. Then one week he was sent to Spelling’s partner Duke Vincent, who scared Christian into cooperating.

Each of us were given photos that Christian then signed, and he signed anything else we may have brought. He thought it was pretty cool I already had Aldis’ signature on my Leverage DVD set. Then posed for photos with all of us. I told him my friend wanted to go to the BOB 94.9 while he’s there tomorrow to try to meet him, and if I could get off I might see him again tomorrow.

Overall it was an awesome way to spend an hour of my time! He was incredibly nice and friendly, and so very gracious. He’s very thankful to all his fans for all their support, and one thing that’s noticeble is when talking about his music he never said “I” always saying “We,” referring to his entire band. He seems very humble about taking credit for the music, it’s a team effort, or “family” as he calls them. And he loves that his fans refer to themselves as Kaniacs (and he’s very thankful he’s not the one who thought of it, “because that would cocky.”)

I think that about covers everything. It was an awesome experience, I’m so glad I went (even though going by myself honestly terrified me). Of course I owe a HUGE thank you to my friend Matt, if he hadn’t texted me this morning I never would have even known about it.

I was reminded of this blog as I began re-reading Turn Coat (the most recent novel of the Dresden Files) last night. Opening those pages and enjoying Dresden’s wit and snark for a second time was like greeting an old friend whom I haven’t seen in nearly a year. There are 11 books in this series and I have read each of them twice (at least, I will have once I finish Turn Coat again). I love these novels and Harry Dresden is one of my favorite fictional characters, so I would never get tired of reading about him.

The Dresden Files aren’t the only books I love to re-read. When I was in school I would re-read Harry Potter every winter break and every time a new book came out. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve read the first four books of that series. I also re-read Pride and Prejudice at least once a year. I love delving into those familiar pages and experiencing the lives of Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy. There are many other books I’ve read multiple times, Watership Down, The Odyssey all of Maria V. Snyder’s books. The list is endless. Looking over last year’s reading list alone I re-read 12 novels, some of them I read twice just in last year.

Even as a child I was a fan of re-reading my books. I honestly can’t tell you how many times I’ve read The Doll in the Garden (which was my favorite book when I was young) or the first 16 novels of the Trixie Beldon series, which my mother passed on to me.

There is just something comforting and relaxing about reading a novel you have already read and enjoyed. You already know how it will turn out, so you can just relax and enjoy the ride. You can skim the less interesting parts and focus on your favorite parts, or learn things you may not have noticed the first time around (every time I read a Harry Potter book I notice something I haven’t noticed before).

Never let anyone tell you re-reading a book is a waste of time. It is true that there are many new and interesting books out there waiting to be read, but re-reading books is an enjoyable experience all its own. I think everyone should have at least one favorite book that they can enjoy reading and reading again.

As many of you may already know, I have another blog where I have chronicled each book I’ve read this year. With 2009 drawing to a close, I’ve been thinking about how I want to continue that and have decided to set up a new blog here. Hopefully that will make it easier to maintain both these blogs and I’m hoping to try some cool new stuff with it.

So, if you want to continue following my reading list in 2010 you will be able to do so at my new blog. The blog is currently under construction (I’ve literally just set it up and haven’t played around with it yet) but it should be functioning in time for the new year. This year my goal is to reach 100 books. I’m not sure if that’s realistic, but I’m nearing 70 for 2009 so we’ll see what happens!

I was a little more relaxed today, since I had been there once and already had an idea what I was doing. So I dropped my stuff off in a locker and headed to the second floor where they have a 30 minute full-body workout area (which actually only takes me 20 minute; at first I was concerned, but I think they’re counting the steps in that and I don’t do steps. Not since the horror that was my college aerobics class. Our instructor was a nazi and the step sessions were pure torture. I swore never again.)

Today I learned that many of my fellow gym patrons do not follow simple rules, like how to do the 30 minute workout. There are 10 stations (plus 10 of those diabolical steps) you start on one then procede to do them in numerical order from there. The green light means go, red light means rest and switch. Pretty easy huh? Nope. There were maybe 7 or 8 other people up there with me and I was the only one attempting to use the machines in order. I say attempting, because if no one else is going in order you can’t either. And let me tell you, it’s more painful to go out of order because you end up doing to many arm machines in a row.

I finally managed to do all the machines and decided to head back to the locker room to grab my water bottle and iPod before using one of the eliptical (sp?) machines. As I walk into the locker room, what do I see? Naked people! Ok, maybe more person than people, but nakedness! Yes, I know it’s a locker room and there are showers and people change and everything, but I would have been perfectly happy going through the entire course of my membership at the gym without seeing anyone else’s boobies.

Compared to that the rest of my workout was fairly uneventful. I spent 30 minutes of the eliptical machine before leaving, and I learned that it really is easier to workout when listening to music. I forgot my iPod last time, so I made sure I had it with me this time and it made time go so much faster! Plus I made an awesome workout playlist. It has 51 songs, so I can’t share them all with you, but here’s what played today:

AC/DC – Rock and Roll Train
Third Eye Blind – Semi Charmed Kind of Life
Bon Jovi – Have a Nice Day
Sugar Ray – Answer the Phone
Def Leppard – Rock of Ages
Big & Rich – Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy
Bon Jovi – Bad Medicine
My Chemical Romance – Desolation Row
Relient K – Chap Stick, Chapped Lips and Things Like Chemistry

The music definitely made the workout much more enjoyable and I’m actually looking forward to my next workout! I think I might like this gym business!

According to Wikipedia, Black Friday was original a term coined by the Philadelphia police in reference to the high volume of traffic on the Friday after Thanksgiving. It was later used in reference to retailers going from being down in sales (in the red) to increasing their sales (being in the black).

Now it’s famous for being one of the biggest shopping days of the year. Those of us unfortunate enough to be working in retail during this time of year know what it can be like. And we’ve all heard the horror stories on the news about people fighting over toys and last year a Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death by overzealous holiday shoppers.

My question is, why? Why do we do this every year? What happened to the true meaning of Christmas? Whether you’re Christian or not, isn’t Christmas still supposed to be more about giving than receiving? About appreciating your loved ones and showing them you care? Since when did Tickle-Me Elmos, and Furbies (and what the hell is a Zhu Zhu Hamster?) become more important than family during the holiday season?

Some of you may be familiar with a little thing called Elf on a Shelf. If you’ve never heard of it, consider yourself lucky. If you’ve actually purchased one for your child, you should be ashamed of yourself. (Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong about believing in Santa, but this Elf is just downright disturbing.) For those of you who do not know, this Elf is a creepy little guy you hide all around you house every day for your kids to find, and you tell them he’s watching you and reporting to Santa at night while they are asleep. In other words, he’s a spy. But that’s not even the worst part.

During our holiday meeting for work we had to watch a training video on these stupid Elves because our company is really pushing them this year (we received over a 100 into the store in one day). You want to know what we learned from this video? That this Elf Spy is more popular than Baby Jesus. I kid you not. One woman actually said on camera that her kids enjoyed this Evil Elf more than their advent calendar. These kids are being encouraged to accept the world of commercialism way too early.

Now I know some of you are thinking that these opinions are baseless, since I do not have kids of my own. Which may be true. But one woman I work with does have kids and considered buying the Elf until she heard the above woman’s comments on the Elf. She was horrified by that admission. So it’s not just me.

I know Christmas means different things to different people; we don’t all have the same religious beliefs, but I always believed that no matter what your personal beliefs, Christmas should be a magical time of the year. It’s not supposed to be about the material things. I think it’s time we put aside all the ridiculous commercialism and put the “Peace on Earth” and “Goodwill toward Men” ideas back into Christmas.

After all, if the Grinch can learn his lesson, why can’t we?

Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small,
Was singing! Without any presents at all!
He HADN’T stopped Christmas from coming!
IT CAME!
Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: “How could it be so?
It came without ribbons! It came without tags!
“It came without packages, boxes or bags!”
And he puzzled three hours, `till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before!
“Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store.
“Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!”