New Edward and Bella Graphic. Wait, what?

All the Twisites are flipping out over this new graphic. But I just have to throw in my .02.  Here goes:

 I DON'T GET IT!!!!

Why does Edward's head look so big? It looks photoshopped. And what's with the claw? RPattz usually reserves that for his hair. I don't understand the shot, other than to say it's some weird parallel to that odd scary vampire photoshoot with the apple.

I just never really understood this photo shoot, seeing as it made Rob Pattinson look like Egor. Which the new graphic seems to do quite nicely as well.




Actually... what I think they're trying to accomplish, is to make Edward look scary like this photo from the Twilight marketing campaign. And we all know how Carol feels about the remaking of Edward Cullen into some scary creature, when really he was just a nice guy from a good background who drove a Volvo and set his girlfriend's friend up with the guy she liked. What we DON'T know is why I'm referring to myself in the third person. THAT is the real oddity in this post.

OK so to undo all this negative TwiKarma I've thrust upon myself, I must post a couple pictures I love that involve Edward AND Bella, lest anyone think I am ripping on Kstew or Rpattz. Cuz I am SO not.

Here is a FANTASTIC photo of KS and RP holding someone's baby. I wonder if this baby will grow up an Rpattz fan and think "Damnit if I had only been a few years older!!!"

 

*Thanks to inmortal for this HILARIOUSly altered photo. If I knew who took it; I'd thank them too.

And here is another graphic that curls my toes:

*Thanks to Lampoona for this awesome graphic.

Wowwy McWowwy. That. Is. SMOKIN'. Hot. Moreso than feathers. Well... maybe not feathers...

"NEW MOON" CORN MAZE! I MUST go there!

I. Love. This!  It's Children of the (New Moon) Corn!!!  I would so travel from New Jersey just to see the finished product.

SYRACUSE — The second "Twilight" movie is arriving early in northern Utah, sort of.

 
*Photo at right is NOT the New Moon maze but I found it on this website. Pretty cool with the wolf, if I do say so, myself.

Utah's largest corn maze is themed this year to "New Moon," the sequel in the popular Twilight saga.

Although the new movie doesn't arrive in theaters until Nov. 20, this 24-acre corn maze opens Sept. 24 and continues through Oct. 31.

Located at Black Island Farms, 3178 S. 3000 West, aerial photos show that two separate maze patterns have already been cut into the corn — a "Team Jacob" and a "Team Edward." (In the movie, Bella can choose Edward or Jacob as her lover.)

The lettering "New moon 11-20-09" is also a part of the maze.

A side design in the corn depicts a KUTV reporter or anchorman holding a microphone.

GPS technology is used to cut the intricate patterns into the corn.

The idea of a corn maze is to enter and then eventually conquer the labyrinths by finding the lone exit. Getting "lost" is part of the fun.

Black Island is a working vegetable farm, with about 400 acres in cultivation, growing carrots, onions, cabbage, corn, pumpkins, squash and gourds.

Each Fall, the farm hosts a Harvest Festival and Cornfield Maze — Utah agri-tourism at its best, with hayrides, bonfires, and a haunted maze. The farm also offers a tour for school children and has a farmers market.

Last year's corn maze featured a Ronald McDonald House theme.

For more information on the Black Island Farms Corn Maze and its related "Harvest Festival," go to: www.BlackIslandFarms.com, or call 801-774-MAZE.

Just curious

Has anyone ever seen Robert Pattinson and Robert Smith in the same room at the same time?

Why...can't... I....be.... you?

:::dies:::

Have you seen the hilarious Twilight comics from the Stick Man Theatre people? Hysterical. Thanks to Tracey for the laughs!

Ugh. Gag me.

  

= STUPID!


(These two must just sit around and laugh at this bullshiz. I know I do.)

The beach! The truck! The HAIR!

Thank you, Jebus! Kstew is all Bellafied again with a new cute wig. Or piece. Or whatever it is they use in Hollywood to make one look less Joan Jett and more Bella Swan. It looks like her own hair has been dyed to look like the aforementioned fake piece of hair. (Shannon has something cool like this that she calls her "phony pony" and I totally want one.) Bottom line - she looks great. (Note the Kstew compliment. I hope to provide more of them over the coming months.) *Thanks to Radar Online for the photo.

Tanya rumors

If this article is true - which I don't even begin to believe it is, because we all know how fickle the interwebs are - that would mean that David Slade would be directing Breaking Dawn. Because - correct me if I'm wrong - but I don't remember Tanya being IN Eclipse. Other than a mention of her and "all those females".

Fun with Facebook. And Twitter. And Taylor.

You can now follow My Twilight Purgatory on Facebook and on Twitter!

David Slade posts updates on Twitter all the time - with photos. It's the BEST place to get cool Eclipse updates straight from the set. He's got a photo of Taylor Lautner doing a back flip in mid air - from a standing position. Makes me feel inadequate since I can't even do "crow" pose in yoga for more than a microsecond.

Tonight Peter Facinelli had a post on his Twitter page that was actually from Nikki Reed. It said:
Hi Nikki Reed here... Sitting with Fach. Just searched and found dozens of posers. I don't have Twitter. Please don't follow them!!! Scary!

And Gil Birmingham has a Facebook page where people have been thanking him for coming to the convention this weekend. That's where I found this photo of him posing with Alex, Chaske and Kiowa.

Five words: Bring on the wolf pack!

Back from Parsippany

I cannot tell you how cool it was to listen to the Twilight and New Moon stars - and Director Catherine Hardwicke over the past two days. Check out my photos from the convention. (<---Like Fake Rob from "The Twilighters"?) And there were lots of stories from Catherine and the actors about things that happened on set. Here are a few: - Edi Gathegi would walk toward Taylor Lautner in full costume with the "eyes" in and just go "Taylor. Taylor. Taylor. Taylor. Taylor." and Taylor would flip out and say "Stop doing that, you're freaking me out!"

- In New Moon, when they were filming the scene where Sam finds Bella in the woods, someone yelled "Sam found her!" and everyone turns and runs into the woods... and Gil Birmingham is just sitting there in the wheelchair like "uh.. guys?"

- Ever notice how Gil drives the truck in Twilight? It was the lesser of two evils. He was in a wheelchair, but Jacob was supposed to be underage, so they said, "You gotta drive!"

- A well known actor was offered a role in Twilight and turned it down because the film was so small and low budget. The same well-known actor has accepted a role now that the franchise is huge. Wonder - Bryce - who - Dallas - that - Howard - could be? (I am speculating here, but if you have a better idea, by all means, please comment!)

- Edi called Jackson and used this ridiculous, high-pitched, girly voice and said he was an assistant to Catherine.. and that Catherine didn't like his new dye-job and that he needed to get it dyed back to the original color. Jackson was on the other line with his manager who told him she was thrilled and she hated the blond. Edi then called Jackson back and said he was kidding and his manager did mucho back-peddling. And ALL of this happened because PFach told him to do it. That guy is a prankster. You can just tell.

- Rob picked up a shirt off his buddy's floor and wore it to the Teen Choice Awards. And if that isn't icky enough, his buddy had worn it the night before to play in a band in some bar. And Rob was WITH HIM while he was wearing it. Ew, ew and more ew.

- Edi only signed up for Twitter to make his mom happy. She told him that way, he wouldn't have to call her all the time to let her know where he was. He just types "Just got off the plane in NJ" and she knows he's OK. Awwww. Isn't that adorable?!

- Graham Greene is the only guy to ever have kissed Gil Birmingham on the lips. (Have I mentioned I LOVE LOVE LOVE Graham Greene who is playing Harry Clearwater? Well I do.)

OK that's it for me for now. I am exhausted because we spent a wild-and-crazy night with my niece, Caitlin, at the Rattlesnake - the restaurant/bar where she works. Great band. It was a little crazy. My hand is bruised from all the tambourine playing I did. We'll just leave it at that!

Catherine loves us

Check out this article (printed below) about Catherine Hardwicke's appearance yesterday in Parsippany. Jenn M. and I asked the questions they mentioned first! My question was "What would you do differently if you could film Twilight again?" and it's the very first question addressed in this article. Jenn asked if it was true that Catherine wanted Edward to have long hair. I am loving this. My question is in RED and Jenn M's is in PURPLE.

Aug 28 2009 5:32 PM EDT

'Twilight' Director Catherine Hardwicke Tells Behind-The-Scenes Secrets

'We had to do a lot of things with little money,' the director tells the 'Twilight' convention crowd about making the first film in the franchise.

Many "Twilight" fans may think the first film in Stephenie Meyer's four-part saga is darn near perfect, but there are a few things director Catherine Hardwicke would go back and change if she could. "I would have a giant, plastic dome built over the state of Oregon," Hardwicke joked during a one-hour Q&A session at the official "Twilight" convention in Parsippany, New Jersey.

Joking aside, Hardwicke did say she wishes she could have delved deeper into Bella's vivid dreams. "I loved in the book when Stephenie would describe some of the dreams and things, so I really wanted to film some of the dream sequences," Hardwicke said. "And we had a whole plan for this beautiful, underwater dream sequence. [But we had] no money. They said, 'We can't afford it.' We had to do a lot of things with little money because Summit didn't know if anyone was going to see the movie."

Obviously fans came out in droves for the vampire romance, but there were a few other scenes fans didn't get to see. For one, the beloved "blood test" scene from the novel was cut to add variety to the filming locations — and to abate Hardwicke's bloody fears. "I was actually that person that fainted in my seventh-grade biology class," she said. Another thing fans didn't see was a hairy Robert Pattinson. Hardwicke originally envisioned Bella's bloodsucking boyfriend Edward with long hair. "I thought it would be cool if Rob had long, romantic hair," she said. "So we put extensions on Rob and he just hated it. He sat there in the chair for eight hours and was like, 'No.' "

Hardwicke also had Pattinson style secrets to share from off the set. According to the director, Pattinson was sporting a not-so-fresh shirt at the Teen Choice Awards. "I was sitting on the couch next to Rob and he was telling me, 'I didn't know what to wear. I didn't have anything clean, so my friend wore this shirt last night and did a performance.' So his buddy did a whole performance in this shirt and Rob found it on the floor and thought it was the cleanest shirt he had, so he wore it to the awards."

But it wasn't all Rob, Rob, Rob during the Q&A session — Hardwicke offered particular kudos to actress Kristen Stewart. When one fan asked if Stewart could pull of the emotional intensity needed in "New Moon," Hardwicke wholeheartedly replied yes. "She has depth deeper than any actress I've ever known."

Though the session revolved mainly around "Twilight," Hardwicke alluded to her upcoming projects including "If I Stay," "Hamlet," "Maximum Ride" and the recently announced "The Girl With the Red Riding Hood," noting that they are all in the development stages and that she is not sure which she'll work on first. "Any fortune tellers out there?" she asked.

Hi from Parsippany

This... is what's known... as a "Fangirl Reaction Video". Only the fangirls... are reacting... TO OURSELVES... on the NEWS!!!!!!

PS - Never wear white on the bottom. ;)

We're famous!

OK so they showed us on the news - and they showed Shannon speaking - it was great! They didn't show our mytwlightpurgatory plug though... BUMMER. We tried! We are wearing our blog shirts... and we were on the news. What more can a bunch of Twihard bloggers do to plug their website? OK - off to dinner - more tomorrow from Parsippany!

Twilight Convention - Parsippany NJ

Hi All! Just checking in for a minute between the convention and dinner! Jenn M, Shannon and were interviewed by Fox 5 NY today... and are watching to see if we'll be on. Catherine Hardwicke was great - what a sweetheart she is. She told some funny stories about filming Twilight - and about the actors in general. And she answered questions that Jenn M and I asked, which was cool. We asked if she would cast anyone differently if she could do it over again. She said she loves everyone she cast... but she offered an interesting tidbit. Apparently a well-known actor turned down Twilight - but has NOW taken a role. Could that be Bryce Dallas Howard, perhaps?! Jenn asked if it was true Catherine wanted Edward to have long hair and she said "Yes" and that Rob sat for 8 hours and got extensions... and HATED THEM. And I asked if Catherine would do anything differently and she expressed disdain at having such a small budget. She said she wasn't able to do things she wanted - like have Edward sparkle longer - and have the CGI look a little better. She also said she made Bella confess to Edward that she knew he was a vampire in the meadow - rather than in the car ride home from Port Angeles - because there aren't many good angles to film people in a car, which makes sense. She also said La Push was a really tough scene because it had been SNOWING that day - and everyone was freezing in addition to being soaking wet from horizontal rain.

OK Fox 5 just said the Twilight convention is coming up soon - so I'm going to sign off and go watch. And if we're on - I'm going to cringe! But it was fun, so I can't complain.

Later I'll blog about Gil Birmingham. HILARIOUS guy!

Jane, you ignorant ____!

Go to this MTV page to check out their full gallery of Vulturi goodness!!! I cannot IMAGINE what it is going to be like, watching Jane reduce Edward to a lump on the floor. Fangirl, party of 1?!

Creepy Caius

Love this. Ganked it from a Harry Potter site, no less. Bring on the Volturi, baby. I just started re-following Jamie Campbell Bower on twitter because he just cracks me up. Check this out:

JamiebowerThis part of the plane smells like my old dorm at boarding school. X

NICE!!!

1st shot of Edward in Eclipse! Squeee!

Hmmm. Double hmmm. Once I got finished fangirling over the first shot of Rob Pattinson made up as "Edward Cullen" on the Eclipse set, I took a good, hard look at the emsem. AND the makeup. And three words came to mind: The. Village. People. Did they fly RPattz's sisters in to make him up like they used to when he was 12? Cuz he's looking pretty feminine in these pictures. Now don't get me wrong here. I mean him ZERO disrespect. It's a movie - and they have to use makeup. I get that. But between the hair color, the red lips, the white face and the stellar jean jacket (Edward Cullen in a jean jacket?! yikes) I'm getting "Macy's catalog girls section" instead of "vampire who single-handedly snuffs the life out of Victoria". But hey... that's just me. *Thanks to socialiteslife for the photo.

Lots and lots of Volturi goodness!

Totally ganked this from Zap2it. (Love ya! Mean it!)

Did I not CALL this???

Death Cab for Cutie is the first band on my New Moon playlist. And they've written a new song for the New Moon soundtrack. Which makes me squeeeee with delight. Their sound is soooo perfect for this movie. The song I wanted was Summer Skin. When you listen to it, you just feel the end of the summer approaching... and that pain you feel when you're a kid and all the fun is ending. Just like the pain you could feel when you knew Edward was leaving Bella; you just didn't know how much time you, whoops, I mean SHE had left with him. Sigh.

I read that Death Cab for Cutie was on the soundtrack and almost fell off my chair. Wonder if any of my other bands/singers will make it?! Give a listen to Summer Skin.

Dear Gil, You rock. Love, Carol

If you check out Gil Birmingham's Twitter page, you'll see he had to do some rearranging of his schedule to get to Parsippany for the convention this weekend. Is it me or is that VERY cool of him? Yeah. Thought so. Gotta love Billy Black. Just keepin' it real. ;) Check out his IMDB page, too.

Bait and Switch in NJ

The first ever "Official Twilight Convention" has had a lot of recent celebrity appearance changes and I have to say... I'm none too happy.

Appearances by the celebs who play "Carlisle", "Emmett", "Alice", "Jasper", "Charlie" and "Mike" have slowly but surely been canceled over the last few months.

The celebs who play these characters have been replaced by the celebs who play "Billy Black", "Sam", "Paul", "Embry", "Laurent", "Angela" and "Eric". And add to that list Twilight's Director - Catherine Hardwicke.

Don't get me wrong - I am thrilled to hang with anyone affiliated with the Twilight saga. I'm looking forward to hearing what the wolf pack has to say. And I love Gil Birmingham. And who wouldn't want to hear Catherine Hardwicke speak? But the entire original appearance list has been changed.

Not a Cullen in the house.

That is really NOT cool. Especially when we've all purchased tickets months in advance - and we've all rescheduled our lives to be at this convention.

Official Twilight Convention THIS weekend in NJ!

So I'm not sure I mentioned it but I'll be attending an Official Twilight Convention in Parsippany, NJ this weekend. We are going to see "Emmett", "Alice", "Sam", "Embry" (Um, Hello? YUM!), "Angela" (Oh. My. God.) , "Eric" (La Push, baby, LA PUSH!) and the person I am STOKED to see: Catherine Hardwicke.

Jenn M., Shannon, Tracey and I will be Twittering Friday and Saturday from the event. I am setting up a Twitter account for the occasion: MyTwiPurgatory. I'll keep you posted!

"Victoria" and "Riley" on the Eclipse set

Seeing as I am a curly girl, I love this new photo of BDH and her new curly Victoria 'do. And Xavier Samuel isn't looking so bad, himself.

Check out all the photos over at Lainey Gossip.

Bella's Wedding Dress

OK so THIS is pretty cool. Apparently In Style mag asked a bunch of designers to try their hand at designing Bella's wedding dress. It's cool to see their interpretations, although it's clear some of them must have been Twittering when they should have been paying attention to the instructions for the design. Anyway... I l loved Lela Rose's and Max Azaria's - but neither are "the dress" in my mind. OK so here is where I get my inner Twi-goober going. Pay attention.

Bella's ring is Victorian - because Edward's father gave it to her mother in the Victorian era. BUT - Edward was born into the Edwardian era (hence his glorious name that I now hear at playgrounds thanks to Mrs. Stephenie Meyer). And because the dress was designed for his taste - I believe Bella's dress should be Edwardian - NOT Victorian.

COMMA HOWEVER - Bella's mother did say that she looked like she was right out of a Jane Austen novel.. so I have to assume the dress was more Victorian than Edwardian.

At any rate, I have posted this photo before (while I was reading the books) but I love it sooooo friggin much that I'm going to post it again. I would love it if this is what Bella's dress looked like. It's just so understated and pretty. *Thanks to housegallery.ca for the photo.

I. Love. THIS!

This.... is....AWESOME! It's simple and yet it gets the point across beautifully. Thanks to Melissaisatwilightlover on Twifans!

Boo Boo made a boo boo

Gee... didn't see THIS one coming. Oh wait... yes I did. But it doesn't change anything. His rep confirmed it. Retract...Deny...blah blah blah. Something is coming down the pike after Eclipse... we'll just have to wait for Mr. Summit to tell us what.

Wuthering Heights

OK so I've never read Wuthering Heights. In New Moon, it was easy to compare it to Romeo and Juliet. Been there - read that - AND watched that. But in Eclipse - I didn't understand the conversations between Edward and Bella about Wuthering Heights. And I've been trying to get it from my local library for months - and it's never available. So I finally gave in and rented a very recent and fabulous adaptation. But frankly, I'm still trying to decide if Edward considered himself Heathcliff or Edgar. Edgar is married to Cathy - so you'd think he'd be Edward. But she had this overwhelming love for Heathcliff - so you'd think HE'd be Edward. But I have to suppose Edward considered himself Edgar because Cathy's unbelievable pull to Heathcliff was like Bella's unexplainable pull to Jacob? Oh somebody shut me up already...

Gianna freaks me out

Cool article on popeater (that I originally found on Twilight Examiner) about Justine Wachsberger who is playing Gianna in New Moon. That character freaks me out to no end. I can understand why Bella wants to be a vampire (LORD do I understand why Bella wants to be a vampire: Edward. No Sleep. Every Night. le SIGH!) but who knows why Gianna wants to. She watches those creepy Volturi kill and eat people, day in and day out. Where's the attraction, there? If I were her, I'd have made a play for Edward while he was all nekkid from the waste up (with his abs of steel), writhing around in pain on the floor. But that's just me.

TWO Breaking Dawn movies?!

OK you KNOW I've been blogging too much when I'm so tired I copy my comment on TwilightLexicon.com and paste it on my own blog. At any rate, check out the Twilight Lexicon article where they talk about Boo Boo Stewart - aka Seth Clearwater - mentioning that he will be in the next THREE installments of the Twilight series. What I find is interesting is that his REP confirmed it by saying “Boo Boo Stewart will play the character Seth Clearwater in the next three installments of the wildly popular ‘Twilight’ film franchise based on the best-selling novels by Stephenie Meyer,” So DAY-UM. I am all kinds of flustered over this new news.

Here's my comment on Twilight Lexicon, where they're asking how people think Breaking Dawn will be broken up (if it IS in fact going to be broken up. He just said there would be another one after Breaking Dawn. Hmmm):

Wow. Would they do a “to be continued”? That’s the only way I can see doing this. I think it would have to be first movie shows the wedding and honeymoon… and then the cliff-hanger being that Bella is pregnant. (Can’t you just see them ending with Edward’s face upon realizing this news? Remember how freaked out he was? Oh my god it would be classic.) Then movie two starts with her on the couch with Rosalie guarding her…and continues on to the end of the book. Un-LESS they’re going to shove wedding, honeymoon, pregnancy and birth into one film… and do a 2nd film based on the visiting vampires and the Volturi. Um, I’m thinking “yuck” on this because it would lose the central “Bella and Edward” theme that is so present in all the books. But no complaints here. I’ll take my Cullens any way I can get them.

That Edward Cullen really gets around...

OK this video is pretty funny. Go Kelly Clarkson. Everyone should have an "Awesome Edward". It's great fun to move him around in your house and scare the bejesus out of your family. I believe mine is going to live at Shannon's for a while... and then when she least expects it he's going to show up at Jenn M.'s house. I'm thinking before school.. leaning against her car...

Something....fishy....Denmark...

OK now I know I'm a huge Stephenie Meyer fan and I pray at the shrine of Stephenie and she can do no wrong and and and yada yada yada. So my opinion probably isn't the most unbiased. I get it. But I just cannot see something like this and not think someone is trying to make herself some moolah off Stephenie Meyer's fame and fortune. What do y'all think? (There I go saying "y'all" again when I'm not even from the South. I'm crazy like that sometimes.) Oh and might I say that Jenn M. totally scooped me on this. I had no clue this legal nonsense was going on until she told me. Go ahead, Jenn. Yell it: "FIRST"!

MTV Shows

What would Anna Wintour say?!

GREAT new shot of m'girl Alice Cullen from New Moon. Not sure about the ensem, though. Espech if she's wearing it at school. The mean girls are going to get all OVER her shiz for this little number. (And Jessica, you know who you are.) Hmmm. Let's break this down, shall we?

We've got the little, um, jacket. We'll call this little gem "housecoat chic". Then we've got knit, flashdance gloves (that we know Esme sure as hell didn't make for her) on top of a tight fitting white shirt. The short-sleeves-over-long-sleeves look is soooo very Movie Bella (and so very Manasquan High School).... but I can't imagine Alice would sport it. Maybe it's "Dress like John Bender Day" at Forks High. At any rate, we're finishing this look off with a lovely double-wrapped scarf, the point of which I would normally assume is to hide a nasty hicky, but I'm kindof thinking Cullens can't get them. Or can they?! :::sucks in air::: JASPER! Oh beHAVE!!!

Royce was rolled. Ba dum bum.

OK so this is pretty cool. Check out Jack Huston - aka Royce King II - on the Eclipse set. Remember him? He was days away from marrying Rosalie, and then decided to rape and murder her with his buds for kicks. You know, a typical night out on the town for rich folk. Never really understood that storyline, but I digress... So anyway, I wasn't expecting him to look like this. He looks cool - but I was expecting him to have short hair and look like a rich dude from a wealthy family in the midst of the Great Depression. Not a hobo looking to hop the nearest boxcar to find his next meal. Either way - he's pretty. Just like all the chillens on the Eclipse set. Check out Twilightchick's post on TwiFans.com for all the photos. And thanks to my online TwiBud, Kim for alerting me to such good Twiblog fodder this AM!

Hot or Not?

Is it me... or is this just a truly erotic photo? (Jenn D, please come out of your self-induced Alexander Skarsgard coma for just a second or two to look at this. I promise you can go right back when you're finished.)

PS - Why is Edward dressed like he's on the bomb squad?

LTT FTW

Check this out. Letterstotwilight.com FOR THE WIN!!! You guys are great. Kudos to you for all your hard work on a great site. Clearly it's paying off!

Breaking Dawn question. We MUST know.

So I got together with Jenn M. and Shannon tonight... and we brought up a topic we've all tortured ourselves over at one time or another. It's a little R-rated, so if you're not even in high school yet, please skip this post.

Did Edward and Bella consummate their marriage in the water during their midnight swim? Or did they wait until they got back to the house?

I'm dying. I have to know. Don't you? What do YOU think happened? Please comment.

And check out this article over at newmoonmovie.org because it touches on this topic. They're pondering whether Breaking Dawn will be made into a movie and talking about their PG vs R audience. We all know how I feel about this, so I won't beat a dead horse.

Stephenie Meyer Speaks!

Found this today and wanted to make sure you all read it. Stephenie Meyer has updated her site (thank you, Seth, who does all the work! I feel your pain!) and she's got great recommendations for books, music and movies. Well, her movie recommendation is Bandslam, which I sortof left out the "band" and just "slammed" the other day when I posted about it. But she says it was pretty good, so I will take her word for it as I have not seen it. Now "UP" is one I have seen because I, too, frequent Disney movies with my kids. Hey. I'll take my theatre popcorn any way I can get it.

PS - Dear Stephenie, please stalk my blog. Love, Carol

August 17, 2009

Hey everybody! I hope you all had a great summer. I'm sorry I don't update more, but it's crazy how busy you can be without really having anything to update about. I decided to do an end of the summer recap like I did last year—just the books and music and movies I enjoyed most. I love to share good stuff.

First books. I didn't have a ton of time to read this summer, but I did discover one really wonderful two-book series. Dreamhunter and Dreamquake by Elizabeth Knox. It is like nothing else I've ever read. The characters are so real, you'll feel like you know exactly what they look like and how their voices sound and what they would say or do in any given situation. More than that, you'll want to hang out with them. Then the world is so amazing and unique. You will want to go there. You will want to walk into "the Place." And you will want to sleep in a dream opera.

I also got an early look at a book I've been eagerly awaiting: Catching Fire, the sequel to Suzanne Collins' phenomenal The Hunger Games. It not only lived up to my high expectations, it surpassed them. It's just as exciting as The Hunger Games, but even more gut wrenching, because you already know these characters, you've already suffered with them. Suzanne takes the story places I wasn't expecting, and she's never afraid to take it to very hard places. Stunning. You won't sleep when you're reading this one. It hits shelves September 1st. I suggest beginning in the early morning and clearing your calendar for the day.

Then music. No matter how busy I am, I can always listen to music, so I have a longer list of recommendations here. So, awesome CDs I discovered this summer:

* Animal Collective — Merriweather Post Pavillion
* Silversun Pickups — Swoon
* White Rabbits — It's Frightening
* The Dead Weather — Horehound
* Grizzly Bear — Veckatimest
* Meese — Broadcast

I really should have known about Meese a while ago, but thanks to a mislabeled CD mix, I didn't realize Meese was responsible for one of my favorite songs until I went to their concert. And then I was glad that I already loved them, because the guys in Meese are possibly the nicest people in the world.

Then some albums that I've had for a while now, but that I can't stop listening to:

* The Weakerthans — Reunion Tour
* Elbow — The Seldom Seen Kid

Seriously, Elbow owns my ipod right now.

Also musical, I got out to a few good concerts. Meese was with Jack's Mannequin and The Fray—lovely. If you haven't seen these guys live, do. And then I got to go see Blue October again. I love their shows. You can't really know Blue October until you see them live. It's an amazing experience.

And finally movies. Mostly when I get out to a movie, it's a kid's movie. So Pixar's Up was the highlight of my summer. And then this Saturday I went to see an actual grown-up people movie, yay! Admittedly, I went to see the New Moon trailer on the big screen (yes, I'm a total dork. Who cares? It was worth it). But then I stayed to see Bandslam because the reviews were so good, and I was glad I did. With my hopeless love of music coupled with my total lack of musical ability, I really dug Will. He's my hero right now. It had a good soundtrack, as one might expect, a lot of very quotable one-liners, and it turned upside down some of those lame female-interaction stereotypes. It's a good time.

So that's my "How I Spent My Summer." I hope you guys had a really good time this summer, and found some great stuff of your own. I love this world full of stories and songs waiting to be discovered! And I also love you, the awesome Twilight (and maybe a few Hosts, too) fandom. I stalk your websites all the time—you guys are hilarious (I recently added LTT to my stalk list; thanks for the laugh lines, ladies). I'm looking forward to seeing some of you in November for a little movie release that I'm excited about. Too many months to go!

Love,
Steph

My Breaking Dawn Playlist

OK. I know it's early. I know it's premature. But. I. Just. Had. To. And there is barely anything on it. But I feel so incredibly strongly about "Lightning Crashes" from Live being on this playlist, that I had to explain. This sound might not be new. It might not be edgy and full of teen angst. But holy hell - I have never, EVER, felt more strongly about a song being used in a Stephenie Meyer adapted film in my LIFE. Here's what I want (my demands, if you will): I want the ENTIRE SONG played - with no interruption - during the birth scene. OK - humor me. Hit "play" and listen... and picture this: Edward and Jacob yelling back and forth and trying to save Bella while the early, more quiet part of the song is played. Then as the song progresses and the momentum starts building, we see Edward and Jacob in slow motion - Edward stabbing Bella with the syringe of venom... and Jacob watching in horror. Jacob comes down the stairs, sees the baby and imprints. And Edward's face is just devastated while he waits by Bella's bedside, holding the baby. Then - as the song is coming to a close, Bella wakes up and jumps up and is looking around... OH. MY. GOD. This song has given me goosebumps from the very first time I heard it (back in the early 90s when some of you were being potty trained, but whatev.) And to pair it with the most awesome - literally AWESOME - scene in Breaking Dawn. Wow. Just... Wow. And don't take my word for it; listen to the lyrics...

iloveitiloveitiloveitiloveitiloveit

If this fan art doesn't remind you how much you freakin LOVED Eclipse, I'll be in shock. Squeeee! (REFRESH THIS PAGE if the graphic looks all white and funky.)


Twilight Saga : Eclipse Poster by ~Julushko-navara on deviantART

What. EV.

I don't care WHAT they're doing. All I care about is that someone PLEASE make Kristen Stewart STOP dressing like CHACHI for the love of god.

BADslam

Whoa. I could have told you this would happen. It's one thing to expect people to see "The Proposal" because a New Moon trailer is showing beforehand. But Bandslam? Really? I think we all knew it would bomb. Don't get me wrong; Summit tried. They really did. The other day my 7 year old was yelling "Mommy Mommy! They just said "New Moon" on the TV!" because Summit put a teeny New Moon trailer MENTION at the end of the Bandslam commercial. On Nickelodeon. AFTER SPONGE BOB. Yes, that's right, they were so desperate, they were advertising to the "under 8" crowd. Wasn't too hard to predict the outcome there. (Actually, I think that horrifying, reggae version of Bread's "Everything I Own" was to blame, but that's just me.) Even Vanessa Hudgen's second set of naughty nekkidness pics couldn't save that flick. Oh well. Maybe this is Summit's payback for dumping Rachelle. Karma IS a boomerang.

NEW New Moon Trailer

Sorry I'm a little late to this party. Had a lot of stuff going on yesterday... and...uh...I dunno...I have been suffering a little withdrawal since my party the other night. I've definitely pulled back from the movie hype a little - and started reading again. Just bits and pieces of the last third of New Moon - but enough to make me feel a little more connected to the books - and a little less connected to the Hollywood bullshiz. Gah. Like I care what kind of car Rob Pattinson drives?! (Now you just hush, Jenn M.) You just get to this point where the Robsten reports start taking over - and Edward and Bella are just these figures in the background. And that is NOT cool. So let me show you something very cool that will get your juices flowing for November 20th. And I don't mean cranberries and stuffing. (LOL sorry that was bad.)

The Twilight Saga: New Moon 'Meet Jacob Black' Preview in HD

Twihard Central

My 100 Days Party!

OK so I think I pulled it off! What a great time last night. My thanks to everyone for coming to the party and helping to make it so much fun! Only 99 more days!!

If you were here and have photos, please send them to me! More to come!!

The location (my patio)...


















The cake (Jenn M. and Shannon ROCK):























The ice cream cake (Maggie is my hero for finding this):


















My sister, Tracey, Master of Ceremonies, if you will, and that's Jenn M in the background:



















Some serious thinking during trivia:


















Me, looking downright scary while asking trivia questions:

Last minute "Required (Twi)Reading"

My sister, Jill, reading the tail end of Breaking Dawn about an hour before my 100 Days til New Moon party started:

New Moon Ambiance

Pretty cool, eh? I got these on Ebay. When I have a few minutes, I'll post the info if you want to order some of your very own. They rock. Wait. What does that one on the right say? Oh that's right. MY TWILIGHT PURGATORY, Baby!