Tim from The Cushy Blog tagged me on the 8 Things Meme! I know I've done a couple of these already but I'm sure there are 8 more facts about myself I can share.
Rules:
1) Post these rules.
2) List eight interesting or semi-interesting facts, habits, or bits of trivia about yourself.
3) Tag someone else by posting a comment on their blog asking them to read your facts post.
And now for the facts:
1. This is the last art project I finished. It's Dorothy and The Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz...as if you couldn't tell.
2. Okay, okay I know I've mentioned it before but I will be selling some art at Wizard World Chicago August 10th-12th at The Rosemont Convention Center. Drop by and say hello if you are in town! It's a great convention if you love comic books and the art of illustration.
3. The first year I went to the Chicago ComiCon (it's what they used to call it before Wizard bought them out) I met Ms Mercy, just a random female artist whose work I really fell in love with. At the time I didn't have enough money to buy one of her originals and haven't seen her back in years. The image of Ms Mercy sitting at her table trying to sell her art has stuck with me all this time and has been a bit of an inspiration for me to finally pursue my own goals of finding work as a proffesional artist. Here is one of her pieces: 
4. I am a huge fan of AArdman's latest animated creation Shaun the Sheep. They have been showing on The Disney Channel every sunday night and I haven't missed one yet. Here is a clip from my favorite short...Timmy in a Tizzy.
5. My favorite tea is Earl Grey with a little milk and honey. Yum!
6. I think it's a pretty good possibility that the creepiest man who ever lived might be Klaus Kiniski. He's just so damn scary in every one of his movies...and in real life. Don't believe me...here's proof. Sure it's a clip from a movie of his; Crawlspace but based on the stories I've heard about this man...it doesn't really seem to far removed from the real thing.
7. Speaking of creepy men...I have a strange fascination with the history and fall of the Nazi party. Not that I support them, or follow the teachings...I'm just so interested in studing the roots of how it began and to see how it branched out of control as they became more and more powerful. I've read quite a bit and have quite a bit more waiting for me to get to.
8. The last book I read was a graphic novel by Linda Medley called Castle Waiting. It's a terific piece of Fantasy for anyone who likes Bone or Fables. I highly reccomend it!
Now I get to tag someone...I know not everyone likes to be tagged so I'll just say if you haven't had the opportunity to do this yet and you want to give it a shot go for it! It's always fun to get to know people a little better!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
8 Things Meme
She's a Super Geek...
Super geek...she's super geey yeow! (sorry Rick James moment)
Wanna find out how geeky you are? Take the quiz...
Monday, July 30, 2007
Guess That Movie Quote: Week 12
Wow week 12 already! Here are the rules:
If you know or think you know the source of the movie quote please leave your guess in the comments section. As people guess the source of the quote I will grey it out and give them credit (using google to find the answers will disqualify you), the person who has the most correct guesses each week will get a fun movie genius award to decorate their blog. Any person who wins 5 weeks (consecutive or non-consecutive) will earn a Movie Master award and must then refrain from guessing for 5 weeks but a master can email quote suggestions for the game.
Phew that's a mouth full...now on to the guessing!
1. "I write what I see, the endless procession to the guillotine. We're all lined up, waiting for the crunch of the blade... the rivers of blood are flowing beneath our feet... I've been to hell young man, you've only read about it." SamuraiFrog
2. "The Valkyrie at my side is shouting and laughing with the pure, hateful, bloodthirsty joy of the slaughter... and so am I." SamuraiFrog
3. "Generals can do anything. There's nothing so much like a god on earth as a General on a battlefield." SamuraiFrog
4. "What a death! What a chance! What a surprise! My will has chosen life! Still it has had me spooked and many others besides!" SamuraiFrog
5. "I don't know why he saved my life. Maybe in those last moments he loved life more than he ever had before. Not just his life, anybody's life, my life. All he'd wanted were the same answers the rest of us want. Where did I come from? Where am I going? How long have I got? All I could do was sit there and watch him die." SamuraiFrog
6. "When the wine drinks itself, when the skull speaks, when the clock strikes the right time, only then will you find the tunnel that leads to the Red Bull. There be a trick to it, of course." SamuraiFrog
7. "They say rubber's mainly for perverts. Don't know why. Think it's very practical, actually. I mean, you spill anything on it and it just comes off. I suppose that could be why the perverts like it."
8. "That's a piecrust promise. Easily made, easily broken." J.D.
9. "Where'd my youth go? Why didn't fame hold off old age and death? Why the hell did I leave the fame in the first place and do I want it back, and could I have it back? And if I could, would it make any damned difference?" SamuraiFrog
10. "Ahh, a bear in his natural habitat - a Studebaker." SamuraiFrog
**Update**
Well congratulations to this week's winner SamuraiFrog who came pretty damn close to a sweep! And this being his fifth win makes him the second person to earn the Movie Master award! Good job Froggy! Here is your award and we'll see you back for more guessing on September 3rd!
Boy with Lee and Aaron out for a few weeks the game is anyones! See you all next week for more guessing fun.
Teaser Trailer for Dario Argento's Mother of Tears
The wait for the third part in Dario Argento's Mother series is about to pay off! And the freaking movie has Asia Argento and Moran Atias Holy crap this movie looks awesome!
Thanks to Moon in the Gutter for posting the trailer first.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Agony is a dwarf standing Guard.
I hate a whole lot of stage musicals...not all...but quite a few just rub me the wrong way. Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods is one of those musicals I hate except for two bright shinning moments the song Agony and it's reprise. It's hilarious, makes me laugh every time as I listen to two storybook princes discuss the agony of rescuing damsels in distress. In the reprise discuss the agony of being stuck in a commited relationship and their longing to rescue more damsels in distress. Good stuff.
Agony
Agony Reprise
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Overlooked Movies: Explorers
"The business has changed. There are less movies made, more people, more directors who want to make them. The competition for every movie is large, the business is now run by giant corporations of whom the studios only own a small part, and the question tends to be: how can we make a so-called "tentpole" movie that we can make twenty more of over the next twenty years? You know, we don´t wanna just make one-little-movie, we wanna be able to make a "series", we wanna be able to make a "franchise", we wanna be able to make SPIDERMAN 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10! Ah...which is ok, you know, we´ve always done that...there´s always been series-movies....but there´s really not much real interest in cinema in the studios right now. I think it´s all about business. It´s all about "what´s gonna sell", it´s all about "how can we get the kids in to, you know, watch people FUCK PIES, or whatever it is they do in these movies... Compare this with the 60´s, or even the 70´s, when the movies were content-oriented, they were about things, people were excited about the filmic possibilities and I see now the people who control the pursestrings are kind of giving up on that." ~Director Joe Dante on the Modern Movie Industry
Ben Crandall, an alien-obsessed kid, dreams one night of a circuit board. Drawing out the circuit, he and his friends Wolfgang and Darren set it up, and discover they have been given the basis for a starship. Setting off in the ThunderRoad, as they name their ship, they find the aliens Ben hopes they would find... but are they what they seem?
Taglines:
You don't need a driver's license to reach the stars.
The adventure begins in your own back yard.
Fun Trivia:
Look for Rosebud, the sled from Citizen Kane, in the junkyard sequence. As the camera pans at one point, you can clearly see the sled.
A newspaper headline is "Kingston Falls 'Riot' Still Unexplained". Kingston Falls was the town in Gremlins, which Joe Dante also directed.
The school is named after animator Chuck Jones.
Cherie Currie was considered for a part but, according to her autobiography, she was in the throes of drug dependency and couldn't even make it to a meeting.
The film was never finished, and was released as a work in progress when the studio decided to move up the release date and release the film as it was, telling director Joe Dante that he was finished and they were going to go ahead and release what he had at that point.
Although Robert Picardo received the actor credit for the father alien, his voice was actually provided by Frank Welker.
Wolfgang's "talking" rat is named Heinlein, after science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein, who wrote many stories about young boys experimenting with spaceflight.
The film at the Drive In is called Starkiller. George Lucas originally intended the lead character of his Star Wars series to be called Luke Starkiller until he changed it to Skywalker at the last minute.
Fun Quotes:
Ben Crandall: I've waited all my life to say this.
Darren Woods: Be my guest.
Ben Crandall: We come in peace.
Wak: Its a brand new car! The Rolls Canardly ... Rolls down one hill CanArdly get up the next!
Wak: Look, I know I must look weird to you but how do you think you look to me? Listen, I watched four episodes of "Lassie" before I figured out why the little hairy kid never spoke. I mean, he rolled over, sure, he did that fine but, I don't think he deserved a series for that.
Monday, July 23, 2007
More Quizes!
FilmCritic.com - Movie Reviews
80%
FilmCritic.com - Movie Reviews
Find out which porn star are you at LiquidGeneration!
Find out what drunk celebrity you are at LiquidGeneration!
Vicky Vale was lame!
Guess That Movie Quote: Week 11
Here are the rules: As people guess the source of the quote I will grey it out and give them credit (using google to find the answers will disqualify you), the person who has the most correct guesses each week will get a fun movie genius award to decorate their blog.
And Now Let's Do Some Guessing!
1. "OK people, they are psyching you out. Let's not be so defensive out there, OK? Now what do we say on the court, repeat after me; I am a person, I have the right to the ball." Lee
2. "Not beautiful you understand, but you have a certain prettiness, different from my other heads. I believe I'll lock you in the tower for a few years until your head is ready. And then I'll take it."SamuraiFrog
3. "Women! They let 'em vote, smoke and drive - even put 'em in pants! And what happens? A Democrat for president!" Lee
4. "Good evening Sir, my name is Steve. I come from a rough area. I used to be addicted to crack but now I am off it and trying to stay clean. That is why I am selling magazine subscriptions." Lee
5. "Caleb, those people back there, they wasn't normal. Normal folks, they don't spit out bullets when you shoot 'em, no sir." Lee
6. "She lives beyond the grace of God, a wanderer in the outer darkness. She is "vampyr", "nosferatu". These creatures do not die like the bee after the first sting, but instead grow strong and become immortal once infected by another nosferatu. So, my friends we fight not one beast but legions that go on age after age after age, feeding on the blood of the living." Lee
7. "Gosh, drinking's sure a filthy thing isn't it? I'd rather be dead than unable to trust my own eyes." Lee
8. "Suicide is like... the ultimate fuck you."
9. "It's gettin' so a businessman can't expect no return from a fixed fight. Now, if you can't trust a fix, what can you trust? For a good return, you gotta go bettin' on chance - and then you're back with anarchy, right back in the jungle."Lee
10. "No one else in the forest knew why or where he was going, just that it had something to do with twice-times, and how to make things called ABCs, and where a place called Brazil is."Lee
***Update***
Whoah! Looks like with 8 correct guesses Lee is this week's winner and if my memory serves me this is Lee's fifth win. First off way to go Lee! Second this win has inspired me to create a new special "movie master" award:
and third I've also decided just to give others a chance to get in on some of the guessing when someone wins the "movie master" award they can't participate in the guessing for five weeks. So Lee we'll see you back to guess on September 3rd!
Thanks to everyone for playing and I'll post the complete list of answers in the comments.
Happy Birthday Dan!
It's Dan Radcliffe's 18th birthday and we hear at The Skullcave are celebrating by giving you five interesting facts about the man.
Has stated that 12 Angry Men is the first black & white film he ever saw and is also his favorite film.
He can rotate his arm 360 degrees.
He was named Britain's richest teenager with an astounding 23 million pound fortune, after he signed on a 8 million pound deal to make the fifth movie of the Harry Potter series.
He has two border terriers named Binka and Nugget.
He supports Demelza House Children's Hospice, which is a charity that cares for terminally-ill children in the Kent, East Sussex and South London areas of Britain. Dan always asks his fans to donate to the charity every Christmas and on his birthday instead of sending him gifts. In the book, 'Harry Potter and the Half- Blood Prince', the author 'JK Rowling' named the character Demelza Robins after the charity.
"People will always remember Harry, but I think if I work hard enough other characters will stick in their minds as well."
Harry Potter and the Extra Long Post
I've been working in books for a long time, almost half of my life now that I come to think about it, so I can tell you with authority that Harry Potter is a singular phenomena...but you probably already knew that.
I can remember the first instant I heard the name Harry Potter; it was Christmas and some kindly old grandmother had heard about a terrific import kids book she wanted to get as a gift for her grandson. I took her over to the children's section and handed her one of the two copies of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone from the shelf and she went on her merry way. It was as ordinary an encounter as any other...the only reason I remember it in fact is because others came with the same request and I made that trip to the Children's section alot that Christmas season.
A short time later the second Harry Potter book: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was quietly released. A few more grandmothers and parents came in to buy this one as word of mouth spread and it was featured on some TV shows.
Up to this point I had not once considered reading the Harry Potter books, not because I am one of those snobs who think kids books are beneath me...believe me that's as far from the truth as you can get...I just didn't have the urge. It was when the third book came out that I was sort of forced into the position of having to read the books. Our store was having a Harry Potter themed event and I got roped into hosting it. I figured since I would have to host a discussion on these books I should actually read them and so that's what I did.
I had trouble getting into the first maybe 30 or so pages of the first book and nearly gave up. It seemed like a male version of the Cinderella story and I've seen that done over and over again badly in books and movies so I was expecting the worst! How wrong I was! I forced myself to keep reading and then something magical happened and I got hooked. I couldn't put the book down, read every free second of the day and well into the night.
When I started the second book it was much the same thing, couldn't put it down! I loved it from the very first word til the last. Luckily our store got an advance readers copy of the third book, which I got to keep since I was hosting that event, and it was great! Better than the first and second! I read and re-read that book. Carried it with me for years...even after later volumes in the Potter series had been released. When the third book was released it sold out within days and we had trouble keeping it in stock.
The media circus began with the release of the fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Since the third book had sold so well our store had been directed to stay open so we could begin selling copies at midnight on it's release date. We didn't expect many people to turn up at midnight for a kids book so in order to encourage people to come we promoted a Harry Potter party to start two hours before the book went on sale. There were six employees scheduled to work the store that night, one in the cafe, two to man the registers, an assistant manager and myself and another to host the party. We expected maybe 100 people tops to turn up that night. In reality almost 500 showed up! We were unprepared for the onslaught of customers and had just enough copies plus a few extras to sell people. It was a madhouse, A MADHOUSE! But the 6 of us somehow survived and when I finally got to read the Fourth book it was amazing! It was so exciting how J.K. Rowling had been able to tie so much of everything that had come before together and somehow craft a story more exciting and dire!
I didn't work the release nights for the fifth, sixth and seventh books instead I spent the weeks and days leading up to these events creating elaborate decorations and helping to plan the parties. For the fifth and sixth books I worked the day shift and picked up my book the next day and had originally planned to do the same for the seventh...but the excitement leading up to the release overcame me and I decided that I would take this last opportunity to stand in line with everyone else. So after working a long Friday I took my name tag off went home and returned a few hours later not as a bookstore employee but as a customer and Potter fan.
There were hundreds of people in the store when I arrived just after 11pm, the excitement was everywhere as people dressed in costumes wandered the store and participated in the party events. I was too excited to read anything, so I found an empty space near the registers to stand out of the way and tried to listen to my IPod for a bit. It was far too loud to really be able to hear it so I took it off almost instantly and put it away, little did I know what a huge mistake that would be.
I pulled some scrap paper out of my purse and did some doodling, unintentionally catching the conversations of those around me. I'm not sure what I expected...no I take that back, I know what I expected to hear...excited theories about the contents of the next book, responses to the new movie, people cheering and complimenting the costumes of others...but that was incredibly naive of me. Instead I heard people criticising others, badmouthing the party and employees and just inane and vicious things like:
"Oh my god I don't read books!"
"I'm only gonna read the last sentence of every chapter so I get the gist of the book."
"The book is $2 cheaper at Wal-Mart this place is ripping us off."
(at about 11:50pm) "If they don't start selling the book soon they're gonna have a fight on their hands." (there were a few variations on this one)
Then when midnight finally hit and the employees were trying to bring books up to sell the line would not shift back about 10 feet in order to create a space to put the books. Fights nearly broke out over this and it took almost 10 minutes to get people to comply.
"They made us move the line back, we should get free books" someone spat once the space was cleared. He wasn't asked to change his place in line...only move back about 10 feet. Oh the horror the horror.
I was incredibly lucky, having been there since 11pm I got an early place in line, purchased my copy and left the store about 15 minutes after 12, but I am told after I left that shouting matches broke out between customers and employees over safety issues. That someone purchased a copy of the book and drove around in the parking lot with a bullhorn reading passages from the book and lots of other "fun" events took place.
Why? Why?
Maybe the fact that I was an employee of the bookstore in question colored my opinion but I'm not sure. As a fangirl I have stood in LONG lines for many things, for concerts, for movies, to meet people at conventions and never, NEVER have I experienced anything as negative and ridiculous as this. Every time I have stood in one of these lines I have had a positive experience meeting and talking with someone who loves the same thing I love. I have made friends in lines, learned more about the things I love in lines and created life-long memories I'll always treasure but this was the complete opposite of every other line experience I've ever had. What a disappointment.
...of course that said I finished the book today and I must tell you how terrifically amazing it was! I could not have imagined a more satisfying close to this series of books if I tried. I won't say more not wanting to give away spoilers to those of you who haven't finished reading...assuming you've made it through this whole Tolstoy-esque post...
If anyone has any reactions to the new book, or Harry Potter related stories they want to share, please feel free to do so in the comments!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Wizarding Words Day 5
Severus Snape- JKR named Snape after a small town in England (probably the one in Suffolk). But why did she choose Snape over any other town? Why not Glemsford, for example? Snape has the right sound to it. It recalls a number of harsh words, like snake and snipe. A snipe is a contemptible person; to snipe is to shoot from ambush. Severus is Latin for severe, or might be a pun on "sever us" - cut us off. The Roman emperor Severus spent three years in Great Britain.
Spellotape- Spellotape is used for magical repairs. There is an actual brand of adhesive tape named Sellotape, made in the U.K. since 1937. The trademarked name is listed in the Oxford English Dictionary.
Veela- In legend, a veela, also known as a wili, is the ghost of a woman who dies while engaged to be married. Veelas come out to dance at night. Any man who sees them is doomed to dance with them to his death. This legend is the basis of Adolphe Adam's ballet, "Giselle".
Voldemort- Vol de mort is French for "flight of death".
Thats all for now! Besides I'm sure you'll be too busy reading Harry's final adventure tomorrow to read more!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
A Couple More Strange Vintage Ads
A Four Roses Whiskey ad...where are they going with that horse? And why does the caption state "He's keeping a date made 20 years ago"?
You mean Pabst used to be sophisticated? This ad is terrible...awful...and a whole lot more terrible!
Wizarding Words Day 4
Obliviate- Used to make someone forget something. Oblivio is Latin for "forgetfulness."
Peskipiksi Pesternomi- Lockhart tried this incantation unsuccessfully. It can be read as "Pesky pixie, pester no(t) me."
Pigwidgeon- Pigwidgin is a rare old word for a tiny fairy or dwarf.
Harry Potter- Just an ordinary name, but JKR selected Potter because, when she was young, she made friends with a brother and sister named Ian and Vicki Potter.
Rictusempra- Rictus is Latin for "open mouth," and means a gaping, mirthless grin in English. It is often used to describe a smile that is forced by illness or frozen in death. Semper is Latin for "forever."
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Wizarding Words Day 3
Imperius- One of the Unforgivable Curses, used to control someone's actions. The magic word for this curse is Imperio. Impero is Latin for "I command." Imperious, from the Latin imperiosus, means dictatorial.
Knockturn Alley- A pun on "nocturnally" (by night). Evil deeds are done at night, as Jesus points out in John iii:20a: "Everyone who does evil hates the light."
Little Whinging- The Dursleys' home town. Little Whinging is evidently intended as a typical name for a suburban village. Whinging is a British colloquialism for complaining. It may be a portmanteau of whining and cringing.
Lumos- Used to light up a wand. Lumen is Latin for light.
Lucius and Draco Malfoy- Malfoy is old French for bad faith. Draco is Latin for dragon. One of the constellations, supposed to resemble a dragon, is named Draco. Draco is also the name of an ancient Greek lawgiver who punished even minor crimes with death. Lucius may be intended to evoke Lucifer (from Latin, "bearer of light"), another name for Satan.
Muggle- Mug is British slang for a foolish person, a dupe. Muggles was a slang term for marijuana in the 1920s and 1930s, associated with the jazz scene. In 1928, Louis Armstrong and his orchestra recorded a song Muggles.
Nagini- Nagini is a female Hindu deity in the form of a snake. Nag and Nagaina are the cobras fought by the mongoose Rikki-tikki-tavi in Kipling's "The Jungle Book."
Mrs. Norris- Mrs. Norris is a human character in "Mansfield Park," by Jane Austen. She is a busybody.
Rockin' Girl Blogger!
The awesome and incredible PJ over at The Urban Recluse has nominated me for a Rockin' Girl Blogger award. Finally definitive proof that I am a rockin' girl blogger. Thank you PJ and if I could I give this back to you again! Cause you rock that hard.
I now get to nominate 5 other worthy females for this award:
Cap'n Dyke I know she hates memes but I can't ignore just how much she rocks!
Heidi rocking priestess of pop culture!
Nikki Stafford rocks for reminding me why I love Lost (despite it's best efforts) and The Office so much!
Germaine Gregarious lesbians with pink pistols rock pretty hard.
Lisa rocks for bringing us pop culture with a feminist twist.
Thank you ladies for rocking so damn hard!
Monday, July 16, 2007
Guess That Movie Quote: Week 10
Once again here are the rules. As people guess the source of the quote I will grey it out and give them credit (using google to find the answers will disqualify you), the person who has the most correct guesses each week will get a fun movie genius award to decorate their blog.
Now guess that movie quote!
1. "Well versed in the natural sciences and mathematics. She speaks seven languages proficiently. Were she not a woman one would consider her to be an intellectual."
2. "But, Ursula! They're hotter than a fresh-fucked fox in a forest fire, you know that!" SamuraiFrog
3. "You pay too much attention to your granny. She knows a lot but she doesn't know everything. And if there's a beast in men, it meets its match in women too." SamuraiFrog
4. "You see? Death comes to us all. But before it comes to you, know this: your blood dies with you. A child who is not of your line grows in my belly. Your son will not sit long on the throne. I swear it." SamuraiFrog
5. "All my life I've been alone. Many times I've faced death with no one to know. I would look into the huts and the tents of others in the coldest dark and I would see figures holding each other in the night. But I always passed by." Captain Incredible
6. "Noah was a drunk. Look what he accomplished. And no one's even asking you to build an ark. All you have to do is go to New Jersey, and visit a small church on a very important day." SamuraiFrog
7. "Okay. I see it, I see it all now. What we gotta do is we gotta snag that tall dude and stomp the shit out of him, and we'll find out what the hell is going on up there. Yeah! We lay that sucker out flat and drive a stake right through his Goddamn heart!" Gavin
8. "Oh, how can I put this delicately? It's just that I'm not really in the vagina business." SamuraiFrog
9. "I have been witness to a world consumed by hatred and bent on self-destruction, watched as we have taken what was to be a paradise and failed in our responsibilites as its steward. I know now that the course of human race has set for itself cannot be changed. I am the last desperate chance for a doomed planet. Now, leave this place or die!" Gavin
10. "Don't fight it son. Confess quickly! If you hold out too long you could jeopardize your credit rating." SamuraiFrog
**Update**
Well there are still two more that need to be guessed but SamuraFrog is this week's winner having guessed 6 of the 10 quotes. Thanks to everyone who guessed! I will wait a day or two before posting all the answers and see if someone can figure out the remaining two! Here is your award SamuraiFrog:
Crazy Camels Cigarette Ads
These vintage Camel cigarette ads are so weird! Why does it seem like every one of these "fun" scenarios is about to lead to a three or fourway. I guess it's true that sex sells.
This ad is a bit newer than the others. I love how they try to make it seem like cigarettes help with the digestion.
Wizarding Words Day 2
Cruciatus- One of the Unforgivable Curses, used to torture someone. Its magic word is Crucio. Crucio is Latin for "I torment," and cruciatus means "tormented." The word is related to crux, Latin for cross, used in Roman times to carry out painful executions.
Dobby the House Elf- Dobby is actually an old word for a household sprite. An association that might occur to many readers is Dobbin, a common nickname for an obedient, unimaginative horse.
Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus (The Hogwarts Motto)- The literal translation of the Latin phrase Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus est would be "A sleeping dragon is never to be tickled", or "should never be tickled". When the word est is omitted, it's understood. The motto doesn't appear in the American editions. The translation usually given is "Never tickle a sleeping dragon".
Albus Dumbledore- Albus is Latin for white (like Dumbledore's silvery hair). An alb is a white tunic that hangs from neck to feet, now most often worn by the clergy. JKR picked the name Dumbledore because it's an old English word for bumblebee. The name might also recall a battledore, which is a paddle used in the game of battledore and shuttlecock. "I know B from a battledore" is a curious old expression meaning "I wasn't born yesterday." Another association is Sir Thomas Tom of Appledore, the discreet hero of A. A. Milne's poem "The Knight Whose Armor Didn't Squeak." Appledore is also a common family name in the country of Bree, according to J. R. R. Tolkien.
Expecto patronum- The spell used to summon a Patronus. Exspecto patronum is Latin for "I await a protector."
Argus Filch- Argus, in Greek mythology, had a hundred eyes, so very little escaped his notice.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Adopt-An-Actor 2
Because I have no impulse control...I have to adopt a second actor as part of Splotchy's Adopt-An-Actor campaign. And so my second adoptee is...
Born on June 6, 1963 Jason Isaacs grew up in Liverpool in an "insular" and "closely-knit" Jewish community. The third of four brothers, Isaacs attended a Jewish school and a cheder twice a week. Moving to London at the age of 11 he was exposed to alot of anti-semitism and bullying for which he gives credit in the creation of some of his cruelist characters.
Isaacs had initially planned on a career in law, following his more traditionally-inclined brothers who became a doctor, lawyer, and accountant. He started at law school but felt uneasy among the other students (they all had much more posh and polished accents), his acting career started shortly after when a drunken audition turned into his first role in the play Idle Hands, where he ended up dancing naked, covered in chicken's blood. This would be the first of many uncomfortable evenings in the theatre for his parents (in his second, The Glory of Love, he was castrated with a cheese-wire).
After working on the stage for quite some time his first film role (a camero really) was in 1989's The Tall Guy. Since then Isaacs has had over 60 film and television credits including his most recent role as Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Anyone who wants to see the film highlights of his career should check out:
The Patriot (2000)- Mel Gibson single handedly wins the American revolution after his son Heath Ledger is killed...yadda...yadda... This is a pretty stupid and historically inacurate movie but is worth watching just for the awesome performance Jason Isaacs gives as the evil Col. William Tavington. He's just so brilliant in this!
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)- Isaacs shows up as Lucius Malfoy in this second Potter movie in a Paris Hilton wig and a pin-stripe suit. Brilliant. Isaacs on Potter..."I went off and read the books after the audition and I read all four books in one sitting - you know - didn't wash, didn't eat, drove around with them on the steering wheel like a lunatic. I suddenly understood why my friends, who I'd thought where slightly backward, had been so addicted to these children's books. They're like crack."
Peter Pan (2003)- In stifling Edwardian London, Wendy Darling mesmerizes her brothers every night with bedtime tales of swordplay, swashbuckling and the fearsome Captain Hook. But the children become the heroes of an even greater story, when Peter Pan flies into their nursery one night and leads them over moonlit rooftops through a galaxy of stars and to the lush jungles of Neverland. Wendy and her brothers join Peter and the Lost Boys in an exhilarating life--free of grown-up rules--while also facing the inevitable showdown with Hook and his bloodthirsty pirates. Isaacs is perfect as Hook, no one plays a bad guy like Jason Isaacs.
And so I now adopt you Jason Isaacs for your awesome acting ability and sexy George Sanders-like voices.
Thanks for Reading!