Bewitched, Bothered, Bewildered

Disclaimer - The following was a work of fiction I cooked up to give Russ some back story for Rayda and his life and is in no way a complete tale. I wouldn’t normally feel like posting this one in TripleB as even I think this crosses into total nerd territory, however it occurs to me I haven’t done any real writing in a very long time and I do miss it.

So the following is set in a time around twenty years prior to the events of World of Warcraft, though not entirely as their lore time line is really all over the place. Suffice it to say, Rayda believes he was in his twenties when the following happens however his way of life has probably effected his memory somewhat as it actually takes place in the early days of the Second War. At this time Rayda is in fact a Warrior and not even Russ has been able to get his head around quite how the Dwarf managed to get himself blessed enough to become a Paladin in later years. Many hardcore role players will hate this aspect and no doubt want to stone me.
Also bear in mind this is a ‘first hand’ account, written as if Ray is recounting the tales to someone.
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It’s no secret I’m a big fan of the Discworld series of books, so it was really sad to read that author Terry Pratchett, who I was once lucky enough to meet, has announced he’s suffering from a rare form of early onset Alzheimer’s disease.

I wish him all the best. His recent books haven’t always drawn me in that easily but I’ll be looking forward to his next one nonetheless.

The Orange Wednesday ticket is all ready, tonight we’re off to see Transformers! I have to admit this was one film I actually wasn’t eager to see until I saw the trailer…for once a film which was sold to me purely on the basis of eye candy and action. I’m not saying my enjoying a film based purely on shallow aspects such as “It looks good and there’s loads of action” is rare (Take Die Hard for example), however for a cult show like this it is rare for me to come into it purely on this basis. I shall be sure to let you all know what I thought.

Speaking of cult followings, the teaser trailer for The Dark Knight was finally released onto the net in all it’s glory this week. As with all teasers, there’s almost nothing visually to get excited about, though there’s a rather nifty flashing of light which slowly illuminates the bat-symbol before turning into what seems to be an avalanche of destructive light blowing it apart. The audio is what is interesting, there’s a lot more of it than I’m used to from a teaser, and it revolves around a conversation between Bruce Wayne and Alfred. The conversation pretty much sums up the plot of the movie (though only in generalised terms) before a familiar voice chimes in…then breaks into psychotic laughter. Ledger does sound a little too much like Jack Nicholson for my liking though.

p.s. There’ll be far more about non-movie related themes after the cut.
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Some dude wasted valuable minutes of his/her life looking for a link to one of those sites you link people to when you think they’re sad/stupid/etc. just to inform me that he felt I was sad for being excited about the final Harry Potter book.

If being sad is what’s involved in actually enjoying myself, then all I can say is…

13 hours to go!

I am however quite surprised that of all the publications out there in the world, it was the New York Times that chose to write a review of the book before the official embargo was lifted, especially as for some reason they’ve chosen to publish plot points. JK Rowling said;
“I am staggered that American newspapers have decided to publish purported spoilers in the form of reviews in complete disregard of the wishes of literally millions of readers, particularly children, who wanted to reach Harry’s final destination by themselves, in their own time. I am incredibly grateful to all those newspapers, booksellers and others who have chosen not to attempt to spoil Harry’s last adventure for fans.”

I was never a huge reader when I was younger. I enjoyed my books but I’ve always been a painfully slow reader and I still remember what a great moment it was for me whenever I managed to find a book or series of books that engrossed me, books which made me eager to read on to find out what happened next. Even all these years on I get a little surge of pleasure whenever I find a book that makes me want to keep reading. So I understand how important it is that these books are out there and persuading a generation that’s grown up with computers and television (God I sound old…I’ll get to my point) to actually read and get involved in a book. Yes to some it may seem like a lot of hype over nothing, but surely Rowling has a point here, what’s really important is for these readers to be able to say that they know what happens because they read it for themselves and not to pull stunts like this which may discourage them from getting this excited in the future.

Just my tuppence on the issue.