This animated gif comes courtesy of James Koole, who is really cool, and has contractually obligated me to say that. (No, not really.)
I’d just like to say a pre-emptive good luck to my blogging friend and fellow Doctor Who fan Chas Martin, who lives in Orlando, Florida, and looks likely to have his weekend ruined, again, by a hurricane. Best of luck to everybody in Florida right now.
I have to say, I’m looking at the National Hurricane Centre’s website and Hurricane Frances is looking pretty scary. It’s already a category four and it’s moving slowly over open, warm water. I hope I’m wrong. Back in 1998 (I think it was 1998), Florida battened down the hatches for Hurricane Floyd, only to have that hurricane give the state a miss. (This was then followed by Hurricane Irene, a category one that took a wrong turn in the Gulf and whacked Miami across the Everglades). Maybe that will happen here too. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
The Bahamas looks like it will need some help too. Keep watch.
September Family News
While I’m still waiting on news of my first temp assignment and still putting out resumes, Erin has a good month ahead of her in terms of writing. As announced on her blog, she has been asked to attend the Winnipeg International Writers’ Festival at the end of the month and give readings. She’ll be there for two days, all expenses paid, and she is looking forward to seeing beautiful Winnipeg in the fall.
I’m also pleased to announce that Erin has officially been signed on to be the writer-in-residence for the Waterloo Public Library from next week until Christmas, at least. She’ll be organizing some events for National Literacy Day, a number of workshops, and she’ll be accepting manuscripts by aspiring local authors and offering her best advice.
This is her first writer-in-residence position, and something of a coming of age for her poetry career. She is looking forward to moving around to other public libraries and cities offering her services in the years to follow.
Erin has also almost completely recovered from the surgery and is getting her old spunk back. It’s going to be a good month.
Bowjamesbow RSS Feeds
A reader writes:
I enjoy reading your site, but I had a question - do you syndicate in RSS?
I actually have three RSS syndication feeds for those with RSS readers who want to quickly skim my site. They are:
- Atom: /atom.xml
- RSS 1.0 /index.rdf
- RSS 2.0 /index.xml
These basically came installed with Movable Type, and I myself take a look at my site through an RSS reader to make sure it reads okay. Other than that, I’ve no idea what these things do or if I’m using them to their greatest effect. Suggestions on this subject would be most welcome.
M. Night Shymalan’s Next Movie
I suddenly realize that, since Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, I’ve not seen a single movie this summer. Not Shrek 2 nor Spiderman 2, and I’m told that both are worth spending six bucks to see.
But I just haven’t been motivated. The only movie I was really looking forward to seeing was M. Night Shymalan’s newest flick, The Villiage.
I’m something of a fan of Shymalan’s work. He is, in my opinion, the best director in Hollywood, and one of the very few people to realize that things unseen are inherently more creepy than things seen. I love The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs and I own DVDs of all three movies.
But I have to admit, I’ve been scared off of seeing The Village in theatres, largely due to the poor reviews the movie has received. Though Signs was a good movie, I did come away with a sense that Mr. Shymalan was trying too hard. Perhaps writing and producing as well as directing was too much for him, but portions of Signs weren’t written well. Inconsistencies piled up, and it was only through the strength of his direction that I forgave him and enjoyed the movie.
Cameron suggests that the same thing has happened with The Village, only moreso. The “twist” ending depends upon too many logical inconsistencies for Cameron to buy, which was disappointing, because Cameron was soooo ready to buy.
I believe that what M. Night Shymalan needs is to take the pressure off himself and just get down and direct his next movie. Perhaps he should be brought on board Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, or perhaps he should remake something instead.
A dream come true for me would be if M. Night Shymalan were to bring Quatermass and the Pit back to the screen — a well-written production with a gothic atmosphere that’s a perfect fit for Shymalan’s directorial brilliance.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Cartoon
I don’t know exactly what the panels are saying as this cartoon is in French, but it’s funny whatever language you speak. Link courtesy Kate Orman.