Got it before 11 a.m. on Saturday and was done with it before 4 p.m. on Sunday. Definitely a weekend well-spent. Other than a bit of oddness with the Room of Requirement — I’ll discuss it in the opinion section if anyone cares — I thought it was an excellent conclusion to the series.
I thought it was an admirable mix of JKR’s unflinching willingness to kill off innocents, a look at how ordinary people enable the furtherance of evil through (quite understandable) fear and long-awaited payoffs for fans.
It’s sad to see the story end — like a lot of folks, I love the world Rowling’s created — but it was a satisfying end, and there’s a lot of value in that.
I’d write more, but I’m off to a long and likely lively school board meeting.
This sounds like good fun:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans have reason to rejoice: the “Buffy Musical Big Screen Extravaganza” has launched a nationwide tour. Clinton McClung, the sing-along’s creator, talks about the musical’s popularity and how it is reminiscent of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The Christian Science Monitor’s take on it, complete with the awesome headline, “Fandom of the Opera,” goes into more detail, as is the Monitor’s wont:
Streaming into the theater, participants receive goodie bags of finger puppets, confetti poppers, kazoos, and plastic vampire teeth. The audience is the show, McClung says. The preshow warm-up includes fan-made videos, Buffy trivia, and audience members acting out scenes from other episodes.
For the uninitiated, “Once More With Feeling” features a tap-loving demon (played by Broadway star Hinton Battle), whose spell forces the residents of Sunnydale to sing and dance out their deepest secrets in songs ranging from rock opera to showstopper.
And, yes, one of the songs is about evil bunnies.
McClung, a former film studies major, mounted his first Buffy singalong in 2004 while working as a programmer at The Coolidge Corner Theater in Boston. To his surprise, 600 people turned out.
After regular screenings in New York and in Austin, Texas, the Buffy Musical Big Screen Extravaganza launched its first national tour this summer, repeatedly selling out shows.
“I think it’s the writing,” says McClung. “It’s so well written you feel like every character is a little part of you. After all, everyone relates to what it is to be growing up.”
Peter’s song, Gothic Love Thing, is now available on iTunes!
I have no idea if I’m ever going to see The Simpsons Movie, but the avatar maker on the site sure is nifty.
It’s like looking in a mirror.
Storm Large’s new album (or EP, depending on how you define those), Ladylike, Side One, is now available via iTunes.
