Harry Potter and the great dissapointment

I obtained a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Saturday afternoon. Well after the anticipated rush. I don't know why people are so fanatic about releases. I didn't have to stand in line, fight people, or hope there were enough left. But I digress. I finally finished it last night. It took me so long because I had to read during lunch breaks or after my family went to sleep or were napping. I rather felt like I was pushing through muck just to arrive at the end. I wanted to know what happened. Oh, sure I could have googled it at this point, but where is the earned satisfaction in that? The book was okay. Just okay. There wasn't nearly as much tragedy as I had thought there would be. Books five and six began to lead down a rather dark path which I believed were precursors to a devastating seventh and final novel. It was predictable. And worse, every instance that Harry got out of trouble was through shear luck or out side intervention. Right up to the final battle. Sure he offed Voldy in a lone fight, but only because Dumbledore was a master of dominoes. I wanted to see Harry rise on his own. To take the reigns. And honestly, he should have died. The tragic hero, the magician martyr.
The final chapter entitled "Nineteen years later," was pure dribble. It was stiff and forced. Everything tidied right up. The two couples you wanted together were, and they were happy, and they had kids all named after the true tragic figures of the story.
Anyone who has discussed Harry Potter with me knows that I have said from the beginning that Snape was essentially a good guy. I think it was after book 4 that i knew he was in love with Lily. A lot of people knew that. I'm glad that we Snape supporters have at least been granted proof that we were correct.
This book left a lot to be desired for me. It could have been so much more and it fell short.

The Wayfarer Redemption by Sara Douglass

The Wayfarer Redemption by Sara Douglass

Oh, how I enjoyed this book. The first of six books The Wayfarer Redemption (which is actually the name of the whole set, in everywhere but the US the title of the book is Battle Axe) starts us on a truly epic adventure.

We begin, as do most adventures, with a prophecy. It has three parts and each of the first three books deals with a separate part. At first the story revolves around the Battle Axe, which is the leader of the army for the Seneschal. The Seneschal of course being the religious figures in Achar (the region in which people live). Our Battle Axe goes by the name Axis. He was raised by two brothers of the Seneschal, his mother having died in childbirth and his father being unknown. He of course has a deadly bad relationship with his half brother, whom was legitimate. The story, well the main part, starts simply enough. Axis has to take his half-brother's fiancé to him, you can see where that will be going. They are attacked along the way by a very powerful, well we'll say mage for now, and he evidently has a huge grudge against Axis. Also by now they have picked up two vary unusual brothers of the seneschal. Axis has to detour so Faraday (the fiancé and the odd brothers make their own way to Bornheld. Along the way we learn about two other races of peoples and meet a girl named Azure. She will be more important in book 2. Also we will meet Goldfeather who has a familial connection to Axis. There really is just so much that happens that it is hard to convey it all in a simple review.

The prophecy speaks of a Starman that will unite the three races of their world. Men have been living for years fearing the forbidden people, who turn out to be the Itari, a winged people, and the Avar, a short woods dwelling, stocky kind of people. They are both fairly peaceful races of beings, but the religion of the Acharites names them as forbidden. Now, I have barely even touched on that subject. In the book there is a whole your gods my gods disagreement.

NOTE: The book has some really developed religions and beliefs. If you're one of those people who think that all stories should only the religion of Christianity then this is not the story for you.

Sara Douglass has really developed the different religion and cultures. The depth of story is truly astounding. I believe if I tell you anymore it will really ruin the story for you. It has some fairly nice surprises in it. But be warned, this is not a fairy tell, well at least not the first three, not every thing ends up happily ever after. People die, people we like. The story takes some dark turns. But all in all everything ends up better.

You can read the first three books and stop if you like. They are story enough and really the last three while well written and really detailed, just really lacked something indefinable, and there was some serious cheese

Oh hell yeah!

That's freakin' Awesome! I love old people!

clipped from www.itv.com It is hoped that their charity single will help the band highlight the plight of elderly people who struggle to find a role in contemporary society Zimmers storm the charts 2.51, Mon Jun 4 2007 A group of pensioners have outperformed expectations, gliding to 26 in the singles chart with their version of The Who's My Generation. The band, The Zimmers, was formed as part of a BBC documentary to show the isolation felt by many of the nation's elderly. The 40-strong Zimmers are led by 90-year-old lead singer Alf. The help of U2 producer Mike Hedges and pop heavyweight Geoff Wonfor (who shot the Band Aid video) was also enlisted. It is hoped that their charity single will help them highlight the plight of elderly people who struggle to find a role in contemporary society. Profits from the sale of the single go to Age Concern.

First the dog eating, and now this

I'm not sure where people are learning to protest. Oxymoron Institute? Irony University?

First I came across a story about a man eating a dog to protest animal cruelty.

Now i find this: http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/05/27/205428.aspx

A bookstore owner is protesting America's lack of reading....by burning books.

Really people! come on! If i wanted to protest animal cruelty I'd make a sign or something, and then burn it so people will read it....craziness.

Murder by Death (my pittiful review!)

Just don’t laugh horribly at my attempt here.

Murder by Death

Imagine yourself as a saloon. This maybe a stretch, but I have faith in you. You are old, dilapidated and abandoned. In your memories is a vast store of woe, triumph, love, and loss. Songs of mines, the devil, murder and crime spin around your attack. Under your small shabby roof events have unfolded, both fabulous and mundane. Your feelings are tied to every soul that has walked through your doors, every sin of theirs became your own. This is what its like to listen to a band out of Indiana. Murder by Death is no light hearted listener’s band. They are for musical polymaths who take great delectation in something new and different. MBD has a sound that almost indefinable and nonpareil. My best shot would be to say that on their latest album “In Bocca Al Lupo” you find stories and songs that are chillingly beautiful.

This up and coming band who opened recently for Reverend Horton Heat, which is how I came across them, is almost surreal. Their deep, heavy music takes hold of your mind and pulls you along the ebb and flow of it’s moods and stories. Every song is steeped in visualizations. Rich vocals are supplied by Adam Turla. Sweet like honey, and flavored with something that can only be called Johnny Cash-esque Turla paints stories that so remind me of Nick Cave and P J Harvey and yet he makes the style is very own.

The eerie but robust beats offered up by percussionist Dagan Thogerson and smooth liquid notes from bassist Matt Armstrong provide an excellent compliment to the insanely talented Turla who leads not only with his raw honey vocals, but his wicked guitar riffs and smooth melody’s.

The depth of MBD is added to by their cellist Sarah Balliet, who is amazing on the album, but is almost unbearably magnificent at a live show. Not over done, but like smooth velvet she binds the stories that they weave, tying the ends together with some piano, thusly giving the quartet their 5^th and final dimension.

As the Album winds down, the dreams that MBD has filled your consciousness with dance away from the saloon and along the river, haunted by drowned sailors, who watch the gypsy girls dance into the night.

http://www.myspace.com/murderbydeath

Now we are making some sense

This has to be the silliest way to prove a point ever. It's like a little kid screaming and crying because they are not sleepy!

clipped from www.msnbc.msn.com LONDON - A British artist has eaten chunks of a corgi dog, the breed favored by Queen Elizabeth II, live on radio to protest the royal family's treatment of animals.