I’d probably spend this kind of day more often.

Got up at 9 am and played Warcraft until about 9 pm, occasionally stopping for sustenance (party leftovers only: cheesies, cosmos, coffee, and, when I ran out of milk, coffee with bailey’s). T got up at noon and played Grand Theft Auto on the Playstation all day. Around us, the apartment got progressively messier as the day wore on. After our game-a-thon, we pulled the shrinkwrap off the DVDs we got for Christmas and got started on those. Only at about 10 pm did I realize my phone had been off all day.

Tomorrow will probably be a repeat of today. Happy holidays everyone.

Threw a party last night. Much fun, many people from different circles, mixing well due in part to the cozy size of my apartment (read small). Tired today, preparing the place for tonight’s party. That’s right, I’m having another party tonight, this time for T’s friends. Clean up, cut up crudités, help T make dip, replace candles with fresh ones.

Need sleep and caffeine. Probably in that order.

Devine c’est quoi la traduction (dans le film) de Shadowfax?

GRIPOIL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I think of it, there was only one thing, one character that they changed substantially and I’m nitpicky because he was a character I loved.

I’m sorry but I disagree with people who don’t like changes like Tom Bombadil’s disappearance or (sorry Bill) Arwen’s increased role. What they added concerning Arwen in FOTR was canonical - it was stuff written by Tolkien, just not in LOTR proper, but rather in the appendices and his other writings.

The other changes don’t bother me so much. You just can’t put everything in a movie that is in a book, and I’m willing to accept that. Sometimes you have to tell things out of sequence, even have to combine two characters into one. Though I’m a huge fan of Tolkien, it seems to me that the filmmakers and writers who adapted the book have a lot of reverence for the books, and I don’t feel they were disrespectful. Yes, the changes took me by surprise, but that’s all.

Update: so who else saw it? Wha’dya think?

Update II : Maybe I’m tolerant of changes because I’m still secretly hoping for that Pippin takes a spongebath scene…

It will suck.

I never had a problem with the stuff they omitted in the first movie, and what they added (the Arwen/Aragorn arc) was canonical. That is, it might not have been in the actual novels, but it was in the appendices. It was faithful to what Tolkien wrote. I also fully understand that you can’t tell a story on screen exactly the same way you do in a book. Fine.

I was so prepared to adore The Two Towers. And it truly was an awesome movie. However, I’m not as impressed as I was with the Fellowship, and I certainly am more disgruntled about the liberties they’ve taken with the story this time. Not only are the changes unfaithful to Tolkien, it’s not at all obvious why they had to make them.

I’m giving Peter Jackson the benefit of the doubt until I’ve seen The Return of the King next year. Perhaps some of the perceived wrongs will be righted then.

On the plus side, Gollum is wonderfully done, Rohan and the Helm’s Deep scene are amazing, the Ents rock. In about a week, when more people have seen it, I’ll go into what detractions I didn’t like. But right now I don’t want to give anything away.

… I’m seized with the temptation to see it tonight at midnight! But Bill will skin me alive for not letting her watch me drool tomorrow.

This evening
Working late, shopping for T’s father, Mom’s best friend and Bill, then swing dancing

Tomorrow
Taking the day off.
Morning: shopping for Gord, Mom’s best friend’s son, Iris, T.
Afternoon: first viewing of The Two Towers
Evening: buying and decorating tree with T

Thursday
Lunchtime: shopping for T
Early evening: shopping for lightspeeddad
Middle evening: Ikea spree
Later evening: second viewing of The Two Towers

Friday
Before work: departmental breakfast
Lunchtime: office girls lunch
Evening: dinner with out-of-town friends, then swing dancing

Saturday
Morning: shopping for lightspeedmom and T’s mom
Afternoon: madly cleaning apartment
Evening: party for my friends at my place.

Sunday
Morning: sober up? elevenses?
Afternoon: madly cleaning apartment again
Evening: party for T’s friends at my place.

Monday
Morning: sober up? madly cleaning apartment?
Afternoon: teach a class
Evening: buy wrapping paper, have a mad wrapping party.

I got my tiiiickets, y-y-y-yeah-yeah-YEAH!

Lots of you out there are technical writers, and so you’ll feel my pain. Today I was asked to write a document describing the bug fixes we’ve done since the last version. The developers send me a list of said bug fixes, and I’m supposed to rewrite it in a clear and concise format for the user.

Examples of the bug fix descriptions I get:

SP_SPse_CloseDent.sql - Tot_Loss_Power on Close should be ‘F’

SP_MapFour_GetJet.sql - Add dist_no in ‘[]’ when return city

Ugh. But hey: (pull string out of chest) Work is fun!