Pottermore Announced!

(Click on it for a full size)

I was a little underwhelmed by the Pottermore announcement - until I saw this image! Looks incredible. From what Rowling said, it seemed to me this would just be something along the lines of an RP/Fanfiction site, the only difference with those already found on the internet being bonus features - Rowling's own additions. But look! House points! If this is something closer to a great Hogwarts themed RPG, then I'm super excited!

Let's hope this leaked image is the real deal, and not someone's clever ploy ;)

More Potter! JK Rowling launches PotterMore.com for an exciting announcement! [breaking news musing]

The countdown is on to a big Rowling announcement in 5 days time! This sounds really exciting, like something I've been waiting for for the past 4 years since The Deathly Hallows came out, but let's not get our hopes up that there will be a Harry Potter 8. Speculation is that it could just be a Harry Potter themed Android phone (lame). On the other hand, if there are to be further Harry Potter books, is this really a good thing? Can Rowling keep up the quality of the previous 7 books?

I know I'll be the super optimist, don't get me wrong. Just hope I'm not let down! I hope there's more Harry Potter books to come, and I hope they'll be amazing!

At first I thought it would be best to wait to hear what the news is before starting the debate, but I'm curious - what do you think the announcement could be, how likely do you think it is that we're talking more HP books, and do you think this would be a good thing? Let me know what you think!

Beloved by Toni Morrison - Ghost Story or Psychological Thriller? [review by starlight]

"Why was there nothing it refused? No misery, no regret, no hateful picture too rotten to accept? Like a greedy child it snatched up everything. Just once, could it say, No thank you? I just ate and can't hold another bite?"

This is not a story to pass on. At least, that's the refrain of this dark tale of life after slavery. It really is a story that should be passed on, because it seems as though we've forgotten the horrifying brutality of slavery in America. If the novel ends by saying that this is not a story to pass on, it begins by dedicating itself to the "sixty million and more" black slaves brought across from Africa, a few million of whom died on the journey across. Many stories of freedom focus on the stiff upper lips, the singing in the fields, the heads held high against all adversity, despite every misfortune thrown against them, and the awaiting of a brighter future.

Weezer Covers Radiohead's Paranoid Android [breaking news musing]

Please could you stop the noise, I'm trying to get some rest
From all the unborn chicken voices in my head

Weezer released an excellent cover of the popular Radiohead song today, and it's an instant youtube sensation, with over 100k views already. Check it out.

They stayed fairly true to the original, which is always nice. Then again, sometimes it's interesting to see a newer band's unique take on a "classic". I like it, in any case. What do you think?

Box Office Treasure Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides [breaking news musing]

Despite my hopes for humanity, the fourth installment of the Pirates franchise managed to bring in $90.1 million on opening weekend. I'd really been hoping that people would be able to tell this would be a stinker, but what can you do. The temptation of 3D is partly at play here, as well as high hopes from the quality of the past three films. I'm surprised people still haven't realised that the pattern with Pirates of the Caribbean has been a decline in quality. The Curse of the Black Pearl has been able to maintain a respectable 8.0 rating on IMDB, Dead Man's Chest has a 7.3, and At World's End has a 7.0. As you can see, the movies have gotten successively worse.

If you check out IMDB right now, On Stranger Tides will have something like a 7.2 rating. If you're unfamiliar with how IMDB works, don't get excited. Ratings always start really high with a new blockbuster, and drop really low with time if the movie doesn't hold up against harsher critics. At the time of writing, it only has 11,000 votes, as opposed to CotBP with 268k.

Why am I smashing the new Pirates movie without writing a full-on review? Come on, I'm not made of money. I can't go buy movie tickets for every p.o.s. movie that comes out. The reviews I've heard are mixed, the highest praise being that it continues to deliver juicy fan-fair, and the lowest being that it was a convoluted piece of garbage. Don't be surprised when On Stranger Tides sinks over the next few weeks.