This post originally timestamped August 6, at 11:46PM.

Gah, that was terrifying. Tonight, we got together with another couple and their friend for a birthday dinner. We arrived in two cars, as my parents, my aunt, and I wanted to visit the Art Fest beforehand. The first car was a massive suburban. The second was a lightweight little Jeep. I chose to ride home in the Jeep with my uncle, partly for the conversation and partly to observe him driving stick (he’s been giving me lessons). Now, we got a lot of rain during dinner, so the roads were still pretty wet, the sky was rapidly darkening, and the ride from town to my aunt and uncle’s cabin was about an hour. The road was more or less empty all the way, and of course, in the winding mountain roads, there were no street lights.

About halfway in, the headlights suddenly went out. We slowed to a stop as my uncle attempted to fiddle with the various knobs and levers and switches on the dash and steering column. I was pretty much paralyzed with fear. I wasn’t thinking rationally, terrified that someone could suddenly barrel into us without us seeing them. As if all cars suddenly didn’t have headlights, rather than just ours. And our car was a tiny Jeep! We could be crumpled like tinfoil! Stupid irrational brain.

Eventually, my uncle got the lights working again, but after that, I was living in constant fear that they would go off again. And my fears were justified, because about 5 minutes from their cabin, the lights went out again. My uncle kept fussing with the switch he’d found before, but the lights would only blink on for a second or two, then turn off again. After about a minute of flipping the switch on and off, our headlights blinking like morse code, my uncle pulled over and waited for my aunt and my parents in the massive Suburban to catch up with us. While we were waiting, my uncle managed to get a steady again, but we figured it would be safest to have an escort. A few minutes later, my aunt showed up, and wouldn’t you know it? The lights stayed on for the entire rest of the ride home.

Dear New Serenity Website,

“Shepard” is spelled “Shepherd”. And although I’m all about expanding the viewership, I think that calling the movie “Serentity” will draw entirely the wrong kind of audience. Maybe the Harry Potter fandom can lend you some of its grammar junkies to keep you on track?

Love,
Priscilla

I’ve been refraining from posting since I got back from Colorado, merely because I can’t be bothered to finish the posts I started writing when I was there. So there’s going to be some retroactive posting going on this week. :D

First off, I love that Leaky felt compelled to post about Joss Whedon fangirling Veronica Mars. And then I love that Whedonesque posted about the Leaky Cauldron posting about their post in which Joss demonstrated his VM love. Fandom cracks me up! Now we just need Leaky to post about Whedonesque posting about its previous post! Anyway, those that haven’t seen Veronica Mars or Firefly yet, shame on you! Go to your nearest video store and buy/rent Firefly, whilst downloading all the Veronica Mars episodes on BitTorrent! Season 1 comes out on DVD October 11th, if I recall correctly, which is probably after Season 2 premieres, so you’ll need to resort to shady practices to be ready in time. And if it comes down to watching Veronica Mars or Lost for you? Watch Veronica.

And then, you can watch the Serenity trailer dubbed in German.

Remote-Controlled Humans

Microsoft Weasley Clock?

GoF preview footage! Looks to be awesome. Caps from Indy here!

Posts from the Colorado trip coming soon.

Ooooooooh! The Serenity “Behind the Scenes” featurette (which has been airing in select theatres in front of riveting summer dramas such as “Must Love Dogs”) is now available on the internet! Click “Featurette: An Inside Look.” Requires Internet Explorer, Flash, and Windows Media.

The official Whedonesque post is here. If you’re having difficulties viewing the clip, I’m sure fans will hack the site and post more compatible versions for download in the next few hours.

In Colorado! On the plane flight over, Mom and I watched “The House of Flying Daggers” on my laptop, which we had rented for the trip. Ooh! I forgot to mention that my Blockbuster is having a “three pre-viewed DVDs for $25” sale, and the selection is actually pretty good. Yesterday, I bought The Incredibles, Phantom of the Opera, and Spiderman 2. Anyway, moments after settling in, I melted into a rather delicious nap. My aunt and uncle have furnished their home with some of the most comfy, nap-encouraging chairs and couches I have ever encountered. We spent a lot of time just talking, then Aunt Janet, my mom, and I made dinner, which was delicious. Though even better than the food was the conversation! My dad, my uncle, and I approach meals as though dinnertime conversation is a constant pun competition. It’s so much fun!

Some links:
Mollyringwraith’s HBP Condensed (Part 1). Seriously funny.
RENT movie poster! Me like.
5 Reasons to Watch Veronica Mars. No Really. Spoiler-free!

Off to Colorado! My parents and I are going to spend today through Tuesday with my aunt and uncle in their home in Colorado. Woohoo! I will have internet access, but I won’t be spending much time online, so if you want me to see something, email it to me, rather than expecting me to see it in your blog or LJ. And I doubt I’ll have much luck with cell phone reception.

Anyway, to ease the horror and withdrawal symptoms of my absence, entertain yourself with my snippet from Frogslayr’s HBP Readaloud. I do a couple pages from “Draco’s Detour.” I fail at being British, but it was still quite a lot of fun!

Also, here’s a pretty desktop I made with the new Serenity poster art. When I get back, I’ll post versions for other resolutions, if anyone else wants it.

The massive Book 6 WIAN revamp is still in the works. Hopefully, I’ll have access to whatever I need to get it done by the time I get home.

Loff!

*hisses* I spent all that time at the Apple store, and the course of action they recommended didn’t even work. Back to square one.

Sick, sick, sick, sick, sick. Evil and sick and totally absurdly stupid. Wisconsin has passed a bill entitled UW Birth Control Ban-AB 343, which prohibits University of Wisconsin campuses from prescribing, dispensing and advertising all forms of birth control and emergency contraceptives. Read the full article and try to resist the urge to vomit.

Related: Do you want John Roberts to reveal his views about the right to choose abortion before the Senate votes on whether to elevate him to the U.S. Supreme Court? If you’re like more than half of Americans, your answer is a resounding yes. Join us in demanding that he answer the question. Sign the Planned Parenthood Two Million for Roe petition.

*hisses* I just waited in line an hour at the Apple store to be told “visit our website!”

When it’s good, it’s very very good, and when it’s bad, it’s horrid.

New Rent trailer!

Bonus Content for the Lost season 1 DVD. EEEEEEEEEE!!!! Commentaries by David Fury, Terry O’Quinn, and Dominic Monaghan? And a 7th disc of nothing but extras? With Dom and Jorge reading for Sawyer? And all those deleted scenes! Oh my god, I must see this! Sounds like just what the doctor ordered to reawaken the Lost love, which has been in remission for the past few months.

From Indy: Lovely GOF pics! Mmmmm, Cedric…

Anyway, last night I was invited to attend an advance screening of The Chumscrubber. Director Arie Posin and Producer Bonnie Curtis were both in attendance and did a Q&A session afterward. First off, wow. Comparisons with Donnie Darko are definitely justified, though I definitely prefer Donnie Darko. Although I felt the “chumbscrubber” metaphor wasn’t really thought through, the movie nevertheless was well-scripted, well-acted, and delightfully well-executed. There’s a blend of whimsy and dark humor, coupled with stark adolescent cruelty and inability to communicate, that make this film experience simultaneously horrible and delectable. See it if you get the chance.

Very awesome and rather lengthy interview with Joss Whedon! Very, very mild spoilers for Serenity. I’m quite spoilerphobic, but I would not have balked at these comments. Though there’s one thing Joss confirms that even the fans that have seen the movie didn’t know for sure, though the entire fandom was more or less convinced of it. If that makes any sense.

(P.S. River is made of chocolate!)