Posted on 12/17/2002 7:32:02 AM PST by HairOfTheDog
Come on! Come in! -if you would like to have some seedcakes and a pint and relax a while. (If it is a special occasion, we still have a few bottles of the old wineyards left!)
Our first thread ( New Zealander builds Hobbit hole ) reached 4,100 posts, and we thought that was big. Our second thread (The New Hobbit Hole ) held us for over 48,000 posts, and we loved it dearly. We talked about moving to a new thread for the last 38,000 posts, but we are really slow to muster! Finally, the time has come. Tomorrow (at 12:01 am, to be precise!) The Two Towers comes out, and we start a new chapter.
Alyson is asleep at the moment, thanks to good ol' Dimetapp! LOL!
Becky, however, is still awake and eating a banana - very resistant to go to bed even though her eyes are puffy!
Glen just left to go work the night shift (overtime) at the airport.
So, I have time to be online! *grin*
Has quite a few new screensavers and wallpaper, along with the ability to make posters, bookmarks, greeting cards, invitations and calendars. I wanted to share with you all, but it is in DVD Rom format and I don't have a DVD burner. :(
I already have my Samwise Gamgee poster printed out and ready to laminate.
See ya tomorrow!
I should be too, for that matter, so I wish you all a very good night and the sweetest of dreams!
Don't feel bad, you're learning how to spot that kind of person, and not get suckered in the future. I do computer support at a large hospital, and it's a lot like a college, but with even bigger egos. Some of the people I work with actually do save lives and put people back together. Your real job is not to fix computers, but to learn how to handle those people.
I've had people try to con me, "my department head has given me specific permission to have that software there". "MY department head must have forgotten to tell me that. Please wait while I call and verify that." (End of con)
I find working in a department that practices backstabbing and intimidation amongst themselves to be the most difficult situation for me. The manager encourages conflict (probably mistaking it for "productivity"), and the tech who walks in on that becomes the target for everyone else. Try working on a system with the manager saying "Did I tell you I'm a close personal friend of your VP, and we have lunch together almost every day?" (In one case, the jerk used that line in every other sentence he spoke to me).
I hope I'm not discouraging you, because it didn't discourage me. There are some dull days, some really tough days, but also rewarding ones. And then you get the calls where the client thinks the problem is insoluble, and you fix it instantly because you recognize it for the simple fix it is. That when you ask if they have any other problems or questions, and fix those, too. The idea is to make them happy to see you the next time you walk in the door.
The Empire Awards 2003
05/02/2003
The flash of cameras, the cheer of crowds and the glare of spotlights tracing across the sky marked a very special occasion taking place on London's Park Lane tonight. The Dorchester Hotel was the seat of all the action as Hollywood's best and brightest joined a choice selection of British movie-making talent for the 2003 Empire Awards.
Hugh Grant, Dustin Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Benicio Del Toro, James Van Der Beek, Natascha McElhone, Danny Boyle, Steve Coogan and half the cast of The Lord of The Rings were among the many faces lit up by the paparazzi as they joined the Empire team and other honoured guests for this year's ceremony.
Three of the nominees for Best British Actor waited on tenterhooks as the winner was announced but, to the dismay of Andy Serkis and Steve Coogan, it was Hugh Grant who had the winning ticket, claiming the second Empire Award of his career for a stellar performance in About A Boy.
SNIP
The Sony Ericsson Award for Best Scene of the year was a shoo-in for George lucas' climactic showdown with an overwhelming number of votes naming Episode II's lightsaber duel between Yoda and Count Dooku the year's most memorable moment. Dooku himself, Christopher Lee, took time off from terrorising the galaxy to accept the award on behalf of himself and the diminutive Jedi master. "To you, his regards he sends," said Lee.
SNIP
Winning the coveted status as Best Film was, yes you guessed it, The Two Towers giving Tolkien's epic the top spot for the second year running. A gaggle of Middle-earth emissaries comprising Sir Ian McKellen, John Rys Davies, Cate Blanchett, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, and Andy Serkis, all took the stage to receive the award in Peter Jackson's stead.
The final gong of the event, the Lifetime Achievement Award, brought the house to its feet in standing ovation as Dustin Hoffman humbly received his award from Benicio Del Toro for a long and distinguished career. Smashing the record for the longest speech (of any Empire Awards) Hoffman called Johnny Vegas back up to the stage for an impromptu double act before summoning Hugh Grant, Samantha Morton, Sir Ian McKellen and Christopher Lee up to share in his honour.
So was this the end of the 2003 Empire Awards? Don't be foolish. The party's still going strong as the stars get on down and strut their stuff on the dance-floor while wine and spirits flow like running water. Don't feel left out though, the Empire Online team will be working through the night to bring you images, quotes and video footage so you can join in the fun at home. Stay tuned. Hair: Click the link at the top in the morning to see if images were actually posted overnight.
2003 Cinemarati Award Noms!
2/05/03, 1:45 pm EST - Xoanon
The folks at Cinemarati, (themselves winner of my 'Worst Press Release Format EVER' award...this thing was a mess) send along thier nominees for the 2003 Cinemarati Awards. TTT is nominated for numerous awards: BEST FILM, BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR (Andy Serkis), BEST ENSEMBLE CAST, BEST DIRECTOR (PJ), BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY, (Frances Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Stephen Sinclair and Peter Jackson), BEST MUSICAL SCORE, BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY (Andrew Lesnie), BEST FILM EDITING (D. Michael Horton and Jabez Olssen), OUTSTANDING DESIGN, and BEST OFFICIAL FILM SITE (*cough). [More]
Lord Of The Rings tops Orange Bafta poll
2/05/03, 12:05 pm EST - leo
It seems we are doing very well in the 'Orange Film of the Year'-voting. According to this article from Ananova.com we are just a bit ahead of Ocean's Eleven, who would have thought... [More]
TTT Receives Fifteen INOCA-nominations!
2/05/03, 7:21 am EST - leo
The Two Towers picked up fifteen (!) nominations for the first annual International Online Critics Awards. Amongst others nominations for Andy Serkis as Best Supporting Actor, the entire cast as Best Ensemble and Best Makeup (see? we can still get nominated for that). The entire list of nominations can be seen over at Oscarwatch.com!
LOS ANGELES—America's love affair with the J.R.R. Tolkien epic-fantasy saga Lord Of The Rings, a romance which has flowered ever since the 2001 release of the Fellowship Of The Ring film adaptation, has damaged the nation's long-term relationship with George Lucas' Star Wars saga, perhaps irreparably.
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| Above: Former Star Wars lovers Jim Cross and Peter Boehm get ready for the Two Towers premiere at a New York City theater. |
"When I first laid eyes on Star Wars, it was love at first sight," said Los Angeles comic-book-store proprietor Michael Janus, 33, who was just 8 when he encountered the film. "For the rest of that summer of '77, my life was Star Wars."
That love only deepened with the 1980 release of The Empire Strikes Back.
"Empire took things to the next level," Janus said. "I loved Star Wars, but when Empire came out, things really started to get serious. That's when I moved beyond toys and all the other kid stuff. Suddenly, there were conventions and fan clubs and books and collectibles."
The sequel's many attractive qualities, as well as Lucas' promise of a new film every three years into the next century, cemented America's commitment to the series, and Star Wars became a major part of its pop-cultural life.
For much of the nation, the first sign of trouble arose sometime around the relationship's six-year mark, with the 1983 release of Return Of The Jedi.
"Jedi was when things first started getting a little weird," said Eric DiCillo, 35, a Rockford, IL, graphic designer. "Like, Princess Leia turns out to be Luke's sister? That really came out of left field. And Boba Fett, this cool, mysterious character whose role was so vital in Empire, suddenly dies in a stupid piece of comedy. For the first time, I felt like Lucas wasn't taking me seriously."
"I mean, I still loved Star Wars," DiCillo continued. "Even at that point, there were plenty of good times between us. When Darth Vader pitched the Emperor into the abyss, well, let's just say I'd never experienced a climax like that before. But I'd be lying if I said I was 100 percent happy."
Unsure where the relationship was headed after Return Of The Jedi, the nation took time off from Star Wars, deciding to see other films during a "cooling off" period of 16 years.
"I know George needed to get his head together on where this whole Star Wars thing was going," DiCillo said, "so it was for the best that we went our separate ways for a while. It felt like a betrayal, seeing other sci-fi movies, but I knew that if it was meant to be, we'd eventually find our way back to each other."
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| Above: A once-cherished R2-D2 toy is reduced to propping open windows. |
Even during the trial-separation period, Lucas' evasiveness and erratic behavior threatened to derail the relationship.
"Somewhere along the way, the saga of nine movies mysteriously turned into six," said Chris Cavanagh, 29, an Arlington, TX, insurance agent. "I remember, at one point, it was supposed to be 12. And I'm thinking, does Lucas have a long-term plan for us? I started out determined to see this relationship through to the end, but everything he did made me question it. I even started thinking he was just after my money."
"Through it all, though," Cavanagh continued, "I just kept telling myself, 'He'll change. He's got something truly special planned for the prequels. This can work.'"
The nation's hopes for a reconciliation were dashed in 1999, when, after a seemingly eternal wait, the disappointing Episode I—The Phantom Menace left the nation feeling hollow.
"By that point, the Star Wars films had lost their ability to move me," Janus said. "After seeing Phantom Menace, I started reflecting on the earlier films, and I realized they just weren't as deep and fulfilling as they'd seemed at the time. During that initial infatuation period, from '77 to '83, I guess I was too swept up in the magic of the whole thing to see that there were major problems."
"I stuck it out, I really did," a saddened Janus said. "I tried to make it work. But Star Wars just didn't hold up its end. A relationship is a two-way street. If George had told me he didn't want to do any more Star Wars movies after the original trilogy, yes, that would have hurt. But it would have been better than dragging me along like this. What he ended up doing was just passive-aggressive bullshit."
The flaws in America's relationship with Star Wars became painfully apparent in 2000, when it was introduced to the film version of Fellowship Of The Ring.
"I felt really guilty about it, but I couldn't help but compare this exciting new thing in my life to my longtime relationship," DiCillo said. "And when I did, I found Star Wars coming up short. As much as I tried to deny it, the dialogue, acting, story structure, and special effects in Lord Of The Rings were all undeniably superior. Everything happens for a reason in it, and it all builds toward a thrilling, satisfying series of climaxes. I wish I could say the same for my first love."
Frustrated with the increasingly bloated, self-indulgent Star Wars universe, the nation shifted its affections toward the Peter Jackson films.
"Lord Of The Rings gave me things Star Wars never could," Janus said. "If it hadn't been for Peter Jackson showing me what a fantasy saga can be, I might have settled for [summer 2002's] Attack Of The Clones as the best I could ever hope for."
DiCillo has experienced a similar change of heart.
"I'm not completely shutting Star Wars out of my life," DiCillo said. "I'm sure I'll see Episode III when it comes out, but I'm done waiting in line overnight. When [third Rings installment] Return Of The King comes out, I know it'll be a proper trilogy-ending climax, and not some slapdash retread of the more memorable parts from the first two films."
"Obviously, I'm disappointed that things didn't work out between Star Wars and me," DiCillo added. "But I'm grateful for the time we had. I grew a lot as a person, and I'll always have my beautiful memories of the Battle of Hoth."
LINK: The Onion | Nation's Love Affair With Lord Of The Rings Threatening Its Relationship With Star Wars
In Minnesota? Bwahahahahahahahaha!!!!!
If g'nad, OT and I moot will we be the first multi-state moot?
Dang near looks like the religion forum!
(not that I would know...)
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