As I type this there is less then 12 hours till my screening. I can barely contain myself.

Serenity comes out this Friday and I encourage everyone within the sound of my voice to go see it. I bought my tickets yesterday and I found the cashiers confused look to be highly amusing and slightly disappointing. It was a look that said a)what the hell is Serenity? and b)why are you buying tickets for it three days in advance?

I’ve talked about Firefly and Serenity before but here’s a reminder. Firefly is an amazing Sci-fi/western/drama/action in space show that was on the Fox network a while back. Fox, not having that slightest clue what to do with a good series cancelled it after it aired 10 or so episodes. Later the show was released on DVD including three or four episodes that were never aired. A massive fan base has risen up in the wake of the DVD release. So much so in fact that the creator, Joss Whedon, managed to compel Fox to give up the movie rights to Universal so that the story could go on. After months of build up and more preview screenings than you can count, the movie Serenity comes out this Friday, September 30th.

I don’t feel like going over the story right now so just go buy the DVD set. It’s only $35.00 over at Amazon so just buy it. You won’t be disappointed. And by all means go see Serenity this weekend. I won’t tell you to go on Friday because that’s when all the weirdo nerdy people like myself will be seeing it. Not to say I don’t want to see you there, I just know that my people can be somewhat frightening at times. So go see it this weekend sometime like Saturday or even the first showing on Sunday, I don’t care. Just go see it, it’s not often that we get good content like this so take advantage of it while it’s around.

I’ll get in to my partial review in a bit but first the story of how I actually came to have We Love Katamari in my possession.

The morning of September 20th dawned bright and shiny as I gleefully got ready for work knowing that today was the day I would be able to pick up We Love Katamari. I had it reserved at a local Gamestop for several months and the entire household was looking forward to it. I entered the store at roughly 10AM and nearly ran to the counter. The conversation went something like this:

Me: I’m here to pick up my pre-order of We Love Katamari.

Highly Trained Gamestop Staffer (HTGS): Ok (looks on the computer) It looks like that won’t be in till tomorrow.

Me: But today is the 20th, that’s the official release and besides I was told when I reserved it that I could pick it up today.

HTGS: Did you get a call?

It is at this point where the Highly Trained Gamestop Staffer becomes the Fucking Asshole Who Works At Gamestop (FAWWAG)

Me: No.

FAWWAG: Yeah, you should wait for us to call you before you come in to pick up your pre-orders. It’s usually the release date plus one for all but the most popular titles.

Me: Ah, I see.

FAWWAG: Is there anyth

You must watch Advent Children now! If you are anywhere but Japan it’s illegal for you to have a copy but I’m thinking that doesn’t really matter at this point. You WILL watch it now and you WILL buy it when it comes out in the U.S. There is no question of that.

Anyway, the movie. It’s more fucking awesome than the awesomest awesome you’ve ever seen. I think that the creators of this masterwork must have had the gauntlets of +2 fucking amazing at their disposal while they worked. I had to take a break half way through because it shut down certain involuntary functions such as blinking and breathing. Without giving away too much I will tell you that all of the heroes from the game are present and that there are swords. Lots of swords. Oh and materia. I love materia.

I’m going to go pass out now.

It’s a full week after the holiday weekend (Labor Day, U.S.) and it still has me completely fucked up. I spent half of last week thinking it was the day before it really was and the other half trying to catch up because I had misjudged the time I had left in the week. No it’s the Monday after the short week and I’m still tired and disoriented.

I had more to say about this but as my brain is firing on three cylinders right now it’s coming out as gibberish. Hence, I’m going to stop now before I write anything that will get me in trouble.

Cat Wrestling

Originally uploaded by Vale.

I can’t decide if this is a hug or a submission move.

During one of our frequent trips to Barnes & Noble the other day I was sitting in one of the few overstuffed chairs reading some random tome I had grabbed off the shelf when I had a thought. It occurred to me at that moment that the story I was reading would be much better if Harry Potter were in it and if it had been written by J.K. Rowling. At the time I paid this random musing no heed as it seemed like the construct of a tired mind. Simply a silly idea brought on by exhaustion.

It wasn’t until I ventured to BN later in the week that it hit me. I had gone in to get a magazine to read during lunches for the week. I found nothing interesting on the rack so I mosied over to the Sci-fi/fantasy section to see if anything caught my eye. As I meandered amongst dragons and space marines the idea from the previous outing sprang in to my mind once again.

“None of these books will be as good as Harry Potter,” I thought.

Then the full weight of it came down on me, I am now and quite possible could forever be incapable of reading any book which was not Harry Potter. The world that Rowling built has become so dear to me that it has ruined me for every other author in the world. Gibson and Card be damned, I need my Potter fix now! I was fully J.K.’s bitch. What was I going to do for the next two years? Where would I find the sweet Pottery goodness that I needed so badly? My literary universe was crashing in around me.

Then like a junkie who desperately wants to get clean I did it. I took the first step towards breaking the cycle of addiction. With trembling hands I reached out for the first book I saw. It was Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. I stumbled towards the checkout counter and before I could scream from the pain of withdrawals it was over. The clerk wished me a nice day and handed me my freedom in a clear plastic bag.

My road to recovery has only just begun but I know that everything will be all right now.

I can’t think of much to talk about right now so I’ll put some links up to a few new podcasts that I’ve found. Nothing much just a couple of Harry Potter shows.

- Mugglecast -
A bunch of guys talkin’ ’bout Potter.

- Pottercast -
Umm, I haven’t listened to this one yet so I can’t say it’s any good but she was on Mugglecast once and sounded pretty cool.

That’s all for now.