But Ron was staring at Hermione as though suddenly seeing her in a whole new light.
“Hermione, Neville’s right — you are a girl. . . .”
“Oh, well spotted,” she said acidly.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – J.K. Rowling
Quote of the Day
3
What if there was a Best Voice Performance Oscar? – 1994
(Note: This is a fictional creative writing exercise, inspired by hours of contemplation of which animated performances have been most worthy of attention over the years. This feature imagines that a Best Voice Performance category was added to the Oscars following Beauty and the Beast’s nomination for Best Picture at the 64th Academy Awards. Each week I’ll cover the hypothetical nominees and winner from one year of animated performances.)
After a disappointing slate of nominees at the 66th Academy Awards, the speculation was that another year of mediocre nominees would doom the category once and for all. Fortunately, there was a savior on the horizon, in the form of another big release from Disney, The Lion King. It was even speculated that the film could take all five of the nomination slots, given the strength of its casting, its popularity and yet another dearth of competition. Even if The Lion King ended up with all of the nominations, it was already predicted that the film’s mere presence would be enough to grant the category a stay of execution for at least another year. Continue reading
Quote of the Day
Leonard: [To his mother] Howard lives with his mother, and Raj can’t speak to women unless he’s drunk. Go!
The Big Bang Theory, Season 2: Episode 15 – “The Maternal Capacitance”
Quote of the Day
Beatrice: O that I were a man! What, bear her in hand until they come to take hands; and then, with public accusation, uncovered slander, unmitigated rancour, —O God, that I were a man! I would eat his heart in the market-place.
Much Ado About Nothing – William Shakespeare
Quote of the Day
“Oh I would never dream of assuming I knew all of Hogwarts’ secrets, Igor,” said Dumbledore amicably. “Only this morning, for instance, I took a wrong turning on the way to the bathroom and found myself in a beautifully proportioned room I have never seen before, containing a really rather magnificent collection of chamber pots. When I went back to investigate more closely, I discovered that the room had vanished. But I must keep an eye out for it. Possibly it is only accessible at five-thirty in the morning. Or it may only appear at the quarter moon — or when the seeker has an exceptionally full bladder.”
Harry snorted into his plate of goulash. Percy frowned, but Harry could have sworn Dumbledore had given him a very small wink.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – J.K. Rowling
Friday Favorites: Favorite Songwriting – Beauty and the Beast
Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.
I’ve seen Beauty and the Beast more times than I could possibly remember, and have listened to the soundtrack even more frequently. It’s one of my favorite song scores for film, particularly as its structure and styling is very reminiscent of traditional Broadway musicals, filled with reprises and cast cues that feel very familiar to those on the stage. (It also helps that the songs for the film were largely recorded live with the orchestra, helping it to feel more like a Broadway cast album rather than a studio recording.) Perhaps that’s one of the reasons its stage version was so successful. However, until just this week I had never picked up on one of the most clever aspects of the song score.
During the opening number, “Belle”, we’re introduced to the film’s protagonist, who is viewed by the villagers as too dreamy and bookish for their tastes despite her beauty. Continue reading
Quote of the Day
Jadzia Dax: None of Dax’s hosts, even Jadzia, had any musical ability.
Julian Bashir: Nobody said life was fair.
Jadzia Dax: Yeah, even if you had seven of ’em.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Season 3: Episode 4 – “Equilibrium”
Quote of the Day
Sheldon: Oh, look! Saturn 3 is on.
Raj: I don’t want to watch Saturn 3. Deep Space 9 is better.
Sheldon: How is Deep Space 9 better than Saturn 3?
Raj: Simple subtraction will tell you it’s six better.
Leonard: Compromise. Watch Babylon 5.
Sheldon: In what sense is that a compromise?
Leonard: Well, 5 is partway between 3 and…never mind.
The Big Bang Theory, Season 2: Episode 8 – “The Lizard-Spock Expansion”
Recap: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – “Eye-Spy”
Last week’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. gave us our first peek into the deeper universe of the Marvel comics, by serving as an origin story for villain Graviton. This week, we were introduced to a new character with ties to Coulson’s past, while the team continues to grow and evolve as they begin to find their roles. This week’s episode, the punny-titled “Eye-Spy”, was written by Jeffrey Bell (one of the series’s showrunners and writer of my favorite episode of Angel, “The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco”) and directed by TV veteran Roxann Dawson (also known as B’Elanna Torres from Star Trek: Voyager). Let’s jump right in! Continue reading
Quote of the Day
Benedick: Your wit is as quick as the greyhound’s mouth; it catches.
Margaret: And yours as blunt as the fencer’s foils, which hit, but not hurt.
Benedick: A most manly wit, Margaret; it will not hurt a woman: and so, I pray thee, call Beatrice: I give thee the bucklers.
Margaret: Give us the swords; we have bucklers of our own.
Much Ado About Nothing – William Shakespeare
