Randomness

I have a bunch of random stuff today that I've been thinking about but haven't dealt with because it didn't fit into a particular topic or theme.

So, they announced the release date of the next (and final! Sob!) Harry Potter book yesterday, and like a good little fangirl geek, I've already put that date in my calendar. Would you believe, that very same day I got invited to speak at a science fiction convention taking place that very same weekend? Arrrgggghhh! I'm sure they have bookstores in Tulsa that will be having midnight parties, and the con may even plan a midnight event. But still, that disrupts my habits. I like going to my neighborhood store, then getting home, five minutes away, and reading the first, well maybe the first two, okay, probably the first three. Oh, who are we kidding here, the first five chapters before I go to sleep, and then spending all day Saturday reading, with appropriately themed food and snacks. It would be sheer torture to have to spend that Saturday speaking at a convention, knowing that book was back in my hotel room, and I'd possibly lose the socializing benefit of the convention if I ran back to my hotel room to read during every break. Plus, there are people at those events who are far hardier than I am who would probably read the whole thing overnight and then delight in running around the con, bragging about having read it and spoiling it for everyone else (yes, those are the minority, but be honest, you know or have run into that kind of jerk -- the person who just has to know more than everyone else and has to make sure you know he knows). And then after the con, there would be a very long drive home, during which I couldn't be reading (I don't do audiobooks -- I hate being read to and tend to drift off to sleep, which is bad while driving). I'm really torn here. I know going to the con could be good for my career and probably a lot of fun, and I'm flattered to have been invited, but dude, this is like practically an international major holiday for book lovers.

The other thing I'm kind of wrestling with at the moment is a movie screening coming up next week. Thanks to that Battlestar Galactica thing in December, I'm on the movie theater's mailing list, and I got an e-mailed invitation to a screening that will include a Q&A with the movie's star -- get this, Horatio Hornblower himself, Ioan Gruffudd (commence fangirl squealing). Sounds like a no-brainer, right? Here's the catch: You have to take the e-mailed invitation to the theater today to get a pass that might let you into the screening if you get there early enough. The theater is near downtown Dallas. It's about a 15-mile drive each way. I'd be totally okay with getting to the theater on Wednesday rather early and waiting in line. I just don't really want to leave the house today. It's not snowing anymore and the roads are clear, but it's cold and I have work to do. But this would fall squarely into the category of Getting a Life, so I may force myself to put on decent clothes and head out in a little while. I can always do a little shopping while I'm there, since a lot of my favorite stores are in that area and there's a big, huge Borders next door. This is one of those times when teleportation sounds like a great idea.

Speaking of movies, I finally saw Dreamgirls last week, and loved it. I had to buy the soundtrack. And why has Eddie Murphy spent so much of his career wearing fat suits and falling down a lot when he's capable of what he did in this movie? It's amazing how good a singer he really can be.

On the television front, I think I may be officially in love with Jim on The Office, just because of what he did when his boss made him order a stripper for a wedding shower. That was way too cool (and do you like how I vagued that up so as not to spoil anyone who hadn't watched it yet?). I've become mildly addicted to Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel. They always seem to be dealing with things I often wonder about, and I love watching them create the experiments to test them. It's probably a good thing this show wasn't on when my dad was teaching physics. There are too many good experiment ideas to come out of it. And I've sort of started getting into Supernatural. Oddly enough, it has nothing to do with the cute boys (who are young enough to fall into my "boy" category, which means they're not that interesting to me romantically) but rather because it scratches my X-Files itch. Plus, some of my favorite writers from other shows seem to be on the staff. Ben Edlund of Firefly and Angel fame (and let's not forget The Tick) did last week's episode. I've liked what I've seen of The Dresden Files and need to get the books now, but can we start the petition to have Bob carry out his threat to sing show tunes from the 16th century? Because it's a CRIME to have Terrence Mann in a role and not let him sing, ever.

So, I think I'm caught up on everything but books, but that's a subject for another post. Now I have to decide if I want to brave the cold to make an hour-long round trip in order to have a chance to make another hour-long round trip to maybe see a movie screening.