Emma - book

I had seen the movie with Gwyneth Paltrow, because I love her. I liked the movie so much that I was afraid that the book would be disappointing - it wasn't. It seems the movie was pretty true to the original story. Of course it was a couple of years ago that I saw the movie, but I liked remembering scenes from the movie as I read the book. I liked that all the sides of the heroine were revealed, even the feelings that she herself wasn't sure of. I'd never forgotten the scene from the movie where she was rude to Miss Bates and how Mr. Knighley scolded her for it. That and the misconceptions she had regarding who was interested in whom, and who was not, made her very human.

Boston Legal

Good episode. Clarence wasn't too annoying. Glad Claire is gone, I wasn't buying the two of them together. I didn't like John Laroquette's character at first, but he lightened up as the episode went on. Awesome surprise at the end!!!

Heroes

Ok is Peter dead or not? I guess not since he's in promos for the show. And I would like to know how the Bennetts can afford such a nice house with HRG working at a copy store? My favorite part was the end where the guy from Claire's new school was hovering outside her bedroom window. I didn't think he saw her fix her broken leg, but he did see her putting her hand in the flame of the Bunsen burner & not get burned. I never liked Nathan & I certainly don't now. Especially with that beard. He's hard to hear when he talks already, so that doesn't help matters. Was that Peter he saw in the mirror at the bar? There's something about Molly that I think is creepy, but maybe it's just me!

MMRBQ

Decided to go catch this show just the day before. Glad I did! Got phenomenal seats considering it was 24 hours before the show. 12th row from the pit! And padded seats & backs! I never sat up that close before - who knew? It was $25 more than the non-premium seats, but well worth it just for the padding. The only drawback was, that it may have been too close for optimum sound. At times the vocals were drowned out & any little glitch in the equipment was heard, whereas people much farther back didn't notice. I must give props to the weather. It was AWESOME!

So, the lineup:
Noosphere: Don't know who they are. Must be a local band, but they were playing prior to the show's actual start time, so we didn't even attempt to be there that early.

Seether: Well somebody had set the gps to avoid toll roads & instead of going the way I knew, I listened to the blasted thing, causing us to drive through the city, adding another half hour to the trip! grrrrrrrrrrrrr And the line at the will call window was moving sooooo slowly! I do prefer my Seether with a touch of Amy Lee, and I would've liked to see them. Darn show for starting on time. What is that about? But apparently they had to be on the West Coast to record or something so wanted to play first or something like that. We did get to catch the last few songs of their set, so that worked out ok. Remedy was last & that was good.

Silvertide: Local band. I think I'd heard of them before, but didn't really know their music. i guess they were ok, but I was anxious to hear the other bands, so listened to them impatiently.

Collective Soul: AMAZING! I was looking forward to them but was still pleasantly surprised. A great performance! 'Nough Said!

Three Days Grace: Good set. I like this band & they were pretty much just what I expected.

Breaking Benjamin: There seemed to be a crackling coming through the speakers and at first I thought that maybe being so close to the front, that my eardrums had been blown out, but soon other people around me remarked about it as well. Once it was confirmed I seemed to notice it even more. It persisted through a few songs & then there was some nasty feedback & that got our attention! Shortly after that the band acknowledged "technical difficulties" which they had not previously been aware of. Sadly this ruined the set for me. I really thought that someone on their crew would've caught onto this sooner & corrected it or something. Although, like I said, people sitting farther back didn't even notice, so perhaps it was our location that heightened it. Still though, with all the expensive equipment, not to mention what our tickets cost, I really expected better. I am glad though, that not everyone was bothered by it.

Live: Finished out the show with a very good set. Everyone in the crowd around me seemed to really enjoy them. Ed's voice is amazing & he gave a most energetic performance. They came back for an encore, including Lightning Crashes, which I knew they couldn't leave out.


Fireworks, Ferry, Long Drive Home - the end!

Persuasion - book

Another Jane Austen book out of the way. I've said before that I find it easier to watch a movie version first, which makes the book much easier to follow, but in this case I hadn't seen this one. If there was a newer version with a Keira Knightley, Hugh Grant or Colin Firth in it, I'd have it, but I guess I'll have to order the older British version. Perhaps the story wouldn't be overshadowed by recognizable actors.

Anyway, about the book, a good Jane Austen story. Just what I had expected and I was not disappointed. Sometimes I have trouble keeping all the characters straight, but this one didn't have so many that it would've been a chore to remember who they all were. Even though it was pretty easy to see where the story was going, I completely enjoyed the getting there. I thought this story seemed more real than some of the others. The heroine had an unlikeable sister, rather than one who just acted inappropriately. Or in addition to, depending how you look at it. And also her father was no gem either. That made her Anne a character who you could really root for. And nothing has shocked me more in a Jane Austen story, than when Louisa fell & was actually really hurt! I know that some of her other characters had gotten ill, but an injury like that, and involving Captain Wentworth as it did, really surprised me!

All in all, I definitely enjoyed this one and will most likely reread it in the future. I'll probably order it on dvd & read it again after I've watched it.

Northanger Abbey - book

This one went quick! It was the only Jane Austen story that I didn't know. It was typical of an Austen novel even though there was a little touch of suspense. I really expected this part of the story to be developed more, but it wasn't. Since I'm not a fan of suspense stories, that was fine with me. I was fully expecting a happy ending love story & that's what I got. I had read in the introduction to this particular edition, that everything came to a sudden conclusion, almost as if she was in a hurry to wrap it up. I found that to be the case, but I think that all that lead up to the end result is the story, not the ending itself. Plus at that point, not having read this one before, even knowing there'd be a happy ending for the heroine, I couldn't wait to find out how it would happen.

Mansfield Park (1999)

I find it better for me to see a movie version of a story before I read the book. The other way around is often disappointing. I maybe have seen this movie before, but am currently on a quest to refamiliarize myself with characters from Jane Austen stories, prior to the theatrical release of The Jane Austen Book Club, or the DVD release (date unknown) of Becoming Jane. Also we don't have a copy of this book in our home library, so it would likely be the last Jane I'd be able to read.

In any case, I liked the story, and much of the movie, but was a little bothered by the way action was stopped at least twice & a question was posed, such as "or did they?", or something to that effect. That was odd. Other than that, I found the story a little too modernized, and parts of the story, while explored, were not fully explained. I'm not sure if I will add this one to my DVD collection. I'll probably wait to see the other version first and see which I prefer. Although I probably should put the book on my "must read" list.