Was Eclipse good? Not so much....

A year and a half ago when I read Twilight by Stephenie Meyer I was pleasantly surprised. I had heard about the book months before it's publication due to internet buzz and a great marketing campaign. So when Madeleine, from Indigo's JAB, recommended the book to me, I listened to her because Madeleine has great taste. She got me into Joan Bauer, and I will be eternally grateful to her for that. And I liked Twilight, I really liked it!

New Moon was a bit of a let down after Twilight. It seemed like not much happened until the last third of the book, then suddenly the author woke up and added a bunch of plot and then it ended. I wrote this off as a typical middle book. You know - book one introduces the problems, book two extends them, resolves a few things, introduces a few new issues and then wham in book 3 everything comes together.

Complication! Meyer signed a longer book deal and suddenly book 2 wasn't just a middle book, it was one of many middle books....seems she has to stretch out her story to keep us entertained and in suspense for more books - until book 6.

I'm not sure if the sudden lack of an end in sight is what went wrong with Eclipse, or if I was somehow influenced by my new knowledge that Stephenie Meyer is a Mormon (I'd like to think this isn't the case) but what I really think is that her editor copped out. Once authors get really big it's amazing how timid and useless some editors become! The book deal is signed people, she's not going anywhere for 6 books - so edit her work, damn it! Don't be afraid to tell her to cut back, let's say 200 pages and that totally long, boring First Nations legend. Snore! ZZZzzzzzzz.

So will I be reading book 4? Maybe, maybe not...I guess it depends on what else is out at the time. If it's less than 629 pages, I'll consider it...

Why Clive Owen seems even more attractive than before....

Gotta love Clive Owen & Pierce Brosnan. Both are married to non-Hollywood type women. Both of their wives are successful and attractive & I'm sure they're probably lovely mothers. But I'm happy because they aren't super skinny model types.

I feel the same way about Cate Blanchett's husband. He is not Hollywood-handsome yet she seems happy and in love - YEAH! Such a relief from those Hollywood types who are obsessed with looks and jump from relationship to relationship. I know relationships don't always work out - hey, I've been married twice, but some people in Hollywood seem to change their partners more often than I change the sheets on my bed. If you can't act like you're in love with your co-star in a movie, and you constantly fall in love with them, maybe acting isn't for you!

Speaking of Hollywood love - I've figured out what the kiss of death to any Hollywood relationship is! I originally thought it was the blessing of my friend Kim. If she said a relationship was "rock solid" they usually broke up within a week. It got so bad that she was forbidden to discuss certain Hollywood couples at all lest she inadvertantly give them her seal of approval (SJP & MB are one couple she CANNOT talk about). We even tried a test to see if she purposely said a couple were a sure thing would they break up - we tried it on Melanie & Antonio and on Harry Hamlin & Lisa Rinna -but alas it only seems to work when its unintentional.

Well it turns out the kiss of death isn't Kim's stamp of approval after all! All any couple has to do is tell the media that they are "soulmates". That's it. So watch out Tori & Dean - I know you've said it. As have many others who now avoid each other at awards ceremonies!

Overrated or Not?

I'm one of those people who resists the popular, the trendy, the often overrated shows, movies, books because ...okay because I'm a snob. I don't want to be seen as a mindless sheep who can't make an independent decision & justs does what everyone else is doing. So I refused for years to see Titanic and held off reading The DaVinci Code. Was I wrong? Did I miss out on some super amazing thing? No, but honestly I am glad that I have seen the movie Titanic and that I did read The DaVinci Code because they are a huge part of our world - pop culture wise & it is very important for me that in say 10 or 20 years I can still kick butt at Trivial Pursuit. So I need this knowledge!

Ok, Overrated or not?

Titanic - tremendous let down. What on earth was Victor Newman doing there? And that whole Billy Zane plot? Useless! I found on my 12" tv screen it was like watching an episode of Theordore the Tugboat. And the music? So manipulative! I only felt sad when music was playing! When it stopped I was strangely indifferent. Let's not discuss the ending when Jack was dead & Celine was singing. Don't go there.

The Rolling Stones - don't shoot me but they're totally overrated. And gross.

Grey's Anatomy - here's a show I thought I would hate & I don't! Strange because I find the main character irritating - yet she's more real than most tv characters so I'll forgive them. So not overrated in my opinion.

Jennifer Aniston - why is she still famous? Friends is over - she was great as Rachel but she is clearly a one note actress. OMG, can we get her off the cover of magazines please? I don't care.

The Dave Matthews Band, Jeff Buckley, other musicians I can't think of - I just don't get it. Some people act like "whoa" I've found my messiah - me, not so much.

I'm rambling. I felt the need to post a new entry. It's a rambler, folks.