sundries, Cardiff edition

[rm]

(news items will come later)

As you may have heard in other social networking mediums I am in scads of pain. Both my knees are completely covered in bruises from where I fell with my bags. I've also a huge gash and bruise on my thigh from where I dropped a bag on me and have munged up my shin and a tendon in my right foot through same. But none of this compares to the agony my arms and shoulders are experiencing, in part, thanks to the clusterfuck that was the train to Cardiff. I can't even really sit up straight.

You see, somewhere around the middle of the journey, a train employee came into our car, in which the lights were working just fine and said, "the lights in here aren't working right, we've got to close the car, health and safety."

There was, immediately, a passenger uprising. It was nothing like what I'd have expected in the US where people either would have cursed and moved or just ignored the guy as long as we could. No, people were on their feet and pumping their fists. "We paid for these seats, you're going to have us stand all the way to Cardiff? Health and safety is cramming us into some other car; we'll sit in the dark to keep our seats."

The train employee said that if we got stuck in a tunnel and had to evacuate without lights it would be dangerous, but people continued to shout that it wasn't right. Finally, the conduct said that the train would leave the station 'til we moved, so if we wanted to get where we were going we had to move.

At first they said we could keep our bags in the car; then they told us we had to get them as they were locking the car, so I got mine, dragged 'em into another car, and then a conductor got on with a screwdriver, mucked around for five minutes and said yeah, the lights were fine now we could go back into the car.

So I dragged my crap back the other way. This, plus everything else (train to the airport, airport hell, getting my bags up on the plane, plane to cab, cab to paddington, paddington), plus the later walk with Patty, means that I'm in a situation where pretty much everything hurts -- particularly any motion of my upper body, including typing. I am doing this at about half speed and in pieces. It's quite miserable. Last night I hurt so much I was close to taking the hardcore painkillers for my kidney stones instead of the panadol.

When I got into Cardiff, everyone was going to rugby match against Fiji. The streets were filled with people wearing Welsh capes, dragon costumes, and flower hats, all chanting and marching together towards the stadium, I loved it, with all my heart.

It's also, remarkably, Christmas here, which is quite surreal, and I feel trapped in any number of films, including Love Actually, because I keep hearing that blasted song everywhere.

I like it very much here, but weird things take me aback -- like how little sunlight there is (it's not just the clouds, it gets dark SO EARLY; much earlier than in Switzerland). Also I've had a few "OMG, I KNOW THAT FROM TORCHWOOD" moments. Today we walked through Bute Park.

Tomorrow we check into the St. David's to just use the spa for a day. Then we're off to Hay-on-Wye for a day. Back Tuesday.

Today we saw the new Harry Potter film, which I liked very much and to which I must say "OH MY GOD, WHAT IS A NICK CAVE SONG DOING IN A HARRY POTTER FILM?"

So I remember the locket made Ron jealous of Harry and Hermione, but the perfect mean Harry and Hermione have sex thing -- WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT? Was that in the book? Because I was like UNSEE, UNSEE!.

Also, loved the little bit Snape got to do, in that I really saw the regret, and fear and tension and personal history with him, with Lucius, with Voldemort, in that scene, I was gratified.

Dark! Go film. I mean seriously, because of the way it's shot Hermione less erases her parents' memory than erases her own existence. Woah.

The animation sequence about the Deathly Hallows was awesome beyond awesome and very moving. I could watch that over and over.

As usual, British film does narratives with fascist imagery best. Everything, EVERYTHING at the Ministry was solid god perfection and totally distressing.

However, I find myself troubled (and in possession of no particular solution), though by the ways in which the post-book revelation of Dumbledore's sexuality (which I thought was pretty explicitly referenced in the book itself) colored the film, since everything cut away from the book to make the film work essentially left us with a narrative about two beautiful boys in love, carrying terrible secrets, which will destroy the world because they are GAY GAY GAY GAY GAY. So that was a little weird for me.

I must say, I found the act of going to the movies here very moving. It was the largest screen I've ever seen a film on, and they played tracks from classic film scores as we were waiting for the movie to start. There wasn't a film I've loved, and quite a few I haven't, that I didn't wish I'd seen on that screen.

Patty has a great local pub near her house, and we went last night and will go again tonight probably. Last night I had sausages cooked in white wine, mustard, lemon juice and spices with spinach and peppers and I dipped chips into the broth and was as happy as could be.

We've started locating some ingredients for Thanksgiving. All is very well.

Comments

[lawsontl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the Harry/Hermione thing was in the book. I'm not sure it was quite as graphically depicted in words (I don't recall them being naked), but the rest was spot on. I remember feeling quite bad for Ron at that point.

What wasn't in the book, that I recall, was the dancing and Almost Kiss between Harry and Hermione (at least that's how I interpreted the end of that scene). THAT squicked me out.

[macadamanaity.livejournal.com]

So I remember the locket made Ron jealous of Harry and Hermione, but the perfect mean Harry and Hermione have sex thing -- WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT? Was that in the book? Because I was like UNSEE, UNSEE!

THIS. SO HARD. What the frilly hell was that?

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

That animation part was so effing brilliant!!!!

I was really impressed with the film, I was expecting it to suck, because the fifth was crap and the fourth made me cringe. But Daniel Radcliff has grown up to be a lovely actor (he utterly queered up the role, in my mind!) and the whole Trio was excellent.

I also wish I could UNSEE.

I actually spent a large portion of the film in tears, because of my recollection of the book. And I too am worried about how they're going to handle Dumbledore and Grindlewald.

[thinking-lotus.livejournal.com]

but do they have dry cleaning???

consumer intransigence in the UK can be awesome (and scary)

[rm.livejournal.com]

I'm less worried about they're going to do with Dumbledore and Grinlewald (I think it will hew to the books) than I am about the lens through which I, and presumably everyone else, is going to read it now. It surprised me how heavily, and judgmentally, I felt the gay subtext. That said, the kid they cast was seriously beautiful.

[meirion.livejournal.com]

Which train company? Given I suspect First Late Western, I wouldn't be surprised. But go to the station, get a complains form, and they might, grudging, out of the badness of their hearts, decide to give you a bit of compensation or train ticket vouchers. Every time a train I'm on fails to give good service, I fill in one of those complaint forms and usually get compensation vouchers. Which, given that travelling on the same train as me seems to virtually guarantee their missing their target by 1 hour+ means that I rarely have to pay for train travel these days ...

[teleens-journal.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

[valarltd.livejournal.com]

I know they have Jaimie Campbell Bower as Grindelwald. Who is playing the young Dumbledore?

Because Bower is beautiful, beautiful, and gender ambiguous to the point of making my daughter have lesbian thoughts about him during Sweeney Todd.

[canaana.livejournal.com]

Dark! Go film. I mean seriously, because of the way it's shot Hermione less erases her parents' memory than erases her own existence. Woah.

This was my absolute favorite bit. We only ever get it as backstory in the book, and by choosing to open the film with it in realtime, they absolutely set the tone. I had chills when she walked away from her home with (apparently) nothing but the clothes on her back.

Regarding Dumbledore and subtext . . . even knowing what I'm looking for, I didn't read it that way at all in the film. If anything, I wondered if they weren't downplaying it by virtue of giving us a bunch of faces the characters on the screen didn't really have names to go with. But, just for a different point of view, I'm going to go downstairs and ask the resident straight male how he read it. *goes downstairs*

Mr. Alexander reports that he thought that if anything, the relationship was underplayed in the movie. But he points out we may well get more information and a different sort of subtext in part 2.

[nicoli-dominn.livejournal.com]

You know, I've read the seventh Harry Potter book twice, and I STILL don't remember any Harry and Hermione action. Like, action-action. Maybe kissing. I'm kind of fuzzy on that one.

Also, I haven't seen the movie yet, but from what you describe of the Dumbledore bit, I'd probably be bothered too.

I can't WAIT to see the Snape development and the lovely imagery, though.

[ladypeculiar.livejournal.com]

Have you seen this thing currently making the rounds about the Hermione/Harry kissyface?

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1652517/20101117/story.jhtml

[kshandra]

Dark! Go film. I mean seriously, because of the way it's shot Hermione less erases her parents' memory than erases her own existence. Woah.

...and the way Emma Watson played the scene in the cafe where she had to use the spell again was exquisitely painful.

[forest-rose.livejournal.com]

Emma Watson is a remarkable actress. That film just broke me :-(

[debitha.livejournal.com]

"...because of the way it's shot Hermione less erases her parents' memory than erases her own existence." YES! I found that scene really moving, and this really helps explain why.

[lyrwen.livejournal.com]

Oh dear. I hope you feel better soon! :( Maybe you can tell interested groups of bystanders in pubs that you got it fighting pirates over a young dragon inside a lost temple? And they will buy you free rounds of drinks? ... which you won't be able to drink?

(FYI I've tried gluten free beer. It tastes like piss. But, I remember thinking that about normal beer when I tried it once before I was diagnosed. Soooooo... Make of that what you will).

Harry potter: Yes, that bit was in the book, some of it word for word :P

The bit Lawsontl mentions where Harry and Hermione were dancing; It was a very intimate moment, and television does not generally portray moments of true understanding and intimacy unless they are romantic, not platonic, and especially not platonic intimacy between friends of opposite sexes.

That's my theory as to why I personally got a strong "these are best friends who are going through hell and are acknowledging it to each other and looking straight into each others souls, no, hanky-panky is not involved in it" vibe from it, while at the same time getting a contradictory "Wait what the fuck they look like they might kiss please no, oh thank god they didn't" train of thought running through my head.

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

I remembered Ron's vision of them kissing from the book. What I DON'T remember is the naked making out. Maybe I'm just remembering all those kids when they were junior high age but I was not ready for that.

[elionwyr.livejournal.com]

I found myself realizing how much of this book I don't remember.

Seeing a broken Lucius was really hard. Kinda loved Narcissa. Ached for Snape when the doe leads Harry to the sword.

The biggest problem I had was all the jumps my brain kept making to other films/books. Mary Poppins' carpetbag; sword of Excalibur; LOTR; even, just for a second, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe when Voldemort cracks open Dumbledore's grave. But that last bit is most probably just me.

..And duh, just realized I didn't say this...Heal quickly. So sorry to read of your fall. :(
The Dobby bits annoyed me because I feel like the film makers are trying to get an 'awww lookit the cute/pathetic house elves' thing. The animation is good - I just think I'd react less negatively if they were actually actors. But again, I think that's me.

The Deathly Hallows animation really was awesome.

[51stcenturyfox.livejournal.com]

Argh, Daniel Radcliffe's quote: He added, "For me, I wasn't too freaked out. But it's a bigger deal for Emma. I think it generally is a bigger deal for girls."

She's an actor, just like you, Daniel. Sheeeeeesh.

rm, hope you feel better soon! Massage therapist visit, yes?

[darthhellokitty.livejournal.com]

"OH MY GOD, WHAT IS A NICK CAVE SONG DOING IN A HARRY POTTER FILM?"

This! XD Afterward king_chiron was "well, they do live in London, they would know Nick Cave" but i wasn't so sure. Delightfully, we'll be seeing Grinderman on Saturday, about three blocks from the theater where we saw Deathly Hallows!

I was so delighted with Rhys Ifans as Xenophilius Lovegood. He's an actor I'm always happy to see.

The making-out thing - ages ago I made a joke about the Mirror of Onrop, in which you would see a porn film featuring the object of your desire - obviously somebody stole that idea and got it wrong...

[bodlon.livejournal.com]

Your travel story may have topped my D*C nightmare. Holy cocking hell. I'm hoping the spa did you good.