I Shouldn't Have Watched

Last night a light bulb went off just fifteen minutes before the 25th Annual MTV Video Music Awards was about to start. I raced to find out what channel MTV was on (I never watch MTV). I marked it in my calendar (but neglected to look at it) for the sole purpose of seeing the Twilight cast shine in the moment and announce an award, or so I thought. All they did was announce the performance by Paramore (a band I had never heard of, but that doesn't mean a thing because I'm completely out of the hip-hip/rock music loop). Three of the four cast members were given the chance to say their lines, but when it was Rob Pattinson's turn, he totally got cut off, like a guillotine, by that Russell Brand character. And just who is this Russell Brand anyway? He didn't give his fellow Brit a chance to put a word in edge wise (or is it ways? whatever). That deflated moment was a huge letdown.

I should have kept my streak (of never watching MTV Award shows) going and avoided watching the VMA altogether. I couldn't relate to the music. I couldn't relate to the host. I was annoyed by most of the performances, most of the time. (The Jonas Brothers' performance was, oddly enough, pretty decent.) I couldn't appreciate Russell Brand's vulgar sense of humor either. Thank goodness the kids were already in bed and couldn't over-hear his blatant sexual references. Are you with me, or am I just getting old? I give the MTV VMA two thumbs down.

No Post, Yet, for Chapter Nine

With Picasso going back to school last week plus the fact that I've been trying to read a thousand other books (Web Design for Beginners, punctuation books, Pride and Prejudice, etc.), and spending way too much time updating my Aloha Monkey Tales blog, my copy of Twilight has been collecting a little bit of dust. No, I haven't given up on reading it, so don't give up on me. I'll be posting about it this week; I promise. If I don't then, somebody, poke me.

Shout Out to a New Fan

I just want to give a shout out to the newest fan of the Twilight Fever: My mom.

We belong to a very anti-legalistic book club; reading the book isn't a requirement. Ideally we're supposed to be meeting monthly, but with everyone's busy schedules, that's not always easy to do. We usually meet at Claudia's house on a designated Thursday evening. Socialize. Catch up on what we've been doing--while sipping a glass of wine. Eat. Socialize some more. Then discuss the book. The trend seems to be a short discussion--say, five or ten minutes--if the book wasn't so good, or a long in-depth discussion if the book was a hit.

At our upcoming meeting we'll be discussing Enter the Past Tense: My Secret Life as a CIA Assassin--that was my recommendation after reading the book. I know it was a good book and what the gist of it is, but so much time has passed since I read it that I'm not sure if I'll be able to discuss it intelligently. Oh well, I'll still have my wine.

Our current reading material is--yup, you guessed it--Twilight. Again, my recommendation. Well, I think a couple of the other ladies in the club suggested it too.

So on to dear, old young Mom. She started reading it over the weekend while spending the night in Eastern Washington She called last night to tell me I was right. (Those words are always music to my ears.) She got up to chapter eight or nine; right around where I'm currently at. She got stuck in traffic while driving home and was almost tempted to read the book while driving. (Those are signs of an addict.)

How about you? Are you in need of Twilighters Annonymous yet?

Twilight: Chapter 8 {Port Angeles}

As the chapter begins, Bella is in Port Angeles dress hunting with Jessica and Angela. The "boy talk" creeps into the conversation (what else is there for teenage girls to discuss?). Angela nonchalantly mentions that Tyler has been telling people that he's taking Bella to prom. This tidbit sends Bella into a fuming rage.

After Jess and Angela purchase their ensembles, they go for a stroll while Bella goes her separate way searching for a bookstore.

Bella is so caught up in la-la-land, lost in her thoughts about Edward, that she doesn't realize she's headed straight toward sleeze town.

After being pursued by a gang of creeps, she realizes she's being herded by them--with less than honest intentions, I'm sure.

Then, just in the nick of time, a silver car skids to a stop, within feet from her, with the passenger door wide open. A familiar and furious voice barks at her, "Get in."

Edward is in a murderous mood. It takes every ounce of self control he possesses to restrain himself from going back to finish those hooligans off. With his temper cooled down, they head back into town to search for the girls.

Just as they pull up in front of the Italian restaurant, La Bella Italia, they spot Jess and Angela exiting the building. They claimed to be worried about Bella, but not worried enough to stop them from eating.

Of course, the girls are surprised by Bella's unexpected guest, so Bella matter of factly announces that she just ran into Edward. As if that's an every day occurence.

Being the chivalrous gentleman that he so obviously is, Edward asks the girls permission to drive Bella home so that they don't have to wait while Bella eats.

While in the restaurant, Bella is surprisingly put off by the extra attention given to Edward by the female employees.

The theme of their conversation seems to be how trouble follows Bella. She thanks Edward for saving her twice now. Edward says, "Your number was up the first time I met you." "You remember?" (I've read the first chapter of Midnight Sun, Twilight from Edward's POV, and I want to comment more here, but I don't want to spoil it for those of you who haven't read it yet.)

Edward explains to Bella how he followed her to Port Angeles, only to lose them. He goes on to tell Bella how he read the thoughts of the people around him to find her. And he finally saw her face through the eyes of one of the "men" who followed her. That's when he saves the day.

When Edward and Bella leave the restaurant, Bella is looking forward to the hour drive home. She's desperate to spend more time alone with Edward. I wish I could be a fly on the wall (or window) when their dialogue begins. I guess I'll just have to wait until the next chapter.

Midnight Sun; Delayed Indefinitely!

Thanks to an insensitive, dishonest individual--or possibly individual(s)--Stephenie Meyer has announced, here, that she is indefinitely delaying working on the much anticipated release of Midnight Sun--Twilight from Edward's POV. It saddens me to no end that someone could make such a bad choice and ruin everything for the rest of us innocent bystanders.

From the statement that Stephenie made, I'm speculating that it was someone whom she knows and trusted that allowed a copy of an incomplete draft to be scanned and illegally distributed on the internet. Who could blame her for feeling betrayed (I know that feeling), and want to put this project on the back burner?

Since the incomplete draft is illegally floating in the internet realm, I think Stephenie decided to take control of the reigns and post her draft--legally--on her website. Even as I type, I'm downloading all 264 pages. Although this isn't the version that Stephenie wanted her fans to read and experience, I'm going to read it anyway; We don't know how long we'll have to wait for the final print.

Twilight: Chapter 7 {Nightmare}

When Bella gets home from spending the day at the beach--where Jacob spilled the beans about the legends of the werewolves and vampires--her mind is racing out of control.

She tries to drown those thought provoking images with heavy bass music--a Christmas gift from Phil--blaring through her ear phones.

When she falls asleep a very vivid dream occurs. Jacob and Mike are both warning her to run from Edward. Jacob is replaced by a red-brown wolf--could this be a subconscious premonition? She jerks herself awake yelling, "No!" as the wolf launches to attack her precious Edward.

Since Bella was awake--at 5:30 in the a.m.--she decides to bring her dinosaur of a computer to life to do a little research on vampires. She must have "Googled" it and found Vampires A-Z. Sounds like a quaint little site.

Out of all the information overload, the one statement of significance--and relief--is in reference to an Italian Vampire who is "said to be on the side of goodness, and a mortal enemy of all evil vampires."

By entertaining the idea that Edward could be a vampire, Bella feels as if she's losing her mind. Whatever he is--or isn't--she knows he's no mere human; he's something much more. And what if he IS a vampire? She can't deny the fact that she's simply smitten with him--an obsessed teenager in love, really.

When Bella goes back to school she's disappointed that Edward never showed up. She goes home and tries to find distractions to keep her mind busy. She ends up lying on the lawn, reading Jane Austen books until she falls asleep. When she wakes up she finds the sun is setting, and Charlie is pulling up into the driveway. On page 148 she says, "I looked around, muddled, with the sudden feeling that I wasn't alone." I wonder if Edward was there watching her sleep.

At the end of the chapter, Bella is picked up by Jessica and they're stopping to pick up Angela on their way to Port Angeles to do some dress shopping. Lauren was supposed to go, but something more pressing came up--lucky for everyone else involved. I wonder what kind of mischief the girls will get into while on their little excursion.

Could It Be True?

OMG! Could it be true? I just read, here, on Twilighters Anonymous that Taylor Lautner –a.k.a. Jacob- has confirmed that he’s getting ready to film New Moon next January! I guess the speculation of the possibility of filming all three books simultaneously was off base. On the brighter side of things, it gives Taylor time to grow into his character-maybe not all seven feet, but every bit helps right?

Hmmm, I wonder if they’ll be filming in Washington again. Maybe I can ditch the kids have someone watch the kids and get a look-see at some movie making action.

This is exciting news, and I’m sure my favorite Twilight websites will keep me posted.