As some of the clan gathered at Granny & Gramps’ house for a traditional Thanksgiving day feast, I noticed something laying on the table which has become increasing popular of late.  A novel about vampires.  It was not part of the Twilight series which has its 2nd cinematic installment now showing in theaters, no it was a different series which is also capitalizing on the current cultural fascination with all things supernatural.    So I turned and asked my 22 year old godchild, “What is up with the whole vampire thing?”  She didn’t know either.

So here it is just 2 days later and I find one answer to that question which resonates with the possibility of truth in an article by Father Robert Barron.  He doesn’t say it in his assessment but after reading it I couldn’t help but think about the famous quote of Saint Augustine “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee.”

Let me know what you think.  Here is the article.

Why Is Everyone Crazy About Vampires?

FATHER ROBERT BARRON

You’d have to be living under a rock not to have noticed the prevalence of vampires in today’s culture.

One of the most popular television shows in recent years was Buffy the Vampire Slayer Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles continue to be widely read; HBO is currently running a series about vampires called True Blood; Wesley Snipes starred in a trilogy of vampire films called Blade; and one of the most successful movies of late is Twilight, the story of teen mortals and teen vampires in love. How do we explain the seemingly endless fascination with the undead?

Obviously, clever marketing has a good deal to do with it, but I think there are deeper reasons as well. There is, in the spiritual order, a law analogous to the law of the conservation of energy, which I would express as follows: when the supernatural is suppressed, it necessarily finds expression in indirect and distorted form. What we have witnessed in the last fifty years or so is the attenuating, and in some circles, complete disappearance of the biblical worldview. I’ve complained in the past about a bland, bored secularism that simply sets aside questions of the spiritual, the supernatural, and the transcendent. And this widespread bracketing of the religious dimension is abetted by a consumerist culture that teaches us in a thousand ways that sensual pleasure and wealth are the keys to happiness. For the secularist mind, God is, at best, a distant, indifferent force; Jesus is a guru of self-affirmation; and eternal life is a childish fantasy.

But in accord with the above-mentioned law, the supernatural will not be denied. The instinct for God and for a world that transcends the realm of ordinary experience is hard-wired into us and thus our desire, thwarted by the environing culture, will produce some distorted version of transcendence, some ersatz spirituality. Hence the world of vampires. Let me analyze just one feature of this universe. Besides blood sucking, the distinguishing mark of vampires is immortality: they are the undead, the eternally young. Though the materialist ideology around us insists that we are no more than clever animals who will fade away at death, deep within us is the sure sense that we are more than that. There are in us, as Shakespeare’s Cleopatra put it, “immortal longings,” for we are linked, whether we like it or not, to the eternal God who stands outside of time. When the proper religious sense of immortality is suspended, we produce the weird ersatz of the vampire who cannot die. I say ersatz, because authentic immortality has nothing to do with endless life in this world; rather, it has to do with being brought outside of time into the eternal realm of God. But when we’re starving spiritually, we find even thin gruel appealing.

Just recently, I came across a most illuminating remark by Anne Rice, the aforementioned author of the series of novels that effectively inaugurated the entire vampire craze. She said that the character of Louis, the tortured vampire who is famously interviewed in her first novel, was evocative of the many friends of hers from the sixties and seventies of the last century, people who had fallen into the morass of a post-Christian secularism. Like Louis, they knew they were caught up in something spiritually deadly, and again like the vampire, they could find no way out. The anguish of the Rice’s vampire was parallel to the anguish of the secular generation, thirsty for the very thing that their culture had denied. And what makes Rice’s observation even more fascinating is that she herself followed that thirst and made her way through the secularist delusion of her generation and rediscovered Christ. Just about ten years ago, Anne Rice re-embraced the vividly imagined and intellectually profound faith of her youth and since then has dedicated her writing exclusively to the Lord. She has brought out, so far, two volumes of a multi-volume life of Jesus, told in the first person; and her most recent text is the commencement of a new series of novels on angels. And she has asserted that, despite the pleas of her legion of fans, she will never write another vampire novel. What’s really fascinating is that the godmother of contemporary vampire chic has effectively seen through phony supernaturalism and embraced the real thing.

Anne Rice’s Catholicism brings to mind the Catholicism that played a central role in the original Dracula by Bram Stoker. Stoker, a nineteenth century Irishman, placed the vampire legend within the overarching biblical narrative of sin, grace, and redemption. In Stoker’s telling, Dracula had cursed God and hence fallen into a hellish state (which helps to explain his aversion to the crucifix). Professor Van Helsing, a scientist and a devout believer (yes, the two can co-exist!), brought the tortured vampire to salvation. Throughout the novel, Catholic themes abound: the Eucharist, the Mass, eternal life, etc. At the end of the nineteenth century, it was still possible to situate the vampire story within the far greater story of Christianity. What we witness today is a sad declension, whereby vampire tales are a bloodless substitute for robust Christianity.

original post at http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/civilization/cc0335.htm

After seeing the movie Zelda and I found so many things that fascinated us in New Moon. It’s always the little things that make a film special for me. So in honor to our favorite parts in Chris Weitz’ awesome adaptation, we now proudly present the 1st How To Dazzle Awards, handed out by an unbelievably dazzling jury consisting of… well,uhm, Zelda and me!

And the award goes to…

1. Best make-up: Rob’s airbrushed on abs in the Volterra scene. And just in case that one doesn’t count because it’s not really what anyone woud call make-up, we pick Dakota Fanning’s Jane make-up. Simply because it looked awesome and kind of creepy at the same time.

2. Best intentionally funny moment: Emmett grinning and saying “Dating an older girl, hot!” and Edward’s face when he realizes the joke, hilarious. Lucky Bella didn’t hear that. She would have totally freaked out, cause you know, age’s a touchy subject for her…

3. Best song: Lykke Li – Possibility because it’s so melancholy beautiful and fits the scene where the months pass for Bella so well. Just in case you don’t remember it properly, enjoy it again here:

4. Best line: Jacob talking Quileute to Bella right before the phone rings. I cannot write the line down here cause to be honest I have no idea how to spell it, sorry! Nevertheless the jury (Zelda and I) found this so heartwrenching and cute. Jake, if she doesn’t want you, you can talk Quileute to me anytime you want, ifyouknowwhatimsaying….

5. Best CGI Wolf: The one where Jacob transforms mid-air to save Bella from Paul. I mean, how cool is that?

Taylor Lautner sporting best abs AND best outfit...

6. Best outfit: Jorts, definitely jorts! Basically because they’re not really an outfit at all. Major win! Show us what you got, guys!

7. Best special effect: Edward sparkling in the sun, just because he looks absolutely dazzling there. This is how it is done, Cathy Hardwicke! Chris really beat your ass there! Thanks a lot for finally making Edward shimmer as if he consisted of diamonds, this is how it’s supposed to be. Cause you all know what’s said about diamonds and girls, right?

8. Best abs: Taylor Lautner as Jacob. I have no idea what they did with him in between Twilight and New Moon but damn he looks ripped! Those abs are beyond a six-pack. They even got a tribute scene of their own aka Jacob standing half-naked on the street stopping Edward’s car with his abs. Awesome!

Rachelle Lefevre aka the most dazzling redhead in the whole wide world

9. Best hair: Rachelle Lefevre as Victoria, no one can compete with this! Wish I had her hair… instead I’m stuck with stupid long brown Bella hair… maybe a bit more beautiful than Bella’s (perhaps a result of not wearing a stupid hairband all the time like a seven year old girl…) but still no comparison to Rachelle’s. I’m not only gonna miss her in Eclipse but her hair as well, I guess…

10. Best scene: The one where you see the months pass for Bella. Because it’s simply perfect! I cannot imagine this one any better. The sad song, Bella looking horrible sitting on her chair, staring out the window completely motionless and most of all, the names of the months. I so wanted to see them on screen, and I got them.
This might be the actual reason why I want to marry Chris Weitz… or at least name my first child in honor to him…

So this were our personal winners. At lest the ones we noticed while watching New Moon for the first time. Wanna see us handing out the Dazzling Raspberry for the not so amazing parts? Because we will! Not today though. Today we simply enjoy Chris Weitz’ brilliant work some more…

a

Off to dye my hair to make it look like Rachelle’s (as if that would ever work…)

Saveyoursoul

a

What were your favorite parts? Which things did you not like that much? Any categories we forgot to mention? Leave us a comment or e-mail us!

You saved me. I love you.

I had to wait for the pharmacy in our area to open, which was around 7am, so I basically spent the whole night last night dealing with the pain and wishing all my pain receptors would die and then revive themselves when the pain is gone. I took Mefenamic Acid, it didn’t help that much but it was better than nothing.

Just earlier, I was searching the net for toothache remedies like a cat patiently looking around for a hint of a rat. And then, hoora! Garlic!

Grind the garlic clove, add salt, and apply the paste in the affected tooth. As easy as that. Immediate relief. Well, at first what I did was chew a clove of garlic; which was a little painful since it kind of burns the skin (or gum), but I didn’t care. I am so glad I consulted the net. I expressed my gratitude by searching ‘Garlic’ on Facebook and pressing the ‘Become a Fan’ button.

Presently I feel comfortable enough. I am planning to chew another garlic clove and apply paste to my tooth tomorrow.

And my dear dentist, just you wait, on the fifteenth I will pay you a visit.

No more chocolates for me.

Garlic not only rids me of vampires (pun intended), who knew?

oh the wonders of young monster/human love triangles.  human meets vampire, vampire leaves human, human ends up with werewolf, and vampire comes back.

Something magnificent happened come this New Moon, it was actually really good.  I am a fan of the Twilight books, but when I first saw Twilight, the movie, I was not sold.  I thought it was too corny and tried too hard to appease the fans.  By direct quoting, keeping everything so dark and the chemistry of the characters wasnt there.

New Moon successfully developed a strong relationship between Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Jacob (Taylor Lautner), which they failed to do so with Edward (Robert Pattinson) in Twilight.  The human emotions of friendship and the light-hearted wolf pack all interacted so nicely together, yet there is still this awkwardness when Edward was around.  Honestly, Stewart acts better when shes in scenes with Lautner.  It feels more natural since she doesnt have to worship the ground he walks on.

Unfortunately, the wolf pack didnt get a lot of action as much as the Cullens did in Twilight.  Hopefully they develop the families more come Eclipse (release: June 30, 2010).  The Volturi are everything you would have hoped them to be, civilized, cunning, and deadly.  From Aro to Jane, they casted a superb group of actors and actress. (*spoiler) It also doesnt hurt when they give a glimpse of Bella when she’s all vampired out.

I still dont like Stewart as Bella, but it is what it is at this point.  She still does that annoying lip biting thing.  After that video CollegeHumor put together, I couldnt help but notice if she stopped that annoying habit, sorry to say, she didnt – and Lautner started to do it too.

New Moon is the better of the two movies so far.  I liked the screenplay, it kept true to the major points of the book and Chris Weitz (Director) was still able to make it his own.  Regardless of the bad reviews, Weitz stated via ExtraTV, “What I’ve realized over the last week is I won’t necessarily get good reviews for this movie. Having swallowed that, this was made for the fans, and if you don’t get it, then you don’t get it.”

Oh, we get it Weitz!  Thank you for making this installation possible and helping me believe in the Twilight Movie Saga again!

Fleshlight Offers – Sex In A Can – Succu Dry — hmm, interesting… 

Succu Dry’s unique Vampire mouth opening isn’t for the faint of heart. This exclusive Undead pale sleeve color is made from the same patented Real Feel Super Skin material that’s made Fleshlight the #1 selling male sex toy in the world. The amazingly detailed vampire mouth and fangs beg you to drive your wooden stake deep inside.

To ensure an experience all its own, Fleshlight developed a brand new inner texture for the Succu Dry called “The Fang.” This intensely stimulating texture has dozens of tiny fangs that will gently bite at you until you’re drained of every last drop. Quench your lust and prepare for the ultimate vampire fantasy, but beware, this can will suck you dry!

It’s big — a 2-story, red-brick house at the end of a quiet street just off of 1-94. Patricia, my agent, has just finished giving me the tour. We stand in the living room and she looks at me expectantly. She’s only shown me 3 other houses, but she’s the pushy type so she’s already exasperated with me.

“Did you notice all the rooms have ceiling fans? That’ll save you a lot in energy costs.”

“I know.” I don’t say anything else, just circle the room and pause at the fireplace mantle, running one finger through the dust. Even in the low light I can see it sparkle.

“And you have so much storage space, what with the attic and the basement.”

I shrug. “Half attic and mostly unfinished basement.”

She falters for a moment and I smile to myself. “Still, you’ll have so much room!”

“Oh, I don’t care about that. I don’t have a lot of stuff.” I’m walking in circles, not looking at her. I can tell this is annoying. She clears her throat and puts her hands on her hips.

“What else can I tell you about this place?”

“Has anyone ever died here?”

She blinks. Caught her off guard — HA!

“I – I don’t believe so.”

“You said the house was built in 1890, right? You’re telling me in all that time, no one died here?”

“Well, it’s certainly possible, but I don’t know how you’d get records of something like that.” She swallows visibly. “Some of my clients like to have a priest come to bless the house –”

I wave my hand. “No, that’s not necessary.” (I’m not sure what would happen to me if I came within close proximity to a priest, and I’d prefer not to find out. Besides, I don’t care if anyone died in the house. I was just trying to fuck with her.)

I  sigh, and then pause for dramatic effect. “Okay, I’d like to make an offer.”

She blinks hard again, and I can hear her heart speed up. If she hadn’t bathed in malodorous perfume I might be tempted to bite her. As it is, I’m able to let the thought pass.

“Terrific! Let’s make an appointment to go over some paperwork.”

I take her leathery, perfectly manicured hand in mine and we shake.

Mike Lawler

Mike Lawler worked for Runde’s full-time while he went to high school.  After graduating, Mike went off to college, but he still comes back to work here when he comes back home.  While Mike was here for the Thanksgiving weekend, we took a few minutes to chat with him and find out what college life is like.

RAC: Where are you going to college?

ML: Western Illinois University — It’s about two and a half hours away.

RAC: And do you have your own car?

ML: Yeah, a 2000 Cavalier Z24.

RAC: Nice.  Aluminum wheels?  Air Conditioning?  Cruise Control?

ML: Yes sir.

RAC: Prodigious!  Do you like college so far? You’re going to the school in Macomb, IL right?

Western Illinois University

ML: Yeah the school’s nice.  Macomb’s a smaller town – I think it’s about 20,000 people.

RAC: Runde’s sells a lot of vehicles to people from Macomb.  Do you see any cars that you maybe got ready for pick-up or took pictures of?

ML: I definitely see a lot of vehicles running around with Runde stickers.  I can’t tell for sure if there’s one that I prepped or washed, but yeah there’s probably a couple.

RAC: What are you majoring in?

ML: History, I plan to get my teaching certification.

RAC:  So you want to be a teacher?  What for, high school?

ML: Yeah high school, why are you looking at me like that?

RAC: You want to deal with high schoolers?

ML: Yeah, I’d rather deal with them than little kids.

RAC:  Have you seen the new Twilight New Moon movie that came out this past week

ML:  Definitely not.  No.

RAC:  What do you think of the whole Michael Jackson glove sale price?  Would you ever pay that much for just one glove? 

ML:  No.

RAC:  What are your plans for Thanksgiving.

ML:  We usually head over to relatives in Dubuque.  My mom, her sisters, and my grandma all pitch in to cook the meal.  After Thanksgiving weekend, I’ll head back to school to finish out the semester.

RAC: What’s your school mascot?  Isn’t it the Saluki’s.

ML: I think the Saluki is the team name for Southern Illinois.  Western’s team name is The Leathernecks.

RAC: Do you play any sports up there at the school?

ML: Nope.

RAC:  What do you think about the whole Brett Favre thing?

ML:  I wish it would just go away.

RAC: Did you come back for any East Dubuque Football games or anything?  They had a great season.

ML: A couple yeah.

RAC: Did you see the video of their last pep rally where that dads of the players dressed up like cheerleaders and performed a routine?

ML: Yeah, yes I did hear about that, but I have not actually seen the footage of it.

RAC: You will have to look it up online, there’s like 3 takes of it out there.

RAC: Do you feel like older now that you’re finally in college? … now that you are in a place like a university.  It’s like the universe of information, the Mecca of learning.

ML: I don’t feel that different, there is probably a little difference I think.

Resemblance ???

RAC: History Major eh?  Who is your favorite president?

ML: Probably Abraham Lincon

RAC: Abe? Honestly?  I would have to say that he is my favorite too when you survey the history of this country.  Do you have any skill that you learned at Runde’s that you use in the real world or at college?

ML: Umm, I think I developed better people skills here if anything,

2010 Chevrolet Equinox

ML:  I think it’s a big improvement.  I like it a lot … very nice interior and nice design. RAC: If you could say that there was one like college dream vehicle, what would it be like? The ultimate college car …

ML: For me it would have to be something fuel efficient, because I drive back and forth from home. Are you talking about like the coolness of it or what?

RAC: I don’t know… I’m just asking. So your talking, for you personally it would be a vehicle where you could fold the 3 rows of seats down and pile the whole world in it, and still get 40 miles per gallon?

ML: I don’t think that vehicle exists…

RAC: well it probably will in ten years.

We’re thankful that Mike came back to work for us over the holiday weekend.  He’s a good worker and we wish him the best as he continues his education at Westen Illinois. 

Click PLAY below to find out what Mike’s most thankful for.

In an attempt to project an image of “old curmudgeon,” I thought about starting this article with the phrase “I don’t really understand all the fuss about this Twilight movie thing…” but realized that I actually do understand all the fuss. Sure, the trailers for the movie look like ads for Abercrombie & Fitch, with the obligatory topless young kouroi flaunting their six-pack abs and genetically enhanced dentition, but in our glossy celebrity-focused culture, this is par for the course.

New Moon kouros

The majority of Twilight fans are either teenage girls or moms reliving their teenage years, and ogling attractive young men in various stages of undress is hardly abnormal. It’s no different from my watching the spectacularly bad Bandidas (2006) solely because it has Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz, or sitting through the vapidly banal Barb Wire (1986) just to marvel at the gravity-defying qualities of Pamela Anderson Lee’s frontage.

Bandidas (2006)

Barb Wire (1996)

The other element that makes the New Moon movie so appealing is the presence of male vampires. Without going into an extended psychoanalytical thesis, all you need to know is that as far as women are concerned, vampires are HOT. And by “hot,” I mean sexually charged and erotic. Although I’m acutely aware that feminists may hate me for saying this, a woman can get the chills thinking of being dominated by some dark, handsome vampire whose intentions are less than honorable and who are quite happy to use their sexual charisma (something vampires appear to have in spades) to take their wicked pleasures.

Anyone who actually does want to read a thesis on sexuality and vampires should pop out and buy a copy of the deliciously decadent romp by Camille Paglia called Sexual Persona. Ms. Paglia takes on the whole of western art and uses a psycho-sexual knife to pare it down to its roots – which turns out to be shockingly erotic and so mired in sex that a walk through the masterpieces in the National Gallery of Art in Washington turns out to be no different from an afternoon in a back-street porno theater with a bucket of buttery popcorn. Admittedly she spend more time talking about the notion of the female vampire or “femme fatale,” but to connection between vampirism and sexuality is explicit.

So anyone claiming they “don’t understand what all the fuss is about” is either woefully unable to understand women or lying just so they can seem to be intellectually aloof. And anyone pretending that they’re watching the movie for Oscar-winning performances by giants in the field of acting is simply suffering from the American disease called Puritanism. As a friend of mine told me many years ago, “America was founded by Puritans – and it still shows!” I’m with H.L. Mencken when he says that Puritanism is “the haunting fear that someone, somewhere is having a good time.”

As to understanding the word itself, vampire - or vampyr - is of Slavic origin. It exists in Czech, Polish, Russian, and Serb, as well as vapir and vepir in Bulgarian and vepyr in Ruthenian. Other variations include vopyr, opyr, upir, upyr and upior. The OED defines one as follows:

A preternatural being of a malignant nature (in the original and usual form of the belief, a reanimated corpse), supposed to seek nourishment, or do harm, by sucking the blood of sleeping persons; a man or woman abnormally endowed with such habits. (OED, Vol.XIX, p.422)

In 1796, the word is used in something called the Harleian Miscellany. The full – and well-worth repeating – title is Harleian Miscellany: A collection of scarce, curious, and entertaining pamphlets and tracts, as well in manuscript as in print, found in the late (Edmund Harley, second) Earl of Oxford’s library. Sounds like a forerunner of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. In the relevant passage, the writer says, “These Vampyres are supposed to be the Bodies of Deceased Persons, animated by evil Spirits, which come out of the Graves, in the Night-time, suck the Blood of many of the Living, and thereby destroy them.”

By 1813, the vampire had become a thing literary comment, with Lord Byron including the following sentence in his poem, The Giaour; “The freshness of the face, the wetness of the lips with blood, are the never-failing signs of a Vampire.” Interestingly, Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote the poem Christabel in 1797 (with the second part in 1800 and the third part never appearing), which is clearly about a female vampire but without the word actually being used.

Christabel and Geraldine

The publishing of Bram Stoker’s Dracula in 1897 marked the birth of the “modern” vampire, who is male, urbane, and a Romantic figure. Rather than being an ugly, evil, tortured spirit, the modern vampire is more along the lines of being “Mad, bad, and dangerous to know.” By the end of the 20th century, thanks to the writing of such authors as Anne Rice and the Hollywood movie machine, vampires had become romantically heroic. There’s even a whole sub-culture (or sub-cultures) of people who are convinced that (a) vampires are real and (b) they are vampires!. Take a diversion to the Vampirewebsite.net to find out if you are a vampire, how to “come-out,” and how to meet other vampires for fun, friendship, profit, and blood-letting.

Cruise and Pitt: Vampires

By extending the metaphor of sucking blood, the word vampire has also come to be used to describe “A person of a malignant and loathsome character, esp. one who preys ruthlessly upon others; a vile or cruel extractor or extortioner.” (ibid. 422)

The word can also undergo inflections: vampiric and vampirish are used to described someone as having the nature of a vampire; vampiredom means the state of being a vampire; and vampirism is the collective facts or ideas associated with the world of vampires.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a shortened form of the word, vamp, was used to describe, “A woman who intentionally attracts and exploits men; an adventuress; a Jezebel; freq. as a stock character in plays and films.” (OED, Vol. XIX, p.421). Note that this is NOT the same as the word vamp used to describe the part of the shoe or hose (stocking/sock) that covers the front of the foot. That word derives from the Old French avanpie, which in turn comes from avan(t)=before + pié=foot. It’s a great example of where two words appear to come from the same root but, in fact, don’t. This is sometimes referred to as a false cognate.

I won’t be going to see New Moon. There are only so many hours left in my life and spending two of them watching fantasy teenage angst seems a little bit of a waste. Now, where’s my Tomb Raider DVD…?

so, seit gestern ist also endlich der lang erwartete film draußen, woho !
nachdem ich den film jetzt ausgiebig getestet habe lasse ich jetzt mal schonungslos meine meinung drauf los.
(ich war sonntag double feature gucken und heute nochmal den 2.)
ich fand den film sehr gut muss ich sagen, sehr unterhaltsam.
der film war im vergeich zum ersten ja kein low budget film, weshalb ich direkt klarstellen will das der 1. für ein low budget film extrem gut war.

der 2. teil der twilight saga ist ja mein lieblingsteil, weshalb ich sehr positiv überrascht war, das die umsetzung so gut war.
die meisten rollen sind gut besetzt, und bis auf die tatsache das ich jane blond nich wirklich mag war alles gut.
ich liebe die volturi ja, die sind so sympatisch.
außerdem bin ich auch ein riesen fan von victoria und laurent.
(ich bin im übrigen immernoch sehr erbost das die einfach mal die schauspielerin für victoria geändert haben.)

egal, zurück zum thema. die emotionen kommen im film genial rüber, jedes mal wenn bella schreiend wach wird zerreists einem fast das herz.
und auch alle anderen emotionen sind so stark ausgedrückt, der film ist einfach durch und durch romantisch.
wenn der 3. teil auch so gut wird können wir uns definitiv auf was freuen.

ich liebe teil 1 und 2 und kann kaum noch auf den 3. warten.

aber überzeugt euch selbst.

love,
xoxo

p.s.: einer meiner lieblingssprüche aus dem film: “Jetzt ist der Wolf aus dem Sack.” xD

Here comes another vampire movie. Thank you Twilight and all the viewers who supported it. These movies are beginning to come out in droves. I purely love it…

This movie doesn’t look half bad, in fact it looks pretty sweet. I would definitely rather see this than any of the Twilight series. Tell me what you think!

Kesempatan kami hanya ada satu diantara dua kemungkinan. Hidup atau mati. Ini jelas diluar rencana kami—rencanaku. Pernahkah aku memikirkan akhirnya akan menjadi seperti ini? Pernahkah aku, dengan pikiran liarku yang biasa, menyangka maut menjemputku secepat ini? Tidak. Aku sama sekali tidak pernah memiliki alasan yang cukup kuat untuk berpikir bahwa segala akan berjalan seperti ini; kehilangan seseorang yang begitu kucintai atau bahkan bertaruh nyawa menghadapi para pemburu.

Kami saling berdekatan, memandang was-was pada entah berapa pasang mata berselaput merah yang berpendar dalam kegelapan, menunggu kami lengah. Rasa takut menjalari nadiku.

Sial, aku bahkan tidak tahu apa yang ada di dalam pikirannya saat ini. Apakah kami harus lari? Apakah aku harus menerobos kerumunan makhluk-makhluk sinting bermata merah itu? Aku sungguh menyesal tidak menanyakan apapun lagi padanya setelah kami berada di sini.

Diam-diam aku mengutuk seluruh rentetan kejadian yang kualami. Aku mencoba menghadirkan seluruh kelebatan memori yang tersimpan rapi semenjak takdir mulai mempermainkanku, dan merasa jauh lebih frustasi dibanding sebelumnya. Aku benci ini. Sungguh.

Desis lapar makhluk-makhluk brengsek di sekitar kami semakin menjadi-jadi. Mereka bergerak mendekati kami secara perlahan, memperlihatkan taring, mengancam. Kurasa mereka sudah memutuskannya. Alih-alih menunggu lebih jauh lagi, para pemburu melangkah lebih jauh, memaksa kami terlibat dalam kegilaan malam berlumuran darah.

courtesy of twilightguide.com

The Twilight Saga has captured the hearts of millions of “fanpires” everywhere. The popular novel by Stephanie Meyers has 42 million copies worldwide and in 2008 her book came to life on the big screen, expanding her fan base by the millions.

The saga tells a story of how a simple 17 year-old girl falls in love with the impossible: a vampire. And so begins the tale of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, two teenagers (at least Edward still looks like a teen) who fall hard and fast in love with one another. The relationship is seen as your typical teeny bopper romance, where the idea of love at first sight manifests the moment Bella sees Edwards pale skin and devastating beauty, and when Edward gets a whiff of her irresistible scent.

Millions of teenage girls gobble this stuff up like cookie dough at a sleepover, without fully realizing the relationship the two heroines have together is an abusive one. It’s also straddles the line between devotion and stalking.

“It’s an unachievable romance,” said Nikki Thompson a first year journalism student.

“It makes young girls think that really creepy things and be controlled is romantic and okay.”

The four books in the series provides teens with a blueprint for most, if not all, abusive relationship patterns.

In the first novel Twilight, Edward doesn’t waste time isolating Bella from the friends she’s made in Forks. The minute they begin to establish their connection, which in reality is based on curiosity and lust, Bella completely forgets that she even made friends. And immediately becomes inseparable from Edward and is constantly consumed by his presence. Creating a female character that has no life outside of her boyfriend is an unhealthy model for teenage girls for balancing your relationships and friendships.

In all four novels Edward is a jealous and controlling boyfriend, and Bella rarely makes decisions for herself even though she is perfectly capable. Edwards controlling ways are masked by Stephanie Meyer’s attempts to portray Edward as old-fashioned, since he is in fact 109 years old. But what Meyer’s fails to realize is that times have changed, a woman can think for herself, and doesn’t need a man to “know what’s best” for her.

Readers often see Edward constantly go against Bella’s wishes. In the first book Bella did not want to go to prom, but Edward deceives her into thinking she got dressed up to be turned into a vampire. When in reality he still took her to the prom, insisting that it is a human experience she shouldn’t miss. In New Moon Bella doesn’t want to celebrate her birthday at all, nor does she want a celebration and what does Edward do? He throws her a party anyway. Both instances show complete disregard for his partner’s wishes, in order to establish control and dominance in the relationship. And Bella always goes along with it, never seeming to get upset at the fact that Edward makes all the decisions in their relationship.

Edward also demonstrates his controlling tendencies by following her when she’s out with friends, the pair are often inseparable, and he tells her that no one could love her as much as he does and as a result she begins to feel unworthy of anyone else’s love.

Edward is often portrayed as a jealous boyfriend when it comes to the friendship Bella and Jacob have together. He becomes even more jealous when he learns that Jacob is also in love with Bella. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good love triangle especially, when sworn enemies are involved but Meyer’s takes it too far when she allows Edward to forbid Bella from seeing her best friend. He even goes so far as to disable her truck so that she can’t drive to go see him. Call me a realist, but this has controlling boyfriend written all over it and if Meyers had given Bella any sense (which alas, she did not) Bella would begin to question the kind of man she has fallen for. But in the age old saying “love is blind” it is true in this case.

In New Moon, the second instalment in the series, Meyer’s takes the abuse to an emotional level by using the technique of abandonment, which is often used as a control tactic by the abuser. Bella then spends three months in isolated depression, suffering from terrible nightmares when she sleeps that have her screaming like a murder victim. She also doesn’t make the effort to create a life outside of Edward until three months have passed when she begins to hang out with her childhood friend Jacob Black. He becomes her only resemblance to a normal relationship, which is later tested by the controlling boyfriend himself. When she finally snaps out of her zombie-like trance, the awakening came with a landslide of evident suicidal tendencies. From putting herself in dangerous life threatening situations with complete strangers, to self-inflicting injuries with the help of a motorcycle to what appears to be a suicidal jump from a cliff. “This is the only way I can see him” is Bella’s reasoning behind her reckless behaviour, taking the saying the saying “I can’t live without you” to a whole other level.

In the final instalment, Breaking Dawn, there are traces of physical abuse when Edward an Bella attempt to have a honeymoon. Meyer’s describes the bruises left behind from the night before, stating

“She ends up with a few strained muscles, bumps, bruises and what he is sure must be a cracked rib, but she’s grinning as he examines her afterwards, wearing them all like proud battle scars.”

If this isn’t a way to normalize and even romanticise physical abuse I don’t know what is. The entire series rides on the romanticism of abuse, by masking the relationship between the two teens as an uncontrollable utter devotion to one another. Their love is an example of love that goes beyond reasoning and logical sense and if this is what real love his like women should think twice, before they jump on the Team Edward bandwagon and start looking for their own Edward Cullen in a dark corner of a bar somewhere.

so, at least i can give you some information about the last week. there were soooo many things to do and to organise and to read, etc.
since i had some exams i needed time to study these nice things and since i used my free time to go and have a closer look on “twilight” and “new moon” (i really like double-features… and i went there with my old man – daddy. he was pretty cool… although there were lots over lots of teenies who were squeeling and shouting and i don’t know what… and… well… the best comment ever: OOOOHHHH, HIS AAAASSS!!!!! WOOOOOWWW, CATCH IT! CATCH IT!!!!).

so this is my comming-out. no, i’m still not gay… even if, who cares?

i like the bella and edward series. i really do. but only because i understand all the cheesy and romantic thoughts bella has about edward. yes. that’s it. and so between my enormous amounts of study-stuff i read the third and the fourth book about bella and edward.

and by the way: i’m really sorry, but i have to disappoint you… i still don’t like robert pattinson. maybe he made a good job, but he is not the typical vampire for me. so i had to read the stories, because i can’t watch him for the next both times. that’s why i read the stories… which in fact i better hadn’t.

the writing style is not thaaaat good. sorry, stephenie meyer… but the story is actually interesting. so, i did it. and i never will do it again.

but fact is… i’ve never read a romantic book like that. first, because i don’t really like romance and second… because it is soooo… individual. i like it. for me this is a double-edged sword. i like it, but i don’t want to read it again.
and… my love would be the perfect edward. he has soft and handsome features in face and body. sooo… he is my edward. ^^

As you all know by now, Mama Soul joined us on wednesday when Zelda and I went to the New Moon premiere. I promised a whole post about all the awesome stuff she said, so here we go!
A few days previous to the big event she watched a special about the Twilight-fans in between her nightly work (No, she’s not a prostitute, she’s a nurse). That was when she saw for the first time that there were Teams -Team Edward, Team Jacob, Team Switzerland- and that many people were wearing their Team-shirts to the screenings.

Mama Soul's dream-shirt

So that was probably when she decided she wanted to have a Team-shirt as well. But she kind of didn’t really get why there were different Teams or what they stood for. She just picked her favorite Twilight movie character and decided she wanted to be on his Team. In the end she did not wear a special shirt to the premiere, but guess whose Team she chose? Mama Soul, one and only official member of Team Charlie! Yep, that’s right! Why not, Charlie’s great, isn’t he? Okay, now follow the comments she made while watching the movie for the first time.

The cliff diving scene. Bella sees Victoria, tries to swim away from her, hits her head and gets unconscious.
Mama Soul: “Uh, that was so obvious, she’s just so clumsy.”

Alice racing through Volterra aka Montepulciano. Mama Soul’s a huge Italy fan and has been there so often I lost count three years ago.
So when you see the city from above she smiles happily and says: “Hey, there in that corner is that cute little store where we once bought that great cheese!”
Uhm, yes mum, that was totally what I was thinking about too…

Edward taking off his shirt and walking out of the shadow.
Mama Soul raises her eyebrows saying: “Well, we’ve already seen that one better. I thought he was supposed to have abs…”

The scene where you see Bella and Edward running through the woods together in their Anne of the green Gables outfits.
Mama Soul: “Oh, this looks like that Brothers Grimm story, Hansel and Gretel getting lost in the woods!”

On the way home in the car: “It was kind of obvious that that Indian guy would transform into a wolf. I already knew this would happen after I saw the first movie.”
Honestly? How did she come to that conclusion after seeing Cathy Hardi’s film only once, not reading any of the books and not even having seen any trailer in order to not spoil her the surprise? And then she starts the following conversation:

Mama Soul: “But Jacob looks awesome, not the face so much, but his body, man he is buff!”
We: “Yes, and he’s only seventeen!”
Me muttering under my breath: “But legal in Georgia.”
Mama Soul: “Yeah, in the movie… but he’s older in real life!”
Zelda and me together: “No, in real life! He only turns eight-teen in february.”
Muttering under our breath: “Wow, embarrassing that we know that… not that we’re counting or something…”

Yummy! The fantabulous after-movie-meal we enjoyed in Mama Soul's kitchen... featuring our Twilight tribute accessories

She laughed throughout the cinema scene with Mike and Jake sitting awkwardly in their seats watching that super-stupid action movie. She laughed about each single dog-joke because hey, Mama Soul just loves dogs. Guess she would love to have Jacob as her son-in-law… just saying. Okay, and to be honest, she made the “OMG it’s so cheesy I think I must throw up” gesture. But only four times. That’s not often considering that the movie was kind of cheesy in some parts.

Wanna know what Mama Soul predicted as the ending of the Twilight saga? I’ll tell you in a few days. It’s probably the funniest thing anyone ever said to me about the whole Twilight business, so don’t miss it! Zelda laughed her ass off  when I told her and I want to do this great quote justice. Therefor I will feature this one in a special post. Sorry! But hey, it’s worth the wait, promise!

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Off to Mama Soul’s kitchen to enjoy more delicious desserts

Saveyoursoul

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Do you know anyone as down with the kids as Mama Soul? Then leave us a comment or e-mail us!

(images: google, but mostly me)

I thought I’ve seen the worst movie ever when watching ‘Alexander’. But watching ‘New Moon’ last night, it set a new record of draggy and pointless movie.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan Vampires and Werewolves. ‘Underworld’ set a good precedence for vampires and werewolves movie. Even the previous romantic vampire movie such as ‘Interview with the vampire’ and ‘Bram Stoke’s Vampire’ (I’m not sure that the write title), are not too bad to watch.

I know that the Twilight Saga, is a romantic novel. But honestly, at least make a better movie. U should add some action into the movie.

I don’t mind love storyline, but somehow they manage to make the vampires look gay. Sometimes I do feel like Edward Cullen posing could match the legendary Horatio Cane from CSI Miami. The Cullen’s was not really featured in the movie. They only appear in the beginning and the end of the movie. And their role is just to stand posing and look cool. Hahahahahaha.

What about the werewolves? Initially, I thought they potrayed the werewolves well. But how come they don’t wear any shirts? I know they have nice abs and all, but who in the hell walk around not wearing shirts all the time? And the moment I see a half naked man coming out the of the forest carrying my unconcious daughter, I would have definitely tried to give him a beating.

Anyway, I guess teenage girls would love the movie. But as a movie critic, I would say that the movie sucks. It’s almost a waste of time watching it. U should just pick up the book and read it. But if u want to see half naked Robert Pattison and Taylor Lautner, then u should go.

I’ll give 2/5 bear paw rating for this movie just because I find the werewolves are cool and the Volturi are awesome.

Get a sneak peek inside the Flare magazine upcoming January issue featuring The Twilight Saga star Rachelle Lefevre – on newsstands December 7th!

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VIEW VIDEO…

i’m kinda confused after watching new moon last week… with all the anticipation (a year’s worth) and the awesome teasers boasting bare-chested teenage werewolves, i’m still trying to convince myself that it’s all worth the wait… as I’ve said – “… trying to convince myself…”

sorry, I know some of you are big fans but I cannot shut in the critic in me when it comes to movies.  I love watching movies as much as I fancy on criticizing them, so here goes…

new moon is duller than the 1st one… lots of prolonged chit-chat scenes between 2 characters. i enjoyed the werewolves scenes but that’s about it. soundtrack sucks but it’s supposed to cuz it’s a vamp movie (get it? sucks — vampire? nye nye). I forgot all about the cinematography aspect of the movie because – there’s none! Edward’s car changed. there’s a lot more but I need to watch again the movie to remember them.

problem with me though is that I’ve read the book so my tendency is to compare the movie with the book. either the movie really sucks or I just missed out a huge part of the screenplay cuz all I did was compare and guess what the next scene would be like. what if I hadn’t read the book in the first place? would it had been a different experience? – another confusion bit me there.

~end

I left my home on Richmond Hill at midnight to begin what I thought would be my usual early morning hunt for breakfast.  However, as I strolled along the Thames tow-path towards Kew, I stumbled across a delightful young man.  He was stood under an arch of Richmond Bridge, with one shoulder leant against the wall.  His neck folded slightly to allow for his head to avoid the curve of the arch.  His hair fell across his forehead which slightly masked his gaze in my direction.

However, I could feel him looking at me.  Every step I took towards him was watched with intense concentration, almost like he knew of my disposition.  He studied my every move.  His only movement was the occasional hand gesture towards his lips, out of which a smooth channel of smoke was breathed.  As I approached him, he did not flinch, although I could hear the sound of his pounding heartbeat from quite a distance.

“Bon soir” he said, with the hint of a quiver in his subtle French voice.

I replied with a smile.  I noticed his gaze leave mine for the first time, as if he were distracted by my lips.

The damp chill of  a late November morning penetrates even a vampire’s skin, and when he saw me shiver slightly he offered me his coat.  “A gentleman?” I whispered quizzically in his ear.

As he placed his long black overcoat around my shoulders,  I could smell him.  A sweet and noble smell, the like of which I had not smelt for a many years.  There was something fresh and vulnerable about him, but I could also sense his deep knowing and longong for something more.

Sweet fresh human blood such as this is hard for one like me to resist.  However, I felt he had been waiting for me.  It was if he knew me.  I decided not to rush with him; to take my time and enjoy him.

In this day and age, it is unwise for a vampire to invite a human into one’s home.  But this one was different, I was as much under his spell as he was mine.

After a short walk, Christophe and I, that is his name, arrived at my mansion house on Richmond Hill.  That was just 5 hours ago.  We have been having a little Champagne and some fun since…  He is currently in the drawing room playing a Brahms sonata on my piano, whilst smoking yet another cigarette (I am not fond of these modern human habits).  I have enjoyed watching his lose dark hair move with his every strike of the keys and the reflection of the open fire lap against his bare olive skin.  I can tell he is getting rather sleepy, so I might take him to bed.  I am, of course, entirely wide awake.

TBC…

VQ x