A Post About a Different Vampire Show

Happy BEDA!

Several months ago I decided to rewatch the entire series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  It all began because I wanted to watch TWO awesome episodes, but I figured it would be better to watch them in order to get to them.  I finally hit the first one I’d wanted to see.

“Hush” Season 4, Episode 10*

*This will be spoiler-free for all of you who have yet to experience the greatness that is Buffy or if you’re Joanna who’s working her way through earlier episodes. (Right?)

The episode follows the basic formula – big bads come to Sunnydale, wreak havoc, and the Scooby Gang gears up to kick some butt.  However, the genious of this episode written and directed by Buffy creator Joss Whedon is that for about 40 minutes of the episode there are NO HUMAN VOICES. It’s a mostly quiet episode with the exception of things like fighting grunts and one computerized voice. The silence makes it unique and makes viewers (or just me) a little more uneasy.  Kind of like the movie with Audrey Hepburn I blogged about before.  (See: Post on Wait Until Dark)

Another aspect of the genious that is the Hush episode is the humor of the cast when silent. Xander, Giles, and Spike, especially, are all really great in this episode.  Of course, they’re usually great in every episode, but in this one, they’re fantastic at making gestures or being sarcastic even without speaking.

And finally, I just have to say that from what I can remember of the villains on the whole series, the big bads in this episode – “the Gentlemen” – are the scariest, creepiest villains on Buffy.

Creepy, no?

What do you think?  Have you seen this one?

– Jill

Rooney might have made eye contact with me…

Don’t you just love it when all your favorites things turn out to be connected to your other favorite things?! It always makes me feel like I am doing something right with my life–like I am on the trail to the bestest most favoritest thing ever.

Last weekend was Iowa’s Homecoming (and I hear that I am lucky to be such a nerd and to have chosen to do homework over watching the game. Cmon Hawkeyes! make Nate Kaeding proud!) and to celebrate there is always a concert after the parade—this year was Rooney!!!!! (and Chuck Berry, also very cool) AHHHH, MICHAEL MOSCOVITZ IN IOWA CITY!!!! I saw the Princess Diaries movie before reading any of the books, so Robert Schwartzman will always be Michael to me. Whether he likes it or not. sly smile.

anyway, so I got out of work and walked downtown to wait for my friends before watching the parade. Wait, what do I hear?? is that a heavenly angel doing a soundcheck? NO IT WAS MICHAEL MOSCOVITZ! (omigosh I hope Robert doesn’t google himself and read this…) The stage for the Homecoming show is just out in front of the Old Capitol Building, so the Rooney boys were essentially just doing their preshow stuff outside–meaning that I could literally just walk right up to the stage and watch. Don’t worry, I tried to look cool. I leaned against a rock and took out a newspaper while slightly shaking my head along to the music. OMG! there were literally only like five other people there watching with me–so chances are good that maybe the guys in the band made eye contact with me??!! I was trying really hard to have a quirky-Midwestern-girl-I-am-enjoying-your-music-very-much-but-I-am-not-throwing-myself-at-you smile, which is really hard to do. Especially when you are panicked that you are giving a I-may-look-23-but-if-I-come-face-to-face-with-you-i’m-going-to-scream-and-steal-some-of-your-hair-for-a-scrapbook smile. here is a representation of the situation:

A re-creation of me trying to act cool while standing front-row while Rooney soundchecks.

except imagine my hair shorter, and Robert looking less like Michael Moscovitz.

oh, and just to make a connection between Rooney and another teen-girl book sensation. Their video for “Are You Afraid of Me” is all about vampires. Yes.

oh and this is one of the songs they played while I was watching soundcheck and my eyes glazed over. Totally reminds me of Phantom Planet’s “Hey Now Girl”–as in I love it.

amberj.

NGT3: Vampires vs. Sweet Valley Twins!

aha! Finally NGT 3 is up, and it is ridiculously awesome and totally bix! Go to NerdGirlTalking to listen or download. please please please. We need to be ridiculously famous before Mr. Timberlake will ask us to dance all seductively (meaning slightly shake our hips as he moonwalks around us) in one of his video-masterpieces. JK, JK, I actually suggest you don’t listen. or do. whatever–it is totally up to you as a completely brilliant, independent thinker.

While you are thinking though you should watch this:

I had to record this for a video assignment on the Invisible Time-Traveling Paparazzi Blog. How much is this your fav new dance?

amberj.

Did I ignore the Chosen One?

So this is Jen, writing my first post on here………..I have a feeling my posts will be filled with oodles of library stuff, updates on my cats, and lots and lots of …………….. (because I can’t help doing it, it is like a reflex whenever I type now!).

So over the weekend at the library a little girl came up to me and asked if I had a book with “real” pictures of vampires. Now this girl was probably in about second grade and she came off as completely serious. I took her to the section on scary stories/monsters and showed her the vampire books. She did not seem impressed. I told her that was what we had and I was sorry it wasn’t what she was looking for. At the time I thought it was amusing that she believed there are real vampires, but then I started thinking…………..

As a huge fan of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (my hamster is even named Buffy) I should have recognized a call for help when I saw one. Buffy spent most of her high school career hanging out in the library with Giles, her Watcher, who gave her advice and guidance………..maybe this young girl was born to slay vampires and she came to the library in search of her own Giles!!!

Oh man, another awesome opportunity down the drain. Sigh. I guess I will have to settle for being a regular librarian instead of an butt kicking, stake wielding, demon killer.

Jen