Update...

I know, I know, I'm horrible at posting often. It's my biggest pet peeves with other blogs that I read, but it takes me a long time to come up with something worthwhile to say (as much as I'm sure you guys would really love my mundane ramblings...), and even longer to get my rear in gear and post it! (and yes, this picture is where I live, it's Cwm Idwal in Wales).

So it's the start of a new semester, classes start tomorrow, and I'm rather stoked. I'm teaching IT (web design and photoshop, that sort of stuff), and Writing for Children which I'm really looking forward to. It's a base course in Children's lit, as well as a lot of workshop elements on how to write literature that children may read. I'm still planning on some film placements and career shadowing opportunities, so fingers crossed for all of that please, but I'm gaining some pretty great core experience in the meantime as well.

Also, I gave a presentation last Friday about my work thus far, and I think it went really well. I put together a power point (it's on my googlesite if you're really bored :) just outlining the basics of my research; why I'm studying what I'm studying, how I came to do it, the opportunities I've had, where it's all going and what I hope to do with it in the end. I enjoyed the actual presentation, and afterwards I got a ton of questions and for one of the first times in my academic career, I knew the answers to all of the questions. That was always the part that I dreaded. I feared that someone would ask me something that I wouldn't know the answer to, I'd be stumped, and look like the brainless fool that I sometimes feel that I am.... but I actually answered everything, got into some great discussions with fellow academics, and held my own discussing Twilight, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and adaptations in general. It was brilliant.

I know there's been a ton of news recently regarding all of these adaptations (Dakota Fanning, America Ferrera, I know the same info you do, and no, I don't have any opinions on the rumors until they are facts; that is when I evaluate everything and reflect on it, but there are too many things said before they are confirmed, and rumors are a waste of my time, frankly, though they can be interesting to consider... and as a side note did you see the newest Twilight spoof video? The girl playing Bella is the girl from Free Willy 2, Nadine... I had such a crush on Jason James Richter :-) anyway, sorry that I'm not a news site... and I probably won't be anytime too soon... I'm a reflection, digestion, and regurgitation in a smart-way site :) I wish I could post every day about what I'm mulling over, but there's too much work with the whole PhD thing going on, not to mention teaching, TwiCon planning, two other conferences, my work in the international office, and my work for my beloved summer camp!

I can't stop my head from thinking though, and there are many, many elements of Twilight that have been stewing for the past month. I think editing will be the first that I'll tackle... then maybe characterization.. although I can't make promises :) Who knows where the heck my brain will go; and I certainly can't stop opportunities from arising, so don't worry, I'm not going to stop this anytime soon. I'll be processing different elements of the film, talking about the process of a film pre-shoot (i.e. where Harry Potter and New Moon are right now... what they're doing to prepare, who's doing what, where they're going etc.), so I'll be back up soon. I just need to get the first week of classes under my belt!