Harry Potter, Fuses and more...

Wow - it's been a Harry Potter weekend. I just can't escape the bugger. Yes, that's right - I'm one of the handful of people who doesn't like. I won't say they're in any way bad books - in fact, most of the evidence points to them being very good books - but I just honestly don't get them. Maybe I got into them too late (I read the first one when I was 15, in 2002); maybe I'm just weird. Could also be that this is a much 'lower' standard of fantasy (as in, there's High Fantasy, and then there's 'lower' fantasy) than I was brought up with...it's more mainstream, it's more teen-orientated, it's just more...bleurgh. But hey, everyone else seems to like it, and I realise I'm in a tiny minority...but I'm sticking with my opinion.

Anyways, my friends convinced me to go to see the latest film offering from the bespectacled boy-wizard. And I have to say that whilst I wasn't exactly enthralled - I have, after all, maintained that they would've made better films from the outset; and was bitterly disappointed with the first four films - they've finally found the right director for the job. Chris Columbus was just plain wrong; Alfonso Cuaron I admire greatly, but he had the tough job of balancing the style of the third novel with his intense style of filmmaking; and Mike Newell - despite making the better of the first four films - still wasn't quite on the money. But David Yates' direction was excellent - he balanced the slightly more cutesy stuff perfectly with the darker final third. And good news, he's signed on to direct number six! So clearly the boys at Warner Bros. were just as impressed as I was! Plus Imelda Staunton was fantastic as Umbridge; as were a lot of the other adult actors.

Still the movie wasn't without it's problems - Emma Watson bizarrely has turned into a eyebrows-and-nose-flare actress, the script was still a bit flakey, and the editing department once again cut far too much out (and occasionally left things in that they should've cut out). So I'd give it a 6/10, for the fantastic direction, the solid acting (finally), and the quality of the final battle.

As for the new book...well, I have a copy - but I'm in the middle of The Northern Lights, and I don't like focusing my attention on two different books at once - mostly because I'm a moron and get the two plots mixed up in my head! But my thoughts shall be returned to you faithful readers (hah!) when I finish it. The adult cover is certainly very foreboding...a Slytherin amulet, eh? Intriguing!

What else, what else...oh! Microshaft have pissed me off. We had a power spike that blew half the fuses in the house. I know this because half of the lights went off, loads of devices stopped working (including my Xbox 360 mid-use). Anyways, so I worked my way around the house, replacing all the fuses, until I finally got to the thing. I replaced the fuse, then crashed back down on my bed to see if I can pick up where I left off.

Nothing. Nada. So I check the supply, and the light isn't coming on. My initial reaction was 'silly Ross; you replaced it with one of the already burnt out fuses!'. So I go downstairs, retrieve one that I know to be working (first one out of a newly opened pack!). Still nothing. So I think 'bugger...my power supply's fucked'.

But then, on closer inspection, on the plug it claims it only draws 2.7 amps from the wall. The 'blown' fuse in the plug was 10 amps! Intrigued, I slap the fuse I into the power cable for my laptop, and guess what? The bloody fuse wasn't blown! Which means that the goddamn factory fitted it with a fuse that was too goddamn big!!!!!

Argh! I'm furious with Microsoft, to be absolutely honest. The power supply's buggered, and there's a good chance that the 360 might be buggered along with it; all because of one tiny component problem. Hopefully they'll deliver their great customer service tomorrow, because I really don't want to have to shell out on a brand new console.

Well, that's it for today. Keep chilled out, ladies and gents!!