Someone on FireflyFans.net posted a promotional image from Serenity. Whoo!

I’m trying to keep an open mind regarding the ship’s new design. I’m so happy that we’re getting a Serenity movie that I feel we have no room to criticize those kinds of details. And Joss and the cast are happy about it, so I know we’re in good hands, but I can’t help feeling that what little we see in this image is in a totally different spirit than the ship in the TV show. What’s up with all the blue metal? I want a firefly that was welded together, fashioned out of cheap, ordinary metal that hasn’t received any special treatment. I want a ship designed based on function over flash. I don’t want clean. I don’t want shiny. I don’t want blue. AND I WANT MY DOOR SHAPED LIKE A UNION JACK.

Is it tremendously mean that I get a modicum of glee at not seeing Inara there? Though the absence of Book makes me sad. Of course, it really wouldn’t make sense for him to stay with the crew for any great length of time, especially given that he had no source of income. :D

Other things to ponder: Why does River’s dress actually fit her? (And does River look oddly like Fred in this picture, or is it just me?) Why is Wash packing heat? Where are the Captain’s tightpants? What about Kaylee’s overalls? And what is going on with Jayne’s hairstyle? Is Kaylee wearing a watch?

Hee, I love how I started this entry with “I feel we have no room to criticize.” XD

Looking through the sidebar, I also realized I had the wrong date for the Hitchhiker’s Guide. Good gravy! So we’re going to have Serenity on April 22nd, HHGTG May 6th, and Episode 3 on May 19th. It’s going to be a very good month for science fiction!

Dude. High-res caps from the RotK:EE! The ship in the last one on that page almost looks like it’s out of a McKean illustration…

December… holy cow, do I not have the release date in my “Fandom Dates” sidebar? Good grief, I am useless. *checks Amazon, then remedies the fault* December 14th cannot come soon enough!

Ooh, Blogger says this is my 4,242nd entry! That I reveal no grand truths about Life, The Universe, and Everything is somehow disappointing. :D

Today started off on a good note. And then it got better! It’s like a karmic reward for yesterday, I suppose. I woke up early, feeling generally good about the Film History midterm. I studied about half of our essays and glanced back over some of the earlier book readings so they would be fresh. I think I did quite well on the IDs and the scene analysis, but I think I went into too much detail, as I ended up not having nearly as much time as I needed for my essay. Quite possibly the worst essay I’ve ever written in my life; thank gravy it was only 30% of the test and not anything more. And I did quite well on the essay assignment we had before, and I resolve to prod booty on my next essay, so I’m not that worried about my final grade. What’s done is done. It’s over, and that’s all that matters. All the stress regarding that exam is gone!

Immediately afterward, I met with Professor Lewis, and we fianlly managed to get my Homework 6 up and running. I just had 3 little bugs in my code, and it turned out I was using the simulator slightly wrong, so I emerged from our meeting that much more wise. He seemed very easygoing about any deadline for Homework 7, so all the stress there is gone, though I’m certainly going to get it done as soon as possible.

So tonight was opening night for “Annie Get Your Gun.” To my delight, Auny Janet and Uncle Lew were able to come up to Philly for the performance. Before my call, we had dinner together and stopped by the Arthur Ross Gallery to see my images. Hurrah! The show itself went decently well. The audience was more than slightly dead, but that was to be expected on a Thursday night. Hopefully, tonight should be much more lively.

In other musical news, my Lady in the Dark cd just arrived today. Commendable speed, Amazon! You get a cookie! I can’t wait to audition for this show. It sounds like so much fun!

Also, WOO!!!! We just got our scores back from the Math midterm a week ago. You know, my most difficult class? I got an 83! Without curve! I wonder what the curve will be like this time… for the last exam, it was 11 points. *grooves*

I am also quite convinced Terry Pratchett is stalking me. A few years ago (summer before Junior year? Ah! Blog archives say 7/20/01! Zounds), I was taking an SAT prep class, and when we did our initial practice Verbal section, I preened over how I knew every vocab word except for one. That word was “hedonism”. That night, while reading “Sourcery” on the bus, I came across the scene in which Conina is trying to remember an unusual word. Rincewind suggests “hedonism”. I started laughing uproariously, prompting my hallmates to ask “What’s so funny?” “Hedonism!” I chortled. I think it was at that point where they decided not to be friends with me. :D

Anyway, while reading Going Postal backstage tonight, I started giggling when I saw Pterry had used the phrase “cocking a snook”, which is odd, because the phrase is so unusual that I don’t know why he would use it in a book series intended for such a large audience. Meanwhile, the phrase “cocking a snook” is an inside joke amongst me and my roommates, ever since I came upon it in my Film History textbook. And the weird thing is, I was reading the assignment just a week before Going Postal came out. Strangeness. But the other reason Terry Pratchett is attempting to drive me mad is the way he thinks he can nickname a character “Spike” and then use the word “effulgent” a couple pages later. I’m sorry, Pterry, that word is off-limits.

It’s almost as bad as Jasper Fforde’s The Well of Lost Plots and Something Rotten. Thursday meets a character named Spike who is head of Spec-Ops 17 (Hostile 17 anyone?), the Vampire and Werewolf Disposal Operations. And he’s more than willing to give his life for our plucky heroine at the end of Something Rotten. Well, okay, so maybe Fforde’s is worse. But still. If Neil and JKR introduce characters named Spike I may have to weep openly. I will totally ignore how Moni says she envisions William de Worde to look like William the Bloody Awful Poet. And I will totally ignore that I agree.

And ooh, a distraction! The Fox Music Store lists Firefly among its “Future Releases”! Squeeee, finally! A lot of fans have been waiting for a soundtrack for a long time.

Happy Birthday to Howard Dean!

A couple political links in his honor:

Sorry Everybody, and the world’s response: Apologies Accepted.

Amusing: Rumsfeld a Martial Arts Master

Well, a few things have happened today to tip the Priscilla Stress-O-Meter. Professor Lewis (who team-teaches CSE 240 with Professor Martin) is being really cool about my Tetris assignment, and we’ve made an appointment to meet and try to figure out what’s going wrong with my Homework 6 code after my Film History midterm is over. So I’m not going to have to worry about trying to submit anything tonight when I still can’t get the first half of the code to run correctly.

On the other hand, I set my alarm this morning for 7:30 so I could get an early start studying Film History and make a few tweaks to my latest 3D modeling assignment (we had a progress critique today), but my biological clock had other things in mind and I woke up at 9:05. 3D Modeling class starts at 9, and I have a solid block of class until 1. I threw my clothes on, grabbed a bag of dried apricots, and ran out the door. So with no decent breakfast, a massive headache (fortunately, I did have my Aleve with me!), and a lame scene with lame lighting, I arrived for class 20 minutes late and spent the next four hours starving. I had talked with Scott (the Modeling professor) the other day and told him I wouldn’t have much ready for the critique due to all the craziness in my life, and he said it was okay, as long as I can catch up over Thanksgiving. He told me he wasn’t worried about me, as he had seen my work ethic on the previous assignments (A’s on both! Go me!), so it was all good.

At 1, I grabbed a quick lunch and headed over to Van Pelt (the main library) to see if I could watch 400 Blows before tomorrow’s exam, as I missed the screening due to working the polls on Election Day. Looking at my watch, I saw that it was going to be a narrow squeak, as the movie is 1 1/2 hours long, and I had about an hour and 45 minutes to figure out how the Library Reserve checkout works, find a viewing station in the already packed room, watch the film, and make the 15-20 minute walk to my 3:00 class. Then my stomach lurched and I was ill in the restroom. To add insult to injury, the Aleve (which I had taken just over an hour previous) did nothing for the sudden pre-period cramps from hell.

By the time I felt I could face the world again, I saw that there was no way I could accomplish all I needed to do, so I decided to go back to my room and spend my time on the readings I need to catch up on, and perhaps just try to find info about “400 Blows” on the internet.

Our dress rehearsal goes from 6 to midnight. Grgh, if I can just make it through one more day…

So please pardon me if I seem crazed. Um… oh! did I mention that one of my classmates modeled Rincewind for the character/creature assignment? I may have squealed in gleeful delight.

Good gravy I need a nap. But when it comes down to having a nap versus the chance of maybe passing my Film History midterm, it’s gotta be the midterm. Oh, the angst.

The extension has given me a bit of breathing room. Therefore: links!

A new-ish teaser trailer for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (slightly modified from the one shown at Comic Con). Also check out the handful of production designs! Nothing like what I pictured, but I’m not complaining. Generally I like what I’ve seen of this movie so far, with the possible exception of casting a rapper as Ford Prefect.

Vote Jon Stewart as EW Best Entertainer of the Year. At present, he’s at 65%. I am so amused. And it’s nice to see “Lost” doing so well in the TV show category!

Silly: The Marauders vs. The Beatles — with pictures!

NewScientist.com Study: Teenagers raised by lesbian mothers show no developmental differences compared to those brought up by heterosexual parents, according to the first large national study in the US.

Professor Martin gave me an extension on the Tetris assignment. I just might make it through the day without snapping.

Thanksgiving break cannot come soon enough.

As of 3:06AM, I am Sweet 19, and I have been kissed. And it was really nice. As is snuggling. Snuggling is very nice as well.

I am really, really happy right now.

*lets out a tortured, agonized scream*

Wow, that was cathartic.

*returns to studying math*

You know, this wouldn’t be so excruciating if this stuff actually had relevance to anything. I cannot fathom how this moronic drivel could have any use to anyone but theoretical mathematicians. Tell me how this is applicable to any field of study and I’ll stop complaining.