Archives for 2008

I thought of summarizing this, but in the end, I think this fan’s word’s speak for themselves.

We arrived at Benaroya Hall at about 6:30 -the event started at 7:00-. This is of course after I spent the last hour changing into my costume and putting on make up in the parking garage across the street. But you don`t want to hear about that. Walking across the street to get to the hall is 5 minutes of my life I will NEVER forget. It is burned into my mind forever. Just imagine you are a typical everyday Seattle pedestrian. Minding your own business, waiting to cross a crosswalk. Then suddenly you look to your left side. Low and behold, a 6ft tall teenage girl is dressed up in a huge fuzzy lamb costume, ears and all. You would stare, right? Well, I`m surprised I didn`t cause any traffic accidents, judging by how many drivers were gawking out their windows.

Eventually we walked into the hall`s lobby. Excited and flushed, I raced to the back of the line -this was preassigned seating, so the line was just to walk into the main hall-. Then I looked around. Approximately 2,500 people were in that line. 2,500 people, and from what I could see, I was the ONLY person in costume. This had no effect on me. I was not bothered or embarrassed. More "Whatever!" about the whole situation.

Well people took to the costume really, really well. Lots asked for photos. Comments were made about how well done and cleaver it was. It turned lots of heads and got groups of people laughing. I felt like a Disney Princess.

By the time it was almost my turn to get my book signed, I was more nervous then a tourist walking into the Volturi tower. What is she thinks it`s really weird? Stupid? Doesn’t notice it AT ALL?. I took a coupe deep breaths, made sure my ears were straight, and walked up to the table where Stephenie was signing. She had her eyes down on a book, finishing it up for the person in front of me. Her assistant was the first to look up. She started laughing hysterically.  My mind was racing. Be cool, act normal, friendly is key. Stephenie peeked up to her assistant wondering what had happened to her. Then her head turned to me. She let a huge "Oh my GOD!", covered her mouth, and grinned. "You`re the first lion-lamb costume I have ever seen!". "I wish I had a camera" the assistant mumbled. I was so overwhelmed. She likes it! She likes it! I got SM to say "Oh m god!". My semi-eloquent vocabulary left me stranded, as I stuttered the words "Thanks, you`re awesome!"……seriously?…..Thanks you`re awesome? My mind balks at the fact that I had more then an hour in line, time to think and to plan what glorious insightful words I would say to this woman. And I come up with "Thanks, you`re awesome!"?……*bangs head against wall*

But overall it was amazing.
Justin played beautifully. I cried, I am such a sap.
Stephenie was as sweet as ever. Giving insightful, interesting answers to the many questions that were asked.
Getting my book signed and meeting Stephenie was priceless. I will remember that even better then I remember walking across the street, into Benaroya Hall.

Hot topic has added a Team Edward and Team Jacob line to their already popular movie based shirts. The have also incorporated a quote shirt. See the entire line here.

The Team Edward shirt features a quote on the back that says, "What if I’m not the hero? What if I’m the bad guy?" Then underneath is the familiar Twilight movie title graphic.

The back of the Team Jacob shirt features a twilight graphic with what looks like a claw mark going through it.

Blogger Lauren has written an essay in defense of Edward Cullen. She welcomes commentary.

Twilighters Anonymous has a video contest going. Check them out. Prizes include Breaking Dawn themed bookmarks and the book itself.

According to Lexiconer Rachel, Zune (Microsoft’s version of Ipod) has free video clips to download from comic-con. These include clips titled "meet the "twilight" actors," and "Hear from "Twilight" author, novelist, star."  You need to download the Zune software to get the clips.

The Movie Fanatic has a feature on Rob Pattinson.

Fanpop has caught Twilight Saga fever. Some of their info is movie based, but there is even more with with a place for book based obsession including my new personal favorite, Kate and Garrett.

Novel Novice, the Twilight themed website, started by a teacher who got her class into reading because of Twilight has undergone a new look. Check them out!

Speaking of getting kids to read, we’ve also heard back from Elena at First Book who writes:

Thank you for once again mentioning us on the site. The response has been incredible, with more than 3,400 readers visiting our site. Every little bit helps to share our mission and reach more children in need.

We’re often met with skepticism– what we call the "Tooth Fairy" complex– when programs don’t believe an organization like ours can really exist. Over the last 16 years, we’ve distributed more than 60 million books, and yet many of the programs we’ve served waited until a trusted source told them about us before they took any action. Your support will surely help us reach new communities and children.

Now I’m not holding my breath on this one because it’s not controversial, it’s not full of angst, it’s not pitting one side against another, etc….you get the idea. Wouldn’t it be something if the media who has paid so much attention to all the negativity out there might actually post about a good news story about a great organization like this? 

 I again ask people who liked or liked Twilight  to do something positive that actually makes a difference. There are two ways you can do this:

1. Tell what book inspired you to read and vote to get books sent to needy kids in your state of choice. You are allowed to vote more than once. This is absolutely free. Make your opinion count!
2. If you have the means, for as little as $10.00, you can give the gift of four books to first time readers.

Time Magazine has a follow up on their "Ask Stephenie" poll from about a month ago.

The Seattle PI has an article on fans rallying in support of Breaking Dawn.

CNN Headline News has a Twilight Saga phenomena video.
Thanks to Nikki for pointing this one out.

The Reelz Channel has an interview with Stephenie Meyer.

The Wall Street Journal has an article entitled "True Love Waits,"  which discusses how moral Stephenie’s characters seem to be.

Another spoiler filled review of Breaking Dawn is found over at The Post.

Greetings from Twilight has posted a Comic Con video retrospective.

We think we now have the new forum fully functional; however with anything new there are bound to be glitches so bear with us as we fix those.

If you want to participate in the forums you need to do the following:

1. Register again. Please use your former name, or come up with a new non-Twilight related one. The reason we say new non-twilight related one, if you want to go that route, is that there are a ton of twilight related ones already taken.
2. Wait for the approval to hit your inbox (check out your spam box sometimes the approval goes there). We’ll try to approve within 24 hours.
3. When you get approved, introduce yourself in the New Kid in Town forum, and then join in where ever.

We’ve copied and pasted a bunch of the most popular threads over as well as created a bunch of new ones. If we missed one of your favorites, let us know and we’ll create it.

We also expanded and reorganized several sections. Thanks to a number of people who wrote in and made some good and helpful suggestions.

If you want to see the old forum, you can see it here. As it appeared just prior to our re-opening on August 5, 2008.

If you have any detailed questions not covered in the above, email us.

A big thank you to all the mods who helped configure this and put everything back. This is not anyone’s profession. No one is paid. They did it in between shifts at work, while stealing a few hours online while on vacation, while packing boxes for a move, and while getting kids ready for their first day of school.

Lastly thank you to the forum posters who have patiently waited for this.

There seem to be media outlets, perhaps because it’s a slow news week and they feel the need to create some type of story, that are harping on a book war and now a character war between The Harry Potter Books and the Twilight Saga. We are not linking to this type of lunacy anymore because all it does is give credence to what we consider to be a non-issue.

Taking a quick look around the fandom, it seems there are several other Twilight sites that are also as mystified as we are. Is there a team Gossip Girls vs. a Team Princess Diaries, vs a Team Traveling Pants? Is there a Team Gandalf vs. Team Aslan?  Is there and Anne of Green Gables vs. Little Women showdown death match? The answer is a pretty resounding "NO"!

As far as we can tell, they are two great book series that have inspired people to read and have racked up some pretty impressive sales numbers particularly in the teen market. After that, they don’t have a lot in common in that they are different genres of loosely Romance/vampire/fantasy vs. Quest/coming of age/fantasy.

Sure there are people who prefer either book who will partake in a nonsensical war as to which is better. However we don’t think they are indicative of the fans of both books as a whole. So here to leading a charge and recycling an old slogan we used back awhile ago:  WHO SAYS YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE!

There are plenty of real issues in the world to get riled up about,  making much ado about nothing and fighting over books is certainly not something this website has ever advocated and frankly we think it’s just plain stupid!

I am now going over to the First Book site where I can actually do something positive and meaningful regarding reading. I’m going to vote again and get some underprivileged kids some books. If you feel the same way. I encourage others to do the same.

Pel
(Who proudly typed this while wearing her Ravenclaw watch and Jacob’s bracelet.)