I've been cheating on you.

That's right, Blogger... My last post was not by accident; I did indeed redirect my readers to a Wordpress site: www.whisperedwords.ca.

That's right... WORDPRESS.

I have been blogging on Wordpress on the side for a while now. I am tired of living the lie, so I posted that last link to just get it out there. I enjoy Wordpress. I have had a taste of Wordpress' features, and have found that it pleases me in some ways that you cannot, Blogger. There is a level of customization available on Wordpress that you just can't match, with your HTML copy-and-paste scripts and your trial and error philosophy. Also, Wordpress cooks better, and anticipates my needs before I even think of them!

To be honest, I feared Wordpress at first- I feared what would happen if you found out that I was "Wordpressing" on the side, but when I sampled Wordpress' wares, I was hooked.

I don't know what to say, other than the truth: WP is better for my music site. My band needs the kind of customization that you can't give, so I had to go somewhere else to be satisfied.

I didn't mean to hurt you. In fact, I still like your Google-centric focus and ease of updating from mobile devices (even if the media add options are a tad stingy), and for my little humor blog, you work just fine... uncomplicated to update and share. But that just isn't enough for me any more. A more robust website needs a more robust blog system with crisp, adaptable templates, and you just didn't have it. So I had to go elsewhere.

I am sorry it had to go this far and be so public, but I had to get your attention, didn't I? We haven't seen each other much as of late, and I wanted to make sure we are clear; I will still blog on you. I just need to see other bloggers for my band-related needs. It's not you... it's me.

Until next time,

Jared

BIG news on the horizon! Also, adorable cat picture. » Whisperedwords.ca

BIG news on the horizon! Also, adorable cat picture. » Whisperedwords.ca

Ten hours better spent...

Greetings!


*NERD ALERT*


I recently tried to watch the first Peter Jackson Hobbit movie for the second time, and realized that, despite the fact that I love the source material and the way Jackson made Middle Earth come to life... That movie was not very well made, pacing-wise. It was padded pretty substantially to make three movies happen, and it felt like it. I also was thinking about the stories told about what the third film is going to look like; it will be the Battle of the Five Armies, and then will bridge the gap between the Hobbit movies and the Lord of the Rings.

UNNECESSARY.

That bridging has already been done IN THE EXISTING FILMS IN A NUMBER OF WAYS. You know how this time could be better spent? This:

My beloved 50th anniversary edition of the Hobbit, with beautiful paintings by Michael Hague for illustration. I have read this so many times I lost count. My mom gave it to me when I was eight!


Just read the Hobbit book! It will take you less than the ten cumulative hours it takes to watch these movies, and tells the story in the much-beloved charming Tolkien fashion; No ridiculously drawn-out sword battles and really bloody weird obese Orc songs, no forty-minute supper scene, no manufactured cliffhangers or Big Bads created specifically to fill time...

Again, I do dig that we have Tolkien on the screen at all... But between the six endings of Return of the King and the "supper in Bag End" scene in the first Hobbit film ALONE, somebody's gotta tell Peter to stop. He made a mess of the Two Towers and created a Nazgul/Frodo confrontation that NEVER happened, simply to give a movie that already had an AMAZING set piece and conflict resolution with the Battle of Helm's Deep another conflict and resolution. And what was that conflict and resolution? Let's see...

Frodo is tired. Frodo wants to put the ring on. Frodo knows he shouldn't put the ring on. But Frodo REALLY wants to put the ring on! Oh no, a flying whatchamacallit! ...now Frodo REALLY really wants to put that ring on! But he doesn't. Conflict over. Movie finished. My forbearance: also finished!
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Dear Peter Jackson,
Tolkien actually DID create a cliffhanger ending for The Two Towers; It was the part where Sam thinks Frodo is dead, takes the sword and ring, and leaves on his own to complete the mission. That cliffhanger KILLED me when I was a kid. It would have been perfect. Why you gotta disrespect, Pete?

Love,
Jared
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Rant complete. Maybe now that it's out on paper, My Beautiful Wife will never have to hear it again?

... Meh, probably not. I'm diabolical that way.



Until next time,

Jared