This is an "article" from The Watley Review about Gondor being accepted into the United Nations... :)


Volume 2, Issue 4, January 27, 2004
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Gondor Accepted into United Nations
The United Nations announced yesterday that the kingdom of Gondor has officially been granted member status effective February 1, 2004.

"We are very excited about bringing this stalwart nation into the fold," said Secretary General Kofi Annan. "I think this is a great day, not just for Gondor, but for all nations."

Gondor is a relatively small coastal kingdom which has received considerable media attention recently due to the Peter Jackson docu-drama. Although it claims a history thousands of years old, this marks the first time it has been officially recognized as a sovereign nation.

Some member states objected to the admission of Gondor on the grounds that it is not a real country. Annan brushed aside these concerns.

"Come on now," he replied. "Neither is Luxembourg, but we let them in. Besides, after seeing the magnificent infrastructure in the capital, Minas Tirith, I have no doubt that Gondor's dues, which will be based on its total GNP, will comprise a welcome addition to the U.N. budget."

Others speculate that the U.N. has other motives for admitting the reclusive kingdom.

"They really want a more effective peacekeeping force," said government affairs analyst Marshall Pepin of the RAND Institute. "The only nations willing to send troops anywhere under the United Nations flag are places like Belgium, which maintains an "army" solely for the purpose of sending on U.N. missions. America has made it pretty clear it doesn't like playing by anyone else's rules. Now, Gondor may be small, but one thing it does have is a crack military. Their equipment may not be as advanced as the Americans, but there's no denying they get the job done."

The White House has been cautiously receptive to the notion, although President Bush has expressed some reservations about the addition.

"Well, we're lovers of democracy here in the United States, and that's something I'd like to see brought to the Gondorian people," said Bush. "They've got a monarchy like Britain, but without the prime minister, which you really need. We'd be happy to send them some American history books if they want."

Gondor could not be reached for comment, because this reporter never actually finished the Return of the King and he assumes the phone number is at the end of the book.

The most enthusiastic nation about the admission is New Zealand.

"We're all for it," said Prime Minister Helen Clark. "Gondor's done wonders for us; it's time the world got a bit of the action as well."

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In other news, so far I've heard of 3 major companies that credit, at least in part, the Lord of the Rings for helping them make a profit: Amazon.com credited pre-orders of the LOTR Extended Edition DVDs (and Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix, in the Summer) for their first year of profit since the business started (or something. I didn't actually read an article about this, but I heard about it). Time Warner just announced that the had a profit in their last quarter (that would be October-December 2003) from their involvement in films, largely due to The Return of the King. Lastly, the success of The Return of the King is also being credited for "boosting the fiscal condition" of AMC Entertainment, the second-largest movie chain in the US.

So, basically all of that translates to: ROTK did good. Businesses happy. Customers a little poorer because they spend a lot on LOTR, but are also happy. Therefore, ROTK = happiness for everyone. Except for maybe that guy with the giant, disembodied, flaming eye on the top of a tower, of course.

Hehe.

Whoo again! ROTK is up for 11 Academy Awards. Hehe. The categories: Best Picture, Art Direction, Costume Design, Directing, Film Editing, Makeup, Music (Score), Music (Song), Sound, Visual Effects, Writing (Adapted Screenplay).

Hehhe! Shame it's not up for Cinematography, though. New Zealand is beautiful. Actually, maybe that's why -- no matter how they shot the movie, the fact that it's in NZ probably means it would've looked good regardless.

Even Pirates is up for 5 awards! Whoooo! Actor in a Leading Role - Johnny Depp, Makeup, Sound, Sound Editing, Visual Effects. I'm glad about that. Didn't think JD would get a nomination but I thought he should, so it's all good. :)

Anyway, maybe I should go do some more textbook reading, eh?

The list of nominees is here for anyone interested. :)

Whoo! Return of the King was nominated in four categories at the Golden Globes (Best Picture - Drama, Best Director, Best Score, and Best Song) and guess what? They won all 4 :). Yay!

And it was the oddest thing...in a very unusual turn of events, Leonardo DiCaprio was there to announce the nominees and winner for Best Picture - Drama... I was surprised 'cause he doesn't usually turn up at award shows. And I know none of you are particular fans of his, but for me it was an interesting mesh of two of my fandoms. Very exciting. :)

Good night, all.

[edit, Jan. 26]
Question:
Isn't that [Feb. 29] kind of early for the Oscars?
Yeah, it's about 3 weeks earlier than it has been in previous years.
[/edit]

The plot summary for the new movie Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!: "A small-town girl wins a date with a male celebrity through a contest. When the date goes better than expected, a love triangle forms between the girl, the male celebrity, and the girl's best friend."

Now...is it just me, or does that sound like the plot of a glorified fanfiction story? *coughs* Uh, not that I would know, of course. I don't spend any time on silly things like reading fanfic. But if I did, I'd think this was like the movie version of a story you'd typically find on the Internet. Hehe.

Ah, whatever. It's probably good (or decent) if you want to see a light-hearted kind of movie. Or if you (somehow) happen to not be a Lord of the Rings fan, 'cause I'm guessing this movie is a little less serious than LOTR tends to be. :)

Anyway, back to work...

Hmm...experimented with changing my color scheme to better match my header banner...I'm not sure I like it yet, but possibly it's good to change things up a bit, at least temporarily. I miss the blue, so maybe the next time I change the layout, I'll go back blue... *shrugs* Or not. We'll see. :)

I'm a glutton for feedback, obviously, so I'm just gonna ask the expected question: what do you think?

Question:
why do u do this question thing?
Well...why not? Besides, the world is full of inquisitive people, so why not give 'em a chance to ask questions? And anyhow, it's fun once in a while to pretend like I have all the answers (ha!). Hehe. Or not. Emphasis on the not... Anyway, I don't get many questions these days, but hey, *shrugs* it's there for anyone who really wants to ask me something. :)

Got a bunch of new books today - very exciting. :) Didn't even put a dent in my own bank account, either, 'cause the books are my early birthday (aahh!! 21!! AAAH!) present from my parents. Whoo! Free books!! Hehe. New DVDs are fun, too (clearly), but there's just nothing like having a new book to delve into. Assuming you have the time. Which I'm hoping I will...

Anyway, here's what I got today -- it doesn't sound like much, but it'll take me a long while to get through all of it.

• LOTR box set - the ones with the black covers, which match my copy of The Hobbit, which I just got on Friday and have started reading. It's good so far!
• The Lord of the Rings: Weapons and Warfare
• The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde
• Mrs Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf
• Tess of the D'Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy (do you know there's a guy named Angel Clare in that novel? I assume Clare is his last name... Who would name their son Angel Clare?)
• A new journal, since I've only got 8 pages left in the one I have now, and I don't want to have to look for a jounal when those pages run out.

So that's my oh-so-exciting list of new books. :) To me, anyway. If you have time, go pick out a new book to start reading. It's great. I don't make enough time for reading anymore, especially when school is going on. Oh good God, classes start again tomorrow. NOoOoooO! Don't make me go baaaaack....

[11:42 PM] I changed the layout -- back to something non-holiday-themed. Hope anyone actually reading this likes the new layout, because since school's starting again, I might not bother to change it again for a while. :) Please let me know what you think.

I like that I bookended my Winter break with viewings of ROTK -- my exams finished December 16, and I went to see the movie on the 17th; yesterday, my last Friday before classes start again, I saw it again. And the movie was better the second time, too. Not as many fadeouts as I'd remembered, and thank God for that. Don't ask me which part of LOTR is my favorite, though, 'cause I couldn't tell ya.

Man. Back to the world of assignments, classes, and due dates. Arrr.

Hmm, now that both "Buffy" and LOTR are finished, I need something else to countdown to, to replace the countdowns over in the left column... And now that the holidays are nearly over, I should change my header banner to something, er, slightly less seasonal.

Any suggestions?