Well, That’s Nifty

Three things to brighten a certain kind of person’s Thursday:

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to be made into two movies. OK, yes, this is yesterday’s news. But it’s still fantastic news; if only they’d taken that path around, say, the last film (Order of the Phoenix). Lots of talk about how it serves the story and not the bottom line is floating about, which raises my bullshit flags a little bit, but frankly, I don’t care; I just want the movie(s) not to suck.

2. The possibility of the sequels to The Golden Compass getting made is … still a possibility. As Variety reports, the film “is on course to make box office history as the first film to gross $300 million in foreign while failing to reach $100 million in North America.” The film’s producer, Deborah Forte, “won’t give up the fight,” and is quoted as saying, “I will make ‘The Subtle Knife’ and ‘The Amber Spyglass.'”

As disappointed as I was in Compass, I still hope the sequels get made. And not just because it’s more exposure for the fantastic Philip Pullman.

3. From USA Today comes this story: “Rapier Wit: Western Martial Arts tradition enjoys a renaissance.” Why is it relevant locally? Because Northwest Academy of Arms‘ Maestro Sean Hayes is quoted in the story. (I admit to thinking this is extra cool because I take Maestro Hayes’ fencing class, as does my colleague Chuck Adams.)

And with that, I have just one thing left to say for the day: Go Ducks!