eighty-sixth

I tend to put a great deal of weight in my personal entertainment choices.  In the past I've been known as something of a music snob - music elitist, really.  Likewise, I'm really picky about what films I decide to invest my time and money in.  Books, too.

To that end, I've been pretty lucky to have friends (and family) with sufficiently interesting tastes to provide good feedback on those entertainment outlets that I'm not yet willing to throw my lot in with.  But even they can't keep me perfectly happy 100% of the time with their suggestions.

An example: I don't like the Cure.
Everyone I know who happens to have some semblance of good taste in music always points to this band as though Robert Smith's half-assed 80's goth chic automatically equates to talented songwriting or interesting lyrical output.  I just think the Cure is a boring band.  Sure, they're tolerable, but I just don't get the fascination that some people have with them.  Given, I haven't really invested much time in listening to their stuff - but I've spent enough to know that I find them to be annoying as hell.

Another example: I don't like the Harry Potter series.
I've got nothing against the series, per say - I just don't have a real taste for it.  I can't seem to suspend my disbelief for the films, though, either.  I think the whole Harry Potter craze was a big turn-off, too.  Maybe if I tried to get into it again, I might change my mind on the matter.  For now, though, I can safely say that I'm just not impressed with the whole ordeal.

While there's really nothing I can do at this point about my distaste for anything Cure (aside from the off possibility that I've only been exposed to the worst of their recorded works), I may have stumbled upon just the thing to melt the ice from my previously frozen Potter-hating heart.
That thing is Brad Neely's 'Wizard People, Dear Readers.'

In researching the animator, Neely, of the Washington video I referenced in one of my posts a couple of days ago, I stumbled upon the gem of comedic genius that is 'Wizard People.'  At some point Neely decided to record himself narrating an alternative version of 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.'  He then made this recording available online along with instructions on how to appropriately time the narration in order to sync it up with the footage of the original film.

I'm still trying to track down a copy of the Harry Potter DVD, but the clips that I can find on YouTube of this thing make me laugh like a fool.  And, who knows?  Perhaps after viewing this, I might be interested in watching the original version of the movie again.