I normally have several games of Lexulous running at once, and one of them is always with Antonia. Since we can't be bothered to actually read one another's blogs, we use the little chat window in the game interface to communicate in 7-point Verdana.
Antonia: I thought of Let's Panic today when I saw a when I saw a glossy pregnancy magazine with AM I IN LABOUR? TELL-TALE SIGNS on the front.
Antonia: Is there a baby coming out your fanny? Then yes.
Eden: Is there blood all over the floor? Do you feel as though your guts are in a vise? Congratulations!
Antonia: Turn to page 91 for our stain-removal tips!
Antonia: Because of course you are reading a glossy magazine while squeezing a person out of your minge.
Eden: Minge. HA.
One result of Jackson's newfound interest in the Harry Potter saga has been that whenever he's surprised or confounded by anything he shouts "BLOODY HELL!" at it. Sometimes he'll then wave his (imaginary) wand at the thing, or give it a karate chop. His targets have included me (wand), the hamster (wand), Peewee dropping a slimy ball in his lap because he wants to play (karate chop, medium strength), his dinner (wand), and the news that he needs to put on some shoes before going outside (neither wand nor karate chop, but a sort of eye-rolling jinx of the sort I should probably get used to seeing more of as we round the corner into tweendom).
He's also using the whole "which is better, the movie or the book?" debate against me, since I made the mistake of letting him watch a DVD of the first HP movie while we were still only half-way through the book. I thought it would be fun to compare the way the story unfolded in two different mediums (media?). Also, he begged me. But of course, once he'd devoured the movie it took some arm twisting to get him back into the book. (Note to self: Henceforth, FINISH reading book before showing child movie. The capacity for delayed gratification is a strong predictor of future success, so don't fuck it up now.)
Jackson: "Movies are always better than books."
Me: "Sometimes."
Jackson: "No, always."
Me: (silently) ARRRGHGHHH.
What got him involved in the book again was finding that the movie had changed some of the details of the story, BLOODY HELL. He's still trying to wrap his mind around the point of being unfaithful to the original, and trying to hold both versions in his mind as we finish. What's the better choice, to have Hermione tell Harry and Ron to relax and the strangling plant will let them go (movie), or having Hermione remember that the plant hates light and shining a beam from her wand so that the plant lets go (book)? I don't have a definitive answer for that, but I very much enjoy listening to Jackson mull over the pros and cons. And then wrap his arms around my knees, yell WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA! and try to levitate me.
As luck would have it, Scholastic has agreed to let me give away five sets of the first three Harry Potter books, because Scholastic is awesome. If I were really on it I'd get Warner Bros. to chip in some DVDs for the total Jackson Kennedy experience, but I have no idea how to get them do that. So if anyone's interested in just reading the actual books, or even sharing them with your child(ren), details are over in the sidebar on the right. WE'RE DONE, all the books are spoken for and the winners will be contacted tonight. Thanks, you guys!