Dear Gil, You rock. Love, Carol

If you check out Gil Birmingham's Twitter page, you'll see he had to do some rearranging of his schedule to get to Parsippany for the convention this weekend. Is it me or is that VERY cool of him? Yeah. Thought so. Gotta love Billy Black. Just keepin' it real. ;) Check out his IMDB page, too.

Bait and Switch in NJ

The first ever "Official Twilight Convention" has had a lot of recent celebrity appearance changes and I have to say... I'm none too happy.

Appearances by the celebs who play "Carlisle", "Emmett", "Alice", "Jasper", "Charlie" and "Mike" have slowly but surely been canceled over the last few months.

The celebs who play these characters have been replaced by the celebs who play "Billy Black", "Sam", "Paul", "Embry", "Laurent", "Angela" and "Eric". And add to that list Twilight's Director - Catherine Hardwicke.

Don't get me wrong - I am thrilled to hang with anyone affiliated with the Twilight saga. I'm looking forward to hearing what the wolf pack has to say. And I love Gil Birmingham. And who wouldn't want to hear Catherine Hardwicke speak? But the entire original appearance list has been changed.

Not a Cullen in the house.

That is really NOT cool. Especially when we've all purchased tickets months in advance - and we've all rescheduled our lives to be at this convention.

Official Twilight Convention THIS weekend in NJ!

So I'm not sure I mentioned it but I'll be attending an Official Twilight Convention in Parsippany, NJ this weekend. We are going to see "Emmett", "Alice", "Sam", "Embry" (Um, Hello? YUM!), "Angela" (Oh. My. God.) , "Eric" (La Push, baby, LA PUSH!) and the person I am STOKED to see: Catherine Hardwicke.

Jenn M., Shannon, Tracey and I will be Twittering Friday and Saturday from the event. I am setting up a Twitter account for the occasion: MyTwiPurgatory. I'll keep you posted!

"Victoria" and "Riley" on the Eclipse set

Seeing as I am a curly girl, I love this new photo of BDH and her new curly Victoria 'do. And Xavier Samuel isn't looking so bad, himself.

Check out all the photos over at Lainey Gossip.

Bella's Wedding Dress

OK so THIS is pretty cool. Apparently In Style mag asked a bunch of designers to try their hand at designing Bella's wedding dress. It's cool to see their interpretations, although it's clear some of them must have been Twittering when they should have been paying attention to the instructions for the design. Anyway... I l loved Lela Rose's and Max Azaria's - but neither are "the dress" in my mind. OK so here is where I get my inner Twi-goober going. Pay attention.

Bella's ring is Victorian - because Edward's father gave it to her mother in the Victorian era. BUT - Edward was born into the Edwardian era (hence his glorious name that I now hear at playgrounds thanks to Mrs. Stephenie Meyer). And because the dress was designed for his taste - I believe Bella's dress should be Edwardian - NOT Victorian.

COMMA HOWEVER - Bella's mother did say that she looked like she was right out of a Jane Austen novel.. so I have to assume the dress was more Victorian than Edwardian.

At any rate, I have posted this photo before (while I was reading the books) but I love it sooooo friggin much that I'm going to post it again. I would love it if this is what Bella's dress looked like. It's just so understated and pretty. *Thanks to housegallery.ca for the photo.

I. Love. THIS!

This.... is....AWESOME! It's simple and yet it gets the point across beautifully. Thanks to Melissaisatwilightlover on Twifans!

Boo Boo made a boo boo

Gee... didn't see THIS one coming. Oh wait... yes I did. But it doesn't change anything. His rep confirmed it. Retract...Deny...blah blah blah. Something is coming down the pike after Eclipse... we'll just have to wait for Mr. Summit to tell us what.

Wuthering Heights

OK so I've never read Wuthering Heights. In New Moon, it was easy to compare it to Romeo and Juliet. Been there - read that - AND watched that. But in Eclipse - I didn't understand the conversations between Edward and Bella about Wuthering Heights. And I've been trying to get it from my local library for months - and it's never available. So I finally gave in and rented a very recent and fabulous adaptation. But frankly, I'm still trying to decide if Edward considered himself Heathcliff or Edgar. Edgar is married to Cathy - so you'd think he'd be Edward. But she had this overwhelming love for Heathcliff - so you'd think HE'd be Edward. But I have to suppose Edward considered himself Edgar because Cathy's unbelievable pull to Heathcliff was like Bella's unexplainable pull to Jacob? Oh somebody shut me up already...

Gianna freaks me out

Cool article on popeater (that I originally found on Twilight Examiner) about Justine Wachsberger who is playing Gianna in New Moon. That character freaks me out to no end. I can understand why Bella wants to be a vampire (LORD do I understand why Bella wants to be a vampire: Edward. No Sleep. Every Night. le SIGH!) but who knows why Gianna wants to. She watches those creepy Volturi kill and eat people, day in and day out. Where's the attraction, there? If I were her, I'd have made a play for Edward while he was all nekkid from the waste up (with his abs of steel), writhing around in pain on the floor. But that's just me.

TWO Breaking Dawn movies?!

OK you KNOW I've been blogging too much when I'm so tired I copy my comment on TwilightLexicon.com and paste it on my own blog. At any rate, check out the Twilight Lexicon article where they talk about Boo Boo Stewart - aka Seth Clearwater - mentioning that he will be in the next THREE installments of the Twilight series. What I find is interesting is that his REP confirmed it by saying “Boo Boo Stewart will play the character Seth Clearwater in the next three installments of the wildly popular ‘Twilight’ film franchise based on the best-selling novels by Stephenie Meyer,” So DAY-UM. I am all kinds of flustered over this new news.

Here's my comment on Twilight Lexicon, where they're asking how people think Breaking Dawn will be broken up (if it IS in fact going to be broken up. He just said there would be another one after Breaking Dawn. Hmmm):

Wow. Would they do a “to be continued”? That’s the only way I can see doing this. I think it would have to be first movie shows the wedding and honeymoon… and then the cliff-hanger being that Bella is pregnant. (Can’t you just see them ending with Edward’s face upon realizing this news? Remember how freaked out he was? Oh my god it would be classic.) Then movie two starts with her on the couch with Rosalie guarding her…and continues on to the end of the book. Un-LESS they’re going to shove wedding, honeymoon, pregnancy and birth into one film… and do a 2nd film based on the visiting vampires and the Volturi. Um, I’m thinking “yuck” on this because it would lose the central “Bella and Edward” theme that is so present in all the books. But no complaints here. I’ll take my Cullens any way I can get them.

That Edward Cullen really gets around...

OK this video is pretty funny. Go Kelly Clarkson. Everyone should have an "Awesome Edward". It's great fun to move him around in your house and scare the bejesus out of your family. I believe mine is going to live at Shannon's for a while... and then when she least expects it he's going to show up at Jenn M.'s house. I'm thinking before school.. leaning against her car...

Something....fishy....Denmark...

OK now I know I'm a huge Stephenie Meyer fan and I pray at the shrine of Stephenie and she can do no wrong and and and yada yada yada. So my opinion probably isn't the most unbiased. I get it. But I just cannot see something like this and not think someone is trying to make herself some moolah off Stephenie Meyer's fame and fortune. What do y'all think? (There I go saying "y'all" again when I'm not even from the South. I'm crazy like that sometimes.) Oh and might I say that Jenn M. totally scooped me on this. I had no clue this legal nonsense was going on until she told me. Go ahead, Jenn. Yell it: "FIRST"!

MTV Shows

What would Anna Wintour say?!

GREAT new shot of m'girl Alice Cullen from New Moon. Not sure about the ensem, though. Espech if she's wearing it at school. The mean girls are going to get all OVER her shiz for this little number. (And Jessica, you know who you are.) Hmmm. Let's break this down, shall we?

We've got the little, um, jacket. We'll call this little gem "housecoat chic". Then we've got knit, flashdance gloves (that we know Esme sure as hell didn't make for her) on top of a tight fitting white shirt. The short-sleeves-over-long-sleeves look is soooo very Movie Bella (and so very Manasquan High School).... but I can't imagine Alice would sport it. Maybe it's "Dress like John Bender Day" at Forks High. At any rate, we're finishing this look off with a lovely double-wrapped scarf, the point of which I would normally assume is to hide a nasty hicky, but I'm kindof thinking Cullens can't get them. Or can they?! :::sucks in air::: JASPER! Oh beHAVE!!!

Royce was rolled. Ba dum bum.

OK so this is pretty cool. Check out Jack Huston - aka Royce King II - on the Eclipse set. Remember him? He was days away from marrying Rosalie, and then decided to rape and murder her with his buds for kicks. You know, a typical night out on the town for rich folk. Never really understood that storyline, but I digress... So anyway, I wasn't expecting him to look like this. He looks cool - but I was expecting him to have short hair and look like a rich dude from a wealthy family in the midst of the Great Depression. Not a hobo looking to hop the nearest boxcar to find his next meal. Either way - he's pretty. Just like all the chillens on the Eclipse set. Check out Twilightchick's post on TwiFans.com for all the photos. And thanks to my online TwiBud, Kim for alerting me to such good Twiblog fodder this AM!

Hot or Not?

Is it me... or is this just a truly erotic photo? (Jenn D, please come out of your self-induced Alexander Skarsgard coma for just a second or two to look at this. I promise you can go right back when you're finished.)

PS - Why is Edward dressed like he's on the bomb squad?

LTT FTW

Check this out. Letterstotwilight.com FOR THE WIN!!! You guys are great. Kudos to you for all your hard work on a great site. Clearly it's paying off!

Breaking Dawn question. We MUST know.

So I got together with Jenn M. and Shannon tonight... and we brought up a topic we've all tortured ourselves over at one time or another. It's a little R-rated, so if you're not even in high school yet, please skip this post.

Did Edward and Bella consummate their marriage in the water during their midnight swim? Or did they wait until they got back to the house?

I'm dying. I have to know. Don't you? What do YOU think happened? Please comment.

And check out this article over at newmoonmovie.org because it touches on this topic. They're pondering whether Breaking Dawn will be made into a movie and talking about their PG vs R audience. We all know how I feel about this, so I won't beat a dead horse.

Stephenie Meyer Speaks!

Found this today and wanted to make sure you all read it. Stephenie Meyer has updated her site (thank you, Seth, who does all the work! I feel your pain!) and she's got great recommendations for books, music and movies. Well, her movie recommendation is Bandslam, which I sortof left out the "band" and just "slammed" the other day when I posted about it. But she says it was pretty good, so I will take her word for it as I have not seen it. Now "UP" is one I have seen because I, too, frequent Disney movies with my kids. Hey. I'll take my theatre popcorn any way I can get it.

PS - Dear Stephenie, please stalk my blog. Love, Carol

August 17, 2009

Hey everybody! I hope you all had a great summer. I'm sorry I don't update more, but it's crazy how busy you can be without really having anything to update about. I decided to do an end of the summer recap like I did last year—just the books and music and movies I enjoyed most. I love to share good stuff.

First books. I didn't have a ton of time to read this summer, but I did discover one really wonderful two-book series. Dreamhunter and Dreamquake by Elizabeth Knox. It is like nothing else I've ever read. The characters are so real, you'll feel like you know exactly what they look like and how their voices sound and what they would say or do in any given situation. More than that, you'll want to hang out with them. Then the world is so amazing and unique. You will want to go there. You will want to walk into "the Place." And you will want to sleep in a dream opera.

I also got an early look at a book I've been eagerly awaiting: Catching Fire, the sequel to Suzanne Collins' phenomenal The Hunger Games. It not only lived up to my high expectations, it surpassed them. It's just as exciting as The Hunger Games, but even more gut wrenching, because you already know these characters, you've already suffered with them. Suzanne takes the story places I wasn't expecting, and she's never afraid to take it to very hard places. Stunning. You won't sleep when you're reading this one. It hits shelves September 1st. I suggest beginning in the early morning and clearing your calendar for the day.

Then music. No matter how busy I am, I can always listen to music, so I have a longer list of recommendations here. So, awesome CDs I discovered this summer:

* Animal Collective — Merriweather Post Pavillion
* Silversun Pickups — Swoon
* White Rabbits — It's Frightening
* The Dead Weather — Horehound
* Grizzly Bear — Veckatimest
* Meese — Broadcast

I really should have known about Meese a while ago, but thanks to a mislabeled CD mix, I didn't realize Meese was responsible for one of my favorite songs until I went to their concert. And then I was glad that I already loved them, because the guys in Meese are possibly the nicest people in the world.

Then some albums that I've had for a while now, but that I can't stop listening to:

* The Weakerthans — Reunion Tour
* Elbow — The Seldom Seen Kid

Seriously, Elbow owns my ipod right now.

Also musical, I got out to a few good concerts. Meese was with Jack's Mannequin and The Fray—lovely. If you haven't seen these guys live, do. And then I got to go see Blue October again. I love their shows. You can't really know Blue October until you see them live. It's an amazing experience.

And finally movies. Mostly when I get out to a movie, it's a kid's movie. So Pixar's Up was the highlight of my summer. And then this Saturday I went to see an actual grown-up people movie, yay! Admittedly, I went to see the New Moon trailer on the big screen (yes, I'm a total dork. Who cares? It was worth it). But then I stayed to see Bandslam because the reviews were so good, and I was glad I did. With my hopeless love of music coupled with my total lack of musical ability, I really dug Will. He's my hero right now. It had a good soundtrack, as one might expect, a lot of very quotable one-liners, and it turned upside down some of those lame female-interaction stereotypes. It's a good time.

So that's my "How I Spent My Summer." I hope you guys had a really good time this summer, and found some great stuff of your own. I love this world full of stories and songs waiting to be discovered! And I also love you, the awesome Twilight (and maybe a few Hosts, too) fandom. I stalk your websites all the time—you guys are hilarious (I recently added LTT to my stalk list; thanks for the laugh lines, ladies). I'm looking forward to seeing some of you in November for a little movie release that I'm excited about. Too many months to go!

Love,
Steph

My Breaking Dawn Playlist

OK. I know it's early. I know it's premature. But. I. Just. Had. To. And there is barely anything on it. But I feel so incredibly strongly about "Lightning Crashes" from Live being on this playlist, that I had to explain. This sound might not be new. It might not be edgy and full of teen angst. But holy hell - I have never, EVER, felt more strongly about a song being used in a Stephenie Meyer adapted film in my LIFE. Here's what I want (my demands, if you will): I want the ENTIRE SONG played - with no interruption - during the birth scene. OK - humor me. Hit "play" and listen... and picture this: Edward and Jacob yelling back and forth and trying to save Bella while the early, more quiet part of the song is played. Then as the song progresses and the momentum starts building, we see Edward and Jacob in slow motion - Edward stabbing Bella with the syringe of venom... and Jacob watching in horror. Jacob comes down the stairs, sees the baby and imprints. And Edward's face is just devastated while he waits by Bella's bedside, holding the baby. Then - as the song is coming to a close, Bella wakes up and jumps up and is looking around... OH. MY. GOD. This song has given me goosebumps from the very first time I heard it (back in the early 90s when some of you were being potty trained, but whatev.) And to pair it with the most awesome - literally AWESOME - scene in Breaking Dawn. Wow. Just... Wow. And don't take my word for it; listen to the lyrics...

iloveitiloveitiloveitiloveitiloveit

If this fan art doesn't remind you how much you freakin LOVED Eclipse, I'll be in shock. Squeeee! (REFRESH THIS PAGE if the graphic looks all white and funky.)


Twilight Saga : Eclipse Poster by ~Julushko-navara on deviantART

What. EV.

I don't care WHAT they're doing. All I care about is that someone PLEASE make Kristen Stewart STOP dressing like CHACHI for the love of god.

BADslam

Whoa. I could have told you this would happen. It's one thing to expect people to see "The Proposal" because a New Moon trailer is showing beforehand. But Bandslam? Really? I think we all knew it would bomb. Don't get me wrong; Summit tried. They really did. The other day my 7 year old was yelling "Mommy Mommy! They just said "New Moon" on the TV!" because Summit put a teeny New Moon trailer MENTION at the end of the Bandslam commercial. On Nickelodeon. AFTER SPONGE BOB. Yes, that's right, they were so desperate, they were advertising to the "under 8" crowd. Wasn't too hard to predict the outcome there. (Actually, I think that horrifying, reggae version of Bread's "Everything I Own" was to blame, but that's just me.) Even Vanessa Hudgen's second set of naughty nekkidness pics couldn't save that flick. Oh well. Maybe this is Summit's payback for dumping Rachelle. Karma IS a boomerang.

NEW New Moon Trailer

Sorry I'm a little late to this party. Had a lot of stuff going on yesterday... and...uh...I dunno...I have been suffering a little withdrawal since my party the other night. I've definitely pulled back from the movie hype a little - and started reading again. Just bits and pieces of the last third of New Moon - but enough to make me feel a little more connected to the books - and a little less connected to the Hollywood bullshiz. Gah. Like I care what kind of car Rob Pattinson drives?! (Now you just hush, Jenn M.) You just get to this point where the Robsten reports start taking over - and Edward and Bella are just these figures in the background. And that is NOT cool. So let me show you something very cool that will get your juices flowing for November 20th. And I don't mean cranberries and stuffing. (LOL sorry that was bad.)

The Twilight Saga: New Moon 'Meet Jacob Black' Preview in HD

Twihard Central

My 100 Days Party!

OK so I think I pulled it off! What a great time last night. My thanks to everyone for coming to the party and helping to make it so much fun! Only 99 more days!!

If you were here and have photos, please send them to me! More to come!!

The location (my patio)...


















The cake (Jenn M. and Shannon ROCK):























The ice cream cake (Maggie is my hero for finding this):


















My sister, Tracey, Master of Ceremonies, if you will, and that's Jenn M in the background:



















Some serious thinking during trivia:


















Me, looking downright scary while asking trivia questions:

Last minute "Required (Twi)Reading"

My sister, Jill, reading the tail end of Breaking Dawn about an hour before my 100 Days til New Moon party started:

New Moon Ambiance

Pretty cool, eh? I got these on Ebay. When I have a few minutes, I'll post the info if you want to order some of your very own. They rock. Wait. What does that one on the right say? Oh that's right. MY TWILIGHT PURGATORY, Baby!

Carol's picks for playlists

MY New Moon Playlist

 My Eclipse Playlist (not complete!):

 My Breaking Dawn Playlist (not complete!):

Party Prep

I give you... the VIP Pass of Life. I'm sure the Rowan girls will come up with an amusing little game to play with this. They are the creators of the Edward Cullen Beer Bong, after all...

More to follow...

100 DAYS TIL NEW MOON!!!!

Stay tuned for coverage of tonight's festivities...

NEW New Moon Trailer

Dear Jacob,

It's not my birthday. But can I ask for something? Kiss me.
No wait, you're 17. Nevermind.

Love,
Carol

Teen Cheese Awards

OK so while Tom was asleep on the couch next to me I decided to just check FOX and see what was happening on the awards. Oddly enough, Josh Duhamel was introducing the cast of Twilight. Wow. Just... wow. It was an odd ensem. The first thing I noticed was Justin Chon - aka Eric ("La Push baby... La Push"). I noticed him because boyfriend was wearing a short sleeved shirt, a scarf around his neck and black Buddy Holly glasses. And what I'm noticing in this video from the awards is a new Rob Pattinson Patented hairdo which he runs his hands through no less than twice while speaking. That seems to be the thing to do these days. At any rate, my sister refers to him lovingly as Bobby Trendy - and the title just seemed to suit him well this evening. Anyway, they all got up to accept the award, and as usual, Taylor Lautner sounded like he was running the show. Totally professional. Now here's where it gets weird. When I watched it on TV, Rob Pattinson sounded like a complete dope. Like he couldn't think of what to say and was laughing at inappropriate times. Yet when I watched this clip from the BBC News site, I realized they cut up his speech. So we only saw the beginning - and the end - but it seemed like he just didn't know what to say. So yeah...I'm thinking I'd be mad if I were him. I'm also thinking someone in Teen Choice Editing isn't too much of a fan...

Breaking Dawn Hilarity

My comedian sister, Jill, is reading Breaking Dawn... and just referred to Bella and Edward's daughter as "RENESMERELDA".

:::DIES:::

Laurens-bit the dust?!

OK I just went to check Laurensbite - AND IT WASN'T THERE! I admit, I haven't checked it in a few days, so if she said she was pulling it down, I don't know anything about it. I checked her Twitter page and that's gone, too!!! SOB! She's my absolute favorite Twilight site on the planet (and lord knows there are many.)

If anyone knows what's going on with Laurensbite, please let me know! :(

Twilight wins BIG at the Teen Choice Awards

NICE. Twilight won 11 Teen Choice Awards last night (big shocker.) The awards air tonight on FOX so they'll have 24 hours to bleep out Britney and Madonna, but it's not necessary for the Jonas Brothers, gosh darnit. SET THE DVRs!

Let's get this party STARTED!

So check it out - many cast members are in Vancouver already for Eclipse and you can feel the lurve jump right off the web page! I hate to say it, but it's somewhat refreshing to see the rest of the Cullen clan (as well as Riley and Miss new thang Bryce Howard who looks awesome) - WITHOUT Rob and Kristen. These people deserve their rightful comeuppance. There is more to the Twilight series than Edward Cullen. (ROFLMAO did I just say that???) A big THANK YOU goes out to Alison Genet over at Twifans for the awesome post. And PS - I am so, so sorry Rachelle. I love you and I miss you as Victoria. I truly do. You were ROBBED and I hope you don't take this shit lying down. Not only am I upset for you, but I'm upset for me and everyone else in the Twilgiht blogosphere. It's uncomfortable to keep saying "I dig Bryce but I miss the hell out of Rachelle". Bottom line - I dig Bryce - but Rachelle IS Victoria. No further comment, your honor.

I am so not kidding..

My sister and I had a debate today, which started over email and ended in a phonecall. We were actually discussing - get this - whether or not Edward Cullen would ever go commando. No, I am so not kidding. It started because my sister, Jill, is feverishly reading Breaking Dawn so she can come to my "100 Days til New Moon" party on Wednesday. Here's how it all went down:

Tracey: Are you still reading????
Jill: They're on Esme Island
Me: Oh mother of god.... to merely be the tree he leaves his undies on when he goes for the moonlight swim...
Tracey: How long have they been there???
Me: "a while..." ;)
Tracey: Undies??? MY Edward goes commando.
Me: Edward Cullen is way too high brow to go without undies. He knows his real mother would be mortified if he didn't wear any - and he would have ended up mocked on the Chicago society pages if it was ever found out. PS - Ok then his PANTS he hung over the tree branch!

I just thank god I'm not alone in my Edward Cullen obsession.

Vampires. They're not just for breakfast anymore!

I received a very cool email today from Van Jensen who has written a new vampire graphic novel called Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer. It's coming out in September and the main graphic is in our favorite Twi-colors. (Sounds like my decor for my "100 Days til New Moon" party. ooh another gratuitous mention!) Sooo...for all of you who dig graphic novels about vampires, you'll definitely want to check this out!

My Eclipse playlist needs some explanation

So I know I only have 3 songs. But I couldn't wait. I had to post it. I'm impatient like that. All the actors are headed to - or in - Vancouver. And I am a giddy little girl.

OK so I just finished telling Jenn M via email that I am loving Ray LaMontagne right now. And it's no coincidence that his style makes me think of RPattz' musical style. When I was on vacation, I was trying to get my internet connection to work, and OK maybe saying a bad word or two under my breath. When all the sudden I heard a song on a commercial on TV and whipped my head around to stare. I swear I thought I was hearing Rob Pattinson. But I wasn't; I was hearing Ray LaMontagne. And that's when I started researching his music and realizing "Holy CRAP this guy is good." Since I'm only happy when it rains (Thank you Shirley Manson and Garbage) I absolutely love the pain that comes through in his music. OK so I'll shut up because some of you are saying "What in god's name does this have to do with Twilight?!" But I LOVE his song "Burn" and put it on my Eclipse soundtrack from Edward's perspective, while Bella's trotting around La Push with Jacob. And kissing him in the forest. Don't get me started. But check out the lyrics:

To see you now with him
is just making me mad
Oh so kiss him again
just to prove to me that you can
an I will stand here
and burn in my skin
Yes I will stand here
and burn in my skin

Mother of god. It's like Edward just jumps out of the page and cries on your shoulder when you're listening to this. Le sigh. I think I need to read the saga all the damn hell over again now. Not even Sookie can save me! ;)

A little something about My Eclipse Playlist

Yes, I do mean to have both versions of "Ain't No Sunshine". One for Edward when Bella is at the bonfire with Jacob. And one for Bella when Edward's hunting and she's laying in the dark in his room on his couch. I get chills just thinking about this. And as much as I love the Bill Withers version, how about a ROB PATTINSON version?!?

That would be... awesome. (said like Jim Carrey)

Fabu New Moon Trailer

Feast thine eyes on this New Moon trailer from "Sanyiaa" on Youtube. Better than the real one!