What a Relief!

Go ahead lady. Might as well.

The TM and I spent this past weekend in beautiful Madison, Wisconsin for my old friend TJ's wedding to his high school sweeatheart (I know!), Kim. It was an awesome time full of reconnecting with folks I hadn't heard from in years, meeting new folks, and checking out another cool town (blog on the way).

This is not what I wish to discuss today...

Today I wish to discuss the most retarded thing I've heard about in quite a long time...

I won't go into the whole long background on how this even came up, but needless to say when there are brides wearing dresses and going to the bathroom for long amounts of time, the logistics of the dress and the mechanics of going to the bathroom are discussed. I mean... what would YOU be talking about? But then, after a short time, someone at the table brought up something that I have to believe is a myth...

Bridal Diapers.

Apparently someone decided that getting out of a wedding dress is just simply too time consuming, and the demands of the wedding guests are just far too great to take an extra 5 (or even 15 minutes), and instead... on the greatest day of their lives, those classy, white-clad blushing brides are just gonna have to pee in their pants.

How can this possibly be true?

I admit that I've not done a lot of research. The Google search I ran came up with a bunch of stories from a couple of months ago, both about the diapers, and about how the diapers were possibly a myth. I didn't find them as a product... Let me say one thing..

I hope to all that is holy that this is not true. That this is some weird, made-up thing that some bride joked about wishing they had a convenient plastic sack wrapped around their crotch to save them precious time tinkling. A joke. Please let it be a joke.

No better way to ruin the mood on the wedding night than lifting up the bustles and trusses and petticoats and finding a soggy pair of plastic underpants. Who knows... maybe some people would like that.

And now my football picks:
SAINTS (I picked a good time to become a Saints fan two years ago, huh?)
DOLPHINS (An intriguing team. Guess we'll see.)
BEARS
TITANS (A tough team... if they add Haynesworth, look the hell out.)
PATRIOTS (I don't know if it will happen, but I'd like to see Tom Brady punch Revis in the face. I'm crossing my fingers.)
GIANTS
FALCONS (It all banks on how good Matt Ryan really is. Put up or shut-up).
BROWNS (I may be in the minority, but I've always liked Delhomme. The Browns might be a sleeper).
JAGUARS (I agree with Bill Simmons, who believes the Jags will regret passing on Tebow)
COLTS (Yawwwwwnnn. At least we may be nearing the end of the endless Colts era.)
RAMS (Sam Bradford is a good player. Suh will ultimately be better, but YOU HAVE TO TAKE A QUARTERBa..... sorry... I can't even pretend. Bradford was the right pick if Suh and G. McCoy didn't exist, but they do, so...)
PACKERS (Are going to score a ZILLION points this year)
49ers (I like Patrick Willis as much as the next guy, but I'm feeling another Revis Hype machine building)
COWBOYS (When can the interminable Tony Romo exercise end?)
JETS (Everybody's Super Bowl favorite... whatever. I hope the Pats punch them in their fat faces.)
CHARGERS

Glee: A Weekly Stretch of Credulity

I bet these guys wouldn't let Puck knock them up.

Okay, so I'm 3 episodes behind on Glee (including tonight's episode). The Tofu Muchacha and I just finished watching "Laryngitis".

I have a couple of things to say...

1) I find the show wildly entertaining. It's hilarious... the music is fun. I would honestly listen to Britney say dumb things all day long.

2) It makes me wish my high school had a glee club (or really... let's be honest.. Show Choir is really what they are.)

3) I'm fairly certain that if Mr. Schuester ever does a rap again (see: Gold Digger, Ice Ice Baby, etc...) that I may die of embarrassment FOR him.

4) Lima, Ohio... while not a particularly interesting place maybe, can not possibly have that kind of concentration of ridiculous vocal talent. I mean... I know it doesn't. I have been there. To have the crop of 7 or so really excellent singers the main high school has is already less than plausible, but then add in the "ghetto" high school and the high school where Vocal Adrenaline lives... no fucking way.

5) Also there's no way that Will Schuester, being the complete and total weenie that he is, would be considered such a catch for the 13 or so women throwing themselves at him at every turn. What was it? The weird attraction to hanging out with teenagers? The being flat-ass broke? The rapping? Please don't tell me it's the rapping. I won't be able to stand it.

6) More on the rapping... You can NOT convince me that, were Mr. Schuester to rap the way he does, the kids find him even remotely cool. They all seem to like (or at least tolerate him). If that guy walked in and started in with Gold Digger in any classroom I was ever in during high school, he would have lost every ounce of coolness immediately. We certainly would not have joined in. Even if we were living in a weird musical world like these people.

7) Does anyone else find it absolutely hilarious that this glee club full of supposed losers (who are all insanely hot for high schoolers) has a full fucking band at their disposal? It's not just that the music starts like it does in most musicals, but they are even all "Hit it fellas!", and then this flawless, amazing rock band just picks the perfect key and starts absolutely KILLING it. Every song. So you're telling me that not only does this town have an unusually high rate of talented singers per capita, but also of studio quality musicians. (all under the age of 18).

8) I know the show is trying to sell the whole "Everybody hates Rachel Berry" thing... but are we supposed to? I mean... I kind of do. Even though I love Lea Michelle.

Anyway... these are just some quick thoughts... I will write a full post on the season once it's complete and I've seen all the eps. It's definitely been one of the more enjoyable shows I've watched this year... but it's also totally insane. I can't tell if that's on purpose. I'll have to think about it.

OH... Please no spoilers in the comments.

2 Days to Disney: Do you have that in "Villain"?

Way back over Christmas in the year 2000, my family spent the holiday at Disney World. It was an overall fantastic trip. I loved pretty much everything about it. The weather was great. I was feeling good. The parks were amazingly decorated. It was awesome. The only shitty thing was how insanely crowded the whole place was.

Probably the most lasting experience from the trip, however, was my discovery of what would eventually become my one true obsession... Disney Lapel Pins.

I know it's confusing to those people who aren't giant Disney fans, but Disney has created a huge number (like in the tens of thousands) of Enameled Lapel Pins, and those bitches are like crack.

The beauty of them, or the evil, depending on where you're coming from is several-fold:

1) They are inexpensive individually. It seems like you're getting off light when you buy 2 pins. They're 8.95 apiece. Not bad for a Disney souvenir. Of course, due to the aforementioned "cracklikeness" of them, it's hard to buy just one or two or ten or twenty. So... they get their money in the end. Don't you worry.

2) They make them for every park, every attraction, every movie, every character. Everything under the Sun. They have an unlimited field of subject matter from which to cull their nifty little trinkets.

3) Because they are so varied, they can basically appeal to just about anyone. Only like Goofy? That's alright, because there are literally thousands of Goofy Pins out there and available. Not just in the parks, but on eBay and to be traded and everything.

4) They are small and easily ported. On my last trip in February I bought... several. and they basically fit in a small bag that I could put in my backpack. They don't even seem to notice them at security at the airport, which is odd since there's enough pointy little barbs in that bag to give the world tetanus.

You see... I'm a magpie. In my life I've collected several things. Autographed baseballs, antique maps, Disney Snowglobes... These are all pricey and large and difficult to amass discreetly. Take one look at the shelves in my bedroom, and you'll see 18 GIANT-ASS SNOWGLOBES. It's cumbersome to say the least. So the pins appeal to me on many levels.

I have several active Pin quests going usually. I'm always on the lookout for good Captain Hook pins. In fact, this may be a bold statement, but I believe I may have the most extensive Captain Hook pin collection anywhere in the world. I know I have several Hook limited edition pins with very small edition sizes.

I also collect Expedition Everest pins and Figment... And Soarin. And a few others.

I've ranked this so high on my list because Disney basically found a way to cater to my 2 favorite things.... Disney and Obsessive Hoarding. Disney has even been so kind as to place kiosks and full-blown shops selling pins and pins alone about ever 40 feet on property. They require cast members to wear pins, and to trade them (without the luxury of haggling) to anyone who wants to trade. It's the best.

And now... The Disney Trivia Question of the Day

Question: What is the name of the Sea Serpent made of legos in Downtown Disney?

If you think you know, please send an e-mail to blog@beefymuchacho.com

Everyone with the correct answer will receive a point. An incorrect answer gets 1/2 a point. The person with the most points will get a Limted Edition Pin purchased during my stay.

Standings are being updated daily at http://www.beefymuchacho.com/ on the "Contests" page.

I'll repost the questions with the answers at the end of the contest.

3 Days to Disney: Pirates are Popular

Look familiar you fucking bandwagoners?
I don't know if you've heard of it, but there's actually a movie based on a ride at Disney World.

It's called "Pirates of the Caribbean" and apparently it was quite a popular flick. It even starred well known actors like Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom.

I KNOW!! It shocked me too. When I found out about it, I placed it at the very tippy-top of my Netflix queue. Not only that, but in my search, I discovered that there are 2.... TWO!! sequels. Crazy right?

In all seriousness, everyone knows this ride. They probably know what it's all about. They've probably ridden it. It's possibly the most popular ride in all of Disneydom. And let me just say... it makes it hard to be a hardcore fan of this ride, because I was the guy that got every *wink wink* to the ride that appeared in the movie. I was the guy that laughed at the guy in the pig-pen when everyone else in the theater was all "When's Bloom getting back on screen?"

They're all fucking late to the party, and it just makes me irritated that suddenly, because of one movie (an admittedly effing sweet movie) it's everyone's favorite ride.

I will also say that I do really like the additions they made to the rides to incorporate the movie characters. Jack Sparrow is an excellent creation, and one that Walt would have been proud of, so I have no issue with it. I especially like the addition of Davy Jones, whose face appears in the mist as you enter the ride. It's awesome.

I can't really cover new ground here, because everyone knows all about it, so I'll just say that the ride is just as awesome as the movie, and has been since 1973. The animatronics are cool. The storyline is funny. The pirates are waaaaay more risque than almost anything else in all of Disney's realm (especially after they got rid of Alien Encounter).

It's one on of the best things Disney's done to integrate their live-action movies with the parks in years, and it made pirates even cooler than they already were.

Also, it's the ONLY ride I've ever risked missing a plane to ride. On one of my trips, I'd missed riding it because it was pouring rain the day I went to Magic Kingdom and the ride had a 4 hour wait or something like that, because most of the queue is covered. Well... I went back the day of my flight just to ride that one thing. Totally worth it.

Plus... I want to be a pirate.

And now... The Disney Trivia Question of the Day

Question: Of the 126 Animatronic Figures in Pirates of the Caribbean at Walt Disney World, how many are pirates?

If you think you know, please send an e-mail to blog@beefymuchacho.com

Everyone with the correct answer will receive a point. An incorrect answer gets 1/2 a point. The person with the most points will get a Limted Edition Pin purchased during my stay.

Standings are being updated daily at http://www.beefymuchacho.com/ on the "Contests" page.

I'll repost the questions with the answers at the end of the contest.

15 Days to Disney: More Laughing at the Pain of Children

So you've probably noticed that I'm not above laughing at children. To my critics, I have a couple of things to say about that:

1) They're more then welcome to laugh at me, and let's be honest... They have a lot more material from which to harvest their mirth.

2) They're pliable. I read somewhere that a child's bones don't solidify until the hit puberty. (No...that's not a boner joke, but to those who went there... kudos). Because their bones are soft and bendy (out of the gutter I say!!) they are not easily damaged, so really the only thing that's injured are their prides.

3) If they had better balance, and if they weren't putting themselves in these precarious situations, I would have nothing to laugh at, so they have only themselves to blame.

4) Fuck you.

Why all of this preface? Because there's another thing I absolutely love to do at Disney when I need a breather.

First... you know those stupid-ass shoes the kids wear with the little wheels in the heels? I hate them. They are annoying. The kids seem to have absolutely no awareness of where they are in relation to all of the other people around them. All they care about is zipping around on those damned shoes.

Well... God has an equalizer. I've explained it to the Tofu Muchacha, and she now calls it the Hill of Doom. And that's really not bad.

So anyway... When I'm tired, and want to just chill for a minute while I'm at Epcot, I'll go to the Coca-Cola tent, grab me a Diet Coke, and go sit on this little innocuous bench over by Spaceship Earth.

The thing is... there's this slight little incline there on both sides on Spaceship Earth, and there are benches there to sit. For some reason, and I can't explain exactly why this is, because you'd think the kids with the damned shoes would be adept at navigating terrain, but I've seen more kids wipe out there than all other places combined. They come around the corner, and start to head down the hill, and I guess the grade is deceptive, because they just tumble headlong constantly.

No joke, I've seen 3 kids fall there. One of them careened into the bushes. If I had a full day at Epcot where I didn't feel the need to do everything (which is exactly what I'll have when I live down there and have my annual pass), I'd definitely just bring a picnic lunch and sit on that bench and laugh and laugh and laugh at those stupid little kids with their stupid little shoes. I know it's sadistic, but they deserve it. And their parents deserve to hear their stupid crying.

Here's the thing... Most of the things I love about Disney are very pure and nice and lovely. A few of them better serve my puckish side, and this is one of those.

And now... The Disney Trivia Question of the Day

Question: In Spaceship Earth, the character in the "Greek Play" scene is delivering lines from what play?

If you think you know, please send an e-mail to blog@beefymuchacho.com

Everyone with the correct answer will receive a point. An incorrect answer gets 1/2 a point. The person with the most points will get a Limted Edition Pin purchased during my stay.

Standings are being updated daily at http://www.beefymuchacho.com/ on the "Contests" page.

I'll repost the questions with the answers at the end of the contest.

Flailing is Indefensible.

(They're totally gonna make out.)

Hey Folks-

My old buddy Ron Mason and I were chatting earlier and he mentioned that he was watching The Karate Kid part 2.

I laughed and said "Oh man... that's one of the greatest bad movies ever."

To which he responded "What are you talking about? That's just a great movie!"

First off... No. It's not a great movie. At least not in the sense that The Godfather is a great movie. Or Finding Nemo. Or Finding Neverland. Or Finding Forrester (You got that right DAWG). Okay... Finding Forrester isn't great. It may fit into the "Great, BAD movie category that Karate Kid 2 fits in, though. Let me briefly discuss the difference...

A GREAT movie features at least a couple of the following: Memorably great performances. Spectacular (quotable) dialogue. Chilling scenes. Lasting images.

A Great BAD movies also may feature all of these things, but it also features a surprising lack of self-awareness.

For example...
The Godfather has unbelievable performances from Brando, Pacino, Duvall... All great. It features the line "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse". One of the most iconic film lines of all time. It features one of the most classic sequences ever with the baptism/assassination scene. And that final image of Michael Corleone standing there as the door closes... so lasting. So memorable. And not a single one with an unintentional laugh.

The Karate Kid part 2, on the other hand, may feature all of these same types of things... Morita/Machio, "Live or Die man?" "Die" "Wrong" **HONK**. I mean.... COME ON!!! He squeezes the bad-guy's nose! After the bad guy nearly murders his love interest? You're telling me we aren't supposed to sort of chuckle at that nonsense? How about the scene with the dancing and the ice? Daniel LaRusso is one of the most ridiculous characters ever conceived.

So anyway... here are the things that I feel beg more discussion in The Karate Kid part 2.

1) First... the plot device where Daniel-San goes to Japan with Miyagi... is so fucking stupid that I can hardly stand it. First... working in the aviation industry, I know what an ASAP ticket costs. It's a lot. I know that Miyagi has some sort of weird stash of money or whatever, but that's a fucking CHUNK of change. Second... Daniel-San actually tells Miyagi at one point that he's more important to him than school. To quote the illustrious Bill Simmons "uncomfortable". Third... doesn't it seem like there's no end to this trip? I mean... there seems to be no time-frame within the story. Suddenly Daniel-San is just gonna live indefinitely in Japan. Whatever.

2) Does it matter at all that the plot is almost identical to the first movie? Daniel-San is thrown into a situation where he's the outsider. He meets a hot local girl who also happens to draw the interest of the town badass karate expert/asshole. He gets into a bunch of scrapes (from many of which Miyagi must save him). He inexplicably ingratiates himself to the town, turning them against their "favorite son". In the final fight, he succeeds in executing a move so inane...so stupid... that the convention of it being impossible to defend is mind-blowingly retarded. And then he gets the girl, which considering that it was Macchio is maybe the most hard to swallow plot-point of all.

3) Let's talk about these "impossible to defend" karate moves. The first movie provided us with the Crane Kick.A silly, limbs flapping varietal of a jump kick that well... let's be frank. If Johnny didn't know that shit was coming, he's clearly been huffing. I mean come-the-fuck-ON.
Still... The Crane Kick isn't half as ludicrous as the... Well... I don't know that it has a name at all... I'll call it "The Little Drummer Boy". I don't really even know how to describe it except that you remember those drum toys that were popular in the late 80s? The ones with the little drum on a handle, with two wooden balls on strings that sort of whapped the drum as you rotated it back and forth? Well... I'm pretty sure your sanity has this movie to thank for thrusting that fucking thing unto the world.
So basically, during the final confrontation, Daniel-San is getting his ass handed to him (the most realistic moment in the entire trilogy...you know... aside from every other time he gets his ass handed to him) and suddenly Miyagi and the rest of the entire town busts out these drum things and start whapping them around. Now.. you'd think that the bad-guy, The guy who's lived in this place his entire fucking life, and who also happens to be some sort of martial arts expert would know what this gesture would mean. You'd think that in all of the time he spent training with his uncle Sato (who spends most of his time hitting a log. Seriously.) this guy might recognize the hints these people are tossing Daniel-San. Of course Daniel-San somehow recognizes the percussion display to mean that it's time to throw a relentless hail of "double punches" to the rhythm of the drums... Or to resemble one of those drums. Who knows? It's so stupid. But in any case, the karate master doesn't get it, and gets beaten like the proverbial drum by this silly little American kid who's literally never even attempted the move before. Like... how fucking embarassing.

HOW DOES THE EVIL NEPHEW NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS. HOW? I'll never understand it to this day.

That said... this movie is so watchable it goes all the way around the circle of "Bad" and ends up being great again. It's so hilariously, unintentionally funny that you have to watch it every time it's on. To see the insipid look on Daniel-San's face when he watches the little Japanese Elizabeth Shue do her tea ceremony is priceless. Watching him get his ass beat 8 ways to Sunday for most of the movie is worth the time spent.

The fight scene at the end is great for a ton of reasons. Why doesn't anyone stop this fight from happening? The dude tosses and then punches the Japanese Elizabeth Shue! The guy pulls a knife (not honorable AT ALL.) They act like this old temple with the moat is somehow impenetrable, and when they're in the middle, they're totally unreachable. Of course, the fight itself is high comedy. I mean... he honks his nose! Now does he not only NOT die with Honor, but he has to live with the shame of a modern day coo-counting at the hands of one of the most inane, pussy-ish, pretty boys on the face of the Earth. I think I'd toss myself into the bottomless abyss of that moat and be done with it.

And of course the drum-punch thing.

So there it is... My Karate Kid Part 2 Review

Greetings from the Tundra

I'm in Colorado right now, enjoying my holiday, but I wanted to post my Thursday football game pick:

CHARGERS.

Also... I saw Bolt last night, and it was awesome. Totally better than I expected, and frankly... the best thing Travolta has done in years. He's such an idiot it's hard for me to admit liking him, but I think being the voice of a cartoon is right in his wheel house.

Let the menstruation begin; My Twilight Blog

Hey Folks-

I consider myself relatively well read, or at least knowledgable regarding current phenomena and popular culture type thingys. That said, I didn't really know anything about the Twilight Saga (books) until earlier this year when the 2 stars made the cover of Entertainment Weekly. I still didn't pay it much mind. It's actually very similar to how I was totally in the dark about Harry Potter. I only vaguely knew it existed until right before the 4th book was released, and then suddenly it seemed to be everywhere.

How I Came to Read the Saga

So I was in the dark regarding Twilight (ba dum bum), and then I went to dinner with my friend Jill and she mentioned that I should check it out as it would make good reading for the long plane rides to Rome and back. So... I bought the first book (Twilight), and started reading it lightly before the trip, finding myself really enjoying it, and also realizing that despite it's girth, it was a quick read. I'd clearly be finished with it way too early into the plane ride. Jill then loaned me the second book (New Moon) right before I left. Surely, I thought, that would be enough to get me through. I packed both giant books and headed to Rome.

Well... about 2 hours into my 6 hour layover in New York (on the way) I was more than halfway done with book 1, and I decided to buy book 3 (Eclipse) at the airport. Now I have 1700 pages worth of Vampire fiction to satiate me on my trip to Italy (featured in book 2, oddly enough). Hard to say that I was wrong, exactly, as I plowed through book 1 on the plane, and most of book 2. I finished book 2 completely during my stay, and I got about halfway through book 3 before even heading for the airport home. because of that, I had to borrow book 4 (Breaking Dawn) from my sister's roommate (Thanks Sarah!). I actually almost made it through that before getting back to Cincinnati as well.

The last portion of the Saga is, of course, Midnight Sun. Stephenie Meyer started re-writing Twilight from Edward's point of view and stopped writing after the first 12 chapters were leaked. It's available on her website, and I killed the remaining couple of days before the movie's release by reading that. I liked it more than I liked any of the others, so of course it stands to reason that she'd just stop writing it.

The Books... a question and answer.

Are they actually GOOD?
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that they ARE good. Not just addictive in that same way that a showing of Cat People on AMC will suck you in, despite it's general shittiness. That's not to say that I think it's particularly well written, but if you look at the 4 books as a whole, I think the story is strong.

That said, I think Stephenie Meyer is a pretty bad writer. How is this possible? Well... I think the story and the writing are basically two separate things. She's like George Lucas, in a way, in that the story is good and interesting, and the characters are cool, but she really needed someone else to put a stronger voice to the actual writing. There's a lot of repetition. I honestly think that there's a cumulative 100 pages of the series dedicated to how the Cullens look. That'd be one thing if she'd been expansive in a more specific way, but it's usually the same things. There are repeated actions (Every kissing sequence in books 1-3, every time anyone smells anything, the incessant inner monologue regarding Jacob).

Sounds like I don't like them, but basically it amounts to me being more interested in plot and character than I am about the cadence of the prose. In fact, I almost think that too creative a narrative voice would have distracted from the flow. I certainly can't complain about the readability. In that the plot is the driving determiner in whether I think a story is good, Twilight is good.

Oh...and hey... The books are not meant for me. I read a review of the book that called it "Essentially professional fanfic." and that's not far from the truth. She's writing a mash letter to these characters. That's allowed. It's a good read.

What bothers me about the books?
Well... There wasn't a lot that really bothered me, but there are a couple of things...
1) Edward is portrayed as being pretty much perfect. Supermodel looks, a genius (or just someone with a perfectly sharp mind and 90 years to gain knowledge), amazing will-power, extra super-powers, all that. That's not what bothers me... Stephenie Meyer didn't really give him any flaws at all, except that he's possibly overprotective...so... why create the conflict within Bella that flows all throughout Book 3? I mean... I get that Jacob was there for her in Book 2 and I get that for some reason she loves him. I also think that the outcome was sort of a foregone conclusion, so why prolong this "triangle" when the time could have been used to flesh out backstory.
2) The love between Edward and Bella is great and all, but jeebus was it fast. It went from confusion to outright "forever yours" in like 16 seconds. I can't recall what chapter it was, but it was after the dinner in Port Angeles...they've been in eachother's company for like.. 2 hours and she's saying she's "completely and irrevocably in love with him." I mean... yikes. So intense it kinda creeps me out. And it never really waivered at all. In the second book, the girl literally puts herself into dangerous situations just to hallucinate his voice. God. On the other hand, I again realize this book was written for people who would find that sort of blind, blazing love to be romantic and they're not wrong.

Who's my favorite character?
That's a tough one, but I think I'll have to go with Jasper Cullen. Personally, I'd prefer to just read about the Cullens anyway, and he seems to be the most damaged. Damage is interesting to read. He's also one of the more fleshed out of the vampires. (No pun intended). His backstory is interesting. And I think Alice is the one I'd most like to hang out with, and they're all soul matey and stuff.

Are the Harry Potter comparisons apt?
While I see what people are saying... I'm gonna say they're not really that comparable. Except that they are both these huge deals with teens, and there is that magical element to both. The main differences are along those same lines.
-- Where Harry Potter has a much more universal appeal.. it's grander in scale, it takes place over a larger number of years and places. The story is more adventure and less romance.. Twilight is very focused in who it was written for and who it most appeals to. I mean... My DAD read and enjoyed Harry Potter, and while he'd probably read Twilight just because he reads constantly, and there are vampires, I'm not quite as sure he'd like it.
-- The writing in Harry Potter is better, generally. Rowling was pretty raw at the beginning, but you sort of get the feeling that she gave herself time to grow. There were 10 years or something between Book 1 and Book 7. On the other hand, Stephenie Meyer wrote all 4 Twilight books in a 3 year period, so she didn't have a lot of time to self improve.
-- The magic in Harry Potter is more... magical. The magic in Twilight is more incidental. In fact, there's rarely even mention of "magic" itself, and it's more of a thing that isn't really understood.

Really I think that Harry Potter has some real cultural staying power. The movies are huge. The books are all enormous best sellers. It seems to have permeated the lexicon a bit more completely.

The Movie... Yay or Nay?
I liked it well enough, but I think they REALLY have to put more money into the next ones. I really liked the casting (Edward and Bella specifically). They did a great job with an average script. The biggest issue was definitely the special effects, and well.. they weren't good. There are basically 3 truly important effects in the whole movie. The car crash where Edward saves Bella, the running through the woods, and the "sparkle Edward".
The car crash was done well enough. In fact, really well.
The running is just weird. I don't know how to make it look better, but it looked blocky. I don't know how else to describe it. Maybe it's just the mechanics of this exact type of effect, because one of the very few effects in Lord of the Rings that I didn't like was when Merry and Pippin were being carried on the backs of the Uruk-Hai. You could tell that it was a combo of dolls and tiny stunt people. I dunno... It's gotta be fixed
The "Sparkle Edward" is such a HUGE deal in the book. I mean... Stephenie Meyer describes the "diamonds" over and over and over and over and over. And poor Robert Pattinson just looked like he'd put on some glitter. It was bad bad bad.
I think the larger budget that's been promised for New Moon will be helpful, but I'm still worried. The effects in New Moon are way more difficult. You have werewolves. You have to do chases through Italy. And the Volturi stuff... it's all just MORE. Harry Potter made huge strides between movie 1 and movie 2 in terms of effects. Hopefully so will Twilight. I don't know if it has the power to hold the audiences otherwise.

Okay... I'm done talking about this. There's a lot more I could say. I tried to keep less spoilery. Let me know what you think.