Magic is in the air ! It's not often you hear that in mid-November, I suppose, at least not in Toronto, but this weekend the air is alive with it.

First of all, it's unseasonably warm. They're calling for 17 degrees tomorrow (which for the unmetrically minded, is about 64) and even today, at 10 degrees, we're pleased. It's been this way all week. It was warm enough on Wednesday for me to open the door to the shop, but I closed it soon after do to the poopy smell on Queen St.

Secondly, "Harry Potter and the Phiolosopher's Stone" opened yesterday to much aclaim, and of course, I had tickets to go see it. I wasn't in the right head-space at all, as my migraine had gotten progressively worse all day, so when we left the house, I left my cloak behind. You have to be in the mood for cloak wearing if you don't do it often, and last night was not the right night. We were all excited about the Episode II trailer that was supposed to run in front of "Potter" as well, but, strangely enough, they didn't run it. Ryan whined and grumbled through most of the feature and I must say, I was rather disappointed. We figure it was because we saw the film on the IMAX screen that there was some clause in Lucas' whatever that it had to be shown on a typical Famous Players screen. Whatever it was, we were disappointed, though I'll just download it from the 'net sometime in the next couple of days.

I wasn't disappointed for long, mind you, as "Potter" opened. Oh. My. Goodness. It was FANTASTIC. By about twenty minutes in, I'd forgotten my headache and the queasiness brought on by a few too many tylenol and prescription medication. Not only was it full of magic thanks to the story and such, but it was a completely delightful, magical production. The cast was full of British actors (thankfully), among them, Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman. The children were charming and perfectly cast for the roles they were filling, and the professors were splendid. I'm afraid I don't do names well, but all three leads, Harry, Ron and Hermione, were superb - and genuinely lovely in the way that all too many children aren't. Snape (Rickman) was awesome, as were McGonagal (Smith) and Dumbledore (bah, I forget his name, but he played Maximus in 'Gladiator'). Also, whoever the giant was that played Hagrid was perfect and lovely. I couldn't help but wonder if he was the same fellow that played Christmas Present in the George C. Scott "A Christmas Carol". It's hard to say, enormous, bushy haired giants being something of an archetype.

Rick didn't like it, and maybe his claim that the film left holes that would have been filled had he read the book is true. Of course, I can't offer sympathy, as the book has been on my shelf for most of the time we've been going out. He is probably right, though, and that is a failing of the screenwriter, or possibly the director if scenes were cut, but having read the book, despite a few omissions, I thought it was fantastic.

Tonight, the magic continues as the old crew sits down to play some table-top D&D for the first time in forever. Rick will be joining us for the first time, too, which should be fun. We're a big, but dedicated, group and hopefully we'll have tons of fun. I'm bringing back one of my old (OLD) characters, Velkyn Dalharil, a deliciously unpleasant drow devoted to Vhaeraun. I have been playing her online for a year, or slightly more, which has been fun, but back in highschool she'd been one of my main table-top characters. I'm going back in time for this incarnation of her, too, as I've set Ryan's campaign early in her life on the Surface. Even more fun is the fact that it's a water campaign and as many people know: Drow. Do. NOT. Do. Water.

Let us hope that the magic continues !