Top Twi Moments of 2009

It's so hard to believe that 2009 is coming to an end! Where does the time go? Weren't we all just saying, "Is it November yet?" This year had a lot of wonderful, memorable moments in the world of Twilight. Here are some of the ones that stood out the most to us. **Kerry: Adding my thoughts in italics!**

The Twilight DVD release. We started counting the days as soon as the date was announced. On March 20, we were finally able to bring Twilight home to watch over and over occasionally. There are even those of us who own three versions, although that's just hearsay. Oh, and if you haven't watched it with the audio commentary on, you are totally missing out on a treat.

Kerry Sees & Reads Twilight For The First Time. Yeah, I was a latecomer to the whole Twilight deal. My hubby read the series and wanted to see the movie before it left the theater, so January 25, 2009, we showed up to a still half-full theater and saw the movie that would instantly change how I spent my free time. (And some of the not-so-free time)!

New Moon Casting News. It trickled in slowly and sometimes took days to verify, but it was like water in the middle of the desert. Each announcement was like opening a long-awaited gift, particularly when Summit gave us the completed list.


Rob Breaks The Internet. Otherwise known as the Least Productive Day Ever. New Moon filming in Montepulciano, Italy brings us shirtless Rob in the Italian sunlight. /swoon

First New Moon trailer. The MTV Movie Awards were a fantastic coup for Twilight. While the acceptance speeches and the infamous almost kiss were wonderful, the true highlight of the night was the first trailer.

The MTV Movie Awards Show. For me, this was really exciting. This was the first time I watched anything 'live' with the cast or Twilight-related. Made me feel like a real fan, not just playing catch up with old youtube videos. Unfortunately, it meant I had to watch the MTV Movie Awards.

Various Wonderful Magazines. Including, but certainly not limited to US Weekly Sexy Stars of Twilight and the New Moon edition.

Speaking of Magazines, What About....? GQ = Kerry falls in love with a 23 year old guy with dirty hair. Vanity Fair publishes some of the best pics of the cast, and then kills us dead with an amazing shoot with Rob. And then outtake after outtake after outtake after outtake. Oh, and of course let's not forget Taylor's Rolling Stone, or Kristen's Allure. Or any of the other 4.324.857 others.

Seeing Sam Bradley and The Men. Okay, so this is definitely a personal highlight, and not really Twilight related, directly. But, were it not for Twilight and Sam's co-writer status on the soundtrack's Never Think, I might never have found this fabulous artist. Meeting him, interviewing him and seeing him perform was definitely a highlight of my year. This is an experience that Kerry and I both got to have this year, but unfortunately, months and miles apart. Sam is so adorable! I had a great time seeing him in concert in Seattle, and was pleasantly surprised to find him attending a Marcus Foster concert in Nashville a few weeks later! Hi Sam!

Comic Con. It was the first chance to see the cast together since they wrapped filming. It was incredibly exciting and of course the panel was wonderful. Afterward, even more of the cast showed up afterward to introduce special screenings of Twilight.There was tons of fantastic coverage from this event.

New Moon Hot Topic Tour. It was loud, squeemageddon in the extreme, but a lot of fun. Twilight fans can make friends in an instant. It was also the first fan event I had been to, and again, just to be able to experience it was so great. Daniel Cudmore and Charlie Bewley are hilarious and did great on stage. Daniel has this sweet charm, and Charlie rocks the British accent, we were all swooning in no time. A shout out to Susan for letting me use her pictures!

Chris Weitz. This isn't a moment, more of a combination of moments, but definitely a highlight. When he was announced as the director of New Moon, there was a lot of skepticism. I admit, I was among those nervous fans. But he has absolutely knocked it out of the park with this movie and won many of our hearts in the process. He totally gets it! And we love him for it. Click here to check out all we've written about him.

New Moon Premiere. 10,000 fans lining the streets, some having been there for 5 days, all trying to catch a glimse of our beloved cast members. Amazing dresses and suits adorned our actors as they worked the red carpet, with several of the media commenting that it almost seemed more like an awards show than a premiere with the type of fashion they were seeing.

Taylor hosts SNL. There were skeptics galore, but Taylor pulled it off with flying colors. He got the chance to demonstrate his comedic side and those awesome martial arts moves and physical tricks he's famous for. Awesome, awesome job Taylor.

New Moon Release. It's not that Amber forgot this one, I stole it
from her
offered to write it. Probably the BIGGEST Twilight moment in 2009. Ticket sales climbing up the charts and breaking records, proving that the audience isn't as narrow a field as they might have once thought.



The growth of the blog. Of course, this is a bigger deal to Kerry and I, but it's something we're really proud of and thankful for. We were able to expand to a blogging page on t5m, added the lovely Kerry, reached over 1300 twitter followers, purchased the eyesofamber.com domain name and most recently even became available for subscription on Kindle! It has not been without help from so many fellow bloggers and of course, our wonderful readers! You guys make all the Twi Moments so much sweeter! This is a definite highlight for me! Now I get to write about my addiction
hobby! I also got a great friend in Amber and laugh and think over all your comments.

Eclipse Discussion: Chapter 3: Motives

This post contains book spoilers through chapter 3 of Eclipse.

It's not too surprising that the chapter name be symbolic of the events in the chapter, but I find myself noticing them a lot more this time around. Motives are always key to understanding people. Law enforcement always looks for a 'motive' for a crime, because it helps them understand the kind of person that might have committed the crime and catch them faster. We see some of that come into play here, and we see that vampires and werewolves are not exempt.

The chapter opens with Bella and Edward returning from their weekend visit with Bella's mother in Florida. Bella reminisces about her time with her mom. Both Bella and Edward note how surprisingly observant Renee is.

Sabrina: I love this chapter. First of all, I like getting to know Renee a little bit better, that she's more than just scatterbrained and irresponsible.
Amber: She provides something we very rarely get, a look at Edward and Bella's relationship from the outside
Sabrina: Yeah, I like seeing their relationship from a third party. Other than Mike Newton saying "he looks at you like you are something to eat", we just don't get enough of that. And it's normally about this time that I stop being so mad at Edward. I've seen those couples. The ones that you can *tell* love each other by looking at them, even when they are going about their everyday lives. It helps me resolve what they have been through, to know that it's like that
Amber: but hearing it from Renee's outside view certainly gives even more reason that the other guys all backed off from Bella once she was with Edward. They were very obviously together.

I love what Sabrina had to say. You know, me, hardcore Edward girl. I'm not blind to Edward's faults, but I do forgive him pretty easy. It's very interesting to me to see our Team Jacob girl talk this way about their relationship.

Sabrina: So, on the Team Charlie front. He was very nice to Edward when they returned
Kerry: I don't know if I'd call that "very nice" but "played nice" maybe...lol
Amber: played nice
Amber: I like that
Kerry: I always wonder what happens off camera in these books, I bet Renee called Charlie while they were flying back and probably told him what a sweet boy he was and he obviously cares for Bella and he was such a gentlemen and all. Sabrina: i know, but I can just see Charlie saying that with a half-sarcastic smile. I love Charlie!

They return and they learn that Jacob has been trying to reach Bella. Jacob is agitated (What else is new?) and wants to know if she'll be in school the next day.

Kerry: I think it's interesting that she jumps to the conclusion that he's calling to check up on her.
Amber: Well she hasn't gotten him to return her calls at all up to this point
Sabrina: I think it is telling that Bella jumps straight to that conclusion. Mayhaps she's a little nervous about it herself?

They arrive at school the next day, and it becomes clear that Jacob actually wants to talk to Edward.

Sabrina: Between calling her and showing up at the school. What convinces him that they can be friends?
Amber: I think that was partly to get under Edward's skin
Kerry: I think it's a mix of missing her, of wanting to still be able to see her, and wanting to annoy Edward while he was at it
Sabrina: Maybe part... I think only a small part. My personal opinion is that he had the opportunity to remember how much Bella meant to him.. and realized that he should use the time he had left with her
Kerry: We might disagree on the percentage of "annoy Edward" it was, but the basic idea is in agreement
Sabrina: But yeah, I think he was also in part fueled by jealousy. It had to get his back up to actually see them together.
Sabrina: We have the fact that jacob spilled the beans about Victoria.
Amber: I think he was surprised that Edward hadn't told her that
Kerry: I think he was surprised that Edward hadn't told her, and then decided to try to use it against him...
Kerry: I'm not saying I necessarily agree with Edward, but Jacob was definitely being malicious there
Sabrina: Oh, Jacob was malicious during most of this scene
Amber: but I wasn't upset with Jacob at all
Sabrina: it makes me wonder if he was sincere about really missing her, or if he just really wanted to get under Edward's skin. I mean, I think he was sincere, but it made me really doubt him there for a second.
Amber: he was using what he had at hand to fight for his woman.
Sabrina: lol... Amber, you are soooo Bella. You always defend them both
Amber: I never for one second doubted that he was sincere in saying how much he missed her
Amber: I know, that's me...I'm a total Bella
Kerry: but he was definitely using his words and tone, not to mention his thoughts, to provoke Edward
Amber: I'm beginning to wonder how much I actually contribute, because you're right, I defend them both
Sabrina: Yeah, I agree. It just made me wonder at him for a minute. He's changed so much since the beginning of New Moon.

He really has, hasn't he? I do feel sorry for Jacob, he's going through a heck of a lot for a 17 year old kid. I think, like anyone, these experiences are making both more mature, and less mature at the same time, since he doesn't know how to react. Make sense?

Kerry: this is probably where I really started to get irritated with Jacob the first time through... my appreciation for him has grown, but yeah..
Sabrina: I do like that Jacob takes Edward to task about lying to her, though.
Amber: Edward wasn't lying
Kerry: he didn't lie, exactly...omission yes...
Kerry: and not that it makes it right

Was it a lie? Maybe by omission. Edward in all his dazzling charm and fast talk to get her out of the area in the first place. Should he have told her that Victoria was coming back? And when, before they left? After they came back?

Sabrina: For what it's worth, I see Edward's side much more in this chapter.
Kerry: but he probably should have said something after Jacob's call
Amber: I don't think he could have gotten her on the plane if she'd known.

Interesting point. We know Bella took this personally, that she had to protect the people she loved. Would she have gotten on the plane had she known Victoria was in the area? Does that change your previous answer?

The conversation eventually devolves into some disagreement between Jacob and Edward, with Jacob tormenting Edward a bit with memories of Bella during his absence. Jacob expresses to Bella how much he misses her. Bella wants to comfort him but Edward seems to be holding her back.

Kerry: Jacob was being very manipulative, with the guilt trip act...and while I do believe he missed her, that was very definitely an act..
Amber: There he goes again, making decisions for her.
Sabrina: No, it definitely isn't his place, but we don't get a clear picture of his motive.
Sabrina: Protection? Jealousy? Support? Who knows?
Kerry: I don't doubt the emotion, and it may not have even been a conscious choice to run the guilt act, but it was a show for Bella, designed to make her feel bad.
Amber: Jacob knows how to pull Bella's strings.

Eventually Bella and Edward must return to class, but she's not done with him yet. In a funny exchange of notes, Edward tells her what happened over the weekend, and Bella let's it be known that she expects to be in the loop on these things. Not as mousey as some might like to think Bella is!

Sabrina: yeah, I love how he gets her side-tracked about the plane.
Amber: I LOVE the plane!!!!!
Amber: That's classic, the humorous banter between them that we missed in Twilight
Kerry: I love the notes!!
Kerry: They come to an agreement though
Amber: I'm afraid of flying...I need Edward to fly with me
Sabrina: Yep... he's gotta tell it to her straight for now on
Kerry: He did the Edward charming distracting thing, but she got her message through, and he agreed, and it's the first time we really see them work something out in a real adult way.
Sabrina: Relationship progress.
Amber: Edward learns that his smooth charm can't get him out of everything.
Kerry: It serves it's purpose, it lightens the mood, and I think even though he's kinda joking, he's still demonstrating the lengths he'd go to to protect her, which is why he did what he did.

The chapter wraps up just after, with Edward agreeing to communicate more. We see a little growth in both of them and maybe the start of some adult behavior, setting them more apart from just teenagers with a crush.

Share with us your thoughts on the chapter. What do you think of Renee? Or the phone calls from Jacob. How about the conversation outside of the school, or the notes? Comment and come back next week for Chapter 4!

Billy Burke on GMTV

While Billy Burke was in London for the holidays, he stopped by GMTV for a brief interview. You know how much we love Billy/Charlie here, and he doesn't disappoint. Watch him talk about the Twilight phenomenon and rocking the copstache!



Thanks to CBA

Interview with Mama & Papa Rathbone

Okay Jackson fans, here we have an interview with Jackson's parents with their local news station in Midland, Texas. They talk about Jackson's dream to perform and the whole Twilight experience from their angle. As a bonus, there's oh-so-adorable high school performance pictures!



Thanks to TwiCrackAddict.

Twilight Saga 2010 Desktop Wallpaper

The ever-talented Stephanie at Novel Novice Twilight has created a series of wallpapers/calendars for your desktop. Click here for all 12 months. For those avoiding Eclipse spoilers, the June wallpaper does have a movie still from Eclipse.

You know I'm a sucker for this pic, so December might be my favorite.