For a good time, replace "wand" with "wang" in Harry Potter Books
Okay, got the work emergency resolved. Mostly my fault on the glitch that happened, but oh well. Everyone is happy, and nobody really got mad except me. At me. Whups.
Finances are going to have be discussed with parents while in town this weekend. I broke it down, and I'm basically living on $50-80 per week after all the bills are done.
Mum is going to take my sister and I for pedicures this weekend!!! Awww, yay!
Also: is there anyone out there in lj-land who would be able to pick me up on Sunday from the train station around 4:30pm?? I would be ever, ever so grateful. Payment offered in the form of insanely cute puppy pictures! Or eternal gratitude, whichever you prefer. :)
This is my new desktop at work: Quotes from The Office, because it is hysterical. I actually kinda wish my office WAS like that...
ZOMG!!11eleventy!1! Harry Potter Spoiler (or... not, really). Best one I've seen yet! :D (I know, I'm like the 8th person to post this today)
And in light of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, there is an article on the AP, in the Seattle Times, that I rather liked. There's no spoilers, but it does allude to things in the book (ones we probably could have guessed at anyway), and it gives away nothing. But I rather like the way the article ended, so my thoughts are on a separate cut. Because I'm speculating and making guesses, I'm keeping it separate from those who want to come to their own conclusions. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!
"Potter" series end makes sense
By Mary Carole McCauley
The Baltimore Sun AP
When you have read the last sentence on the last page of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" - no, we're not going to reveal any plot twists - you will say, "Of course."
That's how inevitable the conclusion to the seven-book series seems. And it's a tribute to author J.K. Rowling's skill that, once you have finished "Hallows," no other ending seems possible.
The ending incorporates so many of the speculations, many opposing, that have been rampant on the Web for years.
Taken as a whole, the Harry Potter series is a classic bildungsroman, a coming-of-age tale about the title character. In each of the six previous books, Harry has learned one important valuable life lesson - about the importance of choosing well, about the importance of learning to trust others, about the importance of recognizing the humanity in enemies.
Book 7, which goes on sale at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, is about coming to terms with death. (I read the book in advance.) As she attempts to grapple with the inevitable, Rowling evokes everything from learning to accept and even embrace that eventuality, to Christian notions of resurrection and redemption.
At the start of this final book, Harry and his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, set out to complete the task they set for themselves at the end of the sixth book: to find and destroy the remaining magical objects, called "horcruxes," that contain the soul of Lord Voldemort, who is seeking world domination.
But the trio soon learns of another trio of magical objects that are equally mysterious - the "deathly hallows" of the title: a sword, a ring and a cloak, said to have the ability to defeat death.
Through it all, the friends struggle to evade the determined efforts of the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters to capture them.
Although it makes for engrossing reading, this book lacks much of the charm and humor that distinguished Rowling's earliest books. Even the writing is more prosaic.
But how could it be otherwise?
In her earlier books, Rowling was busy building a world. Her characters were still children, and much of the enjoyment of the books came from watching them struggle to master powers they did not fully possess. So, for instance, a boy or girl mounted a flying broomstick - and it promptly bucked the child off.
Following the travails of the young witches and wizards at Hogwarts as they learned to swoop through the air, defeat dragons and cast spells wasn't unlike watching real-life children learn to walk or read - activities that, if you think about it, are no less magical, even if we've come to take them for granted.
But by this final book, Harry, Hermione and Ron are grown. They have as many skills as they ever will have. Rowling no longer has to create a magical world, with portraits that travel from picture frame to picture frame, or in which weeding a garden means clearing it of gnomes. Instead, her characters fully occupy that world. It has fewer surprises for them - and by extension, for us.
If there's a theme that runs through all seven books, it's the saving grace of a parent's love - in particular, of motherly love. It's hard not to imagine that in writing this book, Rowling is drawing on her experiences, both of her mother's premature death and of the author's love for her children.
That theme is repeated again and again in "Deathly Hallows." It's examined not only in Harry's relationship with his mother, but in Luna Lovegood's bond with her father, and even the nasty Draco Malfoy's connection with his malevolent mother, Narcissa. So strong is that bond that it can redeem even the most seemingly evil characters.
Here's the link to the article: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/books/2003795766_harry19.html
Starting at the ending, that whole "seemingly evil" bit makes me immediately think of one person - Severus Snape. There's a lot of speculation about whether or not he is friend or foe (thewenchywiccan, you're writing fanfic about this very topic yes?). The article's reference makes me think that he is indeed a friend, one who "became an enemy in order to remain a friend," to quote from The Black Jewels books. I don't see Voldemort as being "seemingly" evil - he simply IS evil. Half Blood Prince showed he had no respect for his mother, so I don't see how motherly love NOW is going to redeem him.
Also, on the reference to the "Deathly Hallows" equipment. A sword, a ring, and a cloak? Gee, where have we seen these in the books before? Godric Gryffindor's sword (see: Chamber of Secrets), a ring (possibly the Horcrux from Half Blood Prince, although it COULD be another one I'm forgetting), and a Invisibility Cloak, which has played a major role as a plot point through all previous 6 books. The idea here being that Harry already HAS the equipment to defeat Voldemort, he just needs to know how to use it. I also think it's no coincidence that there's 3 parts to the equipment, and Harry will need Ron and Hermoine to help him - 3 x 3 is not hard math here.
Of course, I could be totally off my rocker here. Without knowing more details, these are just educated guesses. And I've seen some of the "spoiler" scans on the interwebs, but I have serious doubts about their validity. OF COURSE some idiot is going to go to all the work of typing up pages and matching the font in order to freak everyone out - it's the same mentality as all those people who spend their time inventing computer viruses. Some people really DON'T have anything better to do than get a laugh at someone else's expense.
If I'm wrong, I know I'll hear all about it on Sunday after everyone else power-reads through the book while I'm off getting a pedicure in Wenatchee, haha.
I am also finding all of the entry on Wikipedia: Deathly Hallows veeeeerrry interesting.
I want this!!!
Tonight:
Laundry (like WHOA)
Pack for Wenatchee
Continue packing apt - goal is 2 boxes worth
Photo!Blog to come later, when I need to take a break, hehe.
Finances are going to have be discussed with parents while in town this weekend. I broke it down, and I'm basically living on $50-80 per week after all the bills are done.
Mum is going to take my sister and I for pedicures this weekend!!! Awww, yay!
Also: is there anyone out there in lj-land who would be able to pick me up on Sunday from the train station around 4:30pm?? I would be ever, ever so grateful. Payment offered in the form of insanely cute puppy pictures! Or eternal gratitude, whichever you prefer. :)
This is my new desktop at work: Quotes from The Office, because it is hysterical. I actually kinda wish my office WAS like that...
ZOMG!!11eleventy!1! Harry Potter Spoiler (or... not, really). Best one I've seen yet! :D (I know, I'm like the 8th person to post this today)
And in light of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, there is an article on the AP, in the Seattle Times, that I rather liked. There's no spoilers, but it does allude to things in the book (ones we probably could have guessed at anyway), and it gives away nothing. But I rather like the way the article ended, so my thoughts are on a separate cut. Because I'm speculating and making guesses, I'm keeping it separate from those who want to come to their own conclusions. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!
"Potter" series end makes sense
By Mary Carole McCauley
The Baltimore Sun AP
When you have read the last sentence on the last page of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" - no, we're not going to reveal any plot twists - you will say, "Of course."
That's how inevitable the conclusion to the seven-book series seems. And it's a tribute to author J.K. Rowling's skill that, once you have finished "Hallows," no other ending seems possible.
The ending incorporates so many of the speculations, many opposing, that have been rampant on the Web for years.
Taken as a whole, the Harry Potter series is a classic bildungsroman, a coming-of-age tale about the title character. In each of the six previous books, Harry has learned one important valuable life lesson - about the importance of choosing well, about the importance of learning to trust others, about the importance of recognizing the humanity in enemies.
Book 7, which goes on sale at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, is about coming to terms with death. (I read the book in advance.) As she attempts to grapple with the inevitable, Rowling evokes everything from learning to accept and even embrace that eventuality, to Christian notions of resurrection and redemption.
At the start of this final book, Harry and his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, set out to complete the task they set for themselves at the end of the sixth book: to find and destroy the remaining magical objects, called "horcruxes," that contain the soul of Lord Voldemort, who is seeking world domination.
But the trio soon learns of another trio of magical objects that are equally mysterious - the "deathly hallows" of the title: a sword, a ring and a cloak, said to have the ability to defeat death.
Through it all, the friends struggle to evade the determined efforts of the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters to capture them.
Although it makes for engrossing reading, this book lacks much of the charm and humor that distinguished Rowling's earliest books. Even the writing is more prosaic.
But how could it be otherwise?
In her earlier books, Rowling was busy building a world. Her characters were still children, and much of the enjoyment of the books came from watching them struggle to master powers they did not fully possess. So, for instance, a boy or girl mounted a flying broomstick - and it promptly bucked the child off.
Following the travails of the young witches and wizards at Hogwarts as they learned to swoop through the air, defeat dragons and cast spells wasn't unlike watching real-life children learn to walk or read - activities that, if you think about it, are no less magical, even if we've come to take them for granted.
But by this final book, Harry, Hermione and Ron are grown. They have as many skills as they ever will have. Rowling no longer has to create a magical world, with portraits that travel from picture frame to picture frame, or in which weeding a garden means clearing it of gnomes. Instead, her characters fully occupy that world. It has fewer surprises for them - and by extension, for us.
If there's a theme that runs through all seven books, it's the saving grace of a parent's love - in particular, of motherly love. It's hard not to imagine that in writing this book, Rowling is drawing on her experiences, both of her mother's premature death and of the author's love for her children.
That theme is repeated again and again in "Deathly Hallows." It's examined not only in Harry's relationship with his mother, but in Luna Lovegood's bond with her father, and even the nasty Draco Malfoy's connection with his malevolent mother, Narcissa. So strong is that bond that it can redeem even the most seemingly evil characters.
Here's the link to the article: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/books/2003795766_harry19.html
Starting at the ending, that whole "seemingly evil" bit makes me immediately think of one person - Severus Snape. There's a lot of speculation about whether or not he is friend or foe (thewenchywiccan, you're writing fanfic about this very topic yes?). The article's reference makes me think that he is indeed a friend, one who "became an enemy in order to remain a friend," to quote from The Black Jewels books. I don't see Voldemort as being "seemingly" evil - he simply IS evil. Half Blood Prince showed he had no respect for his mother, so I don't see how motherly love NOW is going to redeem him.
Also, on the reference to the "Deathly Hallows" equipment. A sword, a ring, and a cloak? Gee, where have we seen these in the books before? Godric Gryffindor's sword (see: Chamber of Secrets), a ring (possibly the Horcrux from Half Blood Prince, although it COULD be another one I'm forgetting), and a Invisibility Cloak, which has played a major role as a plot point through all previous 6 books. The idea here being that Harry already HAS the equipment to defeat Voldemort, he just needs to know how to use it. I also think it's no coincidence that there's 3 parts to the equipment, and Harry will need Ron and Hermoine to help him - 3 x 3 is not hard math here.
Of course, I could be totally off my rocker here. Without knowing more details, these are just educated guesses. And I've seen some of the "spoiler" scans on the interwebs, but I have serious doubts about their validity. OF COURSE some idiot is going to go to all the work of typing up pages and matching the font in order to freak everyone out - it's the same mentality as all those people who spend their time inventing computer viruses. Some people really DON'T have anything better to do than get a laugh at someone else's expense.
If I'm wrong, I know I'll hear all about it on Sunday after everyone else power-reads through the book while I'm off getting a pedicure in Wenatchee, haha.
I am also finding all of the entry on Wikipedia: Deathly Hallows veeeeerrry interesting.
I want this!!!
Tonight:
Laundry (like WHOA)
Pack for Wenatchee
Continue packing apt - goal is 2 boxes worth
Photo!Blog to come later, when I need to take a break, hehe.