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The Fourth of July
Okay, so in my rush to slap a blog post up, I totally forgot to blog about my Fourth of July activities, which is sad because it was so much fun!
Firstly, I didn't have to work, so that was cool. And Antoine didn't have to work, either! He came to my house and we started a Final Fantasy V game.
Then we joined some of my fellow pages/friends on the lawns of the Capitol for Concerts on the Square: Special Nation's Birthday Edition. They had some fifties-ish music, but also played the 1812 Orchestra AND SHOT CANNONS. I WAS SO EXCITED. One of my co-workers made some amazing sandwiches, and the rest of us brought things like potato salad and chips and brownies and goodness (and yes, we ate the leftovers all day Thursday).
THEN, after Concerts on the Square was done, we went inside the Capitol and, after tidying up, went upstairs and outside to the Observation Deck, which surrounds the entire Capitol. We could see fireworks being set off from about four different towns surrounding Madison, and it was amazing (also, some illegal ones being set off inside the city limits!). The sun had gone down by that point, so the temperature was nice, too - especially on the north side, where you could feel the wind. Also, on the Observation Deck, we're right beneath the giant Greco-Roman statues that are up there, so that was awesome, too.
Right before we left, we went inside and up a little bit more to the Trumpters' Balcony, which goes around the circumference of the Rotunda inside the Capitol. We were much closer to the mural that's up on the very top, and could also see the beautiful marble floor and pillars, tiled mosaics, and portraits of all four floors of the Capitol at once. So awesome. It was a very nice Fourth of July.
Saturday
My family came down to visit me, which included both of my parents, my sister Julie, her husband Kevin, and their 3 children: Olivia, Dylan, and Amelia.
They arrived around 9:30am, and the first thing we did (after showing them my room) was go to the Farmers Market. It was insufferably hot outside yesterday, and my family, parents especially, don't do well in heat. We made it halfway around Capitol Square and then went inside to walk around. My sisters children were very pleased with the incredibly beautiful Capitol, considering it to be an upgrade from my previous job at ShopKo. I love walking around inside the Capitol, but truth be told, it makes me a little sick. I can think of a lot better use for taxes than marble floors and oak paneling.
After that, we picked up Antoine and drove out to McDonald's for lunch (when there are lots of people, cheaper is better!). From there, we went to Half-Price Books (OMF, I got a volume of manga for $2; WIN), and then to Trader Joe's. I think that overall, the family was impressed with both stores, although they didn't buy much. I came out of Trader Joe's with food that will get me through most of the week, and also a new plant. I've kept my Lucky Bamboo alive for like, 4 months now, so now I have a new one. I like the idea of plants in rooms, but I also like it more when they're alive.
After Trader Joe's, everyone was tired and hot, so we came back to my house and watched some of a Harry Potter movie that was on TV, while I followed Amelia and Dylan upstairs to my room and tried to persuade them that it wasn't necessary to touch all of my things.
We ate dinner at Ella's Deli on my family's way out of town, and Olivia, Dylan, and Amelia enjoyed two rides on the carousel. Saying goodbye wasn't very sad, because this coming weekend, I am going home. So, friends from high school take note! I will be home the 13-15, and will definitely be up for doing something Friday after dinner.
I did end up going to see "Paprika" with Antoine, Creighton, Carolyn, Kristen, Louise, and other various people from Anime Club at the new Sundance Theatre. It was...amazing. Very trippy, ridiculously well-animated (really, I couldn't even believe some of it), great music, interesting premise, and masterfully executed, as is usual with works done by Satoshi Kon. Highly recommended!
Of course, afterward, everybody came over to our house. I struggled to stay awake, but eventually just came upstairs and crawled into bed,
Harry Potter
Hey, did you guys know that J.K. Rowling has confirmed that the bartender at the Hog's Head is Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth? I hadn't! Yay.
Anyway, everything else contains SPOILERS FOR BOOK 6, THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE. If you are one of those people who only watches the movies and doesn't read the books, then, well, what the hell is the matter with you. The books are 80,000,000 times better. Anyway.
In order to keep this organized, I will simply make a bulleted list! Two of my co-workers vehemently disagree with me, but I really feel that the books back me up. I am certain that Snape and Dumbledore arranged Dumbledore's death, or at least that there was an understanding that Snape would kill him. Snape is a double agent, and is ultimately on the side of the Order of the Phoenix. Some help in compiling this list was taken from the Harry Potter Lexicon's section on Snape's allegiances. The Lexicon is a great site. You should visit it!
Also, I want to know wtf Aunt Petunia is going to do in this book.
Sometime before Book 7 is released, I'll put up a list of all the things I think will happen, or just what I want to happen before the end. I really love being around as this fandom has evolved over time. I never wrote fanfiction or anything, but just reading the news online and discussing the books with both my friends from school and with people all over the world through the Internet has been amazing. I'll be sad when it's over.
Okay, so in my rush to slap a blog post up, I totally forgot to blog about my Fourth of July activities, which is sad because it was so much fun!
Firstly, I didn't have to work, so that was cool. And Antoine didn't have to work, either! He came to my house and we started a Final Fantasy V game.
Then we joined some of my fellow pages/friends on the lawns of the Capitol for Concerts on the Square: Special Nation's Birthday Edition. They had some fifties-ish music, but also played the 1812 Orchestra AND SHOT CANNONS. I WAS SO EXCITED. One of my co-workers made some amazing sandwiches, and the rest of us brought things like potato salad and chips and brownies and goodness (and yes, we ate the leftovers all day Thursday).
THEN, after Concerts on the Square was done, we went inside the Capitol and, after tidying up, went upstairs and outside to the Observation Deck, which surrounds the entire Capitol. We could see fireworks being set off from about four different towns surrounding Madison, and it was amazing (also, some illegal ones being set off inside the city limits!). The sun had gone down by that point, so the temperature was nice, too - especially on the north side, where you could feel the wind. Also, on the Observation Deck, we're right beneath the giant Greco-Roman statues that are up there, so that was awesome, too.
Right before we left, we went inside and up a little bit more to the Trumpters' Balcony, which goes around the circumference of the Rotunda inside the Capitol. We were much closer to the mural that's up on the very top, and could also see the beautiful marble floor and pillars, tiled mosaics, and portraits of all four floors of the Capitol at once. So awesome. It was a very nice Fourth of July.
Saturday
My family came down to visit me, which included both of my parents, my sister Julie, her husband Kevin, and their 3 children: Olivia, Dylan, and Amelia.
They arrived around 9:30am, and the first thing we did (after showing them my room) was go to the Farmers Market. It was insufferably hot outside yesterday, and my family, parents especially, don't do well in heat. We made it halfway around Capitol Square and then went inside to walk around. My sisters children were very pleased with the incredibly beautiful Capitol, considering it to be an upgrade from my previous job at ShopKo. I love walking around inside the Capitol, but truth be told, it makes me a little sick. I can think of a lot better use for taxes than marble floors and oak paneling.
After that, we picked up Antoine and drove out to McDonald's for lunch (when there are lots of people, cheaper is better!). From there, we went to Half-Price Books (OMF, I got a volume of manga for $2; WIN), and then to Trader Joe's. I think that overall, the family was impressed with both stores, although they didn't buy much. I came out of Trader Joe's with food that will get me through most of the week, and also a new plant. I've kept my Lucky Bamboo alive for like, 4 months now, so now I have a new one. I like the idea of plants in rooms, but I also like it more when they're alive.
After Trader Joe's, everyone was tired and hot, so we came back to my house and watched some of a Harry Potter movie that was on TV, while I followed Amelia and Dylan upstairs to my room and tried to persuade them that it wasn't necessary to touch all of my things.
We ate dinner at Ella's Deli on my family's way out of town, and Olivia, Dylan, and Amelia enjoyed two rides on the carousel. Saying goodbye wasn't very sad, because this coming weekend, I am going home. So, friends from high school take note! I will be home the 13-15, and will definitely be up for doing something Friday after dinner.
I did end up going to see "Paprika" with Antoine, Creighton, Carolyn, Kristen, Louise, and other various people from Anime Club at the new Sundance Theatre. It was...amazing. Very trippy, ridiculously well-animated (really, I couldn't even believe some of it), great music, interesting premise, and masterfully executed, as is usual with works done by Satoshi Kon. Highly recommended!
Of course, afterward, everybody came over to our house. I struggled to stay awake, but eventually just came upstairs and crawled into bed,
Harry Potter
Hey, did you guys know that J.K. Rowling has confirmed that the bartender at the Hog's Head is Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth? I hadn't! Yay.
Anyway, everything else contains SPOILERS FOR BOOK 6, THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE. If you are one of those people who only watches the movies and doesn't read the books, then, well, what the hell is the matter with you. The books are 80,000,000 times better. Anyway.
In order to keep this organized, I will simply make a bulleted list! Two of my co-workers vehemently disagree with me, but I really feel that the books back me up. I am certain that Snape and Dumbledore arranged Dumbledore's death, or at least that there was an understanding that Snape would kill him. Snape is a double agent, and is ultimately on the side of the Order of the Phoenix. Some help in compiling this list was taken from the Harry Potter Lexicon's section on Snape's allegiances. The Lexicon is a great site. You should visit it!
- Snape acts like he loathes Harry most of the time, but when it counts, he is there for Harry. In the first book, he tried to protect Harry from Quirrell's jinx during the Quidditch match.
- In book 5, Dumbledore tells Harry that Snape orchestrated the rescue mission to the Department of Mysteries.
- In book 3, he tells the Minister of Magic that Harry attacked Snape in the Shrieking Shack because Sirius Black was controlling him. Why would Snape help Harry stay out of trouble with the law because of Sirius, one of his enemies? (Another pet theory of mine is that at some point, Lily and Snape were in love? Definitely that Snape loved Lily, accounting for some of his hatred towards James and Sirius)
- I don't know how much stock people put in these things, but in the Goblet of Fire, Barty Crouch Jr. could see Snape, along with McGonagall and Dumbledore, in his Foe-Glass. Barty Crouch Jr. is a Death Eater. If Snape is really loyal towards Voldemort, why would he be a foe?
- After Harry tells Dumbledore that Voldemort has been reborn (I think at the end of Goblet of Fire), Dumbledore gives Snape a serious assignment, and he leaves immediately. Thus - Snape did not join the Death Eater pow-wow immediately like the rest of the Death Eaters did - the ones who were there when Harry faced Voldemort. Snape only went back when ordered to by Dumbledore.
- Okay, so Snape probably told Voldemort about the Prophecy? Who do we think alerted Dumbledore that Voldemort was going to the Potter home?
- In the Half-Blood Prince, Dumbledore tells Harry, "Professor Snape's timely action when I returned to Hogwarts, desperately injured [after breaking the ring Horcrux], I might not have lived to tell the tale." If Snape really wanted Dumbledore dead, couldn't he have just acted like he was making some antidote and failed? He and Voldemort didn't gain anything in Book Six by waiting around to kill him - no new information, weapons, etc. Of course, he and Dumbledore gained something in Book Six by waiting for Dumbledore to die because they were able to explain the Horcrux situation to Harry.
- After Dumbledore's death, Snape doesn't join up with the other Death Eaters, but instead grabs Draco and runs.
- I really feel like the potion Dumbledore drank in the cave with Harry was killing him anyway. He said, "I'm sorry, Harry; I should have said, he would not want to immediately kill the person who reached this island," Dumbledore corrected himself. Dumbledore is clearly weakened from when he drinks the potion until his death. Snape couldn't cure him in front of Death Eaters.
- Okay, Snape appears on the top of the Astronomy Tower and then kills Dumbledore in about half a page. Draco can't kill Dumbledore, and a Death Eater doesn't want Fenrir to do it. Snape burts upon the scene:
"...but at that precise moment, the door to the ramparts burst open once more and there stood Snape, his wand clutched in his hand as his black eyes swept the scene, from Dumbledore slumped against the wall, to the four Death Eaters, including the enraged werewolf, and Malfoy.
"We've got a problem, Snape," said the lumpy Amycus, whose eyes and wand were fixed alike upon Dumbledore, "the boy doesn't seem able--"
But somebody else had spoken Snape's name, quite softly.
"Severus..."
The sound frightened Harry beyond anything he had experienced all evening. For the first time, Dumbledore was pleading.
Even before Amycus asks Snape to kill Dumbledore, before Snape can agree, before he even advances on Dumbledore, Dumbledore pleads. It's set up so that the reader thinks he is pleading for his life (come on, we all know that's not in character at all), but I think that giving the timing, he's pleading with Snape to kill him. Earlier in the book, Hagrid overheard Snape and Dumbledore arguing, with Snape saying "he didn't want to do it any more." - After Dumbledore's death, Snape could have easily killed Harry, and he didn't. Not only this, but he refuses to allow Harry to use any Unforgivable Curses on him. Also, to me, the scene really felt like one in which Snape was teaching Harry. He was pointing out what he was doing wrong. Most of all, though, I note Snape's "hatred" and "pain" when Harry berates him for murdering Dumbledore, calling him a coward. I think that Snape's evident hatred is for himself. Clearly, by killing the man he respects and admires the most, Snape is not a coward.
Also, I want to know wtf Aunt Petunia is going to do in this book.
Sometime before Book 7 is released, I'll put up a list of all the things I think will happen, or just what I want to happen before the end. I really love being around as this fandom has evolved over time. I never wrote fanfiction or anything, but just reading the news online and discussing the books with both my friends from school and with people all over the world through the Internet has been amazing. I'll be sad when it's over.