Ravenclaw Tower

Crazy Test

2005-02-22T19:11:00.000-08:00

Disorder	Rating
Paranoid:	Low
Schizoid:	Low
Schizotypal:	Low
Antisocial:	Low
Borderline:	Low
Histrionic:	Low
Narcissistic:	Low
Avoidant:	Moderate
Dependent:	Low
Obsessive-Compulsive:	Low
-- Personality Disorder Test - Take It! --

The Dante's Inferno Test has sent you to Purgatory!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	High
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	High
Level 2 (Lustful)	Very Low
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	High
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Very Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	Very Low
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very Low
Level 7 (Violent)	Low
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	Low
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Low

Take the Dante's Inferno Hell Test

Look! I can update!

2005-02-20T15:01:00.000-08:00

You Are Belle!

Intelligent and kind. Your beauty goes much further than your apperance. Also, you make judgements of people based on their personality and not their looks. Attaining all the knowledge that you can is one of your major goals in life, but you are also a person who can make things happen.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Update!

2005-02-20T14:59:00.000-08:00

You Are Belle!

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Hey! Look! I can update. I just actually read everyone's ljs.

HP Population

2005-02-01T20:15:00.000-08:00

Say there are only about 40-50 wizarding students in Britain per year (also assuming that Hogwarts is the only wizarding school in the UK). (We'll say fifty and assume that Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw are each 5 students larger than Gryffindor and Slytherin. If Slytherin is really focused on pure-bloods, then it should be a smaller House, since there aren't as many purebloods.)
Wizards live for about 150 years. So 50*150=7500 wizards in Britain. This sounds really small, especially if you think that there were a hundred thousand wizards at the Quidditch World Cup (that comes from GoF, and I can see a stadium that large, because the football stadium at my university seats more than 117,000 people.) There are 59.6 million people in the UK. This number somehow seems off.

Even if there were 143 students per year, there would only be 21,450 wizards in Britain, unless something is seriously wrong with my math.

Now, trying to figure out the populace from Quidditch World Cup information:

World population is 6,416,157,385. If the smaller percentage is assumed (that 7500/59.6 million are wizards in the UK, and that this percentage is representative of the world's wizarding population), then there are 807,402 wizards in the world, and 12.5% of the world's wizarding population attended the world cup.

If the larger percentage is assumed (24500/59.6 million), there are 2,632,132 wizards in the world, and 3.8% of the world's wizarding population attended the world cup. So the larger percentage makes sense from that point of view.

Of course, this assumes a number of things: That the proportion of wizards in the world's population is proportional to Britain's wizarding populace, that the number of wizards who choose not to attend a wizarding school is negligible, and that Hogwarts is the only school for students in the UK. Someone may also want to check my figures, as I'm doing this quickly before my physics class. But what do you think?
Well, you also have to consider that Asian wizards (excepting the Japanese) aren't too interested in Quidditch (they have carpets, not brooms); nor are wizards from the USA (or too many South American wizards, for that matter, since they all like Quodpot better.) So they wouldn't be attending.

Also, Apparition becomes increasingly unreliable over long distances (see Quidditch Through The Ages) so wizards can't go trans-oceanic distances using Apparition (I'm assuming you could cross the English Channel, but not the Atlantic Ocean). They'd have to fly (and can you imagine someone like Mr. Weasley on a plane?) (This brings up the question of what pureblood wizards without knowledge of the wizarding world do to get cross-continent; they must fly, but it would be weird to see.) China and India's populations would be among the carpet-using people, and they'd have some of the largest numbers of wizards in the world. So that takes out another big chunk of world population who'd want to attend the Cup.

Even considering goblins, veela, etc (and the veela and leprechauns don't have actual seats in the arena, they're on the sidelines) I'd still want to use the larger overall population figure for the wizarding populace. Also, there aren't that many house-elves who would be attending (only with the old pureblood families, and then only if they chose to take a servant alone.) Which is sad, because before I worked all this out I'd been favoring the 280-student-number for Hogwarts. And squibs are fairly rare, so there can't be that many of them. (Assuming squibs are 1% of the population, which would probably be on the largish side, there are 8000 squibs in the entire world, using the smaller percentage.) I'm still not seeing how this would work unless we have a larger world populace. 800,000 wizards in the world just seems slightly too small.

I have to study for physics now (I have an exam Thursday) but if I have time later, I'll try to do a breakdown and determine how many wizards there are in each region of the world, again with both percentages. This should give us a better idea of how many wizards in the world would actually be interested in attending the Quidditch World Cup.

Edit: Okay, I'm back. Four hours of studying Electricity and Magnetism...yuck.

Well, here goes:
World population according to the http://worldatlas.com/geoquiz/thelist.htm
#1 Asia - (3,674,000,000)
#2 Africa - (778,000,000)
#3 Europe - (732,000,000)
#4 North America - (483,000,000)
#5 South America - (342,000,000)
#6 Australia/Oceania - (31,000,000)

If we take 6.1 billion as total world population, we can calculate the percentage of people who belong to each continent.
Asia: 60.23%
Africa: 12.75%
Europe: 12.00%
North America: 7.92%
South America: 5.61%
Australia/Oceania: .51%

So the percentage of wizards should follow that breakdown.
Using the larger percentage, .04367% of the world's population are wizards, which makes 2,632,132 wizards worldwide. Of these wizards,
1,585,333 are Asian.
335,597 are African.
315,856 are European.
208,465 are North American.
147,663 are South American.
13,424 are Aussies (or Oceanians.)
This makes a grand total of about 764,877 people who would be interested in Quidditch and willing to attend the World Cup (assuming that about 1/3 of all North and South Americans are interested, and that everyone outside of Asia is interested.)

Using the smaller percentage, .01337% of the world's population are wizards, so that makes 807,402 wizards worldwide. Of these wizards,
486,298 are Asian.
102,944 are African.
96,888 are European.
63,946 are North American.
45,295 are South American.
4118 are Aussies or Oceanians.
This makes about 240,364 wizards interested in Quidditch who could attend the World Cup (in the whole world, assuming again that 1/3 of Americans are interested. If you assume 2/3, the number only increases to about 260,000. Assuming that 1/3 of the stadium is non-wizards (which I think is far too large a number) it still means that 1/3 of the interested population shows up for the Quidditch World Cup. If you assume the number of non-wizards is closer to 1/10, then you get close to 40% of the interested wizarding world attending the Cup. This might be possible, but still...the larger number sounds better. I don't think that everyone in Africa, Europe, and Australia is interested in Quidditch (and can purchase tickets). Not to mention that a certain portion of each wizarding population is in prison/hospital/a baby incapable of enjoying Quidditch and therefore unlikely to attend.

Booklist! Do it!

2005-01-17T19:44:00.000-08:00

I found this on another blog while searching for a Pride and Prejudice drinking game (don't ask if you weren't at the House of Flying Daggers viewing.)

Steal it, post it on your site, bold the books you've read and add three of your own!

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. 1984, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Graham
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corellis Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Sorcerers Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The DUrbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alices Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Susskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones’ Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnights Children, Salman Rushdie
101. Three Men In A Boat, Jerome K. Jerome
102. Small Gods, Terry Pratchett
103. The Beach, Alex Garland
104. Dracula, Bram Stoker
105. Point Blanc, Anthony Horowitz
106. The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens
107. Stormbreaker, Anthony Horowitz
108. The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks
109. The Day Of The Jackal, Frederick Forsyth
110. The Illustrated Mum, Jacqueline Wilson
111. Jude The Obscure, Thomas Hardy
112. The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13 1/2, Sue Townsend
113. The Cruel Sea, Nicholas Monsarrat
114. Les Miserables, Victor Hugo
115. The Mayor Of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy
116. The Dare Game, Jacqueline Wilson
117. Bad Girls, Jacqueline Wilson
118. The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
119. Shogun, James Clavell
120. The Day Of The Triffids, John Wyndham
121. Lola Rose, Jacqueline Wilson
122. Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray
123. The Forsyte Saga, John Galsworthy
124. House Of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
125. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
126. Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett
127. Angus, Thongs And Full-Frontal Snogging, Louise Rennison
128. The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
129. Possession, A. S. Byatt
130. The Master And Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov
131. The Handmaids Tale, Margaret Atwood
132. Danny The Champion Of The World, Roald Dahl
133. East Of Eden, John Steinbeck
134. Georges Marvellous Medicine, Roald Dahl
135. Wyrd Sisters, Terry Pratchett
136. The Color Purple, Alice Walker
137. Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
138. The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Buchan
139. Girls In Tears, Jacqueline Wilson
140. Sleepovers, Jacqueline Wilson
141. All Quiet On The Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
142. Behind The Scenes At The Museum, Kate Atkinson
143. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby
144. It, Stephen King
145. James And The Giant Peach, Roald Dahl
146. The Green Mile, Stephen King
147. Papillon, Henri Charriere
148. Men At Arms, Terry Pratchett
149. Master And Commander, Patrick OBrian
150. Skeleton Key, Anthony Horowitz
151. Soul Music, Terry Pratchett
152. Thief Of Time, Terry Pratchett
153. The Fifth Elephant, Terry Pratchett
154. Atonement, Ian McEwan
155. Secrets, Jacqueline Wilson
156. The Silver Sword, Ian Serraillier
157. One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, Ken Kesey
158. Heart Of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
159. Kim, Rudyard Kipling
160. Cross Stitch, Diana Gabaldon
161. Moby Dick, Herman Melville
162. River God, Wilbur Smith
163. Sunset Song, Lewis Grassic Gibbon
164. The Shipping News, Annie Proulx
165. The World According To Garp, John Irving
166. Lorna Doone, R. D. Blackmore
167. Girls Out Late, Jacqueline Wilson
168. The Far Pavilions, M. M. Kaye
169. The Witches, Roald Dahl
170. Charlottes Web, E. B. White
171. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
172. They Used To Play On Grass, Terry Venables and Gordon Williams
173. The Old Man And The Sea, Ernest Hemingway
174. The Name Of The Rose, Umberto Eco
175. Sophies World, Jostein Gaarder
176. Dustbin Baby, Jacqueline Wilson
177. Fantastic Mr. Fox, Roald Dahl
178. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
179. Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, Richard Bach
180. The Little Prince, Antoine De Saint-Exupery
181. The Suitcase Kid, Jacqueline Wilson
182. Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
183. The Power Of One, Bryce Courtenay
184. Silas Marner, George Eliot
185. American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis
186. The Diary Of A Nobody, George and Weedon Gross-mith
187. Trainspotting, Irvine Welsh
188. Goosebumps, R. L. Stine
189. Heidi, Johanna Spyri
190. Sons And Lovers, D. H. Lawrence
191. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
192. Man And Boy, Tony Parsons
193. The Truth, Terry Pratchett
194. The War Of The Worlds, H. G. Wells
195. The Horse Whisperer, Nicholas Evans
196. A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry
197. Witches Abroad, Terry Pratchett
198. The Once And Future King, T. H. White
199. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle
200. Flowers In The Attic, Virginia Andrews
201. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
202. The Eye of the World, Robert Jordan
203. The Great Hunt, Robert Jordan
204. The Dragon Reborn, Robert Jordan
205. Fires of Heaven, Robert Jordan
206. Lord of Chaos, Robert Jordan
207. Winters Heart, Robert Jordan
208. A Crown of Swords, Robert Jordan
209. Crossroads of Twilight, Robert Jordan
210. A Path of Daggers, Robert Jordan
211. As Nature Made Him, John Colapinto
212. Microserfs, Douglas Coupland
213. The Married Man, Edmund White
214. Winters Tale, Mark Helprin
215. The History of Sexuality, Michel Foucault
216. Cry to Heaven, Anne Rice
217. Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe, John Boswell
218. Equus, Peter Shaffer
219. The Man Who Ate Everything, Jeffrey Steingarten
220. Letters To A Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke
221. Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn
222. The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice
223. Anthem, Ayn Rand
224. The Bridge To Terabithia, Katherine Paterson
225. Tartuffe, Moliere
226. The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka
227. The Crucible, Arthur Miller
228. The Trial, Franz Kafka
229. Oedipus Rex, Sophocles
230. Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles
231. Death Be Not Proud, John Gunther
232. A Dolls House, Henrik Ibsen
233. Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen
234. Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton
235. A Raisin In The Sun, Lorraine Hansberry
236. ALIVE!, Piers Paul Read
237. Grapefruit, Yoko Ono
238. Trickster Makes This World, Lewis Hyde

239. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams
240. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
241. Chronicles of Thomas Convenant, Unbeliever, Stephen Donaldson
242. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
242. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon
243. Summerland, Michael Chabon
244. A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
245. Candide, Voltaire
246. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More, Roald Dahl
247. Ringworld, Larry Niven
248. The King Must Die, Mary Renault
249. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein
250. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline LEngle
251. The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde
252. The House Of The Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne
253. The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
254. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
255. The Great Gilly Hopkins, Katherine Paterson
256. Chocolate Fever, Robert Kimmel Smith
257. Xanth: The Quest for Magic, Piers Anthony
258. The Lost Princess of Oz, L. Frank Baum
259. Wonder Boys, Michael Chabon
260. Lost In A Good Book, Jasper Fforde
261. Well Of Lost Plots, Jasper Fforde
261. Life Of Pi, Yann Martel

262. Something Rotten, Jasper Fforde
263. The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver
264. A Yellow Rraft In Blue Water, Michael Dorris
265. Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder

266. Quidditch through the Ages, JK Rowling
267. Where The Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls
268. Griffin & Sabine, Nick Bantock
269. Witch of Blackbird Pond, Joyce Friedland
270. Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIMH, Robert C. OBrien
271. Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt
272. The Cay, Theodore Taylor
273. From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Konigsburg
274. The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster
275. The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin
276. The Kitchen Gods Wife, Amy Tan
277. The Bone Setters Daughter, Amy Tan
278. Relic, Duglas Preston & Lincolon Child
279. Wicked, Gregory Maguire
280. American Gods, Neil Gaiman
281. Misty of Chincoteague, Marguerite Henry
282. The Girl Next Door, Jack Ketchum
283. Haunted, Judith St. George
284. Singularity, William Sleator
285. A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson
286. Different Seasons, Stephen King
287. Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk
288. About a Boy, Nick Hornby
289. The Bookmans Wake, John Dunning
290. The Church of Dead Girls, Stephen Dobyns
291. Illusions, Richard Bach
292. Magics Pawn, Mercedes Lackey
293. Magics Promise, Mercedes Lackey
294. Magics Price, Mercedes Lackey
295. The Dancing Wu Li Masters, Gary Zukav
296. Spirits of Flux and Anchor, Jack L. Chalker
297. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
298. The Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices, Brenda Love
299. Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace.
300. The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison.
301. The Cider House Rules, John Irving.
302. Enders Game, Orson Scott Card
303. Girlfriend in a Coma, Douglas Coupland
304. The Lions Game, Nelson Demille
305. The Sun, The Moon, and the Stars, Stephen Brust
306. Cyteen, C. J. Cherryh
307. Foucaults Pendulum, Umberto Eco
308. Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson
309. Invisible Monsters, Chuck Palahniuk
310. Camber of Culdi, Kathryn Kurtz
311. The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand
312. War and Rememberance, Herman Wouk
313. The Art of War, Sun Tzu
314. The Giver, Lois Lowry
315. The Telling, Ursula Le Guin
316. Xenogenesis (or Liliths Brood), Octavia Butler
317. A Civil Campaign, Lois McMaster Bujold
318. The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold
319. The Aeneid, Publius Vergilius Maro (Vergil)
320. Hanta Yo, Ruth Beebe Hill
321. The Princess Bride, S. Morgenstern (or William Goldman)
322. Beowulf, Anonymous
323. The Sparrow, Maria Doria Russell
324. Deerskin, Robin McKinley
325. Dragonsong, Anne McCaffrey
326. Passage, Connie Willis
327. Otherland, Tad Williams
328. Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay
329. Number the Stars, Lois Lowry
330. Beloved, Toni Morrison
331. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christs Childhood Pal, Christopher Moore
332. The mysterious disappearance of Leon, I mean Noel, Ellen Raskin
333. Summer Sisters, Judy Blume
334. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo
335. The Island on Bird Street, Uri Orlev
336. Midnight in the Dollhouse, Marjorie Filley Stover
337. The Miracle Worker, William Gibson
338. The Genesis Code, John Case
339. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevensen
340. Paradise Lost, John Milton
341. Phantom, Susan Kay
342. The Mummy or Ramses the Damned, Anne Rice
343. Anno Dracula, Kim Newman
344: The Dresden Files: Grave Peril, Jim Butcher
345: Tokyo Suckerpunch, Issac Adamson
346: The Winter of Magics Return, Pamela Service
347: The Oddkins, Dean R. Koontz
348. My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok
349. The Last Goodbye, Raymond Chandler
350. At Swim, Two Boys, Jaime ONeill
351. Othello, by William Shakespeare
352. The Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas
353. The Collected Poems of William Butler Yeats
354. Sati, Christopher Pike
355. The Inferno, Dante
356. The Apology, Plato
357. The Small Rain, Madeline LEngle
358. The Man Who Tasted Shapes, Richard E Cytowick
359. 5 Novels, Daniel Pinkwater
360. The Sevenwaters Trilogy, Juliet Marillier
361. Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier
362. To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
363. Our Town, Thorton Wilder
364. Green Grass Running Water, Thomas King
335. The Interpreter, Suzanne Glass
336. The Moors Last Sigh, Salman Rushdie
337. The Mother Tongue, Bill Bryson
338. A Passage to India, E.M. Forster
339. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
340. The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux
341. Pages for You, Sylvia Brownrigg
342. The Changeover, Margaret Mahy
343. Howls Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones
344. Angels and Demons, Dan Brown
345. Johnny Got His Gun, Dalton Trumbo
346. Shosha, Isaac Bashevis Singer
347. Travels With Charley, John Steinbeck
348. The Diving-bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
349. The Lunatic at Large by J. Storer Clouston
350. Time for Bed by David Baddiel
351. Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold
352. Quite Ugly One Morning by Christopher Brookmyre
353. The Bloody Sun by Marion Zimmer Bradley
354. Sewer, Gas, and Eletric by Matt Ruff
355. Jhereg by Steven Brust
356. So You Want To Be A Wizard by Diane Duane
357. Perdido Street Station, China Mieville
358. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Bronte
359. Road-side Dog, Czeslaw Milosz
360. The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje
361. Neuromancer, William Gibson
362. The Epistemology of the Closet, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
363. A Canticle for Liebowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr
364. The Mask of Apollo, Mary Renault
365. The Gunslinger, Stephen King
366. Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
367. Childhoods End, Arthur C. Clarke
368. A Season of Mists, Neil Gaiman
369. Ivanhoe, Walter Scott
370. The God Boy, Ian Cross
371. The Beekeepers Apprentice, Laurie R. King
372. Finn Family Moomintroll, Tove Jansson
373. Misery, Stephen King
374. Tipping the Velvet, Sarah Waters
375. Hood, Emma Donoghue
376. The Land of Spices, Kate OBrien
377. The Diary of Anne Frank
378. Regeneration, Pat Barker
379. Tender is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald
380. Dreaming in Cuban, Cristina Garcia
381. A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway
382. The View from Saturday, E.L. Konigsburg
383. Dealing with Dragons, Patricia Wrede
384. Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Lynne Truss
385. A Severed Wasp - Madeleine LEngle
386. Here Be Dragons - Sharon Kay Penman
387. The Mabinogion (Ancient Welsh Tales) - translated by Lady Charlotte E. Guest
388. The DaVinci Code - Dan Brown
389. Desire of the Everlasting Hills - Thomas Cahill
390. The Cloister Walk - Kathleen Norris
391. The Things We Carried, Tim OBrien
392. I Know This Much Is True, Wally Lamb
393. Choke, Chuck Palahniuk
394. Enders Shadow, Orson Scott Card
395. The Memory of Earth, Orson Scott Card
396. The Iron Tower, Dennis L. McKiernen
397. Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand
398. A Ring of Endless Light, Madeline L'Engle
399. Lords of Discipline, Pat Conroy
400. Hyperion, Dan Simmons
401. If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, Jon McGregor
402. The Bridge, Iain Banks
403. Twelve, Nick McDonell
404. The Country Wife, William Wycherley
405. The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe

406. Collapse, Jared Diamond

407. Boogers are my Beat, Dave Barry

408. Sir Apropos of Nothing, Peter David

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2005-01-10T17:28:00.000-08:00

I rather like this one:

or perhaps this one...

or perhaps the Princess Bride...

Also, Van Helsing sucked beyond words, but this was very amusing...

This is *such* a Legolas shot.

And I just find this one hilarious. I don't know why.

Randomness

2005-01-05T18:21:00.000-08:00

Lots of quizzes!

! You are most Like A Sapphire !
Dark, mysterious - but unforgettable. You have a
deep
beauty. Delicate, and shy you try to stay away from
the
limelight but often your intelligence puts you in
at the
deep end. You're like a Sapphire, because, your
beauty is priceless.
You're intelligent, full of opinions, and not
big-headed about it all.
Sometimes you need to put yourself out there, as
you can be a bit shy.
Congratulations ... You're the mysterious gem
everybody wants to have and learn more about.

?? Which Precious Gem Are You ??
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Athena

?? Which Of The Greek Gods Are You ??
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You're like a Unicorn!

?? Which Mythical Creature Are You ??
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Seahorse

?? Which Creature Of The Sea Are You??
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Peace

?? Which Angel Or Demon Are You ??
brought to you by Quizilla
I was really disappointed that Angel of Music wasn't an option. :-)

What Type of Villain are You?

mutedfaith.com.

Mwahahaha!

Which HP Kid Are You?
Yeah, it's pretty obvious.

You Are From Neptune

You are dreamy and mystical, with a natural psychic ability.
You love music, poetry, dance, and (most of all) the open sea.
Your soul is filled with possibilities, and your heart overflows with compassion.
You can be in a room full of friendly people and feel all alone.
If you don't get carried away with one idea, your spiritual nature will see you through anything.

I'm...psychic? And I hate poetry.

What Planet Are You From?

You Are the Reformer

1

You're a responsible person - with a clear sense of right and wrong.

High standards are important to you, and you do everything to meet them.

You are your own worst critic, feeling ashamed if you're not perfect.

You have the highest integrity, and people expect you to be fair.

Yup yup...especially the "own worst critic" part.

What number are you?

You Are a Visionary Soul

You are a curious person, always in a state of awareness.
Connected to all things spiritual, you are very connect to your soul.
You are wise and bright: able to reason and be reasonable.
Occasionally, you get quite depressed and have dark feelings.

You have great vision and can be very insightful.
In fact, you are often profound in a way that surprises yourself.
Visionary souls like you can be the best type of friend.
You are intuitive, understanding, sympathetic, and a good healer.

Souls you are most compatible with: Old Soul and Peacemaker Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

You speak eloquently and have seemingly read every
book ever published. You are a fountain of
endless (sometimes useless) knowledge, and
never fail to impress at a party.
What people love: You can answer almost any
question people ask, and have thus been
nicknamed Jeeves.
What people hate: You constantly correct their
grammar and insult their paperbacks.

What Kind of Elitist Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
Yeah, I am a book snob...and a fount of useless knowledge.

You're Oregon!
When people talk about peace in the valley, they often think of you.
After all, you've inspired countless people to traverse rough terrain in search of you
and even think about you when playing popular computer games. Are you really up to all
the hype or are you all wet? You take shelter from the storm beneath trees, felled by
either loggers or beavers. If you were a shade of pink, it would be salmon.

Take the State Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.
...Salmon?

You're The Guns of August!
by Barbara Tuchman
Though you're interested in war, what you really want to know is what
causes war. You're out to expose imperialism, militarism, and nationalism for what they
really are. Nevertheless, you're always living in the past and have a hard time dealing
with what's going on today. You're also far more focused on Europe than anywhere else in
the world. A fitting motto for you might be "Guns do kill, but so can diplomats."

Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Actually, I read that book...thought it was kinda boring.

Disorder	Rating
Paranoid:	Low
Schizoid:	Low
Schizotypal:	Low
Antisocial:	Low
Borderline:	Low
Histrionic:	Moderate
Narcissistic:	Low
Avoidant:	High
Dependent:	Low
Obsessive-Compulsive:	Moderate
-- Personality Disorder Test - Take It! --

I never really thought of myself as histrionic.

The Dante's Inferno Test has sent you to Purgatory!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	High
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	High
Level 2 (Lustful)	Very Low
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	High
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Very Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	Very Low
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very Low
Level 7 (Violent)	Low
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	Low
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Low

Take the Dante's Divine Comedy Inferno Test
Apparently I'm all good, although I can't believe I'm more treacherous than avaricious.
I like food. What can I say?

Lupin - Defense Against the Dark Arts

Harry Potter: Which Hogwarts professor would you be?
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Which Harry Potter Marauder Are You?
Of all the Marauders, this is right.

CLAP FOR HERMIONE!
Which Character Sympathizer Are You? (From Harry Potter, Of Course!)
brought to you by Quizilla
I don't really lack sympathy for any of the characters...except maybe book 5 AngstfulTeenager!Harry.

Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.

-or-

Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.

depending on my mood. Nice to know I could be evil.

Harry Potter: Fantastic Beasts and Which One Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
I'm dangerous! Because I'm sentient!

Harry Potter: Which Member of the Rescue Mission Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

You Are 27 Years Old

27

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe.

13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world.

20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.

30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more!

40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

Merry Christmas!

2004-12-25T17:58:00.000-08:00

So, my Christmas has been quite good.
First, a random story...
So, the Santa Claus at Westland Mall had a heart attack on Christmas Eve. Fortunately, this was while he was putting on his Santa suit in the basement of the mall, so he didn't collapse in front of the 250 little kids who were lined up. From what I know, he's all right, which is good, because the mall Santa is a nice guy.
But this meant that there were still 250 little kids waiting on Christmas Eve morning to see Santa, and there was no Santa. So my dad's friend Joe got conscripted into playing Santa for three or four hours until a real trained replacement Santa could come.
Apparently, it was really funny. Joe is in his fifties (he looks older) and usually wears a baseball cap that he never takes off. I wish I would've seen it.

Now, for Christmas.
Wake up at 8:15. Stay in bed until 9, at which point I realize I'm not going to be able to fall back asleep. Mom comes downstairs at 9:15, Dad around 10. We eat breakfast (waffles!) and open presents.
I got my iPod! And my parents got me little speakers to go with it! I was so surprised! I also got an iSkin for the iPod.
I also got lots of shower gel, Harry Potter and Frodo Christmas ornaments, a tiny crystal snowman ornament, and a baby snowman piece of crystal.
At this point in unwrapping stuff, my Mom produces the best Christmas comment of the year.
The snowman ornament and the little crystal snowman came in nearly identical packaging (with a similar picture on the front.) So I ask, "Didn't I just open this?"
My mom replies: "Do you think I would get you two of the same thing? Just open it, dumbass."
My dad: "Now that's in the Christmas spirit!"
So randomly for the next couple of hours my dad and I would insert the word "dumbass" into conversation.
My parents now open their presents, and after this we all go over to Grandma's. I decide that "Legends of the Fall," is NOT a Christmas movie, and switch the channel to "A Christmas Story," which my grandma has never seen. She loves it. I do too (I think it's my favorite Christmas movie EVER.)
My aunt with my two young cousins is not the last to arrive for once (we were still first there!), so my grandma calls my other uncle. He gets her angry by telling her he's not going to come, and neither are my aunt or two older cousins.
This annoys everyone and we decide that we will eat his Christmas candy (my aunt got a box of milk chocolate turtles for everyone). Although we don't.
First, we ate (although my younger cousins got to open two presents each. It was supposed to be one, but the first present that my youngest cousin opened was a pair of slippers, which is clothing and therefore sucks for a 2-year-old. Her second present was a doll, which she LOVED. My uncle spent a good ten minutes trying to get her to drop the doll and put on the slippers so he could videotape it, but to no avail.)
We all opened presents. I got Cranium, Shrek 2, Myst 4, the Harry Potter DVDs, a scarf (which I needed) and some CDs from my aunt, and from my grandma: jewelry (for once, not bad at all), the Britney Spears perfume (also amazingly not bad), a CD, and some cash. My other uncle sent cash, as did my grandma's brother (also called 'uncle,' which is the general title for any sort of male relation in my family who's male and older than me, except for dad, grandpa, and my cousin Scott.) Cash is always good, but I really liked all the presents I had to open, too. Maybe I'll buy myself a digital camera for my birthday with the cash (and some assistance from my parents.)
My cousins who are there are 2 and 7. They're adorable. My 7-year-old cousin apparently got a lump of coal in her stocking (to teach her a lesson; she threw a major temper tantrum a few days ago and hit my aunt) and was very embarrassed. My 2-year-old cousin is adorable, and decided she really liked me, so I got to play with everything. She's also very sharing ("Julie, eat this carrot. Julie, eat this celery stick. Julie, eat this chocolate Santa. It's for you!). So I spent a great deal of the day opening Barbies and Dora the Explorer packages (cursed be the person who makes those little twist-ties), inside a Barbie tent (yes, inside, with my two cousins), and pretending to be a bear (while my cousins played camping.) After some time of this, I did what everyone in my family does on Christmas at some point while at Grandma's: I fell asleep on a couch.
Now, I'm home, and very much enjoying all of my gifts. Christmas has been really, really great.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Phantom of the Opera

2004-12-24T18:02:00.000-08:00

Saw the Phantom movie last night. Surprisingly, it was better than I thought it would be (although I did have rather low expectations, considering that the two movie critics in the newspapers around here gave it two stars and a C-, respectively.)
What was good:
1. Patrick Wilson as Raoul. He was fabulous, actually the best Raoul I've heard out of four or five live performers and several cast soundtracks. His voice was great, with just the right amount of expression, and he actually made you care about the character, something that's usually quite hard to do. There were a few scenes where I would've liked a little more facial expression, but that's just being nitpicky. He was good where it counted: his first meeting with Christine, All I Ask of You, The Graveyard/Wandering Child, and the final scene. Even Notes was superb.
2. Emmy Rossum as Christine. Excellent voice, great acting. I can see why she's nominated for a Golden Globe. It's hard to believe that she was only 16 at the time of filming.
3. Minnie Driver as Carlotta. Sure, she's dubbed by a real soprano, but she is a scene-stealer a lot of the time. Only complaint: Her line "Until these things do not happen, this thing does not happen!" wasn't as well-delivered as I've heard other Carlottas do it.
4. The theatre managers, Meg Giry, Madame Giry. Generally excellent. I'm having real trouble imagining Mme. Giry as Rita Skeeter for Goblet of Fire, but that's not exactly relevant, and I'm sure makeup and costume change will do the trick.
5. A lot of the added stuff for the movie...mostly. No new songs (unless you count the one over the credits), but there are scenes added explaining Christine's background (good), the Phantom's traps (excellent). The latter was especially good, because for the first time, I really felt Raoul's line "I tried so hard to free you!" in the final scene wasn't just whining. I was fine with the swordfight at the grave instead of having the Phantom's staff shoot fire; I felt it worked well.
6. Sound mixing. Can't overstate how good this was. I can finally hear lines that I've never been able to make out before, especially during the final scene in the Phantom's Lair and also during Notes.
7. Costumes, etc. Quite nice.
8. The chandelier fall really works well when shifted to the end for the film.

The Bad:
1. The fact that Raoul is both less hot than the Phantom and a better singer. Isn't this somehow just wrong?
2. Gerard Butler. I didn't mind him as much as I thought I would, but it's really distracting when HE CAN'T HIT ALL HIS NOTES and they have to change the pitch for him to get everything! Also, when he hits his higher register, he turns into a "shouting"-type Phantom, which makes me cringe (specifically noticeable during the "You will curse the day you did not do..." in the All I Ask of You Reprise and most of Angel of Music/The Mirror, but also during the end scene as well.) Also, some scenes just felt off, the most noticeable of which was the unmasking. It just felt...paced, staged, not quite natural. Same thing with his getting up on the angel during that last line in the All I Ask of You reprise. Didn't feel...right.
However, he is really, really hot (at least on half of his face). His Point of No Return is excellent, and his Music of the Night is passable. He does good acting in most of his scenes. But with such an excellent Raoul, you need a great Phantom, and Butler doesn't give that. By the end, you're not exactly rooting for Raoul (this has happened to me at one of the live stage performances, where Raoul looked and sounded like Anthony Warlow (v. hot Aussie stage great) and the Phantom hit more than a few off-key notes and couldn't act for his life), but you're not as sympathetic to the Phantom as you should be.
3. The Phantom's little dollhouse (with decapitatable heads on the dolls) bothered me as creepy. My mom and I had the following conversation in the car afterwards:
"Doesn't that bug you?" (me)
"No. Why should it?" (mom)
"I just get a bad picture of him sitting down there with a little Raoul figure and knocking the head off, over and over... (me)
"Well, he probably did. (mom)
4. Lyric change: changing the word spectre in "He's a funny sort of spectre/to expect a large retainer" to "apparition." It totally ruins the alliterative effect!
5. I don't know why, but the Phantom definitely creeped me out more here than he did in the live theatre edition. Maybe because we see Buquet being strangled (and the Phantom's smiling.) Maybe it's the dollhouse. I don't know.
6. Change in Phantom's backstory. He comes to the Opera much earlier. Cuts a lot of good background out. He's supposed to have travelled...a lot...
7. There seems to be a date problem between the tombstone at the end and the given dates during the film. This BUGGED me.
Well, that's about it. It would have been great, if only the Phantom had been a better singer.
And they hadn't changed the word "spectre."

RotK: EE cast commentary

2004-12-24T17:52:00.000-08:00

I saw the cast commentary of the RotK EE a few days ago, and it was hilarious. I'm not going to give too much away because I know people want to watch it when we get back to school, but...
1. The Legolas-on-Mumakil scene, despite being rather stupid in plain film, is great when Dom and Billy Boyd get to comment on it. (Gerbils!)
2. Many thanks to Miranda Otto for pointing out during the coronation scene that grubby Aragorn-as-Ranger is far hotter than Aragorn-as-King with his hair all done up.
3. I did not need the extra commentary from John Noble (Denethor) during the added Denethor/Faramir scene (the one with the Boromir hallucination). Bad mental pictures. Bad mental pictures.
4. More bad mental imagery during Sam and Rosie's wedding, but in a good way, since it was one of the funniest pieces of commentary on the EE.
5. Definitely didn't realize that the guy who plays Gothmog (the lumpy orc leader) also plays the Witch King of Angmar.

Rotk: EE review

2004-12-20T11:26:00.000-08:00

I have now watched the Return of the King Extended Edition 3 times (12/72 hours in the last 3 days!) and will probably watch it for the first time with cast commentary sometime today. Best randomness from the at-school screening:

"Well, I guess he never learned to stop, drop, and roll." -Yin, at the end of the pyre of Denethor scene.

"If ever there was a woman I was to marry, it would've been her." -Sam
"And if ever there was a man, Mr. Frodo..." -Me.

"Yes, Legolas, I will take you as my wife!"
"Um...Aragorn..." --(both quotes from) Katie, at the Legolas/Aragorn part with the untranslated elvish during Aragorn's coronation.

"A diversion!" -Legolas

"It's sticky! What is it?" -Frodo

Anyhow...
I really liked most of this. Some of the extended stuff wasn't really noticeable (I still haven't been able to notice how the 1st scene is extended, and a few scenes like "The Sacrifice of Faramir" are extended in a very minor way (Faramir's parting speech to Gandalf gets an extra sentence or two.)
Scenes that needed to be there:
1. Gandalf and the Witch King. I have no idea how this didn't make it into the theatrical cut. About a minute long, and excellent.
2. Gothmog (ugly orc) getting killed. It really bugged me that he just disappeared in the theatrical edition.
3. Faramir and Eowyn's scene. I wanted this to explain why Eowyn is so darn happy at the coronation, despite the fact that Arwen is there as well. Plus...it was so cute!
4. Saruman. It was nice to know what happened to him.

My personal favorite scenes (in order, in the sense that 1-5 are better than 6-8) (perhaps somewhat biased by two of my favorite characters being Faramir and Eowyn, but...) :
1. Faramir and Denethor with Faramir's big "I would not use the ring, not even if Minas Tirith were falling into ruin and I alone could save her" speech. Made up for all of the problems with TTT.
2. The aforementioned Faramir/Eowyn "I do not believe this darkness will endure" scene. Faramir is just really, really hot, making up for Aragorn's complete lack of hotness as King. Plus, the scene is really cute.
3. The Houses of Healing sequence, beginning with Eomer finding Eowyn and ending with Faramir finding Eowyn. I love the song that plays over it.
4. "Peregrin, Captain of the Tower Guard" scene.
5. The drinking game. "I feel a slight tingle in my fingers..."
6. The short little addition to Denethor's speech: "You may triumph on the field of battle for a day, but agains the power that has arisen in the East there is no victory!", not because of the dialogue, but because during the shot I could imagine him with the torch in one hand and the palantir in another.
7. Gollum's little "nyah-nyah" face during the Mount Doom climb. ("Smeagol promised!" "Smeagol lied.")
8. Merry trying to get the pony to go during the muster of Rohan.
9. The Mouth of Sauron. Dude, it was cool.

Unnecessary additions (I'm not a big fan of the Paths of the Dead):
1. The avalanche of skulls. Why was this needed? And why do the dead try to kill Aragorn/Legolas/Gimli with the avalanche and then decide to help? Was it some form of a test?
2. The boarding the corsairs' ships. I didn't mind this so much, but a number of people pointed out that it ruins the suspense of not knowing who's on the ships. (I'd never actually realized that there was suspense, since I'd always known from reading the books. I should have realized it sooner, given that in the books, Denethor goes crazy after seeing the black ships in the palantir, but I never actually thought about it.)
3. The crunching of the skulls in the paths of the dead. It was just too drawn-out to be funny.

Some of the other stuff is nice (Merry/Eowyn interaction, "The King has his crown again!".
Two minor things that annoyed me: 1. No editing fix at the end battle...first they're on horses, then they're not. What the $#!#? 2. No editing explanation for Arwen and Elrond's sudden change of clothes.
I would have liked to see an epilogue (even in some form of the extras!) but overall, a great DVD.

Shipping thoughts

2004-12-05T17:12:00.000-08:00

Note to self: Cut and copy posts into separate document before hitting "publish post" button. I wrote this post once already, but I ran into a server error when I hit the button and it lost everything. Bad bad bad, since this was a VERY LONG post.
This post will probably wind up being shorter now, but it's all about what relationships I 'ship for and why.

In the realm of HP, I ship canonically for basically...no one. I do 'ship other 'ships outside of HP (I love the Faramir/Eowyn 'ship in LotR, for example) but I don't do many of them even then. But within HP, even though there are a plethora of official ships to pick from (H/H, H/R, L/R, H/G, etc...) I don't really favor any of them.
I thought that Harry and Hermione would get together eventually until GoF (and rather favored that), until I realized that there was no attraction between them. They're just friends. Then Harry started to turn into Angst!Harry, and I realized I didn't really favor a 'ship between Harry and Hermione.
I believe that Hermione and Ron will be the 'ship that will happen. This doesn't mean I'm really enthusiastic about it. Hermione and Ron have done little more than argue. Ever. While you can build a healthy relationship with lots of argument (my grandparents have been doing it for somewhere between 52 and 54 years thus far) there's not much more. Ron and Hermione lack chemistry, or at least, I really haven't seen much of it. Plus, I'm not sure if the mutual respect is there for the two of them to build a relationship on. Ron would do more for Hermione than Harry, and vice versa - she needs to lighten up, and he needs to become serious. But I don't see much there that really shows any chemistry.
As for the other canon 'ships, I'm just not entirely enthusiastic, partially because I don't want to see the need to hook everyone up with everyone else, and partially because I'm not sure if Harry is going to survive the series in any sort of emotional state to build a healthy relationship with.
Harry/Luna: The scene at the end of OotP is touching, but Harry pities her, and pity is not the way to build a relationship. Plus, I just don't see anything romantic there.
Harry/Ginny: If Harry has to hook up with someone, I favor this ship, if only because Ginny has the experience necessary to commiserate with Harry (having been possessed by the Riddle diary) and because she's been steadily growing into a stronger character.
Ron/Luna: I just don't think it's gonna happen. Not only is there the R/H issue, there's the Ron thinks Luna's nuts issue, and a lack of attraction.

But the fundamental reason why I don't like either of the major shipping possibilities is:
1. H/H: Harry and Hermione respect each other. They also don't really give anything more to each other by having a romantic relationship. Hermione and Harry both need to unwind, and they definitely don't do this for one another.
2. H/R: Hermione and Ron would rub off on one another well, but I don't know if they respect each other enough to make the relationship work. Is Ron really Hermione's equal? Does she consider him her equal in the same way she does Harry? I don't know.

Which brings me to the point of this post: Today, I discovered fanon shipping.
Canon is the realm explicitly stated in the HP books. It is what is delineated there.
Fanon, on the other hand, is fan-based manipulation of the characters found in those books.
So, today I was reading message boards, and I got into a fanfic link. Just for fun, I started reading fics at random....
...and I found a Hermione/Harry/Draco love triangle fic involving Polyjuice Potion (with Harry and Draco switching and temporarily getting stuck). Harry wins in the end, but only because this fanon version of Hermione has loved Harry forever and because Harry has secretly loved Hermione in return. Without this presupposition of love between the two, that half of the triangle collapses miserably.
Hermione and Draco, on the other hand...
I was stunned. I've always scorned Hermione/Draco romance, especially since I don't think you can change a person through a relationship in real life (in literature, the redemptive power of love is a nice theme; it just doesn't work in real life, or only rarely if it ever does). Canonically, I still do. In the books, Draco is a cowardly little git who is basically like a Mini-Malfoy (just like his father) who does awful things without apparent chance of redemption. I can see why JKR is horrified by thoughts of canon Draco and canon Hermione getting together. There's no chance of it, and I'm glad of that.
Fanon Draco is a different character. To make Fanon Draco work, he must 1. Not be a coward, 2. Be redeemable, 3. Be able to get over Hermione's Muggle-born parentage, 4. Have some major incident that makes him want to change. There are probably more things necessary, but these are the major ones. With these adjustments, Fanon! Draco makes a wonderful partner for Canon! (or Fanon!) Hermione.
These two had chemistry, chemistry as I've never seen in an H/H or an H/R relationship. Fanon! Draco reminds me a lot like Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, able to throw off one-liners and quips easily. I do not like the fanon! Draco versions which have him being too sweet or too easily brought around to the good side. Even Fanon! Draco should have his mean side.
The Draco/Hermione relationship in fanon (as long as it doesn't involve Evil Death Eater Dominatrix Fanon Hermione) is wonderful when done well. It has all of the good parts of the canon H/H and H/R relationships: Draco and Hermione respect each other as worthy adversaries, while Draco needs some redemptive love from Hermione and Hermione needs fanon Draco's quippiness, which generally enables her to lighten up. It makes for a great pairing.
Too bad fanon Draco doesn't exist in canon. (You could never have this in canon; it always should take a major event to change fanon Draco, and you could never portray one in the canon books.)

I also, without any justification at all, ship for Lupin and Tonks in fanon. There is no canonical evidence whatsoever for the pairing, but they're both some of my favorite characters (Lupin's my second-favorite behind Hermione, and Tonks is #5 behind Fred & George) and think that it would be a rather wacky pairing. It'll never happen - I think that Lupin is doomed to die before the end of the books, and wouldn't be surprised if Tonks did too - but that's why it's fanon.

Tiny Addendum

2004-11-22T00:12:00.000-08:00

After reading that section of GoF (the re-embodiment of Voldemort by Pettigrew), I have only one thing I'm really wondering about at the moment.
Pettigrew severs his own hand at the wrist with a dagger. One-handed. He doesn't seem that strong. In order to do this, he would have to cut through skin, bone, cartilage, tendon, etc...but it's primarily the bone part I'm wondering about. How sharp is that dagger? He does this in one clean motion, and it doesn't seem like he encounters any resistance (he doesn't have to saw.) You'd need a great deal of force to do this (correct me if I'm wrong; I've never tried to sever my own hand. Still, to cut through bone and other tissue that's several inches thick, especially considering that wizards are supposed to be made of sturdier stuff than most people...and to do this applying all of the force with one hand...man, it sure seems hard.) So how does Pettigrew do this? I mean, it makes for a great dramatic scene, but I'm wondering about the medical feasibility of this. (It would take away from the dramatic-ness of the scene if Wormtail couldn't do it and Voldy-in-the-cauldron had to be there calling, "Hurry up, Wormtail..."). Is the dagger magic or something?
On another note, I'm not really wondering about why Pettigrew didn't bleed out afterwards, because in severe trauma incidents, the blood vessels can kind of roll back, causing less severe bleeding than would be expected. I'm assuming Voldemort's silver hand somehow cauterized the wound/closed up the injury. It is kind of remarkable that he didn't go into shock, but hey, he's a wizard, and should be able to handle more injuries than a non-wizard.
(This small addendum may have been longer than the actual original post, but oh well. I'm going to bed now. Really.)

Just a Quick Thought

2004-11-22T00:08:00.000-08:00

I think I just realized why the Dark Mark wasn't used as trial evidence more after the end of the first war, even though Fudge and Dumbledore both seem to be aware of its existence.
In GoF, right after Pettigrew cuts off his hand and re-embodies Voldemort, Voldemort pulls up Pettigrew's sleeve, looks at the Dark Mark, and says, "It is back..." (GoF paperback p. 543). Does this mean, then, that when Voldemort was vanquished the Dark Mark disappeared? (Once he begins his ascent to power again, the Mark would have to have become more and more visible, hence Snape and Karkaroff being able to see it on their arms earlier in the book.) If the Mark disappeared completely once Voldemort was defeated the first time, then this explains why the trials weren't harder for Death Eaters (and why Sirius Black wasn't immediately proven innocent.) To me, this seems the best explanation for why people couldn't tell who was or wasn't a Death Eater immediately after the end of VoldWar I.
That's all. Just a short little post, because I don't feel well and because that's all I really have to say at the moment.

Love Triangles

2004-11-15T22:08:00.000-08:00

Now, backing away from religion, let's move back to 'shipping, shall we?
We shall.

And so, I've decided to do an entire post on love triangles. This is probably going to be non-HP for the most part, as nothing has actually come up yet (despite the popularity of people who seem to think that *someone* else must be included in a triangle with James and Lily, or that the Trio will involve themselves in a love triangle.) This will be more of a discussion of literary love triangles I know that worked, and what happened in those.

Two of the triangles I want to talk about have very large parallels. One is from Lord of the Rings (and no, I'm not talking Arwen-Aragorn-Legolas.) :-) I mean the other one, the one that the books established and the movies seriously played up: Arwen-Aragorn-Eowyn. The other is from Les Miserables (book and musical), and is that of Cosette-Marius-Eponine. The two are just strikingly similar, and the dynamic in them works quite well.
In both, the left-out member of the triangle (Eowyn and Eponine, respectively) have a crush on the man in the trio, who remains relatively clueless for most of the story. These women are very strong characters, much stronger in fact than either Cosette or Arwen (despite having sword-wielding super-Arwen in the movies, I'd still say that Arwen is weaker than Eowyn. I mean, she's not slaying any Witch-King or appearing in battle.)
In the meantime, the other two members of the trio are blissfully in love with each other, and plan to marry. (Also interestingly, Cosette and Arwen both come from one-parent households and have to leave beloved fathers in order to marry. Not to mention that Cosette has to decide about sailing to Calais with her father and leaving Marius behind, while Arwen has to decide whether or not to sail to Valinor with Elrond.) There's lots of romancey-type stuff between them.
In the end, both left-out members of the trio realize that the man isn't going to love her, and decide to go off to battle: Eponine to the barricade, and Eowyn to the Pelennor Fields. A quote from Faramir makes perfect sense for both of them. "But when he gave you only... pity, then you desired to have nothing, unless a brave death in battle." Aragorn is going off to war anyway; book-Eponine lets Marius know that his friends are going to the barricade so he can join them there. (Musical Eponine just follows him there.) In fact, Eponine does die in battle, saving Marius's life, while Eowyn is nearly killed while defending Theoden and is only saved through Aragorn's miraculous healing. (It is interesting to note that in the first draft of the book, Tolkien planned to have Eowyn die on the field of battle defending Theoden's body.)
Basically, this triangle is an archetype. Strong woman wants a man who's already engaged to a woman he loves, realizes she can't have him, and chooses death instead.
A little interesting tidbit: In the first draft of Return of the King, Tolkien planned to have Eowyn address Faramir with the more formal "you," while Faramir used the less formal "thee," with Eowyn only switching to "thee" at the very end. In Les Miserables (at least in the French version of the musical, I'm not sure about the book since I don't have a French-language copy), there's a similar language dynamic between Eponine and Marius (only with "tu" and "vous", "vous" being the formal French way to say "you" and "tu" being informal. It's not really a direct parallel, it's just interesting.
And one more thing: In RotK, Aragorn tells Eowyn, "It is but a shadow and a thought that you love." The French version of the song On My Own (Mon Histoire) has the lines, "Oui, je l'aime, mais je suis seul au monde/Tout ma vie, j'ai attendu une ombre," which translates roughly as "I love him, but I'm alone in the world/All my life, I've waited for a shadow."

Part two will come later (if ever, given my penchant for thinking of different things to write about), since I've got to go now.

Finishing the Last Post

2004-11-15T21:53:00.000-08:00

I don't know. Most of my grrr-ness has died down and now I'm just ready to move on.
For a quick finishing-up:
The author goes on to compare both Lord Voldemort and the Ministry of Magic to the Catholic Church. Well...how can I not be offended? The Catholic Church in medieval times did some very horrible things (i.e. the Inquisition, the Crusades), but it wasn't the all-controlling totalitarian state that the author makes it out to be. This is a vastly oversimplified view of the medieval Church. While 'heretics' and those expressing dissenting religious thought were prosecuted (again, nothing I would ever defend), it has to be taken within the mindset of those times, in which a large number of people supported this course of action (and it should be noted that often, Protestants were no less harsh towards dissenting Catholics in their own countries. The Middle Ages weren't a time of religious tolerance. But to dismiss them as totalitarian and stifling is to ignore the advances that did take place. It's bad history to assume that nothing was good and everything was evil then.) Also, the author makes it sound like the Catholic Church was some evil New World Order bent on domination. The Church didn't provide education because of some insidious plot it had - it did so because institutions of antiquity failed when the Roman Empire collapsed, and someone had to step in and take over for the collapsing institutions of the Empire. The Church did this, and in doing so, kept a great deal of learning alive.) I could go on, but this isn't a post about the transition between antiquity and the medieval period, and you get my point.
The House-Elf stuff and slavery is something I don't really feel like arguing about. The author's entire point is that religion is something that enslaves people, which is also very offensive (and should be noted that it's actually impossible to debate a person who believes this, as they'll just say that my religion has blinded me to the truth and that I'm just some poor pathetic house-elf too blind to realize what I'm doing. I disagree wholeheartedly, obviously, but you really can't argue with someone who will likely - almost inevitably - have that as their reply.)
The reason why this post made me angry was for two reasons: 1. It ignores all themes of spirituality in HP, despite everything we've seen to the contrary, especially things like the veil and Dumbledore's comments which clearly indicate a belief in an afterlife. (It also vastly oversimplifies a number of things, both theologically and historically and compares my Church to a totalitarian state, but those are only small annoyances compared to the big two.)
2. (the big one) It seems to be by a militant atheist who believes that the only reason why anyone would ever believe in religion is because it's comforting to do so. This ignores any other reason a person might have for belief in God, all of which may be highly personal. To dismiss all of these beliefs as delusional...well, that angers me. I have no problems with agnostics - you don't know, fine, you admit it. But atheists and fundamentalists anger me, because they're both so certain that they're correct and don't hesitate to prove that you're a. damned or b. pathetically ignorant of the truth. I could do a large, long post about why I personally believe in God and why it has nothing to do with fear of death, but that would be beyond the point. I don't want to convert anyone. I personally have no problem with anyone believing anything they want to, as long as they're not hostile or pushy about it. (I may think you're wrong, and I have no problem with telling you that - if you get to voice your opinion, I get to voice mine - that's fair enough, right?) But to insult my own religion to push yours - that bugs me. And all I have to say in response to atheism is what I say to any atheist who tries to push their beliefs on me: Believe whatever you want, but I think you're going to be really surprised when you die. And if I die and I'm wrong...well, I'll never know, will I?

Grrrrrrrrrr....

2004-11-12T11:07:00.000-08:00

As you can probably tell from the title, this is about an editorial that just pissed me off. It's from an atheist's point of view, and tries to argue that JK Rowling's true views about religion are atheistic.
Fortunately, it also contains really bad arguments, so let's tear it apart bit by bit, shall we?
(It's not just the anti-religious part that bothers me. It's that the author ignores a lot of good canon evidence to the contrary, demonstrates a overly simplistic view of medieval history, and compares the Catholic Church to both Voldemort and the Ministry. As I said, grrrrrrrrrrr...)
But let's get down to the intellectual deconstruction of this argument.
1. The author argues that God in HP is ignored because Christianity is incompatible with magic and because of JKR's hidden beliefs against Christianity.
First off, have you noticed that a lot of Christians don't believe that HP is incompatible with their Christian lives? If you want to get technical with the mystical definition, Christianity is against Satanic 'magic' in the real world (i.e. invoking Satan's power to do things beyond your own natural power.) Magic in the HP world obviously doesn't invoke Satan, involve dark sacrifice or ritual, etc...it's just something you're born with, and as such, part of your natural power. No need to invoke Satan or demons. Since magic is part of your natural abilities (in a religious sense, God-given gifts), it would only make sense that you learn to use them. There's nothing incompatible about magic and religion in the Harry Potter universe.
Why, then, is religion not invoked? Because religion is generally not invoked in the fantasy genre. Look at LotR: there's no mention of organized religion, no temples, no invocations of God (Iluvatar in the Tolkien world.) Yet, if you read the Silmarillion, there's obviously an entire religon behind it, one completely compatible with the Christian view of things.
The same is true for Harry Potter. Death is not something to be feared, because you go on afterwards.
Which brings me to the next point. Tamar argues that since immorality=bad in the HP-verse, this reflects JKR's view that immortality in religion is bad.
Huh? Physical immortality is what is looked down upon in HP - the never-ending quest for eternal physical life, not spiritual. Voldemort fears death, because he views death as the end - the atheist's view. If anything, this is an anti-atheist argument, not an anti-religion one. Dumbledore expressly believes that people go on after they die (and Nearly Headless Nick confirms this - see Harry's discussion with him in OotP after Sirius's death.) Dumbledore does not fear death "there are things much worse than death," one of which may be the things that Voldemort has done to keep himself alive.
The writer claims that religion is popular because it gives us an end to our fear of death. Yet, of anyone, Voldemort is the least God-fearing of people (at least, I'm assuming so, given that he doesn't seem to fear any punishment for his deeds - this is a much more difficult and tenuous point to make, given the lack of explicit religion in the series.) The author is right in one point - the people who do not fear death are the ones who have a belief in an afterlife (death being the next great adventure.) But they are right in their belief - something that the author refuses to admit.
We have ample evidence of this. The ghosts, wise Dumbledore's firm belief in the concept of death not being the end, the veil in Book 5 - even Harry's belief that, if he dies, he'll see Sirius again - all of these point to a belief in something more.
The author then argues that Voldemort=God. Again, Voldemort is perceived as evil because he is trying to set himself up as a god on earth, not because he symbolically represents JKR's views on God. (She then goes on to say that this doesn't mean that God is always negatively represented, but doesn't dwell too much on that point.)
I have to charge, but I'll cover the second half of this editorial later. (Next: the author compares the Catholic Church to lots and lots of bad things...grrrr...now, I'm no Defensor Fidei, but I am Catholic, and, well, can you see why I'm just a little offended?)

In closing, let me say that militant atheists are just as bad as militant fundamentalists. (Can we call them militant fundamentalist atheists?)
The offending editorial is at: http://www.mugglenet.com/editorials/editorials/edit-tamar01.shtml
if you want to read it.

Why does everyone hate Ron?

2004-11-08T21:13:00.000-08:00

Seriously. It seems like there's a lot of hatred toward Ron, especially among H/H shippers (of course; he's standing in the way of an H/H 'ship.) And Ron is the least important member of the Trio. But a lot of people seem to think that's he's jealous of Harry, not a good friend, insensitive, etc, etc. I've even read theories that Ron is going to give Harry away to the Dark Side in some way. My response: Come on, people, Ron's not that bad! He's never been one of my favorite characters, but he's not as horrible as some people think. He's as good a friend as he knows how to be (he's sometimes rather emotionally dense, but that's just part of his character - I mean, he really likes Hermione and has never actually found a way to say so.) In SS/PS, he was incredibly self-sacrificial in the chess game. In CoS, he came with Harry to confront Lockhart, and would have gone further if they hadn't been separated. In PoA, he was again injured and couldn't continue. In OotP, he goes with Harry to the MoM to confront Voldemort. He's loyal to Harry, even if he is jealous of him at times.
And it makes sense that Ron would be jealous of Harry. Harry's rich, while Ron's always been poor; Harry's famous and well-respected, while Ron is the youngest boy in his family and has always been overshadowed by everyone else. (Note that Harry isn't immune from feeling jealousy about what Ron has, either: he feels jealous that Ron has a family and a loving home, and he gets really jealous when Ron gets the prefect's badge in OotP, disparaging everything that Ron and Hermione have ever done with him. Yet Harry's never really accused of being a bad, selfish person for the jealousy, as Ron so often is.)
I think that there may be some conflict between Ron and Harry in OotP, especially if both play Quidditch and Harry threatens to steal Ron's thunder there (the only place where Ron has ever really been able to distinguish himself alone, especially if you consider that the prefect's badge would have gone to Harry if Dumbledore hadn't thought he already had "enough responsibility to be going on with." Ron may also envy Harry's newfound fame. But does this make him a horrible person? No. Does it mean that he's going to betray Harry? No. I think that Harry and Ron will eventually overcome their disagreements and remain friends, no matter how much conflict there is between Ron and TeenAngsty!Harry in book 6.
(Also, note that a lot of people disparage Ron's shortcomings in the academic area but give Harry a free pass "because he doesn't apply himself." Well, Ron isn't exactly the model of applying himself either, and while I agree that Ron is probably less talented than Harry, he's not a complete imbecile. Remember that for books 1 and 2, Ron had a hand-me-down (and for book 2, a broken) wand.
In short, Ron's not evil and he's not a moron. He's often rather unfairly maligned. Although he has his problems, people tend to diminish his better qualities in favor of painting a better picture of Harry. (Personally, Angst!Harry rather bothered me throughout Book 5. He's so darn whiny! I just wanted to smack him.)

More Thoughts on Shipping...Just About Everyone Else

2004-11-08T20:49:00.000-08:00

I've already given my thoughts on the R/H ship and the H/H ship. I think that JKR is pushing toward the R/H ship, although I have some difficulty in seeing what, exactly, the two might do for one another (perhaps Ron can help Hermione to lighten up and Hermione can be Ron's responsible side? I have to admit, as an originally H/H fan for the first several books, I never really could imagine what an R/H relationship would be like. But, as I've said, I think we're definitely going to get one, and I don't really have any objections per se against such a 'ship.) I also don't think we're going to see an R/H/H love triangle, just because it would be so...soapy. I think Harry might get angsty if Ron and Hermione start spending a lot of time together as a couple, but it's more because they're doing things without him than because he secretly loves Hermione.
But enough about that. This is about everyone else.
As I've said, I really don't want to hook everyone up. They're going to be 17 at the end of the series. Fully half of the people I'm friends with haven't dated yet, let alone found lasting romantic love. Anyway...since I did say I'd write about 'shipping...
Who will Harry get?
If he survives the series and isn't too emotionally scarred for a relationship? Well, JKR did say he'd get 'a little' more romance in an interview. I know a lot of people are either Harry/Ginny or Harry/Luna 'shippers. I could see either happening, or neither. I think that Luna's going to help Harry get through his grief (what with the thestrals and the veil at and all) and that Ginny's going to continue being Harry's friend. I don't know. How is Harry going to find time for romance? Not to mention that he's going to be grieving for Sirius at the beginning of HBP, and grief isn't the best way to start a relationship.
Ron/Luna: She does like to call him Ronald. But she just Luna, and therefore kind of weird anyway. I don't think there's anything here on Ron's part.
Who else is there? Seriously...unless you want to start hooking everyone up. I don't think that Lupin and Trelawney is a valid relationship (I know she likes him quite a lot, but give me one good reason why serious, sensible Lupin would be attracted to her...) and I don't think that McGonagall, Dumbledore, or Hagrid are going to be finding lasting love any time soon...especially not together. :-P
(BTW, I'm not anti-shipping in general, just against hooking everyone up because you feel a need to, regardless of textual clues. When it's well-done, romance is a nice addition to any story...unless it's Snape and Firenze, or incest-slash (don't laugh, I've seen Boromir-Faramir slash stories online, and given that, I'll bet there's probably Fred-George stories *somewhere* on this crazy Internet. Can you just say *ewwwwwwwwwww*?)

Comments on Dracomort

2004-11-08T20:34:00.000-08:00

These are my thoughts on Brandon Ford's last The Underground Lake column (Ordinary Harry and the Final Confrontation.)
I doubt that this is going to happen. Voldemort possessing anyone else would just be disappointing. And after he's resurrected himself in his current body, I can't see him needing another one. Not to mention that if you accept the CH as possibility, it just adds another layer on top of the current one (with Voldemort displacing Draco's soul.)
I think Draco's ultimate fate depends on what happens to Lucius and Narcissa and what path he chooses to take. If Lucius and Narcissa live, he'll probably follow in Daddy's footsteps as a good little Death Eater. (But that would be so boring! Mini-Malfoy!)
On the other hand, if something happens to Lucius or Narcissa and Voldemort or another DE is behind it, we'll see Draco turn away from Voldemort. In that case, I think Draco could be instrumental to bringing Slytherin into the fold and uniting the four Houses (and it would create some very interesting conflict as Draco and Harry have to work together while still really, really hating each other.)
I don't really think we'd get a mixture of the two roles (Draco as DE and then as repentant turncoat DE) because we've seen that already in Snape. I really think that the latter possibility would be the more interesting one, plotwise. Harry doesn't need two main nemesis to think about fighting, and I think that the plot has to turn away from Draco as the enemy at some point to focus on Voldemort as the evil enemy.

More Sindeldecker Comments

2004-11-08T20:27:00.000-08:00

This is my thoughts on the Sindeldecker Editorial #4 (the Mild-Assed Guesses.) Most are pretty sensible (and a given, like the fact we'll get OWL scores back and that Harry will leave the Dursleys' early). In fact, all of the predictions are sensible, up until "Matters with Cho will remain Unresolved." I think that Cho Chang stuff is pretty much over now (at least I hope to God it is, because I hate Cho Chang with far more feeling than should be possible for such a minor character.) From there, they're all sensible until the WTF?!? prediction, which is:
Firenze will turn out to have been Snape's Gay Lover.
-and-
Snape had a crush...on James?
This prediction made me go "WTF?," hence the name.
I have no objection to gay characters in HP. I would be quite happy if there was a gay character in HP, because I'm all for diversity in literature. I also don't have a problem with interspecies relationships.
But Snape and Firenze?
You're never going to have a relationship, especially one that may have been sexual, between a centaur and a human in this series. (My mind boggles at how this might be anatomically possible, given that Firenze's lower half is that of a horse.) Not to mention that you know conservative groups would jump all over this as evidence of bestiality in Harry Potter. (A homosexual relationship with bestiality! Can you imagine conservative reaction?)
Now, in a story sense, I don't think that Snape's ever really known love. That's why he was such a loner. I doubt that he would have had the emotional capability to carry on a romantic relationship with anyone, let alone a centaur. And do you really think that Firenze would go for someone like Snape? Not to mention that if he had, he would have been kicked out of the centaurs' tribe long, long ago. (As well as practical details: Florence and whoever met behind the greenhouse; do you think Firenze would have left the Forbidden Forest? I think the so-called evidence for this rerlationship "I saw him kissing Florence and he hexed me" is far too tenuous to support such a far-out connection. And how would Bertha Jorkins have known Firenze's name, for that matter, let alone corrupted it into the English translation?)
Also, a number of people seem to think that Snape is going to turn evil. I think this is definitely a toss-up, though I'm more inclined to think that he'll stay good and perhaps even do something incredibly self-sacrificing for Harry. (After all, if he really wanted Harry dead, all he needed to do was not tell Dumbledore that Harry thought that Sirius had gone to the Department of Mysteries in OotP. But if Snape was to become evil, it's not a good idea to make the only gay character in your series evil.
And Snape love James? Huh? They hated each other. I think that all of the canonical evidence we have points to this. If they were like Draco and Harry, I don't think there would have ever been time for the love part of the relationship to develop.
Most of this editorial was just practical extrapolation. But I just had to comment on that crazy comment.

Another Problem with OotP

2004-11-08T20:05:00.000-08:00

Just a small note I saw today while reading OotP:

Wizards don't have Doctors, they have Healers ("Those Muggle nutters who cut people up?), yet when Ron gets injured by the brains, he takes Dr. Ubbly's Oblivious Unction (847 Hardcover edition). Huh?

Was very amused with the featured editorial on Mugglenet this week. They talk about being a Trekker like it's a bad thing to be compared to. Face it, the LotR, HP, Star Trek, and Star Wars fandoms are all alike. I, for one, am a proud Trekker, LotR nut, and HP fan, and have no problem admitting it. I'm geeky and proud of it! :-)

The New Mugglenet Columns

2004-11-06T22:06:00.000-08:00

I was very, very happy to see they gave Brandon Ford his own column at Mugglenet. His Lost Day editorials were the best I've read on the site in quite some time.
I'm slightly more ambivalent about the Bob Sindeldecker column. I like that he makes predictions, but I think he's rather out there with many of them (and others are phrased such that you know he's going to get one or the other right.)
For example... (boldface text are excerpts from the column)
3) Lucius Malfoy's arrest will strongly affect his cronies in government, starting with Fudge. Yes, poor Cornelius will be out of a job, and don't think he'll take it lying down. He will probably avoid prison, but that just means he'll be even more able to cause trouble. Look for him to join Voldemort, maybe not as a Death Eater and maybe not voluntarily (at least that's what he'll say when he gets caught) but he'll join. Fudge is weak and easily manipulated; he'll do as he is told.
Well, we already know that Fudge is out of a job...I'm pretty sure that JKR's told us there's going to be a new MoM in Book 6, and it's pretty easy to figure out anyway.
But Fudge as Death Eater? That seems to fly in the face of the OotP quote "The world isn't divided into only Death Eaters and the good guys" (okay, so that's a paraphrase, but I know it appeared in that book and I'm just being lazy). If Fudge became a Death Eater, the world would be divided into good guys and bad guys. Not to mention that this conflicts with Sindeldecker's column about George W. Fudge and Osama bin Voldemort (think about it...you may not like Bush, but is he going to run off and join al Qaeda? He's advancing two contradictory arguments in two separate editorials, and I don't really like that.)
And he seems to split his opinion in other ways...

7) Narcissa Malfoy inherits 12 Grimmauld Place. Why not? She is one of Sirius' closest living relatives. This would mean the Order must vacate and find new digs, and that Narcissa (and Draco, and Lucius, and Voldy) will have access to the Order's secrets. It's a plot twist too juicy for JKR not to use. Then again, maybe ...
8) Harry inherits 12 Grimmauld Place. After all, he is probably Sirius' heir -- probably, not for certain. If so, that lets the Order keep the house, and it gives Harry his own digs, safe from detection. In fact, technically it even gives him ownership of Kreacher, though I don't think the elf will obey Harry. That, too, would be an interesting twist.

Well, you've just covered both possibilities, haven't you? This isn't really a prediction as much as it is stating the two main possibilities of what might happen.

10) Harry + Luna (and Hermione gets jealous)...11. Ron gets jealous...So Ron has plenty of reasons to envy Harry, and if he loses Hermione as well, the result could be violent and tragic.
So he's a H/H shipper. I really, really, REALLY think he's wrong. Not about the Harry/Luna 'ship, which makes more sense to me than the Harry/Ginny one does after OotP (although I'm still of the opinion that he doesn't have to, and probably shouldn't, hook up with ANYONE, at least not until he survives the series).
Violent and tragic? Ron? Why does everyone hate Ron so much? (I still have to write that editorial.)

14) Draco Malfoy finally becomes a full-fledged Death Eater.
I favor an alternate hypothesis: that something's going to happen that causes Draco to join Harry (albeit reluctantly.) Whether it's the death of Narcissa or Lucius at the hands of Lord Voldemort, something's going to make Draco come around. I think he's rather like Sirius Black's younger brother...Draco's a bully, but whether or not he's got the strength to murder in cold blood or perform an effective Cruciatus Curse is a very debatable issue. I don't think that Draco is by any means good or will ever like Harry, but the world's not full of DE's and good guys, and Draco might just be one of those people who's in-between.
I do acknowledge that hypothesis #14 is certainly within the realm of possibility, but it would be so uninteresting - what do we need a mini-Lucius (mini-Malfoy...hee hee) running around for?

21) Molly Weasley's prejudices will become apparent.
Me: Huh? He really doesn't like Molly, either. I don't think that any of his stuff about Molly Weasley is right...she really does seem to genuinely like Hermione (as long as she's not playing around with Harry's heart :-) ), and while she might not like people she perceives as improper, I don't think that translates to blood prejudice. (Also, why would she disapprove of Ron's romantic choices if Ron isn't going to be dating Hermione?)

22) Harry returns as Gryffindor seeker... Unless ...
23) Harry does not return as seeker.
Again, it's just a statement of possibilities! He's destined to be right with one of these!

29) Harry gets a new broom and gives the Firebolt to Ron.
It's not a major prediction, but I do disagree with it. Harry's Firebolt is from Sirius. I don't think he's going to be giving up anything that Sirius gave him any time soon.

31) Hagrid does indeed find a girlfriend for Grawp.
I really doubt this, simply because...well, I can't imagine who he would find. Besides, I think that Hagrid's got to 'civilize' Grawp a little more before he can worry about finding him lasting romantic love (why, oh why do we have to hook everyone up?)

36) Lupin returns as DADA teacher and hooks up with Sybil Trelawney.
Again, the obsession with hooking everyone up. Why? Why? Lupin...Trelawney? Lupin just seems too common-sense for this. And I really like how everyone's reasoning for this is just that he's too nice to say no and she really likes him (*sarcastic grin*). C'mon, people, if you've gotta hook Lupin up, I have to say I liked the Lupin/Tonks proposed couple I saw on the boards a while ago.

37) Cho Chang quits DA and turns against Harry.
She never really seemed angry with Harry in Book 5...

40) Bill marries Fleur. This might not happen until Book 7, but I'm rooting for Book 6. Like I said, it will be splendid, and we need some splendor in among the rubble of the lives Voldemort is sure to ruin. Expect Ginny and Hermione to get heavily into it.
With all the stuff that has to go on in Book 7, do you really think there's going to be a wedding? How long is 7 going to be?

41) Hufflepuffs draw closer to Gryffindor, while Ravenclaws draw closer to Slytherin. This is their natural inclination.
Okay, I just get mad at this because I'm a Ravenclaw and don't feel a natural inclination towards self-serving evil...
But seriously, I think that all 4 Houses are going to move closer to unity (even, perhaps, a section of Slytherin, especially if Draco's leading that section, as per my earlier theory). They have to - see the Sorting Hat's song.
By the way, Gryffindor and Slytherin aren't polar opposites - it's Slytherin and Hufflepuff that are polar opposites. Think about it. You can be self-serving and smart, self-serving and brave...but you can't be self-serving and serve the team. Slytherin is all about doing what's right for you, while Hufflepuff is about what's doing what's right for the team.
Also, while Marietta Edgecombe might have been a Ravenclaw, she didn't want to come to the DA in the first place. Think about the role Luna Lovegood played in OotP. She was a Ravenclaw, and the only non-Gryffindor member of the group that confronted the Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries.

VOLDEMORT BECOMES A GHOST in Book 7
While this might sound cool at first, think about how awful this would be in reality. Voldemort could follow Harry around and haunt him forever. It would really seem rather cheesy, I think. There needs to be a more definitive conclusion than that.

More later...

Random Ranting

2004-11-06T21:29:00.000-08:00

Just some random thoughts...
This month's Burrow month on Harry Potter has to be the stupidest ever. Poetry? Poetry? If I wanted to read pointless poetry dreck I'd just go to fanfiction.net (As you can tell, I'm not a big fan of the fanfiction section either, or of the Magic Quill column for that matter.) I don't mind reading fanfic when it's good, but there's precious little of that out there...
...random thought stemming from that...Why have Draco Malfoy fans never written a fanfic entitled Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus (never tickle a sleeping...Draco?). The possibilities, the possibilities...especially for either a romance or humor 'fic...
We were talking about how scars never look as cool in real life as they do in the movies, and I have to say I immediately thought of two things: 1. The Harry Potter lightning-bolt scar and 2. Captain Calhoun's scar in Star Trek: New Frontier. Both are definitely cooler than anything I've seen in real life.

One More Question.

2004-11-02T20:27:00.000-08:00

Last time, I didn't mention one of the questions I'm most curious about. Here it is:
Why did Sirius think that Lupin was the spy?
We already know why Lupin thought that Sirius was the spy. After all, given that after Pettigrew's escape he's found laughing like a madman and not protesting his innocence, Lupin had no reason to think he wasn't guilty. Even Dumbledore accepted Sirius's guilt.
But why did Sirius think that Lupin might be the spy? That, to me, is a very large question. I've read theories that there might have been a rift between the two (also referenced in my "Lupin is NOT evil!" post, in which I took time to actually consider and postulate reasons for it) but I really don't think that completely adds up - they're just too happy to see one another after Lupin's figured everything out in the Shrieking Shack in PoA. We don't need to ask why James wouldn't have trusted Lupin; Sirius and James were always best friends, and James would have listened to Sirius's advice if Sirius had told him not to tell Lupin of the switch in his choice of Secret-Keeper.
Could it be because Sirius still feels some leftover prejudice against half-breeds from his upbringing? Given how violently he hates his family, I seriously doubt it. So that leaves us with a few options: One, that Lupin was somewhat out of the loop compared to Sirius and Pettigrew when it came to James (possibly missing events due to his lycanthropy, due to doing stuff for the Order, or simply because compared to James's absolute best friend and the young man who worshiped him, he wasn't quite as close.) Second, that sometime before the Fidelius Charm was performed, Lupin had begun to think that Sirius might be the spy and had therefore been acting strangely toward him. I got this idea when Sirius asks for Lupin's forgiveness for suspecting him in PoA and Lupin replies, "And will you forgive me for believing you were the spy?" (PoA, 373 paperback edition). While this could refer to Lupin's believing that Sirius was the spy for the last twelve years, it could also mean that Lupin had suspicions about Sirius going back to about the time that Sirius became suspicious about Lupin. Of the two, James would have trusted Sirius more, being closer to him, and would have performed the switch without telling Lupin.
I would also like to know why James and Lily chose not to use Dumbledore as their Secret-Keeper. After all, Dumbledore would have been an excellent choice; they could have been sure that he wasn't the spy, and he was powerful enough to avoid ever revealing the secret. I suppose that's a separate question, but I'd like to have an actual reason for it beyond that it needed to happen for plot purposes.

Questions I'd Like to Ask JK Rowling

2004-10-31T17:39:00.000-08:00

I really like Mugglenet's Open Letter, although I don't really care about the questions about the movie stuff so much (spells are probably changed because they sound better on-screen, and I'll bet that JK Rowling is going to give some sort of diplomatic answer like she was disappointed that the Marauder's Map stuff was left out, but we all know what happens and they did have to cut things for time and she did really enjoy the movie anyway...). In my mind, the movie questions aren't really important, especially because JKR has limited control over the films.
The book questions, however, do interest me. These are my favorite two from the Mugglenet List:

What are Dumbledore, Draco, and Hermione's wands made of and what are their cores?

I'd really like to know what everyone's wand is made out of, really (at least, everyone major: Lupin, Sirius, Wormtail, . I'd also like confirmation of Maline Freden's (the North Tower, Mugglenet) hypotheses about what wand cores are good for what; that editorial, of all I've read, seems the soundest on that front. I'd also like to know what the different woods are good for and what some of Ollivander's adjectives (springy, inflexible, bendy) mean.

How old are Mad-Eye Moody and Tonks and what houses were they in?

I'm betting that JKR will say Gryffindor, since she's got such a love of that House. (I'd really like to see something that makes it clear that not all of the heroes are Gryffindors, for once...although I do think that Mad-Eye and Tonks are probably likely Gryffindors, actually. I mean, what else would Mad-Eye qualify for?)

Now, for my questions:

What happens to your wand when you undergo an Animagus transformation?

It seems that items like glasses (which transform into markings - I wonder what contact lenses would do) and clothing transform with you (which is good, because no one wanted to have to visualize a naked Peter Pettigrew in PoA. Sorry if I just gave anyone any bad mental images.) It seems to me like your wand should also transform with you. But if that's true, then why did Peter Pettigrew have to dive for other peoples' wands in PoA? (Unless he lost his during the fight with Sirius.)

How tall is Ron?

His wand is longer than Voldemort's, and wand length corresponds to height, so Ron should therefore be taller than Voldemort, although not by much (there's only a half-inch difference in their wand lengths.)

Why does Ollivander use inches when talking about wand length, for that matter?

This might be a question that someone besides JKR could answer. Since I only have U.S. editions, it's possible that the wand length was changed from centimeters to inches for the U.S. edition. If not...well, it's just kind of weird that English wizards would use an American system for measuring their wands.

Are there male veela? Do they have the same effect on people as female veela?

Just wondering. I'm assuming there have to be male veela (or all veela would quickly become half-breeds and die out very quickly as a pure-blooded species) but we've never seen any.

How do you kill a werewolf?

Because I fear for Lupin's life. Of the characters we know, I'm assuming that most Hogwarts teachers know how (part of a standard DADA education), and especially that Lupin and Snape know (Lupin for obvious reasons, Snape because he set the paper on how to kill a werewolf.) Here's a random and rather interesting fact: Hermione knows how to kill a werewolf. Snape set the paper on ways to identify and kill werewolves, and while Lupin canceled the assignment upon his return to class, Hermione already had the essay done. No one else had started yet, apparently, and they haven't covered the subject yet in their DADA classes, so Hermione's probably still the only one.

Will we see a vampire in the series?

No, I don't think Snape is a vampire. But we've heard about them (in reference to Quirrell and Albania, in an offhand comment that Seamus Finnegan made in PoA hoping they'd have one for a teacher next) and know they exist in the HP universe. Personally, I'd kind of like to see a Book of Beings as a charity book (or, better yet, an Encyclopedia of the HP Universe, kind of like the Lexicon but more detailed.)

And, some random things that I'd like clarified:

The official website says that prefects can't take points. But in OotP there's a long discussion about how unfair it is that members of the Inquisitorial Squad can take points (Snape's Worst Memory, p 625-626 hardcover edition). This is a discussion between Ernie MacMillan of Hufflepuff, Hermione, Harry, and Ron (two of whom are prefects, so they ought to know - even if Ron doesn't, Hermione should, given how seriously she takes being a prefect.) MacMillan even says, "He can't be allowed to dock points...that would be ridiculous...it would completely undermine the prefect system..." (626). This seems to indicate that when JKR corrected her mistake online, she did it the wrong way, forgetting about this chapter (or that everyone is confused, but Fred and George seem to operate on the same assumption when they come in as well, and Malfoy agrees with the statement that although prefects can't dock points, "members of the Inquisitorial Squad...can" (625.)

Thestrals - Okay, so the death has to "sink in." But does that mean that you can see Thestrals when you see a death and understand it or just when you understand what death means?

Well, there's going to be more later. I guess I'll just post later. Now, it's Halloween time!

The Super-Secret Door Stuff

2004-10-31T16:53:00.000-08:00

This post is about the information that was just posted behind the door on JK Rowling's official web site. If you don't want to know anything about it, turn back now.

Turn away...

Turn away...

Spoilers ahead...

Well, if you're still reading now and you don't want to find out, it's your own damn fault. So here goes:

The three chapter titles that were announced for HBP were:
Chapter 2: Spinners End
Chapter 6: Draco's Detour
Chapter 14: Felix Felicis

I was rather disappointed. For a Halloween present, I would have preferred an update to the FAQ, preferably with the Open Letter from Mugglenet and the HP Lexicon answered. (I'm never really happy when the door opens, because all it brings is new questions which don't have enough information contained within them to answer.)
These chapter titles don't mean much. Felix Felicis is Latin (conjugated forms of the word for "luck" or "good fortune"), so I think it's probably a spell of some sort and not a person, although I do realize that Felix is a name.
Similarly, Spinners End is unclear to whether or not this is a reference to a place or to an event (Immediately, the "...it was purely a Bywater joke to refer to it as Sharkey's End" from the Scouring of the Shire chapter in Return of the King came to mind, where said title referred to both the death of Saruman (Sharkey) and the new row of homes that was built in place of Bagshot Row; that's how I got the idea of it possibly being one or more things.) Spinner's End made me think of Aragog, but Chapter 2 is too early to be back at Hogwarts, unless JKR really makes good on her promise that Harry's stay at Privet Drive will be his shortest yet and condenses with it in one chapter or less. I'm fairly sure that the title can't refer to Aragog or the Acromantula simply because it's too obvious. I've already seen people saying that it has to be a place because of the lack of an apostrophe (indicating possessive), but that's not true: Sharkey's End in the aforementioned example contains one even though it refers to a place, and in JKR's own novels, Godric's Hollow is a place despite the apostrophe. I think that the punctuation, therefore, indicates nothing definitive either way.
Draco's Detour is the most interesting chapter title, and has me wondering exactly what this detour is and why it's important enough to have its title fixed in stone when JKR is only a little more than halfway done with the book. This is maddeningly open, as a detour could refer to a physical shortcut (and if so, to where?) or a detour involving some sort of significant event (and if so, what?)
In short, that darn door is driving me nuts.

A Little Break from Shipping - the CH

2004-10-27T23:15:00.000-07:00

Just read an editorial on Mugglenet by someone who hates the Changeling Hypothesis. While I agree that the "Fawkes has Harry's soul" extension of this is far-fetched (note that the author of that editorial conveniently glosses over the problem of actually getting Fawkes to Godric's Hollow the night of the Potter murders), I do rather like the Changeling Hypothesis (or CH) myself. It explains nicely the connection between Harry and Voldemort, the scar problem, etc. etc.
I think that, in order for the Changeling Hypothesis to work, one must be able to separate the soul into two parts: one that contains a person's memories and acquired abilities, and one that has a person's more basic sense of self, personality, and, for lack of a better term, must be called "life-force," "vital spark," et cetera. This theory would make one tend to think that a Dementor would be able to suck out both parts (therefore putting me at odds with the people who claim Voldemort is immune to the Dementor's Kiss. The other option is, of course, that the latter part is truly the "soul," and that our memories/acquired abilities/etc. are not part of our soul, but of something else.
This second theory is one that makes more sense to me. After all, in the HP verse, one can perform a Memory Charm and take someone's memories away (even to the point of taking all of their memories away - see Lockhart), but that they cannot rid someone of their soul by merely taking all of their memories (again, Lockhart in OotP seems to have much the same personality, even if he doesn't have his memories). This brings up the interesting point that people without memories of what they've done still have a distinct personality, and seems to go against Dumbledore's theme of It is our choices which determine who we are, since choices produce memories of those choices, which therefore influence later choices and shape our personality further. This second theory would also give Voldemort the immunity from the Dementor's Kiss that the CH assumes.
I think that the reason for the article on Mugglenet that tries to rebut the CH is because the author of that editorial and the author of the CH don't have an agreed meaning on what, exactly, constitutes a person's "soul." Personally, I'd be rather curious to see what JKR thinks. Also, having just finished reading books 1-5 in reverse order, I remember reading a part about the Dementor's Kiss that mentions that a person can live without their soul, as long as their heart and brain are working. I'd be curious to know whether the latter means higher brain function, or lower brain function (as in what someone in a persistent vegetative state possesses), and if a person's neurons and synapses still retain what's been recorded in them (i.e. memories) after the soul (personality/essential part of person?) is gone.
That about sums it up for now, because I'm too tired to think about the nature of the soul and all of this philosophy stuff now. Maybe more later...but not tonight.

The R/H 'Ship

2004-10-25T22:00:00.000-07:00

Just a note: Although the "When Harry Met Hermione" post from last time probably made me sound like a rabid R/H shipper, that's not the case. I was actually a H/H fan through Book 3, but the events of GoF just made it very, very clear to me that the 'ship wasn't going to happen, and that in a heroic sense it just makes more sense for Harry to be alone. I actually don't favor the R/H 'ship in the sense that I love the pairing, it's just very clear to me that they are going to end up together and I don't mind if they do.

When Harry Met Hermione - The H/H ship

2004-10-25T21:43:00.000-07:00

First off, let me say that this is why I don't do blogs. I haven't touched this for two weeks!
But I am making an effort to update, so here goes...
I've just spent some time messing around and reading HPProgs and old parts of the North Tower and stuff on Mugglenet, and I've decided to give my take on the various romantic relationships.

My first major question is this: Why does everyone have to assume that everyone has to end up with everyone else? Why, if Ron and Hermione are paired, do we then have to find a new romantic partner for Viktor Krum, and for Harry, Neville, Luna, Ginny, and the rest of the gang? Why does everyone always have to end up with everyone else? Think about it: when the series ends, they're going to be 17. 17! I don't know about you, but I didn't find my life partner at age 17. I'm almost 20 and still unattached to anyone. I know that it's fun to pair people up, but at some point it gets ridiculous.

Now, here are my thoughts on specific 'ships:

Harry/Hermione: Not gonna happen. I know that a lot of H/H shippers insist that they're perfect for each other, and that they really love each other, but I think they're just confusing good friendship and love. Yes, Harry defends Hermione when she's in mortal danger - but it's not as if he would just say "Oh well, you're just my friend, so I guess I'll let a werewolf/Death Eater/giant kill you." Also, given that Harry has a "saving-people-thing," Harry saving anyone shouldn't really be taken as a sign that he loves them.
Let me take a moment to demolish the "Who Does Hermione Love" editorial by Turambar at Mugglenet, point-by-point: (To see the editorial, go to: http://www.mugglenet.com/editorials/editorials/edit-turambar.shtml )
1. This is Harry's story...
...which is why he won't end up with anyone, in my opinion. He's like Frodo; he can't have a relationship with anyone. (Look at how many people eventually get married in Lord of the Rings (the books, read the appendices): Sam, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Arwen, Faramir, Eowyn, Eomer....the list goes on and on. But you'll notice that Frodo's not on it, having been too emotionally damaged by his heroic quest to be able to have a romantic relationship.) Leaving slash out of it, Harry's relationship with Hermione is like Frodo's relationship with Sam: close enough that a lot of people read extra things into it, but not close enough that they'll hook up. I think that there's a pretty good chance that Harry might not survive the series; if he does, I don't think he'll be falling into anyone's arms for romantic comfort.
Turambar says, "What (okay, the exact quote says 'wat', but I corrected it) would be the point of the main romance in the HP series NOT involving Harry? What is the point of Ron and Hermione getting together? Surely Harry needs to experience love himself; he can't experience it through his friends. But I can think of another successful franchise that involved a romance between two other characters who were close to a hero: Star Wars, where Luke doesn't get involved with anyone (in the movies.) Turambar argues against this by saying that Luke and Leia were brother/sister, so it doesn't really count since Leia never had a choice in the matter; he also says that Han was just as much of an action man as Luke, and says that Ron is just a sidekick character. I think that this is wrong, and that it underestimates Ron (why does everyone always seem to underestimate and/or hate Ron? I need to do a post on that). Ron has plenty of fine qualities; it's just that readers tend to overlook them because the story is, after all, focused on Harry. Ron isn't inferior to Harry; he's different from Harry, with much more of a sense of humor and much less angst (especially in, say, OotP). That's what makes it a choice between the two of them.
As for that third sentence, I think the end of OotP made it pretty clear that Harry already has vast quantities of love within him; he doesn't need romantic love to know what love is.
Turambar also brings up the World Book Day chat, in which JKR said the following:
Q: Will Harry fall for another girl in book six, or will he be too busy for romance?
JKR: He'll be busy, but what's life without a little romance?
Q: Will Harry be receiving a second kiss in his last two years at Hogwarts?
JKR: He might well be receiving another kiss (or two) but I'm not saying who the kisser's going to be...
This doesn't necessarily have to mean another romance, as fans of the Changeling Hypothesis have pointed out. Women aren't the only people who can kiss Harry (and I'm not thinking slash here). Dementors can kiss. I don't necessarily rule out the possibility of another romance for Harry, but I'm not really in favor of one. (If he had to have one with someone, maybe Luna after OotP, but...why does everyone have to hook everyone up with everyone else? I'm in strong favor of not giving Harry another relationship, both for the reasons I've already mentioned and simply because I hated Cho Chang far more than I should have, given her relatively small role in the books.)
2. Series Structure
If you accept my point that I don't think that Harry's going to have another serious relationship and that Hermione's place in Harry's life doesn't depend on her romantic status with him, but rather with her position as his best friend - then this entire part of the editorial just doesn't matter, because there's nothing I say to clash with this.
3. Scenes
a. The Big Hug: Yes, Harry's not in danger, but he was, and Hermione is glad to see that her best friend is still alive and well. She hasn't seen him all summer. Of course you'd hug him. I'd say the more significant hugging scene is the Hermione/Ron one in CoS, where Hermione can't hug Ron, because there's a latent attraction between the two of them that prevents it. Let me ask: Who would you not want to hug - your best friend or your secret crush? The open affection that Hermione shows to Harry just goes to show that there isn't anything between them.
b. The Prefect Scene
Of course Hermione expected Harry to get the badge instead of Ron. Mrs. Weasley expected Harry to get the badge. And Hermione shrieks when she thinks that Harry's got it, only to find out that she's made a mistake. She's incredibly embarrassed. Of course she's not going to display much openly - she doesn't want to humiliate her best friend by making a huge fuss over Ron, who's just suffered a huge disappointment. She doesn't fuss over Ron because she can't, and because she's still in the denial stage about her crush - she's not going to show open affection, given that their relationship is still in the awkward stage where neither of them is willing to say anything to each other about it. As for Hermione's shriek of joy being like Mrs. Weasley's - well, Mrs. Weasley doesn't love Ron like H/H shippers want Hermione to love Harry.
c. Quidditch
About Hermione not watching the Quidditch game: well, what would you have done, given that you're finally going to find out what Hagrid's been hiding? And it's not as if they could have stopped the game and brought Ron along.
The whole "wearing red-and-gold rosettes": Well, I'm not a big football fan, and I still wear maize and blue for games. Really, I don't think that sports matter much to Hermione, no matter who's playing.
4. Other Points (Boldface from Turambar editorial)
a) Hermione tries to get Harry to spend time alone with her making elf hats.
Well, she's not going to ask Ron; she already knows he thinks it's ridiculous.
b) Hermione gives up a skiing holiday with her parents at Christmas in OoTP to come to Harry's aid.
Ron also gave up his holiday, and he's not in love with Harry.
c) Hermione grabs hold of Harry for physical and emotional support, including when the fat lady is slashed in PoA and in the DoM... when Ron is THERE both times.
It all comes back to the "secret, uncomfortable crush" part: who are you going to grab: your best friend or your secret crush?
d) She goes with Harry to find out what Hagrid wants instead of watching Ron play in the Quidditch final, when Harry could easily have gone on his own. Neither of them even considers that possibility.
Yes, because she's curious too, not because she loves Harry.
e) Hermione is shown to have given thought to and discussed Cho's problems and love life, Ginny's love life and Harry's love life. She writes a long letter to Viktor. She is also forthright in many of her opinions to Ron and Harry. The idea that she somehow has romantic feelings for Ron and yet is too nervous and shy to broach the subject with him, or is unaware if he is interested in her or not and so doesn't broach the subject with him, simply doesn't equate with the Hermione of OoTP. (Hermione is generally confident and shows leadership in OoTP). She knows, on the other hand, that Harry has a crush on Cho, and that he has to get over that before anything else can happen.
I disagree wholeheartedly. Just because a woman is confident about other peoples' love lives, or in other areas of their life, doesn't mean that she has to be confident about her love life. A lot of people act differently than they usually would around someone they really like. Harry is also leaderlike and confident, but he has trouble talking around Cho. I'm not quite sure what the author's point was in mentioning the letter to Viktor, but my thought is that it's more a ploy to make Ron jealous and try to get him to admit his feelings. I don't think that Hermione is the type to sit around and wait quietly - just look at her fight with Ron in GoF (one of the perfect places to show evidence of a R/H ship). I think her line "Next time there's a ball, ask me before someone else does, and not as a last resort!" (GoF, 432 U.S. paperback edition) shows that she does like Ron, and is angry that he didn't ask her. Also, in GoF, Harry states, "Ron, I haven't got a problem with Hermione coming with Krum-" (423), decisively showing that he has no interest in Hermione at this point. In my opinion, his opinions haven't changed since then, and aren't likely to in the future.
f) Boldface is from the Turambar editorial:
About the Harry/Cho relationship:
- she keeps very close tabs on their relationship
- she finds out the gossip on Cho
- she keeps bringing the subject up with Harry to find out how he's getting on and how he's feeling
My response to all of this: Well, I would do the same thing for one of my guy friends. It doesn't mean I love any of them romantically. It's just what friends do.
- she asks Harry to meet her on Valentine's Day even though Harry's having his first date with Cho
She had something important to tell him, and, as I recall, it's a Hogsmeade visit, so she really couldn't wait another month before saying anything.
- she only gives Harry advice after he's had trouble with Cho
Again, something that I would do for a friend.
g) Nothing happened between them over the summer.
Fine. I accept this wholeheartedly. My theory is that they're still both feeling too awkward to actually admit their feelings for each other. It would have been a very uncomfortable summer, but it doesn't contradict the theory that eventually something will happen.
5. Harry's feelings:
Here's a point-by-point refutation, without the bother of cut and paste from the original editorial. I think you can figure out what I'm refuting by yourself.
a. Harry is angry because he thinks his friends are getting together and having lots of fun without him, not because he really loves Hermione. He's angry because he's been sent back to the Dursleys and hasn't received letters. This isn't a progression in anything except Harry's angst levels.
b. I think this is more significant on the level of analyzing the trio psychologically, where Hermione represents reason and sense. In OotP, Hermione constantly points out reasonable points that would have kept Harry out of trouble - nagging Harry to go to Occlumency, to check that Voldemort isn't playing on his "saving-people-thing", etc. It's natural for him to hear her as the voice of reason in his mind.
c. Of all the dreams that Harry has in OotP, I don't think that's the most significant one. Harry dreams that Cho becomes Hermione, but he also dreams a lot of other weird stuff in that dream. I don't think it's foreshadowing.
d. and e. They're becoming better friends. Of course you'd feel guilt about lying to your best friend, especially if your conscience is in her voice. Also, Harry's saving-people-thing projects more into this than any romance.
f. This is selective picking out of descriptions from a several-hundred-page book.
g. They're good friends. Of course he'll defend his best friend from his crush. Harry defends Hermione precisely because there isn't anything going on between them, and he can't imagine why Cho would think so. If you'll notice, throughout the books, neither Harry nor Hermione has ever seen a relationship between them as anything but ridiculous - look at their reactions to Rita Skeeter's articles for evidence of this.
h. This is more of an anti-Ginny point than anything. Irrelevant if you think Harry's going it alone.
6. Gives examples of how Harry and Hermione do things together and grow together. I say this only shows their growing friendship, and perhaps sets the stage for a Harry/Ron rift that could occur in book 6, which I'll write another editorial on when I'm not so tired of blogging.

As Turambar says, "At this stage - the start of book six - Hermione is indisputably the most significant female friend Harry has." And things are going to stay that way. There's no need to give Harry another romance, and there's no reason why they have to fall in love. I'm not in favor of the "When Harry met Sally" theory (i.e. if you're friends at least one of you will be attracted to the other). People of the opposite sex can be very close friends with no romantic attraction whatsoever. (Part of me wonders if many H/H shippers have ever had close platonic relationships with members of the opposite sex [and sexual orientation]).
I believe that the H/H shippers have it backwards. While Hermione and Harry are friends, the real sparks of romance are between Hermione and Ron. Thus concludes this blog, which I've spent more than an hour typing.

Snape

2004-10-11T01:00:00.000-07:00

And, to end this first night of frenzied blogs, here is a post on the James/Sirius/Snape thing.

When I first read the chapter "Snape's Worst Memory," I was stunned. I'd never really had much sympathy for Snape before; in fact, I'd hated him for his random cruelty, especially his "I see no difference," comment to Hermione after Draco hexed her.
However, after this chapter, I felt sympathy for him, having been made fun of by several bitchy girls in my high school (hereafter to be "They-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named.") They-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named didn't do the open, public humiliation sort of teasing that happened to Snape, but instead who preferred to make the sort of comments that only teenage girls are capable of. Being a size 14 for most of my high school career (I was down to a size 8 junior and senior years before 2 years of various medications made me gain 35 pounds back), a rather quiet and unpopular sort, and most definitely a bona fide sci-fi geek, I was a rather easy target. You have to imagine that, as an unpopular loner, Snape was much the same way (although his interest in the Dark Arts does, from the start, rather set him apart - he's more like a Goth-type than a straightforwardly geeky-type.)
Still, I have quite a great deal of sympathy for Severus Snape. Also, like Lupin, I know what it's like to remain silent when hearing them do the same to others. It's not an easy thing to be a loner, especially when the school's most popular people make your life quite unpleasant on a semi-regular basis. Reading this chapter made me actively dislike both James and Sirius, characters who I felt much more highly of before. Now, I don't hate Sirius or James, but they'll never be my favorite characters, the former especially for the reasons that JKR posted about her own feelings for Sirius on her website, and the latter simply because he's dead and from the start, making it much harder to have him as a favorite. I agree wholeheartedly with her that Sirius doesn't practice what he preaches and that he's slightly unbalanced by his stay in Azkaban, although the "slightly unbalanced" part was also what tended to make him rather likable from my point of view. I was sad, but not overwhelmed with grief, when he died; in fact, in retrospect, it made a great deal of sense.
However, having said that, it still doesn't give me sympathy for Snape's choices in life. Our choices make us what we are, and choosing to become a Death Eater was his choice, as was choosing to study the Dark Arts in the first place. He is responsible for those choices, no matter how hellish his home life. His hatred of Harry for the sins of his father and his cruelty towards Harry's friends (and preferential treatment of his own House, Slytherin), are all further sins. I can't imagine performing the Cruciatus Curse on anything; all-consuming, all-controlling pain is something that I wouldn't wish on any person who still had any good left in them.
Being an eternal optimist, I hope that Snape's turn to the good side is genuine, and that he can be redeemed. He's obviously very emotionally damaged and somewhat twisted psychologically, but I still hope that he's good. I hope that Dumbledore's trust is well-placed and that a betrayal by Snape doesn't lead to his death. I even rather hope that Snape might someday come full-circle in his feelings towards the Potters and sacrifice himself to save Harry, although I doubt that that will happen (it's more likely that Pettigrew will, given the debt that he owes Harry.)
I've always been one for heroic, self-sacrificing character redemption, and I rather hope that Snape will prove himself before this is over. I do doubt this, partly because of JKR's comments that we shouldn't pity Snape, but I have to wonder if that's more because of the choices he made earlier in life than the ones he may make in books 6 and 7.
Given that it's now 1 am and I have a 10 am class, I need to go to bed, so I'm signing off. Expect more thoughts tomorrow, if I have time.

Lupin is not Evil! (the first real post)

2004-10-11T00:36:00.000-07:00

Now, onto the real post...
I'm going to begin by typing my thoughts about the latest Mugglenet essay which speculates on Remus Lupin, which speculates he may have fallen in with Voldemort/have connections to the dark side, thus explaining his absence from events like James's wedding, his willingness to believe in Sirius's guilt, etc. etc.
Let me say first that I love Lupin. He's absolutely and completely loveable. He's kind, studious, worn-down by years of illness, and sensible. It's going to kill me when JKR chooses to kill him (which I'm fairly certain she will, given the fate of the other Marauders and her desire to destroy most of Harry's support network.) I have to say that I feel a kind of kinship with him, since he, too, has a "chronic illness," in the form of being a werewolf. He's quiet, and has admitted that he didn't have the courage to speak up against James and Sirius when they tormented Snape. I'll probably post more on my thoughts about James, Sirius, and Snape later.
I can accept that the theory that there might have been something between Lily and Lupin, given his comments (and especially the scene in the PoA movie), although between all of the speculation that Snape, James, and Lupin all had a thing for her, there's really something about Lily. However, there are also other things that are worth pointing out:
1. After graduating from high school (Hogwarts) and moving on, you don't always keep in contact with people, even with good friends.
2. Chronic illness is wearing. It can prematurely age people, as is obvious with Lupin. It tires you out, as anyone with lupus, chronic fatigue, or migraines could point out. It also tends to distance you from friends. While this wouldn't seem to be the case with Lupin, given that his friends stuck by him so closely in Hogwarts, it is worth pointing out that you don't always spend as much time with people when you're not feeling well. It's harder to maintain ties when you're incapable of spending large quantities of time with people. Anyone ever think that Harry's rushed christening might have occurred during a full moon?
3. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Just because there's no mention of Lupin at Lily and James's wedding doesn't mean that he wasn't in attendance. However, the argument that there really was something about Lily that caused a rift between Lupin and James might hold up here.
4. However, given Lupin's enthusiastic greeting of Sirius during PoA, I don't think that the rift between them, if it did indeed occur, would have been as severe as the author of the editorial believes.
5. Lupin isn't evil. I simply refuse to believe it. Part of this is obviously because of my love of the character, but part of me refuses to believe it because he is also one of JKR's favorite characters, as stated on her website. Would she really love Lupin if he was EVIL? Besides, Lupin has shown himself to be a good man: a member of the Order of the Phoenix, likable and good-hearted. Also, to put out a plot point, it's not exactly a good thing to make your werewolf character evil if you're trying to promote general themes of tolerance and diversity. (One thing about Lupin is that you can use him to represent several things. His "people like me" speech in PoA seemed more than a little applicable to things like gay rights and possibly AIDS (especially if you look at the situation in the 1980s), and, as I've pointed out, there's an easy comparison to chronic debilitating illness.
Which brings me to one of the points that rather annoyed me. The author of the editorial states something like "When you lose all ties to everything good, you're prone to becoming evil." Speaking as someone who lost most human ties to the world for more than a month during the most serious part of an illness (and, of everyone I knew, had exactly 1 person inquire about what was wrong), you don't become evil because you're separated from your friends. While it's true that someone who has never experienced love (i.e. Tom Riddle or Snape) might become evil or join the Death Eaters looking for some form of fellowship and belonging, someone like Lupin who's fairly well-adjusted isn't going to run off and become evil because they had a fight over a girl. Evil is much more serious than that. If JKR was ever to make Lupin part of Voldemort's side, I would lose a great deal of faith in her and be incredibly disappointed. I don't think that I would be alone, given the fandom that exists for Lupin - seriously, I think there would be more grieving in fandom if Lupin died than if Hagrid did.

A Little Addendum to the First Post

2004-10-10T21:08:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention why I chose the name of Ravenclaw's resident ghost for my blog name. Well, it was a combination of things.
1. I wanted to pick a Ravenclaw name, but the two most well-known Ravenclaw names are Cho Chang and Luna Lovegood. I hate Cho Chang, and am somewhat ambivalent towards Luna, liking her when she talks to Harry at the end of The Order of the Phoenix, but often finding her annoying for the same reasons Hermione does (I told you we're a lot alike.)
2. Minor Ravenclaw girl names generally have bad associations.
a. Penelope Clearwater: Who wants to be Percy's girlfriend? Ewwww.
b. Marietta Edgecombe: The sneak? Even worse.
3. Very minor listed Ravenclaws just weren't me.
a. Padma Patil - I'm not Indian, and I don't have a sister.
b. Fawcett - While I could pretend to be the unknown Fawcett who Snape docks points from, this was actually a typo, corrected in later editions.
Flitwick is male, and Rowena Ravenclaw is just too long to type on a regular basis (besides, I don't really like the name "Rowena", so I chose the resident ghost.
Besides, according to the HP Lexicon, the Grey Lady gave up on men because she couldn't find one who met her standards. I'm very picky. :-)

Introduction

2004-10-10T20:44:00.000-07:00

Here's a further introduction to who I am, since the profile can't introduce me entirely.
I'm a student at the University of Michigan, double majoring in Cell and Molecular Biology and Classical Civilization (i.e. the biology of very small parts of the body and the ancient Greeks and Romans. To the inevitable question "What are you going to do with this?", I say "pharmacy school." The Classic Civ stuff is just for fun.)
Which brings me to more things that I enjoy. I like to read, especially fantasy/sci-fi novels and non-fiction in the areas of science and history, especially ancient and medieval history. Generally, if it's after 1900 AD, it doesn't really interest me; I'm not a military history fan. Battles tend to bore me. It's how people lived and what they believed that interests me. I also like to read about early forms of Christianity and some theology (I'm Catholic.)
I have a great many medical issues, the coolest of which is definitely hyperflexibility (especially in my knees and elbows) and the least cool is definitely the constant, 24 hour-a-day one-sided migraine I've had since January 2003. I've had all sorts of medications, more than a few nerve blocks, a radiofrequency ablation of the nerve, and a 2-week hospitalization. I'm much more functional now than I was second half of senior year of high school (during which I wasn't), and a lot better than last year. I mention this because it'll probably feature into some of my later posts, especially about HP.
Which leads me to the weirdest thing about me: I'm bionic. Literally. As part of a migraine trial, I have a device called a bion implanted, which runs an electrical pulse through my right occipital nerve. Yay for Stage II FDA trials! It's helped a lot, although the downside to this is that I have to charge every day for about 2-2.5 hours on a special pillow.
Here's a little more in-depth about my specific interests, the ones I have listed:

Harry Potter: My favorite books are Prisoner of Azkaban and Order of the Phoenix, although I love the introduction to the wizarding world in Sorcerer's Stone. I am definitely a Ravenclaw, being a classically geeky Honors student, and am rather like Hermione (even to the point of having abnormally large front teeth, which are still large even though I had them reduced in size by an orthodontist in middle school.) My favorite characters are Hermione and Lupin; my second-favorites Fred and George. My favorite new characters are Tonks and (the real) Moody. I have to say, if I could live in any fantasy world, this would be the one.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: I watched Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager, as well (and the first season of Enterprise, which I gave up on), and love this series the best of all the TV series of Star Trek. My favorite characters are Ezri (neurotic! talks a mile an hour like me! yes!), Garak, Kira, Jadzia, and Odo. (I pretty much like them all.) Deep Space Nine has coherent story telling, extended plot arcs, and female characters who kick a--, and it wasn't afraid to be dark or kill its characters. After DS9, I like TNG, my favorite characters being Data and Worf, but upon rewatching the series, it isn't quite as consistent in quality as I remember. I also love the fact that there are a ton of minor characters, many of which I like a lot (Martok, Tain, etc. etc.) and who were developed over the course of many seasons. Best of all was that there were characters who built in complexity and strong female characters who remained consistent in character (always something of importance to me, and one of the reasons that TNG could never be my favorite Star Trek series. Troi and Crusher...ick, especially to the former.) Deep Space Nine is just...the best Star Trek series ever.

Star Trek: New Frontier: Not to say that these novels don't kick a-- as well. I love Peter David books, especially Sir Apropos of Nothing, Q-in-Law (the last few chapters possibly being the best few chapters of any Star Trek novel in any series) and these novels; his humor is great. Favorite characters: Soleta, Calhoun, Kebron. These books are great.

Lord of the Rings: I like the books and movies, and am convinced that the Extended Edition Return of the King will be the best of all of the movies. Favorite characters: Faramir, Merry, Eowyn. I love Aragorn for his complete and total rugged hotness.

I will get around to writing about all of these things eventually.