spieling and rambles await here...

Nader for '08! Yeah!

2008-03-07T22:59:00.001-06:00

I Love this Poem

2008-01-21T18:10:00.000-06:00

"When I Have Fears that I May Cease to Be" by John Keats

When I have fears that I may cease to be

Before my pen has gleaned my teeming brain,

Before high-piled books, in charactery,

Hold like rich gardens the full-ripened grain;

When I behold, upon the night's starred face,

Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,

And think that I may never live to trace

Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;

And when I feel, fair creature of the hour!

That I shall never look upon thee no more,

Never have relish in the faery power

Of unreflecting love; then on the shore

Of the wide world I stand alone, and think

Till love and fame to nothingness do sink.

I'm a Bad, Bad Blogger

2008-01-17T08:11:00.002-06:00

Ahh, it's been a month or so since I've posted. Almost a month. Something like that. Ugh, sorry. Funny thing is I don't have time to blog right now either so I just wanted to tell you quickly while waiting for me to blog next (which will be soon - I promise) to check out JOSH ROYSE on youtube. He is officially my new favorite musician and he isn't even signed or anything. But yeah. Check him out. Seriously.Argh, I'm having trouble copying links for some reason so I can't post links , but type in his last name on youtube and you'll find him. My favorite songs of his are...

"By the Way, I love you"

"Two Sides, Dear"

"Swear You Won't"

"Run to You" (this is actually a cover)

Anything, yeah, I WILL BLOG SOON.

EDIT: I just realized that this was my 100th post. YAY!!! Okay, that's all.

A (Not as) Massive (as I thought) Update

2007-12-17T13:05:00.000-06:00

I have like a thousand things to update on. Let me see if I can remember everything. I promise I will have more frequent updates- I'm on Christmas break so I have three weeks of free time- woot!

Okay. I'm starting the updating...now.

NaNoWriMo. Wow. I had my mushy-gushy post over on my NaNo '07 blog, but let me again say here how unbelievable November was. I feel as if I have learned something new as a writer and that now my writing can mature from consistency of that month. Now, mind you, I unfortunately haven't written another word since November 29th (I finished a day early!!) but I plan to...I do plan to. Keep talking to me about it and then I will feel motivated to, I'm sure. Pressure always helps too, lol. Whatever needs to be done to get my butt writing!

So I watched the Titanic twice during November. I am like utterly obsessed now. It's such a cute movie. I love it. Don't make fun of me, lol. I hear the mocking laughter now.

Speaking of movies, I have been watching a ton of movies lately so let me list some of the ones I've seen recently and comment a little bit.

- Catch Me If You Can - I LOVED it. It was awesome. Definitely a movie I'll rewatch.

- Man in the Iron Mask- Eh. It was all right. I'll never watch it again. Leonardo was in it so I was happy to watch it, but it wasn't a great movie. I think I fell asleep in the middle.

- Loves Comes Softly- This is such a cute movie! It's a western romance set in like pioneer times kind of and it's just really simple and romantic. It's one of those movies that I can rewatch a lot and it doesn't get old really.

- Loves Enduring Promise - This is the sequel to Loves Comes Softly. This is about the daughter, Missie. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. I just adore how simple these movies are!! They are so romantic though! And Nate/Will - ah *dies*. He's adorable. Missie and him are adorable. The next movie is "Love's Abiding Joy." I'll be watching that soon.

- The Aviator - I was so confused during this movie, you have no idea. It probably didn't help that I was watching it only at night while falling asleep but these movies confused the heck outta me. It was okay. It might have been better if I had understood it. It had its good parts though.

That's all the movies I can remember. What else...

I got a Borders gift card from my lovely Uncle Glen and Aunt Febe. :) I purchased a box set of the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman. It's actually the linked set exactly. I also got The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor. I've already started the Golden Compass. I'm on chapter six, page 87. It's really absorbing! I love it so far. It really sucks you in. Pullman writes brilliantly. I'm amazed at how silly people are being over all this controversy that the book is apparently causing. People need to get over it. Don't even get me started about it. Those of you who have talked to me recently knows how worked up I get about censorship over books. Ugh. When I'm done with the trilogy, I'll be posting a major book review/rant about idiotic followers who despise the books.

Okay, moving on.

Meg will be here in like...9 days!! (Is that right? The 26th?)

I'm excited! We're going to have so much fun!

I know I have so much more to talk about, but I'm blanking right now so I'll have to blog again

when I remember!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Update soon

2007-12-02T20:39:00.001-06:00

NaNoWriMo is over and I have regained my sanity once more. Major update soon; promise. :)

NaNoWriMo has eaten my soul.

2007-11-07T17:53:00.000-06:00

NaNoWriMo has eaten my soul. When I get it back, I'll blog again. Sorry and check back after November!

Until then, you can check out my NaNo blog @ catherinesnano07.blogspot.com where I'll be babbling about writing - if you're interested. :)

by the brilliant lj user et13_icons

Book Updates

2007-10-29T21:17:00.000-05:00

Yay! Amber and Blood will be released in May 2008! I am SO excited for this book. The rest of the series was spectacular. The end of Amber and Iron was just completely shocking and I can't wait to see how this book is going to be. It's going to be amazing. If you've never read the Dragonlance books, siriusly go read them. They're awesome. Here is the first trilogy. <---- click

Speaking of Dragonlance....I'm rereading Dragons of Autumn Twilight by M. Weis and T. Hickman. I love seeing the things I've missed since reading it. I love rereading favorites.

I'm also in the middle of reading The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. It's a brilliant book.

Really interesting and shows you a whole different side to things. Go check it out. It's worth the time.

Sense and Sensibility is going well too. It's divided into three volumes. I'm done with the first one. I haven't read it in two days so I probably should read a couple chapters tonight.

Oh and Beowulf is AWESOME. I'm on line 1400. I've been reading about 300-400 lines a day. It's a much easier read than I anticipated.

Gotta get back to transcribing- I just needed a break.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

icon by the amazing lj user ets13_icons

2007-10-29T08:35:00.000-05:00

THE RED SOX WON THE WORLD SERIES!

SQUEE!!!!!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Bad Fanfics I

2007-10-27T20:08:00.000-05:00

You know when you come across a really stupid Harry Potter fanfic and it's so stupid that it becomes funny and you practically cry? Well babb_chronicles helps you to do this. They gather really stupid Harry Potter fanfic so you can squirt milk out of your nose as you read. Here are some that made me do just that:

****

The Dark Lord clears his throat and everyone stops yapping and looks at him. "Yesterday was a crappy day, you all agree?"

****

The Dark Lord gives me one of his mind reading stares. "I see," he says finally."You see what?""You evesdropping." He doesn't looked to pissed off about it, which is a good thing."Yeah." I glance at him. "Sorry about that. I just wanted to see what was happening.""I know." There is a very long pause. "I know," he repeats."I know you know," I say and sit next to him on the floor in front of the bed. He looks at me warmly."I know you know I know.""I know you know I know you know."

****

“I’ll buy the food. How about Fortescue’s Ice Cream? I hear it’s wonderful.” Draco asked. Rayne smiled, and nodded. He held out his arm as though carting her. They skipped all the way to Fortescue’s

****

ok your name is piper. you are harry potter's sister but you don't know you are yet lol you have jet black hair and you have one grey eyes thats your left and your right eyes is green your green eyes has a red lightening bolt in the middle in it.kewl huh lol.umm you have quite an attitude you wear a black shirt with black pants you have a pet but it's like a fox big red eyes and a dimond shape on it's forehead but i has 3 tails (me:imagin that lol) and it's name is kilala. sorry if my spelling is bad but i hope you can figure out the words lol oh one more thing you don't know your last name yet because you've always been alone you never had anyone or lived with anyone.

****

“Man, Lucius,” grumbled Rodolphus “Why do you always suggest the most retardests things?”“Because it’s fun!” he squealed

****

and my favorite of tonight...*cries from laughing*

“We shouldn’t talk about it here, call everyone a tell them to get on the chat room.”

(...)Bella-madness: OK guys I’m pregnant

Dolohov: Crucio-craze: WHAT!!!

imperioinsane377: YAY I’m GONNA BE A GODFATHER

Black curse124: This is gonna be sooo much fun

Babygurl906: Bella sweetie I’m gonna send you a list of bad food OK cupcake

Sassybabe: oh yes I remember I gave you a list when you were pregnant

Bella-madness: Ok I’ve got it. OH YES CISSY, MILK DANGEROUS(...)

Most-evilest-man-evers: this won’t affect ur work will it

Bella-madness: no, voldemort the fact that I’m growing a child in my stomach will not affect u in any way

Blogaversary

2007-10-27T17:37:00.000-05:00

Today is my blogaversary. This day last year I started this lame thing. Just about nothing's changed. Harry Potter and Dragonlance still have hold of my ♥. PotterCast is still just as awesome. I've seen some pretty cool new movies since last year. And I became a more interesting blogger I think. Oh and I changed my email address since then. Oh yeah, and the most obvious one -- I actually kept up on it. Except for during the summer, I did a pretty good job on keeping up on this blog. You know what else has changed? I got blog numero dos. My NaNo blog. So actually I have now been keeping up on TWO blogs; which is pretty impressive if you ask me. This is like the first time EVER I've kept up on anything like a journal or whatever. Yeah.

Well, Happy Blogaversary to me.

Cheers to another year of blogging.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

icon by lj user ofthe_sky

HP Friday Five (#4?)

2007-10-26T17:43:00.000-05:00

1. Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley?

Diagon Alley! So much more fun I think.

2. The Gringotts trip in Book 1 or the Gringotts trip in Book 7?

GRINGOTTS TRIP IN BOOK 7!! That'd be awesome!

3. Viktor Krum or Fleur Delacour?

Err...Krum I suppose. Fleur's okay. She can be annoying sometimes.

4. Centaurs or Goblins?

Centaurs.

5. Tom Riddle or Voldemort?

Tom Riddle. Cuter and slightly less evil. XD

Must See Movies Coming Out Soon

2007-10-24T21:11:00.000-05:00

Movies Coming Out Soon That I Want to See

Beowulf - November 16, 2007
Enchanted - November 21st, 2007
The Golden Compass - December 7th, 2007

Sweeney Todd - December 21st, 2007

Anyone have any suggestions of movies that I might want to see?

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

icon by lj user misunderstood_b

The Red Sox -- First WS Game

2007-10-24T19:49:00.000-05:00

Wishing my Red Sox GOOD LUCK on tonight's game! GO RED SOX!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

icon by lj user isiscaughey

Books...but most importantly...THE DL TRAILER

2007-10-23T08:58:00.001-05:00

I watched the movie Wuthering Heights over the weekend. It was awesome.

I really don't have time to blog, but I wanted to update.

I started reading Beowulf too. Sense and Sensibility is going well. I'm on chapter 21? or 22. I can't recall.

Erm...OH! THE DL MOVIE TRAILER IS OUT!!! *spazzes out* It's not what I had imagined, but then again, what is? The dragons and draconians look amazing. The characters are ehh...okay. I don't love them, but I've seen worse, siriusly. The voice of Raistlin- I could fangirl Kiefer Sutherland for doing that voice, XD. Go check it out. The link to the DLC website is over >>>> there. Maybe one day in the future, the movie will be "live action" or whatever you call it, but until then, a cartoon is cool. I can't wait.

Check my other blog if you're reading my NaNo stuff - I updated it.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

icon by lj user rictusempra___

2007-10-22T10:09:00.000-05:00

THE RED SOX ARE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES.

* VICTORY DANCE*

GO SOX!

2007-10-21T19:51:00.000-05:00

GO RED SOX!!! (It's top of the second; 1 to 0.) They win this game, they're going to the WORLD FREAKING SERIES!!

GO SOX!!!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

icon by lj user ets13_icons

NaNoWriMo '07 Blog

2007-10-18T13:27:00.000-05:00

I've created a new blog for NaNoWriMo. You can go to it here. It's pretty easy to remember. It's just: catherinesnano07.blogspot.com. That's it, lol. I just thought it would be easier to have a seperate NaNo blog. Plus, then I won't bore my non-NaNo friends/readers/family with crazy NaNo talk. So go check it out if you want. This will still be my regular blog and everything else will go here, but if it's concerning NaNoWriMo or if I want to post little tidbits from my NaNo, then it will go on the other blog. Got it? Great.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I'm sorry, but I don't know who created the icon. Whoever made it, YOU'RE AWESOME. Contact me if you know you made it.

Wrocking Around the Bathroom Stall... singing

2007-10-16T13:58:00.000-05:00

Hey all,

I've outlined up to chapter ten on my NaNo. I'll outline chapter ten and eleven sometime later today. I've outlined just enough so I know what I'm doing and the general feelings of the chapters, but have given myself room to change things and just kinda go with my muse, you know? I am really looking forward to NaNoWriMo. It's going to be so much fun.

Leaky's "Jingle Spells" CD is freaking awesome. I want it so badly!!! I love Whompy's "Oh! Christmas Tree". It makes me laugh so hard. And Nina and Lauren's "Wrocking Around the Bathroom Stall" is really cute. I love their voices together. They're awesome. Oh and Alex's "Christmas with the Weasleys (Or What You Will)" is amazing. I love his voice. I gotta get this CD. Oh, and for those who don't know, all the profits go to Book Aid International. So, it's for a good cause. :)

I've been doing yoga every morning as soon as I wake up and like ten minutes before I'm going to bed. It's relaxing.

What have all of you guys been up to?

School went well for me today. I did a geometry lesson. I only missed two questions, I think. I did a bunch of PSAT practice. (Which I'm taking this Saturday; wish me luck!) I read a few chapters in ancient history. I finished up the tale of the Odyssey in Classic Myths. NaNoWriMo'ing counts as creative writing for me so I did at least 2.5 hrs of that. Then, I practiced vocab words. I still have a history outline, health, marine biology, Italian, and some reading left to do. I do weekly history essays and I've decided to do mine on either the tale of the Illiad or the Odyssey. Haven't decided which one yet. Speaking of stuff to do, I have a transcription for PotterCast due tomorrow. I almost forgot, woops.

Well....I guess I better get back to work. I'll blog again soon. :)

Comments are ♥ ♥ ♥

icon by LJ user uberswankified

Red Sox

2007-10-12T10:46:00.001-05:00

The Red Sox/Indians series begins tonight. WOOT! GO RED SOX!!!!!!

Updates

2007-10-10T13:10:00.000-05:00

My NaNo planning is going awesomely well. I said in an earlier blog that I had come up with a plot, but I woke up this morning with a full-fledged idea that I had to get out and I just started typing and came up with an even better plot!! I am so thrilled. I have a couple of sub-plots all figured out and I know how the story is going to play out now. I've briefly outlined the first five chapters and I have all of my character developments typed up. I finally came up with a villain, but I haven't gone too much into detail with him. I came up with two secondary characters. One male, one female. I haven't explored their personalities a lot, but I know their relationships with the main character pretty well. I know my main character upside and backwards I think, but I'm sure she'll be a little different once I actually start writing. I have my map fully drawn out and I have the different cultures spread out. I have a couple of awesome subplots that I came up with back in September, but I'm not sure how I can bring them into my story. The ones that work with my story are good subplot material, but I just really like some of the other stuff I came up with. I think I may just hold them off until book 2 though. I'm thinking I can write one chapter a day, having a total of 30 chapters, writing anywhere from at least 1,667 to 2,000 words a day. That sounds good. I'm going to try to write double that during Thanksgiving break that way I have some room for slow days. Sorry for all the NaNo blabbing. It's like the majority of my thoughts right now, lol.

Moving on to another topic...

I REALLY want to see Across the Universe. It's a musical and I'm such a sucker for musicals. Plus it's a romance and a little political/historical. This is a musical made for me. I gotta go see this when it comes out.

I bought a new book this past weekend. It's called the Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce. It's a stand-alone novel that it supposed to begin two years after the Circle of Magic and The Circle Opens series. It says that someone can read this book and still understand everything so I think I'm just going to do that and then go get those other two series. It seems like a really good book. I'll read it after I read a Game of Thrones (which I'm reading next).

I'll blog again soon. :)

A Haiku

2007-10-09T19:04:00.000-05:00

Here is my haiku.
I am not good these things.
I like limericks.

by Catherine (copywright 2007, baby!)

NaNo Updates

2007-10-04T14:39:00.000-05:00

Yay!! I finally have come up with a plot...for the most part. I still have a few holes that I need to err un-hole and I need to come up with a better evilest villian *cue muahahahah's* cause I'm having a bit o' trouble with the guy. Or girl. Let me have a vote. Should my antagonist be male or female?? Post in the comments. Oh, but my MC is a girl so does that matter or not?

Here's another thing I'm having a problem with: magic. I can't decide on how I want magic to work. I don't want it to be like these other fantasy novels but my goodness it's hard coming up with something. I don't want to do the HP thing and do the whole teaching spells and stuff. I don't want to do the DL thing and have magic from the gods or whatever. I don't want to do the Eragon thing with the whole ancient words and pulling magic from the stuff around you. I just don't know where it could come from.

I gotta get back to math. Byyyyye. :)

Poetry

2007-10-03T12:28:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I had to write a poem for english. I usually write "free form" *cough* cause I can't ever rhyme AND make it make sense at the same time, but erm...today I had to write a rhyming poem in ABBA ABBA form. This is what happened:

ME: (decides to do a poem on languages)

"Ciao, bonjour, hello."
"It's all the same."

Crap, what rhymes with 'same'...aim, lame, shame, err...

"When you are playing the language game."

"Si, nem, and no."

Okay, now something that rhymes with 'no'....darn.
"Do you like Van Gogh?" Yeah no. "Let's go to the dog show!" No.... "It's gonna snow!" *sighs*

"It's words they all know." (<< that's the one I actually ended up using)

Yeah. Poetry isn't my thing.

PS: This isn't the whole poem. Believe me when I say you don't want to see the rest, lol.

NaNoWriMo Blabber and Books

2007-10-03T09:07:00.001-05:00

A little less than a month until NaNoWriMo. I've been constantly on the NaNo forums and trying to get all inspired, but my plot is just not coming to me. I know how I want it to end and some random things in the middle and I have my main character down pretty much, but plot, meh. I didn't get any NaNo planning done last night and I meant too. I'll have to do a lot today. I need to get some of my government and politics figured out. I need to just finish all of my MC's background. I haven't even started thinking supporting characters yet. I'll try to finish up that stuff today. Tomorrow I'll try to figure out different religions and a magic system. November is going to be crazy. I can't wait. Oh yeah, is anyone else doing this with me??? *doesn't want to be alone*

I finished Among the Brave by Margaret Haddix. It was a super quick read, but you know, it was really good. Much more exciting than all the other books in the series. I'll start Among the Enemy soon.

Sense and Sensibility is going okay. I'm only on like chapter 6. I tend to be a slow Jane Austen reader. It's not that I don't like it, cause I do, it just takes me longer to get through them. It's good so far though.

One more thing before I go... check out Garden State's soundtrack. It's awesome. I've been listening to it all morning. I'm gonna get back to school, but I'll blog soon.

Dilemma

2007-09-28T15:50:00.000-05:00

I've been following the "30 days of World Building" which is made especially for NaNo writers and I'm on day 7 which is constructing a timeline of the last 100 years (but I'm doing the last 250 years because of the way I have set up the different ages). I'm stuck. I've done the usual kingdom and empire conquering and famine and whatever but I need some other random events. Can you guys help me? Just give me some random stuff that might have happened. Doesn't matter if it's political, educational, discoveries, whatever. I just need some ideas. I'm feeling a little burned out. Throw stuff out to me. :)

EDIT (saturday, 29th) : I figured it out. Screw the timeline. XD

Books

2007-09-28T11:11:00.000-05:00

I finished Over Sea, Under Stone this morning. It was really, really good. I want to get the next two books as soon as I can. There's this revelation at the end when one of the children realizes something, but doesn't tell anyone about it. It kinda leaves you hanging.

I had a hard time choosing what to read next. I was trying to decide between A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, or Trail of the Black Wyrm by Chris Pierson. I decided to read Sense and Sensibility next though.

I found out that there are more books in the Shadow Children series. I used to read those when I was in 6th and 7th grade. Then, just recently, I stumbled upon the last three books that weren't around when I had been reading them. I just have to read them. I want to know what happens. So, I'll also be reading Among the Brave today and probably finish by Sunday (hopefully I'll have time). They're quick reads. It's a good series though. I remember first reading them in 6th grade language arts class and then I liked them so much that I read the rest of them. There's a total of seven books now I think. There were only four out when I first started reading them.

Gotta get back to school. :)

Long Time, No See

2007-09-26T15:43:00.000-05:00

It's been practically forever since I've posted, I know. It's been hectic since the summer and Leaky and now school work and just that lapse after the end of Harry Potter and then....err, real life? Yeah, it's been busy. But I'd thought I'd pick up my blog again and just blog when I can. So this will be a major update. Let's see...

Deathly Hallows. Unbelieveable. No words can describe how emotional reading that book was. Words won't do the book justice so I won't say anything more.

I just finished Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. It was really good. One of my favorites I think. I don't think I liked the ending though. Loved everything inbetween, but the ending...eh. It was all right. I can think of a thousand different ways that it could have ended. Personally, I like my endings better. But Emily Bronte is a bloody brilliant writer. Her writing really flows and pulls you into it.

I've just begun Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper. I'm on chapter 6 I believe. It's really good so far. It's about these three kids, Simon, Jane, and Barney who find a map in the attic of an old house that they're staying in for a month. I really don't know much more than that so far. They have this strange uncle that disappears randomly at weird times. He'll just like drive off and not turn up until the next day and avoids questions and you just know he's hiding something. The book reminds me of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe a little bit.

I finally made myself an Amazon wishlist. I started it last month or so. I don't remember exactly when. Here's my little profile thing and then my lists are on the side, but you have to click them to get the full thing. I have 181 books, as of now, on my general book wishlist, but I have a seperate Dragonlance book wishlist with 66 books on it. So, if you like the same books as I do, you might wanna check it out.

The trailer for Dragons of Autumn Twilight was released at Gen Con. I was hoping it was going to surface online, but it hasn't yet. Shots from the movie as well as the "elven hymn prayer" that Tracy Hickman wrote for it is online. You can see it at the DLC website. We also have out several podcasts about Gen Con and you can hear all about the trailer on episode 9. I'm not on the couple of recent ones because they've been all about Gen Con. But check them out.

I'm participating in NaNoWriMo which stands for National Novel Writing Month. Except it's actually international, lol. It's in November. I'm so excited for it. I've been doing a bunch of plot notes and character building and world building and etc. I'm really looking forward to it. For those who don't know exactly how it works...You sign up starting October 1st and starting November 1st through November 30th, you are challenged to write 50,000 words which equals about 175 pages. It's basically a bunch of "rush writing." There's no stopping, deleting, or correcting. You just write. I think it's going to be a really good experience. If you're interested, contact me. It'd be nice to have a few people doing it with me just for encouragement and to talk to them about it. Maybe go out and have coffee while tearing our hair out because we don't know what to write next. Yeah. That sounds good. Go to http://www.nanowrimo.org/ if you want more info.

I've fallen in love with Michael Bublé's music. It's awesome. Do you listen to it? Oh and I've been listening to Taylor Swift everyday. Go ahead and laugh. I know what you're thinking. "I thought you said you hate skshfaslkj country music?!" but I PROMISE I STILL DO. Except for her. I like her music. It's very Carrie Underwood-ish except younger. And yes, I like Carrie Underwood too. Shut up. Have I expressed to anyone how much I love the Hairspray soundtrack? Well, I do. I loooove it. It's fun. Oh and I love that new Maroon 5 song. What's it called? "Wake Up Call" ? Is that it? I think it is. And I love that Rooney song, "When did your heart go missing?" It's catchy.

Has anyone read those books about Anne Boleyn by Philippa Gregory? I think the first is called "The Other Boleyn Girl" but there's several of them. Has anyone read Outlander by Diana Gabaldon? I'm really wanting to read it. It looks really good. Throw out book suggestions to me people. I'm constantly adding on to my book wishlist. I'm trying to think of other books I want to read to see if any one of you guys have maybe read it...The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield anyone? I thought it looked interesting.

OH! Speaking of books...
Robert Jordan passed away on September 16th. He was best known for his fantasy series called the Wheel of Time (11 books but was working on the 12th). He died of some rare disease. I have been wanting to read his book series for a little while now, but had been waiting until the whole HP shabang was over. My heart goes out for all of his family and friends and devout fans. I can't fathom how I'd feel if like Jo passed away with a half-written Book 7. Can you imagine what that'd be like? It's just so...heart breaking really. I'm just hoping his last book will be published somehow.

I'm eagerly awaiting the last (correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought it was the last) Gemma Doyle book. The book is called The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray. It comes out the day after Christmas. I can't wait. I loved the first two books.

I've been reading Not on our Watch: The Misson to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond and it's just really eye-opening. I first heard about Darfur and the genocide going on there through a special edition podcast with the Harry Potter Alliance that was released through PotterCast. Go here to download the episode and read the show notes. I really liked the episode and it's gotten me to explore what's actually happening in Darfur and I encourage those who don't know what's going on to listen to the podcast (although, it's geared towards Harry Potter fans) or pick up the book I listed above or even just research it.

Well, my mom made egg rolls and rice for dinner so I'm going to go eat. :) Be prepared for more spiels soon.

I figured something out.

2007-07-20T12:11:00.001-05:00

Santa has a Horcrux.

"Ickle Firsties"

2007-07-07T14:34:00.000-05:00

So, my sister, Emily, and I were watching GoF and Emily says,

"You know what? Ickle Firsties doesn't make an appearance in the movies. He's mentioned in the books a lot more though."

(She's been reading HP lately.)

I didn't know whether she was pulling my leg or not so I was like half-laughing, asking her if she was kidding and she's just staring at me like "what?!" and then I told her it wasn't a person, they were just the little first years and it was so funny. It doesn't sound very funny written out like this, but I swear it was. Oh man. I love Emily. Ickle Firsties. Hahahaha.

Load of Questions

2007-06-27T13:40:00.000-05:00

1. What is your favorite Book 7 theory?

Oh man, I have so many favorites. I'm a big fan of the whole "Snape is going to sacrifice himself" theory. I also like Angela's (she was interviewed on PC) time turner theory.

2. Which movie soundtrack do you like best and why?

The PoA and GoF soundtracks are my favorites. Dunno why, I just like them.

3. How long do you plan to spend reading DH?

I have extremely conflicted emotions about this. In one hand, I just want to know what the heck happens. I've been reading these books since 3rd grade and I really want to know! But, then again, I'm not reading for this to end. I love the fandom and the friends I've met through the fandom and the theories and the podcasts and just the incredible interaction between us fans and I'm just not ready to see this fandom slowly die out. I want to know if Harry lives or dies. I want to know if Snape is good or evil. I want to know if Harry and Ginny get married. (Which they kinda have to get married now because on this family tree I made for the Potters, there is now room for Ginny so it kinda has to happen.) But ugh. LOL, back to the original question...I don't know how long it will take. There. There's an answer.

4. If you could have any character for a LiveJournal friend, who would it be?

Hahaha...err...Madame Pince.

5. Have you ever had a teacher/professor that reminded you of a Hogwarts professor? How?

The closest teacher I've had would have been my physco, crazed 6th grade teacher (for three weeks, until I moved classes, XD) whose name I won't say, but she kinda reminds me of Pro. Trelawney. My teacher was completely off her rocker. Like Trelawney. Except, instead of looking at nonsense tea leaves, we had to write an essay on a toothpick. Yes, a toothpick. Like I said, she was crazed.

Oooh yeah. My mom reminds me strongly of Molly Weasley so that would be my second answer. :)

For each question choose one character and explain why you chose them. Who would you like to...

1. Have dinner with?

Luna Lovegood. She'd keep me entertained.

2. Share an apartment with?

Ginny Weasley! I just think she'd be a bunch of fun to hang out with.

3. Be locked in a jail cell with?

Sirius cause he's already escaped before. Plus he's cool.

4. Go camping with?

Fred and George. They'd make it fun.

5. Go on a date with?

Oh jeez this is hard. Cedric is my number one choice. Teenage Sirius is second. How about both? Can I do that?

Would you rather...

1. Work with dragons or treasure hunt for Gringott's?

Treasure hunt. I just think it'd be more fun. Not that I don't like dragons cause I think I would, but I just think I'd like treasure hunting more. It's more appealing to me.
2. Spend a day with the Order of the Phoenix or Dumbledore's Army?

With the Order.

3. Visit Dumbledore's office or Snape's dungeon?

Dumbledore's office. He has so many cool things in his office and I would love to find out what some of them do. Plus his pensieve is in there. O_o

4. Give an old school detention to Filch or Umbridge?

UMBRIDGE. If there's a character in ANY book series that I just can't stand, it's her.

5. Have an Invisibility Cloak or a Time Turner?

Time turner all the way. I would just love that thing I think.

Kentucky Fried CRUELTY

2007-06-15T16:26:00.001-05:00

Haven't posted in a while, but I found this and thought you all might be interested...

Watch more videos at KentuckyFriedCruelty.com

im totally spazzing right now

2007-05-07T15:56:00.000-05:00

Harry and the Potters are coming to Nashville.

I CANT BELIEVE IT. BUT AHHH IM SO FREAKING EXCITED!!!!! I've felt like I've missed out on so many things and now with the possibility of going to Terminus '08 in Chicago next summer and now the HatP concert, this is just going to be completely awesome. It's things like this that is going to make this summer (and next summer, if I get to go to Terminus) unforgettable.

So, who wants to go with me?

EDIT: AND ZOMG THE POTTERCAST TRIO WILL BE HAVING A LIVE PODCAST THREE HOURS AWAY ON JULY 16TH AND I AM SO GOING. AHHH!!! WOW.

(should have posted about that earlier but I was too excited to calm down xD)

Episode 4 of DLC!!

2007-05-03T10:53:00.000-05:00

This episode is a discussion on the recent announcement that Wizards of the Coast has chosen to not renew the Dragonlance RPG license with Margaret Weis Production. I know, I know, we mentioned in episode 3 that this would be about the Heroes of the Lance, but with this recent development we felt we needed to address that instead. We’ll come back to the Heroes in a later episode.

In this episode you’ll hear what this means for MWP and the fans. You’ll also here another part of Tal’s State of the Lance and Dragonalnce’s 5 year cycle. It put’s the recent events in perspective and shows that this is not the death knell for Dragonlance. We then move on and talk about we as fans can do to keep Dragonlance alive. This episode is focused on the gaming license but it’s chock full of history of Dragonlance’s history as a product. Enjoy!

(copied from www.dlcanticle.com cause I don't feel like typing my own description xD)

But SIRIUSLY check it out! This is big news in the DL fandom and it's great to hear the passion that these people have for Dragonlance.

Oh and I wasn't in the episode because I was terribly busy that day.

Go to www.dlcanticle.com and listen or just subscribe on iTunes!

(i'll blog more sooooon)

Visual DNA

2007-04-23T20:03:00.001-05:00

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

zomg!

2007-04-17T10:53:00.000-05:00

MY ELF SHIRT ARRIVED YESTERDAY AND ZOMG I LOVE IT!!!!!

That's all.

Lotsa Stuff

2007-04-13T16:37:00.000-05:00

Ahh okay. Thought I might as well post since I don't have anything better to do. : / And sorry for not posting because I've been uber lazy about it. AND SOMEONE BUGGED ME TO BLOG SO UM YEAH>

Episode three of the Dragonlance Canticle is now out! (I'm probably the reason it was late, by the way, XD) So go to http://www.dlcanticle.com/ to check it out! Here's a little bit of what's on this episode:
- Trivia about the elves: Did you know the answer?
- Tal shares his State of the Lance (part 1)
- A review (by Trampas, I think?) on the new DL book, Alliance
- "To Prestige Class or Not?" - DL Adventures
- Emails from John Shank, Trent, and "hello" from the DL forums. And I want to especially thank Trent and "hello" for sending short emails because John S.'s email just about killed me. O_o (I'm kidding; don't send me hate mail)

Email us at podcast@dlnexus.com but only send us your short emails (ok, ok, you're welcome to send long emails, but you can know, before you send it, that I will most likely be struggling for a good two hours trying to pronounce stuff until I can reach someone on Skype. You know what! People should send in pronunciation guides next to all the hard words! Yeah! Go do that!)

Go listen to it! It's an excellent episode! (I totally haven't listened to it yet. Shame, shame.)

OH! If anyone wants to make a banner for The Dragonlance Canticle, so I can put one on my blog, that would be mega cool. So cool that I have to use a word like 'mega'. So, send your banners to squeefulslytherin@gmail.com XD

I'm seriously thinking about switching over to livejournal. I know more people over there. What do you think?? Only thing I hate is that I don't want to pay for a "paid account" and so I'll have to have stupid adds on my page and that's sucky. Hmm...I dunno yet.

Okay, so I was walking down the stairs thinking about...well, nothing really, and all the sudden I had a story idea and I practically had a spasm attack on the staircase and rushed downstairs to grab a piece of paper and scrawl out the barely legible ideas. Anyway, I don't feel like explaining the story idea here cause I get paranoid so if you want to know, email me or call me. But, my point in telling you this was because I ditched my last story idea and I had been thinking about starting up something new and I hadn't been able to come up with anything until I was walking down the stairs...yeah. It's weird how things come to you sometimes.

I've been a bad Grey's Anatomy fan. I've missed the last two episodes. *hides* CATCH ME UP. OMG AND I MISSED LAST NIGHTS EPISODE!! ARGH! I TOTALLY FORGOT!

Speaking of TV shows, zomgLOST! Kk, I was really starting to like Juliet and adjfasjskgj I can't believe she's on the Others side. AND SAWYER AND KATE SQUEEEE!! SAWYER'S FACE WAS JUST TOO CUTE WHEN HE SAW KATE!!!! AWW!! I just love Skate! Umm, what else? I wanna know what's up with Locke. I was actually feeling sorry for Jack because of the whole Juliet thing. Oh and if people can't have babies on the island, what's gonna happen to Sun?? Is she just going to have to take the meds or what? OR DIE MAYBE?!

I'm gonna go on youtube or something so bye! Comment please!!! x)

EDIT:

I forgot to mention that...

My transcription elf staff shirt is ON IT'S WAY!!! YAY! I CAN'T WAIT!

Gar. Haven't Blogged in A While.

2007-03-21T13:03:00.000-05:00

Okay. So I haven't really blogged lately. I've been busy. Or lazy. Take whichever one you prefer.

- Marie Antoinette. BEST. MOVIE. EVER. I absolutely loved it! LOVED IT. It might just be all of the awesome clothes and stuff, but really, it was excellent.

- Did I ever say that I got to watch Pride and Prejudice?? Can't remember, but if I didn't, I loved that movie too. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are too cute.

- I HAVE TO START WATCHING THE OFFICE! Someone PLEASE remind me. I've caught episodes on and off for a while, but I want to start watching it more. Anyone watch it?

- I've also starting watching "Heroes" online on NBC's website. You can watch all 18 episodes on there. I've watched the first three and it's pretty cool. This is another one of those shows that I kept meaning to watch, but then forgot about. It reminds me of LOST a little because of all the connections, you know? Anyone watch this too?

- PotC 3: At World's End. Zomg. The trailer. It's amazingly awesome. Will and Elizabeth are adorable. Squee!! I can't wait to go see it!! Who's coming with me??

Kk, I siriusly have to go do some algebra now. Garr.

Episode 2, Baby!

2007-03-17T11:10:00.000-05:00

Episode 2 is out, you guys...

o_O

As some people I talked to about this know, I was kinda worried about this episode coming out. Why? Because I think I sounded like an idiot compared to these DL geniuses. But...I think you can't tell how nervous I actually was. And I was nervous. I was so nervous about sounding stupid and then I became nervous because I was nervous. Does that makes sense? XD I did sound more like ME though. You know? I didn't sound like a high pitched squirell at least. (Which I totally did on episode 1.)

This is a "discussion" episode and I really think it's great. My initial opinion changed from the beginning to the end; siriusly x). Okay, I had to add the "siriusly", but really, I think DL fans will like this discussion.

I'm so happy to be a part of this podcast and everyone I'm working with is just great. We have a wonderful group. And the person I was intimidated to talk to during our first discussion is a lot nicer than I thought he would be LOL XDD (*whistles* not naming any names...)

Enough my blabbing though, check out Episode 2 of The Dragonlance Canticle!

AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK PEOPLE! Feedback is awesome you know.

LOST last night

2007-03-15T09:21:00.000-05:00

WHHHAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTT ????

Jack playing football....??? What???

Jack and Claire....brother and sister. Weird.

Claire talking to her mother was all sad. :(

Woah the foam coming out of that dude's mouth was ewwugh

Next week is a Locke episode WOOT!! Can't wait to see what happens!!!

Ben/Henry is creeeeeeeeeepy.

Goth Claire was funny.

Anndddd yeah that's it

SQUEE!! Episode One is finally here!!

2007-03-14T08:51:00.000-05:00

SQUEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

Episode one is here!!!

www.dlcanticle.com

Please comment and let us know what you think!

I am so glad that I'm a part of this wonderful project. It has been a lot of fun working and talking with these people, and I'm just happy that everything worked out. x)

Everyone please check it out!

"We Didn't Start the Fandom"

2007-03-13T19:10:00.001-05:00

Best. Filk. Ever.

Dragonlance Canticle

2007-03-08T12:36:00.000-06:00

WOOT!! The Dragonlance Canticle website is up!! Episode 0 is now available and episode 1 will soon be released!

Go to http://www.dlcanticle.com/ to hear episode 0 and learn more about The Dragonlance Canticle. I'm so excited about this and I urge everyone to listen. x)

HP Friday Questions

2007-03-02T08:11:00.000-06:00

clicky here for the lj hp-fridayfive community

1. Pick your favourite subject back at school - what do you suppose is its magical subject counterpart?

English. So umm... I have no earthly clue what the wizarding version would be.

2. Would you rather be a Pure-blood or a Half-blood? Why?

Pureblood!!! Cos they have more fun XD

3. What job would you ideally have in the wizarding world?

Umm...I don't know. I wouldn't want to teach at Hogwarts or work at the Ministry so what else could I really do?? Not sure on this one.

4. Given the opportunity, would you ever use a love potion?

Not unless I turned crazy...cause that's weird. I always thought Merope was a nutcase for doing that.

5. Have you ever named a pet/child/inanimate object after a Potter character?

Sadly no. If I get the chance, I probably will though.

5 HP Questions

2007-02-25T14:11:00.000-06:00

1. Potions or Charms?

Eeek. That's hard. Umm...well....oh i don't know! I'm HORRIBLE at following directions so I'm not sure how well I'd do at Potions but I'm sure I'd like it. Charms, I dunno. I suppose I would like it. Okay, I guess I'll choose Potions.

2. Inferi or Boggarts?

Boggarts. I could handle Boggarts but Inferi...mmm....I'm not so sure about.

3. Beauxbatons or Durmstrang?

Durmstrang. They're just a lot cooler than Beauxbatons. XDD

4. Arthur or Molly?

Arthur. Cause who doesn't collect plugs?

5. Sir Nicholas or The Fat Lady?

Sir Nicholas. I dunno why. I just like him better. Though my image of the Fat Lady was always funny so it's about equal I guess.

Five Potter Questions

2007-02-24T11:18:00.000-06:00

So there is a livejournal user that posts five HP related questions each Friday and so I was looking through some of their older questions and I liked this one so I'll answer these. I think I'm going to start doing these.

1. What are your 5 favorite moments within the series?

- Time traveling scenes in PoA.

- Bellatrix and Cissa in HBP in the beginning.

- The entire ministry chapters at the end of OotP. Sirius dying, Bellatrix speaking in the scary baby voice, the confrontation between Dumbledore and Voldemort, Neville with his nose broken, Ron all screwed up, and just about everything. I love these scenes.

- Harry's monster in his chest stuff in HBP.

- The Sirius and Harry scenes in PoA.

2. What are your 4 favorite creatures?

- Thestrals

- Kneazles

- Dragons

- Unicorns

3. Who are your 3 favorite Weasleys?

- Arthur

- Molly

- Fred/George

4. What are your 2 favorite Hogwarts houses?

- Slytherin

- Gryffindor or Hufflepuff (so indecisive...I know)

5. Which is your 1 favorite HP film?

- Goblet of Fire. But when Order of the Phoenix comes out, I'm sure this will change. It seems to change with each new movie coming out. x)

Hogwarts Professors Quiz

2007-02-24T11:16:00.000-06:00

Yay!

Young Marauders and Snape.

2007-02-23T17:40:00.000-06:00

Snape.

From Left to Right: Sirius, James, Peter Pettigrew.
Lupin is in between James and Peter but behind them.

Okay, Snape looks....greasy. His hair I mean. I don't know about this...I like his face, but hate his hair. His hair just looks weird. It's greasy enough. But it's funny looking. Hopefully it'll be better in the movie.

Sirius is HOT. My love for Sirius has just increased I think. XD

James is horrible. WHY is his hair light??? WHY?? It's supposed to be like, black. Maybe it's just bad lighting and it'll be darker in the movie. I know it won't be as dark as I want but I hope it's a little darker. He's definitely not my ideal James Potter. I'll take back the "horrible" though because now that I think about it, he looks similiar to the adult actor playing James in SS. In the Mirror of Erised. Remember? Yeah. But it still doesn't look anything like Harry.

Uhh....when did Peter get a mullet? Please, do remind me. He looks like what I pictured Peter though...other than the mullet. lol

You can hardly see Lupin but from what I can see, he looks all right. Waiting for a clearer picture.

Comments are awesome by the way.

Mumble Jumble

2007-02-22T13:50:00.000-06:00

So I watched the first two episodes of Grey's Anatomy on my friend's ipod on Tuesday. It's incredibly awesome. I love it. I would have watched like all of the episodes in a row but you see, my eyes got tired. And my contacts got dry. And I just couldn't stay up. But it's great. 2nd best TV show. (LOST is 1st.) I've been watching the last couple of episodes of GA on Thursday too (didn't blog about it though cause I'm lazy xD) but tonight's episode was just *dumbfounded face* ...... so sad. So very sad. I was weeping through the entire episode. I felt like a complete sissy. But it was so sad!! I have never cried during a TV show like I did when watching tonight's episode. Wow. Just WOW.

So, we recorded the main conversation on Tuesday night for The Dragonlance Canticle (hearby known as TDC.) It went well. I had hardly anything to say though because I was like in deep thought the entire time trying to take in what everyone was saying and then I was caught off guard when someone asked me a question and then I stumbled and got nervous and sounded like a complete moron. *smacks head* It took longer than I thought but it was a lot of fun too. I really wish I had talked more though. I was just completely lost at some points. Everyone else knows so much more about Dragonlance than I do so I was trying to make sense of things in my head at some points. I don't play D&D so I had nothing to say about the topic in that point of view either. *sighs* Next time I'll talk more, ask my questions, express my honest opinion regardless of anyone else, and stop laughing so much. I laughed at just about everything. I don't know why. I'm just a laughing kind of a person I guess.

I talked to a girl about the PotterCast transcription job on Tuesday night as well. I don't officially have the job but she's giving me a part of an episode to transcribe so that she can see how well (or badly) I do. I sent in the first two minutes that I transcribed and I'm waiting to hear her feedback. I had to send it to two other people also and I've heard feedback from one of them. She basically told me that I did well and gave me a few bits of advice for transcribing that I'll definitely remember if I get the job. Officially. But, lol, you should have seen me when I found out that I might possibly have the job. I FREAKED out. I was so hyper for the rest of the night. You see, I found out about this 20 minutes before I had to record TDC. Maybe that's why I was laughing every 3.7 seconds. Yes. I believe that's it.

Okay, totally weird episode on LOST. I don't think I quite got it. What does being "marked" mean??? I don't get what Jack's tattoos mean still, and the only thing we learned about the kids is that they're still alive and well. The "coming up next week" from last week made it seem like these big things were going to be answered and they really weren't. I don't get the mark on Juliet's back either. Geez. Confusing episode. I didn't like the Jack flashbacks. They didn't make sense to me. At all. Also, am I over thinking this or is Karl not knowing who the Brady Bunch is completely odd?? I don't know but that seems really weird to me. Who doesn't know who the Brady Bunch is?? It's just something you know. You know? Can't wait for next weeks episode.

I think this was a mumble jumble post.

favorite character meme answers

2007-02-20T19:49:00.000-06:00

1. HP - This one is the hardest by far because I like so many!! My favorite as of right now is a tie between Bellatrix and Narcissa. Come on, who can't help but love the Black sisters? I love the whole Malfoy family in general though. My long list of favorite characters from HP could go on and on but those are basically my favorites.
2. LOST - Sawyer!!! How could no one have guessed that?!?
3. Dragonlance- Zeboim, Tanis, and Laurana.
4. Disney- Kronk, and Eeyore
5. Eragon- Eragon and Arya
6. RENT- Roger and Mimi

Favorite Character Meme

2007-02-19T13:55:00.000-06:00

1. Post a list of fandoms.
2. Have your friends guess your favorite character from each fandom.
3. When guessed, add to the list your favorite characters and a sentence explaining why you like them.

1. HP
2. LOST
3. Dragonlance
4. Disney
5. Eragon
6. RENT

LOST: Flashes Before Your Eyes

2007-02-15T07:56:00.000-06:00

woah. the white-haired lady was creepy.

i feel really bad for desmond. i hate desmonds girlfriend's father.

CHARLIE IS GOING TO FRIGGIN DIE. !!!!!!!!!!! i can't believe it. nononononononono.

loved the episode...was a lot better than last weeks. was definately a shocker. i wonder how everything is going to play out...the time travel thing is kind of confusing but its cool. sdkfja;kldjasf;jdaklj wow

Don't waste your time reading this.

2007-02-12T10:37:00.000-06:00

Don't read if you're looking to either:

a. be entertained or amused

b. laugh

c. read anything important

All of this crap is boring and is almost pointless to blog about. Almost. It's "almost" because I actually want to blog about it even though no one really cares and who would care in the first place because it's nothing exciting nor important anyway. You know?

Did that make sense?

Anyways, here it goes.

- Moulin Rouge is a really good movie.

- I got the two HP stickers from Borders and they're awesome. The first lady I talked to was all confused and she asked this other lady about them and the second lady said, "Oohhh yeah! The stickers about Snape! You're the first one to ask about them." Woot! Yay! I thought I had to choose between the two but she gave me both. I didn't say anything about that of course because I wanted both anyway.

- I'm in the middle of 6 books currently. Here are all the books I'm reading: The Alien Sea, Blades of a Tiger, The Old Man and the Sea, Eldest, Little Women, and A Game of Thrones. I'm about to start reading The Pearl in a couple of days too. Plus I have three other Dragonlance books, two George R.R. Martin books, Harry Potter, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, The End (book 13 of Series of Unfortunate Events), and a Forgotten Realms trilogy that I want to read but am already reading too many books to start another.

- I'm tired even though I got 8 hours of sleep. So why am I so tired??

- I organized all of the pictures on my computer. I'm so proud of it. They're all divided into different folders. Of course my HP folder is the biggest. XD

- There is a lock-in this Friday at church and I'm trying to decide whether I want to go or not. I want to go because it'll be fun but I have to stay up ALL NIGHT and *yawn* I just think I would be in the middle of ice skating and then just fall right now on the ice and sleep. If I go, we'll be going to three places during the night. Other than the church we would be going to an ice skating arena, bowling alley, and a jumpy bouncy thingy...I dunno what to call it. I'll probably end up going.

- I honestly have nothing to really blog about. I just wanted to blog. That's all. Well...I don't have anything else to say. Not that I did in the first place. I'm going to go do some algebra.

Lola Bellezza is here!

2007-02-08T13:29:00.000-06:00

Emily brought home her little half-chihuahua, half-jack russel terrier today. It looks like a chihuahua with jack russel colored fur. She's really cute. Emily named her "Lola Bellezza." Cute, huh? Anyways, Emily has been wanting this dog for a while now so I'm glad that she got it. I might put a picture of Lola up later.

LOST: Not in Portland

2007-02-08T09:27:00.000-06:00

Okay, so here are my comments from last nights show.

When Juliet's ex-husband got hit by the bus, woah. Umm...that was really unexpected.
Karl watching that weird brainwashing video was well...weird. Pretty freaky. Wonder if there was a particular reason for that or if it was just one of their forms of torture or...? I dunno but that was odd.
AWW!! When Kate re-told that story to Jack over the radio...that was so sad! Poor girl was crying... :(
Ben is Alex's father?! Alex didn't know her mother though, so I think she was just told that Ben was her father. You know?
So Juliet is leaving for home? Hmm...that means that there is a way off the island...
Ethan was scary as usual in the flashback. He always has scared me. He's just weird.
Juliet wanted Ben to die so that she could finally leave? But then he told her she could leave anyway? Why did she have to stay? Does she not know how to leave?
Can't wait for next weeks episode! Looks like they're going to rescue Jack (regardless of what he said.)

Overall, this wasn't a huge shocker episode or anything but it was pretty good.

Shouldn't Be Blogging...

2007-02-07T16:57:00.000-06:00

I really shouldn't be blogging because I have so much to do right now, but...

I woke up this morning at 5 am for no reason whatsoever and decided to lay in bed and watch Little Women (got it for Christmas and haven't had time to watch it until now) and it is definitely one of my favorite movies now. I have always loved that book and didn't even know it was a movie until I got it for Christmas. After watching it, I dug through my pile of books and found it and started reading it for the second (might be third) time. Only one chapter in so far. Anyways, if you liked the book, you'll love the movie. I thought they stuck pretty true to the book. I already want to watch the movie again. I would if I could tonight but LOST is gonna be on!! Yay!! I CANNOT WAIT. Eek, what's gonna happen?!? I'll be blogging about it tomorrow no doubt.

The Most Random-est Blog That I've Had...So Far.

2007-02-06T14:29:00.000-06:00

I really don't have much to talk about today but I feel like blogging...umm....let's see...

Oh yeah!

*** SPOILER ALERT FOR ELDEST ***

So there's another Dragon Rider other than Eragon!! I got the special edition of Eldest so it had a tear out poster of a gold dragon named Glaedr (I think that's it) and so I knew he was going to show up somewhere in the book but I was pretty shocked to find out that there was another Rider. I thought that was awesome. I think Eragon is one of those characters you can't help but love.

Also, Arya is a princess! Arya is yet another great character too in this trilogy. When I first read the sentence where Queen Islanzadi welcomed her and called her "her daughter", I didn't think she meant it literally, so it wasn't until Eragon's thoughts were stated that I got it... XD.

*** END OF SPOILER ***

Put the spoiler alert there just in case someone hasn't read it yet and they plan too.

Here's a little video clip that made me laugh. Someone else posted this on their livejournal and I found it hilarious. I love the kind of animation they used; it looks awesome.

I'm still recording things for The Dragonlance Canticle. I recorded this one email (not saying the person's name...) about fifty times because well, I've been having the hardest time recording it because I start having a laughing fit at the end of it. I don't want to say what it says, but it makes me laugh so hard...the end result will hopefully be okay, lol. Oh, and in the beginning of the email, it says "recommendation" and later it says, "recommend" and for some reason, when I get to "recommend", I say "recommendation" instead...then, that makes me start laughing and well...yeah. It's weird hearing my voice when I have to go back and listen to the recording...my voice sounds funny to me. At first I was like, "That is NOT how I sound...no way do I talk like that..." lol

Hmm...nothing I posted was really interesting...oh well.

Anyways, I don't have anything else to say... I think this might be my random-est blog yet. You think?

Cell Block Tango from Chicago

2007-02-05T16:12:00.001-06:00

I LOVE this song! The youtube user said this was on broadway in 2006. I thought it was really good. I love the voice of the girl who's playing Velma. The first girl who does the "POP" part and the girl who does the "squish" part did great jobs too I think.

Rent, Chicago, Books, School, and Lost.

2007-02-05T13:30:00.000-06:00

I have a bunch of stuff to talk about today...where to start...

Yesterday was Jonathan Larson's birthday. He is the creator of RENT, the Broadway musical. On Saturday I watched the documentary on the extras disc of the Rent movie and it was about Jonathan Larson and his creation of Rent. It was my second time watching it but I still cried. I watched the documentary with my friend Charli. We had decided to watch Rent on Friday night and she fell in love with it. I let her borrow my soundtrack and I got to see her yesterday, and what do you suppose she was singing...? Songs from Rent, of course XD. Although Jonathan Larson died on January 25, 1996, right before his musical became big, he has touched so many people. Now, with the Rent movie directed by Chris Columbus (released in theaters in 2005), everyone has the opportunity to be a part of his touching musical. I can't exactly express how much I love Rent over this blog...all I can say is thank you Jonathan Larson for creating something so wonderful. (For Jonathan Larson's bio, you can go here.)

I watched Chicago a few days ago. I LOVED IT. My favorite songs were Cell Block Tango, We Both Reached for the Gun, Roxie, and All That Jazz. If you like musicals and you haven't seen it, you should! It was excellent.

I'm on page 265 on Eldest. It's really good. I'm wondering when the third book is going to come out. But as a Potter fan, I'm used to waiting. XD

I'll be reading either Pride or Prejudice or the Game of Thrones next. The Game of Thrones is a fantasy novel and well, I don't really need to explain Pride and Prejudice. Any opinions?

Random, I know, but here's the list of classes I'm taking next year:

- Geometry
- Chemistry
- World History
- British Lit. (combined with English II)
- Italian
- Health
- Art I
- Driver's Ed

LOST is continuing season three this Wednesday. I'm really excited about it. I'll have to blog about it. Anyone else watching it?

I'll blog again tomorrow probably.

I love comments by the way.... :P

It's almost over.

2007-02-01T08:58:00.000-06:00

Harry Potter is almost over.

July 21, 2007.

That's the release date for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

I woke up last this morning and went downstairs to get my things together for school. My mom and Nick were looking at news articles on the computer. I was kind of aggravated because the first thing I like to do before ANYHING in the morning is check Leaky. As I was picking up my history book, my mom says, "Catherine, there's an article about the release date for the last Harry Potter book." I rolled my eyes and replied quickly, "It's probably not true." With all the bookstores saying 7/7/07 (which definitely wasn't true) and all of that kind of thing going on right now, I thought it was just an incorrect article. I decided to check it out anyway just in case. So, I walk over there, look at the screen and read the words, "Author J.K. Rowling stated today that...." I quickly averted my eyes and said/shrieked "NO!!! I HAVEN'T CHECKED LEAKY YET!!!!" I was so upset. *sighs* As soon as they got off the computer, I went to Leaky and officially freaked out.

Guys, it's almost over.

IT'S ALMOST OVER.

Favorite Demetri Martin Quotes

2007-01-29T20:56:00.000-06:00

My favorite Demetri Martin quotes...(for those who don't know, he's my favorite comedian)

“I think that when you get dressed in the morning, sometimes you’re really making a decision about your behavior for the day. Like if you put on flip-flops, you’re saying: ‘Hope I don’t get chased today.’ ‘Be nice to people in sneakers.’” - Demetri Martin

“I saw a guy at a party wearing a leather jacket and I thought, ‘That is cool.’ But then I saw another guy wearing a leather vest and I thought, ‘That is not cool’. Then I figured it out: ‘Cool’ is all about leather sleeves.” - Demetri Martin

“I like fruit baskets because it gives you the ability to mail someone a piece of fruit without appearing insane. Like, if someone just mailed you an apple you’d be like ‘Huh? What the hell is this?’, but if it’s in a fruit basket you’re like ‘This is nice!.’” -Demetri Martin

“I wanna make a jigsaw puzzle that’s 40,000 pieces. And when you finish it, it says ‘go outside.’” - Demetri Martin

“I like parties, but I don’t like piñatas because the pinata promotes violence against flamboyant animals. Hey, there’s a donkey with some pizazz. Let’s kick its ass. What I’m trying to say is, don’t make the same Halloween costume mistake that I did.” - Demetri Martin

“The worst time to have a heart attack is during a game of charades.” - Demetri Martin

“I like video games, but they’re really violent. I’d like to play a video game where you help the people who were shot in all the other games. It’d be called ‘Really Busy Hospital.’” - Demetri Martin

“I like the beach. I like to get there really early before everyone else shows up and take like thirty bottles with notes in them and throw them into the water. Then I wait for everyone to come to the beach and when someone goes to pick up one of the bottles, I go up behind them because when they open it there’s a note saying ‘I’m standing right behind you.’” - Demetri Martin

“I used to play sports. Then I realized you can buy trophies. Now I’m good at everything.”
- Demetri Martin

“I wrapped my Christmas presents early this year, but I used the wrong paper. See, the paper I used said ‘Happy Birthday’ on it. I didn’t want to waste it so I just wrote ‘Jesus’ on it.” - Demetri Martin

"If I ever saw an amputee getting hanged, I’d probably just start calling out letters." - Demetri Martin

XD

Gryffindor. Hufflepuff. Slytherin. Ravenclaw.

2007-01-28T21:20:00.000-06:00

Gryffindor. Hufflepuff. Slytherin. Ravenclaw.

Which one am I?!

Am I beating a dead horse here...? Maybe. But my indecisiveness is driving me crazy.

It's like I like all of the houses so it's hard to choose just one. I have traits from all four. Loyalty from Gryffindor, hardworking from Hufflepuff, ambitiousness and cleverness from Slytherin, and intelligence from Ravenclaw. But obviously I can't be an....err...Grufferinclaw...uhh...yeah. See? See why I can't decide?? I've been changing my mind so often lately. I think I'm out of my Slytherin stage, yet I'm still attracted to the house, ya know? Then, recently, I've been going through a Gryffindor/Hufflepuff stage. I think that I act more like other houses than Ravenclaw in particular though. I really like Gryffindor...but I don't know if I act like it.

Point being, I have no idea. You know when something is driving you crazy and you keep thinking about it for who knows why and you just want to figure it out...? Yeah...that's what happening to me. Help me out here.

Great Night, Great Morning

2007-01-28T11:40:00.000-06:00

I talked to Charli for a while last night on the phone...and zomg...we had the funniest conversation. At first, we were just talking about the different Hogwarts houses and what houses people we know would be in and et cetera. Then, we started talking about Cedric. Most of my friends know that I have a complete and utter obsession with Cedric/Rob Pattinson. I'm a totally sucker for him. Anyways, our conversation soon turned into "what if we wrote a fanfic about Cedric and me?!?" (me meaning myself) We started coming up with all sorts of crap and it was so funny. I was crying from laughing so hard. I wish I could remember exactly what was said but I can't! Charli, if you remember anything, I'd love it if you could post it in your blog or on the comments. I can't even begin to tell you how long I laughed even after we got off the phone.

Today, I woke up and immediately started working on the Dragonlance Canticle (a podcast that I'm a part of.) I had printed out some notes to myself so I first highlighted the real important stuff. Then, I checked my email. I had an email from someone I'm working with and it gave me some instructions on recording. So far this morning, I've recorded three out of four emails and the opening to the emails. I still have to record one more email, the trivia question and answer, and the quote for this episode. Next week, I'm pretty sure, we're recording the main discussion. I'm really looking forward to episode one being released. I'm so happy that I am a part of this and I love working on it.

We're celebrating Emily's 12th birthday today (even though her birthday isn't until Tuesday) so I better go, but I'll blog again later! :)

BORED.

2007-01-27T17:37:00.000-06:00

I'm so bored. Really, really, REALLY bored.

Next time I make some $$, I think I'm going to buy the hardcover, UK edition, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. (from Amazon.co.uk) I'm going to slowly get all the hardcover UK edition HP books. I'd like to get my house tie sometime soon too. If only I could decide on a house...lol.

I didn't do much today. Called a bunch of people, shopped a little, played xbox, read "Eldest", ate, flipped through the newest Vogue, checked my email, and since then, I've been emailing back and forth and taking random quizzes. I know it sounds like a lot, but really, it wasn't. Everything happened in one big rush.

I am so tired. I dunno why.

I haven't watched Chicago or Little Women yet. I meant to...but I didn't. I just didn't feel like sitting down and actually watching it...ya know?

Somebody better call me soon. I feel like talking HP theories... :D

Just Some Updates...

2007-01-26T09:59:00.000-06:00

I finished Eragon four days ago (I think) and I'm telling you, you GOTTA read it. It's one of the best books I've read in a long time. I've started the second book "Eldest" and I'm about 150-200 pages in. It's really good so far.

I've overcome my fear of heights, I think. I've been trying to ride up and down escalators at the mall and it doesn't bother me as much. I want to try indoor climbing and see if I'm really over it though.

LOST is starting it's fourth season in February! Yay! I CANNOT wait. The last episode of season three ended with an excellent cliff-hanger so I can't wait to see what happens next.

I'm watching "Chicago" and "Little Women" this weekend (or at least I plan to.) I've been wanting to watch Chicago for a while now but I haven't really had time. It looks really good.

I bought an xbox game yesterday. I got "Oddworld: Munch's Oddysse." I played it for an hour or two last night and it's a lot of fun. Brooke and Caroline like it a lot too.

I also bought this shirt yesterday in navy. At first, I hated it, but my mom made me try it on...and then...I loved it so much that I couldn't leave without it. I feel like I made a very good purchase.

I don't really have too much else to say. I'll probably blog later today...and tomorrow, so check back soon. :)

Garden State

2007-01-25T12:52:00.000-06:00

So, I watched Garden State a few days ago and it's topping my "favorites" list now. I loved it. Zach Braff was awesome in it. I loved his character. If you haven't seen it, go rent it. Buy it. Watch it. It's great.

SQUEE!

2007-01-25T12:40:00.000-06:00

SQUEE!!!

My PotterCast shirt arrived today! Yay! I'm already wearing it too. I literally squee-ed all the way from the mailbox at the end of our driveway to my kitchen where I tore open the package and put it on, lol.

I love, love, LOVE it.

"They're Called Thestrals"

2007-01-23T12:23:00.001-06:00

I can't even BEGIN to tell you how hard I laughed at this.

Blog Response to: What impact has Potter made on YOUR life?

2007-01-21T15:10:00.000-06:00

("ifancythetrio" posted a video asking people what impact has Harry Potter made on their life. I don't have anything to record a video response so I'm just going to write a response via my blog.)

I don't even know where to start....!

I started reading Harry Potter when I was in third grade (might have been fourth.) I got the first four books for Christmas and started reading them then. By the time I was done reading Prisoner of Azkaban, I had fallen in love with the books. I wasn't as obsessed with HP as I am now, mostly because I was younger and didn't know anyone who read the books. I didn't really discover the fandom until right after Half-Blood Prince came out. Once I found Mugglenet, I became utterly obsessed. That's when I found MuggleCast, uploaded it to my ipod and started listening. After that, I found out about the Leaky Mugs and started listening. After listening to a few episodes of that, I wanted to listen to PotterCast too. And well, you get the cycle... :P

Moving on...

Harry Potter has always been something that I could read and relate to in some way. It's something I can always fall back on when I need an escape from the world. The books are, and always will be, comforting to me and they will always mean a lot to me. Harry Potter has made me even think differently about things. I compare people to characters in the book, try to decide what house different people would be in, and other things. All dorky, I know, but it's what I do. Harry (and all of the characters) seem very real to me. Hogwarts seems very real to me. The way Jo writes these books, makes you want to be in it. That's one of the reason why I love these books. The books suck you in.

Harry Potter has also made me so much more interested in the fantasy genre. I have always been a book worm, but it made me want to read more fantasy books. About the same time I read HP, I started reading Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia. Now, the majority of what I read IS fantasy. I've found wonderful series like the Series of Unfortunate Events (which I love SO much. They're so funny and very original!) and Eragon & Eldest and the huge Dragonlance saga (READ IT).

I haven't been able to travel anywhere (like Lumos and to the premieres) and I know for sure that I can't this year, but next year, I am seriously going to try to go to different events. (I'm really wanting to go to Portus 2008.) That's one of the reasons why I hope Deathly Hallows isn't released this year...I've missed out on some awesome stuff because I didn't know about the fandom and I really want to be a part of it. I'm crossing my fingers for summer '08.

Anyways....the HP fandom itself is amazing. You can talk to everyone and anyone and have an immediate connection. It seems like you already know them. Am I the only one who thinks this?? I always feel like that when I meet someone new who likes Potter as much as I do.

I think that "ifancythetrio" said it best in her own video response: Harry Potter is a lifestyle. It really is.

:)

The Solace Tattler

2007-01-19T23:28:00.000-06:00

Any Dragonlane fans, check this out. You'll find it funny. It's made up articles of things "happening" in Solace. Their newest article title is "Steve Racket Unveils the new iBall at the CMUS" (you know, like Steve Jobs and the iPhone...) It's pretty funny.

http://www.solacetattler.com/

Deathly Hallows Meme

2007-01-19T21:54:00.000-06:00

Got this from Sue's (from PotterCast) blog.

1. Are you going to look at every possible spoiler you can before the book comes out? Did you with HBP and how accurate were the ones you saw?

Mostly. I won't look if I know there are major spoilers about what's inside of the book (after it comes out and if I'm not done w/ it yet.) I wasn't really in the fandom during HBP. I was a big HP fan (or so I thought) and I checked random HP sites occasionally, but I didn't know about these big HP sites and all. This year is going to be the first whole year for me to enjoy and be in the fandom.

2. What will you do if Amazon (or whoever) doesn't deliver your copy on time, and everyone is reading it except you?

ARGH. I would have to avoid Leaky and Mugglenet until I read it because although I don't mind spoilers before the book is released, and little stuff, but I wouldn't want to know what was actually IN the book if I hadn't read it yet. I would be pretty pissed off if that happened though.

3. Will you read the last chapter before anything else? Are you planning to read the book all in one go or are you a slow reader?

Nonononononono! I never read the ending first. Never. I always say that I'll read it slowly and take it all in, but I always end up reading it super fast. I get really absorbed in it and it's hard to stop reading!

4. What’s your theory on the meaning of “Deathly Hallows?”

If I have the time to type what I think later, I'll just edit this and add it in. Too tired right now.

5. What’s the craziest Harry Potter theory you’ve got, which you could only share with your trusted f-list?

I'm so not good with making up theories. There are a couple I really like a lot that I heard on PotterCast #72.

6. If you could write in a sub-plot of your own choosing to the main Harry one, what would it be?

See #5. I'll edit this later and add it in if I can think of one.

7. Who do you think will die in the book, and who would you be most upset to see die, even if you don’t think it’s likely?

Voldemort will definitely die. He has to.

I would be most upset to see Ron or Hermione die, as well as Lupin. I would cry if Neville died too. His character is so innocent and too good-hearted to die. Especially if it was Bellatrix that killed him. *horrified*

8. Name three main (ish) characters who you think will definitely live and why. Is there a very minor character(s) you really want to have a happy ending?

Other than Harry (who HAS to live, IMO), Ron and Hermione because I just don't see any of the trio dying. I don't think Snape should die either. If he did die, I would want it to be a sacrifice type of thing.

I would like Luna (if she's counted as a minor character) to have a happy ending. I like Luna and how she doesn't care what people think of her. Although odd, she's a good role model in the story.

9. If you don’t like the book, or are bitterly disappointed by it, do you think you’ll still stay in the fandom?

Yes. The fandom is too great to just leave it. I don't see myself being dissappointed with whatever Jo Rowling ends up writing. It's her story and however she writes it, that's the way it was supposed to be written.

10. One word (or concise) answers only!

- Snape: good, evil, own agenda?

Good. No WAY is he evil. No way. I just wouldn't believe it. I firmly believe that he and Dumbledore had a plan going on that only they knew about. If Snape was evil, I'd be frustrated at how Harry had been right and Dumbledore wrong. It just wouldn't be right. Woops, this was supposed to short answers. (sorry!)

- Bill: will he help Remus or just be on permanent honeymoon?

Help Remus for sure.

- Peter: a Gryffindor moment or not?

Yes.

- Harry: is he a Horcrux?

Nononononono. Just NO.

- The Weasley’s: will they all survive?

Yes!!

- If no to the above: who won’t?

--

-Did Snape love Lily: yay or nay!

Oh man...umm....yay? Or...I don't know!

- Hogwarts: will they go back to school or not?

No.

- Remus and Tonks: will they get married in the book?

Maybe in the epilogue.

- Bellatrix: who will be her nemesis?

NEVILLE! Though, Bellatrix is my favorite evil character other than the Malfoy's.

- The new leader of the OotP is …?

Umm...maybe Aberforth?

- Percy: will he see the error of his ways or not?

I don't think so, or if he does, he will in some minor way and nothing really important.

11. If Harry could take just one adult Order of the Phoenix member with him on the search for Horcruxes, who should it be and why?

I really hope it's Aberforth. I really want him to play a part in Deathly Hallows. (Like I've said before...)

12. Will Remus and Greyback have a confrontation in human or werewolf form? Will Tonks be involved? Who will the other werewolves support?

Possibly, but I don't see it being anything big. No, Tonks will not be involved. I think the werewolves will be evenly split between Remus and Greyback and neither side will be bigger than the other. Maybe their fight will be in a major "big battle" in the end. Except I would rather the "big battle" in the end be some kind of mental/power struggle kind of thing between just Voldemort and Harry; no one else. So that wouldn't work...

13. Who is the person from Harry’s class (and it isn’t him, Ron, or Hermione), who will become a Hogwart’s teacher? What subject will they teach?

Well, I was going to say that Hermione would teach History of Magic until it said other than the trio so umm...I dunno. Neville teaching Herbology?

14. Do you think Harry will observe Remus looking less lined and walking with a little more of a spring in his step?

Yes, because of Tonks. :)

15. Will Ginny use, "But Professor Lupin saw the futility of being a noble prat!" for one of her million arguments with Harry about why they should be together? Do you think they’ll get back together at all?

I think they'll get together in the end, but not until Voldemort is dead.

16. Which house do you think Tonks is in, and why? Is she going to morph into someone important and who will it be?

Tonks, I think, is either in Hufflepuff or Gryffindor because she seems pretty brave and all, but she reminds me of a Hufflepuff too. I don't think she' s going to end up playing a very important part though.

17. Who will be revealed to be the heir of Gryffindor?

I think it'd be awesome if Neville was the heir. I can't think of anyone else off the top of my head.

18. As JKR has promised the final chapter will be like an epilogue; how do you think the final paragraph (hopefully) donated to Remus’ future, and/or Tonks’, and/or anyone else you want to write a paragraph on, will read?

I think Harry and Ginny will get married and have lots of children, Hermione and Ron will FINALLY get together, and I'm not sure about Remus and Tonks...I guess we'll just have to see!

19. Which question from the books would it annoy you most not to have answered?

Anything about Aberforth. I really want to know more about him and I'd be irritated if he didn't play some kind of part.

I'll be annoyed if the founders of Hogwarts don't play a part at all too. I love Sue's theory about how Harry will go back in time and talk with the founders and stuff. I think that would be just awesome.

20. What do you think the last line of the book is?

Oh, I dunno....I would be happy with whatever Jo writes! As long as it's not either:

A. "...and they all lived happily ever after."

B. "THE END."

C. "Then, Harry woke up. It was all a dream."

I would be SO ANGRY if it was all a dream. That'd be a suck-y ending though, and I don't see her doing that.

Fill this out and re-post it in the comments or on your own blog!

Another Super Quick Update

2007-01-17T15:58:00.000-06:00

I don't have time to do this...but I am anyway. This is just going to a super quick update thingy. super quick.

- I have 40 pages left in Eragon. It's excellent. Read it!!

- PotterCast #71 made me cry because I was laughing so hard.

- I deleted the last post because I re-took the quiz and got different answers and now I'm confused, lol.

- I have 8 rolls of film to develop from Disney World. I went to Disney World in October 2005...I'm thinking I waited a little too long to develop them...

- I need to buy more headbands. I keep taking my sisters and I'm going to take a guess and say she's aggravated at me because of it.

- I'm dying my hair a medium auburn-ish color. More red than brown though. Whadya think?

- I realized that I don't have that much to say so I'll post something more...uhh...interesting later.

Another Quick Update

2007-01-11T12:56:00.000-06:00

Super busy, but I wanted to update so I'm just going to post a few things...

- Still reading Eragon. It's getting even more interesting with every page.

- Bought three books by Jane Austen two days ago. I got, "Sense and Sensibility", "Pride and Prejudice", and "Emma."

- I've changed the name of the world to "Le'garevia" instead of "Le'garesia." I had no real reason for changing it other than I just liked it better.

- A fully done four page map has been drawn by my soon-to-be stepsister, Felicia. It's very awesome and I love it!

-My friend Charli got me the coolest gift for my bday and I told her I just had to blog about it so here it goes...

It's a bright yellow rubbery/stretchy ipod case...that has suction cups all over it. I LOVE IT. It's sticks to everything and provided me with over an hour of entertainment. Very cool.

She also got me this very neat black ipod case that, actually here's a link.

http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/bookcase/index.php

Anyways, I loved it.

Thanks Charli!

I have to babysit in 30 minutes so I'll blog over the weekend.

Quick Update

2007-01-09T13:42:00.000-06:00

This is just a really quick update.

Yesterday was my birthday. I had a bunch of fun. My cake was chocolate on the inside, had chocolate frosting, and Belgian milk chocolate shavings and chunks on top. Mmm! It was so good! Thanks for all the birthday wishes everyone!

I'm reading Eragon by Christopher Paolini and it's the best book I've read in years. I've been recommending it to everyone I talk to. The author was homeschooled his whole life and then graduated from high school when he was fifteen. The book "Eragon" was published when he was 19. That really inspires me.

That's all I have time for right now but I'll blog again soon.

A Harry Potter "MeMe"

2007-01-04T16:58:00.000-06:00

I got this off of Cheryl Klein's blog (an editor at Scholastic); I found her blog through PotterCast. I just thought this would be fun to fill out and if you're a Harry Potter fan, you'll like this. If you want, fill out your own answers in the comments.

Where would the Sorting Hat put you? You know, I change my mind so often about this...at first, I thought I was a Gryffindor. Then, I thought I was a Slytherin. Then, I thought I was a Ravenclaw. Now, I'm back to Slytherin. So what am I really? I'm not sure. I have the loyalty of a Gryffindor, the intelligence of a Ravenclaw, and the ambitiousness of a Slytherin. Guess I'm a Slyvendor, lol.

Updated version of this question: Yep. Changed my mind...again. I'm having such a hard time deciding between Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. So, I am, as of right now, a Gryf-flepuff-erin. Uhh...yeah. Hmm...I really need to make my mind up, lol.

Who (or what) would you stuff into the nearest Vanishing Cabinet? I'm surprised that I can't think of anyone....umm...nope. Nobody, I guess!

What form would your boggart take? I don't fear much except for death. But I'm not sure what form that would take. Oh yeah, and heights.

Where do you shop most in Diagon Alley? Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. :P Seriously, I think I would probably shop in Flourish & Blotts a lot.

What corporeal form does your Patronus take? It's taking me forever to think of what my Patronus would be...maybe a black cat...or...yeah that's fine.

Describe your wand: Mahogany wood, 14 inches, essence of unicorn hair.

Aunt Petunia has been taken hostage by the Death Eaters. You're leading the OotP rescue party. Who are you taking along? Well, before DD died, Dumbledore, Lupin, & Moody.

Can you see Thestrals? No (thankfully...)

Who is your favorite Professor (aside from Dumbledore)? Remus Lupin. My second favorite would be Minerva McGonagall.

You have a single, one-hour dose of Polyjuice Potion brewed. Whose hair will you be dropping into it? Non-fictional- (when alive) Audrey Hepburn for no particular reason, Fictional- Laurana Kanan (from Dragonlance), Mina (from Dragonlance), Hermione Granger (from HP), Bellatrix LeStrange (from HP), Narcissa Malfoy (from HP), Sirius Black (from HP), Dumbledore (from HP), Holden Caulfield (Catcher and the Rye) again, for no particular reason, and Aragon (from Lord of the Rings)

What kind of broom do you fly? Hmm...I'm not sure I'd want a broom....but I guess I'd choose the Firebolt.

As an almost completely unrelated sidenote, I'm at my friend's house posting this and I asked her little sister (she's 7) what animal I seemed like (for the Patronus question) and she thought for a moment and says, "Well...what is something that's beautiful?" LOL.

Christmas and Resolutions

2006-12-29T17:57:00.000-06:00

Hehe. Guess what I got for Christmas....

:D

....the script to "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" signed by Tom Felton, Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Alan Rickman! *squee*

and

.....the script to the first episode of LOST signed by the cast!

I would have posted this sooner but I've been busy. Anyways, wow. I'm still in shock over my scripts. I was really really surprised; that's for sure.

I also got a MuggleCast t-shirt (yay!), a Harry and the Potters CD, an awesome Durmstrang messenger bag,"Eragon" and "Eldest" by Christopher Paolini and "A Game of Thrones" and "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin, bunch of giftcards (Wetseal, Charlotte Russe, Aeropostale), LOST season 1 and 2, a black trench coat, and the Rent soundtrack!!

Best Christmas I've ever had! :)

And while I'm thinking about it....

Resolutions for 2007:

Be more patient. (I'm extremely impatient and I would really like to work on that...)

Eat healthier. (Although I have a health nut as a mom, I don't eat very healthy and I know I don't eat enough veggies, fruit, etc.)

Re-write the first 200 pages in my book and start re-writing the encyclopedia of the world I made. (Long story, but in short, I need to start the story over but keep the basic outline of it. I just need to change some stuff and re-do a few of the character's pasts and one character I need to completely re-write. I had started to write an encyclopedia with all of my world's info and stuff, but unfortunately, it got thrown away. I would love to re-write all of that too.)

Learn Italian. (Since I am Italian, I think it's fitting that I learn to speak it.)

Books I want to read during 2007:

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Eldest by Christopher Paolini

Beowulf

The Measure and the Truth by Douglas Niles

Dragons of the Highlord Skies by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

Trail of the Black Wyrm by Chris Pierson

Shadow of the Flame by Chris Pierson

Sanctuary by Paul B. Thompson and Tonya C. Cook

Alliance by Paul B. Thompson and Tonya C. Cook

The Crystal Shard by R.A. Salvatore

Streams of Silver by R.A. Salvatore

The Halfling's Gem by R.A. Salvatore

Homeland by R.A. Salvatore

Exile by R.A. Salvatore

Sojourn by R.A. Salvatore

1984 by George Orwell

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

I can't wait to see what the upcoming year holds! Happy New Year everybody!

Books, Filks, and Deathly Hallows

2006-12-24T13:45:00.000-06:00

So I started Blades of the Tiger (by Chris Pierson) today and let me say now that I can tell this is going to be an EXCELLENT novel. I love the way the prologue was written. Many things are going to be different in this novel than other Dragonlance novels however. For one thing, this novel is set on a completely different continent than ALL the other DL novels. All Dragonlance novels have previously taken place on the continent of Ansalon. This is the first DL book to take place on Taladas. Things are very different on Taladas too and it's kind of like having to learn everything about Dragonlance all over again (not that that is a bad thing though.) On Taladas, they call the First Cataclysm (as it's known on Ansalon) the "Great Destruction" and they call the Age of Mortals the "Godless Night." Another thing is that the Summer of Chaos is called the "Dread Winter." Solinari is called "Solis", Lunitari is called "Lunis", and Nuitari is called "Nuvis." Everything is different, but I really like it! It's interesting. I've learned that I just can't do those chapter reviews due to lack of time and patience, but I will give some updates about how I'm liking the book.

As a side note, I am halfway through the Alien Sea (by Lucien Soulban) and umm, I'll finish soon (I hope....) I'll finish it eventually. The problem isn't that I don't like it (because I do), it's just that I always want to start reading too many books!

I've been listening to PotterCast's holiday filks (ep. #68) all day. My favorites are "Rock Around the Hogwarts Tree" and "Voldemort is Coming Tonight." This is why I love the HP fandom! There is nothing better than singing Christmas tunes with Harry Potter lyrics! All the filkers always do so well.

One last thing I want to talk about....Deathly Hallows....this is what I think: "Hallows" is referring to the horcruxes and "deathly" well, I don't have to explain that part. Then again, like HBP, it could be NOTHING like what we thought at first. I originally thought that "Half-Blood Prince" was a literal term and it not only ended up playing a small part, but it was a name that Snape made for himself. We'll only find out what DH really means until we read the book. (Which I, by the way, hope it doesn't come out until 2008...) You know, Deathly Hallows really stumps me though (like a good title should.) I know I just said what I thought, but then again....I see everyone's elaborate theories and I'm just like "Yeah, yeah! I like that!" My head is spinning from over-analyzing the title! I listened to PotterCast's "call-out" show and I like Evanna's theories a lot. I think they're a little...odd, but they would be cool to read about. I like the Four Hallows in the Arthurian legend and the theory with that. There are too many theories to think about honestly!

Hope everyone has a great Christmas Eve! Merry Christmas! :)

Dragons of Autumn Twilight: The Movie

2006-12-22T17:14:00.000-06:00

Dragons of Autumn Twilight: The Movie. When I first heard the news on the Dragonlance Nexus, it didn't exactly register. I had no reaction whatsoever. My mouth was just hanging open and I stared at the screen for ten minutes. I read the official announcement on the Dragonlance movie site (www.dragonlance-movie.com) on June 28, 2006. When I read that announcement, I did have a reaction; and what a reaction it was. I screamed and ran around and jumped up and down because "omgomgomgthere'sgoingtobeamovie!!" And that was pretty much my reaction. I called up several of my friends to tell them, even though, quite frankly, they didn't give a crap. Their replies were like, "Oh really? That's nice. I have to go." I am so very excited that it's actually happening though. I'm a fairly new fan compared to a lot of the Dragonlance fandom (I've only been reading for a year, maybe year and a half) but I'm happy that I still get to have this feeling of excitement of getting to see the very FIRST movie. The only sad part is that it's going to be a cartoon. But not a kid-ish cartoon. At least I don't think so. Click here for pictures. There are some pretty good actors/actresses voicing these parts too; Keifer Sutherland, Lucy Lawless, Michael Rosenbaum...! I hope that this movie gets the publicity it deserves.

Just an Update

2006-12-21T20:24:00.000-06:00

Just an update...

I've been feeling sick lately. All last week I was sick with a fever/cough/sore throat combo and then over the weekend, it was just the cough/sore throat. Now, it's just the cough, but I still feel a little sick. If I haven't replied to your emails yet or haven't called you back or something, this is why!

I have some BIG news that all obsessive Harry Potter fans know already, but I really just want to post it anyways....BOOK 7 ACTUALLY HAS A TITLE NOW! Go Jo! Yay! Horray! *Squee*!

The title for book 7 (I'm actually going to miss referring to it as "book 7"...) is:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Wow.

Just wow.

It's almost over. Harry Potter is almost over. I have really mixed feelings about hearing the title. On one hand, of course, I am so thrilled and excited. So so SO very excited. On the other hand, I don't want this to be over. I love this fandom so much and there's so much that I haven't got to do yet that I want to. For one thing, I haven't gotten to go to a Wizard Rock concert (like Harry and the Potters or The Remus Lupins.) Another thing I still have to do is go to a Leaky Mug. (www.leakymug.com) The last thing is to go to a Harry Potter conference. To go to a Harry Potter conference would just mean the world to me. To many people, it sounds silly, but to me, it means a lot. The conference coming up for 2007 is called Prophecy 2007. Here's a little paragraph copied from their site explaining it:

Prophecy 2007: From Hero to Legend, a conference focusing on the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, seeks proposals for a variety of educational programming. Individual presentations, discussion panels, round tables, workshops and poster sessions addressing topics relevant to the books and/or the fan community are welcome. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following: - Literature & Media Studies - Science - Education & Creativity - Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences - Fandom Culture & Experience.

(for more info, look here: http://hp2007.org/indexx.html?page=about/news)

It's from August 2-5th and is in Toronto, Canada. It's really killing me because this could be the LAST Harry Potter conference, and I can't go. Why can't I go? Because the reality of it is that I can't fly out to Toronto and stay in a hotel without my mom and she can't be gone for that long. I just wish there was some way I could go. For pete's sake, there is a Harry and the Potters concert playing on January 6th in Atlanta, Georgia that is 3 1/2 hours away and I can't go to it. 3 1/2 hours away! Jeez. I hate that. *sighs* Well, maybe a miracle will happen and I'll somehow be able to go to Prophecy 2007. I feel all sad now. Man. Well, I'm going to go. I have podcast stuff to work on.

As a side note, Christmas is in 4 days. Woo hoo!

Hopefully the end to Laura Mallory's stupid fight?

2006-12-12T17:35:00.000-06:00

I don't really have much to say except for I'm hoping this will finally be over.

Okay, okay....

2006-12-12T16:42:00.000-06:00

Okay...so I finished Saving Solace and, honestly, I don't have the patience to go back through the whole book and do all of those chapter summaries. I'll just review the book in general.

*some minor spoilers*

I really liked Saving Solace. When I found out who the murderer was, it, well, it wasn't a "no-brainer." I didn't really like the reason why Sheriff Joyner was murdered, but the rest of story made up for it, IMO. The story became a little rushed when you found out who murdered him though. Another murder happens in the story too and, at first, you think they're linked, but they end up not being linked at all. Odila makes an appearance in this book and it was cool to see yet another character from the War of Souls trilogy. I finally decided that Palin being a sheriff is fine. I hated the idea when I started reading the book, but it grew on me. As I read further in Saving Solace, I realized how much Palin actually loved his job as mayor. There are two random things however that I liked a lot in this book. The first thing is that sometimes, when Usha would paint, she would paint things in a trance (I guess that's the best way to put it) and things would "appear" on the picture that could somehow foretell what would (or could) happen. (ex. A neighbor of Usha's asked if she would paint of portrait of him. As she painted, she realized that he looked dead and as she painted further, she saw that she had painted him with a slit throat. A few days later, he was murdered.) I really liked how Usha's ability (I'm not really sure what to call it!) played a part in the book. The other thing that I thought was an interesting touch to the story was the show that the Travelling Players of Gilean performed. I had heard them mentioned briefly before, but had no idea what they did or who they were. They are a band of people of different races and with magic (I'm guessing it's magic...) they change their appearances to look like heiroic figures in Krynn's history and then perform a realistic play. They travel around Ansalon and perform these plays, earning money in the process. The play is described fantastically, in my opinion. I'm really wanting to read "The Players of Gilean" (an anthology) now. Overall, I didn't like how the main plot played out, but it was the little things and the characters that made me really like the book.

Saving Solace: Chapter 4

2006-12-02T14:42:00.000-06:00

I'm behind on these chapter reviews so I'll try to catch them all up today. I'm going to try to get chapters four through six done. I'll be posting them seperately. I've read up to chapter eight (I usually don't read this slow, but I'm reading so many other things right now...) and I'll probably read a couple of chapters this weekend as well.

Chapter Four:

Gerard discovers that the "cozy room" that Laura is letting him stay in is far from cozy. It's cramped and the cot is way too small, but Gerard doesn't complain. He wakes up to the smell of spiced potatoes and the voice of a kender reporting gossip and news from around town outside of his window. Gerard hears the kender reporting that Corinne Nestor's favorite hen hatched a two-headed chicken, Jason and Grace Clabber had a row about Jason's drinking, Solace's new sheriff Gerard uth Mondar arrived with Sir Vercleese the night before, and that there has been lots of recent arrivals of clerics coming for a temple dedication happening soon in Solace. Gerard leaves the inn and goes straight to Palin's house. Sir Vercleese is waiting right outside the door. Sir Vercleese refuses to come inside and stays outside the door as Gerard goes in. He greets Palin awkwardly. He notices that Palin has grayer hair, has gained a few pounds, and has laugh lines and ridges on his forehead; he looks different from the last time Gerard saw him. Palin's fingers were the biggest change however. Once crushed and deformed in the years during the war when he had been tortured, they had been magically restored at the end of the war. They both sit down and talk about Gerard leaving the knighthood and Palin's sacrifice of never using magic again. Gerard doesn't quite believe Palin when he says that he finds the job of a mayor satisfying. Palin then asks Gerard if he'll take the job as sheriff. Gerard asks why himself and not someone else. Palin says that with his experience of the war, resourcefulness, and courageousness, he'll make a good sheriff. Gerard then wants to know if he'll be "at risk" of being murdered like the former sheriff. Palin hesitates to say anything and at that moment, Usha, Palin's stunning wife, comes in and tells them that the tea will be ready in just a minute. Gerard politely refuses a cup, but Palin tells him "nonsense." After some more chat about Palin's loss of magic, Palin askes Gerard once more if he'll take the job. Gerard ends up taking it, but says it will only be temporary. Gerard then asks about the temple detication. Palin tells him that he'll take him over there and show him around. They then drink their tea and talk of old times. Palin mentions that Gerard might see some of familiar faces while Usha smiles knowingly, saying nothing. Gerard just shrugs, not wanting to play silly games. Gerard asks Palin if he thinks the murder of the sheriff had anything to do with the temple detication. Palin explains that that's what is worrying him and that former Sheriff Joyner was good at getting along with everyone and that he couldn't fathom who had a grudge against him. Gerard asks about Baron Samuval and if he could have done it. Palin says that Samuval has been quiet lately, but that he had always stayed clear of Sheriff Joyner. Right before Gerard leaves, Palin gives him a bronze octagonal medallion with "To Protect the Peace and Promote Prosperity" engraved on it. Gerard finds out that it's the sheriff's badge. Gerard at first doesn't want to wear it since he's only in Solace temporary, but Palin tells him that he'll need to show his authority. Palin then asks if Gerard wants to see the temple now along with Sir Vercleese. Of course, Gerard wants to go. The trio leaves and they walk past several different temples and shrines until they finally end up in front of a new structure being built. Palin tells Gerard that the building in front of them is the new temple. Palin asks Gerard if he recognizes it. Gerard exclaims that it looks like they are building a replica of the Temple of Mishakal in Xak Tsaroth. Palins tells him that he's right and that it'll just be smaller. Gerard decides that once the temple is deticated, he'll be on his way out of town, but until then, he'll do his best as sheriff of Solace.

Rent.

2006-11-30T14:50:00.000-06:00

Rent. The musical, I mean. I had never even heard of Rent before I listened to PotterCast. Anyone who listens to PotterCast knows what a big fan Melissa Anelli is of Rent. It sounds like I'm going nowhere with this, but I swear I am.

Let me tell you a story.

The day after Thanksgiving, I was shopping with my friend at Target, right? Right. So, I was looking at the $3.89 dvd's on sale and *gasp* there it was, "Rent: the musical." I had been having litte "fangirl" moments all day (ex. I saw a shirt with the British flag on it and immediately squee-ed and thought of Jaime Lawrence from MuggleCast, :P) and so when I saw the Rent dvd, I got all excited. I then read the back of the dvd and got even more excited because it sounded like something I would really like. I love musicals in general, but the plot of Rent sounded unbelievable. So, I bought the dvd and went home to watch it. 15 minutes into the musical, my eyes are glued to the tv screen and I'm completely absorbed in it. A few minutes later, there was a knock at my door. I paused the musical, grabbed the dvd case, and rushed over to my door to whip it open. One of my little five year old sisters are standing there with a wide-looked on her face that reminded me eerily of Luna Lovegood (I'm such a dork, I know...) I showed her the dvd case and said as calmly as I could possibly muster,

"Can't you see I'm watching Rent??"

*silence*

She then turned around and left. She must have understood that I did NOT want to be bothered again because she didn't come back after that.

So, I sat back down and watched the rest of Rent. And I can tell you right now, I have never in my whole life went through as many emotions at once as I did while watching Rent. Rent is just...amazing. Absolutely amazing. After watching Rent, I watched the "Making of Rent" where they told the story of Jonathan Larson's life and I can't tell you how much his story touched me. After watching that, I sat back down to watch Rent once again. The second time around, I laughed louder, cried harder, and watched it with new eyes.

All that happened the day after Thanksgiving. I've watched Rent every day since then. I now sing "Seasons of Love", "Take me or Leave me", and (my personal favorite) "La Vie Boheme" in the shower. My two five year old twin sisters have not only watched Rent several times with me, but also join in with me when I sing Rent songs. My twelve year old sister loves Rent now too and we've acted out scenes from several different parts of the musical. I only wish now that I could see the REAL Rent on Broadway.

So what have I been trying to say this whole time?

Thank you Melissa A. for introducing me to Rent.

Coming Soon :D

2006-11-28T12:31:00.000-06:00

Coming Soon on a Blog Near You...

A spiel about the upcoming Dragonlance movie (*squee*)

Two chapter reviews from Saving Solace

AND...

I profess my new love for... RENT!

Saving Solace: Chapter 3

2006-11-23T12:07:00.001-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Chapter 3:

Gerard and Sir Vercleese arrive in Solace just as night is setting in. Gerard thinks that there is some kind of celebration going on because the town is unsually busy. Solace isn't like he remembers. Sir Vercleese tells him that this is the way the town is now and that he should get used to it. He then points out the Inn of the Last Home and tells Gerard to look there for somewhere to sleep for the night and leaves. He tells Gerard that he'll see him at the mayor's office (Palin's) tomorrow. Gerard tells a stable boy named Baird to look over his horse and then leaves to visit the Tomb of the Last Heroes. During the beginning of the War of Souls, Gerard had stood guard over this tomb. While visiting it, he re-lives many painful memories of the war and before it. He can almost hear Caramon's voice calling him to eat Otik's notorious potatoes. Gerard had always downright refused to eat them. However, recalling Caramon, he wishes he had tried them, if only to satisfy the old man's wish. Gerard is then on his way to the Inn of the Last Home. On the way, he sees two draconians making their way up the steps to the inn. He thinks for a moment that he should cry out to the surrounding people to watch out for an attack and tries to decide whether to draw a weapon or not. The draconians step through the inn's door, right ahead of Gerard, but no one gives them a second glance. It seems to Gerard that the patrons view the elves in the inn with more suspicion than the draconians. It is finally apparent to Gerard that more has changed in Solace than he had first believed. Laura Majere greets Gerard and tells him that her brother told her that he would be visiting. Palin is her brother. Gerard reveals to Laura that Palin wants him to be sheriff of Solace. Laura congratulates him. Laura offers him a cozy room in attic and he accepts. Gerard asks for stew and tea, but Laura insists on a more hearty meal of potatoes and ale. She continues to make sure he eats it, even going as far as telling the waitress to stand by him until he takes a few bites. Suddenly, a song breaks out among the elves. They start to sing a song about draconians, which is sure to start a brawl. The draconians then join in, but change the words to lyrics of killing people. Gerard, not wanting a fight to break out, jumps up and sings a song that he learned from his nurse as a child. All eyes are on Gerard, but he continues to sing loudly. All of the inn's patrons join in except for the elves and the draconians. The draconians get up and leave the inn. The inn relaxes once more, and talk resumes. Gerard pulls aside a waitress and asks for a bowl of bland porridge (he hasn't eaten more than a bite of potatoes.) The waitress takes the plate with un-eaten potatoes and a mug full of ale back to the kitchen. Moments later, he hears Laura cursing wildely.

Questions:

Why aren't the draconians viewed with more suspicion?

What other changes have happened to Solace and why?

Answers:

What does the letter say? Palin sent the letter to ask Gerard to be sheriff.

Thoughts: So Solace has changed. But why? Who murdered the last sheriff? Is Gerard the next victim-to-be? Or is it something that the last sheriff did? There are just so many questions!! The story is excellent so far. I'm really enjoying it. I liked the part where Gerard was recalling what Caramon used to say to him. It was very touching. I don't have too much else to say, so I guess I'll go read chapter four. I can't wait to find out what happens!

Saving Solace: Chapter 2

2006-11-20T12:22:00.001-06:00

Chapter 2:

The chapter starts with introducing a new (well, new in this book) character; Gerard uth Mondar. He's at his home in Southern Ergoth. Gerard is waiting to talk to his father, Mondar uth Alfric. While waiting, a messenger arrives for Gerard. A servant introduces the messenger as Sir Vercleese. Gerard guesses correctly that the man was formerly a Knight of Solamnia. You find out that Gerard has recently quit the knighthood. Gerard tells Sir Vercleese that he'll read the message "in good time" and offers him a room to stay (Sir Vercleese politely refuses.) He then walks into his father's chamber. His father tries to convince him to rejoin the knighthood. His father is influential with the Knights of Solamnia and tells Gerard that he can get him back in (by paying a great sum of money.) Gerard refuses to rejoin. He is then told to leave the house and not come back. Gerard says goodbye to his mother and when she asks where he will go, he says that he will go to Solace because Palin wrote to him and he might as well visit him. He then returns to his room where he slits open the seal on the letter. By the time evening comes around, Vercleese and Gerard have left his family's estate and are on a boat which will take them to the White-Rage River, where they will continue to journey to Solace.

Questions:

What did the letter say?

Answers:

(from Chapter 1)

Who is Sir Vercleese delievering a message to and what does it say? He is delievering it to Gerard, but we still don't know what it says. *

Thoughts:

I loved seeing Gerard come back! I loved him in War of Souls and like I've said before, I love reading about older characters in newer books. Not a whole lot happened in this chapter. There was just a quarrel between father and son and then a decision to go to Solace. Personally, I can't stand people like Mondar uth Alfric. I was glad that Gerard refused and left. Anyways, I'm really liking the book so far. I'm wondering if Tom and Sophie are going to play a part at all.

This isn't about the chapter exactly, but I meant to say this earlier. About the cover of the book...I am hoping that the man on the cover isn't Gerard. Gerard is supposed to be ugly. Plain ol' ugly. The man on the cover of the book IS NOT UGLY. The man is fairly good-looking, I'd say. Why make Gerard look handsome if he isn't supposed to be that way? Maybe it's not Gerard...I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be though...Argh! I've been pretty happy with Matt Stawicki and, of course, I love Elmore, but, actually you know what? I don't know who did the cover art. Hold on, let me see...alright. Her name is Victoria Frances. I've never seen her art before I don't think. I've never heard of her, honestly. Well, Victoria Frances, if this is Gerard on the cover, I AM NOT HAPPY. If you think I'm nuts, listen for a moment. Cover art means a lot to me. I know you shouldn't "judge a book by its cover", but don't tell me that you've NEVER done that. Almost everyone has done that before! I can't tell you how many times I have looked at the cover of a book and it looked like crap so I put it back. Anyways, I am hoping that it is NOT Gerard.

*- Well, I DO know what it says because of the back of the book, but for the sake of this outline thingy, I'm just going to pretend I don't. :D

ZOMG

2006-11-17T21:43:00.000-06:00

ZOMG....

Ahh!! Wow. The trailer for OOtP was AWESOME! No Dawlish though. :P I saw a glimpse of Bellatrix, but I didn't get a good look because it was so fast, so once the trailer is online, I'll have to look again. Umbridge didn't do her "hem hem" like I wanted, but oh well. All the clips were soo fast so I didn't get a good look at anything really. It felt like 10 secs even though it was a 57 sec trailer. As a sidenote, it was nice to see Sirius outside of a fireplace. Anyways, I'm all hyped up for the movie now. CAN NOT WAIT!

THE TRAILER!

2006-11-17T09:19:00.000-06:00

Yay!! I get to see the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix trailer today!! I'm so excited! Four pictures surfaced online today from the trailer. They look awesome. The teaser poster looks amazing as well. I'll blog again once I see the trailer.

On a sidenote, I've read two more chapters in Saving Solace. I'll review them on here soon.

Saving Solace: Chapter 1

2006-11-16T19:24:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I just started reading "Saving Solace." I meant to start earlier, but school's taking up a lot of time and I don't have as much time to read anymore.

I'm going to review the book chapter by chapter. I'll summarize it and then give my thoughts.

Chapter 1:

The chapter starts off with a man named Tom Osterman and his wife, Sophie. They are driving a cart filled with produce into Solace to sell. They're obviously farmers. Tom tries to persuade Sophie that the land in Solace is better for farming. Sophie rolls her eyes and tells her husband that the land they have is fine. Tom gets out of the cart to show Sophie the "beauty of the land" and sees something on the ground in the distance. He runs towards it and discovers that it's the body of the sheriff of Solace; Graylord Joyner. Graylord Joyner is dead with a cut throat. Carved on the sheriff's chest is the word "morgoth." Neither Tom nor Sophie know what it means. They bring the body of the sheriff to Palin Majere; mayor of Solace. Palin makes the comment that it is not a good time to be without a sheriff. You find out that Sir Vercleese uth Rothgaard, a former Knight of Solamnia, wants the job, but can't have it. Palin then sends Sir Vercleese to deliver a message to someone in Southern Ergoth. Tom and Sophie leave Palin to go sell their produce, but people keep on asking them questions about the murder. Everyone is asking what "morgoth" means, but no one knows. Eventually, two elves confess to knowing what it means. "Morgoth" means "beware" in elven. A commotion breaks out and the chapter ends.

Questions:

Who murdered Graylord Joyner and why?

Who is Sir Vercleese delivering a message to and what does it say?

Thoughts:

I really like the beginning of the book. It moved along nicely. I'm glad that Palin is back also. It's always nice to see older characters in newer novels. The only thing I had a hard time believing is that no one knew what "morgoth" meant. Solace is a town of many different races and individuals. You can't tell me for one moment that some of the town's people haven't picked up some elven from travellers. Is it just me?

I'll read and review chapter 2 tomorrow.

Comment please!

I can't believe I almost forgot...

2006-11-14T21:21:00.000-06:00

I can't believe I almost forgot...

HAPPY PICKLE APPRECIATION DAY EVERYBODY!!!

2006-11-14T15:42:00.000-06:00

Dawlish and the OOTP Trailer

After listening to PotterCast #63, I wanted to see if anyone actually made a Dawlish trailer...and this is what I found! I love it!!!

2006-11-13T19:55:00.000-06:00

El Tango de Roxanne - Hermione, Krum, and Ron

I love this video.

Happy Feet

2006-11-13T14:43:00.000-06:00

"Happy Feet" is coming out this Friday...

and I'm taking my friend to see it (as a birthday gift)...

but I'm not going just to watch the movie...

I'm going to see the movie for the trailer for HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX!!!

YAY!!

I'm so excited!!! I really hope we get to see a glimpse of Bellatrix...and dawwwlissshhhh. :P

After I see it, I'll blog about it.

I can't wait!!!

2006-11-09T13:57:00.000-06:00

John Noe doing DDR

I LOVE this...I love the end of it: "Expelliarmus!" Ahhh, John's so funny!!!

Wanting to spiel, but...

2006-11-08T15:48:00.000-06:00

*sighs* I am really busy right now, but I feel like spieling about the upcoming Dragonlance movie...so I think I'm going to just post a couple of quick things, and then I'll spiel later...

Okay, so I requested, a while ago, that my library get more Dragonlance books , and they're finally here! I took out "Saving Solace" by Douglas W. Clark and "Wizards' Conclave" by Douglas Niles.

Here is the description of Saving Solace:

"Solace is booming out of control. An important temple dedication is bringing merchants, dignitaries, and a host of ne’er-do-wells and surprise visitors to the fabled tree-top town. And lately there have been a series of mysterious incidents.

Palin has sworn off magic and nowadays acts as town mayor. He desperately needs a new sheriff, as the last one has just been murdered by malefactors unknown. Fortunately, Gerard has quit the knighthood after a quarrel with his father, and arrives just in time to don a sheriff’s badge."

And my first thoughts...

In the War of Souls trilogy, Palin was a mage and he gave up his magic at the end of the third book. I think it was a good choice to give up his magic, but being a town mayor is a little...I don't know...I just don't like it. I'll have to see how it plays out. Other than that, the book doesn't seem like a "typical" tale of magic, the gods, and sword fighting. It will be something new; which is good.

This is the description of Wizards' Conclave:

"The War of Souls is over, and the gods of magic have returned to Krynn. The two most powerful wizards in the world, Dalamar of the Black Robes and Jenna of the Red, join forces to seek and enter the Tower of High Sorcery in Wayreth Forest. The Tower of been conquered by evil, and wizards everywhere are summoned for a high council- the first new conclave.

The future of magic will depend on controlling wild sorcery- and on the whim of a mysterious newcomer to the hallowed arts."

My thoughts...

Well, I already know that the "newcomer to the hallowed arts" is Coryn (who is a White Robe.) I've heard (like I've said in another post) a lot of mixed reviews about the book. A lot of people have said that they didn't like how Coryn quickly rose to power. Also in this book, the author makes a mistake...Dalamar is somehow... blonde...? I keep hearing this, so I'll have to see how it is said in the book. The book sounds good though. Dalamar is one of my favorite DL characters so it'll be fun reading about him. I also want to see how Dalamar and Jenna's relationship is. After reading about how Solamnics are pulling themselves together (the RoS trilogy), it'll be nice to see how other people, like wizards, are pulling together. I'm really looking forward to them entering the Wayreth Forest...that'll be interesting.

Once I'm done reading these two books, I'll give a review of them.

2006-11-06T14:45:00.000-06:00

Looking for Horcri

I thought this was pretty funny.

Random Things

2006-11-01T15:31:00.000-06:00

I wanted to give an explaination of my url. Edna St. Vincent Millay is my favorite poet and my url address is derived off of one of her sonnets. Here's the sonnet:

Still will I harvest beauty where it grows:
In coloured fungus and the spotted fog
Surprised on foods forgotten; in ditch and bog
Filmed brilliant with irregular rainbows
Of rust and oil, where half a city throws
Its empty tins; and in some spongy log
Whence headlong leaps the oozy emerald frog.
And a black pupil in the green scum shows.
Her the inhabiter of divers places
Surmising at all doors, I push them all.
Oh, you that fearful of a creaking hinge
Turn back forevermore with craven faces,
I tell you Beauty bears an ultrafringe
Unguessed of you upon her gossamer shawl!

[starting spiel]

So, I just finished The Crown and the Sword, book 2 of the Rise of Solamnia trilogy (book 3 is being released in Jan. 2007 I think), and I'm disappointed in the trilogy so far. It took me months just to finish the last 70 pages or so in The Crown and the Sword because the story wasn't moving fast enough for me. There hasn't been a book I haven't liked in the Dragonlance saga, but this trilogy is just not doing it for me. Lord of the Rose (the first book), IMO, was okay. I liked the plot and Jaymes intrigued me. However, in The Crown and the Sword, I felt like Jaymes' actions were too rash. I mean, they were rash in Lord of the Rose, but in the second book, I think he went over the line. I also felt bad for Coryn in The Crown and the Sword. I had been reading so many bad things about her on the Dragonlance forums, but when I read these books, I liked her. However, I had been invisioning a very different character (due to some threads that I read) than what I read about. Though, I didn't read 'The Wizards' Conclave' so maybe she acted different in that book. Anyways, as I was saying, I felt bad for her because of the whole Jaymes/Selinda thing. I really felt that Jaymes was wrong to give Selinda that potion and then take advantage of her. It made me really angry! Overall, I think that in some parts of the book, it moved along great and in other parts, it went way too slow and got boring. Hopefully, The Measure and the Sword (book 3) will turn the RoS trilogy around.

[end of spiel] :D

"Alien Sea" by Lucien Soulban is sitting on the bookshelf right now, waiting to be read, but my Order of the Phoenix book is keeping me busy. I'm re-reading all of the HP books right now, so probably when I'm done, I'll read it. After I'm done with it, I'll post my review here.

I'll blog tomorrow so check back! (I love hearing feedback so please comment!)

2006-10-31T14:48:00.000-06:00

Dobby is Freeeeeeeee: The VIDEO!!!

Doesn't Dobby just sound so...excited? :D I go into hysterics everytime I see this. "Dobby is FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE."

Scribbulus Issue 8

2006-10-28T12:04:00.000-05:00

I know Scribbulus Issue 9 is already out, but I really wanted to comment on the article "Why Can't Everyone Just Be as Big of a Harry Potter Fan as I Am?" written by "weirdsis".

Here is the link to the article: http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/#scribbulus:essay:258

First of all, I give all of my praise to the writer. It was an excellent article.

During the first paragraph of the article, the writer says,

"Like most superfans, we love sharing our obsession with fellow enthusiasts. I always get excited when someone tells me he/she is a Harry Potter fan. There is so much to discuss! My mind races as I ponder the first question: where do you stand on Snape? Do you have any theories as to the title of Book VII? Who’s your favorite character?"

Whenever I meet another HP fan, I go into the same mode. I get very worked up and I want to know their opinions and theories. I want to know if they listen to MuggleCast or PotterCast. I want to know just how much of a fan they are.

"However, most of the time when I meet a self-proclaimed Harry Potter “fan,” I am disappointed. “I love Harry Potter!” they say.

“Really?” I ask hopefully.

“Oh, yes, I’ve seen all of the movies!”

Silence.

Equally appalling is, “Oh, yes, I’ve read all of the books… except this last one. I’m waiting for it to come out in paperback.”

My smile fades; I mumble and change the subject. "

I can't tell you how many times that same thing has happened to me. NOT that there is anything wrong with movie fans, but when you are a die-hard HP fan, it can be disappointing.

In the article, "weirdsis" (it only says her username, so I don't know her real name) states,

"What I want to do, of course, is go Caps Lock on them. “YOU DO NOT LOVE HARRY POTTER!” Do these people not understand the difference between love and like? If you’ve only read the books once, you don’t ‘love’ Harry Potter, and if you’ve only seen the movies, you don’t even ‘know’ Harry Potter. And what’s wrong with these people anyway? How is it possible to read Harry Potter only once? "

How true. How IS it possible to only read Harry Potter once??? I've read the whole series more than twenty times, probably more. Each time I read it, I discover something new that I didn't see before.

She [weirdsis] (well, I'm assuming 'she') goes on to say,
"How can you not be excited about sitting for your Level II WOMBAT (Wizards’ Ordinary Magic and Basic Aptitude Test given by J. K. Rowling on her website)?"

When I checked TLC the morning the Level II WOMBATs could be taken, I squee-ed and rushed over to Jo's website to take them. (I got Exceeds Expectations, by the way.)

"Occasionally, however, someone answers the opening Harry Potter question correctly (in my completely subjective opinion). Occasionally, the answer is, “Oh, yes! I’m quite mad about Harry Potter. In fact, many of my friends and family worry about me.” (This is always an excellent sign.)"

I don't really have anything to say about the paragraph above, but I did laugh.

"Weirdsis" says later,

"I do wonder about us, sometimes. Are superfans obsessive types in general? Because we’re obsessed with Harry Potter, does this mean that without J. K. Rowling, we’d be obsessing about other things? "

She makes a good point. Are we HP fans just obsessive in general? I know personally that not only do I obsess about everything Harry Potter, but I also obsess over everything Dragonlance (and anyone who hasn't read Dragonlance, read it! Start with "Dragons of Autumn Twilight.") Other Harry Potter fans obsess over other things too, like video games or other book series. (I used the word "other" three times in that one sentence...lol)

"The main thing that brings us back to read the same pages time and again, however, is our love for the characters. Yes, the wizarding world thrills and excites us and we long to be part of it, and yes, everything British is cool—I’m an American; please humor (without the second ‘u’) me. But our loyalty to everything Harry is because of Harry. We see the Wizarding World through Harry’s eyes; we are Harry and Harry is us. But many of us also relate to a particular character in a very personal way. Perhaps we see something of him/her in ourselves, or perhaps we would like to emulate his actions. For example, some of us may be a bit awkward like Tonks (“Who d’you know who’s lost a buttock?” 2), while some of us may aspire to be like Dumbledore, who knows the problems of his students but allows them to work out the answers for themselves—because that is what a good teacher does. Dumbledore is brilliant! "
,"Weirdsis" says in the article.

I read Harry Potter for a good book, interesting characters, and a brilliant plot written by a genius. When I read, I look up to and wish to be more like some of the characters. I look up to Hermione for her constant studious behavior and her fierce loyalty. I look up to Luna for her ability to be her own person and not caring what other people think of her. I look up to Dumbledore for his wisdom, kindness, and patience. That is part of the reason I am constantly re-reading the books. Every person who reads the books will find someone they are like or wish to be.

"....We discuss theories and possible release dates and Wizards and Witches of the Month and actors and scripts and sets and dragons and—most of all—how Harry will defeat Voldemort. We write our own endings to the stories, develop our own plots, create our own mini-dramas, and make our own videos. We create numerous versions of “Harry Potter: The Musical” by filking our favorite songs. We attend conventions to discuss everything from physics to Parseltongue. "

The Harry Potter fandom is so large and everyone can do something to be more involved. Some people write filks/parodies (GuruofSloth's "The PotterCast Song" is one of my favorites.) Other people write fanfiction, while others obsess over their ships. People can listen to PotterCast and MuggleCast, discuss anything HP on The Leaky Lounge, not to mention all of the HP conventions (like Lumos 2006.) You can go on YouTube and view tons of fan videos (many of which are excellent.) See? There is something for eveybody.

"And we dress in costume to attend book release parties."

Hehe...I'm getting my costume ready for the Book 7 release. I'm trying to decide between a Slytherin or Ravenclaw costume. I've taken many sorting hat quizzes and I always get either one of those two. I just realized that I'm supposed to be talking about the article and not my costume planning, so moving on.

"As we mingle with other fans at the bookstore, we find kindred spirits everywhere we turn. We find that the word “camaraderie” doesn’t begin to describe our shared experience (somebody please contact Oxford!). After we finally get our hands on the latest installment, we stay up all night reading."

When you meet another die-hard, absolutely obsessed Harry Potter fan, it is instant friendship. You never run out of things to talk about, that's for sure. Anxiously waiting in line for the next Harry Potter book, you talk to the person behind you, next to you, and in front of you in line. You talk about everything and anything Harry Potter. You wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. But, eventually, you get the book and stay up all night reading it. However, you never truly want to finish it because once you read it, you're one book closer to the end. While we do want to know what happens (or doesn't happen), aren't you going to feel sad when it's all over?

"And while waiting for the next book, we correspond with others who share our Potter Passion, and we discuss, discuss, discuss! We discuss our ships (sailed or sunk), and we discuss our “snips” (the opposite of ships; a term Leaky Lounge Moderator Erin Rae coined to refer to couples we’d like to break up). We discuss our common desires: to own a pair of Spectrespecs; to hear a Stubby Boardman concert; to wonder what Bill and Fleur’s wedding will be like. “Do you, Bill, agree to be bonded to Fleur, to love her without a Love Potion, to use the Shield Charm to protect her, the Summoning Charm to get her a drink when she's thirsty, Scourgify to regularly perform household chores, Alohomora to open doors for her, the Cheering Charm when she is disheartened, and Orchideous to give her flowers on your anniversary?” "

I thought the 'Bill and Fleur's (or "Phelgm" as Ginny would say) wedding' thing was pretty funny. But, what "weirdsis" says is very true. Potter fans sure do a lot of discussing in various forms. Whether chatting, podcasting, or typing.

"If you are not a Harry Potter superfan but for some reason you are reading this, please be aware that we’re fine with the way you feel about us. Weird is a good word in the Harry Potter world. We’re having the time of our lives! We’re part of something as great and powerful as Harry’s Patronus by the lake in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Happy feelings protect Harry, and they protect us as well. So, fear us, misunderstand us, or think we are insane. But while you’re at it, pick up a book! You may just find that you become one of us."

Weird is a good word and we are having the time of our lives. I can't possibly tell you how much fun I have listening to these Harry Potter podcasts and analyzing the littlest detail in the books. I get so much joy out of it! Sure, I get some pretty weird looks (but, weird is a good thing, remember?) My family thinks I'm crazy for liking something so much and putting a lot of energy and time into it, but you know what...I like it, I enjoy it, and I learn from it. You know, I've learned debating skills from Harry Potter. You have to be able to make some pretty good points when debating about different theories and why they would or wouldn't work. I've also learned to pay more attention to details. Jo Rowling has all kinds of clues in her books and they're often hidden in a sentence that you didn't pay much attention to. Harry Potter is very important to me and whether you agree or disagree with me, it is something I thoroughly love.

Thanks, and comment all you please!

First Post

2006-10-27T17:08:00.000-05:00

Okay, well I'm going to use this blog to just talk (actually type) about different books I'm reading and give reviews as well as talk about an upcoming podcast that I'm working on with some other people. I'll probably talk a ton about Harry Potter and Dragonlance too, as I am a obsessed fan with both. I'm also a devoted PotterCast and MuggleCast fangirl. Um, other info: I'm homeschooled (and love it) and I'm in the middle of writing a book right now. I write by hand and I've written a total of 200 pages so far. Other than that, once I start posting more, I'd love to hear feedback and replies about my reviews and such. Thanks for taking the time to read this and check back tomorrow!

spieling and rambles await here...

Nader for '08! Yeah!

I Love this Poem

I'm a Bad, Bad Blogger

A (Not as) Massive (as I thought) Update

Update soon

NaNoWriMo has eaten my soul.

Book Updates

Bad Fanfics I

Blogaversary

HP Friday Five (#4?)

Must See Movies Coming Out Soon

The Red Sox -- First WS Game

Books...but most importantly...THE DL TRAILER

GO SOX!

NaNoWriMo '07 Blog

Wrocking Around the Bathroom Stall... *singing*

Red Sox

Updates

A Haiku

NaNo Updates

Poetry

NaNoWriMo Blabber and Books

Dilemma

Books

Long Time, No See

I figured something out.

"Ickle Firsties"

Load of Questions

Kentucky Fried CRUELTY

im totally spazzing right now

Episode 4 of DLC!!

Visual DNA

zomg!

Lotsa Stuff

Gar. Haven't Blogged in A While.

Episode 2, Baby!

LOST last night

SQUEE!! Episode One is finally here!!

"We Didn't Start the Fandom"

Dragonlance Canticle

More HP Friday Questions

HP Friday Questions

5 HP Questions

Five Potter Questions

Hogwarts Professors Quiz

Young Marauders and Snape.

Mumble Jumble

favorite character meme answers

Favorite Character Meme

LOST: Flashes Before Your Eyes

Don't waste your time reading this.

Lola Bellezza is here!

LOST: Not in Portland

Shouldn't Be Blogging...

The Most Random-est Blog That I've Had...So Far.

Cell Block Tango from Chicago

Rent, Chicago, Books, School, and Lost.

It's almost over.

Favorite Demetri Martin Quotes

Gryffindor. Hufflepuff. Slytherin. Ravenclaw.

Great Night, Great Morning

BORED.

Just Some Updates...

Garden State

SQUEE!

"They're Called Thestrals"

Blog Response to: What impact has Potter made on YOUR life?

The Solace Tattler

Deathly Hallows Meme

Another Super Quick Update

Another Quick Update

Quick Update

A Harry Potter "MeMe"

Christmas and Resolutions

Books, Filks, and Deathly Hallows

Dragons of Autumn Twilight: The Movie

Just an Update

Hopefully the end to Laura Mallory's stupid fight?

Okay, okay....

Wrocking Around the Bathroom Stall... singing