Mostly Media

You're right, there is a LOT of new media being released this coming fall and spring, and I'm pretty stoked about it.  I would be looking more forward to all of it, though, if I had you guys nearer to me so I could enjoy it with you.  I have little to no social life except for texting and iMessage (which is awesome, don't get me wrong), so I've been feeling pretty alone.

BUT, that wasn't the question.  The question was, "What are you looking forward to?"  First of all, I can't wait for Thor 2: The Dark World.  Yeah, okay, I love me some Loki, but I know they're kind of slowly weeding him out of the movies, and he isn't going to be in the second Avengers coming out in a couple of years, but his beauty has kind of lost its luster for me (not that Tom Hiddleston isn't beautiful, of course...I would still only just be able to contain myself if I ever met him randomly on the street).  It's more Asgard!  And Elves!  And Chris Eccleson (sp?) is the lead elf!  It makes my geeky side feel all warm and fuzzy to think of Doctor #9 dressing up as an elf and terrorizing the Norse god of thunder  =P  Along those lines, there's also Captain America: The Winter Soldier hitting theaters early next year.  Basically, just about anything Avengers related is going to turn me into a little fangirl again, and I'm pretty stoked about that movie.  Then there's the third season of "Once Upon a Time" hitting the air soon as well, and that has me all kinds of excited, even though I have to finish season 2 yet...(I know, I know!  Don't judge me!).  I also really want to see Catching Fire at some point, although I don't think I'll be seeing that movie in theaters.  I just finished reading the book about half an hour ago, and there are some scenes that are so bloody and graphic that I don't want to be haunted by them on a big screen.  Better to see them on my 36" at home, you know?  There are also several book series (recommended by Anne, FYI) that I would like to continue reading.  I think a few of them have books either coming out soon or just recently released, and I've been reading a lot lately.

Mostly, though, I'm looking forward to school.  I start on August 24th, a Saturday morning, and unlike undergrad, I couldn't give a damn if I tried about having a weekend class.  A Saturday class is better than no class at all, and with Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday off, I can't really justify complaining.  I'll be studying again, going to class, and learning a specific skill set that, if I play things right, will launch me into the rest of my life.  I'm so excited to start, and to quit my boring teller job in order to do it.  And the program is only two semesters, so hopefully by this time next year I'll already have my first paralegal job.

I also have a bit of a three-year plan, one that essentially involves me becoming self-sufficient.  I want to get a good-paying job (I don't need to be a millionaire, I just want enough to live on by myself), move out of Mom's house, and finally take care of all of my own bills.  I want my own car insurance, my own phone account, and my own health/dental/eye insurance.  I am sick of bleeding Mom dry monetarily, and I feel a little more horrible about it every time she pays for something for me.  I even feel bad when I go out to have fun (rare as it is) because it usually means spending money that I know I should be saving.  I want to have my own little house on a quiet street where I can live with my Crazy Cat Lady Starter Kit (a.k.a. Saloona, Blitz, and Jack-Jack).  I also want to take a class in auto mechanics because I'm sick of feeling like a stupid female whenever I have car trouble, and I want to learn how to drive a manual transmission.  I will also, at some point, be getting my Carry a Concealed Weapon permit and buying a firearm because I have realized recently that I cannot depend on anyone but myself to protect me.

Huh...that got a little more psychotherapeutic than I was planning...sorry about that, guys...

So what are you waiting for?

Relax, it's not an existential question.

If you follow movies and TV at all, there have been a lot of announcements recently. Thor 2 released a new Loki-heavy trailer, Sherlock gave us 29 seconds of nothing at all for series 3, Doctor Who announced the new doctor, The Book Thief gave us movie stills and a moved up release date, and I know I'm looking forward to a lot of media happening this fall.

So. What are you looking forward to? Any movies you can't wait to see, TV shows you're dying to get back to, book releases that are highly anticipated? What's coming up that you want?

Who wants to play favorites?

Surprisingly enough, I have a pretty hard time picking a "favorite" character from Harry Potter. With many books/TV shows/movies there comes a point where I am only continuing for that ONE character that I absolutely love, but that never really happened with Harry Potter. That's the problem with something that awesome - it's ALL good!

That said, I'd like to take today to talk about the two characters that were big role-models for me growing up. I read the first Harry Potter book all the way back in 4th grade when it wasn't even HARRY POTTER yet - I had no clue there was even going to be a sequel until the next year! I had already been labeled somewhat of a nerd, and I didn't have the easiest time of making friends - most of us are at least a little introverted, you know how it is.

And then I read this book called Harry Potter, and one of the main characters was not only a girl but nerdy like me! She had a similar attitude and everything - need to solve a problem? Go to the library! Looking back, I would say that reading about Hermione made me feel better about being a nerd. After all everybody loved Harry Potter, and Harry Potter thought she was cool, right?

Later, when Ginny was introduced as a fully fleshed out character I also found her a kind of role model. She isn't quite the smart girl like Hermione, but she *does* have street smarts and a "no-bulls**t" kind of attitude that I loved. She stood up for herself and for those she loved. I was pretty impressed, and I wanted to be more like her.

So maybe they're not my favorites, because that would mean that I didn't love Dumbledore, or Ron, or Sirius, or Mrs. Weasley or anyone else as much. But I would say that they probably had the biggest influence on my life.

Edit: It occurs to me that I will probably be MIA next week, as I'll be busy trying to fit my entire life into a van. I apologize, and I'll see you in a few weeks :-)

Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!

Tonks will always be my favorite Hufflepuff, but Dumbledore is definitely my favorite character. He's witty, wise, has some of the best lines in the book, and is also extremely flawed. It took me back a bit after reading the seventh book. I think I felt a lot like Harry - did I know this person at all? But it all completely makes sense. For someone to be as wise as Dumbledore, you'd have to go through some pretty life changing experiences. Dumbledore has his secrets and sometimes he's wrong, but I can't blame him for any of that.


On a side note, in honor of Harry's birthday, I dug out my Sorcerer's Stone game and started playing it. Hopefully, the youtube link will work by the time this is posted. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE7Cw9vegkU

Please keep off the dirigible plums.

You should all know by now that I identify most with Hufflepuff house, so it might seem odd that my favorite character is a Ravenclaw whom I adore because of characteristics that could be considered Hufflepuff in nature. 

Ladies and gentlemen I give you the ever-hopeful, joyfully kind, and unfailingly loyal Luna Lovegood.

Despite being bullied and made fun of in school, Luna trusted the trio and the rest of the DA without question. She doesn't behave as if she ever expects them to be unkind to her, which is some kind of amazing. It is almost implied that Luna never had friends before Ginny, Neville, and the trio and yet she didn't even hesitate to join them on their rescue mission to the Ministry of Magic. Despite being shunned for her oddities in the past, it took a single branch of friendship from those five to inspire unshakeable loyalty. She never grew bitter or resentful, and never closed herself off from her peers. She lived hopefully for the day she would have a true friend and saw those hopes fulfilled. 

As for being kind, who else but Luna could be trapped in a dungeon for months and still be courteous and helpful to others? She took care of Ollivander as best she could in a very terrible situation. He called her, "an inexpressible comfort...in that terrible place."  When Harry, Ron, Dean, and Griphook arrived she reacted with neither agitation or despair. Just by the way she spoke, casually mentioning the nail they use when they need to break things being in proximity to the water jug (which was important because she was living in an environment in which they could not see), we can tell she made the best of the situation. She didn't even get upset with Ron when he was being difficult and instead spoke with "please" and "thank-yous." 

Dobby's death was quite a blow to Harry, but Luna's suggestion that they close Dobby's eyes must have been healing for Harry's heart, giving the elf an appearance of peace and dignity no less deserved than Dumbledore himself. Remember it is she who spoke Dobby's eulogy with respect, saying all the words Harry could not.  

As for loyalty, Luna never backed down. She stood with the DA against Umbridge and at the Battle of the Ministry. She stood against Death Eaters on the Astronomy Tower. She stood against the Carrows both before and after her stay at the Malfoy Manor. She stood until the end.

Luna is the most Hufflepuff Ravenclaw I've ever heard of, and I do believe that at the center of our hearts we should all have a little Hufflepuff inside.

The Boy Who Might Have Been

Neville Longbottom.

Show of hands: who's surprised? No one? Yeah, that's what I thought.

See, I wrote a 20 page paper on Neville for Dr. Diehl. I could just copy and paste that here, but I'll summarize for y'all. :)

I adore Neville.

I adore Neville because of his quiet strength and his core of iron and the fact that he broke the cycle. This is a kid who, at eleven, stood up to the most popular kids in his grade because he believed that their actions were wrong. He stood up for his morals and values even at a time when he had trouble standing up for something as basic as himself. Throughout the series, nothing gets in his way of pursuing what he feels to be morally right. His morals are more important to him than his own image.

I adore Neville because he is a quiet hero, an almost unwilling hero, and he never seeks glory, largely because he constantly feels he doesn’t deserve it. He lives everyday with the belief that he will never be good enough (because his grandmother is a horrible, awful human being who I despise more than any other character in the series), but he goes out and does what needs to be done anyway. He’s Harry’s foil, and he’s the character who keeps Harry honest, because he could easily have been the boy in Harry’s place. He grows into his legacy and his abilities in Deathly Hallows and becomes a full fledged BAMF, the underestimated hero, and the one who, if left up to him, would remain unsung. Because Neville has never seen himself as heroic. He was only ever doing what someone more heroic than him wasn’t around to do, only ever doing what needed to be done.

I adore Neville because the kid argued with the Sorting Hat about where he belonged; when the Hat wanted to put him in Gryffindor, Neville shook his head and said he wasn't brave enough and he should be in Hufflepuff instead. And the Hat sure as hell didn't listen. He put Neville where he belonged and forced Neville to grow into his Gryffindor-ness, and holy cow does he.

I adore Neville because he became a leader and he instilled hope and he spun a story so everyone could get through those awful, awful days, but the moment it was time to hand over the reigns, he did so. I adore Neville because when Harry passed the torch, Neville alone out of anyone had some inkling of what Harry was going to do, and he let him know that the fight would continue and that no one was giving up, no matter what. I adore Neville because he killed a freakin' snake and said "I'll join you when Hell freezes over" and just became an all-around, damn-straight BAMF.

And I adore him because for all of that, he's still one of the most humble people in the series, and after everything was over, he became a Herbology professor, not an Auror, not a fighter, a teacher and a gardener, and he led a simple life, and it was enough for him.

Basically, I adore Neville because he wonderful and amazing and perfect and I would leave Chase for him in a heartbeat, if he were real, which Chase knows and has accepted.

Neville is my hero and absolutely my favorite character.

Men of Mischief

This will not come as a surprise at all.  My favorite character is one of the . . .  .

The Weasley Twins.

Fred and George Weasley fascinated me from the moment we saw them horsing around with their mother at the train station.  Their love of jokes and mischief endeared them to me.  It helped that I have a thing about twins.  They have always fascinated me and they usually end up being my favorite characters regardless but the main reason that I fell in love Fred and George was the depth that Joe gave them. JK maked them each their individual person, even if they are mostly lumped together. Like any other character that isn't the Trio each of them got their own personality and layers that made them 3 dimensional .  It's so easy (especially for identical twins) to get written exactly the same.  Fred and George do everything together, they even act the same most of the time. Joe could have easily left it at that, but she didn't.  My absolute favorite scene with the two of them is in "Goblet of Fire," when Harry overhears them aguring over the leprechaun gold that was given to them. It's really the first time that Harry and the readers (who aren't looking for it) really see how different they are.  Fred is more aggressive then George, though George can be just as bad, especially if you drag his family into it.  George has a little bit of a softer side and Fred is definitely more reckless.

In the beginning I liked Fred more than George.  He was more dangerous, reckless, 'edgy'.  He had some of the best fan fiction because he needed to be 'tamed' more than George.  I could see George settling down and becoming a family man, but Fred?  Not so much.  When we were giving our predictions about who was going to die in the 7th book I said "I hope both the twins make it, but I have a feeling that's asking to much.  So Fred better be the one to survive."  Yeah. . .  .I cried like a baby.  It was a bad day. .  .    After the 7th book, as I started to read fan fiction and researching them more and more I don't think Fred could have survived George's death.  George was a little more independent than Fred.  George was the one that was reeling him in and I think Fred relied more on George than George relied on Fred.  George has grown on me.  So I can now say with confidence that

George Weasley is my favorite character.