Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

It's been a week since the release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," time enough for most fans to get through the book. Nevertheless, I would hate to ruin the fun for anyone, so I've posted my reactions on a back-dated entry so that it won't appear on the top page.
To read it, click here:

*Spoilers* Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

All is revealed in that post. Consider yourself warned.

With the long-awaited Harry Potter movie and book both behind us, I can't help but feel a bit melancholy. Anticipation is, after all, half the fun of these things. So what can we look forward to now? Well, let's see.

J.K. Rowling has announced she will do a Harry Potter Encyclopedia, and that will be cool. Of course, there are two more movies to go. They're all a long way off, though.

December will see the movie adaptation of "The Golden Compass," the first book of Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy. Done well, that could be amazing. It will definitely cause a stir; if you think the fundamentalists hated Harry, wait until they get a load of this. (Although, the film makers are apparently editing religion out of the story to appease them, which is like editing Voldemort out of Harry Potter, so the whole thing may devolve into a special effects extravaganza.)

In January or February, we get the new season of Lost, finally. And there are a few new TV shows that look promising.

Still. It just ain't the same.

Adventures in technology

Check this out:
Nanogenerator Could Draw Energy From Human Blood

It seems researchers at the Georgia Institue of Technology are working on a nanogenerator that harvests energy from the human body.

"Our bodies are good at converting chemical energy from glucose into the mechanical energy of our muscles ... These nanogenerators can take that mechanical energy and convert it to electrical energy for powering devices inside the body ...

It sets a solid foundation for self-powering implantable and wireless nanodevices and nanosystems in biofluid and any other type of liquid."

Uh huh. Talk to me when you have a foolproof method for removing those nanodevices, OK?

A note about the blogroll

Yeah, it changes a lot. In case you're wondering, I thought I'd explain why. It's simple really: I list places I like to go, plus places that link here and/or people who leave comments.

This is a drama-free process.

I like a wide variety of places, for lots of different reasons. Some have wonderfully civil, intelligent discussions going on. Some are engagingly personal and/or full of surprises. Some offer beautiful photos or high-quality, thoughtful writing. Some just make me smile. A few do all of the above. I add new ones as I find them.

Once in a while, I become aware that somebody has linked here, and reciprocating just seems like the polite thing to do. Commenting a few times will get you a link, too (unless they're snarky comments, which will simply be ignored).

Blogs get removed for similarly unexciting reasons: I find I am no longer stopping by the site, or the author has stopped updating it. I do keep those in a Favorites list on my PC, though, and sometimes they get put back on the roll.

I do not check around to see if people have added me or removed me from their lists, so if you've linked to me and not gotten a link back, it's because I don't know about it. Drop me a note and you're in. (Well, probably. I do reserve the right not to link if I don't want to.)

Now, I am aware that some bloggers are pretty particular about the company they keep. Should you be horrified to find your site listed here, again, drop me a note and you're out. No hard feelings, and go in peace.

I tried categorizing the list for a while, but several blogs spanned multiple categories and I got tired of trying to figure out where to put them. As of this writing, you're all on one list in alphabetical order.

So. That's the deal.

Update November 22,2008: Google has a new feature that sorts the blogroll by the most recently posted, and gives a little snippet of the new post. I think that's pretty cool, so that order replaces alphabetical order now. Seems fair.

Ka-ching!

Ya gotta love it when money falls out of the sky.

John Scalzi's Weekend Assignment #176 was to "Tell us of one piece of culture -- book, movie, album, painting, play, architectural 'masterpiece,' whatever -- that you think is wildly overrated."

I was just over at Carly's blog, Ellipsis, where she posted an excellent response naming the movie "Dune" as the worst-ever film adaptation of a book. (I wholeheartedly agree.)

That got me thinking about whether my hubby might like a set of Frank Herbert's books, "The Dune Chronicles" -- most definitely NOT overrated. Which reminded me of the old copy of "The Dune Encyclopedia" I picked up for 50 cents at a library sale.

All of which led me to Amazon.com, where I discovered that my Encyclopedia, the hardcover 1984 Book Club Edition, is worth around $90 to $125. And to think, I very nearly re-donated it to the library last week.

Carly girl, I owe ya one.

Scat. No, seriously.

This is Oscar. He lives in Rhode Island. If you ever see him, run like hell.

According to MSNBC, Oscar can predict imminent death among patients in the hospice he patrols. He is an aloof cat, "not friendly to people". When he does deign to sit with someone, the honoree will most likely be dead within four hours. The staff consider Oscar so reliable that they call patients' families right away, once he's chosen them, so the soon-to-be-bereaved can come and say their goodbyes.

So here's my question: Does this cute little furball sense that death is near, or does he drag it in and drop in your lap, like a grim little present? If you know cats, you know it could go either way.

Gotta have it

Gimme, Gimme ... Blueberries!

Tell me whatcha want, whatcha really really want. That's the theme for this week's Round Robin Photo Challenge, brought to us by Karen over at Outpost Mavarin. So who wouldn't want mounds of sun warm blueberries, fresh picked by your own hands, straight off the bushes?


P.S. Gatsby just wants some ice:
He's a real cool cat.

Harry Potter and the beginning of the end

The Witching Hour

It was 12:00 AM, the stroke of midnight, when the secret keepers opened their magic boxes filled with copies of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." Bubbles of laughter floated by on a sea of expectant chatter. Strangers smiled at strangers, acknowledging their common bond: Potter Pals, one and all.

In line for the checkout, a little boy danced in excitement; a small, elderly woman carefully counted out single dollars and many coins; a biker type leaned casually against the counter, feigning boredom between furtive peeks at page one. No one lingered to chat. A few actually sprinted back to their cars.

Slipping behind the wheel, I flipped on the radio and found J.K. Rowling there, reading from the first page. Groaning, I turned it off. Badly as I wanted to hear the reading, I wanted even more to discover every word for myself.

Love Hurts

Thus began a luxuriously lost weekend, one shared with thousands and thousands of fans around the world. I read until 3 AM that Saturday morning, all I could manage after a full day's work. TV, radio, newspapers, friends and the Internet were declared temporarily off-limits, to avoid any spoilers. It took me until around 2:30 AM Monday morning to finish.

I emerged from Rowling's world elated and exhausted, both physically and emotionally. The story was wonderful, and THE END came too soon. And we will not see the likes of it again.

* It seems too early for a post that reveals all. To avoid ruining the experience for anyone who might wander by, I won't comment here just yet on the details. If you have a discussion of the book going on your blog, please post a link in the comments, OK? (No spoilers in comments, please!)

Eve of The Deathly Hallows

It's been ages since looking forward to something actually kept me awake. Knowing the last Harry Potter book arrives tonight, I kind of feel like a kid again on Christmas Eve. By this time tomorrow, everyone will know the answers to the questions all Potter fans have pondered for the past two years. Meanwhile, here's the view from my crystal ball:

Dumbledore is dead, but he'll pull an Obi-Wan; that is, he'll be more powerful in death than he ever was in life, able to take on Voldemort and the Death Eaters from the very place they fear most.

Snape dies, but he dies a hero. I believe he killed Dumbledore in a pact the two made to save Draco. I suspect he will help bring down the Dark Lord to avenge Lilly Potter, the only person who was ever kind to him. He tolerates and protects Harry because he is her son. He's a Grinch alright, but he's on the side of the angels.

Harry lives. So do Ron and Hermione. I don't get the impression we're being set up for a tragic ending. One of the two, Voldemort or Harry, must die. Voldemort, of course, is toast. Nowhere have we been led to believe both must die ... unless Harry himself, and not just his scar, is a horcrux. But I think he'd have leaned a good bit more toward the dark side all along if that were the case. Besides, I'll be royally ticked off if any of those three don't make it out alive.

Time will tell. Only a few hours to go.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Let's be frank. I love J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and, after waiting so long for this movie, there was no way I wasn't going to enjoy it. Even so, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" greatly exceeded my expectations.

Daniel Radcliffe has come into his own as an actor, playing Harry with a new depth and confidence that fits well with the character at this point in the story. The acting skills of Emma Watson as Hermione and Rupert Grint as Ron are markedly more mature, as well. And this director seems to take them more seriously. (There was not one scene where any of them screamed "Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!" in unison. I hate that.)

Radcliffe does a great job with the first kiss scene, and the group discussion of the event afterwards in the dorm is pitch-perfect. Both have to be among the best scenes in the whole Potter series. And of course, there is the grand exit of the Weasley twins, a gratifying moment if ever there was one.

Casting could not be better for the new characters: Imelda Staunton is thoroughly loathesome as the odious, simpering Delores Umbridge. Newcomer Evanna Lynch is exactly as I had pictured the quiet, quirky starchild Luna Lovegood. I do wish there had been more footage of Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange; she is at once mesmerizing and terrifying in the role. I'm sure we'll be seeing more of her next time, though. I look forward to that.

I wish I could be as enthusiastic about Michael Gambon as Dumbledore. He just doesn't have the bearing and voice that Richard Harris brought to the part. And what is up with that awful, clingy, grey nylon nightgowny thing they've always got him in? Harris had beautifully sumptuous robes, which added substance and style. I can't for the life of me figure out why they did away with that awesome wardrobe. Ah well.

The last movie, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" was disappointing to me, because so much of the book was left out or tweaked, and what remained felt like fleeting glimpses of scenes from the novel. It reminded me of those little cartoon flip-books, where the action is jerky and disjointed. Knowing the Order of the Phoenix book was even longer, I was braced for more of the same.

Fortunately, the new movie didn't have the same rushed feel to it. OK, all of the subplots are missing, entire backstories are summed up in a sentence or two, and segments are a bit truncated. There are none of the delicious background action effects such as those in the The Leaky Cauldron or Gringots Bank from the first two movies. (However, the extravagant effects of the final wizard battle and the total demolition of the Hall of Prophecies pretty much make up for that. I imagine the IMAX version of the last twenty minutes is downright spectacular.)

At this point in the story, the straightforward storytelling seems as it should be. The situation is dire in the wizarding world. The good guys are under attack from all sides, and the characters are no longer children. The time for wide-eyed wonder is over.

We saw the film together as a family, and all of us -- ages 17 to 56 -- came away enchanted. As far as I'm concerned, that is movie magic.

Shadows

The Monday photo shoot over at By the Way this week is "Working in Shadow." I couldn't resist.

This shot was taken recently at Fernwood Gardens in Michigan. The shadows were supposed to be the subject, but it didn't turn out as well as I hoped. Still, I like the lines they make on the pavement.

Farewell, Lady Bird

“My heart found its home long ago in the beauty, mystery, order and disorder of the flowering earth.” -- Lady Bird Johnson

The world lost a real lady this week with the passing of Lady Bird Johnson. She was an effective voice in environmental causes, a beloved wife and mother, and by all accounts a perennially kind and gracious soul.

As first lady, she chose highway beautification as her pet project. At the time, with so many dire and desperate issues at hand, that seemed frivolous and silly.

Today we still have the same dire and desperate issues. Nothing she could have done would have changed that. But across the nation, vast Persian carpets of wildflowers bloom, and the heart lifts and sings at the sight. Turns out, Lady Bird was right:

“Some may wonder why I chose wildflowers when there are hunger and unemployment and the big bomb in the world. Well, I, for one, think we will survive, and I hope that along the way we can keep alive our experience with the flowering earth. For the bounty of nature is also one of the deep needs of man.”

* Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
* Lady Bird Johnson: Final Tribute

IM IN UR PRINTER READIN UR STUFF

Ready for a heavy case of the heebie jeebies, boys and girls?

According to this article found on BoingBoing, Seeing Yellow, there is a secret code embedded in your color printer that allows the Feds and the printer manufacturers to track copies back to you.


Why, whether, and how they're using it remains a mystery. The presumption is that it's an anti-counterfeiting measure, but -- assuming the story is true -- the threat to anonymous free speech is clear.

It gets better: If you contact your printer manufacturer about turning off the code, the Secret Service pays you a little visit to see what you have to hide. Your tax dollars at work.

The article calls for everyone to contact our printer manufacturers and demand the removal of the tracking system, on the theory that there aren't enough agents to attack all of us. That has Bad Idea written all over it. Alternatively, if you want to print something private it looks like black and white, dot matrix printers are still safe. As far as we know. Maybe.

Feeling meemish

Carly has tagged me with a new meme: Name five to ten songs that affected your life.

I hadn't ever thought about it before, and I had to take a few days to think about it, but there are in fact a number of them. (More than ten, actually.)Here are the ones that spring to mind:

Irish Lullaby. This is the first song I remember hearing. My grandmother used to sit on the edge of my bed and sing it to me when I was very small. It made me feel safe and warm. Her mother probably sang it to her, and I sang to my babies when they came along. I hope they will remember it, too.

The Girl That I Marry, by Irving Berlin. I recall Robert Goulet crooning this one on TV, and my mother and I singing along, all misty-eyed and mellow: "The girl that I marry will have to be ... as soft and as pink as a nursery. A doll I can carry, the girl that I marry must be." The message stuck with me, that this was how women should be. It did not serve me well.

Cherish, by The Association. It was the quintessential love song of my adolescence, the slow dance number of any special event. First loves, raging hormones ... you get the picture.

Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog, Old Time Rock and Roll, and Sweet Home Alabama. There are few black moods these songs cannot lift. I keep 'em on hand the way some people keep Prozac.

Proud Mary. When I first saw Tina Turner blast this one out, it broke the spell of the whole woman-as-soft-pink-doll thing. I wanted to be a Tina, and if men didn't like it, well, tough.

Michael Jackson songs. The beat is perfect for me for aerobics. I lost a lot of weight to A Smooth Criminal, Thriller, etc.

Imagine, by John Lennon. Before this song, I had never looked at the world this way. Once I had, I could never go back.

Harry Potter Theme. The first time I surfed to the movie website, and those haunting, music box notes filled the house, my husband and sons were drawn to it like moths to flame. That led to interest in the movie, which led to the books, which led to my husband becoming a reader. Which is something I had always wanted to share with him, and has become a new bond between us.

Unwritten, by Natasha Bedingfield:

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

This one gives me hope. At this point in life, there is a lot more time behind me than there is ahead. And yet, today is where the future begins. And the possibilities are still endless.

P.S. Want to play? Name five to ten songs that made a difference in your life. Pass the meme along to five other people, with a link back to your own post and this one as the original. I don't think I actually have five people who like being tagged, so I'll just leave this as an open invitation. If you post, leave me a link in comments, OK?

Views from the road less traveled

There are broad, straight, paved highways in life that lead to a given destination, and they are fine things when you're in a hurry and know where you have to be and when.

And then there are hidden ways that lead not to what is, but to what might be.


This week's Round Robin topic celebrates The Road Less Traveled. For me, that means going into the woods, back to a green and quiet place where magic and mystery still live.














Be sure to stop by and see the other Robins' photos -- and next time join us, won't you?

Thanks to all who played this time!
Vicki

It's aliiiiive!

Back a few posts, under Fabulous Freak is a photo of a weird little cutting I've been nursing along for a year. Still don't know what it is, but it's finally doing something. It's ... sprouting? Behold:

Fun for the Fourth

You know how it goes. You're browsing around the Web looking for something interesting to share for, say, the Fourth of July. Your search on "Freedom" pulls up stuff like Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms paintings, which are not exactly a big fresh thrill.



But buried down in the related links on About.com you strike completely unrelated gold: You gotta check out The Norman Rockwell Code.

Per the About article by Mike Durette, "The half-hour parody of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code is online for free viewing. It's an engaging send-up of the controversial story and a surprising, loving tribute to the memory of Don Knotts."

The Da Vinci Code? And Don Knotts? Oh yeah. This is more like it. Enjoy!

*P.S. Don't have 30 minutes? At least see the trailer.

Take your best shot

The Round Robin Photo Challenge subject for the week of July 11 is 'The Road Less Traveled' -- courtesy of moi. Everyone is invited, and the group is very gracious to new newcomers (such as myself) so don't be shy.

Take a look at the rules of play before diving in and then, well, dive in. You'll like it, I promise.



Hope to see your blog in the lineup.
:-)
Vicki

Night of the Strawberry Moon

Did you see this last night? The Strawberry Moon, known also as the Rose Moon, for obvious reasons? It was a sight to behold, it was, a rare event when the moon draws herself near to the earth and shows her true colors.

Scientists say it's an optical illusion, but I'm not so sure. I think the moon, once in a while, drops her grey veil for a few hours and dances in red. It's a reward for those wise enough to look up.


*No. Not really.