Book Five is...Halfway Done!

Actually, it's not even halfway done yet. I finished reading Chapter 16 out of the 38 total chapters, but I was getting restless and figured I would write a post anyway. There are a few things that I wanted to share so far. One, I wrote something a little bit ago because I was afraid I would forget all of it, so here's that:

"December 14th: This is the result of me not being confident in my memory abilities. I saw the fifth Harry Potter movie the day before my sixteenth birthday, which also happened to be the day before the seventh book came out. Too bad I didn't read the books then because that would have been a rockin' birthday present.  Oh well, I'm reading them now, and I'm in the very beginning of the fifth book. Before I read the rest of it, though, I want to put my mental "snapshots" down on paper so I don't get confused.  So here goes:

• Sirius Black dies
• There are these glass globe things that fall all over the place
• Harry takes some sort of special lessons from Snape and learns stuff about his father
• There's a standoff with Voldemort at the end and stuff
• EDIT (December 21st) Luna reads a magazine upside down

There might be one other one that I can't think of right now [that was the edit], but honestly, this is all I know about this book. Oh, and also, due to unfortunate circumstances involving failblog, I now know when Dumbledore dies, so I'm no longer paranoid at every turn of the page. :( "

Two, I started watching the movies with my family and friends, and in doing so, I have been reminded that I should share some of the jewels which are my favorite characters. I'm ignoring the obvious three main characters, so when you get through the list, don't ask me "WHAT?! You don't even like Harry Potter?" For the record, I like most if not all of the good characters, but the following are my absolute favorites (in order, pretty much):

1. Neville Longbottom - I loved him from the start.
2. Professor McGonagall - She's so freaking fair, it's insane.
3. Gilderoy Lockhart - Oh my gosh he makes me laugh.
4. Sirius Black - I've liked him since I first knew of him before I read anything.
5. Dumbledore - Um, he's just amazing.
6. Remus Lupin - Probably because I used to think he was Sirius in disguise.
7. Fang - He's so adorable!
8. Hagrid - Who wouldn't love him?
9. Hannah Abbott - She has my first name and is in Hufflepuff! Probably who I would be in this book.
10. Crookshanks - Because Scabbers can't be one of my favorite characters anymore.

So that's my top ten. A couple of problems with this is that I know at least Sirius and Dumbledore die, and so I'm not looking forward to that. Also, I'm sure there hasn't been one solid reason for me to like Sirius so much other than that I liked him so much after seeing the fifth movie with no Harry Potter knowledge at all. In the book, he seems broody all the time and pretty reckless, which I'm sure is going to result in his death, so I am not sure I would like him very much if I hadn't already made up my mind a long time ago.

Three, here are my few thoughts on the book so far. I stopped after they had their first big meeting in the Hog's Head about practicing Defense Against the Dark Arts secretly, to give you a frame of reference. So here's what I think:

1. Harry is mad all the time. I find myself getting frustrated with how easily he snaps on people, and how stupid he seems to be about keeping quiet in Umbridge's class. And I feel bad for his poor friends who have to deal with his angst.
2. Who the heck is Michael Corner? And I've had enough of this Cho girl. She shouldn't be moving on so quickly after Cedric's death. Harry and Ginny shouldn't be taken by other people. Trust me, I'm not near the Harry-Ginny shipper that other people are, but "being" Ginny, I do want them to end up together. These little hook-ups are not to my liking.
3. I freaking hate Umbridge. I know this should be obvious, but I want to punch her in the face every time she opens her stupid mouth! So I guess I should give Harry a little slack because he hasn't beat her up yet, but if I were given such horrid detentions, I would keep my mouth shut in her class.
4. Where is Hagrid?!? I expected him to be back pretty soon once they figured out he was missing. I feel something fishy is going on, and Lucius, stupid Lucius, has something to do with it. That is who I blame for this.

So that's that. I'll keep reading, and hopefully sometime soon I'll have the final post about this book ready!

Want to see my other posts about the series? Right here.

Day 3!

Day Three is...A picture of the cast from your favorite show

Seinfeld! I have a ton of favorite shows, but this has been my all-time favorite for most of my life. I also find this appropriate, as today is Festivus Eve. Meaning tomorrow we get to celebrate the Seinfeld-ness that is Festivus!

Happy early Festivus everyone!

Day 2!

Day Two's picture is...A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest.

Mary! She is my sister, four years younger than me, but that means I've been closest with her the longest because I love her! :)

31 Day Picture Challenge!

You may or may not have heard of the 31 Day Picture Challenge by now. I've seen people doing it on Facebook, so Kelsey and I decided to do the Challenge on our blogs! We're taking the Challenge!!
It's not much of a challenge, just putting up a picture of you or whatever the day's picture calls for and sometimes writing something about it. The real challenge is keeping up with it every single day for 31 days.
Well, that looks like enough explanation, so let's get started!

Day One: A picture of yourself with with ten facts

1. I cannot swallow pills. I've had to resort to things like crushing up pills and hiding them in Oreos (which is disgusting) or, more often, just taking Children's medicine.
2. I love the words "scarf" and "minimum."
3. Despite my impressive grades and supposed intelligence, I am really pretty bad at spelling.
4. I consider myself to have a bad sense of sight, smell, and hearing. I've had glasses since second grade, and I'm pretty sure I have some form of tinnitus.
5. In junior high, I was obsessed with the show Teen Titans on Cartoon Network. But I never told any of my friends (with whom I usually shared all of my obsessions) because I was too embarrassed.
6. I used to hate driving, and it even took me until I was 17 to just get my license because I hated it so much. Now, I sometimes get excited about driving, but only if I have really awesome music that I plan on listening to.
7. I want a Utonagan for a pet when I am older and actually live in a place that allows pets.
8. I don't think I've ever looked my age my entire life. I always look younger.
9. I actually miss math, and I'm pretty sad that I don't have to take a math class for the rest of my life.
10. I love love love love love to sing. One of my biggest regrets is not finding a way to fit choir in my schedule throughout high school.

Finished with Book Four!

I will start out by saying that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was my favorite book to read so far. Now, before you HP fanatics get all up in my case and tell me that it's too long and boring...this was my first time reading it. Think back to the first time you read it (because I assume the majority of Harry Potter fans have read each book at least twice) and now try and remember how you felt.
I can definitely see re-reading this book and getting bored with the long explanations and the endless amounts of time that the characters seem to spend at the Quidditch World Cup and preparing for the different tasks.  It could get a little tedious. But I was rapt with anticipation anyway, and you can't take that away from me!

That said, I will now go into detail about my Book Four reading experience. Since this book sort of comes in sections, I will break it down and express my reactions to each part.

Part One: The Quidditch World Cup
Not gonna lie, this part, to me, was pretty long and boring.  Harry goes to the Weasley's house, they use the Portkey, they set up their tent, they hang out, they go to the game, the game ends, they get terrorized and someone sets off the Dark Mark, and it's all over.
However, I learned some more Harry Potter lingo that I was not really sure about before but kept hearing people talk about! Death Eaters: Voldemort's followers.  Pretty easy, but I had in mind that they were some sort of creature that people who followed Voldemort could turn into that....ate death.  Which I figured to be an oxymoron as well.  If you wanted to be scary, why wouldn't you be Life Eaters? YOU EAT LIFE. Muahaha!!
I guess I always envisioned Death Eaters as something that sucked the life out of people, but that's more like Dementors.  The real Death Eaters are a lot more lame.
Anyway, not my favorite part, which brings us to...

Part Two: The Goblet of Fire
Among other things, this part consists of arriving at Hogwarts, announcing the Triwizard Tournament, the introduction of Professor Moody, and (drum roll, please) the drawing of Harry's name out of the Goblet of Fire.
I saw it coming. I knew from the one and only mental snapshot I had of this book's movie (I had only seen trailers) that Harry competes in some sort of competition. My snapshot: Harry going through a maze.
But I was still surprised! Because once Cedric Diggory's name was pulled, I wondered if I was somehow wrong in my remembering. Yet, soon enough, old Harry's name got drawn and all was right with the world.
In this section, I learned exactly what Avada Kedavra means.  I knew it was something bad from constant exposure to Harry Potter maniacs, but as with a lot of these things, I didn't really know.
Now I do. Avada Kedavra is bad.  Very very bad.  Yeah, I figured it probably killed people in a horrible way, but this seems almost worse.  With these two words, you can take a life, just like that.  And these words are what took Harry's parents' lives.  So it took on a new meaning.
But that's all for that part, so...

Part Three: The Tasks
I could make different parts for each task, but I won't because they are not all that involved in themselves.  First, Harry flies past a dragon.  Then, Harry turns into a fish and saves people held captive by mermaids.  Finally, Harry gets through a dangerous maze.  And there's a Yule Ball in there somewhere, which was kind of cute and funny.  It's interesting watching these little crushes when I know how all the pairings turn out in the end.  I would have bet my life (okay, maybe that's a little drastic) that Harry ended up going with Ginny, but good thing I didn't because he went with some girl named Parvati or Pansy or Lavender or Periwinkle.
But Ginny went with Neville, and that was exciting because she's my character and Neville is my favorite! (My character as in me and Kelsey choose characters from everything we do.)
So, we've got the ball and the tasks, and as soon as Harry completes the final task...

Part Four: The Craziness
Harry and Cedric are instantly taken by a Portkey (the trophy) to Voldemort's hometown! Cedric gets killed on the spot (Avada Kedavra-ed)!! Voldemort rises again!!!
And this is where I stopped reading early Monday morning.  And I didn't get a chance to read again until Wednesday evening.  Yeah...I know.
This part is so twisty and turny, I love it!  Harry beats Voldemort with the help of the "shadows" of Cedric, an old man, and his parents, and returns to Hogwarts with Cedric's body and news of Voldemort's rising.
Here is where I started freaking out. I was still scared for Harry's safety with shady people like Ludo Bagman, Snape, and Krum around, so when Mad-Eye Moody took Harry away, I was relieved.
But then my comfort was shattered as I learned that Moody was the hidden Death Eater at Hogwarts that Voldemort had been talking about!!  How could this be?!  I knew from seeing the fifth and seventh movies that Moody is a good guy, so, again, how could this be!?!
Well, it wasn't.  The real Moody had been captured by Crouch's son, and Barty Crouch Jr. had been acting in Moody's place using Polyjuice Potion all year.  That made a lot more sense to me.
And I know I'm telling you all things that you already know, but it's new to me, so it's exciting. :)

Anyway, the rest of the story winds down with a bunch of explanations that all seemed to tie back to seemingly unrelated incidents that happened previously in the book. With all of this, I found a new appreciation for Professor McGonagall because she yells a lot at Cornelius Fudge, so she is now one of my favorite characters.
I've also found that I'm getting paranoid as I'm reading these books now.  I knew that the first few were relatively harmless and no one really died, but now that things are getting serious, I'm expecting people to die left and right.  For example, when Harry finds Crouch in the forest, he runs off to get Dumbledore but can't find him. And Snape tells him that Dumbledore is "busy."  And since all I know about Dumbledore's death is that Snape kills him, my first reaction was "Nooo! Not yet!" But Dumbledore really was just busy.  But this is bad because now I'm getting attached, and I don't want him to die. He is awesome.

I'm starting to think that these posts are getting too long for just writing one follow-up post about them.  I might, don't hold me to this, write a post when I'm halfway through the fifth book so I don't end up with a monstrously long post.  We'll see.
For now, on to the next book!

Want to see my other posts about the series? Right here.

Oh, December. We meet again.

I've been saying all fall when there were predictions of frost or snowfall that "It's not allowed to snow until December."
Well, first of all, December, thank you for paying attention to my rule. But did you really have to greet us right away with over a foot of snow? It's really icy now, and it's all your fault.

But anyway, December is here, rather soon due to November's quick exit.  Like I said, I knew November would go pretty fast. It was a good month. Full of friends, procrastination, and Harry Potter. Yes, my obsession for the month of November most definitely would be Harry Potter. But you can read about that in other posts.

Alabama was lovely.  I got to see Kelsey after being separated for four months.  And we celebrated her birthday, which was cool. :)  Thanksgiving was super.  Very relaxing.  So my November, though very short, was very good as well.

Now...it's December!  And, like most of the country, I am in a very Christmas-y mood.  I made a playlist on youtube with my favorite Christmas songs! It's still in the works, but here's the link in case anyone reads this and doesn't believe me. Or actually wants to listen to my faves. :)

December not only means Christmas, but Christmas break.  And I cannot wait!  My two best friends and I (Kelsey and Hillary) already have a list of things we want to accomplish.  Some of them might be too embarrassing to list out here, so I won't.  But rest assured, we have some fun things planned.

However, December comes with many things that are not happy. I really cannot decide whether I should like December or not, so I'm going to list all the good and bad things about this month:

• Snow!
• Snow.
• Christmas!
• Ice.
• Presents!
• Cold.
• Family!
• Slush.
• Friends!
• Food!
• Decorations!
• Festivus!
• No school!
• Cold.

Okay, I guess December isn't all that bad. January will be a different story.

So, the rest of my month in a nutshell: finish classes this week (this includes finishing a take-home final and a project), hang out over the weekend and study for a final on Monday and practice for an Honors project to be presented on Tuesday, take final on Monday, do presentation on Tuesday, go home!, hang out with my family and friends nonstop, celebrate Christmas!, do nothing.

What a super month!

Book Three - Completed!

I can feel it happening. Slowly...the obsession is creeping in. I am doing what I can to stop it, but I can't hold it off for much longer. And my friends are not helping. So far, I think the books have been interesting yet not so so enthralling that they take up my life. However, the world that J.K. Rowling creates in these books is so real and inventive that you can't help but want to be a part of it, even if that just means reading further. And, the following that they have gathered has resulted in Harry Potter being everywhere you look. Movies, Legos, posters, etc. It is impossible to resist.
So, I continue my journey.


Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was the first book that I read about which I had no prior knowledge. I didn't even know the name of the third book so I had to ask the librarian just so I could check it out. I felt like a doofus. Anyway, it was fun to read an entirely new book and not know what was going to happen.

I found out quickly that the "Prisoner of Azkaban" was Sirius Black, whom I knew I liked from what I saw of him in the fifth movie. But, I was so confused! The whole time, Black is made out to be this terrible person who indirectly killed Harry's parents and was a traitor and killed innocent people and didn't care about it at all. He was Voldemort's servant! How could he become the cool guy that I knew he was later in the series?? It was a very interesting read, knowing that somehow, some way, he turned out to be good.

I was not disappointed. Well, in what concerned Sirius Black. There was one thing I was depressed about-- Scabbers! I really liked him; I was extremely sad when he turned out to be Peter Pettigrew: an abominable, cowering, stupid man. Oh, and another thing that made me sad-- that Lupin had to resign at the end. I really liked him :(

I had a prediction that was squashed while reading this book. I was convinced, halfway through the book, that Lupin would eventually be Sirius Black in some sort of disguise. Honestly though, Lupin knew all sorts of things about Black, he knew how to get past dementors, and his last name is Lupin, which resembles lupus and other forms of the word wolf. And since I knew that Black could turn into a wolf-like creature, I was sure Lupin would turn out to be him. But I was wrong, oh well. At least I was close with the wolf thing.
There were some things that I got to understand concerning Harry Potter, of which I have heard over the years. I learned:

• What dementors actually are. (Creepy, terrifying prison guards which suck the happiness out of people and make them go mad.)
• What Expecto Patronum means, and what a Patronus is. (Advanced magic which releases a sort of energy in the form of an animal [a Patronus] which drives back dementors.)
• What "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." means. (How to open the Marauder's Map, which shows countless passages within Hogwarts.)
• What a boggart is. (A creature that assumes the shape of your worst fear.)

I have decided that my boggart would turn into a stereotypical "Jack the Ripper" type serial killer. Absolutely mad beyond reason, brandishing a ragged knife and laughing maniacally. Of course, dressed in dark clothing and wearing a twisted smile. As I discussed this with Kelsey, we made the realization that many Riddikulus techniques would not have the same effect on my boggart like they did in the book, especially Neville's approach. I don't think it would be very funny to dress my serial killer in old lady's clothing.... So we decided that I would have to turn him into cardboard or something.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It was good, and I was impressed with how the story came together, once again. Also, I would like to let you know that I am refraining from writing anything about what was revealed to me by watching the first part of the seventh movie because I am hoping to forget as much as I can. So that's why there's been no post about that.

Well, all that said, on to the next book!

Want to see my other posts about the series? Right here.

Done with Book Two!

So here we are again, blogging Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. First off, I liked it (of course), and reading the book made me have some very vague memories of seeing at least parts of the movie. I will recount my few snapshots now. I clearly remember these parts in the movie:

• There is a giant snake in a dark tunnel sort thing and someone barely escapes death
• Dobby gets a sock that is wedged in the pages of a diary which allows him to be free from his master
• We get to see inside the Weasley's house
• There is a ghost that haunts the girls' bathroom
• And Hermione turns herself into a cat (kind of)

These are my memories that have become more clear after reading the book. However, I had no idea that Ginny was so involved and was in fact the one doing the dirty work (however aware of it she was), that Hermione (and several other students) were Petrified for a large portion of the book, that there's a secret community of huge spiders in the Forbidden Forest, that Voldemort preserved his young self in his own diary, or that Harry could speak Parseltongue. Plus a lot of other things, but those are the big ones.

Now I would like to take some time to comment on how refreshing it is to be reading books that have a point and are actually well-thought-out. I like how things from the first book actually connect to the second book, and I'm sure that will continue through the rest of them. For example, almost immediately in the first book, we learn that Harry can talk to snakes. It just seems to be one of those strange wizard occurrences until we get to the second book and learn that it is something actually very rare. It's exciting. :)

Also, J.K. Rowling covers her bases. She may not have perfect explanations for everything, but at least she explains things. I had a happy moment at the end of this book when I realized I only had a few pages and left and I thought to myself, "But what was Percy doing that Ginny saw?? Is she not going to tell us?!"

And then my eyes skipped down the very page I was reading and lo and behold, Harry asks what Ginny saw Percy doing. Aha. No loose ends here, no siree. :)

It's just nice and safe knowing that you have an exceptional author writing the book you're reading.

So yes, Book Two was enjoyable and I look forward to reading the rest, but not before I am subjected to the first part of the last movie. Sadness. I will try to get through this movie relatively unscathed, hoping that the rest of the books I have to read will not be spoiled beyond belief. Fingers crossed...

Want to see my other posts about the series? Right here.

Upon Completing Book One

Well, I officially finished reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on Tuesday night (technically early Wednesday morning), so I'm back to blog about the experience.

Mostly, I just have to say that I was right on most accounts in my previous post. Yes, Harry had an abusive family, received letters, and all that jazz.
What I did not know was (including but not limited to the following):

• what the Sorcerer's Stone even was (it's a special thing that means you can make a potion to live forever, or something like that)
• that there is a character named Neville and I like him lots
• that Harry even played Quidditch
• how to play Quidditch
• that there was a whole ordeal involving a dragon
• that Ginny is Ron's little sister, and that we are actually introduced to her (a little) in the first book

Those are probably the big things. So here's what I got out of it. I liked it. I like the nice and easy writing style and some of the language is very cute.

I can also understand why people are depressed about not getting their letters to Hogwarts (because it must have gotten lost in the mail...) because not gonna lie, pretty cool place. I wouldn't mind going there instead of having to be at college and dread the real world. It would be so much easier to just know that I have magical powers and I can go learn how to use them at this awesome school. Even all the studying they do seems more interesting than even the smallest bit of studying I have to do now. Sigh.

But I also decided that if I were to be a character in this series and actually attend Hogwarts, J.K. Rowling would not write about me. Firstly, I would be in Hufflepuff, and nothing exciting happens there. And second, I would follow all the rules and not be a stand out at all. The only people who get written about break the rules and go after what they know to be right. Hence, Harry, Ron, and Hermione being the main characters. That is why I like Neville. He's the closest character to who I would be.

So yeah. I think that's all I have to say on that subject: that I did not hate the book and I actually got past the first chapter without a hitch this time. Also, that I plan on reading the second book before the movie comes out. I've been told this will help me better understand but not give away too much so all the rest of the books will be spoiled since I will essentially be seeing what happens at the end.
And yes, I drew that picture on Microsoft Paint. Pure talent, right there. :)

Want to see my other posts about the series? Right here.

Harry Pottah!

Here it is:

The post that I have been planning on writing for a looong time now.  The post in which I tell you every single thing that I know about Harry Potter before I start reading the books.

Yes, I have Book 1 in my possession, and I fully intend on reading it.  Now that I'm writing this post, I really have to.

So, as you may or may not know, I am going to see the midnight showing of Harry Potter in a little over a week, and I have not read a single book.  I avoided it for quite a while.  I once tried reading the first book, and I read the first chapter.  But then I had dreams about how the author was writing just for money and I stopped reading it.  Now, I'm willing to crack open that first book again and hopefully finish the whole series so I can know what the heck people are talking about.  But most everyone I know has read them, so I've learned a lot over the years.

To start off, I've seen the first and the fifth movie.  I'm pretty sure I've seen parts of the second movie too, but I really can't be sure.  Anyway, I only really remember the first one, so I've got the basics down.
Harry Potter grows up in an abusive household that keeps him in a room under the stairs for most of his life.  His parents were killed at an early age (by Voldemort [he who shall not be named, or something like that]), and that left Harry with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead because he was somehow able to escape.
Harry has an adopted brother who is a spoiled brat and Harry's parents are mean.  One day, Harry receives a mystical letter from a place called Hogwarts.  This is a school of wizardry, and apparently, young Harry is a wizard (not a muggle, which are regular people like me).  Harry's parents don't let him have his letter, and in the days that follow, messenger owls deliver hundreds of identical letters to Harry's house.
Some things transpire, I think, and Harry ends up getting to go to Hogwarts anyway.  There's something to do with Hagrid, who is this really big hairy guy.
At school, Harry meets Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, who become his good friends.  I think this is the part where I can start listing what I know because mostly it's just different characters.  I also know that a lot of people die, so I will indicate if I know that they die in the parentheses after their name, along with a short description of what I know about them.

• Harry Potter (obvious)
• Ron Weasley (Harry's best friend)
• Hermione Granger (another best friend, a perfectionist)
• Hagrid (big weird guy)
• Hedwig (Harry's pet owl)
• Draco Malfoy (a mean boy)
• Dumbledore (important wizard; dies)
• Severus Snape (a professor; dies [pretty sure he does])
• Sirius Black (an awesome wolf guy; dies)
• Cedric Diggory (played by Rob Pattinson; dies)
• Luna Lovegood (a weird girl)
• Ginny (marries Harry at the end of the series)
• Dobby (a weird servant creature)
• Voldemort (he who shall not be named; I assume he dies in the end)
• Some lady with hair that changes colors (she dies, and so does her husband [?] and maybe her child too)
• A teacher who turns into a cat

Okay, I guess I am running out of characters now.  Anyway, those are the people that I know, and I'm sure I'll meet a lot more when I start reading. Some stuff will probably come back into memory.

Other than characters, I do not know very much about the books and the plot.  I know they like to play Quidditch, and there's a whole big thing with Harry and Voldemort battling it out.  There's also something about Dumbledore's Army which seems to be a really big deal with a lot of people.

I know that the three main people--Harry, Ron, and Hermione--survive, and Harry gets married and has kids, and I'm pretty darn sure that Ron and Hermione get married.

So, I think that is about it for what I know about Harry Potter. I might just start reading it right now.  But first, I wish to set some guidelines for myself that I'm sure I will break anyway but whatever.

1. Do not get obsessed.  I can see you HP fans right now laughing at me. I know! It's probably an impossible expectation, but you don't know how bad I can get. Obsession for me is a chronic disease. One particular obsession can last for years, and the lingering effects can resurface at any time. So when I say that I do not want to get obsessed, I mean when I start saying everything reminds me of Harry Potter and I talk about it all the time, please stop me. Tell me that this is happening so at least I am aware. Because sometimes it can sneak up and I don't even notice.
2. Finish before the very last movie.  Not the one coming in a number of days, no. I'm not that crazy.  The one that is coming in I think June. Or July. I would like to be legitimately excited for one thing that everyone is excited about too.
3. No buying shirts, dressing up, or anything of the like.  This goes along with 1, but I'm serious about this. I do not want to become the very people I have been making fun of for years! Years! I am reading these books to become informed, not to go crazy.

Whew. Those are the very few (yet very demanding) goals that I have set for myself. Now I think I'm going to  actually start reading. Ah!

Want to see my other posts about the series? Right here.

Now It's November

I thought I would make a follow-up blog to let you know how my October mission turned out.  I've kind of been putting this off because I did not succeed in watching all those movies. I'll just tell you that straight out. I failed. And I'm sorry.

I said I would watch Interview with a Vampire, which I did, but that doesn't even count since I watched it before I wrote that blog.  Next on my list was The Shining, which, in my defense, I really want to watch this with a friend (Kelsey) and I have not seen her since July so... I'm kind of glad that I didn't watch it so now we can watch it together for the first time.
I did watch Paranormal Activity! Success. My review: it was all right. Sort of intense, but I thought it was a little disappointing at the end. Not as terrible as I thought it would be.
I didn't get to watch Shutter Island again, but it's still on my list. I loved it when I saw it in theaters, so I suggest that everyone see it. I also did not watch An American Werewolf in London, Nightmare Before Christmas, or The Ring, so I feel bad about that.  Nor did I get to revisit Psycho.

This is getting pretty depressing. As for the rest of the movies, I didn't see them either, haha. That means I did not get to watch the creepy guy in Nosferatu, and I didn't get to enjoy Woody Harrelson once again in Zombieland (sad face).  Didn't see I was a Teenage Werewolf, did not watch Van Helsing (but this is another one I want to watch with Kelsey), and I didn't see Sleepy Hollow. Hopefully next year I will do better.

But after all that fail, don't you want to know what I did watch? I will tell you.
I watched the 1992 version of Dracula. It was not very good. Not recommended.
I saw My Soul To Take in theaters. It was pretty decent. But it made me have a bad dream in which I killed somebody.
And I watched LOTS and LOTS of Dexter. :D
This was my newfound obsession for the month. Had I not been so bogged down with an unusual amount of work to do, I would have finished every episode available. I went through the entire second season in one weekend. That's twelve hours of Dexter, guys. That's intense.
Long story short, it's an amazing show that you should give a chance. It's on Showtime though, so there's mature content; it might be kind of offensive in terms of language and some nudity. Just a heads up.

So, now that it's November 2nd, I feel like I should let you know how my month will probably go.
This week will be chill. This weekend will be awesome (it's DEEP!). Next week should probably also be pretty chill. And next weekend, my fam is coming to town!
The week after that (the week of Monday the 15th) should be a little more busy. In addition to schoolwork, I am going to see Harry Potter at midnight on Thursday (Friday technically), which I can tell you more about later. Yes, I think I will make a Harry Potter post at some point.
After that, I am still deciding on exactly how many of my two classes I want to attend on that Friday because Thanksgiving Break starts that Saturday!
You know what I am doing?? I'm going to ALABAMA!! I get to go visit Kelsey for her birthday, then we are flying back home the next day. Then I get freeedom until Sunday. So looking forward to it. :)
Then when I come back to school on Monday there are only two days of November left!
How awesome!

So that's my month. And, once again, I will post a follow-up in December. That's all for now!

It's October, baby!

I don't think I've ever been this excited for it to be October.  I never realized how awesome this month is!

It's not too hot, just cold enough for perfect fall activities like bonfires and roasting marshmallows and hayrides and all those great things!

Also, Halloween is at the end of the month to finish it all off. I like the classic idea of Halloween, you know, the innocent Trick-or-Treat days.  So, even though I have outgrown all that and now Halloween is just an excuse for people in college to dress scantily and drink a lot, I am still in a great mood about all of it. And I want to bring the Halloween-y spirit to the entire month.

So I was bored Friday night. After I watched the episodes of The Office and 30 Rock that I missed on Thursday, I went on to watch a bunch of iCarly episodes online. After going through iPsycho, iWanna Stay With Spencer, iWant More Viewers, and iJake, I decided that was enough (although in my opinion one really can never have enough iCarly [perhaps there will be a post about this show later on]). But I did want to watch something more substantial, so I decided to watch a movie.

For some strange reason I cannot explain, I chose to watch Interview with a Vampire, which I have never seen nor have I ever even heard anything about. I quite enjoyed it, so it got me thinking that I want to spend the rest of October watching Halloween-type movies.  These can be anything from classic movies based on original horror stories or just simple thrillers that are awesome.  So far, I've compiled a list of movies I would like to watch this month. Some of them I have no previous knowledge of, and some I have already seen before but I would like to revisit them.
Here are the movies:

1. Interview with a Vampire (already watched)
2. The Shining (a classic that I know I need to watch sometime in my life)
3. Paranormal Activity (I've heard it's pretty darn scary)
4. Shutter Island (loved it in theaters, want to see it again, even though it's not really horror)
5. An American Werewolf in London (this will be a surprise)
6. Nightmare Before Christmas (I've never seen it, so I should see it)
7. The Ring (again, never seen it)
8. Psycho (classic movie that I don't mind revisiting at all)
9. Nosferatu (it's old, and that's all I know about it)
10. Zombieland (LOVED this movie!)
11. I was a Teenage Werewolf (it mentions werewolves, so I figure I'll give it a shot)
12. Van Helsing (can't help but love it)
13. Sleepy Hollow (never seen it, but gotta get some Johnny Depp in there)

So that's my agenda for the month of October! This is exciting; I'm really excited to watch all these movies!

Mind Block

Do you ever feel like you have creativity building up inside of you but you have no idea how to let it out? I get that all the time, it seems. I will desperately want to write a song, a story, draw a picture, just do something that is incredibly deep and creative.
I usually end up just journaling about it, or in this case, blogging about it. It helps, but the feeling always comes back.
The feeling is most often spurred by certain music I am listening to or artwork I am looking at.  The Killers always make me happy (a band, if you don't know any of their stuff, look it up!!), and the lyrics to their songs make me want to write a song equally as happy-inducing and awesome.
And almost anything makes me want to write a story. But all of the stories I have begun so far I am burned out on, unfortunately.
I think the problem is that I am procrastinating again, and when I procrastinate, that means I check my Facebook news feed every two seconds, and when that gets old, I start listening to music and reading things and books and it makes me get into a creative state.
But I'm not talented enough to do anything about it.
Well, this blog has certainly not helped alleviate any of the bursting creativity still flowing through my veins.

Just for fun, I will post the lyrics to my current favorite song on here so I can envy their beauty.

Verse 1
Daddy, I'm not gonna tell you that I'm sorry
'Cause there ain't nothin' you can do to change my mind.
I'm not here to know the things I cannot do;
We've seen the outcome of the boys who didn't fly.

That road outside that you've been taking home forever,
That'll be the same road that I take when I depart.
Those charcoal veins that hold this chosen land together
May twist and turn but somewhere deep there is a heart.

Chorus
Playing with fire,
You know you're gonna hurt somebody tonight.
And you're out on the wire,
You know you're playing with fire.

Verse 2
Perhaps this calling is the channel of invention.
I will not blush if others see it as a crime.
However dangerous the road, however distant,
These things won't compromise the will of the design.

Ten thousand demons hammered down with every footstep,
Ten thousand angels rush the wind against my back.
This church of mine may not be recognized by steeple,
But that doesn't mean that I will walk without a God.

Special Little Part That I Don't Know How To Label
Rolling River of Truth, can you spare me a sip?
The Holy Fountain of Youth has been reduced to a drip.
I've got this burning believe in salvation and love.
This notion may be naive, but when push comes to shove,
I will till this ground.

Part of Chorus
You know you're gonna hurt somebody tonight
Out on the wire.

Bridge
And I might not get there,
But this little town, this little house,
They seem to be leaning in the wrong direction.
I'm not afraid of you no more.

Chorus




So that's Playing With Fire by Brandon Flowers, the lead singer of The Killers. It's a beautiful song; I suggest you listen to it. And that's about all.

Why I like to arrive early to the movies

It's happened many a'time. My friends and I plan to go see a movie that came out recently, scheduled at say, 7:15. Naturally, we put off actually arriving at the movie theater until 7:20 or later. So really, what is the deal? Why must we be late all the time? We all know movies don't start exactly when they say they do, but is that any reason to be late?
Here are some of my favorite reasons to arrive on time at the movie theater:

1. Buying the ticket.  When you get to the theater early, you usually don't have to clarify which time you would like to buy your ticket for.  When you are late, you often have to say, "Million Dollar Baby, the 7:15 showing please." When you are on time, the ticket person just assumes you are there to see the movie that will start in three minutes. In this case, you just have to say the name of the movie. It saves time and breath.

2. Getting popcorn. Even if you don't want to munch on something during the film, chances are, several of your friends will. If you're late, you will have to argue about whether or not half of the group should go ahead and get seats or if you should all wait while Sharon and Matt buy their SnoCaps. Better idea, arrive early, have enough time to buy snackage, and still get to your seats with time to spare.

3. Bathroom break. Everyone should go to the bathroom before seeing a full-length film in theaters. You don't want to be that guy that has to get up just as the Titanic is hitting the iceburg because you couldn't hold it. And you don't want to miss part of the movie! Then you come back and have to converse with your friends about what happened and annoy everyone in the theater. And your movie experience will be tainted because you had to take a potty break. Just get there early, so there's plenty of time to do your business before your movie starts.

4. Securing seats. Whether you prefer the very front row, or whether you would rather sit two rows from the back, chances are there is another group of people that wants your spot too. You've got to get there early so you can get there first! Third row, dead center. Success!

5. Those awesome trivia questions. Who doesn't like to answer the same loop of trivia about Tom Hanks over and over again? Didn't you know that Cher has dyslexia? Isn't that interesting?! Why would you want to miss this??

6. THE PREVIEWS. Favorite part of the movies besides the movie itself (well, depending on the movie). You get a first glimpse at the films that are coming soon to a theater near you! Here's a great chance to build up your agenda of movies to see within the next few months as well as take notice of what movies to avoid. If you miss these, you are missing out on the future.

7. Sometimes theaters are tricky and lie. Seriously. I went to go see Dark Knight with my family, and we were literally five minutes late, and the movie had already begun! You can't rely on what you've been told, my friends. If a movie has been in theaters long enough, the theater might just choose to skip over the previews, therefore ruining your plans of getting there just in time for the "Now for your Feature Presentation!" Instead you get *gunfire* "AHHH!" "Get over here, men! There's no time to lose!" "We have to complete the mission!" *more gunfire* Yeah, you're right in the middle of an intense scene that you would be able to understand had you arrived early. Hence, GET TO THE MOVIES ON TIME!!!

Learn Your Cars!

PART 1 (of I'm not sure how many; there may not even be a second part)

I know how it can be when you are hanging out with your car-savvy friends and a seemingly "cool" car drives by, and they all turn and drool.

You could care less.

But, still, it would be nice to have a little bit of car knowledge. At least so you don't look like an idiot when all your friends are staring at a Lexus and you, in a desperate attempt to fit in, say "Yeah, I love Mustangs!" So sad.

But do not fret! Several years ago, I was you. So I got help. And now I'm here to pass on the treasures of car knowledge that I have acquired.

So let's learn our cars!

The most important thing about knowing your cars is to know the make of it. While some of your car-whiz friends can get a sweeping glance of a car and tell you exactly what make and model it is, for us normal people, telling the make of the car is easiest when you can see the symbol of the maker. This can be found on the front AND the back of a car, so as long as you have a good view of either of those places, you're golden.

Now, the most popular makes:

Ford

Easy enough. If you are not close enough to read the actual letters, you can still see the blue oval.

Chevy

Looks familiar, huh? It won't always say CHEVROLET at the bottom, so don't let that be your only guide. But, the cross should be a dead giveaway, and it's not very hard to remember.

Volkswagon

Pretty easy once again. See the V on top of the W? Piece of cake!

BMW

This is often VERY small on the hoods of cars. Even though B, M, and W are clearly shown here, there's no way you'll see them on a real car unless you are standing right in front of it. Basically, if you see a small checkered circle, it's a BMW.

Mazda

See? It looks like an M! How clever. Not difficult to distinguish; this is usually pretty visible.

Pontiac

Usually Pontiacs just have the strange, upside-down arrow sort thing on them and no letters.

Chrysler

Similarly to Pontiacs, Chryslers most often just have this wingspan-like symbol on their cars.

Saturn

Saturns are pretty darn easy to point out because their logo is bright red. You can see one coming from a mile away!

Nissan

This is just one of those that you have to know the shape of. There's no way you will be able to read NISSAN on this symbol, even though it is on pretty much every car.

Dodge

This one is pretty recognizable. As with all the other logos with the names at the bottom, don't expect to see DODGE tacked onto every car.

Volvo

I provided the image of an actual car because this logo will truly have VOLVO written on it, and Volvos are the easiest to point out (in my opinion) because these cars always have a diagonal line of metal across the grill of the car. As seen.

Now, here are two tricky ones.

Honda v. Hyundia

It's so unfair. They both use H's for their symbols. It's almost like the just WANT to make it difficult. But never fear!

Honda

The straight, standing up H is Honda.

Hyundai

The slanty, strange H is Hyundai.

And, finally, for the hypothetical situation mentioned above:

Lexus

Not to be confused with a Mustang. ;)

But really, Mustangs are made by Ford. But it can be confusing because the Ford symbol does not appear on many Mustangs as I have provided it here.

If you see a Mustang, it will have this symbol instead:

So now, when your friends are talking about that awesome Lexus across the street, you can double check the car logo and be assured that they are indeed talking about a Lexus. And not a Mustang.

Well, that's about it for our first installment of "Learn Your Cars!" Let me know if I skipped over any important makes, and also, feel free to comment with suggestions/praise for learning your cars!

Well, Well, Welcome

This is my blog. I hope you enjoy being here.

Actually, it's rather boring right now. This post is only to take up space and actually have a first post. I was going to wait until I was stricken with some sort of muse for my first post, but then I thought my blog looked bland without anything written on it.

Hence, first post. Lackluster and simple as it is.

Yay!

(More, better posts to come.)