Dinner and dancing and eternity to follow.

Found this on Tim Siedell's blog:

I follow this guy on Twitter. He's pretty hilarious sometimes. Check him out.

Also, someone remind me about this wedding invite when I get married. I think it's genius!

Oh, side note, Tim said he found the invite here. I couldn't find it but I did find some other pretty neat things.

Deep Thoughts

A few days ago I saw an article addressing how complicated it can be to really experience a good night of sleep. The article is now lost or I would supply a link. The author expressed his view points mainly through hand drawn comics. All in all it was a sweet, thoughtful article that made me laugh.

One comic in particular really got me thinking though. It depicted the well established practice of flipping to the cool side of the pillow in order to regain sleep quickly after night time interruptions. Now, I'm not here to argue for or against that practice, that's entirely not the point here. The point is that the author's depiction was of a person rolling from one side to the other to reach cooling bliss. In other words, using a vertical divide of the pillow. It was something I'd never given much thought to before.

But, later that evening when I was lying in bed I couldn't help thinking over the cold pillow situation. You see, I've always used a horizontal divide. I flip the pillow completely over in my quest to fall back asleep. As I laid in bed, I started thinking things like, "Would it make a difference to roll instead of flip? Is one method better than the other? What about pillow case materials? Fillings? Dimensions?" I realized that there were a multitude of variables involved in only this one sleep-finding method. It became so complicated that I'm still feeling boggled over how we ever manage to fall asleep at all. Or for that matter, how do those few lucky souls who fall asleep almost as soon as their heads hit the pillows resist and ignore every potential sleep depriving problem in the world. And what if everyone slept as well as they did? Would we solve world hunger? Should the government start looking into better sleeping methods? Needless to say I did not sleep well that night.

I know

I realize, desperately realize, that it's been too long between posts. How will I ever manage to increase and keep any readership that I may, or may not, have if I don't post on a regular basis, you say. No one wants another typical unreliable, self-absorbed blogger on the internet, you say.

Well you're right, and I'm sorry. I will be better from now on, I promise. I will also delete this post if in the end it proves I am not actually any better at being a regular blogger.

The Franklin County Wilderness, It Loves Me...

Last night I was sitting in bed reading when I heard a small crinkling noise. I immediately put my book down and paused to listen. Nothing. Great, now I wasn't even sure I had heard the noise in the first place. I "hear" a lot of things down in "the cave." So I went back to reading.

A few minutes later, more crinkling. This time I knew I heard it. It sounded like something moving against a plastic bag. Crinkle Crinkle. Before I even had a chance to think, my imagination took off and started filling my head with all sorts of nasty images. A giant hairy spider, an enormous version of the millipedes I already find all over the basement, and all sorts of other varieties of crawlies.

What made it all the more disturbing was the fact that this noise, crinkle crinkle, was coming from directly next to me. Either under my night stand or just next to it.

So I did what anyone would do. I got out of bed, found a pair of crocks in case I needed to squish something, a flashlight in case I needed to look under my bed, and carefully began the extraction of the items surrounding my nightstand. I moved both the stack of catalogs and magazines first, then my stack of summer reading books, then a pile of online shopping still waiting to be returned (I know, I know, I'll get to it soon) all of which left me without a trace of the noise maker. So I checked under the bed, thought I saw something, then realized that the something was a shadow. I was flummoxed and starting to think maybe the whole thing was my imagination after all. I was about to climb back into bed and continue my reading when out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of blue slip under my nightstand.

Now, I don't particularly like to have to move my nightstand to find creepies underneath it. It leaves your feet vulnerable for them to attack while you are holding the table in the air to move it. But I had my crocs on, so I braved it.

When I moved the table, I found this little friend:

From Coffee Spoons

Needless to say, he was a much better find than a true creepy, although still not welcome in my bedroom. I believe he'll be much happier out in my garden anyway, which is where he has been relocated.

One Week!!!

Only one more week until Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince movie release!!!

Do you know what this means?

No?!?

I'll tell you.

(You may want to skip this blog if you haven't read the books yet and are playing the, "I'll wait for the movies because I'm too lazy to actually read" game. Whatever, I care not for individuals such as yourselves. It is too late, you are condemned.)

Book 6 is the penultimate book in the HP series. It is a part transition, part theme exploration, and part character development novel. Unlike some of the other HP books, it entirely relies on the series to function as a novel. (In music, book 6 would be the V chord (that's a roman numeral for 5), filled with tension and tricky harmonies leading into the final resolution, the Big I or little i chord (Roman 1's). There are only a few new characters introduced, among them Rufus Scrimgeour and Horace Slughorn, leaving most of the novel's plot developments relating to already established information. Readers also meet, through the pensieve, a young and developing Tom Riddle.

One could argue that perhaps the most important suggestion made throughout book 6 is the concept of "goodness." Rowling sets her readers up to question just about every character's motive in regards to their actions concerning at least one other character at some point in the novel, even Harry Potter. This moment of hesitation that occurs in the reader's mind is important because it relates to the idea and the theme that a person is not inherently good or evil, but chooses to be so because of love, which has been set up from the very first book. Rowling explores that idea at length within book 6.

The best example I can think of would be the ongoing conflict between Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. Their rivalry was literally established even before Harry and Draco were sorted into rival houses in their first year and has festered each year up until this point. As a reader, you want to feel immediately loyal to Harry (and therefore against Draco) as he is the protagonist of the series. Unfortunately, Rowling does not allow any such cut and dry emotions within her books. She perforates her readers' opinions of both Draco and Harry when she shows Draco's emotional struggle over his dark task and Harry's callous treatment and harsh judgement of Draco that Harry fails to see just how desperate a person Draco Malfoy has become. The resulting "what if" occurs when the reader is left to question if Harry, our hero, had treated Draco more humanely and less suspiciously, if Draco may have changed his mind and confided in someone instead of being spurned on to more and more insane and rash choices which eventually result in Dumbledore's death. (I warned you not to keep reading.)

Rowling's finger points in all directions by the end of book 6. It's a hard book to swallow sometimes. But perspective is everything, the light at the end of the tunnel is that book 7 happens. Just like in music, the beauty is created when the tension of that penultimate chord is released into the final resolution. Voldemort is eventually defeated, Harry and Ginny get hitched and make baby, and Nevil gets to make his Gran proud! Dumbledore even resurfaces in a dream sequence to help tie everything up in a neat little bow.

But that final exultant victory cannot make the individual losses we feel any less poignant. That's part of the point too though, we have to learn from the loses we feel in literature so that we can change the future of the muggle world, making it truly a magical place to be. Reading is important, kids!


On a side note, here are some fun HP Movie goodies, enjoy!

Warner Bros HP & HBP Website

Some clips from the film:

Rufus Scrimgeour, I presume?

The Leaky Cauldron has reported that Bill Nighy stated he will be in the last HP movie.

Nighy said, "I don't think I'm allowed to say it, but I'm going to be in the next Harry Potter film." in an interview with The Independant.

Nighy is friends with the film's director, David Yates and complained earlier this year that he, "is the only British actor not in the films."

People are speculating that he's cast as Rufus Scrimgeour. We'll see. Scrimgeour is supposed to be introduced in Book 6. In fact that scene is one of my favorites, so I hope this isn't true and they already have a Scrimgeour and that scene. Even though I don't like seeing some parts of the books on the screen, I've always wanted to see that one. If he is Scrimgeour though, I think he could do a credible job. I have, however, always pictured the last PM of Magic as a more, well, beefy guy. It does say he's supposed to look like a lion, and Nighy does on a certain level. I guess I just always pictured a well fed lion.

Other interesting news? Not really, no. But I just think it's hilarious/ridiculous/reason why there should be a test to procreate that anyone would do this to themselves...

I'm Really Bad With Names

But I'm great with faces. I'm one of those people who some days wishes everyone wore name tags. So that's why, I think, I have problems naming my characters. So in trolling the internet looking for names for my most recent typing escapades I came across this little doo-dad!

Super fun and useful if you're in need of names for characters or well, you know, babies I guess...

Negative Attention Seeking Behavior Patterns

Did you know that there's some research statistic that allows states to estimate and plan for their future prison populations based on the current rate of delinquency in third graders?

Appalling as that thought is, it makes sense. Children learn from birth to use different behaviors in order to get what they need from the world. A baby cries like a siren going off to tell anyone within a 15 mile radius that it has a need. Unfortunately this is the only communication tool available to a newborn. It cannot blink twice for yes and once for no. It doesn't even know the difference between yes and no. So it must wail. Unfortunate indeed because later on in that child's life, in third grade, crying at larger than life decibels to get what it wants will be considered throwing a tantrum and as such unacceptable.

The trick, you see, for those little third graders, are the adults in the equation. At some point past infancy and before kindergarten some adult must explain to each child how to use other forms of expression and communication to glean what they desire and need from the world. This process should be a simple matter of, "instead of this, do this." except, what is also unfortunate for each child is the fact that they have no control over which adult they are assigned. If their care taker doesn't understand good communication skills and responsibility, more than likely something within the relationship will break down and the child will be allowed to continue practicing poor forms of expression. By the time a child enters the school system he or she will have established different coping mechanisms for dealing with different situations. For example, being good at sharing or being impatient with others. By the time that child hits the third grade they are dealing with more worldly issues and have established the coping mechanisms they will practice for most of the rest of their lives, for better or worse.

Now I am not an early childhood educator, so I can't sit here and tell you exactly when a child develops what habits or learns what abilities. I'm just using third graders because of the fact that the government uses them for prison estimations. I can tell you though, that once a child establishes a propensity for negative attention seeking behaviors, it is very difficult to turn around and help them learn to cope with the world in a positive fashion. Not only are you trying to help that child unlearn something that seems natural to them but often, adults react in a very negative way towards those kids by punishing them and treating them with anger instead of the love and protection they crave.

Now let's talk about North Korea. Right now, N. Korea is about 17 years old. A whiny 17 years old. (Not literally, folks, we're talking analogies here) Now don't get me wrong, every teenager is entitled to go through some level of rebellion, self discovery, and the like, but N. Korea is acting like a child who was never taught good coping mechanisms as an infant and so is certainly unable to deal with the world now.

I don't have an opinion on what should happen with N. Korea. I feel too sad right now. I really pity N. Korea because it's a country that has to first deny, then test, then spread rumors about, then test some more, and then threaten to really go all out with nuclear weapons to feel important. Negative attention seeking behaviors. My mother has always said that usually it's the people who are the hardest to love that need your love the most. She always reminds me of this fact when I'm really upset with someone. So even though it's really hard for me to think about N. Korea in a compassionate state of mind, I find myself trying.

No one was around to teach N. Korea how to play nice and use it's "I" statements in it's infancy, and then later, when N. Korea was probably about the age of a pre-teen and really acting out in a big way for the first time (or at least the first time that anyone took notice), bigger countries bullied it and tried to "tell it what to do" and "how to act" through war and vengeance. Clearly that did not result in the desired effect. So maybe I do have an opinion, even though it's pretty vague. I think we should encourage love.

Please stop rolling your eyes. I know how stupid I sound. But it's better than the idiots screaming, "bomb 'em!" Because if there is one thing I learned as a child, it's that two wrongs never make a right, no matter how good it might feel at the time. So let's take the high road, let's play the adult game, let's be the bigger person...err...country.

Old School RomCom

Movies like this one remind me of my elementary school principle, Mrs. Azzara, who used to say, "An oldie but goodie!"

Yesterday evening I caught How to Steal a Million on one of the movie channels. I love older movies and this is one of my favorites. In fact, it's my favorite heist movie. If you've never had a chance to watch it, Netflix it or something because it's a good one. It's a comedy with Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole set in Paris. Hepburn plays Nicole Bonnet, daughter of a master art forger and O'Toole plays Simon Dermott, a character that Nicole catches in her house one night carrying one of her father's paintings, a forgery, of course.

The basic storyline runs like this: After Nicole catches Simon, she shoots him in the arm and then drives him home because she can't call the police knowing they don't have any real paintings to report or have investigated. Meanwhile, Nicole's father has loaned a work to a museum. All good fun until they learn the museum is about the put it through a proper test. So in order to keep her father from going to jail and herself from having to exile to America to avoid scandle, Nicole enlists her burgalar, Simon, to help her steal back the loaned sculpture. Simon, the master thief that he is, agrees to help.

The best part of the whole movie however, is when Simon confesses to Nicole that he knows they're stealing a forgery. Nicole is flumaxed as to why Simon, clearly a master thief, would help her steal a forgery until he tells her that he loves her. He then, of course, kisses her passionately. This whole scene, incendentally, occurs in the broom closet of the museum while they wait for their plan to go into action. Cozy.

The next best part occurs when Simon confesses that he is not, in fact, a master thief. He is however, a master investigator of forgers. He was breaking into Nicole's house in the beginning of the movie to inspect one of her father's paintings when she caught him red handed and mistook him for a thief. Only, you, as a viewer, have done the same thing. It makes it that much more fun and delicious. It's just like when Simon is looking at the sculpture, a copy of Cellini's Venus, and starts to notice a resemblance between Venus and Nicole and he asks, "Say, just where were you in the early 16th century?" She responds, "I don't know but I wasn't dressed like that!" (Venus has a piece of cloth covering her hoo-ha but that's about it) The story line is so unbelievable but lovable at the same time that you can't help but want to keep watching. O'Toole plays his character so beautifully it makes you want him to want you instead of Nicole Bonnet.

It's a romantic ideal I know, but after watching a movie like this one, a girl can't help but wish for a man like Simon Dermott. It's the same thing that happens to me after Philadelphia Story and Meet Joe Black. Obviously there are some definite negatives to each of those love stories that make them less than ideal were they reality, but for the brief moment that is a movie script, they seem perfect. They ellicit the Mr. Darcy sigh. That same sigh I breath every time I finish P&P.

I know, a very cliche blog, but perhaps a little dose every now and again is healthy.

"Run mad as often as you choose, but do not faint!" Jane Austen

Goonies Never Say Die

In my news perusal this morning, I came across an article that suggested the idea that the Harry Potter franchise might be loosing it's magical touch. The author cited the competition from the Twilight series as the catalyst for what may seem to be a declining audience. Although by the end of the article the author pointed out that she was still a die-hard Potterian, I still gasp in horror that anyone could even suggest such a coup could occur at this point.

Think about it...

Is there honestly anyone out there who would rather go to Forks High School over Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? No. Exactly.

Is there anyone out there who would honestly prefer blood over pumpkin juice and chocolate frogs? No. Exactly.

Look, Twilight is new. It's shiny. It's sexy and passionate. Harry Potter isn't sexy, he's heroic and thrilling. Twilight makes it really easy for a bunch of tweeners to swoon and forget about reality while they get sucked into Stephanie Meyer's own personal fantasy world. Because let's face it, Stephanie Meyer is Bella Swan, or rather, Bella Swan's life is the life Stephanie Meyer never lived. Apologies all around if you hadn't figured that one out yet.

But let's break down Bella for a second. Meyer states within the first few pages of the first book that Bella's defining character trait is her strong sense of self confidence. Bella then meets Edward and spends the next three and a half novels worrying that she isn't worthy to be around him, dazzled, and in a constant state of "weak in the knees." Some strong, independent woman.

You could argue that Edward Cullen is Meyer's secondary protagonist. She is writing another version of the books from his perspective, after all. But even if you consider that point, Edward is so controlling of Bella and moody for, well, three and a half novels, that it's a completely unhealthy relationship. Anyone who actually understands the concept of love, real and true love, knows that trusting your other half is a non-issue. Edward claims that his control issues only have to do with himself and his own insecurities, but um, so do most emotionally abusive partners. So I can't really accept Edward's love as 100%. I accept that Bella and Edward believe what they have is honest and total, but it's a very immature relationship on many levels. While a large majority of Meyer's readers want to model their perfect relationships after either Edward and Bella now, I believe, and fervently hope, that a little emotional growth will prove how unrealistic and undesirable an existance that is.

So while Meyer's fans will grow out of their fantasies with her characters. J.K. Rowling's fans will keep theirs for a few simple reasons:

1) Harry Potter is the classic hero, surrounded by complex secondary characters and powerful emotions. There is real loss and real triumph within Harry's story. Who dies in Twilight? That's right, Irina. No one cared about her. In fact, unless you've just finished reading the books, or are some crazy word-nerd, you probably forgot all about her, didn't you? But no one forgets about Sirius, Dumbledore, Hedwig, Dobby, Fred, and Snape (and oh so many more)! Readers were terrified by the time the last book came out to read which character they would lose in the final battle. A fear which Stephanie Meyer completely protected her readers from when she debuted Bella's amazing ability to force field everyone around her.

2) Harry defeats Lord Voldemort. A force so powerful ordinary wizards are afraid to even speak his name. Voldemort has forgotten how to love, he has no motivations except gaining more evil, corrupt power. He is Iago and will never be forgotten. Conversely, neither will Harry Potter, their names are linked in many ways.

3) What J.K. Rowling did with her story was to show us how evil can come to exist. Through the books readers traced Voldemort's beginnings back to the boy Tom Riddle and watched in retrospect as he became more wicked and cruel. Readers were able to see the mistakes made by others when they were wooed by Riddle into helping him climb the ladder of power. At the same time, those same readers were able to watch first hand, Harry's own journey as he prepared for his destiny. Rowling delicately wove the theme of maternal love and humanity into each book so that even though Dumbledore gives both readers and Harry the answer early on, it's not until the very end that full comprehension occurs.

That is a true work of literary art. Harry Potter fans will keep their some of their fantasies because Rowling encourages her readers to think big. By the end of her series there is a feeling of excitement and ability. As a reader I wanted to become my own personal Harry Potter and change the world. I wanted to defeat the Voldemorts of today. I still do.

I think it's obvious that because the Twilight series has only recently been published in it's entirety and the movie versions only begun filming for it to seem more popular now. Readers were coming off of the Harry Potter high and were craving a new adventure. It was easy to jump on the Twilight wagon. I don't think Meyer's story would have gained the amount of success that it did without Rowling's series before it. I also have no doubt that in ten years Harry Potter will be considered a classic fantasy hero and Bella Swan will have become a moment in pop culture. And just like the moment when I was able to turn the final page of the seventh book and look back on the whole series with contentment and a sigh of awe, perspective, I believe, will be everything.

Commencement

I have been holding back on this entry for a few weeks to make sure most, if not all, of the high school graduations have passed. Well I can't really hold back any longer so if you still have one forthcoming in your schedule, maybe stop reading now and come back later.

OK.

I can still remember the first graduation ceremony I attended. I'm not talking about those sketchy, "Yay! You're graduating kindergarten!" ordeals. I'm not even really talking about the sixth grade graduation, although I can remember mine and that almost counts. No, no. I'm talking actual pomp and circumstance. I was in both the band and choir in high school and so of course I took part in the graduation ceremony my freshman year. No one told me what to expect because, of course, it wasn't my graduation. No one told me commencement ceremonies are magical.

I can remember watching the soon-to-be graduates file in under cheesy garden trellises in their black polyester robes. The girls awkwardly clomping along because most of them had not learned to properly walk in heals yet and the guys just as awkward because they felt like they were wearing dresses over the dress pants and shoes that usually only saw the back of the closet. I can remember listening to the band play and thinking, "Wow, Pomp and Circumstance is really Pomp and Circumstance!" It was kind of thrilling.

But that wasn't even the magic. The magic occurred later when the commencement speaker took his position at the podium. He was a naval officer, I do not remember his name, but I remember his face. He talked about the adventure of life and why it's an important thing to live life to it's fullest potential. He explained to the graduates that another step in their lives was beginning and how much opportunity they held in their hands. I felt like a firework just before it explodes. When the choir sang, "You'll Never Walk Alone," the song that the choir performed at every James Madison High School graduation, I sang with extra fervor. I felt truly inspired by the prospect of such a magnanimous occasion.

That night I told someone that I was in love with graduations. They told me that when I had attended as many as they had, I wouldn't be so in love. I felt a little crestfallen because I didn't want the magic to ever go away.

It hasn't. I still love attending graduations. I love the pomp. I love the circumstance. I love the traditions and histories that are wrapped up into them. I pour over the program to read about them and I treasure the tingles that always come from great speakers delivering great messages well. Ironically, both my high school and college graduations had poor speakers, a fact which almost broke my heart.

You know where this is going. That's right, one of my life goal's is to be a commencement speaker. That hasn't actually always been the case, despite what you may think. In May of 2007 I attended UNCG's commencement to support and watch many of my friends receive the official words of wisdom. The sentences spilled forth from the lips of one Betty Ray McCain. She maintained a complete balance of perfect anecdotes that wrapped up her points and poignant moments that set them into your flesh with goose pimples. She could move you from laughter to tears and back to roaring laughter without any emotional hijacking, a true talent. Her message was also rooted in the fact that she has in fact lived, and continues to live, every word and belief she preaches each day of her life. So at about the middle point in her speech, when a friend leaned over to me and said, "that's you in fifty years!" I almost peed in my pants with excitement. To become a Betty Ray would truly be an accomplishment.

So if you've been to a graduation this year. I sincerely hope it filled you with the kind of hope and excitement for the future that the very word commencement embodies. If it did not, please go and find a speech to listen to that makes your view rosier. Especially if you've just graduated. Life is meant to be lived. Every moment is your chance to breathe a little deeper, love a little freer, and laugh a little longer.

Betty Ray McCain

J.K. Rowling's speech to Harvard grads

Writing About Wizards Isn't Original?!

If you haven't already heard, someone is accusing Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, and possibly J.K. Rowling of plagiarizing large portions of another author's work into Book 4 of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. The accuser, Paul Allen, is the estate trustee for Adrian Jacobs, author of Willy the Wizard. I hadn't ever heard of that book either, so I googled it.

Turns out Willy was published in 1987 and is about a wizard who goes to college and goes all waning nostalgic on his readers to tell about his antics as a young wizard. If you want, you can go online to the website that was conveniently set up last October to read some carefully chosen excerpts from the book, which apparently only amounts to about thirty-six pages.

Adrian Jacobs was an English lawyer and stock broker who made his fortune in the market and then lost it after he forgot to take his own advice and invest wisely, dying penniless. His bio however, says that he was unable to manage his money after he suffered from a stroke. Interesting. His bio also says that his son, Joseph, lives in America and already tried making this claim in 2004, so I'm not even sure how Paul Allen fits into the puzzle. Coincidentally, Jacobs still had his fortune when the book was published, (after having already been rejected by Bloomsbury) which I'm going to go ahead and read as, "self funded publishing." Seriously, go read an excerpt, it's bad. It's not even creatively bad. We aren't even talking bad like a certain vampire series everyone keeps insisting on comparing to HP, where the writing is so poor you can hardly stand it but something about the story manages to suck you in like a leech and hold onto you until the end when you're finally able to come up for air and you realize that you have just wasted a weekend of your life reading four books about a whiny, insecure girl and her controlling, insecure boyfriend and the sketchy love triangle between them and an only slightly less obnoxious immature skater/bad ass wannabe that is only resolved through alien procreation and border line incest...

I digress.

The important thing to note is that Jacobs was rejected by Bloomsbury and J.K.R.'s agent, this is where the shady/patchy/ridiculous claim comes in. Allen is claiming that Bloomsbury and said agent kept Willy in a dark closet, only to bring him out again and throw him onto J.K.R. and her book. Apparently the underwater task from Book 4 is too similar to something Willy did in one of his adventures. Apparently only Adrian Jacobs can imagine clues and mer people. Huh.

You know, when I was in seventh grade, I got into this huge argument with this girl over a saying that my friends and I had coined back in the fifth or sixth grade. I heard her using it one day and I said, "Hey, that's our phrase, you can't take it!" She looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Um, I totally made that up back in elementary school, like forever ago." To which I replied, "You did not, I made it up at Louise Archer!" We carried on for the longest time over who actually had invented whatever catchphrase was the thing at the time. I felt truly slighted because she wouldn't stop using my expression and she was also taking credit for it whenever someone complimented her on it. Of course, she gave me the same beady, squinty, hateful eyes every time I told someone, "Thank you, I made that up!" It wasn't until years later, when I learned about Darwin, and how he actually wasn't the only person to come up with the theory of evolution, (and I think not even the first person to publish it) but how he's the name we remember, that I understood just how easy it is to simultaneously create an idea. Huh.

Allen's claim is a stretch at the very most. It's also a very obvious Harry-Potter-books-are-still-selling-like-hotcakes-and-I-don't-want-to-have-to-actually-do-anything-to-make-money scheme. Please, J.K.R. has talked, I don't know how many times, about how the whole series was planned out on napkins and scraps of paper for years before she ever received a book deal. The plot points Paul Allen is trying to argue as plagiarized are key elements to Book 4, not something that J.K.R. could have easily written into her story line based on a recommendation from her publisher. Besides, if this whole claim was already kiboshed in 2004, why is it springing up again now? Don't tell me Allen was waiting to purchase the web domain name to make his plea more public and therefore more effective. That must be it. He must have been waiting for the deal to go through and transfer WillytheWizard.com over to a children's book instead of whatever shady industry it may have catered to before...

Whew! Glad we cleared that up!

New Project

A few years back I took a metalsmithing class with an art professor at Ferrum College. It was a lot of fun and as a result I have three pieces of jewelry that I rather like which I created. At the time the professor suggested that I try my hand at engraving because she noticed how detail oriented I am and also complemented me on having good muscle control and steady hands. All things needed in good engraving work.

My dad, who used to run a small side business at a hobby jeweler, said he agreed but stressed how much time and practice would be involved before I could actually engrave an actual piece. That really wasn't what turned me off from the idea. He was really more interested in what I would be engraving. Dad is from the era of jewelers and men who made a lot of money and set a lot of stock by big chains and heavy pieces. For example, one of his most prized possessions is a golden toothpick that he either made or had made at some point in his life which used to hang around his neck on a gold chain. High roller type stuff. (Maybe it's in the name, Frank Sinatra does share some similar qualities...)

I, however, was visualizing small, intricate detail work. Words on medallions. Nothing elaborate. The only "big" jewelry I wear are my over sized, silver Tiffany's studs because, well, they're from Tiffany's. They aren't really even that large, they're just my biggest pieces. So, anyway, the end result was that I did not pursue the engraving thing because I wasn't interested in learning how to engrave a money clip or a gun handle.

I bring this up now because for some reason I have decided that I'm going to look into the engraving thing again. We finally have the workshop set up downstairs and no one in particular is using it, so why not me? I know I should be getting caught up on my scrapbooking, quilting, and mending projects. I understand that I have a very important grad school portfolio that is currently unfinished as well as studying for the GRE that needs to be checked off the to-do list. I realize that the basement of my house is practically a sprawling jungle of my post-college-move-back-home-unpack-all-my-other-stuff-for-the-first-time-since-we-moved-here project. But I'm in a mental rut and I want out of it. I feel like a have half the energy I should have these days and I'm tired of it! And since Dad probably has most everything I need to get started, I think why not for now. I will need to order some new china white and some practice disks, and maybe a new extra small graver (I don't think Dad has anything nearly as small as what I'm going to want) but overall the total expense will be small compared to what it could be.

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Laura, you don't have any money to be spending period. Go back to the scrapbook and quilting pile, asap!" But I tell you, I need something to spark some creative juices. I keep getting writing ideas and then neglecting to put them down on electronic paper. I don't know why either. I'm not writing for anyone but myself at this point but I'm obviously stuck in a rut that's deeper than the sand bunker on the seventh fairway. Ugh, sorry, I hate to be the whiner. That really wasn't my point in writing this entry. Anyway, engraving, the discussion with the father will occur tonight over dinner, I'll update on how that goes soon.

The "P" Word

I just finished reading an article by Monique Fields in which she gave her opinion on Disney's legacy of princess films. The article surrounded her opinion on the next establishment in Mickey's closet full of princess friends, The Princess and The Frog, which arrives in theaters this fall. While Fields applauded Disney for their creativity in featuring a black-American princess, the main focus of the article was in bashing the whole concept of princesses in general. The "P" Word. She went on to elaborate on the trials (in her opinion) that a parent has to face throughout the life and process of raising a little girl and the struggle it is to establish to little girls that dreaming of becoming a princess is neither an obtainable goal, nor an acceptable one if it were obtainable.

Really, did she not watch Disney's last princess movie, Enchanted? The "P" word isn't "Princess," it's "Parenting." If Monique was confident in herself as both a parent and a woman, she wouldn't have to worry about her daughter growing up with unrealistic expectations. In her article, Fields worries about her daughter wanting something that she and her husband cannot afford, or trying for something and then failing. I fail to see how this picture is either wrong, unhealthy, or somehow caused by Disney.

Fields also manages to list a whole troupe of names of Disney princesses, and them blames them for giving her daughter false expectations and an unrealistic values of outer beauty. An interesting and not uncommon accusation thrown at Disney. Interestingly enough, however, I grew up with those princesses, and my mother taught me to value them for their personalities and go-get-'em attitudes. She told me that they were so pretty on the outside because their inner beauty was shining through. Cinderella got to where she was through kindness and friendship. Mulan had passion and fought to protect her family. The Princess of next fall wants to follow in her father's footsteps and own a restaurant. These women are not the demure and coy cushion sitters that Fields makes them out to be.

My mother and I had discussions about what made the ugly stepsisters ugly, about why good choices are sometimes hard to make, and about values and morals. We also talked about other characters, like Fivel, the Seven Dwarfs, Mary Poppins, and the Alley Cats. As a kid I learned that it was important to value all shapes, sizes, and colors; not just the princesses. Beauty isn't always about looks, but it can be, and that's OK. Fields wrapped her article up by explaining that she would, "let her ugly stepmother out at the first chance," to explain exactly how the world works to her daughter. I was shocked. To crush a child's fantasy is just as bad as allowing them to fully live in that fantasy for too long.

It made me angry that Monique Fields could publish an article abusing a childhood ideal in this manner simply because [it seems] she either will not or is afraid to take the time to sit down and spend the time with her daughter and establish the whole picture about what being a princess means. It's not all powder puffs and playgrounds. The world is also not all harsh words and failures. She's afraid that her daughter will grow up to be prissy and bossy because she believes in princesses and she's rightfully so. If she doesn't teach her child to value inner beauty and outer beauty in balance, she'll end up with one hateful kid on her hands.

By the by, if you want to read the article for yourself, you can find it here.

Chick Lit

I'm not in the general habit of reading it. And when I do read it, I'm not in the general habit of admitting to reading it. But times are hard, the funds are low, and I still can't find the box with Book 7. You know which Book 7. That box also has some of my most prized and often re-read novels, including my pocket edition of P&P.

Sigh.

So I'm reading chick lit. Specifically, Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger. Just finished it last week, still chewing it over. It wasn't a horrible read, but it wasn't Prada either. It was definitely better than her second book. Her characters, this time, are more alive and she gives them some good moments. Unfortunately those moments crash and burn with the failure of the plot landscape, or lack there of.

The story is roughly structured around three friends, of which, two make a sort of wager based on self-improvement/self-restraint. There's Emmy, the serial monogamist who (surprise-surprise) breaks up with her cheater boyfriend of 5 years (he dumps her, of course) and must go on a "tour-de-whore" and sleep with a bunch of men. There's Adriana, the Brazilian whore, who would rather you call her raunchy-too-many-too-count hook ups, "affairs" so she feels less like a whore (there is a limit to how many people anyone should sleep with, and I say loosing count crossed the line a long time ago) who must (surprise-surprise) hold down a monogamous relationship for one year. And then there's Leigh, the neurotic control freak, who has the "perfect life" that she's (surprise-surprise) not happy with. Leigh doesn't have anything to give up in the wager because of course, "her life is perfect."

It almost reminded me of high school when the boy trumpet players would bet one another who could go the longest without, well, you know, being teenage boys and play with their teenage personal remote controllers. Called it March Madness - they could only go for a month at the most but at least they had a real wager involved. The women of Weisberger's book didn't even put anything on the table.

In fact, the book really reminded me of those high school boys. The whole book was about sex. But it wasn't sexy, SJP SITC sex. It was flat, not even really funny, horny, 30 year old women agonizing about being 30 year old women sex. Ugh. Not attractive.

Don't get me wrong. Weisberger has talent. It's hidden in there somewhere. Emmy, Adriana, and Leigh all have moments where the reader can look at them and say, "Oh my gosh, I know that girl!" and sometimes even, "Oh my gosh, I am that girl!" and then laugh about it, which is a unique and golden talent in the genre of chick lit. Women are not easy to please and make themselves laugh about their own follies. Trust me, I am one. But perhaps the whole SITC thing has been done, and Weisberger should slant her focus in just a slightly different direction. Or at least, get her plot in gear so that the reader can really languish over those golden moments and not focus on the maze that was Winston's plot debacle. She's got a good voice, but her story keeps getting trampled in the process. I'm interested to see where she goes from here.

Food and Fun Filled Weekend

This past weekend was great, really great. Crazy busy, though, which always makes me feel like I need a weekend after my weekend. But I'm dealing.

Friday night Casey called me to say that his post-gov-school-geek-party-throw-down had been canceled and so he was free to give me a lesson on finishing my two pottery pieces. Not going to lie, I was a little bit thrilled about the shin-dig fall through. Jeanne fed me (again) and it was an amazing dinner. One day, when I have my own place, I'm going to invite the Harless family over and feed them in return. (Actually, I thought of something the other day. If I end up moving back to NC, and Charlie goes to school down there, then when they come to visit him they can visit me too!!) Isabella was over spending the night with Layla so we hung out for a little bit before Casey and I went to work downstairs. Jeanne and I are convinced that there is some kind of a time warp in her basement, because again, it felt like maybe an hour, and again, it was about three.

I successfully carved out a foot on my bowl and a shadow line on my mug. Casey had to apply the handle though because by that point I was a little bit tired and goofy and Layla and Isabella had come downstairs and were distracting me. Overall I'm super proud of my work. I think Dad is going to build me my own wheel once I find some plans for him unless I find a cheap used one on Ebay. After we finished we went upstairs to see Jeanne's progress on the tie-dye shirts (she was applying the screen print patches that say "Red Valley UMC") and had a slice of her key lime pie. SO GOOD. Hopefully the youth will make enough money out of this batch of shirts to pay for all of our summer activities.

Saturday we had the choir's year end picnic at my house so I got up early and spent the day getting ready and getting the house ready for that. It turned out to be a great time! Not everyone could make it, which was unfortunate, but also unavoidable this time of year. We had loads of good food (we provided the hot dogs and hamburgers and everyone else was in charge of bringing a dessert or side). I also made the Mojito Mint Torte from the current Season's Best Cookbook. Beth brought a chocolate trifle that she makes with Kahlua and bailey's so we all joked about how our picnic was probably less than "church appropriate."

Sunday was the choir's last day to sing in church and also Pentecost Sunday as well as Graduate Sunday, so a big day all around! I didn't have time to stay for the luncheon after church though, because I had to scoot to Lou's Pampered Chef party. She had a big crowd, about 16 people with a couple outside orders, so it will make for a really great show for her. I'm excited because she's using her show credits to purchase things for her daughter, Samantha's apartment next fall. Samantha will be a sophomore at Radford in the fall. We fixed the Grilled Chicken Penne al Fresco from the current Season's Best and the Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cup Torte from last season's.

When I got back to the house I was so tired from all of my weekend activities that I crashed in one of the living room chairs for about an hour. Then Mom and I took Hank over to let Max out for a little bit. They're funny because Max is really shy and kind of intimidated by Hank (a total first for Hank, I assure you) and so they really just ignore one another.

I completely forgot about the MTV Movie awards, which I'm kind of bummed about. Which is another excuse for me to get a DVR. I'm so new to this living outside of the rock game and I'm really not good at it at all. So I don't know what happened. I have to wait until I get home tonight to watch the Harry Potter and New Moon previews. Oh well, life goes on.

Highschool

I paid attention. Well, not really. I did pay attention when I got to take college classes my senior year though. Luckily one of those classes was government. I learned a very important lesson that semester. If your political party loses an election, you are then required to act as part of the loyal opposition. You aren't the losing side, or the degraded outsiders, you're still part of the team. You still get to play in the game. And you get to attend the after parties even if you aren't as excited to be there. I thought, and still think, that it's one of the more beautiful concepts our government has to offer. Just think about it. You're free to express your opinion, (within limits of course, no one likes Debbie Downer for a reason, and that's part of the deal) but you are expected to man up and be a part of the whole. I really like that. Everyone knows that with every freedom comes a greater responsibility, well, at least, everyone should know this fact. I know that isn't always the case.

Especially in Rush Limbaugh's case. He clearly missed out on a few very important pointers for life. For starters, it's very clear that his parents forgot to mention that just because they didn't give him a real name, and instead picked out a verb, he's not exempt from the common societal niceties. Yeah, I know, asking a lot here.

What am I talking about? I'm talking about http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/26/limbaugh-i-hope-sotomayor_n_207690.html

Who says those kinds of things? And don't say, "Rush Limbaugh does," because that's not an acceptable answer. Establishing yourself with a history as a vile word vomiter does not give you any rights to continue to act as one. It's like my mother taught me, "It's not what you say, it's how you say it." Rush, go back to high school government and learn about loyal opposition. It's not that hard a concept, but it's incredible when put into practice. Individuals like Limbaugh are one reason we have problems working together as a country. If time machines are ever invented, I hope they send him back to the founding fathers for a royal fanny whooping!

Pottery Lesson

I had my first pottery lesson over the weekend, and wow was it amazing! It was also much harder than it appears. I've watched Casey throw some pieces before and it looks simply effortless, but I found out very quickly that having an aerial view of the lump of clay is very different than my previously horizontal viewpoint. It's so easy to watch from the side and say, "Oh, OK, I see how that works." But when you're actually holding the clay in your hands, nothing makes sense anymore. You have no idea how anything works anymore.

My first piece went a lot easier than my second. I messed up when I was pulling the clay up on my second piece and lost a big section, but it was salvageable and it turned into what will be a cup or mug. The first piece is going to be my morning cereal bowl. I think my brain was a little fried by the time I tried the second throwing because I felt like I was having difficulties concentrating. The mental fatigue was definitely a surprise, and the time flew by! It felt like we had only been working for about an hour, but when we checked, it was closer to 3 and 1/2! Which of course explains the mental fatigue.

Props to Casey though, he's a really good teacher. I'm talking, this kid is 15 and he throws some amazingly artful and elegant pieces. He also walked me through two different pieces very patiently and calmly. Very impressive. He is not your average 15 year old. I really hope he keeps up his creative streak because I really do think he'll go far. Every time I go to visit the Harless house for some reason or another (his Mom and I are close friends on top of the fact that I love spending time with Casey's siblings, Charlie and Layla) he shows me some new technique that he's either seen at a workshop or in a YouTube video. I watched a few Sunday when I took a break from my own writing and cleaning and learned a bunch. I even googled wheels to see exactly how much one would cost, but that's definitely not an impulse buy.

I was so excited that I forgot to take pictures of my stuff so that will have to wait until I go over there again or until they're fired and I get them back!

Ida

Yesterday I read several news articles regarding the discovery of the 47-million-year-old fossil that has been named, "Ida." If you haven't heard about it, Ida might be the "missing link" between humans and apes. Check it out: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/05/090519-missing-link-found.html

My point? Well, while I think this is really cool, and has some great potential as far as science is concerned, I don't think it's anything to get your panties in a knot over, which is exactly what a ton of people were doing in the comments section of every online article I read yesterday.

Creationists vs. Evolutionists. Seriously kids, it's like the AM kindergarten and the PM kindergarten. Why is it so hard to play together? And why are the kids that go to both the AM and PM classes always ostracised because they haven't picked a side? I don't get it. Maybe I'm just a happy person. I like it when the sun shines.

To all the Creationists out there: Do not use religion to back your story up. For every religious story/myth/history, there is another one somewhere else in the world to contradict/debunk/discredit it. You are not the final authority. There is not existing original source material. Open up your mind and shut your mouth.

To all the Evolutionists out there: Do not use science to back your story up. For every scientific fact/theory/principle, there is another one somewhere else in the world to contradict/debunk/discredit it. I'm talking big science here. I'm not talking about things like 2+2=4. That is, and hopefully always will be, true. Open up your mind and shut your mouth.

Are we back to my point? I guess we are. My point is that no one knows. Actually knows the truth. We probably won't ever know the truth, not really. I don't have a problem with that either. I don't play for either team in this argument, I don't think it's important to pick a side here.

One person online was arguing that everyone should give up religion because there's no way to prove it and that [he thinks] we're all just going to rot once we die so he didn't see the point in living for a belief. I would argue that the world would be a better place if everyone lived for a belief system because if you believe in some kind of eternity, there's a sense of ultimate responsibility. You are all of a sudden accountable for your actions on a higher level. Are you holding yourself accountable? Ultimately, yes. But you're doing it because you believe there's a higher power that will hold you to the same standard, if not to a higher one, later, and with greater consequences. It makes me think of those WWJD? bracelets we used to wear in middle school. If everyone based their decisions on some religious scale (I'm not saying you have to choose the WWJD? scale) the world would be a better place. If everyone lived their lives with the idea that you just died and that was it, well, then what would we have to live for? There's no hope in that concept.

Like I said, maybe I just like the sunshine.

Post Cruise

Well I can officially say I have been to the Bahamas! I just got back from a four night, five day cruise there and it was fabulous! I snorkeled, I sunbathed, I partied pretty darn hardy, I did just about everything I set out to do on my little cruise. I did not get sunburnt, which is a huge accomplishment considering I could be confused for Casper's second cousin. So all in all, good times.

I will say this, on the partying note: I am not a partier. I have lived past those days in my life. But on this cruise, I not only kept up with the pace, I sometimes set it, which I think rather surprised a few of my shipmates. I surprised myself anyway, which I've decided is a new goal for me, to continue to surprise myself. I don't do that enough and I like the feeling.

We left last Monday and even got to see the shuttle launch from the deck of the ship before the ship got underway. That was a pretty amazing start to out week. I mean I've seen a few on TV and all, but we were literally right across the water from the space center. It was really cool to watch it zoom up into the sky and then feel the shock wave hit us a few seconds afterwards. I always get a secret thrill when I get to experience something like that in person because it's like I'm living in the moment of science. I know, geeky. But it was cool.

The first place we stopped at was CoCo Cay, which is the island owned by the cruise company. It's kind of like the Disney version of the Bahamas. Everything is a little brighter and shinier there than when you get to Nassau. That's where we snorkeled. I got some great underwater shots when we went snorkeling, so I'll have to post some of them later when I get to my computer. We also saw some iguanas hanging out around the island, so that was pretty cool. The only obnoxious part about the whole thing was that they made you wear this inflatable vest thing to keep you from drowning, which made it almost impossible to dive down. Even with all the air pushed out of it, it made you so buoyant that you immediately flew right back to the surface. I understand why those vests really help for liability purposes and all, but it gave my some serious grief for the day.

Our second stop was at Nassau, which was pretty cool. We got hooked up with an awesome cab driver, Byron, who took us on a tour around the island to the local places. He also stopped by his friend's bar to give Georgia a birthday drink and let us taste conch salad. Conch is pretty good. The salad was done in a ceviche style, with chopped onions and loads of citrus juices. Byron said it was the local version of oysters. Told us the men there never stop having babies. We also stopped by an abandoned pirate cave, the straw market, and Senior Frogs that night. I wasn't really impressed by either the market or the bar, but the cave was pretty tight.

I'm definitely going back for another vacation someplace tropical. I have to admit, I never really pictured myself as the tropical vacation lover because of the risk of sunburn. I didn't think I'd be able to enjoy it. I have all these friends who keep going on tropical honeymoons and I always assumed I'd be the "Backpack through Europe" type. But now, perhaps not. Guess I should find a prospective husband...

First Entry

So I've been thinking about this whole "blog" thing for a while now and have obviously decided to start one. We'll see how well I manage. I do have quite a few opinions as well as the desire to express said opinions, so I think perhaps a blog could be a good thing. Personally I have always thought the concept of blogs were kind of silly because of the whole "online diary" aspect that so many people use them for. I'm not really into that. If I wanted to tell the world my most intimate thoughts and details I'd either get on PostSecret (also a load of crap) or I'd tell my friends (not crap). But now blogs have come very full circle and are being used as a whole new means of social media and I like that, I like that a lot.

So there you have it, my very first opinion. Huh, I didn't even try. Maybe this blog thing will be easier than I had previously thought!