Showing posts with label Harry Potter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Harry Potter. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Quidditch Pictures
So about two weeks after I joined the Quidditch team at my school, we played a tournament against other local schools. Here are some pictures from that weekend. In case you were wondering, we were seeded 6th out of 8 teams, and came in second.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Common Questions People Ask When They Learn You Play Quidditch
I joined my school's Quidditch team in April. Since then I've learned that there are some questions you just get used to answering.
1. How do you play Quidditch?
It's basically the same as wizard Quidditch.
The chaser and keeper play are basically the same, except they use a partially deflated volleyball as a quaffle.
For beaters, obviously the bludgers don't fly around, we use dodgeballs. If we hit someone on the other team, they have to run back to their hoops.
The snitch is a person, rather than a tiny flying ball. They have a sock with a tennis ball in it tucked into their pants and the seeker has to grab the sock. The snitch is also worth 30 points, not 150. For the first 20 minutes the snitch doesn't have to be on the field. He or she can climb a tree, grab a drink at a nearby drink stand, sit in a parked car, you name it, they can do it. After 20 minutes the snitch has to return to the field.
2. But you don't actually fly around, do you?
Well obviously not. You have to keep a broom (or PVC pipe, or bamboo stick) between your legs the whole time. If you dismount, you have to run back to your hoops.
3. What position do you play?
I am a subbing beater. I'm new to the team, so I only go in if one of the starting beaters gets tired and needs a break. Sometimes I start if we don't have enough girls though.
4. What does the number of girls have to do with it?
Not counting the seeker, Muggle Quidditch requires there to be at least two boys and two girls on the field at all times as players. Equality! (The actual rule is a little different, but in most cases this is what it ends up meaning)
5. Have you seen The Internship? They play Quidditch in that movie.
No I have not seen it. Nor do I plan to.
1. How do you play Quidditch?
It's basically the same as wizard Quidditch.
The chaser and keeper play are basically the same, except they use a partially deflated volleyball as a quaffle.
For beaters, obviously the bludgers don't fly around, we use dodgeballs. If we hit someone on the other team, they have to run back to their hoops.
The snitch is a person, rather than a tiny flying ball. They have a sock with a tennis ball in it tucked into their pants and the seeker has to grab the sock. The snitch is also worth 30 points, not 150. For the first 20 minutes the snitch doesn't have to be on the field. He or she can climb a tree, grab a drink at a nearby drink stand, sit in a parked car, you name it, they can do it. After 20 minutes the snitch has to return to the field.
2. But you don't actually fly around, do you?
Well obviously not. You have to keep a broom (or PVC pipe, or bamboo stick) between your legs the whole time. If you dismount, you have to run back to your hoops.
3. What position do you play?
I am a subbing beater. I'm new to the team, so I only go in if one of the starting beaters gets tired and needs a break. Sometimes I start if we don't have enough girls though.
4. What does the number of girls have to do with it?
Not counting the seeker, Muggle Quidditch requires there to be at least two boys and two girls on the field at all times as players. Equality! (The actual rule is a little different, but in most cases this is what it ends up meaning)
5. Have you seen The Internship? They play Quidditch in that movie.
No I have not seen it. Nor do I plan to.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
The Bechdel Test and Me
Recently I started looking into something I'd heard about only slightly called the Bechdel Test. In order to pass the test there are three criteria that must be met.
1. There must be at least two female characters
2. Who speak to each other
3. About something other than a man/men.
This test is applied to movies and TV shows to look at how women are presented. Mainly, the goal of the test is to try and shed some light on how infrequently women exist in movies independent of their relationships to men. Think about your favorite movies. How many of them pass this test?
This test is interesting for a lot of reasons. It's very revealing when looking at the percentage of movies that pass, but when the actual movies themselves are examined, passing the test doesn't always mean the movie is female friendly, or contains a strong female role model. Similarly, not passing the test doesn't mean the movie is antiwoman. After all, according to the Bechdel Test Movie List Paranormal Activity 3 passed the test while the final Harry Potter movie does not.
After all, a thing to note is that the test doesn't care if the women talk about stereotypically "girly" things like shoes or make-up, so long as they aren't talking about men. As a result plenty of movies that don't provide positive female role models or positive messages about women pass. Meanwhile an action movie where the strong female leads discuss defeating the evil male bad guy, would fail.
It's also interesting because of how strict the definition of men is. The test doesn't care if the women are discussing a romantic lead, an ailing father, or a mortal enemy, if the person about whom they are speaking is male, the movie fails. My problem with this is when the topic of conversation is about a public figure. If the women are discussing the recent actions of the male president and how they feel about it, I'd view that as a pass, because they are discussing politics, however according to the test, it is a fail because they are talking about a man. Luckily from what I've seen, while my president example would fail, a discussion about congress would pass, because it is an organization, even if it is an organization mostly made of men. A more concerning part of the test is that women who discuss their daughters pass, but women who discuss their sons don't. While this makes sense when characters are talking about adult children, if characters say "Nathan rolled over today. Did Bobby" "Why yes, Bobby did." instead of Lucy and Emily, I feel this should be a pass.
The test is further complicated with the added requirement that the female characters be named. The purpose of this restriction was to avoid movies in which two background characters that have nothing to do with the story are the only reason it passes (ie. Police Woman 1: Boy it's hot today. Police Women 2: Sure is. Say what's that? Police Woman 1: Why it's a meteor. And it's heading right towards us!). Unfortunately, there is no clear definition of named. Do the characters have to be addressed by name during the movie, or is it sufficient for them to be named in the credits? There is no clear indication, which leads to interesting fights in forums about the test.
I think the Bechdel test is a useful indication about how women are presented in film and other media, but it cannot be used alone. Context is not a part of this test, and context must be provided to fully understand what is going on in the world of media in regards to women.
1. There must be at least two female characters
2. Who speak to each other
3. About something other than a man/men.
This test is applied to movies and TV shows to look at how women are presented. Mainly, the goal of the test is to try and shed some light on how infrequently women exist in movies independent of their relationships to men. Think about your favorite movies. How many of them pass this test?
This test is interesting for a lot of reasons. It's very revealing when looking at the percentage of movies that pass, but when the actual movies themselves are examined, passing the test doesn't always mean the movie is female friendly, or contains a strong female role model. Similarly, not passing the test doesn't mean the movie is antiwoman. After all, according to the Bechdel Test Movie List Paranormal Activity 3 passed the test while the final Harry Potter movie does not.
After all, a thing to note is that the test doesn't care if the women talk about stereotypically "girly" things like shoes or make-up, so long as they aren't talking about men. As a result plenty of movies that don't provide positive female role models or positive messages about women pass. Meanwhile an action movie where the strong female leads discuss defeating the evil male bad guy, would fail.
It's also interesting because of how strict the definition of men is. The test doesn't care if the women are discussing a romantic lead, an ailing father, or a mortal enemy, if the person about whom they are speaking is male, the movie fails. My problem with this is when the topic of conversation is about a public figure. If the women are discussing the recent actions of the male president and how they feel about it, I'd view that as a pass, because they are discussing politics, however according to the test, it is a fail because they are talking about a man. Luckily from what I've seen, while my president example would fail, a discussion about congress would pass, because it is an organization, even if it is an organization mostly made of men. A more concerning part of the test is that women who discuss their daughters pass, but women who discuss their sons don't. While this makes sense when characters are talking about adult children, if characters say "Nathan rolled over today. Did Bobby" "Why yes, Bobby did." instead of Lucy and Emily, I feel this should be a pass.
The test is further complicated with the added requirement that the female characters be named. The purpose of this restriction was to avoid movies in which two background characters that have nothing to do with the story are the only reason it passes (ie. Police Woman 1: Boy it's hot today. Police Women 2: Sure is. Say what's that? Police Woman 1: Why it's a meteor. And it's heading right towards us!). Unfortunately, there is no clear definition of named. Do the characters have to be addressed by name during the movie, or is it sufficient for them to be named in the credits? There is no clear indication, which leads to interesting fights in forums about the test.
I think the Bechdel test is a useful indication about how women are presented in film and other media, but it cannot be used alone. Context is not a part of this test, and context must be provided to fully understand what is going on in the world of media in regards to women.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Ravenclaw Scarf-DONE!
So a little while ago I posted about a knitting project I was working on. I was working on a Ravenclaw scarf. Then I stopped after a while, partially because I was yet to get into Pottermore and didn't want to waste more time on a scarf for what might be the wrong house. Then I got sorted into Ravenclaw, so I finished the scarf.
Picture time!
I still have a skein of each color left. I'm trying to think of a project for them. Socks maybe. I'll see what I can find.
Picture time!
 |
| I was going to retake this picture so you could see my face, but then I decided to make my mom happy and leave my face out. |
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Based on or Inspired by?
I don't always react well to movie adaptations (coughharrypottercough). However, I love what I'll call "alternate stories", things like modern day retellings, stories from minor characters points of view, things like that. Obviously, there are going to be differences, sometimes dramatic ones but I don't mind them as much in these cases.
I think the main difference is whether I go in expecting it to be dramatically different, or if I go in expecting it to be faithful.
For example, when I watch Once Upon a Time on TV, I expect the fairy tales to be different from what I know. In fact, I'd be disappointed if they didn't change the story. As long as there are familiar elements though, I'm happy. This is because (as I define it) Once Upon a Time is inspired by fairy tales. The Harry Potter movies on the other hand are based on the Harry Potter books and therefore should have a greater level of fidelity.
To be clear, I understand that when some thing is based on another work, changes will occur between mediums. These things I don't mind. As long as the information is given to the audience, the exact method may change.
For example, if The Hunger Games had been completely faithful to the book (and on the most part it was actually), most of the movie would be voice over, as the book is narrated by Katniss. While voice overs can be done effectively, the movie would be less interesting if most of it was Katniss walking and explaining something. However, there was still vital information that needed to be told to the audience. As an example, in the book Katniss explains what tracker jackers are when she encounters them. In the movie, Ceasar Flickman and Claudius Templesmith who are acting as commentators for the viewers at home, explain them as part of the commentary. This is a change that makes sense within the context of the medium, but still keeps the story the same.
I also don't really have a problem with movies condensing events, or removing characters that don't have much to do with the story. Examples of this would be Bill and Fleur's wedding happening on Harry's birthday in the movie, even though it's not the same day in the book. In Hunger Games, the character of Madge is removed and the story is only slightly affected.
What annoys me in adapations that at based on, rather than inspired by, is when important subplots are removed, especially when the filmmakers add in sequences that make no difference to the story in their stead (I'm looking at you Harry/Hermione dance scene but no mention of Tonks being pregnant except for a mention of son in the next movie!).
By the way, I've been focusing on book/movie adaptations, but I know there are other adaptions. I remember seeing Little Shop of Horrors get turned into a musical. That was weird. Also, movies get video game adaptations, though I views those as inspired by, rather than based on.
I just wanted to touch on this, mainly to work through my own hypocrisy of complaining about changes in some adaptations, but loving things like Grimm, Once Upon a Time, Sherlock and others. Also, I hope this makes up for yesterday's lame post.
I think the main difference is whether I go in expecting it to be dramatically different, or if I go in expecting it to be faithful.
For example, when I watch Once Upon a Time on TV, I expect the fairy tales to be different from what I know. In fact, I'd be disappointed if they didn't change the story. As long as there are familiar elements though, I'm happy. This is because (as I define it) Once Upon a Time is inspired by fairy tales. The Harry Potter movies on the other hand are based on the Harry Potter books and therefore should have a greater level of fidelity.
To be clear, I understand that when some thing is based on another work, changes will occur between mediums. These things I don't mind. As long as the information is given to the audience, the exact method may change.
For example, if The Hunger Games had been completely faithful to the book (and on the most part it was actually), most of the movie would be voice over, as the book is narrated by Katniss. While voice overs can be done effectively, the movie would be less interesting if most of it was Katniss walking and explaining something. However, there was still vital information that needed to be told to the audience. As an example, in the book Katniss explains what tracker jackers are when she encounters them. In the movie, Ceasar Flickman and Claudius Templesmith who are acting as commentators for the viewers at home, explain them as part of the commentary. This is a change that makes sense within the context of the medium, but still keeps the story the same.
I also don't really have a problem with movies condensing events, or removing characters that don't have much to do with the story. Examples of this would be Bill and Fleur's wedding happening on Harry's birthday in the movie, even though it's not the same day in the book. In Hunger Games, the character of Madge is removed and the story is only slightly affected.
What annoys me in adapations that at based on, rather than inspired by, is when important subplots are removed, especially when the filmmakers add in sequences that make no difference to the story in their stead (I'm looking at you Harry/Hermione dance scene but no mention of Tonks being pregnant except for a mention of son in the next movie!).
By the way, I've been focusing on book/movie adaptations, but I know there are other adaptions. I remember seeing Little Shop of Horrors get turned into a musical. That was weird. Also, movies get video game adaptations, though I views those as inspired by, rather than based on.
I just wanted to touch on this, mainly to work through my own hypocrisy of complaining about changes in some adaptations, but loving things like Grimm, Once Upon a Time, Sherlock and others. Also, I hope this makes up for yesterday's lame post.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Pottermore!
So I finally got to join Pottermore the other day. Yay!
I've been having a lot of fun so far. Mostly just geeking out about the extra information from J.K. Rowling.
I was going through it a little slowly, until today. Today I went through chapters 5-7. Which means I now have a wand:
I've also been officially sorted into Ravenclaw!
Now I can finish my blue and bronze Ravenclaw scarf that I started last quarter and haven't touched in weeks. Yay!
Anyway, my username there is HazelSnidget6253, if you want to friend me there, or duel me or something. I still have to navigate my way around a little.
Let me know if you're on Pottermore, and if so, what your house is.
I've been having a lot of fun so far. Mostly just geeking out about the extra information from J.K. Rowling.
I was going through it a little slowly, until today. Today I went through chapters 5-7. Which means I now have a wand:
Now I can finish my blue and bronze Ravenclaw scarf that I started last quarter and haven't touched in weeks. Yay!
Anyway, my username there is HazelSnidget6253, if you want to friend me there, or duel me or something. I still have to navigate my way around a little.
Let me know if you're on Pottermore, and if so, what your house is.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
100 Happy Things
Drumroll....
It's the 100th post on Full Circle Crazy!!!!! In honor of this, I present a list of 100 things that make me smile, in no particular order.
1. Puppies.
2. Babies
3. Comic-Con/panel interviews with the casts of science fiction shows
4. When the Doctor speaks baby
5. Seeing this when I peer up from my computer.
6. XKCD comics
7. Smartfood Popcorn
8. Movie Theater Popcorn
9. PopSecret Homestyle Popcorn
10. The feeling when the popcorn kernel that was stuck between my tooth and gum finally dislodges.
11. Getting actual, physical mail.
12. Stephanie Perkins' books
13. Hot Showers
14. Being done with all my midterms/finals/etc.
15. The yarn aisle in craft stores.
16. Wrock
17. Libraries
18. Bookstores
19. Snow!
20. Driving
21. Seeing friends I haven't seen in a long time
22. Taking shortcuts
23. The Harry Potter series
24. The Harry Potter fandom
25. That Harry Potter inspired a wonderful charity.
26. Nerdfighteria
27. Trock
28. Doctor Who
29. Doctor Who fandom
30. Using things that I've made
31. Seeing other people use things that I've made.
32. The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio (movie)
33. John Green's "The Miracle of Swindon Town" videos
34. The fact that the above has been written about in an actual Swindon newspaper.
35. "No homework this week."
36. "No class today/tomorrow"
37. Sarah Dessen's books
38. Growing things
39. Getting discounts on items I need to buy anyway
40. When I think of an item for this list
41. Alice in Wonderland
42. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy references
43. Pixie Stix
44. Calvin and Hobbes
45. Pomegranate seeds
46. When my phone makes the noise that means I either have a text or an e-mail.
47. Unicorns
48. Despicable Me
49. The fact that the nerdfighter sign appears in Despicable Me.
50. My friends suggesting I lower my expectations and only write 50 things.
42. Juice boxes
52. When books get meta.
53. Jasper Fforde's books
54. Cookies
55. Inanimate objects that look like they have faces
56. Coming home after being away for a while.
57. Sleeping in my bed at home after being away for a while.
58. Getting to come home 3 days earlier than planned.
59. Finding items I've been looking for
60. Joss Whedon interviews
61. Finishing an exam and feeling confident in how I did.
62. Finding out that the terrible exam grade I got was still higher than the average.
63. Band-aids with cartoon characters or silly images on them.
64. Bulletin boards that only have relevant fliers on them.
65. Using Green Cup as an excuse for why I haven't done laundry.
66. ThinkGeek.com
67. Ravelry.com
68. Curling up in bed with a good book and a snack
69. Coming up with incredibly unrealistic and unlikely explanations for things.
70. Hot Cookie Bar
71. Having someone to sit with in the dining hall.
72. Putting on "shuffle" mode and having a song I like come up.
73. Actually knowing the words to a song.
74. Thinking I know the words to a song and realizing I'm wrong.
75. Knowing where my keys are without having to search around first.
76. This sign
77. Actually knowing what to bid in bridge.
78. Friends
79. Playing with little kids
80. Getting a good night's sleep.
81. Wa-Wa
82. My family.
83. Care packages
84. Actually doing something that I want to do "someday."
85. Class ending early
86. Airline travel.
87. Using my drivers licence as ID to fly instead of my passport.
88. Sherlock
89. Joss Whedon shows (When he's not killing off my favorite characters)
90. Meeting people with similar interests
91. Smarties!
92. Writing
93. Remembering dreams
94. Sudoku
95. Remembering people's birthdays without Facebook.
96. Unicorns
97. The moments when I feel psychic
98. Winning.
99. My dorm room wall.
100. FINISHING THIS LIST!!!!!!
It's the 100th post on Full Circle Crazy!!!!! In honor of this, I present a list of 100 things that make me smile, in no particular order.
1. Puppies.
2. Babies
 |
| This is my cousin H. He is the most adorable baby ever. This is not up for debate. If you feel differently, you are wrong. Unless you are my mother arguing that I was the most adorable baby ever. That is an acceptable position. |
4. When the Doctor speaks baby
5. Seeing this when I peer up from my computer.
 |
| It's my Pillow Pet unicorn, Agnes. |
7. Smartfood Popcorn
8. Movie Theater Popcorn
9. PopSecret Homestyle Popcorn
10. The feeling when the popcorn kernel that was stuck between my tooth and gum finally dislodges.
11. Getting actual, physical mail.
 |
| Of course I'm covering up my address. This is the internet. |
13. Hot Showers
14. Being done with all my midterms/finals/etc.
15. The yarn aisle in craft stores.
 |
| I didn't take this picture, but this looks like a Michaels craft store. |
17. Libraries
18. Bookstores
19. Snow!
 |
| One of many unused shots from "Doodling and Snow" |
21. Seeing friends I haven't seen in a long time
22. Taking shortcuts
23. The Harry Potter series
24. The Harry Potter fandom
25. That Harry Potter inspired a wonderful charity.
 |
| Learn more at thehpalliance.org |
27. Trock
28. Doctor Who
29. Doctor Who fandom
30. Using things that I've made
 |
| My red backpack of wonder. Those are Wrock buttons adorning it, with a few others thrown in for fun. |
32. The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio (movie)
33. John Green's "The Miracle of Swindon Town" videos
34. The fact that the above has been written about in an actual Swindon newspaper.
35. "No homework this week."
36. "No class today/tomorrow"
37. Sarah Dessen's books
38. Growing things
 |
| You may remember these from "A Simpler Pet". They still haven't bloomed but they've definitely been growing. |
40. When I think of an item for this list
41. Alice in Wonderland
42. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy references
43. Pixie Stix
 |
| Full of sugary goodness |
45. Pomegranate seeds
46. When my phone makes the noise that means I either have a text or an e-mail.
47. Unicorns
48. Despicable Me
49. The fact that the nerdfighter sign appears in Despicable Me.
 |
| All you have to do is make Spock symbols and cross your arms! |
42. Juice boxes
52. When books get meta.
53. Jasper Fforde's books
54. Cookies
55. Inanimate objects that look like they have faces
 |
| This building is in Italy. I picture it greeting every day by singing to the sun. |
57. Sleeping in my bed at home after being away for a while.
58. Getting to come home 3 days earlier than planned.
59. Finding items I've been looking for
60. Joss Whedon interviews
61. Finishing an exam and feeling confident in how I did.
62. Finding out that the terrible exam grade I got was still higher than the average.
63. Band-aids with cartoon characters or silly images on them.
 |
| I had these band-aids until they got used up. |
65. Using Green Cup as an excuse for why I haven't done laundry.
66. ThinkGeek.com
67. Ravelry.com
68. Curling up in bed with a good book and a snack
69. Coming up with incredibly unrealistic and unlikely explanations for things.
70. Hot Cookie Bar
 |
| They have this every Sunday in my dining hall. It looks so gross but it tastes so good. |
72. Putting on "shuffle" mode and having a song I like come up.
73. Actually knowing the words to a song.
74. Thinking I know the words to a song and realizing I'm wrong.
75. Knowing where my keys are without having to search around first.
76. This sign
 |
| NBN stands for North by Northwestern, a student website/magazine. |
78. Friends
79. Playing with little kids
80. Getting a good night's sleep.
81. Wa-Wa
 |
| Don't even try to tell me that you don't have some childhood toy or blanket that makes you smile. |
83. Care packages
84. Actually doing something that I want to do "someday."
85. Class ending early
86. Airline travel.
 |
| I know I'm in a minority here, but I enjoy flying. |
88. Sherlock
89. Joss Whedon shows (When he's not killing off my favorite characters)
90. Meeting people with similar interests
91. Smarties!
 |
| More sugary goodness! And just in time for finals. |
93. Remembering dreams
94. Sudoku
95. Remembering people's birthdays without Facebook.
96. Unicorns
97. The moments when I feel psychic
98. Winning.
99. My dorm room wall.
 |
| There are pictures in the picture. |
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Things Other People Are Obsessed With
I fully admit to being a tremendous fangirl about a lot of things. I love Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Wrock, Trock, youtube, Nerdfighteria, books, knitting and way more. I realize I go on about these things a lot. There are however, things I've noticed other people are obsessed with. Some obsessions I understand, and some I don't, but here are, some things that other people are obsessed with.
1. Twilight
People tend to be obsessed with this series in one of two ways. They are either obsessed with it because they love it and need to be a crazy fangirl, or they're obsessed with it because they hate and need to bring the TwiHards down. Now I've read the books and I enjoyed them while I read them, but I never really saw the point to picking a team. I know that there was a big debate in the Harry Potter community about whether Hermione should be with Ron or Harry. While there are many fan fictions that explore Harry/Hermione, once the books made it clear that wasn't happening no one really went around saying they were Team Harry. Then again, unlike Twilight, the focus of Harry Potter was on a great battle between good and evil, not about what boy to make out with.
Which brings me to the Twilight haters. I realize that it's mostly people like me who are Harry Potter fans doing a lot of this but really, this needs to stop. The only reason there's really any hatred is that Twilight began as Harry Potter was ending. The fantasy elements and heft of the book caused some people to proclaim it as the next Harry Potter. This is an unfair comparison that has led to much strife. All the people who complain about Twilight do so under the impression that Twilight is being treated as great literature. However, my view of it is that the Twilight books are good snow day books. They're fun to curl up with on a snowy day while you drink hot chocolate. They aren't books you write papers about.
Both groups need to calm down and learn to respect each other's opinions.
2. Chipotle
Yes, they have good burritos but this restaurant seems to inspire rapturous praise from almost everyone I know (at least, on a university campus). Maybe it's because I had a negative experience my first time there (pretty much all their meat except the pork is at least a little spicy which I did not know, and was not informed) but I don't have the same obsession. I have nothing against them, and I will eat there, it just seems like when people are trying to figure out where to go for dinner, it Chipotle is mentioned, that stands out as the clear favorite. It may be that Chipotle has the familiarity of a McDonalds or Taco Bell, but is higher quality enough that it doesn't get the same negative connotations. I'm sure that I will be eating there more frequently over the next few years than I have in the past (considering that I've eaten there twice, once in eighth grade and once last quarter, I need only dine there once within the next four years to up my rate) I don't know that I'll ever really "get" it.
3. Football
While I have recently come to understand the rules of football more fully than I ever have in the past, I still don't experience the same obsession that others seem to have. When I went to the homecoming game, or if my school is playing, I come closest to getting it. It's a point of pride for "your" team to win. I still have trouble with understanding professional football. I support my school's football team as a way to support my school. I chose my school and I love my school and I want us to do well. As for professional football, do I support a team just because I happen to live nearby? Do I support them because I grew up nearby? If the team moves to a new city do I still support them? What if all the best players leave for another team? I just don't get what determines what teams I'm supposed to root for. Frankly, I don't care if I do.
1. Twilight
People tend to be obsessed with this series in one of two ways. They are either obsessed with it because they love it and need to be a crazy fangirl, or they're obsessed with it because they hate and need to bring the TwiHards down. Now I've read the books and I enjoyed them while I read them, but I never really saw the point to picking a team. I know that there was a big debate in the Harry Potter community about whether Hermione should be with Ron or Harry. While there are many fan fictions that explore Harry/Hermione, once the books made it clear that wasn't happening no one really went around saying they were Team Harry. Then again, unlike Twilight, the focus of Harry Potter was on a great battle between good and evil, not about what boy to make out with.
Which brings me to the Twilight haters. I realize that it's mostly people like me who are Harry Potter fans doing a lot of this but really, this needs to stop. The only reason there's really any hatred is that Twilight began as Harry Potter was ending. The fantasy elements and heft of the book caused some people to proclaim it as the next Harry Potter. This is an unfair comparison that has led to much strife. All the people who complain about Twilight do so under the impression that Twilight is being treated as great literature. However, my view of it is that the Twilight books are good snow day books. They're fun to curl up with on a snowy day while you drink hot chocolate. They aren't books you write papers about.
Both groups need to calm down and learn to respect each other's opinions.
2. Chipotle
Yes, they have good burritos but this restaurant seems to inspire rapturous praise from almost everyone I know (at least, on a university campus). Maybe it's because I had a negative experience my first time there (pretty much all their meat except the pork is at least a little spicy which I did not know, and was not informed) but I don't have the same obsession. I have nothing against them, and I will eat there, it just seems like when people are trying to figure out where to go for dinner, it Chipotle is mentioned, that stands out as the clear favorite. It may be that Chipotle has the familiarity of a McDonalds or Taco Bell, but is higher quality enough that it doesn't get the same negative connotations. I'm sure that I will be eating there more frequently over the next few years than I have in the past (considering that I've eaten there twice, once in eighth grade and once last quarter, I need only dine there once within the next four years to up my rate) I don't know that I'll ever really "get" it.
3. Football
While I have recently come to understand the rules of football more fully than I ever have in the past, I still don't experience the same obsession that others seem to have. When I went to the homecoming game, or if my school is playing, I come closest to getting it. It's a point of pride for "your" team to win. I still have trouble with understanding professional football. I support my school's football team as a way to support my school. I chose my school and I love my school and I want us to do well. As for professional football, do I support a team just because I happen to live nearby? Do I support them because I grew up nearby? If the team moves to a new city do I still support them? What if all the best players leave for another team? I just don't get what determines what teams I'm supposed to root for. Frankly, I don't care if I do.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
An Open Letter to Daniel Radcliffe
Dear Mr. Radcliffe,
I write to you as a fan of the Harry Potter series. You may remember this series as the books those movies you starred in were based on. I truly enjoyed your performance as Harry Potter, and appreciate that you now wish to branch out. I've heard great things about your performance in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" and sincerely regret not having been able to see you in the role. Furthermore, I found it encouraging that you branched out and appeared on SNL.
This brings me to your most recent role, as Arthur Kipps in "The Woman in Black". I realize that on the surface, this movie must have seemed wildly different from your previous movies. Those were adventure, this is horror. Those movies were intended for families, this one was decidedly not. However, having seen your new movie last night, I regret to say it seems that you have not branched out very much at all.
I don't think this is your fault, as I mentioned the movies and roles seemed very different. However, I would like to take this moment to examine the similarities. Harry spends his nights gallivanting around a castle, and Arthur spends the night in an abandoned mansion. When Harry is told, not to do something, he immediately decides that this is the best course off action, examples include being told not to go after Sirius Black and being told not to pay attention to his insights into Voldemort's mind. Similarly, everyone in the town Arthur visits tells him to leave. Instead he becomes more determined to stay. Both Harry and Arthur view locked doors as challenges, particularly when there are strange noises on the other side, and both will go towards strange noises, rather than avoiding them, as when Harry heard the Basilisk in the pipes, and when Arthur heard the strange rocking sound. Both act foolishly, but with noble intentions, ultimately for nothing. Harry goes to the Ministry to try and save Sirius, and Arthur runs into a burning building to rescue a child.
Both Arthur and Harry are haunted by dead relatives, wife and parents respectively, and both think of death as a train station where they can be reunited with loved ones.
Other similarities abound. The opening to "Half Blood Prince" and "The Woman in Black" are similar. The character of Trelawney exists in the guise of Mrs. Daily. Mr. Daily, the man who provides reluctant assistance also played a similar role in Harry Potter, as Aberforth Dumbledore. I'll be frank here, and say I'm a little disappointed you didn't get out when you realized that this is basically a movie about fighting a dementor.
At this point I would like to simply say, that I do think you did a fine performance. However, I urge you to break out and make your next film something different. Perhaps a nice lighthearted romantic comedy. Or anything other than a horror film really. Please, don't make another horror film. I'm easily startled, so the hour and a half I spent in the theater was unpleasant, though, to be clear, I am very glad that I went. I respect the it was an excellent movie, but I would like to point out this this is part of the problem. It was an excellent horror movie. It was scary. Even as I muttered "Expecto Partronum" the whole time.
Please continue to be an excellent actor, but please, try to branch out to playing different roles.
Sincerely,
Kara Greenberg
I write to you as a fan of the Harry Potter series. You may remember this series as the books those movies you starred in were based on. I truly enjoyed your performance as Harry Potter, and appreciate that you now wish to branch out. I've heard great things about your performance in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" and sincerely regret not having been able to see you in the role. Furthermore, I found it encouraging that you branched out and appeared on SNL.
This brings me to your most recent role, as Arthur Kipps in "The Woman in Black". I realize that on the surface, this movie must have seemed wildly different from your previous movies. Those were adventure, this is horror. Those movies were intended for families, this one was decidedly not. However, having seen your new movie last night, I regret to say it seems that you have not branched out very much at all.
I don't think this is your fault, as I mentioned the movies and roles seemed very different. However, I would like to take this moment to examine the similarities. Harry spends his nights gallivanting around a castle, and Arthur spends the night in an abandoned mansion. When Harry is told, not to do something, he immediately decides that this is the best course off action, examples include being told not to go after Sirius Black and being told not to pay attention to his insights into Voldemort's mind. Similarly, everyone in the town Arthur visits tells him to leave. Instead he becomes more determined to stay. Both Harry and Arthur view locked doors as challenges, particularly when there are strange noises on the other side, and both will go towards strange noises, rather than avoiding them, as when Harry heard the Basilisk in the pipes, and when Arthur heard the strange rocking sound. Both act foolishly, but with noble intentions, ultimately for nothing. Harry goes to the Ministry to try and save Sirius, and Arthur runs into a burning building to rescue a child.
Both Arthur and Harry are haunted by dead relatives, wife and parents respectively, and both think of death as a train station where they can be reunited with loved ones.
Other similarities abound. The opening to "Half Blood Prince" and "The Woman in Black" are similar. The character of Trelawney exists in the guise of Mrs. Daily. Mr. Daily, the man who provides reluctant assistance also played a similar role in Harry Potter, as Aberforth Dumbledore. I'll be frank here, and say I'm a little disappointed you didn't get out when you realized that this is basically a movie about fighting a dementor.
At this point I would like to simply say, that I do think you did a fine performance. However, I urge you to break out and make your next film something different. Perhaps a nice lighthearted romantic comedy. Or anything other than a horror film really. Please, don't make another horror film. I'm easily startled, so the hour and a half I spent in the theater was unpleasant, though, to be clear, I am very glad that I went. I respect the it was an excellent movie, but I would like to point out this this is part of the problem. It was an excellent horror movie. It was scary. Even as I muttered "Expecto Partronum" the whole time.
Please continue to be an excellent actor, but please, try to branch out to playing different roles.
Sincerely,
Kara Greenberg
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Dial-Up Tour!!!!!!!
So on Friday I went to the Chicago stop on the Dial-Up Tour. I had a lot of fun, and I took a lot of pictures.
The show opened with Olan Rogers.
I'll be honest. I'm still not sure who this guy is, but he was very funny anyway. He told a few stories about his childhood, and I was crying with laughter a little bit.
Next up were Shawna and Tessa, or Nanalew and Meekakitty.
They opened with the song, "Space Crustaceans". Again, I'd never heard this song before, but it was entertaining and a great way for them to start their set. They did some comedy things and sang two more songs. One was "Lizards Scratching at the Car Door, They Want to Come In".
Apparently it's a metaphor for their lives. They ended with their pop hit. Now, when they first started talking about the song, I thought it was called "Dirty Hipster No No's". Then they started singing it and I though it was good, but wondered when they would start giving out the no no's. Then they starting singing about how they would cut off the hipster's nose and I realized the song was actually called "Dirty Hipster No Nose." It was still a great song, the miscommunication just made it a little surprising.
Now, I've mentioned about twice now how I appreciated that even though I don't watch Olan Rogers, or Tessa or Shawna, I still had a lot of fun during their sets. I'm sure there were some jokes I missed by not watching them, but overall I had fun. I say this to provide contrast to the next group, LiveLavaLive, or Mitchell and Kyle.
Now, I want to be clear, they were very funny, and I still had fun, but their act was longer than the others (or at least felt that way) and I felt a little left out of some jokes. For example, they had a video montage of other recurring characters performing bits of their sketches. Very funny if you've seen the sketches, less so if you haven't.
One part that was sort of in between being inclusive to all and exclusive to fans was when they invited someone up to join them in performing one of their better known sketches live.
I had fun watching the sketch, and a real fan got to interact with them.
Next up was the real reason I'd come, the final act, Jason Munday and Alex Carpenter!!!!
They started with the songs "Start of Something" and "Internet Age", from their EP, "Dial-Up". There was a trock song, "Bowties are cool", and a wrock song, "Lovegood". They played "The Coast" and "Wonderland", also from their new EP, as well as "Ready for Anything" (Star Wars song). They ended with the last song from their new EP, "Bacon Song", and were joined by Tessa.
And then they were joined by the rest of the tour group.
After the show, everyone came out and I was able to meet Jason and Alex. And take pictures with them.
So that was my Friday night. I had an amazing time. Also, funny story. When I showed my ticket to get in the bouncer-man-guy asked me if I was 21. Immediately I panicked and said, "I thought this was an all ages show." He responded by informing me that it was all ages, but that he still needed to know if I was 21. I told him no, and was sent in without a hand stamp. I just found it funny that he couldn't figure out that when my reaction is to panic, I'm probably not 21.
The show opened with Olan Rogers.
Next up were Shawna and Tessa, or Nanalew and Meekakitty.
Now, I've mentioned about twice now how I appreciated that even though I don't watch Olan Rogers, or Tessa or Shawna, I still had a lot of fun during their sets. I'm sure there were some jokes I missed by not watching them, but overall I had fun. I say this to provide contrast to the next group, LiveLavaLive, or Mitchell and Kyle.
One part that was sort of in between being inclusive to all and exclusive to fans was when they invited someone up to join them in performing one of their better known sketches live.
Next up was the real reason I'd come, the final act, Jason Munday and Alex Carpenter!!!!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Knitting Update
A little while ago I lost my winter coat, and with it my hat and scarf, that I had knit. I've since gotten a new coat. While at first I was very disappointed to have lost my hat and scarf, especially considering the amount of work I put into them, I decided to take advantage of the situation.
First I knit myself a new hat.
It's a Jayne hat. For those of you who don't watch Firefly, that probably means nothing. For those of you do watch Firefly, isn't it awesome? There are a lot of patterns online, I used one that I found on ravelry, though I don't remember which one.
My scarf is still a work in progress. I've long wanted to make myself a Harry Potter scarf and decided to finally go ahead and do it. I'm doing it with Ravenclaw colors. I'm not sure what I'll do if Pottermore (should the rest of us ever be allowed on) sorts me elsewhere, but I'll figure it out when I need to.
For those of you wondering, I decided to use blue and bronze, as those are the colors of Ravenclaw in the books, as opposed to blue and silver, which are the colors in the movies. I also decided to make a scarf in the style of the later movies because I like that pattern better. I'm using a technique called double knitting, which is why it is blue with bronze stripes on one side, but bronze with blue stripes on the other. And to anyone who says that it looks orange, not bronze, you try finding bronze yarn! That's what I thought.
I think I prefer the blue as the main color a little better, but both sides look nice. It'll be a while until I finish, although it's coming along nicely. I'll do another update when I finish the scarf.
First I knit myself a new hat.
 |
| The hat, as well as my left knee. |
My scarf is still a work in progress. I've long wanted to make myself a Harry Potter scarf and decided to finally go ahead and do it. I'm doing it with Ravenclaw colors. I'm not sure what I'll do if Pottermore (should the rest of us ever be allowed on) sorts me elsewhere, but I'll figure it out when I need to.
 |
| The scarf, as well as parts of my legs. |
I think I prefer the blue as the main color a little better, but both sides look nice. It'll be a while until I finish, although it's coming along nicely. I'll do another update when I finish the scarf.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)