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It's definitely inching towards summer here--the first mosquitos are out.
I know this because I was bitten twice today. I was also the only person bitten out of all 7 or 8 of us sitting around the table. Curse my sweet blood into oblivion!
Meanwhile, I spent ages trying once more unsuccessfully to rid my computer of the Blaster Worm today. The program I downloaded kindly informed me that it couldn't find the worm on my computer. I know it IS the worm, though, so I am at a loss.
More on my day. Went to the bar and fraternised as per usual, Gwyn's coming to see Pirates with me Thursday and so is NewTom, and hopefully T&N if I can convince them. We went into town and saw Liam and Bella, then I went back to uni to kill time (and max out my user cache for the internet this week) before going to a short film festival at the Museum, which rocked so hard. I only really "got" about 4 of the 12 or so films, but they were still really interesting.
FINDING NEMO TOMORROW!!! w00t!
Where do you fall on the liberal - conservative political spectrum? (United States)
brought to you by Quizilla
That song title LJ username meme.
G reen--Alex Lloyd
R eal World--Matchbox Twenty
E veryday--Kim English
E scuse Me Mister--No Doubt
N ot up to you--Stereophonics
Q ueer--Garbage
U nwell--Matchbox Twenty
E verybody's Fool--Evanescence
E very you every me--Placebo
N ot If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth--Dandy Warhols
Friday Five
1. Are you going to school this year? Well, uni, so yes.
2. If yes, where are you going (high school, college, etc.)? If no, when did you graduate? I'm at Australian National University.
3. What are/were your favorite school subjects? Film studies, at uni. In high school...well, English I guess.
4. What are/were your least favorite school subjects? Maths, physics, yr 10 English
5. Have you ever had a favorite teacher? Why was he/she a favorite? Yes, my year 9 English teacher Ms Flynn, because she gave me really useful essay-writing skills for the rest of my education, and class was fun with her around. David rocks as a tutor, too.
1. a. Have you read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone/Philosopher's Stone? Of course
b. Do you own a copy of it? Two
c. What were your thoughts on that book? When I first read it I couldn't tear myself away. It was completely gripping. On hindsight, I like how she led us in gradually, starting with a smaller world and expanding on it as the books progressed. I could NEVER have guessed the ending.
2. a. Have you read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets? Yes
b. Do you own a copy of it? Two
c. What were your thoughts on that book? Not as good as the others, though I've noticed younger kids and boys like it a lot more, probably because it's got a lot of action. Some nice dark themes with the mudblood story, and good backstories on the houses. Too much demonising of Slytherins.
3. a. Have you read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban? Over and over and over and over again.
b. Do you own a copy of it? Three (US, UK, Japanese)
c. What were your thoughts on that book? It's my favourite out of all of them. I love the characters and the Moony/Wormtail/Padfoot/Prongs/Snape dynamic. The ending and character development is riveting. I love the development of Harry, Ron and Hermione's friendship, as well as Hermione's kickass role in the end. I love the Dementors and the slightly creepy feel to the book. And finally (fangirl moment) Severus and Sirius are amazing. Favourite characters by far.
4. a. Have you read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire? Yes
b. Do you own a copy of it? Two
c. What were your thoughts on that book? Very detailed, got a lot of action like book 2. The scariest and most disturbing ending of all the books, bar none. We finally get a real glimpse of the larger wizarding world, and the evil it holds.
5. a. Have you read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix? Yes
b. Do you own a copy of it? Yes
c. What were your thoughts on that book? It became my second favourite as soon as I read it. I love the real feeling it has, and the fact that it's so brutal with its characters. I like seeing Harry become a normal teenager who hates the world and gets angry. Great girl power, too! Luna, Hermione, McGonagall and even Umbridge and Bellatrix--our first evil women, and wonderfully hateable.
6. a. Have you seen the movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone/Philosopher's Stone? Yes
b. Do you own a copy of it? Yes
c. What are your thoughts on that movie? I think Columbus did a brilliant job in the areas of casting and sets, but the movie wasn't as good as it could be. The casting of Alan Rickman as Snape was too perfect for words. The cinematography was lovely as well, and the soundtrack, while a little overbearing, was very good. My favourite scene is the one with the birthday cake in the dirt. Good portrayal of Harry's inner feelings. I felt that there was too much of the books left out in favour of awful, Hollywood-type scenes, though.
7. a. Have you seen the movie Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets? Yes
b. Do you own a copy of it? Yes
c. What are your thoughts on that movie? Much better than the first, but could still be improved. Perfect casting continues with Jason Isaacs and Kenneth Brannagh, though. The ending is abominable.
8. What are you most looking forward to/would like to see happen in the next book that J.K. Rowling will write in the Harry Potter Series? The culmination of Ron and Hermione's flirting, more death and more of the outside world. More girl power. Just more of everything wonderful that JKR has given us.
9. What are you most looking forward to/would like to see happen in the next movie that is released in the Harry Potter Series? I wish they'd kept Oliver Wood. I am definitely looking forward to Alfonso Cuaron's take on it, the guy's a brilliant director. Looking forward to Gary Oldman as Sirius, the Dementors, and the Shrieking Shack sequence.
10. When did you first become involved in the Harry Potter Phenomenon? I first read the books during my Year 10 exams, about 2 months before book 4 was released. I was in Tokyo at the time, though, so I liked them before I knew anything about how big they were. As for the Phenomenon itself, I think that would probably be when I started collecting magazine and newspaper articles.
11. Who is your favorite book character in the Harry Potter Series? Why? SEVERUS SNAPE. He is nuanced, complicated, ambiguous, biased, and an unsung hero. He is intelligent and yet does incredibly stupid thing. He is bewitched by the Dark Arts, yet works for the good guys. He was a Death Eater and we don't know why he changed, but now he risks his life to spy on them. He hates Harry, yet saves him. Plus, Snape's just so damned snarky.
My other favourites are Sirius and Ron. You can probably already tell I like my heroes dark and conflicted, which is Sirius. Ron grew on me gradually. He's very real, and he tries so hard. He's genuine. I like that about him. Luna Lovegood is also a favourite of mine, because I just love the weird ones.
12. Who is your least favorite book character in the Harry Potter Series? Why? *ponders* Well, I HATE Umbridge, Percy, Wormtail and Bellatrix with a passion, but I feel they're better characters because of it. So they are the least likeable, but as they're meant to be unlikeable, that works for them. I think the only character that really made me cringe was Grawp, as he seems completely pointless at this stage.
13. Which character do you feel the movies portrayed correctly without mistakes? Why? Actually, I think the three central kids--Harry, Hermione and Ron--are the best portrayed. Firstly because they have so much more time to develop than the others, but also because they were so well cast. Rupert Grint, though he doesn't match the physical description, has so much of Ron's sort of average likeability. Daniel Radcliffe has grown into his role of reluctant, thoughtful hero, and Emma Watson perfectly balances Hermione's irritating intelligence with her useful smartness.
14. Which character do you feel the movies did NOT portrayed correctly? Why? Albus Dumbledore. They took out any humour and malice he had, making him elegant but boring. Looking forward to Michael Gambon's "elegant old hippy". However, Richard Harris was a great man.
15. What scene from the books is your favorite? Why? The Shrieking Shack at the end of book 3, because it moved me so completely, sucked me in and fascinated me. I love the complete turnaround that occurs, I love when Sirius and Remus come to realise that they have their old friend back, I love the kids' confusion and later acceptance, and Snape's refusal to believe. I love Harry saving Wormtail. All of it.
16. What scene from the movies is your favorite? Why? Again, Harry drawing the cake in the sand. It's an excellent moment. Snape's first Potions lesson in the first film is also a great scene.
17. What is your favorite Harry Potter Quote from a book/movie? "Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret."
18. If you could be friends with any one Harry Potter Character, who would it be and why? Luna Lovegood, because she reminds me of my friends in an odd way, and Remus Lupin, because he has a quite intensity that I like.
19. If you could be animagus, what would yours be? Why? Ugh, I hate questions like these. Um, I guess I'd go for some sort of bird. I like the idea of flying. I know, it's horrendously un-creative. *sigh*
20. Which Harry Potter character do you have the most in common with/are more like? Why? Again, I really don't know. Oliver Wood, because he's obsessive? lol
21. Above, when you specified which house you would like to enter, why did you choose that house? What makes you believe you belong in that particular house? Actually, I'm probably more of a Ravenclaw, but Slytherin is so attractive to me. I think it gets a bad rap.
22. What are your thoughts on page 806 in Order of the Phoenix? It didn't hit me until later, when Bellatrix said "Did you love him, Potter?" That's when I started to tear up, and by Dumbledore's office I was crying.
I thought it was handled brilliantly--the shock of it, the surrealism, the disbelief that he'd just gone like that. I like that there was no big, dramatic death in Harry's arms.
By the way, it's page 710 in the British version.
23. Do you role-play in a Harry Potter community? If yes what communities? Which characters? (Provide links) No.
24. Do you write fan fiction about Harry Potter? If yes, where is it located? No.
25. What are your favorite Harry Potter pairings? Please type out the names, no abbreviations please. Ron and Hermione. It took me a while for this one, but Sirius and Remus, too, because they just seemed like a couple in Book 5. Even if they weren't together, they have a connection which comes through.
26. Do you draw Harry Potter Fan Art? If yes, where is it located? No.
27. What are your thoughts on Slash in the world of Harry Potter? Well, as you can see I'm not against it. I don't care whether the pairings are same sex or opposite, as long as they make sense to me.
28. Seriously (and be honest), are you crushing on any of the Harry Potter characters? If yes, which ones and why? Oh god yes. Oliver Wood in the movies, for obvious reasons. although that's not the reason I want him in the third film. Snape and Sirius (I've mentioned that they're my favourites), and Bill Weasley (who's just downright sexy in the books).
29. What is your favorite spell and why? Accio, because it seems incredibly useful.
Well that took a while. Link of the day. Can you believe this crap?
Pics of the day--I just had to do this after seeing the icon. Rings boys in DRAG! PLus a Sinfest--the first time I've ever identified with Monique.
The queerest of the queer
Green Queen
I know this because I was bitten twice today. I was also the only person bitten out of all 7 or 8 of us sitting around the table. Curse my sweet blood into oblivion!
Meanwhile, I spent ages trying once more unsuccessfully to rid my computer of the Blaster Worm today. The program I downloaded kindly informed me that it couldn't find the worm on my computer. I know it IS the worm, though, so I am at a loss.
More on my day. Went to the bar and fraternised as per usual, Gwyn's coming to see Pirates with me Thursday and so is NewTom, and hopefully T&N if I can convince them. We went into town and saw Liam and Bella, then I went back to uni to kill time (and max out my user cache for the internet this week) before going to a short film festival at the Museum, which rocked so hard. I only really "got" about 4 of the 12 or so films, but they were still really interesting.
FINDING NEMO TOMORROW!!! w00t!
Where do you fall on the liberal - conservative political spectrum? (United States)
brought to you by Quizilla
That song title LJ username meme.
G reen--Alex Lloyd
R eal World--Matchbox Twenty
E veryday--Kim English
E scuse Me Mister--No Doubt
N ot up to you--Stereophonics
Q ueer--Garbage
U nwell--Matchbox Twenty
E verybody's Fool--Evanescence
E very you every me--Placebo
N ot If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth--Dandy Warhols
Friday Five
1. Are you going to school this year? Well, uni, so yes.
2. If yes, where are you going (high school, college, etc.)? If no, when did you graduate? I'm at Australian National University.
3. What are/were your favorite school subjects? Film studies, at uni. In high school...well, English I guess.
4. What are/were your least favorite school subjects? Maths, physics, yr 10 English
5. Have you ever had a favorite teacher? Why was he/she a favorite? Yes, my year 9 English teacher Ms Flynn, because she gave me really useful essay-writing skills for the rest of my education, and class was fun with her around. David rocks as a tutor, too.
1. a. Have you read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone/Philosopher's Stone? Of course
b. Do you own a copy of it? Two
c. What were your thoughts on that book? When I first read it I couldn't tear myself away. It was completely gripping. On hindsight, I like how she led us in gradually, starting with a smaller world and expanding on it as the books progressed. I could NEVER have guessed the ending.
2. a. Have you read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets? Yes
b. Do you own a copy of it? Two
c. What were your thoughts on that book? Not as good as the others, though I've noticed younger kids and boys like it a lot more, probably because it's got a lot of action. Some nice dark themes with the mudblood story, and good backstories on the houses. Too much demonising of Slytherins.
3. a. Have you read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban? Over and over and over and over again.
b. Do you own a copy of it? Three (US, UK, Japanese)
c. What were your thoughts on that book? It's my favourite out of all of them. I love the characters and the Moony/Wormtail/Padfoot/Prongs/Snape dynamic. The ending and character development is riveting. I love the development of Harry, Ron and Hermione's friendship, as well as Hermione's kickass role in the end. I love the Dementors and the slightly creepy feel to the book. And finally (fangirl moment) Severus and Sirius are amazing. Favourite characters by far.
4. a. Have you read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire? Yes
b. Do you own a copy of it? Two
c. What were your thoughts on that book? Very detailed, got a lot of action like book 2. The scariest and most disturbing ending of all the books, bar none. We finally get a real glimpse of the larger wizarding world, and the evil it holds.
5. a. Have you read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix? Yes
b. Do you own a copy of it? Yes
c. What were your thoughts on that book? It became my second favourite as soon as I read it. I love the real feeling it has, and the fact that it's so brutal with its characters. I like seeing Harry become a normal teenager who hates the world and gets angry. Great girl power, too! Luna, Hermione, McGonagall and even Umbridge and Bellatrix--our first evil women, and wonderfully hateable.
6. a. Have you seen the movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone/Philosopher's Stone? Yes
b. Do you own a copy of it? Yes
c. What are your thoughts on that movie? I think Columbus did a brilliant job in the areas of casting and sets, but the movie wasn't as good as it could be. The casting of Alan Rickman as Snape was too perfect for words. The cinematography was lovely as well, and the soundtrack, while a little overbearing, was very good. My favourite scene is the one with the birthday cake in the dirt. Good portrayal of Harry's inner feelings. I felt that there was too much of the books left out in favour of awful, Hollywood-type scenes, though.
7. a. Have you seen the movie Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets? Yes
b. Do you own a copy of it? Yes
c. What are your thoughts on that movie? Much better than the first, but could still be improved. Perfect casting continues with Jason Isaacs and Kenneth Brannagh, though. The ending is abominable.
8. What are you most looking forward to/would like to see happen in the next book that J.K. Rowling will write in the Harry Potter Series? The culmination of Ron and Hermione's flirting, more death and more of the outside world. More girl power. Just more of everything wonderful that JKR has given us.
9. What are you most looking forward to/would like to see happen in the next movie that is released in the Harry Potter Series? I wish they'd kept Oliver Wood. I am definitely looking forward to Alfonso Cuaron's take on it, the guy's a brilliant director. Looking forward to Gary Oldman as Sirius, the Dementors, and the Shrieking Shack sequence.
10. When did you first become involved in the Harry Potter Phenomenon? I first read the books during my Year 10 exams, about 2 months before book 4 was released. I was in Tokyo at the time, though, so I liked them before I knew anything about how big they were. As for the Phenomenon itself, I think that would probably be when I started collecting magazine and newspaper articles.
11. Who is your favorite book character in the Harry Potter Series? Why? SEVERUS SNAPE. He is nuanced, complicated, ambiguous, biased, and an unsung hero. He is intelligent and yet does incredibly stupid thing. He is bewitched by the Dark Arts, yet works for the good guys. He was a Death Eater and we don't know why he changed, but now he risks his life to spy on them. He hates Harry, yet saves him. Plus, Snape's just so damned snarky.
My other favourites are Sirius and Ron. You can probably already tell I like my heroes dark and conflicted, which is Sirius. Ron grew on me gradually. He's very real, and he tries so hard. He's genuine. I like that about him. Luna Lovegood is also a favourite of mine, because I just love the weird ones.
12. Who is your least favorite book character in the Harry Potter Series? Why? *ponders* Well, I HATE Umbridge, Percy, Wormtail and Bellatrix with a passion, but I feel they're better characters because of it. So they are the least likeable, but as they're meant to be unlikeable, that works for them. I think the only character that really made me cringe was Grawp, as he seems completely pointless at this stage.
13. Which character do you feel the movies portrayed correctly without mistakes? Why? Actually, I think the three central kids--Harry, Hermione and Ron--are the best portrayed. Firstly because they have so much more time to develop than the others, but also because they were so well cast. Rupert Grint, though he doesn't match the physical description, has so much of Ron's sort of average likeability. Daniel Radcliffe has grown into his role of reluctant, thoughtful hero, and Emma Watson perfectly balances Hermione's irritating intelligence with her useful smartness.
14. Which character do you feel the movies did NOT portrayed correctly? Why? Albus Dumbledore. They took out any humour and malice he had, making him elegant but boring. Looking forward to Michael Gambon's "elegant old hippy". However, Richard Harris was a great man.
15. What scene from the books is your favorite? Why? The Shrieking Shack at the end of book 3, because it moved me so completely, sucked me in and fascinated me. I love the complete turnaround that occurs, I love when Sirius and Remus come to realise that they have their old friend back, I love the kids' confusion and later acceptance, and Snape's refusal to believe. I love Harry saving Wormtail. All of it.
16. What scene from the movies is your favorite? Why? Again, Harry drawing the cake in the sand. It's an excellent moment. Snape's first Potions lesson in the first film is also a great scene.
17. What is your favorite Harry Potter Quote from a book/movie? "Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret."
18. If you could be friends with any one Harry Potter Character, who would it be and why? Luna Lovegood, because she reminds me of my friends in an odd way, and Remus Lupin, because he has a quite intensity that I like.
19. If you could be animagus, what would yours be? Why? Ugh, I hate questions like these. Um, I guess I'd go for some sort of bird. I like the idea of flying. I know, it's horrendously un-creative. *sigh*
20. Which Harry Potter character do you have the most in common with/are more like? Why? Again, I really don't know. Oliver Wood, because he's obsessive? lol
21. Above, when you specified which house you would like to enter, why did you choose that house? What makes you believe you belong in that particular house? Actually, I'm probably more of a Ravenclaw, but Slytherin is so attractive to me. I think it gets a bad rap.
22. What are your thoughts on page 806 in Order of the Phoenix? It didn't hit me until later, when Bellatrix said "Did you love him, Potter?" That's when I started to tear up, and by Dumbledore's office I was crying.
I thought it was handled brilliantly--the shock of it, the surrealism, the disbelief that he'd just gone like that. I like that there was no big, dramatic death in Harry's arms.
By the way, it's page 710 in the British version.
23. Do you role-play in a Harry Potter community? If yes what communities? Which characters? (Provide links) No.
24. Do you write fan fiction about Harry Potter? If yes, where is it located? No.
25. What are your favorite Harry Potter pairings? Please type out the names, no abbreviations please. Ron and Hermione. It took me a while for this one, but Sirius and Remus, too, because they just seemed like a couple in Book 5. Even if they weren't together, they have a connection which comes through.
26. Do you draw Harry Potter Fan Art? If yes, where is it located? No.
27. What are your thoughts on Slash in the world of Harry Potter? Well, as you can see I'm not against it. I don't care whether the pairings are same sex or opposite, as long as they make sense to me.
28. Seriously (and be honest), are you crushing on any of the Harry Potter characters? If yes, which ones and why? Oh god yes. Oliver Wood in the movies, for obvious reasons. although that's not the reason I want him in the third film. Snape and Sirius (I've mentioned that they're my favourites), and Bill Weasley (who's just downright sexy in the books).
29. What is your favorite spell and why? Accio, because it seems incredibly useful.
Well that took a while. Link of the day. Can you believe this crap?
Pics of the day--I just had to do this after seeing the icon. Rings boys in DRAG! PLus a Sinfest--the first time I've ever identified with Monique.
The queerest of the queer
Green Queen
