Vendredi/Samedi

Okay, so I may or may not have seen the first episode of The Legend of Korra today, but I don't feel at liberty to discuss it until next week, when it's officially released online to fans. So instead, I'll talk a little more about yesterday, A Ring of Endless Light, and how my Saturday went.

I. Yesterday, Continued

As I was walking into the Citadelle, I saw a group of school-aged children leaving the playground with their teachers. They were all really cute, about five or six years old at the most, and well, here is the conversation I have with myself every time I see adorable kids:

Ovaries: Want.
Me: Not yet.
Ovaries: Please?
Me: Ovaries, I haven't even had a boyfriend yet. Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourselves?
Ovaries: But - but - they're so cute!
Me: (sigh) I know, right?
Ovaries: So?!
Me: Give me five to ten years and we'll talk. In the meantime, you'll have to content yourselves with babysitting or surprise adoption.
Ovaries: Fine.
Me: Good. 

Anyway, so I kind of smiled as I watched the kids hold each other's hands to cross the street, because it was really stinkin' cute. But one of their teachers saw me, and she sort of frowned at me, so I looked away quickly. I hope she didn't think I was some kind of creepy weirdo or child predator! Is it weird to be dotingly amused by children in France?

II. A Ring of Endless Light

I'm about halfway through my audiobook reread of A Ring of Endless Light. It continues to be ridiculously good, although I am bothered by a few things on occasion. For one, I don't get why Vicky gives Zachary the time of day. I mean, thematically, I understand why he's a part of the story; he's a foil to both Adam and Leo, he represents a darker viewpoint in a story about death, and he's ultimately what Vicky doesn't want, because he's needy and manipulative alongside his good looks. But he annoys me so much, and it frustrates me that Vicky buys into his codependent nonsense. Also, Vicky and Adam have a conversation on a hot day in which she tells him that she's "thinking of becoming an Arab" because Middle Eastern accoutrements are better-suited to warm weather. I understand the sentiment, and maybe I'm just too politically correct, but Vicky's usage of the word "Arab" makes me uncomfortable - it could be that I hear way too many ignorant Republicans using it in weird ways. Anyway, it just stood out to me. Overall, though, I'm enjoying it so much.

III. Today

Slept late, went to the grocery store, folded laundry, brainstormed some internship essays, Skyped with Sarah, made dinner. Will Skype with Pooja shortly.

Disneyland and The Hunger Games coming soon. Can't wait!
 

Discoveries

Hey there! You may notice some mysterious updates from the past, mostly Downton Abbey reviews, start to find their way onto my blog. I shall say only this: I was working on a class project most of the week, there are certain days when I have no creative energy, and goodness, can Blogger's posting system be slow. Pay no attention to the retroactively blogging man behind the curtain.

Anyway, in lieu of a newsy post, here are some things I have discovered in my second month of living in France:

• Carrefour baguettes should really be eaten within two days of purchase. There is only so much a healthy slathering of Nutella can do to save stale bread.
• Making sure your phone isn't dead before you go somewhere can be very helpful. It can lessen the stress of an accidental train ride, and it can help you avoid awkward conversations in terrible French with other people's landlords.
• Always buy your fruits and veggies at the Wazemmes Market.
• Spaghetti can be delicious with mixed veggies instead of sauce, especially when prepared as outlined in your vegetarian cookbook.
• Train trips to Germany are super expensive. Gah.
• On the other hand, train trips to Disneyland Paris are not.
• Putting your small suitcase in front of your door will stop Demon Cat from forcing his way into your room at six in the morning, like he did on Wednesday.
• Staying up until three in the morning to watch the new episode of Switched at Birth is a bad life decision, especially when you're only doing it because you're bored.
• It is surprising how much you can get out of a movie even if you only understand about half the dialogue.
• French movies use a lot of English-language songs.
• Mushroom pizza on a baguette is pretty much the best thing ever.
• Churchill class is awesome when you know you've made a favorable impression on the instructor.
• If you drop your pastry on the street, the 10-second rule still applies. Just pick off the dirty bits and you should be fine. I haven't died yet.
• As gross as it is to pick up after your dog when you're taking him for a walk, it is infinitely more gross to have to constantly sidestep the business of other people's dogs. Seriously, France, how hard is it to take a grocery bag with you and just take care of things then and there?
• Spending day after day in cold and cloudy weather has made me appreciate El Centro's warmth and sunshine far more than I ever expected.
• Planning a vacation with your mother is actually really exciting, though it is a lot of work.
• Skype is a lifesaver.
• Absence makes the heart grow fonder. I miss UVa so much, and trying to find a way around a six-hour time difference is much harder than I thought it would be. On the other hand, nine hours between Lille and California is not as inconvenient as I expected. Basically, though, I wish I had my friends around.
• To end on a positive note: The past two weeks have been good ones for making new friends. :)

In Which I Accidentally End Up Seeing a Movie in Japanese with French Subtitles

Funny things happen when you study abroad. I expected to make weird mistakes when I got here - it comes with the territory, really. And I have made weird mistakes, don't get me wrong. I'm pretty sure everyone who lives with me thinks I'm really odd, because I haven't said more than a basic "Hello, how are you?" ("Bonjour! Ça va?") since I arrived. Today, however, contained an especially amusing mistake.

Yesterday my friend Ben suggested that we go see a movie, and since we both like Studio Ghibli and there's a new film out, we decided to go watch it. The movie was listed as being both dubbed in French and subtitled. Naturally, we assumed that the subtitled version would be dubbed in English, and when I went to meet Ben at the theatre this evening, I was looking forward to a nice, relaxing evening watching another Ghibli film in English. We bought our tickets, found our screen, and chose seats. The previews started, and the fact that more than half of them were in English with French subtitles only furthered my belief that we would be seeing an English-language film. Then the movie started up, and as the first song began to play, we slowly realized that while there were indeed French subtitles, the film we had just paid ten euros apiece to go see was in its original Japanese. In retrospect, it shouldn't have been that surprising, but it was somewhat disheartening to know that watching this movie would involve some serious concentration. Ben was the one who figured out the time, but I suspect I would have made the same mistake had I been in his shoes. And really, it wasn't a bad experience. Actually, it was fun, although reading the French subtitles gave me a bit of a headache after a while. I'm just very glad I took two and a half years of French before coming to live in France, because I understood the movie decently well; I probably directly understood 60-70% of the movie, and figured out most of the rest due to context clues. I also took karate for about a year and a half and watched the entirety of Akage no Anne in Japanese with English subtitles, so I think I've picked up a view Japanese phrases here and there. All things considered, it was an interesting evening, and one I'm sure I'll laugh about later.

As for the film itself ... well. It was called Kokuriko-Zaka Kara in Japanese, or From Up On Poppy Hill in English, according to TV Tropes and IMDb. It's directed by Hayao Miyazaki's son, Goro, his second Ghibli film, apparently. The animation is gorgeous, and the art style is an interesting mix of anime and impressionism. That was easily my favorite part of the film - it was just incredible to look at, and as it's an aspect that is conveyed without language, I appreciated it even more. Plotwise, it was a little weird. Ostensibly it's about a high school girl and her friends saving the building that houses all their clubs from demolition, but it's also about how the girl, Umi, (SPOILERS) falls for a guy, Shun, who finds out he's actually the illegitimate son of her father, which means they can't be together because it would be incest, and that's wrong, but not really, because Umi's father isn't Shun's father after all, and Shun is really the son of Umi's father's best friend, but because they both died in the Korean War, Shun and Umi have to find this out from their fathers' navy BFF who conveniently shows up at the end of the film (Holy run-on sentence, Batman!). Yeah, I know, it's really strange. (END SPOILERS) Well, at least it was pretty to look at.

Off to Paris tomorrow. I'm excited and a little nervous. My hostel has wifi, so I expect to update my blog from there. A demain!

Conversations with Brothers

Today, while Skyping Richie, my little brother (who is now a freshman at UChicago) (well, technically he's a lot taller than me, but I'm still older (and wiser)):

Richie: I'm planning on going to Japan in my junior year ... oh, I guess my third year, if you want to be crazy.
Me: UVa isn't crazy! We're sophisticated.
Richie: Crazy.
Me: The idea is that you're never finished with your education, so you can't really call yourself a senior-
Richie: Crazy.
Me: It's like Hogwarts!
Richie (talking over me): Crazy!

Me: Did you wish Mom a happy birthday?
Richie (looks at me with an endearing mix of sheepishness and panic, then picks up his cell phone): Bye, Aida!

He then proceeded to hang up the Skype call before I could say another word. Oh, brother!

Observations

As I once again betake myself to the South Lawn to get my Internet fix.

• Apparently eight o'clock is a popular time for dog walking. I've seen two women out running with their dogs in the half-hour I've been sitting outside.
• Goodness gracious, I have so many mosquito bites I can't even count them.
• Why can't the weather be like this all the time?
• Since I no longer have the Internet to occupy all my time at the apartment, I've started re-watching season two of The Office. Michael was such a jerk back then! Jim and Pam were also really, really cute. They're still cute now, but in season two they were flippin' adorable. Incidentally, now that Jenna Fischer is expecting her first child, Jim and Pam will have another baby on the way when season eight starts in September. I'm thinking this one will probably be a boy, since their first was a girl.
• Having finished Howl's Moving Castle last night, I notice that Diana Wynne Jones is a fan of alternate worlds, predictable endings, and bickering couples. I am also a fan of one and three, so I will forgive her for two.
• I am quite easily amused. The first time I went to go return a book at the Gordon Library, I used their drive-through drop box. As I was leaving, I noticed there was a big painted "NI" at the end of the drive-through. All I could think of was the Knights Who Say "Ni!" from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and I wondered why, even in the People's Republic of Charlottesville, where there are certainly a great many aficionados of quirky British humor, anyone would be compelled to paint an homage to Monty Python next to the library. Then I realized it said "IN," not "NI," whereupon I proceeded to burst out laughing in the middle of the sidewalk. I must have looked very odd indeed to passersby. Anyway, whenever I pass by the NI/IN, I start giggling again. God, I am so weird.
• Pottermore is actually surprisingly easy to register for, provided you're on the site at the right time. The usernames are kind of ridiculous, though. I realize it's for child safety reasons, but I can think of quite a few more names that are more suited to my personality than FeatherRune49. Nevertheless, that is what I shall be going by, so if you're also a beta tester, look me up!
• I really want to be moved into my dorm already. Hurry up and get here, mid-August!

Guess What? I'm Posting About Akage no Anne Again!

Let's have another bullet point list, shall we?

• I'm enjoying this so much. I really might like it better than the Sullivan films. Sure, it's anime and it's in Japanese, but it's so well-made I don't even care. I can't believe I haven't watched this before now!
• I ought to finish the entire series tomorrow. In some ways I'm sad, because I've loved it so much and I don't want it to end. That's what the books are for, though! I even had the forethought not to put my copy of Anne of Green Gables in storage with the rest of my books, so once I finish Howl's Moving Castle I think I'll reread Anne.
• I finally thought to take notes while I was watching today, so here are my scattered thoughts:
• According to the subtitles, Japanese promos are so much politer than American ones. Instead of telling their viewers to "Tune in next week!" or "Don't miss the next episode!" they respectfully implore you to "please watch" or "please wait and see." It makes me laugh.
• The English loan words are easy to decipher. "Cake," "ice cream," "Christmas," and "present" are all as they are in English. None of the names have been changed either, so you get to listen to Japanese voice actors pronounce "Anne Shirley," "Gilbert Blythe," and "Marilla Cuthbert." I think my favorite bit is when Anne calls Diana's mother "Barry-san," haha.
• I was amused by the Anne-dyes-her-hair-green fiasco as always, but I call shenanigans on Anne having her hair pixie-cut in March and then it all being back to normal (almost waist-length) by August. Nope. Speaking from experience, hair growth doesn't work that way.
• The English writing in the backgrounds is usually quite good, but every once in a while I'll catch some errors. When Anne and Diana went to visit Aunt Josephine in Charlottetown, they walked under a banner proclaiming the "83th" exhibition. Then in Anne's nightmare, Ruby Gillis's name was spelt with two b's.
• Speaking of Ruby, there was a moment when she was in hysterics over being caught in a snowstorm at school, and Miss Stacy slapped her! It sounds terrible, but in context it was so funny. I actually laughed out loud.
• Funny visual: Aunt Josephine rides a carousel with Anne and Diana.
• There was an anecdote I don't remember from the book where the hired man, Jerry, tricks Anne into thinking she'd eaten poisoned apples and was about to die. She then goes on to write farewell notes to Matthew, Marilla, and Diana, and they were so melodramatic I nearly keeled over myself from laughing so hard. Oh, Anne.
• The most recent episode I watched (#37) had Charlottetown mistranslated as "Charlottesville" in the subtitles. Of course it was completely unintentional, but as someone who left home to go to school in a city called Charlottesville, it made me unexpectedly emotional.
• This episode also happened to feature Marilla reflecting on Anne growing up. There was even a shot of fifteen-year-old Anne holding up the dress she had come to Green Gables from the orphanage in and laughing at how small it was. Are you trying to break my heart, show? Marilla cried and I have to admit, I sniffled a little, too. Many of my friends talk about how now that the Harry Potter movies are over, so are their childhoods. I don't quite feel that way, since I think that that series ended with the books anyway, but something about watching Anne grow up really hit home. And I'm just the growing up one. I can't imagine how my mother would feel, especially seeing as she's about to send my brother off to college, too.
• Gilbert is growing up very nicely indeed. (Note to self: He's fictional and still a teenager, at least in this story. Stop thinking what you're thinking at once!)
• I will never not love the "Unfortunate Lily Maid" sequence, in any incarnation. 
• Some pics from Akage no Anne:

Anne and Matthew

Marilla. Strangely, whenever an important character is introduced, they are surrounded by a flowery frame, as seen above. I think this is probably a Japanese thing.

Anne and Diana, making their vow of friendship.

Young Gilbert

Why so adorable, Gilbert?

Older Anne.

Whole Foods

I am a proud liberal Democrat. I registered to vote as soon as I was able, which in my case was June of 2008, right after California's local elections, the last elections before the general in November (the actual month of my birth). The West Wing is my favorite television show, I don't eat meat, and I get irrationally angry at my radio whenever John Boehner is speaking. But until this morning, I had never in my life set foot in a Whole Foods Market.

All that changed at 10:30 AM, when, after braving the Charlottesville Area Transit system and a particularly vicious bout of East Coast humidity, I pushed my shopping cart into the new Whole Foods store on Hydraulic Road. As it turns out, I entered through the exit, but that didn't make my first sight of the inside of a Whole Foods any less impressive. It was massive and filled to the brim with natural and organic goodness. True, it bothered me a little that the raspberries I was buying came from California, because I am just as pro-local food as I am pro-organic. Still, it was hard to keep an enormous and very silly grin from spreading across my face. There were dispensers and neat little paper bags for nuts and spices. I had to triple check the cheddar I was buying to be sure it was really milk-based cheese, and not a vegan alternative. There was a whole section devoted to almond milk, and another to gluten and dairy-free ice cream, made from coconut milk. I could buy passion fruit sorbetto and organic pecans. Sure, it was a bit pricier than I was comfortable with, and yes, Whole Foods's founder is a strident libertarian who opposed the healthcare bill. I didn't care. As I wandered through aisle after aisle of liberal heaven, I wondered what on earth I had been doing with my life all these years. My eyes could hardly take in such beauty.

Clearly I'm being hyperbolic; I'm not about to regularly patronize Whole Foods Market of Charlottesville, Virginia. I'm a college student. My wallet would never forgive me. But with this experience under my belt and a new Trader Joe's on the horizon, I feel as though I've gained some serious liberal cred. Oh how I love you, People's Republic of Charlottesville.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Blogger ate my actual post, so here are some pretty pictures instead:

Credit goes to selene231 on DeviantArt; go to her page there if you can't see the picture well.

Credit goes to HP fanartist Heather Campbell

Credit goes to HP fanartist Marta Tieves

Kids Say the Darndest Things, Asher Edition

I love kids. They're fun to be around, their energy is infectious, and their imaginations are so lively. Noah and Asher, the little brothers I'm working with this summer, are no exception. Noah is autistic, but that doesn't stop his stories from being interesting (and rather amusing). Asher, who is not special-needs, just turned six, and he's a great kid, really creative and sweet. Here are some of his gems from this week:

(Noah and Asher are playing with blocks. Asher's mother, Mira, notices him working intently on a structure.)
Mira: Asher, that's a beautiful building.
Asher: Yeah, it's a holy temple.
Me: *dying of laughter*

(Background: Asher loves technology, and is particularly enamored with my iPod touch.)
Me: Those are tasty-looking strawberries you have there, Asher. What's your favorite fruit?
Asher: I don't have one.
Me: Really? So you don't like strawberries best?
Asher: Strawberries aren't fruits! They're berries.
Me: Berries are fruits.
Asher: No, berries are iPod touches.

I really can't wait to hear what he has to say next week. First and foremost I work with Noah, but I do love those times when I get to play with Asher. What a fun kid!

My Expert Analysis of the Republican Presidential Field

Short version: This is the weakest field in recent political memory. The primaries will be hilarious, eventually some nutjob will be chosen, and President Obama will trounce them in the general. End of story.

Long version: I'm not going to lie. I can't wait to see the Republican Party shoot itself in the foot. There are only a few candidates who I can semi-seriously, and even they have done a great job of destroying any credibility they might have had. Prime example: Jon Huntsman from Utah, who I actually respected as a moderate and as someone willing to cross party lines, is now trying to distance himself from the president, downplay his Mormonism, and present himself as a tried-and-true conservative. Whatever, dude. I know you think you can't win a Republican primary if you, you know, appear sane, but if you tried staying true to yourself and your principles, you might be surprised. Or not. I wouldn't be shocked if you won in 2016, but it certainly won't be with my vote (although you're a Republican, so I wouldn't vote for you in any case).

I know a lot of people view Mitt Romney as a serious threat. I think he's a lightweight. He's the most opportunistic, shallow politician I've ever encountered. He's changed his position on abortion more times than I can count. When he ran for governor of Massachusetts, he was pro-choice. When he was running for president in 2008, he was pro-life. Who knows what he really is? Oh, Mittens. I look forward to hearing you tell us exactly how you're going to run this country into the ground. If you do win the primary (which could happen, although I still think the Republican electorate is going to choose someone utterly ridiculous - please let it be Palin. I've been so good this year, Santa), Obama will beat you. He may not be the perfect liberal, but at least he has some political convictions. Alec Baldwin recently described dear Mittens as a Ken doll, which is perfect. That's exactly what he is.

As for the rest of the candidates:
Tim Pawlenty - Your standard Republican governor (white, male, milquetoast, thinks he's interesting when he's clearly not). He wishes we was a serious candidate. Frankly, I'm surprised anyone can listen to him without falling asleep.
Rick Santorum - Has the crazy, but not the name recognition.
Newt Gingrich - I heard Peggy Noonan on "Meet the Press" the other day. She seemed to be under the impression that because my generation was not old enough to remember the Newt of the 90s, he would be a fresh, exciting face to us. Wow. Has she even spoken to someone under the age of 30 recently? How about no?
Gary Johnson - He was funny, if a little full of himself, on "Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me" a few weeks ago. He supports gay marriage and legalized marijuana, though, so he's not going anywhere.
Michele Bachmann - Has no chance whatsoever in the general. She might be interesting in the primary. And by interesting, I mean hysterical.
Ron Paul - HAHAHAHAHA
Herman Cain - BWAHAHAHA
Sarah Palin - Please, oh please! I would have to hear her annoying voice more often, which would stink, but if she ran, it would mean more Tina Fey (UVa grad!) parodies. Always a plus. Not to mention she's a gaffe machine and an airhead. Did you guys know that Paul Revere rode around on his horse ringing bells to warn the British to stay away from our gun rights? Yeah, me neither.

So yeah, this is going to be a great election cycle. At least I know there will still be a Democratic administration in power when I'm looking for a job after public policy school.

Reflections on Atonement

Thanks to about half an hour spent in the dentist's waiting room today, I finally finished Atonement. My thoughts are spoilery, so I'm placing them behind a cut.

You Know You're In College When...

...in the middle of your 200+ person astronomy lecture, someone's cell phone goes off to the Superman theme. And instead of silencing it, he answers, saying, "Hello?" Then, "Lois Lane is in trouble? I'll save her!" He proceeds to leap up, rip off his jacket, under which he has concealed his Superman costume, complete with red underwear over blue leggings. Someone else in the classroom shouts, "It's a bird, it's a plane!" as Superman runs down the length of the Chemistry Auditorium and out the door at the front of the classroom, next to your completely bemused (and amused) professor. There is some stunned laughter, then a round of hearty applause. And with that, your professor smiles, says, "I have no idea what that was about," and returns to his lecture.

Yes, this actually happened. Truly the definition of a WTF moment if there ever was one.

Moi, une artiste?

I don't have a lot of time for a lengthy post tonight, so I decided to show you some of my artwork! I'm not very good at drawing freehand yet, but I'm decent at imitating reference pictures without tracing. Here are a few samples of my sketches over the years:

Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable, c. 2007. I was really into KP during my sophomore and junior years of high school and ended up drawing quite a bit of fanart. It helped that the character design wasn't incredibly detailed or complex.

Ginny Weasley, from around the same time. Her eyes are way too high on her face, and her lips are too poofy, but I rather like the freckles and the hairstyle.

Ron and Hermione, also from my high school years. I think I did a better job with Ron than with Hermione, which is strange, because I usually find women easier to draw than men. I just see a lot of imperfections with both, now. I do like Hermione's hair, though.

Now for some more recent drawings (this semester):

Rapunzel from Tangled, the day of the DVD release. My first drawing in well over two years. Imitated from a coloring book picture.

A motivational drawing on my whiteboard calendar. Katara, drawn about 2 AM this morning.

A Few Good Days

Other than the stream of job rejections that have been flowing in. Oh real life, why must you be so infused with the power of the dark side?

Monday was incredibly nice outside (80+ degrees), with tastier than usual vegan options at the dining halls for my Lent challenge and interesting lectures in all my classes. Work and training for the Latino Peer Mentorship Program also went well. I watched Gilmore Girls (and forgot to update my blog, oops) and finished all my homework well before bedtime. I believe this can be counted as a day of win.

Today French was bearable, there was a great discussion in African-American Political Thought, and Mark posted his first Avatar: The Last Airbender review. It did rain, but there was definitely some lightning along with it, which is completely acceptable anytime but three in the morning. Also, I have discovered the site Reasoning with Vampires, which eviscerates Twilight in such a glorious and satisfying manner. Example: When exposing Bella Swan for the whiny, manipulative brat she is, the site's owner gives us this little gem: "Deceiver, dissembler, your trousers are alight." Ahahaha.

On that note, I think I shall post my discussion question on Collab and enjoy a luxurious night of sleep which will NOT be interrupted by the blaring of my alarm clock at 8:30 in the morning. And to think that I used to be a morning person! College, what have you done to me?

It's Friday, Friday

Yes, I just quoted a Rebecca Black song. This will never happen in a non-mocking sense, I assure you. Moving on.

Went to see True Grit with Andi tonight ($3 at the Newcomb Theatre, why not?). I have some thoughts, but I'm too tired to organize them properly at the moment. So I shall say this: I enjoyed it for what it was, I thought the epilogue was weak, and Hailee Steinfeld is a great actress, but she wasn't right for Katniss. My heart mourns for Little Blackie. That's about it.

The royal wedding is a big conversation topic at work. Today we continued discussing some of the more outlandish merchandise (you want a William and Kate commemorative toilet seat? You got it!) and scoped out all the eligible five-year-old princes in Europe so Leslie's daughter Zoe can decide which one will make her a princess when she grows up.

I really, really hate running. I really, really love Gilmore Girls. Astronomy homework and Farmer's Market tomorrow!

Sanity Stories

I'm planning on writing a more extensive recap of my experiences at The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, but to finish off my October project, here are some of the more interesting snippets of the day.

• When we were waiting for a train at the West Falls Church Metro station, some man came up behind me and put his arms around me, thinking I was his significant other. Obviously the mistake was cleared up very quickly, but as my friends pointed out, I was a lot shorter than his actual girlfriend/wife. Which begs the question: was he under the impression I was perhaps the woman he was having an affair with? I shall never know.
• It was Mary Lacy's birthday. When we finally got onto the Metro, our car filled up quickly. We decided it would be a good idea to start singing happy birthday to Mary Lacy in the middle of a packed Metro car - and all the complete strangers around us joined in! We were all full of the excited rally-going spirit, I guess. It was cool.
• When we walked onto the mall, we were handed pamphlets by vegans and peaceful Muslims.
• The one line of the Stewart/Colbert song I heard quite clearly? "Straight men who like Glee."
• We heard that UVa football had won their game as we got back to West Falls Church and started climbing the stairs of the parking garage. We burst out into "The Good Old Song," to the bewilderment of the people using the elevator beside us.

More to come soon. In the meantime, we can dwell on the fact that my 20th birthday begins in less than 5 hours (sort of; I wasn't born until about 3:30 in the afternoon in Kansas City, but November 1 is my birthday all day). And November is NaNo month. Let's see how I do!

Final tally for the October Project: 25/31 days.

I <3 MUSLIN!

Things That Will Never Make Sense to Me

• People getting engaged or married at age 18-21. Especially to someone who is also 18-21. There are some exceptions, but for the most part, when I hear someone I know is tying the knot and they're younger than I am, I'm stunned. Why do you want to get married so young? How do you know you're going to be remotely compatible with this person fifty years from now? Does not compute.
• The popularity of Twilight. Whyyyyyyyy?
• Lady Gaga.
• Or why I kind of dig her music, because I don't like her as a person at all.
• People who think Barack Obama is a socialist. LOL no. He's slightly to the left of Bill Clinton.
• People who think Barack Obama is a communist.
• Actually, just conservative politics in general. Let's give more money to rich people and let poor people suffer because they're lazy! Guns! Racial profiling! Arugula is elitist! Amurica!
• Half the things my Sims do. The school bus is right outside, why are you merrily painting along while your sister runs out the door? It's your first day of school OH NO IT'S NINE O'CLOCK AND YOU MISSED THE BUS AND YOUR GRADE IS NOW A D EXIT WITHOUT SAVING.
• Why I decided to cut my hair. I miss you, waist-length locks.
• Marijuana legalization. Sorry, I'm a bad liberal, but I just don't see how this is a good thing in the long run. Maybe because I'm not a fan of drugs. Or even drunkenness. Although admittedly I've never had a drink in my life, so I can't really say I don't like alcohol. I'm waiting until I'm twenty-one, okay?
• Why I just signed up for NaNoWriMo, when clearly I can't even blog every day for a month. How can I write an entire novel?
• Speeding. Is it really that hard to go 70 mph on the freeway, Californians? Or at least keep it to 75? Apparently yes.
• PEOPLE WHO TALK ON THEIR CELL PHONES OR TEXT WHILE THEY'RE DRIVING. NO. JUST NO.
• Fight Club fanboys.
• Why I'm blogging when I really should be getting something to eat.
• The awful situation in El Centro this past Monday, and why a ten-year-old boy no longer has parents, and why my eleven-year-old brother no longer has a sixth grade teacher.

On Notice

Paying homage to one of my favorite comedians of all time. The On Notice board is his, I'm just playing with it.

A Wordbender Review: A Very Potter Sequel

A Very Potter Sequel

NOTE: This review contains unmarked spoilers. Read at your own risk.

I am a huge Harry Potter fan. I have read all the books so many times I can recite many passages by heart. My walls are plastered with posters from the movies. I love both fanfiction and fanart and spend way too much time on the Internet looking for both. I'm just as engrossed in the series as I was when I first discovered it ten years ago, and I imagine I will still be entirely devoted to Harry when I have my own children.

Sunburns and Sequels: A Story in Photographs

Today was my last day of work. Tear. I accompanied some of the Upward Bound students and instructors to Knott's Soak City in Palm Springs. I was really tired. Also, I forgot to put on sunscreen. Normally this is not a problem; while I don't really look Puerto Rican, I do have my mom's melanin. Boricua Wonder Shield, activate!

Well, darn. Guess that didn't work.

Curses! You have failed me for the last time, Boricua Wonder Shield!

Anyway, getting sunburnt kind of bummed me out. This is what happens when you wade around the wave pool at the water park in direct sunlight on an 100+ degree day, I guess, but my Puerto Rican powers rarely desert me in my time of need. Added to which we got back to IVC an hour later than we'd planned, and I still had to drive home in my dad's old manual transmission truck. I learned to drive on that thing, so I have no problems with stick shifts in general. We have owned that particular truck, however, since just before Joshua was born, and it is starting to show its age. First gear is especially unreliable; half the time it'll jump out of gear just as I'm trying to get going again after being stopped at a light, which is even more fun than it sounds when there are a bunch of impatient drivers behind you who are already annoyed because you actually go the speed limit.

Okay, cue forlorn Aida.

Sad pandas.

What could possibly cheer me up on a day like this?

That did the trick!

For the uninitiated, way back in ye olde 2009, a theatre group at the University of Michigan (known as StarKidPotter online) performed an affectionate musical parody of the Harry Potter series, cleverly titled A Very Potter Musical. That summer, they posted video of their play on YouTube. Somehow, the Harry Potter fansites found out about it, and, as a veteran of HP fandom, I can say from experience that once it's linked to on a major HP fansite, make sure you have a good server, or be prepared for a blue screen of death from thousands upon thousands of dedicated HP fans all headed for your site at once. If it's on YouTube, expect to get approximately 87 zillion more views. Case in point? See the Vlogbrothers. DFTBA!

Long story short, A Very Potter Musical became an overnight Internet sensation. It was hilarious, if occasionally a bit juvenile, the songs were catchy, the lyrics were solid, there was a surprising amount of content from the books considering it adapted many of the series' plotlines for a three-hour play, and Bonnie Gruesen's hair was far more Hermione-ish than Emma Watson's ever was. It was silly, but it was meant to be silly. It was also very much a play for college students, by college students, though the acting was great across the board. I loved it immediately, even if there were some aspects I didn't care for (their Dumbledore, for one. Also the one-sided Draco/Hermione, because what??? It did mostly follow the canon pairings, including Ron/Hermione (OTP yay), for what it's worth.)

Then, in January, the StarKidPotter team announced a sequel to their show was in the works. It was performed in Ann Arbor this past May, but it wouldn't go online until July 23. I waited impatiently for news, then kind of forgot about it.

So, when I logged onto my favorite HP news site, The Leaky Cauldron, what did I see but an announcement hailing the release of A Very Potter Sequel on YouTube. Joy! 

Small confession to make: I may or may not have used some poetic license in the telling of this story, because I may or may not have been up until 4 o'clock this morning devouring this musical in one sitting, right away, the moment I found out it was online. Well, what can I say? I like my new Potter experiences to be in the middle of the night. Minds out of the gutter, please. I am just a midnight-release type of gal. No, you are not allowed to follow that accidental double entendre through to its logical conclusion. Grow up, won't you? 

I jest, I jest. But if you're in the mood for first-class musical parody, and you don't mind fleeting profanity and sometimes slightly offensive humor, you're in for a treat!

Here is the video that started it all: A Very Potter Musical, Act One, Part One.

And here is the just released sequel, starting with A Very Potter Sequel, Act One, Part One.

Enjoy! My thoughts on the sequel will come tomorrow. I'm still too full of squee to write a coherent review.