Pottermore

If you're a Harry Potter fan, I'm sure you've heard so much about Pottermore this past week, and have probably already seen the announcement and submitted your email. If you're not a Harry Potter fan, feel free to stop reading.

I live in California, so the announcement was at 4:00 AM for me.  I set my alarm for 3:50 and went on the computer.  As I watched the last few seconds tick down off the clock, I was so excited.  I don't think I've been that excited about anything since I was about to open my brand new copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows back in 2007.

After watching the video, I was a bit confused.  I was actually thinking, "That's it?"  It was so...vague and cryptic.  But I figured that Jo wouldn't start all this hype for something that turned out to be simply sub-par.  I knew there had to be something more to this "online reading experience" than she was letting on in that video.

When I got home from summer school today, I went on Tumblr, and saw all this new information about Pottermore that I hadn't seen last night/this morning, and now I'm getting a better idea of what Pottermore is all about.  The only things I'm a little worried about are Ollivander's and the Sorting Ceremony.

There are some Potter fans, like me, who already know what wand they have (holly and dragon heartstring, 12 inches). I don't know why I picked that, but I guess I just liked that combination.  I also took a quiz after I had chosen my wand and I got the exact same result.  And my friend Bianca asked me what my wand is, and when I told her, she said she somehow already knew that.  I know "the wand chooses the wizard" and all that, and I know that the wand Jo thinks I should have would probably be more accurate than the wand I think I want, but I'm quite fond of my current wand.  I didn't mean for that to rhyme.

If anyone at least likes the Harry Potter books, you're bound to know what Hogwarts house you're in.  Some are a bit unsure and declare themselves a "Slytherdor" or a "Ravenpuff", but I, like many others, have settled on one house: Hufflepuff.  Every single person in the entire Potter community probably has a slightly different idea of how the sorting works, what traits each house might prefer, etc.  There are so many different online sorting quizzes, which is why one might be placed in different houses when taking different quizzes.  I've gotten Gryffindor and Ravenclaw a few times, but the majority of the quizzes I've taken have said Hufflepuff.  But what if Jo's idea of who belongs in Hufflepuff (or the house of your choice) is completely different from what we think?  I've been a Hufflepuff for years, and I'm extremely proud of and loyal to my house.  I don't know what I'd do if I was somehow sorted into a different house.

Maybe I'm just being paranoid.  Maybe I'm still just over-thinking things, as usual.  I am really excited for Pottermore, and I will definitely be trying to get beta access on July 31, but I can't help but worry.  Ah, well, we'll find out soon enough.  I'm sure that, no matter what happens, this will be an amazing experience and a fantastic way to keep the magic of Harry Potter alive.

Books read: 13
Disneyland trips: 7
Current song: Forever and Always by Parachute

Something Old, Something New?

Today I saw the film, Something Borrowed, with my sister.  Now, I don't want this to turn into a blog to review movies (which it probably won't because I don't nearly go to the movies often enough), but there are a few things I'd like to say about this one.  I haven't read the book, and honestly I don't plan on it after seeing the movie-- it was good, but not great-- unless someone would like to convince me otherwise.  If you haven't seen the movie and plan on it, or want to read the book, and don't want spoilers, stop reading.  If you've already seen/read it or don't care about spoilers, read on, my friend.

First things first, I love John Krasinski.  As an avid fan of the television show, The Office, one of the main reasons I wanted to see this movie was because he's in it, and he did not disappoint.  I loved his character, Ethan, and he provided great comic relief.  I have one main complaint about this movie, though.  I thought Rachel and Ethan should have ended up together.  My sister didn't agree with me on this.  She said that the entire point of the movie was so Rachel and Dex would end up together, and I get that, but just because that was the point of it, doesn't mean it was the right decision.  I have a few reasons as to why I thought this:

1. Ethan was the only character that didn't irritate me.  Darcy was just this...annoying party girl who got whatever she wanted-- the type of girl that I don't particularly like.  Rachel and Dex were just stupid.  I know that Rachel's supposed to be the protagonist, but she could have at least told Darcy what was going on.  That might have made me feel a bit more sympathetic towards her.  Dex was being a douche for cheating on his fiance, I don't care if he's liked her since law school.  Ethan seemed to be the only one with his head screwed on straight.  He was the only one who thought it was the right thing to do to tell Darcy, or to make Dex decide.  And the fact that he was a writer and his character was played by John Krasinski were just extra things that made me like him more.
2. Ethan was the only one who seemed to really care about Rachel.  He told her to stop being a pushover and to stop letting Darcy get whatever she wanted and to make Dex decide.  He wanted her to do something for herself for once.  He wanted her to be happy.  I'm sure Dex cared about her too, but he did a pretty lousy job of showing it.  Rachel and Darcy were best friends, but Darcy didn't always act like it.  She seemed to not care about what Rachel said half the time, and it was like she just hung out with her due to an obligation.
3. My final reason is because Ethan is Rachel's best friend.  The person one ends up marrying should be a best friend: someone to trust completely and who cares about you and helps you.  Also, I always seem to be one to fall for her best friend, and it sucks, so whenever I see movies or read books, I'm always rooting for the best friend.

If you want to see this movie, I wouldn't discourage it.  It was good.  Just not amazing, and let's face it, there aren't too many amazing romantic comedies nowadays.  If you're not a fan of romantic comedies, or movies in general, I promise this will be my last post about a movie, perhaps until Deathly Hallows part 2 comes out (which, by the way, I saw the trailer for on the big screen for the first time and squealed!).

Books read: 12

Disneyland trips: 6

Current song: none

Summer Reading

Now that I'm out of school for summer, I will have much more time to read.  Just yesterday I finally finished The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan, and I'm still working on American Gods by Neil Gaiman, but I'm almost done. I can probably finish tonight.  I've also got, literally, piles of books on the floor of my bedroom just waiting to be read, and I'd like to read at least some of them before making another trip to the One Dollar Bookstore (aka heaven).  So, in no particular order, here is my list of books I would like to read this summer.  Books in italics are ones I'd like to reread.

• Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare (summer assignment for AP Lit)
• King Lear by William Shakespeare (summer assignment)
• A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare (summer assignment)
• Othello by William Shakespeare (summer assignment)
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
• Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
• Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
• An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
• Paper Towns by John Green
• The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
• The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
• The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman
• Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
• Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

I realize I probably won't be able to read all of these, because my summer is surprisingly quite busy.  However, if you have any recommendations of books to read, that would be highly appreciated, because I'm always up to add things to the list! Also, if there's anything on this list you wouldn't recommend I read for some reason, please let me know.

Happy summer!

Books read: 10

Disneyland trips: 6

Current song: White Dress - Parachute

A week of change

Life is full of changes.  Some small, some big, but you can't avoid it.  Everything changes sometime or another.  And this week has been a big week of change.  Our house was painted green, we got new windows, I got a haircut (and it's now really short), and my sister graduated high school.

Yes, that's right, my big sister is now a high school alumni.  Her graduation was this morning.  I thought I might cry during the actual ceremony, but surprisingly I didn't.  It was pretty sad because I do know quite a few of the seniors who graduated and it's possible that I'll never see them again.  Ah, well, I guess that's why Facebook was invented, right?  Keeping in touch with old friends.

But it wasn't until after the graduation ceremony and after we had lunch that I cried.  I was walking with my parents in the parking lot of Red Robin and my dad pulled that gag on my mom where you tap someone on the opposite shoulder and they look and no one's there.  I don't fall for that anymore, but my mom did.  And we laughed about it.  Then I said, "Erin did that to me at school once!  I didn't fall for it, though."  That had just happened this week too.  Then I realized, I'm not going to see her at school anymore.  Not ever again.  I think that thought is what got me, and I started to cry.  I've gone to the same school as Erin since kindergarten, except for that one year when I was in 8th grade and she was a freshman.  She's always been there.  I'd see her at school, I could say hi to her, ask her for help if I needed it.  And now, she just won't be there anymore...

She's going off to college in September.  Her school is about 7 hours away-- not exactly close.  And I'll still be home.  I won't be going to the same college as her.

And now I'm going to be starting my senior year!  Going through this all over again, but it'll be much worse because it'll actually be me and my friends graduating and going off to college.

Things just aren't going to be the same anymore.

Books read: 9.5
Disneyland trips: 6
Current song: Uh, none, but Forever Young has been stuck in my head.

I hate the phrase, "There's other fish in the sea".

It's just like saying, "There's other people in the world", so why don't you say that instead?  And it's not like it's a very helpful expression.

I don't care if there are other fish in the sea.  They're all different.  Let's say I want an angel fish.  If I want an angel fish, I want an angel fish.  But if I can't have the angel fish for whatever reason, I don't want to have to settle for a clown fish, or a flying fish, or a trout, or an angler fish.  The fishes could have some similarities and qualities that they share, but it wouldn't be the same.  And that other fish wouldn't make you feel the same as the angel fish.  Any other fish would be too different and it just wouldn't be the same.  I don't want another fish.

Books Read: 9.5
Disneyland Trips: 6
Current Song: Your Ex-Lover is Dead - Stars

This is a post about The Hunger Games.

Because, well, I love The Hunger Games.  Just FYI, there will probably be more HG posts in the future, but for now I just have this one.  I was just on Tumblr, and I came across a post that says, "If Panem was real, by location, I'd live in District 12," then it had that GIF of Spongebob jellyfishing.

My first point is, why would you be happy about living in District 12?  I mean, sure, that's where the protagonist is from, but that place sucks.  They're in poverty.  They never win the Hunger Games, with the exception of Haymitch, then Katniss and Peeta in the very last (successful) Games.  Yes, it is better than living in District 11 or something, where the security is very strict, but still.  I'd rather live in probably one of the first five or so districts, where the citizens aren't in poverty, and people volunteer to compete in the Hunger Games.  If you don't want to, there's a good chance you won't have to, even if you're chosen.  People can choose to become some of the careers, with a small chance of surviving, but it's their choice.  You're not forced into it.  I'd probably choose to live in District 4, because I like the ocean.

Second, after reading that, I decided to google a map of Panem.  After reading the books, I had an idea in my mind of where each district (or, at least, ones with adequate information to estimate the location) and the Capitol were located.  Looking at the map, I realized people don't have the same ideas!  In my brain, Panem was kind of opposite than most of the maps I found.

This map, for example.  The ones I wanted to use, were rather small so you couldn't see very well where all the Districts were, but this one will do.  As you can see, the first districts and the Capitol are on the West Coast, while 11, 12, and 13 are on the East Coast.  I imagined it the other way around, for a few reasons.

Now, keep this in mind, when I came up with my own (incomplete) map of Panem, I didn't imagine it with some places in the United States underwater.  It was just... North America.  Anyway, I imagined the Capitol on the East coast for two reasons.  One: the current capital of the United States, Washington D. C., is  on the East coast; two: when Katniss and Peeta were on the train on their way to the Capitol, it said that they were going through the region Appalachia when they were almost to the Capitol.  It might just be me, but I assumed  that Suzanne Collins got the name for this region from the Appalachian Mountains, which are in the East.  You see that mountain range going through Districts 12 and 13?  Yeah, that's them.  How could they have been on the train on their way to the Capitol and Appalachia, when they're right next to it?  That's what I thought.

Now, because the Capitol is on the East coast (in my mind, at least), then most of the first districts would be there too.  I also specifically imagined District 4 would be in Florida, because, you know, beaches and stuff.  If those districts are located there, then Districts 11, 12, and 13, would be on the West coast.  Let me start with District 11.

District 11 is where they grow a lot of the fruit for Panem, so it would have to be somewhere where fruit can be grown.  That is why I imagined it in California.  Maybe not now, but there used to be orange groves all over the place in California.  That's where Orange County got its name.  I do know that they also grow strawberries here, and let's not forget the vineyards of Northern California.  Therefore, it would make sense for District 11 to be located somewhere in California.

Now, District 12.  Honestly, I don't know all that much about coal or mines or anything, but this needed to go along with the rest of my map.  I imagined District 12 in Oregon or Washington state somewhere.  I mean, it gets cold enough in those places as it does in 12 in the books.  However, I don't know if there ever were or still are coal mines there, so that might throw off my entire theory.

After placing those districts, I was left with 13, which we know is far out of the way.  I imagined District 13 to be somewhere around the Western side of Canada (because Panem is North America, and not just the United States).  Now, I don't know much about Canadian geography, because I'm not from there, but it would make sense for District 13 to be located there.  Don't you think?

This ended up being much longer than I had originally planned.  If you read this entire thing, please let me know what you think of my theory (and provide evidence!) because I'd like to know if I'm completely wrong. If you have not read The Hunger Games, I highly recommend it.  They are amazing books.

Goodbye April

This month of BEDA has been a great experience for me!  I will definitely be doing this again next year.

There are only a few more hours are left in April, and I am going to miss this month.  There were so many great things going on, from DTASC to spring break, both of which ended with the month.  I start school this week, and DTASC was today.  I still have a bit of homework to finish, and a Spanish project to do, but I don't want to think about that right now, because I'm still living in earlier today.

Wow.  DTASC was just incredible.  I enjoyed this one so much more than the fall competition.  Possibly because there were more of my friends doing it this time?  Though I quite liked the smaller group we had last time, too.  All of the categories that my school was competing in made it to semi-finals, so that was fantastic.  Then, there were three groups who made it into finals- one in each division.  The A division large group comedy made it to finals, and they got honorable mention.  B division Shakespeare CSI made it to finals, and they got 5th place!  And my group in C division, large group drama, made it to finals, and we got 6th place!  Technically 6th place doesn't get a trophy, so we just got an honorable mention plaque, but we were all still so happy!  We got semi-finalist ribbons, which were green, and finalist ribbons, which were yellow.

Funny story (well, at least I think it's funny)- when they were announcing who made it to finals, my group was one of the last ones that was announced.  I think all that was left was large group drama and large group comedy.  They didn't say the title of the category, they just said it was category 7, and I thought 7 was large group comedy.  So when I saw our school code up on the sign, I cheered and tried looking for someone in that group.  But then people started shouting my name and Lisa said, "Aimee! We made it to finals!"  Then I started freaking out because I did not expect that at all.  And we hugged and rejoiced.  It was amazing.

Besides that, and Mr. B. making a group of 2500 drama geeks lose the game (by the way, you just lost), my day was pretty normal and fun- hanging out with friends, eating nutella, etc.  Overall, it was just an amazing day and I'm glad I got to go to DTASC again and share the day with my amazing friends.

Anyway, I'm really tired and I have to be up early to work on the Spanish project I mentioned earlier, so I'll probably go to bed soon.  I hope you all had a wonderful April, and I will see you soon.