Monday, July 18, 2011

I'm Back! (Plus Harry Potter and Other Updates)

I'm finally back from (yet more) traveling, and I'm feeling better, so it's really high time for an update.

First, my thoughts on Harry Potter (warning: unrestrained gushing ahead).

Have you seen it yet!? If not, WHY NOT?!?! Forgive my incoherence, but wowowowoweeeeeeeeek!

I love Harry Potter. I love the brilliantly complex plot. I love the larger-than-life characters. I love the actors who play those characters. I love the magical world with all its quirks and delights.

But I think, most of all, I love the fans. Being part of Harry Potter fandom feels very special. I would love the books and the movies even without the other fans, but the real magic is in the community. Without the community the characters exist only on the page, but because we all know them and add tiny pieces of ourselves to them, they become so full of us that they're almost real.

So when I watched the movie on Friday night, every time I thought “Eeeeeeeeee, Neville, Neville, Neville!!!” or “Sob! Snape, Snape, Snape,” I knew that all over the world other people were thinking the exact same thing.

And then there was this: http://taherehmafi.tumblr.com/post/7703052949/dead Yeah, that was so me. Ok, so maybe I wasn't crying, but my hand was over my mouth and all I could think was “No, this can't be the last one.”

Second, everything else.

Family reunion. I had wonderful conversations with all my cousins, who are growing up into such fascinating people. Being the oldest and the only girl until I was... eleven? … meant waiting a very long time for all the others to grow up into people I could really interact with. But the people they are now were worth the wait. Also, I connected with a really cool third cousin once removed, plus I got to hear my second cousin Julia sing. (She's the only person I know who is not only trying out for American Idol but may actually have a chance.)

Google+. I am on it, at least for now. You can find me here if you haven't already. I had some initial frustrations with it, mostly because I have more than one gmail account, and each Google+ account can only connect to one gmail account. Now that I've decided how I want to use it and gotten over that hurdle I'm a little happier, but the verdict is still out... mostly because, like with Wave and Buzz, very few people are doing much of anything so far.

Getting rid of phone and cable. My husband and I are making the switch to internet/Xbox television only. And we really don't need our home phone, so that's out too. Has anyone else done this? What is your experience?

Anyway, I need to take back the cable box today, so I should run off and do that. But it's good to be back!

7 comments:

  1. First, no I haven't seen the last HP movie. I'm waiting for things to calm a bit so that I can get the best seat possible in the theater and don't have to deal with the noise that a large number of viewers can generate. Plus, I wasn't really that crazy about the last two HP books - got way too dark and doomsday-ish for me. I know I'm in the minority with this opinion, but the series started as this charming children's book series and ended as well, you know. And I LOVED the charm in the first few books. Sigh.

    Second, Google+ is a social network type of site, right? Like Facebook? Yeah...so not going to go there.

    And last but definitely not least, so glad to hear you had a lovely time with your family. :)

    Oh, almost forgot. No I haven't ditched my land line or cable yet. Maybe someday, though. I'm still kinda ticked off about the whole Netflix thing...

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  2. Well, our provider was about to raise our rates, so we figured it was time.

    Yeah, Google+ is social networking. It's got some positives, but I'm not sold on it.

    Being more of a YA person than an MG person I prefer the later Harry Potter books. But I completely understand your view.

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  3. Hmm, MG. For the life of me I can't figure out what that stands for. Miniature Grown-ups? Massively Generic? lol. ;)

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  4. So glad you're finally feeling better!

    I LOVED HP! I am so going to have to see it again, even if I do end up sniffling through it twice :)

    My other half and I have been cable free for about 6 months - it's been fine, actually. There are a few shows I miss, but I make up for it using netflix on the xbox :) And we ditched our landline years ago - never missed it. I think you guys will be happy with the change and surprised at how easy it is to get used to :)

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  5. Yeah, I'm not thinking it'll be too difficult for us. The landline was just a pain, really, and the cable wasn't worth the cost. I'm very happy with hulu and netflix.

    I really want to see HP again too! Hopefully this weekend :)

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