Cover Art

Here it is! The cover art for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!


I love it! I had a feeling it would be kind of a orange/yellow/red cover. I did think it would be more red though. It is very cool though. It will look great with all the other books on the bookcase. Apparently, the final battle will take place in the Roman Colosseum. I'm down with that. It's sad too though. This is like it. No more really big announcements or news. It's amazing how this can be depressing yet wicked exciting at the same time. It's the end of an era!

How Soccer Explains the World

How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization-Franklin Foer
Published in 2005
248 pages

Very interesting read. Especially for an American that has never experiened true soccer madness. Foer takes different social events and ideas and relates to soccer. For example, he shows how nationalism and soccer are interlocked through Spain's Catalan region. This book is well-developed, but difficult to follow at times. You should have some background in history and social issues. If not, most of the book will be over your head. It was a moderately fast read. I had to slow down at some points to fully understand an idea. I enjoyed it quite a lot though. Very insightful. I say the last chapter (How Soccer Explains the American Culture Wars) is my favorite, although I did enjoy reading about nationalism too. Overall: A-/B+ (Closer to the A-, but still not quite there)

i broke the stapler

Spring is here! And I am happy! Here are a few of my current loves.

-Strawberries and basically all other fruit! Yummy! But strawberries especially because I've never really liked them before.

-Maybe There's a World by Yusuf Islam. I insist you listen to it now. I am in utter love with this song. Thanks to Jen. Here's a sample of the lyrics:
I have dreamt of a place and time, where nobody gets annoyed
But I must admit I'm not there yet but
Something's keeping me going
Maybe there's a world that I'm still to find
Maybe there's a world that I'm still to find
Open up o world and let me in,
Then there'll be a new life to begin

-How to Save a Life by the Fray. I was very resistant to it at first because I disliked their first single (Over my Head) because it was beat senselessly into my head. This song however, is pure gold. I can listen to it ten times over and still want to hear it again. Great song to sing along to.

-Grace Kelley by Mika. Very upbeat and fun to sing along to. Unique as well.

-Having the window open in my room or my car. It is so nice to finally be able to breathe fresh air. And have the wind blow in so I can get cold and wrap up in a cold blanket.

-This new internet explorer! I have THREE tabs open right now! How awesome!

In other news, Cassie is coming home this weekend! (Actually Thursday hopefully) And we will enjoy fruit pizza, fresh regular pizza, House, a Bucks game, Choixie, a movie night, and lots of other fun stuff. Tomorrow I am getting my hair cut. I am very excited. I'm not totally decided on what I am doing (because I scheduled the appointment today-spur of the moment). I'll definetly be going shorter. Not too short hopefully though. I'm getting it cut by someone different and that makes me a little nervous, a little excited. I'm sure it will be fine though in the end.

Rainstorms & Magic

Every spring, I forget just how much I love thunder and rain storms. They are probably my favorite type of weather. I have no idea why, but I just love it. Sitting in my room, with the window opened a little, hearing the thunder and the rain is just perfect. Needless to say, it was the first thunderstorm today.

In other news, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will log in at 784 pages. That sounds like the perfect length to me. It is right inbetween HBP and OotP. I'm guessing it will take me until about 9:30 or 10:00 to finish reading. Although I almost don't want to read it that quickly. But once I start, I know I won't be able to stop. My favorite time of reading is around dawn, when I am in the thick of the story and the sun is starting to peek through the curtains and I'm hitting the second soda. Oh the magic.

A Floridian Travel Agent

It was a good weekend. Lots of fun because Cassie was home and Jen hung out here all weekend. And of course march madness. Although that didn't end all that well. Oh well. But first things first. A movie review.

The Departed-I'm assuming most already know the basics of this film. (It won Best Film at the Oscars AND the Academy Awards...heha) Anyway, it was good. Really good. It was VERY violent, but the movie would be crap if it wasn't violent. It is very intricate and takes lots of exciting twists and turns. All the actors are of course positively brilliant. Leonardo Di Caprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson could never truly disappoint. I loved the movie, but it is really violent and has a lot of cursing. Both are necessary, but if those things really disturb you, you probably shouldn't watch. But you'd be missing out. Good movie. See it.

We also went to Uno's. YUM! I love their spinach, eggplant, onion flat bread pizza. It is sooo good. I love it. We also had a big breakfast this morning. Sufficiently awkward for the circumstances, but enjoyable food wise. Lots of fruit. Also yum.

This week looks like it will be decent. It's hard right now, with spring break still three weeks away. It is too late this year. Really, it is just at the point where I need summer. I crave it. Everyday I think about how wonderful it would be if it were sunny and I were lying in bed until 8:00 and the birds were chirping and I could just get up, enjoy some breakfast, and chill. Usually after spring break these feelings lessen for at least a little bit. But I really need that week break to rejuvenate.

St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! In lieu of this day, I decided to look up the history of this holiday, because not many people actually know what it is about, myself included. Here is what I found.

St. Patrick was born in Wales around 385 AD with the name Maewyn. He was captured around the age of 16, and held captive for six years as a slave. During this time, he became closer to God. After this, he felt it was his calling to convert people to Christianity, especially the pagans. He was successful at this. Perhaps this is why people say he drove all the snakes out of Ireland, snakes being a metaphor for pagans. (There are no snakes native to Ireland). He died on March 17, 461.

St. Patrick's Day was originally intended as a Catholic Holy Day, but has become much more secular. Some of the modern customs do date back though. The three leaf clover was used by St. Patrick as a way to explain the trinity. Green is used because it represents spring. Leprechauns are more of a American stamp on the holiday. In Irish folklore, leprechauns are mean and cranky cobblers. Walt Disney realized a film in 1959 that had leprechauns, but they were friendly.

It was first celebrated in Boston in 1737.

So go off and enjoy this wonderful holiday! And don't forget to wear lots of green!

Happy half-birthday Cassie, miss 20.5.

March Monomania

I'm petitioning that we call March Madness March Monomania instead. It's just more fun. As you know (presuming you don't live under a very large rock) March Madness began in full force today. I have the games on behind me, and this Butler/Old Dominion game is going to be a long one. My bracket has Wisconsin winning it all, after beating UNC.

Also today, the Ides of March! Beware the Ides of March, or so sayeth the soothsayer from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Rule of thumb for today (and I suppose most circumstances), if you see a group of politicians in togas, turn the other way. Sad pandas for Caesar.

And Saturday is St. Patrick's Day and all the Irish goodness that that brings. More on that on Saturday.

Today's updates now.

It was a very good day. And it can seriously only get better, which is a glorious feeling. I got two tests back today, both of which I was a tad nervous for the grade. I got 62 out of 64 on my economics test even though I forgot to study. And then, very happily, I got a 45 out of 46 on my FST quiz. Thank goodness. It had a 6pt curve, but still. I needed a good grade. Then, in APEuro, we kind of celebrated St. Patrick's Day early by discussing the Irish and English tensions that have always existed. But it was fun. We got Lucky Charms and got to watch U2 perform Sunday Bloody Sunday from one of their concert dvds. Very relaxing. And I have no homework. I had to finish up a paper, but I just did that and now I don't have any left. Most importantly, Cassie is coming home!! Yay! In less than 6 hours, she will be here and that is great. Now I must go. Dogs to be walked and gas to be pumped.

Et tu Brute?

The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby-F. Scott Fitzgerald
Publish in 1925
180 pages

It has been dubbed the great American novel by many. I'm not sure I can say that, but I can say that you need to read it today. It is a true page turner. From the beginning to the end, it is difficult to put down. You hardly realize when you finish it. It is best just swallowed in one giant gulp and then slowly digested. It is set in the 1920s outside of NYC in the rich mansions. It is narrated by Nick Carraway, but the true protagonist is Gatsby. (Duh) It tells of love and romance and hate and secrecy and everything that time period stood for. There is sex and drinking and lust and riches and heartbreak. It is so eloquently written. Fitzgerald writes so magnificently and poetically. I don't want to say to much because it is so much better if you discover it all for yourself. Overall: A

Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And then one fine morning—So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice -Jane Austen
Published in 1813
375 pages

Wow. What a book. It's cliche, but this book is a classic. It tells the story of Elizabeth Bennet, a strong willed women and her four sisters. It is a romance, but so much more. There is comedy and it is very thought-provoking, nearly 200 years after it was written. It could be difficult to understand or follow if you haven't read much in the way of Victorian era classics. Otherwise, it is easy to get into the language mindset. It is so beautifully written and the plot is so captivating it just can't be denied. The end isn't the most shocking thing literature has ever seen, but that makes no difference whatsoever. The end is everything it has to be and should be. It demonstrates so well the era it was written in and what it was like. I was so in love with Elizabeth (and Jane) by the end. I will read it again someday and I can't wait until I do. Overall: A+

"Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us."

All We are Saying is Give Peace a Chance

So instead of doing any homework Friday night, I went shopping and watched three movies. It was a fun night. I rented Half Nelson, The US vs. John Lennon, and Stranger Than Fiction.

Half Nelson-It was a pretty good movie, definitely not a waste of two hours. It is about a (white) pot smoking, crack snorting inner-city teacher and the bond he develops with one of his students after she finds him smoking pot in a school bathroom stall. Ryan Goosling, who plays the teacher, is very good. The cinematography is interesting. It has a shifting shot thing, meaning the shots aren't all still shots. It has a slight documentary feel to it. The movie overall was good, but I feel like it could have been better, like it had more potential. Overall, rent it if there is nothing else that catches your eye.

The U.S. vs. John Lennon-Interesting, but I may be biased since I love the Beatles. But the documentary actually discussed a lot more history than I expected. There was probably just about discussion about history as John Lennon, not counting the extras. It was very interesting and thought-provoking. The one thing that really stuck out to me was "Give peace a chance." Overall, rent it if you like Lennon or counter-culture. If not, catch it when VH1 eventually airs it.

Stranger Than Fiction-I rented this because it had Will Ferrel, and he is usually hilarious. (Elf anyone?) This really isn't intended as a simple comedy, it is more of a drama with comedy. It was a fairly good movie. I didn't love it, but it wasn't horrible. It is a stranger plot than most and it is interesting and funny, but I don't know. Maybe someone else would have liked it better. Overall, I would say watch it if someone asks if you want to see it, but don't rush out.

It was also daylight savings weekend, meaning we had to spring ahead, meaning an hour was lost. Also, it looks like Linda is moving into the city center condos. Cassie is coming home next weekend, which is uber exciting. And, it will be St. Patrick's Day! It looks like it will be an alright week.

Fantabulous Tuesday

So a lots been happening at school lately, mainly because it is nearing AP test time (may) and teachers are finally realizing it. Great.

-The school board in all genious decide that we should make up both those snowdays we missed 2nd semester. Even more genious, they decided that seniors should take exams before everyone else and then have our exams thursday, friday, and monday. The good thing is I will only have two exams after expemtions and AP classes. So I won't have to come on that monday, but I feel bad for everyone else who does.

-I finished Nickel and Dimed: A Story on (not) Getting by in America for english. It was a good book, a little tedious, but not bad overall. I would say read it if you get the chance, but don't rush out to get it.

-I have about five hundred tests, papers, assignments, projects, and who knows what else to do. It's a bummer, but whatever. That's school.

-I'm going to Chicago tomorrow!! We are visiting the art mueseum and watertower place (the mall) and I am tres excited! I love Chicago and it means no school!!

-House is on tomorrow tonight as well, along with Gilmore Girls. It will be a fantabulous Tuesday.