Hey, it made me laugh.

P.S. Today is Bill Weasley's birthday. Yay, Bill! I really can't wait until we get to see how he ends up looking in the movies.

Because Magda is SLOW!

Candy Cane!!! AHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Too Sexy!!!

Remembering.

HOGWARTS HAS A DANCE TEAM!!! YAY!!

Harry and the Potters LIVE--I fixed the links..maybe

So I went and saw Harry and the Potters. It was really kind of cool because I had only just heard about them from Misha a month ago. I had to walk 4 blocks in pouring rain so my feet were really soaked when I got there. A pretty diverse group of people showed up for this concert. Most of them were hippie-indie kids. There were high schoolers/middle schoolers (I can't distinguish anymore), babies, college students, fans that knew every word to every song that was played, Penn students...Yeah anyway, there two opening bands. The first was Univox and they actually didn't sound too bad. Their lead singer was crazy though. He'd be jumping and rolling around and scream into the microphone incoherently every once in a while. After they finished playing, there was a mad rush to the table behind me where all the merchandise was being sold. You could really tell that everyone was just there for Harry and the Potters because the next guy who played had to just start while people were still pushing their to the table. He sang really depressing songs and the girl I was with said he looked like he was going to kill himself if this concert didn't go well. He was a terrible singer.

Finally, Harry and the Potters started setting up their gear..which consisted of a keyboard, guitar, and an ipod. They went off stage for a while to change into their vests and neckties. When they came back, everyone started cheering. It was really interesting to see so many different kinds of people getting excited over a band that really has no merit except for the fact that they are taking advantage of an already established fanbase. Their performance reminded me of coffeehouse. They really are terrible singers but they certainly put on an entertaining show, if only because they would engage the crowd in yelling matches and jump around off stage singing in people's faces. They were very funny. They sang a lot of different songs and one new one which was about Harry and Ginny. I have movie clips for some of songs below. I got a T-shirt and I wanted them to sign it afterwards, but there was already a huge crowd of eager girls wanting their picture taken and my camera's battery had already died.

Univox


Soltero


Harry and the Potters









Comfort Tuesdayz
My favorite song!
Save Ginny Weasley
Save Sirius Black
Draco Malfoy

I knew Harry would like good music

Harry and Ron have iMixes on iTunes right now. And Harry has pretty kickass taste. Ron not so much, but here's Harry:

Hope There's Someone -Antony & The Johnsons
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) -Arcade Fire
Man Ray -The Futureheads
Carrion -British Sea Power
Buddy Holly -Weezer
Music When the Lights Go Out -The Libertines
Gouge Away -Pixies
Me Ves y Sufres -Hope of the States
What I'm Looking For -Brendan Benson
Boredom (Live) -Buzzcocks

Relatively insightful commentary too, unlike Ron who several times just has a variant on "good lyrics"

Anyway, back to a Philosophy paper.

Hoorah, Harry Potter!

My turn for a review, I suppose.

Let me start out by saying that although I am a huge Harry Potter geek, I never really took to the movies. Frankly, I thought they could have been done so much better than they were. Quite honestly, it pains me to watch the first one, although the second is tolerable, I suppose, and the third movie actually somewhat decent. Nothing special, though, not like the books.

But the fourth movie... well, I was pleasantly surprised. It outshines them all. Combined. But you knew that.

I really liked Goblet of Fire, and that's saying something. It's my favorite book, and there's so much going on in it... and I think they did an incredible job in condensing it into a two-and-half-hour movie without sacrificing too much. Although, alas, much was sacrificed, but that's only to be expected.

What I especially liked was that it was fast-paced, never dull, and because of that, they could fit in all those important events that make up the storyline. And the humor. I loved that Fred and George were given a more prominent role as the comic relief, because I don't think they've been focused on nearly as much as they should have been in the previous movies. Overall, it was a lot funnier, which is a very good thing in such a dark movie. And of course, the acting keeps getting better as well.

Although I have to say that although the whole graveyard scene was very well-done, it just didn't measure up to what I'd imagined. I think it's, in a way, the best scene/chapter Rowling's written, because it's so suspenseful, full of action, and even terrifying, not to mention one of the (if not the) most important scenes of the series. And the biggest issue I have with it is that I simply didn't think Voldemort was scary enough. Yeah, he was creepy-looking, but I just didn't get the look-it's-the-most-evil-dude-in-history vibe from him, you know? He sort of just came across as a really ugly bully, instead of the most powerful and feared wizard of all time, but not so much in the way he looked as in the way he acted. But hey, that's just me.

And I'll always have my gripes about the movies, but I really did like this one very much, and I too can't wait to see what they'll do with the next one.

But hey, they've finally gotten a Harry Potter movie right.

Goblet of Fire, pretty much the new Citizen Kane

Yeah, I liked it a ton and agreed with what Nancy.

Random points because I am too tired to write coherently, I'll edit later:
-Fleur, I'm gonna be honest with you guys, not hot enough
-Dumbledore does not seem like Dumbledore
-Harry+Hermione=Glory
-Stylistically really awesome. Man, I was loving it.
-All the kid actors were very good. I didn't even mind the hair and clothes that much! They just made me realize how uncool I was.
-I may be out of bullet points. I shouldn't have put off all my homework till after the movie
-I had horrible seats, for the first ten minutes everyone's head was stretched out, then I got used to it
-Soooo many subplots gone. I think. It was more than Ludo missing and the whole Daily Prophet thing, right? Seemed like more to me. Yeah, but they really made it work, very tight and fast paced.


Oh and I tried to get Emerson Spatz's signature (I bought a really cool silver pen last night, hope it won't come out in the wash) but I ended up introducing myself to his little brother on accident (They look very similar!). It was embarassing. I saw Emerson right after the movie but he was with a bunch of people. I overheard him say he signed two pairs of breasts. The kid is a stud. (Not that I condone such blatantly chauvanistic behavior) But I'll get it later, Nancy. So that's all from me. I dug it and can't wait to see it again, though I can probably hold on till Christmas. Gotta see P&P after all. This movie makes me really anxious to see the next one. Man, I love Harry Potter.

post script
Sorry for such a poor first post, I'll redeem myself.

post post script
The Superman trailer made me even more excited for this summer. I didn't know it was possible.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Hmm...how do I begin to describe this movie...oh, I know, It was friggin awesome. I was really impressed with how much of the book it covered. The Goblet of Fire is my favorite book in the series so I was really worried a lot of stuff was going to get cut out.

The Good

First of all, the special effects are amazing. This movie totally makes up for the crappy quality of HP3. Everything just looks a lot more real..well except for one part in the second task. Like I said, this movie does put a lot of what's in the book onto the screen so the beginning is super fast. Some parts worked and some parts I felt should have had some sort of a buffer zone, but I kind of liked the fact that the movie didn't have to show every detail for a person in the audience (who has read the book) to know what's going on. Scenes jump pretty quickly and you can tell that the director is just itching to show you his fabulous ending which I will get to later. As Magda pointed out, midnight showings are the best because the audience is filled with people who really want to see the movie, and therefore will laugh, cry, gasp, or "aw" at just the right times. The tension between Harry and Ron and Ron and Hermione was well done. Oh, and if you thought HP3 had some sexual innuendos..(hey I think I saw a porno like that once...) HP4 far outnumbers it. It's definitely some funny stuff. Speaking of funny, the entire movie is funny, probably to make up for the really depressing ending, which is, to me, the best part of the movie. Well, you all know what happens but I'll just say that the ending is VERY well done. Like, you can tell that most of the energy went towards making the ending look really good and all the momentum and quick, unexplained scenes were all sort of obstacles that needed to be shown in order for the ending to make any sort of sense. I have to admit, I got a bit teary eyed.


The Not-So-Good

Even though I loved that so much of the book was covered, as a result, other characters i.e. Snape and Draco, fell way to the side and the movie could only handle so much to keep the momentum of the plotline going. In retrospect, it was more like writing the entire book over again but in 100 pages. I will add however, that there seemed to be a lot of hinting at Snape's duplicity and I thought that was a nice way to set up future movies. Another thing that I will always whine about is the fact that the characters are never in uniform anymore. I really hate the "preppiness" of the movie and the attempt at trying to make the characters seem "hip" -so to speak, especially during the yule ball. Oh and the long hair. That sucks.

Anyway, the movie's far from perfect, and it really can't be seen without reading the book, but yeah you'll love it. I think the books would have worked better as a miniseries rather than individual movies though. Wow, I hope someone turns Harry Potter into a miniseries. I think that's about all I have to say, Ben and Magda should write reviews too. Man, I can't wait for the 5th movie.

Oh and Peter Jackson is hella skinny now. Crazy, I know.

WHAT THE FUCK I CAN'T BELIEVE I MISSED THIS!

WHY DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS??? I WAS IN NEW YORK THAT DAY AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH

I'll post about Harry and the Potters later.

For the ridiculously wealthy Harry Potter fan.

I just wanted to link to this site, because it's got some incredibly cool Harry Potter merchandise. Incredibly expensive, but incredibly cool.

I especially like the chess sets and the wands, but it's all pretty amazing stuff. Fawkes and the dragons are pretty impressive as well.

Just something to check out when you're bored. (They also have Lord of the Rings items.)

Oh, and when you're all rich and famous, I wouldn't mind a Hermione wand or a phoenix of my own.

Heck yes.

Boy, is this Harry Potter week or what?

My dorm had a contest to win tickets to see Harry Potter at an IMAX theater. Basically people had to send an email at midnight with their name, house, and room number. I sent mine at 12:02 and only made the waiting list. Luckily however, someone can't go so I get their ticket.



That's right, I'm going to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on IMAX this Friday. I can feel your jealousy...

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie clips!

I cannot wait until Thursday night. I am uber-excited. I am going to wet my pants. I have my ticket and have been treating it like Gollum does "his precious." Oh, it's going to be good.

So... because I simply cannot wait, and because I love you so much... I have scoured the web for some pretty cool clips from Goblet of Fire. And oh, they are good... I'm getting pretty pumped up. So here they are... 11 clips total. If want to be completely surprised by the movie, then you don't have to watch them, but really, they aren't especially revealing or anything.


The AOL Movies site has a clip of the Death Eater fiasco at the Quidditch World Cup. Very intense.

The Ellen Degeneres Show has three clips from the movie. The first one is of the drawing of the dragons before the first task, the second clip is McGonagall's class where she starts to teach them to dance, and the third is of Ron receiving a lovely package from his mother.

And this foreign site has a really cool clip from the Quidditch world cup. It looks so good...

And finally, the Yahoo Movies page has a bunch more, six to be exact, from the choosing of the champions to the start of Harry and Ron's big fight. Very cool. Very, very cool.


Another thing... and I've said this many times before. I really do think Harry and Hermione should get together. Because Harry with Ginny is just awkward, and everyone knows that the whole Ron and Hermione thing just doesn't work. I mean, I'm sure Rowling can pull it off somehow, but if I had it my way...

Alright, I won't rant. That is all for tonight.

Mischief Managed.

In preparation for my comp sci midterm, this is what they give me.

Inheritance
First... a fun explanation of polymorphism:


Polymorphism is when a class implements an interface or extends a class and it is treated like the class or interface it is like, rather than itself.
If you think of the Harry Potter movies or books. Professor Snape hates Harry Potter. If you read into it, he really hates Harry's father. So Professor Snape is using polymorphism to take out his hatred on Harry's father even though the object he is treating so badly is really the son of Mr. Potter -- that is Harry, not Harry's father. Harry is being treated like someone he is not, but someone he shares many traits with (such as looks).
Polymorphism is valuable to programmers, because they often know what they wish to do with a class that hasn't been written yet. So they make an interface and demand that the class or classes that they use in the future implement that interface. That way they may use any of the classes that they or anyone else write without changing their code.


Potters


Lets try to model the relationship described above. James Potter and Harry Potter are both Potters. Professor Snape has a list of people he Hates. Both Potters are in that list along with Ron, who is part of the Weasely family. The Weasely family has Arthur, Molly, Bill, Charley, Percy, Fred, George, Ginny. Out of that family, Snape Hates only Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny.
Think of how you would implement this relationship using interfaces, abstract, and regular classes. Each bold faced word above is a class in itself.


Harry Potter and computer science? That's like trying to mix water and oil. One you can't live without, and the other just clots your arteries.

E.W.

Look what I found!

I was on the 20th floor of one of the high rises, you know, getting high on hibiscuses, and I came across this map of the floor!