Watch For Me on the Highway

So I went home this weekend to celebrate my parents’ birthdays and something weird happened along the way…When one of the cars was passing me on the highway, the guy in the passenger side had his face pressed up against the window staring at me.  This made me feel very uncomfortable because I was unshowered and rather gross.  I thought it was very rude and strange, but that was all.  Then it happened again…and again…Once a kid in a backseat who appeared to be asleep woke up just to turn around and stare at me.

After a while I finally figured out what was going on.  This was my first long trip with my two brand new bumper stickers.  My two brand new bumper stickers that read “My Other Car is a Portkey,” and “The Whomping Willow Ate My Other Car.”

Apparently letting your true HP colors fly invites a lot of stares from “normal” people.  I got my bumper stickers at Terminus, but you can see a whole bunch of them at Whimsic Alley.  If you buy one, you will probably make a lot of new friends along the road (and by friends, I mean creepy staring people).

Jen

What??! How??! Who??! GRRRRRR!!

So I get a phone call from my sister tonight, which is always an exciting thing…and she says, “oh my gosh, you haven’t heard, have you?” She basically tells me that the worst thing in the whole world has happened ………………Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince will be moved back to July 2009!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Apparently the press release from Warner Brothers admits that the reasoning behind this is that summer is a better time to make money. What?? Splutter, what?? Are greedy production companies forgetting to pretend that their actions are motivated by anything other than immense greed and the need to swim around in big roomfulls of gold coins like Scrooge McDuck????

My initial thoughts about the situation were blocked by utter rage and disbelief, but now I am thinking that something HUGE went down either at Warner Brothers or behind the scenes of the movie and this is all just a cover. This announcement literally came out of NOWHERE. The trailer already came out with the fall date on it. The next issue of Entertainment Weekly is talking about fall movies and it will have HP on the cover. A decision this huge doesn’t just come out of nowhere at the last minute because of MONEY. I honestly think that we will never know the true cause of this move, but it has to be about more than just money. They mentioned something in their press release about the writers strike, but I don’t see how that has anything to do with anything.

Well, this news just ruined my whole night………….I am going to watch a little Penelope to make myself feel better.

Jen

Legos Galore!!!

This weekend was a huge weekend for me professionally speaking. I was responsible for bringing the Northern Illinois Lego Train Club to our library. I have been talking with the president of the club for months and this weekend it finally happened. There were a few little hiccups along the way, but mostly it was amazing, perfect, wonderful, and really really awesome.

These guys came and set up for 8 hours on Friday and then displayed their stuff all day Saturday and Sunday. We had over 1500 people come to see it!!!! Everyone was raving about how great everything was. There was a huge Chicago display, a Harry Potter display, Indiana Jones, Futurama, Star Wars, just to name a few. Here are some pics to give you a taste of what it looked like:

If you look really close you can see Superman on top of the Sears Tower. The best thing about the display was all of the little characters that would pop up in normal scenes. There were Storm Troopers everywhere, and occasionally you would see Hagrid hanging out at a pizza place. It was a such a great weekend, but I am so exhausted now.

There are some more pictures posted at my flickr account here.

My camera batteries died before I got to the Harry Potter display, but I am going to upload some pictures from the library camera soon, so there will be more coming.

Jen

Update:  I put up the rest of the pics!!!

A Riddle

Yesterday I was doing my math (as always) and listening to First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde (highly recommended!!).  I’ve read the book before, which is why it is OK that I listen to it on CD while I do other things.  But as I wasn’t really paying attention to the book, I was startled into attention when a riddle was mentioned.  As I said, I have read the book, and therefore have also read the riddle, but since I like to speed read my way through the first time, and have not went back and done a reread of the book yet, I hadn’t really worked out the riddle.  Well, actually in the book they answer the riddle, but you still have to think about the logic of it to understand it.  So I’ll propose the riddle to you, dear readers, and see if any of you are smarter than me and know the answer without having read the book.

The Riddle

There are 2 doors, and in front of each door is a guard.  One guard always tells the truth, while one guard always lies.  One door leads to JK Rowling and a treasure trove of Harry Potter stuff for life while the other door leads to life serving Lord Voldemort.  You do not know which door is which, and you do not know which guard is which.  You can only ask one question, and to only one guard, and then you have to choose.  What question do you decide to ask?  And then which door do you pick?  Why?

Please respond in the comments if you will.  If there are no answers, or no correct answers, by Monday, I will post the answer!

Mysteriously yours,

lindsayF

P.S.  Every time I turn on the TV, and it’s a news program, and they’re talking about the flooding in the Midwest, they always report from an Iowa town.  I think that’s funny- that they only are reporting from Iowa…not that the Midwest is flooded, and is going to get even more flooded.

Six Random Things About Jen

1.  I have a birthmark on my left knee that looks like a tree.

2.  When I was in preschool I broke my right wrist because I jumped off the coffee table pretending to be Tarzan.  I walked around for three days and did everything with my left hand until my Grandma finally took me to the doctor and we found out it was broken (my mom still feels guilty about this, but what can I say?  I was one tough cookie).

3.  I love, love, loooove strawberry milk and drink at least four giant glasses a week.

4.  I have a growing collection of pitchers that I am very proud of.  There are some really old cool ones and one of them that I painstakingly pieced back together after it shattered in the parking lot (that is my favorite).  Maybe I will post pictures some time to bore all of your socks off.

5.  I was on the golf team in high school for one year.  It was pretty much an excuse for me and my friends to go to the golf course after school and giggle over all of the hotties.  I only played in one match (are they called matches???) and it took me and my friends so long to finish that everyone else was waiting on the bus by the time we got done.

6.  In my tiny one bedroom apartment I have 23 movie posters on the walls.  We are talking full size official movie posters.  For those of you who are curious here is a list of all 23:  Moulin Rouge, Notting Hill, Becoming Jane, Hot Fuzz, Holes, Shaun of the Dead, Chronicles of Narnia, 10 Things I Hate About You, Fever Pitch, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Wimbledon, 40-Year-Old Virgin, ET, Ever After, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (3), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2).

Proof

Game on

amberj.

Twilight has left me frazzled

So me being a future librarian and Lindsay being a crazy fast reader means that I’m constantly urging her to read this or that–basically using her as a test case for how good my reader advisory skills are. Well, everyone I know (well everyone I know who reads YA fiction) has been telling us to read Twilight for the past year or so–Jenn and Sarah being the most vocal. I was eager to get to it and put it at the top of my list–which only means that I picked up up every time I went to the bookstore and felt immense tempt to purchase it, but knowing that it would sit on my bookshelf for a looooong time because there are ALOT of books at the top of my list. I was always baffled though why Lindsay had not read the series yet–she is the fastest reader I know, and being an engineering student with lots lots and lots of homework but little reading, meant that most of her reading was fun reading. She just never seemed interested–readers can be very fickle. I know, I am. Or maybe it just wasn’t time yet–it seems like books can sense when it is their time to be loved. Well, for Lindsay, the Twilight time has come. for sure. Which I’m sure all our faithful readers could tell from her last several posts. And that means I and Lindsay are going to go crazy for awhile. Why? because although Lindsay is already on her re-reads of the series, I just finished Twilight last night (at around 1am) and will probably not get to the rest of the series until summer.

I can hear several of you gasping–”Omg, how can she wait that long to read the next one????!!!!” well for two reasons:

1. being a library student means I have a lot of reading to do already and am lucky to get one free-reading book in per month (I’m very very slow. and I like TV. and the internet.)

and this second reason pains me

2. I don’t really feel the urge to. there, I said it. I’m soooo not obsessed with Twilight after reading it. I loved it–absolutely, positively loved it. I couldn’t put it down–my heart panged and stung and beat really really hard. I was scared out of my mind to take my eyes off the last hundred pages because I was sure to see the vampire James sitting calmly across the room from me (it was very very late at night). But…sigh, I felt very little emotion when I finished–

All of my favorite books I ever read have haunted me afterwards–have left me feeling like I was not the same–like I had experienced something. Basically, I’m immediately a little shaken and crazy for a bit which subsides but then a little part of me always holds on to that feeling. My gosh, after reading the seventh Harry Potter I was an emotional wreck for weeks. I’m still so shaken by that book that I have yet to feel ready yet to reopen it. After reading “The Golden Compass” I swear I can feel a little fox daemon wrapped cozily around my heart. “I Capture the Castle”–my favoritest book ever– makes my heart race just thinking about it. I knew who I was after reading that book.

So I was very disappointed when, after finishing “Twilight,” I made an easy return to reality. Yes, I was very shaken and my heart felt frazzled and I tossed and turned before going to bed–but I felt like the book stirred me up and then left, just left! leaving my heart very confused on what was going on. So confused that I felt an intense need to read “I Capture the Castle” (and not “New Moon” the sequel to “Twilight” weird) in order to get my heart all confused and tortured and thrilled for the good long time it was expecting.

soooo boooo! I wanted to be all obsessed with Edward and Bella, too–like the rest of the world. And although I am very interested, I feel like I’m interested in the way I’m interested in Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson’s relationship. . . Maybe I’m just too distracted right now. Maybe it just wasn’t my time. I’m sure the obsession will come, right? golly.

amberj.

YouTubin’ It Up

As I was perusing the Internet (very slowly on my sad old computer) I found a lovely little link to the YouTube Awards 2007. I thought I would share two of my favorite videos from the bunch…….now I haven’t watched all the nominees, just the adorable ones really, and a few of the comedy.

Here is my choice for the comedy category (obviously):

But here is the video that really stole my heart and had me laughing my bum off:

It almost makes me not dislike children…………almost.

If you get the chance, I would also recommend the Otters Holding Hands or the Talking Cats videos.

Jen

What I do not <3.

I just have to say that I am pretty good at attending all of my classes.  Except for Organic Chemistry Lab Lecture.  It is at 11:30 on Friday afternoon, and as of today I have attended a grand total of 2 lectures (today’s and the first one).  Of course everyone attends the first lecture of any class (usually), so I shouldn’t really get any points for that one.  The problem with this class is mainly that it is at 11:30.  I get done with class or lab at 11:20 Monday through Thursday, and then I go eat lunch right away.  I get hungry at like 11:10 every day.  I think I don’t really have to say anything more - you all can probably figure this one out.

But today I went because I was supposed to meet up with my lab partner and exchange some GC data from like 2 weeks ago.  She was the one who emailed me last night and said that we should meet up at lecture.  Not me.  I would have preferred to just meet in dark alley at like 2 a.m. rather than at lecture but whatever. And guess what I do not <3.  She didn’t show up.  So I went to lecture and starved to death while being pummeled to death by boredom for NOTHING.  Actually that is not true because halfway through the lecture I stuck my headphones back in my ears and listened to Goblet of Fire (just after the Yule Ball where Ron and Hermione fight!).  So then I called her after lecture and she didn’t answer.  Ugh.  I so do not <3 this.

<3, lindsayd.

Cheering Charms for Everyone!

Huzzah!!! It’s Universal Harry Potter Day!!!!  

I’m wearing my Whompy t-shirt, I’m listening to Wizard Rock on my iPod, my wand is in my pocket, I’ll be hanging out at the Leaky Cauldron, casa de Rowling, and the HP Alliance all day, I’ll probably watch some Wizard People, Dear Reader, I’ll dream about Terminus and LeakyCon, I’ll meet with my HP Reading Group to record a nerd debate for the NerdGirlTalking Podcast, and I’ll eat hotdogs and drink cherry coke. Gosh what a wonderful day!!!!

Cheerio!

amberj
Proud Harry Potter Fangirl since 1999

oooh, and fyi: tomorrow is International Beatles Appreciation Day!