I know you're probably sick of these, but I can't help it- this was too good to not post..  I found another review of Twilight.

My favorite excerpt:

"How are we supposed to buy that a girl with no real personality, who keeps reiterating that she's not beautiful or special in any way, somehow attracts the attention of nearly every eligable male in the school, including the previously unattainable Edward?"

THANK YOU!!!  That's EXACTLY one of the many things I've been trying to say.  That's exactly why Bella fails as the "everywoman" she is supposed to be.  That, and the fact that she is so effortlessly the best student in the school.  

I've done some more digging for intelligent critiques of Twilight and found the_venom_apple , which in turn led me to this article, the sort of article I was about to write.  It gives a feminist perspective to Twilight, and it highlights precisely the ways in which Twilight is just so disturbing.

There's another article you must read.

As I said on The Venom Apple group:

The only thing I would add to that article: In addition to the "main" pseudo- abusive relationships (Bella/Edward and Bella/Jacob)- we also see a romanticized actually abusive relationship on the side. I am talking of course, about Sam's relationship with Emily.

Here's another one.

I was going to write a scathing review of the Twilight series, but apparently someone else has already done it for me. 

I may still write one anyway...just read that one for now.  Please.  Read it. 

Happy World Tapir Day!   Click on the image for more information!




 

It has been many years since the founding of this [much neglected] journal.  This entry is devoted to explaining the origins of this journal....

Ohhh...where to begin?

Ok, I guess this whole thing starts on a little Mugglenet Forum I used to post on called the New Clues 6 Discussion Forum, which I'm pretty sure is now defunct.  It was a forum Mugglenet had set up to discuss the Harry Potter books (pre-HBP that is) using the methods described in Galadriel Waters' New Clues to Book 6.  I didn't realize this when I first signed up, I thought it was a generalized discussion forum, and had no idea we were supposed to have read a book.  I was able to remain in ignorance because the forum had an area where the New Clues methods didn't have to be used, which is where I did most of my postings.  I'm pretty sure it was the very first online forum I was ever apart of.  Gradually, I became sucked into what became known in Harry Potter fandom as the "Ship Wars" (Ship is derived from relationship).  There were two camps in these Ship Wars- the camp that believed Harry/Hermione would get together, and the camp that believed Ron/Hermione would get together.  There were also secondary ships associated with these two parties.  Harmonians* (a nickname for Harry/Hermione supporters) often paired Ron up with Luna, and Herons (a nickname given to Ron/Hermione supporters**) paired Harry up with Ginny or Luna.

I was a staunch Ron/Hermione supporter, and I was one of quite a few.  One day, I received a private message from one of my comrades-in-arms inviting me to join a Yahoo group for the Heron army.  I accepted the invitation. 

Fast forward a few years.

HBP has just come out.  JKR has given an interview with the webmaster and the webmistress of the two most prominent Harry Potter fan sites.  During the interview, when the topic of the Ship Wars came up JKR confirmed that the true canon Ship would be Ron and Hermione, and that she had left "anvil"-sized hints for the ship throughout the series.  It was at that particular juncture, upon pressure from my comrades-in-arms in the Yahoo group, that I founded this journal and called it The House of Anvils.  That is also why my logo/mascot, was, at first, an anvil.

Writing this has made me realize the rather ignoble fact that I could write volumes about the Ship Wars, and I wasn't even that enthusiastic of a participant.  In fact, I was relatively apathetic, when it came to the Wars themselves (i.e. those taking place on the forums).  This was a pretty quick gloss, I mostly just wanted to tell you how I came to starting this journal. 

*Derived, loosely, from a combination of the names Harry and Hermione.

**Derived from a combination of the names of Hermione and Ron.

If you've seen Nacho Libre and Harry Potter movies 1-4, this video is hilarious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TVNK7IiR3U

I just bought the first book in the series and will start it as soon as I finish another book (The Handmaid's Tale).  I know the basic plot details and I hear it is like a new Harry Potter, except with more romance.  Has anyone here read it?  What did you think? 

In related news, less Americans read for pleasure these days.  Note: That study defined books as "literature" or fiction, and therefore excluded people who might regularly read non-fiction.

...and have been called to action by one of my favorite bloggers, I am posting this letter by congresswoman Louise Slaughter on the rape of Jamie Leigh Jones. So here's the letter:

Dear Friends,

I need your help.

Two years ago, 20 year old Jamie Leigh Jones was drugged, assaulted, and viciously gang raped on the job by her fellow coworkers. Learning of the attack, her employers placed her under armed guard in a shipping container for 24 hours without access to food or water.

Two years later, these horrific acts of unspeakable violence, as well as, the unbelievable reaction by her employers have gone unpunished and justice has not been served.

Why? How this could this happen? Because the 20 year old victim was a government contractor at KBR in the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq.

Jamie Leigh Jones, an American citizen, while employed by KBR, a former subsidiary of Halliburton was brutally gang raped by fellow KBR employees two years ago while stationed in Iraq. Army doctors performed a medical examination which showed that she had been raped both anally and vaginally. However, the rape kit was turned over to KBR and portions of the rape kit have vanished. Jamie was then ordered by her KBR employers to remain in a shipping container under armed guard for 24 hours without access to food or water until she was rescued after her Member of Congress demanded action by the State Department.

After two years, not only has the Justice Department not brought any criminal charges, but ABC News recently reported that they could not confirm that any federal agency was investigating the case at all.

There are over 20,000 Americans employed by US government contractors in Iraq. These individuals have the same right to treatment, services, and proper investigations when they are the victims of violent crime as those of us here at home. Their offenders, who are paid with American taxpayer dollar, should be held accountable.

Since Jamie has gone public with her story, it is clear that this is not an isolated incident; many women working for US Government contractors face sexual assault and harassment. Yet, the perpetrators of these violent crimes are not held accountable and justice is not served.

The current state of affairs is absolutely unacceptable. Action is required.

This is where I need your help.

I, along with Congressman Ted Poe and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, am taking the first step to ensuring accountability by sending letters to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice demanding answers in the KBR rape cases and asking them to clearly define the steps they are taking to ensure that what happened to Jamie will ever happen again.

I need your help to get your Member of Congress to sign on to these letters. It’s been two years and it is obvious that the Departments of Defense and State are not taking this issue seriously. We need to show them that the House of Representatives demands action.

Please call your Member of Congress as soon as possible and ask them to contact me, Louise M. Slaughter, to sign on to the letters to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice demanding answers about the KBR rape cases and how they plan to prevent these occurrences in the future.

With your help, we can take the first step to preventing what happened to Jamie from ever happening again.

In solidarity,

Louise M. Slaughter

Member of Congress

Happy Belated New Year everyone! 

And now for the sweetest video I've ever seen:

I will be leaving for home next Friday, the 21st.  My college gives me Christmas and the whole month of January off , which is really nice, especially since my high school used give me only a week. 

So what would I like for Christmas?

1.) I Am America and So Can You- Stephen Colbert (anyone read this already?  What did you think?)

2.) Best of the Colbert Report- DVDs

3.) Music- any really

4.) The Handmaid's Tale- Margaret Atwood (anyone read this? What did you think?)

Yes! I am alive! WOOT!

Wow, I can't believe my last entry was from August 2006. *shame* :-*| *says in Winky voice* I is a bad journal mommy. I has no excuse. I is shameful. My profound apologies to my friends, those who were worried, feared I had perished or forgot I ever existed.

At least I can say I have not been neglecting my duties as a Harry Potter fan. I did acquire book 7 as soon as it came out, and could not put it down until I finished. I also watched Order of The Phoenix in a timely fashion. I thought Deathly Hallows was an excellent conclusion to the series. It managed to be gripping, tragic, poignant and, in the end, triumphant. The deaths, though all horrible (except for Voldemort's and Bellatrix's), all had a certain necessity.

I wish I could say Order of the Phoenix measured up as well. It was after all, the shortest movie of the series about the longest book of the series. They left out and changed way too much for me to forgive. Harry dumps Cho because she was forced-fed Truth Potion? How is that fair? And Sirius LITERALLY calling Harry "James" at the end? Was that really necessary? And then there was the way Sirius died. Couldn't he have just fallen through a curtain like in the book, instead of vanishing slowly in that bizarre portal?

I also want to add that Padfoot is certainly NOT a Scottish Deerhound or an Irish Wolfhound.  I'm not sure which one it was they had playing him this time.   Padfoot is definitely a Newfoundland. 

Hi all!

I've only been back a few days already, and have spent most of my time unpacking, and getting used to the time change. I'm wide awake now, but still getting over a terrible cough (there was a huge rainstorm in Vienna that I was completely unprepared for). Hopefully I'll be over it by pre-orientation time.

The trip was amazing! I can't believe what a range of places I saw! I went from Dublin to Istanbul, from Monaco to Transylvania. I even saw places that most Americans don't even know about: Ohrid, Macedonia, a gorgeous lake resort town, the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria or the Gargano Peninsula in Italy (that's on the "spur" of the boot). I was even in Italy when they won the World Cup! I was in this town in Tuscany called San Gimignano, and they had a big projector screen in the town square and just about everyone in the town was watching the game there. The whole square went wild when Italy won! I don't think we get nearly that crazy over baseball!

But now, it is back to reality. Pre-orientation starts on August 29th. Neither pre-orientation nor orientation sound very exciting but atleast I might get a peak at my dorm room.

P.S Andrea, I got your letter and friended your Smithie friend. I don't have any questions at the moment, but I will ask her if any come to me!

1.) I graduated from high school yesterday!!! The ceremony was held in the auditorium of a local state college because our school gym was too small. I got my diploma and afterwards my family and I went to the Four Seasons (a really fancy restaurant in the city). It is hard to believe that I'm actually a high school graduate. It is I'm finally done with this major part of my life. I've been with this school district my whole life and it is hard to believe that I'm finally leaving it. Next year, I'll be with different people, different teachers and in a totally different environment. It is sad in a way. I'm almost sorry that we're leaving for Europe, since this summer would be a nice time catch up with friends for the last time.

2.) I have recently downloaded this interesting new program called Google Earth. It has satellite images of practically every place on Earth. It is really fun to play with!

3.) I think I'm going to try to quit CoS. It has become something of an addiction, and since I do want to graduate from college, I think it would be best if I stayed away from the forum as much as possible. I don't really see many of you on CoS anyway, so I don't think you'll be too upset by this. I just thought you should know. Of course, I'll continue to post here on LiveJournal.

4.) The trip to Europe is in about 10 days (I'm leaving July 1st). I'll be coming back August 14. Obviously, I won't be posting here for that time.

Your Linguistic Profile::

50% General American English

35% Yankee

10% Dixie

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

Yes, I know that adds up to 95. Don't ask.

Not much is new really, since the last time I wrote. My cast is off, I'm going to physical therapy and school is pretty much over. I don't have to go to class anymore because my school has the seniors go on internships for the last two months of school. My internship is at a publishing company in my town. It publishes websites and newsletters for small businesses and what my boss does is take articles from CPA journals and rewrites them for his magazine. He's having me do some of the work, and I get a by line! It is actually alot more fun than I thought it would be. I basically simplify the articles and make them relevant to a small business person.

Other than that, I really can't think of anything else to say. There isn't much to say about physical therapy. My therapist is a nice, Philipino man. I see him on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. He makes me do exercises there and tells me to do them at home.

I'm sure there's more to write. I feel really sleepy now, so my mind is pretty blank. I'll probably write some more later....

Ok, I just remembered something: my plans for the summer!

1.) Smith is making me read a book called Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, the Man Who Would Cure the World. Part of our orientation is going to be discussing the book and meeting with the author. From the little I've read of it, it doesn't seem like such a bad book. It is about this incredibly dedicated doctor who works tirelessly trying to help sick people in Haiti. My mom wants to read it too.

2.) My family and I are going to be all over Europe this summer, mostly Italy and Eastern Europe. First, we're flying to Dublin, and spending about 6 hours there. Then we're flying to Paris, and from there we're renting a car. From there, we plan to go to the very south of Italy and take a ferry to Greece. Then we plan to drive north on the Eastern coast of Bulgaria, through Romania and then Hungary. We just have to return the car in Vienna, and then take the train back to Budapest. And then we're flying home from Budapest.

Is there any chance I might run into any of you on this great journey?

You make a wand and try to use it.

You call your least favorite teacher Snape.

You call your favorite teacher Dumbledore.

You wear robes to school or work.

You make "floo powder", get in the fire, and try to go to your friends' house.

You have read all the books more than four hundred times.- Me

You've been bookstore at midnight to get the latest Harry Potter book before all your friends.... And then you stayed up all night wearing it.

You've worn a Harry Potter costume in public.

You have a crush on one of the Harry Potter characters.

You've gotten at least one of your friends addicted to Harry Potter. -Me

You actually caught the "Wand Order" mistake before you heard/read about it.

You are upset at the New York Times for creating a seperate childrens best seller list because of the Harry Potter books. -err, wasn't aware that they did that-

Using clues in the book, you have attempted to find the exact geographical location of Hogwarts.

You have constructed a timeline of events in the Harry Potter books.

You have attempted to figure out the exact ages of all the Weasley children? -Me

You have spent time contemplating which main characters will die by the time the series is over.- Everyone here

You've been to see all the Harry Potter movies on opening night. (Bonus points for standing in line in costume!)
I don't get the bonus points but I definitely did that!

You've read Harry Potter fanfic.- Me

You've written Harry Potter fanfic.

You run a Harry Potter fansite.- Me

You visit The Leaky Cauldron daily.

You've met other Harry Potter fans from online in real life.

You've participated in a Harry Potter RPG.- Me

You've dreamed about Harry Potter.-Me

You have a Harry Potter poster on your wall.

Each Halloween, there's no question what you'll dress up as...!

You've spent time doing a timeline to see if you would have been old enough to date a certain character when you were in high school.

You've vacationed to London, simply to search for the Leaky Cauldron.

You own a black lab named Sirius Black.

You've knitted a Weasley sweater or Harry Potter scarf.

You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends who are addicted to Harry Potter.- HAHAHA

Some others:

When you go on ebay and buy a harry potter jacket for $90 (the one they sold at hot topic thats from goblet of fire movie)

Going to noblecollection.com and buying yourself a replic triwizard champion cup.

Owning a replica harry potter wand.

When the only flashlight you own is a wand replica

When you decided that Harry is ruining your chances of getting into college so you decide to give it up for Lent.

You wear anklets that you made representing the four houses.

All the passwords on you computer are HARRY POTTER related! - Me

Your license plate says: APAR8NG

You make a wand in ceramics class to take to the premier

When someone says, ridiculous and you point your arm out like you are holding a wand and yell "riddikulus!"