Book Survey

I have nothing really to say, except I have a new video up on StephandEmmy, and that you should go watch and comment. :]

Also, I'm copying hayleyghoover again, and I'm doing this lovely book survey she posted on her blog. :]

1. What author do you own the most books by?

Jo Rowling. I have ten books by her, and multiple copies of ALL seven Potter books.

2. What book do you own the most copies of?
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (original decrepit hardcover, well-worn paperback, spanish translation copy, 10th anniversary edition). Unless you count all the Lord of the Rings books my dad owns, or the massive amounts of Bibles in my house, but of the books I exclusively own, Sorcerer's Stone.

3. Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?
No, that's how most people talk.

4. What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
There are no secrets here. Everyone who knows me knows that I'm madly in love with the Tenth Doctor, Harry Potter and Edmund Pevensie. And I realize one is from a TV show, but he still counts because I adore him.

5. What book have you read the most times in your life (excluding picture books read to children; i.e., Goodnight Moon does not count)?
Ehhh, I'm going to sound like a child here. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I lost count after 12 times. It's probably closer to 16 now. I promise, I have read other books!

6. What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?
Ella Enchanted by Gale Carson Levine and Harry Potters 1-3.

7. What is the worst book you've read in the past year?
That's a good question. If we're only counting from January, probaby House of Dark Shadows by Robert Liparulo, and it wasn't even that bad. I just didn't enjoy it as much as the other books I've read this year.

8. What is the best book you've read in the past year?
Paper Towns by John Green and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Oh! And Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard. If that counts, because it's really a play, so I'm not sure.

9. If you could force everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?
*makes uncomfortable writhing noises because you're trying to make her choose bits of her soul*

10. What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
Most movies from books aren't particularly good, so I'm reluctant to see any movie adaptation of books I love. I guess no answer here. COP OUT, I know. Sorry. :[

11. What book would you least like to see made into a movie?
Off the top of my head, probably The Hunger Games. It's contained perfectly in my head! Don't ruin it for me!

12. Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character.
I once dreamed that I was Legolas, and I was running around with the Fellowship, and Aragorn and I had to get up this really big cliff thing, and there happened to be a giant, sleeping Galadriel at the base of the cliff thing who lifted us up to the top. Nice of her, really.

13. What is the most lowbrow book you've read as an adult?
Yeah, probably Twilight. Unless I read Eragon after I turned 18...

14. What is the most difficult book you've ever read?
Wuthering Heights. I never finished it. I feel like I should because it's a classic, but I just...couldn't get into it.

15. What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you've seen?
I've never seen his obscure plays performed! Only the mainstream ones. :[

16. Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
Oh, this is the part of the survey where I begin to question my standing amongst the literati. Haven't read enough of either to be able to say, unfortunately.

17. Roth or Updike?
I'm sorry....I haven't read either.... *hides*

18. David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?
Myeh, I feel inadequate. Haven't read them either.

19. Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
SHAKESPEARE! Because I love him.

20. Austen or Eliot?
Ooh...um...Austen, I suppose. Yes.

21. What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
I haven't read nearly enough classics. Actually, most embarrassing is probably that I haven't read The Catcher in the Rye. But I will! I promise!

22. What is your favorite novel?
RIGHT AT THIS MOMENT, they are as follows: Harry Potter (all of them, but with particular emphasis on Deathly Hallows and Prisoner of Azkaban), Paper Towns, The Hunger Games, Ella Enchanted and the Abhorsen Trilogy (by Garth Nix).

23. Play?
Much Ado About Nothing, probably. Love Shakespeare.

24. Poem?
Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost; Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas (which is a recent find but most definitely makes this list); and Shakespeare's 116th sonnet. <3 I also the The Second Coming by Yeats.

25. Essay?
I don't really read essays outside of school.

26. Work of nonfiction?
Well, Melissa Anelli's Harry, A History made me cry about four times, so I guess it takes top bill right now.

27. Who is your favorite writer?
NOT FAIR! :[ I can't choose! I do love Jo, though. Quite a bit. I suppose I could go with her.

28. Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
Stephenie Meyer. Hey, I like Twilight well enough, but let's face it.

29. What is your desert island book?
Um, probably that book I've read near 16 times....

30. And... what are you reading right now?
Devilish by Maureen Johnson, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by Jo Rowling, and An Abundance of Katherines by John Green.

See you soon! <3
Emily

About Time, Martha!

Martha is gone. Quite right, too. It was honestly the smartest thing she did all series. And I'm not just saying that out of hate. I'm saying it because it's true. Because she's not very clever, she just isn't. She's fiesty, oh yes, I'll give her that, and she's determined, but she's not clever. Her little speech about her friend right before she left shows that leaving really was the smartest thing she did all series. Because she can't make him love her, and she's FINALLY realized that. Thank the lord.

Anyway, I feel sad for the Doctor because he's all alone again, and he doesn't want to be alone. Now that the Master and Martha have both left him. But from what I hear, Donna will be along soon.

Soooo, yes. Series 3 complete! On to series 4!

I'll get a life again soon, don't worry. The last week, however, has been consumed with Doctor Who. I didn't even make it to church tonight because of heavy rain and a flooded street, so there really has been no social life for me.

See you soon!
Emily <3

Story of a Doctor

I don't think I've ever really talked about my love for Doctor Who here before except for once when I called David Tennant attractive (because he most certainly is)...hang on...yeah, I just checked and that's about it. Besides the original trock lyrics I posted in the same blog, and then I think twice previous to that in a very passing way. SO I believe it's high time.

I-FREAKING-LOVE-DOCTOR-WHO!!! Very very much!

I can recall seeing my very first episode of Doctor Who while surfing channels. I couldn't find anything to watch, and as I passed the SciFi channel, I saw that Doctor Who was on. I'd heard a bit about it, but didn't really know anything about it at all. I did, however, immediately recognize the man who played the Doctor as Claude (one of my favorite characters) from my then-favorite program, Heroes. It was Series 1, Ninth Doctor, episode 3: "The Unqueit Dead". I only caught the last half or so, but I enjoyed it well enough. I thought it was entertaining, and I really liked the characters. I didn't watch any after that for a long time, though.

I kept hearing from friends that I should watch it, and I had every intention to...once my schedule cleared up a bit. I had other shows to keep up with, after all. I'd get into it later. Then some of my favortie YouTubers were talking about it...a lot. And so I made firm plans with my sister (this was sometime early this year) that we would start with Series 1 as soon as the summer started. After telling a friend of mine this, she transferred all Tenth Doctor episodes from an external hard drive she had onto my computer. I know had no excuse.

We had every intention of starting in May as we'd planned...until Easter. There were a lot of people in our house and we weren't really enjoying any of their company, to be frank. So my sister and I stole away to her upstairs room and started watching the first series on Netflix. We watched about four episodes in a row that afternoon. We'd soon learn that we'd never ever be able to watch just one a go.

We finished the first series pretty quickly, and moved right on to the second. I was aprehensive about having a new Doctor after I'd become SO fond of the Ninth one. The only thing I'd ever seen David Tennant in was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and I knew he was brilliant in it, but I just didn't know if I'd love him as much as Christopher Eccleston. And then he was unconcious for half the episode and I couldn't even get used to him! I was very whiny and upset...until David Tennant woke up. He started asking very seriously and in the middle of a crisis whether he was ginger, he ignored the imminent danger while joyously greeting a very bemused crowd, and then...he stole my heart. He referenced The Lion King, and the absolute perfection and brilliance of his delivery of that beautiful line had me hook, line and sinker. I was officially a David Tennant fan. My sister and I had to pause the video for a good 4-6 minutes as we laughed uproariously and uncontainably because we couldn't hear the dialogue over our own laughter.

Well, we had a very busy period for a while, and after watching "The Girl in the Fireplace" with a friend on a plane in late May, we didn't watch any for a while. And by a while, I mean over two months. Finally, a few days ago, we decided it was time to get back into it. We watched episodes 5-7 of Series 2 one night, and then 8-11 the next. But we knew Rose was leaving in the last one. We didn't know why or how, but we knew she'd be gone. We didn't WANT her to be gone! I adore Rose! I love her oh! so very much, and I don't want her to leave! We didn't want to watch the last two that night anyway, since we'd stayed up far too late as it was, so we thought we'd watch them the next day. We didn't. We put it off for a few days, and then finally decided to rip the bandaid off tonight. I mean, I was legitimately stressing IRL about Rose leaving. "But the Doctor loves her!" I'd protest. "And she loves him! They need to beeee together!"

Nevertheless, tonight I knew it was time. We fretted and made worried noises all through "Army of Ghosts", and then it was on to "Doomsday".

I've never cried so hard at a television show. I've never been so emotionally invested in a television show. Usually, even if a storyline makes me cry, as soon as the program is over, I'm over it too. Not this time. We cried. We made tea. We moaned to our family about how UNEARTHLY SAD it was. We cried some more. It's not fair. It's so sad! It's not FAIR!

And no spoilers, please. I really want to experience this show in as unspoiled a way as possible. I'm aware that there are supposed to be more things that happen with Rose, but I don't know what they are and I want to keep it that way! I'm just...very very sad about Rose leaving. I love her. <333

:[

We watched "The Runaway Bride" and "Smith and Jones" tonight too. And I got sadder every time the Doctor remembered Rose. I also cried again when he said her name at the end of "The Runaway Bride." I got very confused because I was sure my friends had told me that Donna was NOT the Doctor's next companion, but then she didn't go with him and it made sense.

Donna is kind of cool, except she's kind of annoying sometimes, but I could see myself liking her in the future.

I hate Martha. She has stupid hair. And she's not clever except a few occasional ideas she has. She's actually really daft, mostly. I hate her. I also realize my hatred for her is completely unfounded, but I don't care. She's not Rose, and she's trying to replace Rose, therefore I hate her. Rawr.

Sooo, yes. That's my Doctor Who story to date. I loooove this show. I want to marry the Tenth Doctor. 'Nough said.

However, I do want to say something. As I was going through my blog to see if I'd ever written about Doctor Who before, I came across this entry, in which I talk briefly about Doctor Who (Series 1), and then talk a little about what fictional character I relate most to. I didn't have a very good answer, because I mostly just talked about to characters I WANT to relate to. Well, now I have an answer: The fictional character I relate most to is Rose Tyler from Doctor Who. I get her. I'm a lot like her. I understand. That is my answer. Rose Tyler. That's probably why I love her so much. And why I'm so sad at hear leaving.

Sigh.

Goodnight, internets.
Emily <3

Half-Blood Prince REDUX

I have now seen HBP for the second time. I have to say: I LOVED IT SOOOO MUCH!!! I mean, I loved it the first time, but I LOOOOOVED it the second time! I want to smother it in huggles. I still miss the things I missed the first time, but I've accepted the fact that they're not there.

I do, however, have to make one correction to my last post: Snape DID react to being called a coward! He didn't freak out, book!Snape style, but movie!Snape has always been slightly more menacing and slightly less heated than book!Snape. Movie!Snape has ALWAYS been about the facial expressions (the first time he saw Harry, anyone?), so it only makes sense that his reaction would be all in his face! There's just a little moment, right after Harry calls him a coward, where his expression changes so he looks hurt and angry instead of stiff and villianous. Rachel and I were very happy to see that.

So yes, I had a ton of other thoughts, but I have things I need to do tonight. :]

P.S. I definitely cried longer and harder than I did last time. :/ That wand lighting scene is still too beautiful and perfect for words. I got choked up just talking about it.

The DWQ

I have been SO behind in MaNoWriMo (it's like NaNoWriMo, but just me, my family and my friends, and it's in July...yeah) that it's just been really discouraging, and I wasn't sure if I could catch up. I'd been writing 1,612 words a day and it was going pretty well until I missed about four days in a row thanks to other life events and then there was the unavoidable Potter distraction (where you can't think about ANYTHING but Harry Potter for the 48 hours before you see Half-Blood Prince), plus I was starting to feel like everything I was writing was crap and I wasn't getting into the real story and I felt like I would NEVER get there, and everything was just a mess.

So today I reevaluted the whole situation, redistributed my Daily Word Quota (I'm now writing 2,350 words a day to keep up...yikes), and decided to just plod on through. I wrote 300-500 words after dinner, but I've been pretty much feeling like crap all day, so I didn't get THAT much done.

I really should be sleeping. I know I should. But I just wanted to write a little bit more before bed so I wouldn't be SO behind, and I probably would have stopped after writing around 1,300 words today, but it just didn't feel right. I had a good idea for the next segment, and I just wanted to do a little more.

I ended up writing a whole dramatic action scene (which was actually pretty good, I think), and an importnant plot point, AND a big revelation scene which neatly finished of Chapter 4! AND I EXCEEDED MY DWQ!!!!

Yaaaaay for meeeee!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Review

I'm just back from seeing HBP at midnight, and these would be my thoughts on it. If you haven't seen it yet, know that I really liked it and STOP HERE. THERE ARE SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT!

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Are they gone? Hopefully we're now left with people who have seen the movie and don't care that I'm about to lay it all out in a blog post.

First things first, I loved it. I really did. It was obviously not 100% perfect, but it was amazing and beautiful and I really loved it.

That being said, there WERE four major points that were left out of the movie that I really missed.
1. The Tonks/Lupin storyline. They are one of my favorite couples in the books, and I appreciate that they at least mentioned that they're together, but I love the sub-plot and how it reaches its climax at the end and we see a glimpse of love amid death and darkness.
2. Okay, the scene in the Room of Requirement was sweet, I guess, but I REALLY wanted to see the Harry/Ginny kiss after the Quidditch match! I missed that a lot. I also wish there had been more happy-together moments for these two since they're going to be separated for the next long while.
3. In the trailer, Harry has a line where he says "I won't need luck, I'll be with Dumbledore," and in the book, Dumbledore tells Harry, "I am not worried, Harry, I am with you." Neither of these lines were in the film. Both have the same sentiment, they portray a deep faith both characters have in one another. You sort of got that from their interactions, but not as intensely as it would have been if either of them had actually verbally expressed this faith.
4. Dumbledore's funeral. There wasn't one. I would have liked one. HOWEVER, the death scene was absolutely BEAUTIFUL and it almost made up for this one.

Which leads me right into talking about said death scene. I have never liked Michael Gambon's Dumbledore. Richard Harris was not exactly how I imagine Dumbledore, but Michael Gambon has never been ANYTHING like I imagine Dumbledore. Until now. He still wasn't exactly right, and he still had some odd moments, but I found myself actually liking Dumbledore through most of this movie*. This was helpful, because I really wanted to be able to mourn his death and not just be like, "Eh, alright, at lease we don't have to deal with HIM anymore." When Harry came back, and all of the students and teachers were just standing there in shock and grief, I started to mourn. When Ginny broke free of the crowd to hold a shaking Harry and tears rolled down Hermione's face, I started to sniffle. When a tearful McGonnagall raised her lit wand, followed by Madam Pompfrey, followed by Luna and by Ron and then the entire crowd of grieving students and teachers, standing with each other in a moment honoring the man who'd brought them all together and taught them so much about life and magic and love, and the Dark Mark began to disappear as the light shone through its darkness, I lost it. Most of the theater lost it. This moment was beautiful and moving beyond words. The following shots of empty, broken Hogwarts that were accompanied by silence in the soundtrack, were joined by silence in the theater. This theater which was full of people who giggled and tittered and hissed and moaned and yelled after EVERY TINY LITTLE PLOT POINT, was silent but for the sounds of several hundred people quietly sniffling or pulling themselves together.

I also REALLY enjoyed the Felix Felicis scenes. Harry was absolutely freaking brilliant in these. I loved his sass!

Actually, I would like to take a moment to say that the acting across the board was VERY impressive, but particularly Daniel Radcliffe's (Harry Potter) and Tom Felton's (Draco Malfoy). Both of them were absolutely OUTSTANDING. The little things Dan Radcliffe added to the character, tiny facial movements, little expressions and reactions, were just SO perfect and really made Harry seem very real and very relatable, and were just freaking BRILLIANT. Tom Felton hasn't had much of a role up till now except for skulking, sneering and screaming, and suddenly he's handed this hugely important, emotional role and he pulls it off FANTASTICALLY. The acting from these two guys especially was just superb. Really excellent.

Some scenes I particularly like:
The sectumsempra scene. I thought it was really well done -- very edgy and angsty and really emotionally charged as it should be.
The scene where Harry first comes to the Burrow. I loved how Ginny found his belongings and then almost everyone in the house started poking their heads out of the staircase.
The scene when Harry takes the Felix and then sneaks up on Slughorn and sasses him. XD "Harry!" "Sir!"
The scene when Slughorn gives Harry the memory (the whole Felix sequence, actually, but I'm already said that). I really adored the addition of the fish story. It was so well-placed and really added to the emotion of the scene.
The love potion scene. Rupert was hilarious. 'Nuff said.
Hermione's birds and boys. It was funny when that was called for, but the whole "How does it feel?" "It feels like this." conversation was SO well done (again, props to Dan for the acting skillz and ALSO to Emma!), and really sweet and sad at the same time. I've never been a H/Hr shipper partly because I LOVEANDADORE R/Hr and H/G and partly because I love the two of them as sibling-like friends, and I really liked the glimpse into their sibling-like relationship in this movie.
The Snape/Dumbledore argument. It was short but really really well done.
The way the camera followed Draco after Dumbledore's death. It could have followed Harry (and it did, some), but following Draco was just sheer brilliance. All the other Death Eaters around him are celebrating and pretty much frolicking with joy at their victory, but all he looks is scared and sad and lost and alone. Surrounded by people, but alone. It was perfect.

I'm sure there are dozens more, but that's all I can think of for the time being. Because it's almost 5am. :]

A few things I wish there had been more expansion/explanation of:
Horcruxes. I get this one because there just WASN'T TIME, but it would have been nice for Harry to know a bit more of what he was supposed to do before Dumbledore kicked it and left him alone to figure it out. I mean I almost feel like we should be expecting Zefron posters. :P Not really, but still.
The Riddle memories. I wanted all of them. The ones we got were good, but if time were no object, I would have loved seeing all of the memories (side note: why wasn't movie 2 Tom Riddle in this?! He was so good!)
Lupin/Tonks, and I said that, so I'll shut up.
Sweet, happy moments for Harry and Ginny, but I said that too.
Snape. He should've had more face time.
The Half-Blood Prince? I mean, it was sort of like "Yeah, idk who he is, so hwat?" "Btw, it's me." "O hai." Would have been nice to have more mystery and buildup to that big reveal at the end.
I WANTED SNAPE TO LOOSE IT! I mean there's a REASON why, in the book he flips out when Harry calls him a coward. He didn't flip out. That scene was still REALLY GOOD, but he didn't flip out which made me a little bit sad-panda-ish.
The Hogwarts battle scene. I know the big one isn't until the end of DH, but there wasn't even a LITTLE one. :[

I really liked the way they built up the sort of to-and-fro tension that is Ron and Hermione, because we'll need that later on. Also, the way they isolated Ron at the end was sort of odd to me at first, but I now realize may be buildup and foreshadowing to what happens during the semester-long camping trip next year.

So, yes. There were things I missed and things I loved, but overall, I REALLY loved this movie. It didn't end on a high note, but it wasn't supposed to. The wand-lighting scene really depicted what Dumbledore fought so long for and what the whole series is about, which is fighting darkness and evil with light and love, and watching Fawkes fly away was a perfect end to the movie. Something has ended, and it's full of sorrow, but we're still here, and we're still fighting.




*To clarify: I FREAKING LOVE BOOK DUMBLEDORE! Lovelovelovelovelove! I just...really don't like Michael Gambon's Dumbledore, so I find it very hard to like movie Dumbledore most of the time

A Hair Problem

I know I'm a horrible blogger. It would be a complete lie to say that there's not much in my life to talk about. Summer is actually usually the busiest time of my year, and this summer is no exception. We're finalizing pre-production for Zombie Nation, getting ready to start filming next week. I got back in town this past Saturday, and while a ton of crap happened while I was away, it still makes me feel exhausted to think about it, so I'm not going to blog about it just yet. I will, perhaps, vlog about it soon.

Anyway, there is one true purpose for this blog today: I need hair advice.

As soon as Zombie Nation is over, I'm pretty sure I want to cut my hair. I love it long, but it's getting hard to manage, and it's June is FL which means it's freaking hot and can only get hotter! I don't think I can handle this mane much longer. But I'm pretty bored of my hair, as I've had it pretty much the same way for a long time, and I want a change. I'm cutting it, sure, but the basic shape will remain the same. I'm not going to do anything to my bangs because I like them. I'm kind of thinking I might want to add blocks of bright color to it. Not anything too dramatic, just some bits throughout and probably the bottom layer of my bangs. I just pitched the idea to my mom, and she's not too thrilled, but willing to think about it. Also, I don't think she'd forbid me from doing it if I payed for it. I think she thinks that, as I'm a 19 year old adult, I can make my own decisions about my hair. She just might not pay for it. Which means I might need to have a job and income before I do this.

But anyway, I'm actually asking you all what color you think I should go with. Red, maybe? Or blue? Pink? I have fairly dark hair, so I'm going to need to ask my friend/stylist about the whole idea. If it's going to be super high-maintenance, I may forgo it altogether, and if I can't dye my hair back to its normal shade (as I'm almost certainly going to need to have it bleached first), then I'll most likely pass.

It's all still very up-in-the-air, but I need color advice! Leave a comment here or even @reply my on twitter, if that's more your thing (@emilymacagy).

Thanks in advance!
Emily <3