Sorry!

Hey faithful followers! Though you may be few in numbers it still means a lot that you stop in and read my blog every once in a while.
That's why I'm issuing my sincere apology for note writing a new post in a long, long time.
I was abroad in Jordan and Greece and I tried to write but it's nearly possible to navigate this site in Arabic and Greek, and even harder to change it back to English.
But that didn't stop me! I wrote some post  the old fashion way... on pencil and paper.
I'm happy to inform you I'll be typing them up and there'll be a surplus in exceedingly nerdy blog posts this week.
So don't be mad too long! :)

Another Potter Post

With around 29 hours to go I figured I could squeeze in another post in anticipation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow Pt. 2.
This time is time a salute to the crew, more specifically the casting directors for the first film.

Now this is where the real wizardry of Harry Potter lies because I'm fairly confident that Susie Figgis, Janet Hirshenson, Jane Jenkins, and Karen Lindsay-Stewart (the first films casting crew) have mastered some form of magic.
Now I'm not sure whether they joined a Wicken brethren, sold their souls to the Devil, or have an affinity for Divination but it's not everyday that you scrap together a group of first time child actors and they all grow up to be damn attractive.

Let's follow some of our favorite characters as they grow up then shall we?

1. Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter

2. Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley 

3. Emma Watson as Hermione Granger

4. Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy

5. Bonnie Wright as Ginny Weasley

6. James and Oliver Phelps as Fred and George Weasley

7. Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood

8. Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom 

In know... WOW!

9. Alfie Enoch and Dean Thomas

10. Devon Murray as Seamus Finnigan

11. Harry Melling as Dudley Dursley

HOLY COW!!!!!!

See what I mean? These casting directors have got some kind of funk. 

But hey, I'm not saying I don't like it. ;D

Oh and I made one for collage just for fun...

12. Richard Bremmer and Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort

Game of the Week: Unseen Paparazzi

It's time I teach you all to play a wonderful little game I made up myself.It's called the Unseen Paparazzi Game.
That's basically a nice way of saying stalking...
This is a great game to play at mass social gatherings, preferably well lit ones, with one or two friends.

What you'll need:
A Camera
A Target (A friend who doesn't know you are at said well lit gathering)
Places to hide



Instructions:

1. Identify target.
2. Stake out gathering area. Where are the places to hide? Are there trees? Signs? Buildings?
3. Follow target around, taking copious amounts of pictures of them, their activities, and their friends. The longer you do this the better! Head on shots are the best.
4. Make sure you are not seen by the target or any of their associates, unless you can signal the associates to not give you away.
5. Don't let the target know of your presence for the entirety of the event.
6. Upon returning home upload all the pictures you've taken onto facebook and tag your target.
7. Watch as hilarity insues!

WARNING:
1. If you're discovered it is extremely embarassing.
2. People who notice you are hiding behind them will make faces at you.
3. If you don't pick the right target you will go down in history as the creepiest person ever, that's right, you'll unseat Crispin Glover.
4. Using flash is risky.
5. Play with too many friends or get cocky and you risk getting caught.


Remember while some call it stalking - we call it love. Now have fun!

This game is for ages 9 and Up.

Countdown to Harry Potter

So with the final installment of the Harry Potter film franchise crossing the ocean on Friday, and watching the London Premiere whilst green with envy, I've been feeling pretty nostalgic.
Harry Potter was just as much a part of growing up for me as ill-fitting clothes, Cartoon Network, Nancy Drew, temporary tattoos, bubbles, and scooby snacks.
My mother and I used to fight over the books, hiding them in our rooms so the other couldn't outpace us and ruin the ending.
I remember countless midnight book and movie releases, and how could I forget Hogwarts Camp?
That's right you're looking at the Head Girl and Quidditch Captain of Ravenclaw two years running, but enough about me, let's get back to this post.I figured I'd choose my favorite scene from each Harry Potter movie.A great excuse to watch them all again. :D
But anyway here we go...

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
The first Harry Potter film had a lot of work to do, not only would its success govern the continuation of the films, but it had to introduce us to the world of magic along with our hero, harry.
There's no better scene to encompass this splendor of new found magic then Harry choosing his wand, oh scrap that, Harry's wand choosing him.

Plus little Harry is so adorable!

2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Ugh... like the book, this one is by far the worst of the series.
It follows my cardinal rule: seconds are always the worst whether it be books, movies, or children.
The only redeeming factor of this movie was Kenneth Branagh's HYSTERICAL performance as the magically inept fraud, Gilderoy Lockhart, on Hogwart's payroll as professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts.

And the best scene... well it's a bunch of scenes actually.
First we have the quidditch match where Harry is tormented by a rogue bludger,

 then Lockhart's attempt to mend Harry's arm,
(No clip so you'll have to make do with this Lockhart montage)

and Madame Pomfrey's zingy one liner, "What'd you aspect? Pumpkin juice?"

3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Another year at Hogwarts and another wondrous DA professor, Remus Lupin!
So it's only logical that my favorite scene is the brief but brilliant encounter between Neville, Lupin, and our dear friend the Boggart.

Ron's isn't too shabby either...

4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
This one has a lot of great scenes, with triwizard tasks, Rita Skeeter, and plain old teen angst.
Seeing as this is the movie where the series really begins to take a turn towards the darker side of magic, it's only fitting that Mad Eye's introduction to the unforgivable curses take first place.

This is a close second though...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIdedTPn7YM&feature=player_embedded

5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix
There's only one scene to choose! The Ministry showdown.

Although any scene with Luna or Umbridge are great too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2v7qR38bbA 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rwf8ron3nxc&feature=related

6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

It keeps getting harder to choose!

I'm going for comic relief this time... and the the winner is the liquid luck scene.

Perhaps that's a bit unfair ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dmqw7a1aRo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZWnv9CvGYk&NR=1 

7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1

Well the whole movie is pretty spectacular but I have to go with the scene where Bellatrix tortures Hermione.
Not because I'm eerily sadistic but because of the performances.

And as for Pt. 2, we'll have to wait and see now won't we?

It's amazing how many people devoted a part of their lives to Harry Potter and somewhat sad that it's all coming to and end.
This isn't the last we'll see of Harry though, because as cheesy as it sounds, it'll always live on in our hearts.

Bonus: A Very Potter Musical
The most romantic couple of all time! Quirrell and Voldemort!

Or Draco...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfm9rrCAdIg

Googly Eyed at Google

Google searches are always a lot more amusing with the help of Google Instant.
I may not be the most tech-savvy person, but I do know Instant is a predictive software designed to make searches easier... but some of its uh, "predictions," are quite interesting.
Hence the amusement!
But hey if you're a skeptic, having never come across such a "prediction" I come bearing examples.
12 to be precise; ranging from odd to genius to downright disturbing.
So marvel with me...

You can learn grammar in school.











I hope you NEVER know where I slept last night.

Them girls are with Chuck Norris, who is everywhere, and the only one who can find Waldo.











You can't own Canadians because slavery was abolished in the US in 1865... and maybe people don't want to be your friend because you're an overweight, dog poisoning, insomniac who wants to enslave Canadians.

I don't think Google is the first resource you should use when trying to find a lost child.

Even Google knows our primal urges!

Oh dear. Wow!

You say "where may" and you don't know where to find roads. Do you live in this dimension? Have you been trapped in the Twilight Zone?

Maybe your cat stares at you because your eye is twitching.
As for your mum... I wouldn't dare to venture a guess.

Instead of a new drug you should ask for a Hippo because who doesn't want one? See. That's The Tree Rider changing a life!
Now I'll try my hand at matchmaking... the people asking the first question and third questions should meet up and then maybe they'll both want a baby.

One person can make a difference and change the world by paying it forward! ;)
And when you find that leprechaun... can I meet him?

 

Wait... Babu?

 

Voilà!
What did I tell ya?
And I'm sure that's not where it ends. So Google on!
Find your own wacky searches.
After all dead Pakistanis on couches can't be the final frontier!
But for now let's just say Google's got a long way to go before its predictions meet Professor Trelawney par...
but it's still just as much fun!

When the Bad Guy Triumphs!

This post stems from some deep thinking.
Not really.
More like a lot of imdb-ing and some friendly inspiration while watching Megamind, you know the movie with Will Ferrell as an evil blue alien. It ends (SURPRISE) with the evil mastermind turning into the hero. A friend watching the movie with me was greatly disappointed by the ending proclaiming, "Do the bad guys ever win?"
Which got me thinking, it's time we pay homage to the film-makers who aren't afraid to push past cliché Hollywood endings and brave cinematic difference!
So here we go, in no particular order, movies where the bad guys come out on top.

1. The Silence of the Lambs
An young FBI agent, Clarice Starling, must enlist the help of a convicted killer, Hannibal Lecter, in order to catch a serial killer, Buffalo Bill, who skins his victims.
Sure while our Heroine, Clarice catches Buffalo Bill just in the nick of time, which might be considered a victory for the good guys... Hannibal Lecter also manages a bloody escape from his holdings and is out to eat more, as he would say, "Liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti."

2. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
After being admitted to a mental institution R. P. McMurphy attempts to rally the patients against the oppressive regime of Nurse Ratched.
The bad guy certainly comes out on top here. Ratched provokes a patient's suicide, orders McMurphy to be lobotomized, and watches his last fleeting hopes run out across the ward lawn.
Even more impressively, she comes out of it all with only a neck brace.

3. All About Eve
An aspiring starlet, Eve, attempts to climb the ladder of success by weaseling her way into the life of an accomplished actress, Margo, and then pushing her out of it.
Eve might not have been able to steal Margo's man, but she does manage to snatch her career and critical acclaim.
Pretty catty!
Eve may just get what's coming to her though as in the final scene we see one of her fans eying her with that same scheming look she gave Margo.

4. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
Luke furthers his Jedi training with the help of Yoda, while Darth Vader hunts down his friends in an attempt to capture him.
If the title wasn't enough of a clue for you... the Empire certainly strikes back. Vader freezes Han in carbonate, chops off Luke's hand, and leaves C-3PO in pieces.
All in a days work for the Dark Side.
Of course... they do have cookies so that's a leg up.

5. No Country For Old Men
After finding more than $2 million in cash Llewelyn Moss finds he's being pursued by a ruthless killer, Anton Chigurh.

There's little hope for our Hero throughout this grim film and sure enough he finds himself at the mercy of the Grim Reaper, as do his wife, and anyone else in Anton's way who incorrectly call a coin toss.
In this case grim = great!

6. Carrie
After a life of torment from her mother and classmates a teenage girl discovers she has telekinetic powers.
While Carrie does end up dying, she also manages to take all her fellow prom attendees down with her and crucify her abusive mother with kitchen utensils.
Fun!
Another bonus, she'll always be in the nightmares of Sue, the single survivor of the prom night disaster.

7. The Usual Suspects
The mystery behind a destroyed boat, and dead criminals, all hinges on the twisted story of the only survivor which begins with five career crooks in a seemingly random police lineup.
Now this is a movie I just can't ruin the ending for... it's so essential to the splendor of the film.
But I will leave you with a clue.
The bad guy quite literally limps away.

8. The Godfather Part 1 & 2 (But not 3 because it's a disgrace!)
An aging patriarch passes control of his crime empire to his reluctant son.
This is ultimate villain triumph!
Part 1: Don Vito Corleone continues his mobster high-jinks, aka killing people and putting horse heads in their beds, while corrupting his son. His son who goes on to kill all opposing mob leaders in the ultimate blood bath.
Part 2: Michael Corleone has more fun killing people and ending things with his wife.
Yippie!



And there you have it!
I know there are others... probably some better more surprising ones, but these are the ones I picked.
If you haven't seen them by all means rent them!
And remember to raise your glass to the bad guys who are actually cut out for their work.

In the Beginning There Was This...

In the beginning there was a girl taking a break from washing windows, trolling Facebook, and watching Lord of the Rings.
Not the most auspicious of beginnings I know, but a beginning none the less.
I wish this story was more amusing... that I'd had some grand cathartic experience or otherworldly encounter that led me to start a blog. I really do, but in reality it was just the thought, "Everybody is doing it."
So I'm succumbing to peer pressure.
As for this blog's title it's really quite simple.
I do this...  

While secretly wishing I was doing this...

See pretty simple.
So if your a dreamer like me... feel free to join me in riding trees.