Archive for May, 2007
Whoa - Where are the photos?!
Ha, funny story: It’s about this guy who can’t seem to leave well enough alone when it comes to his website. He toils for hours, usually not knowing what the hell he’s doing, and then for some mysterious reason things break. Oh well. I won’t learn the guts of this shit if I don’t break it first. Yes, I broke my photo gallery while I was playing around today. Yes, I could roll it back to the last backup, but I’m not going to. I’ve deactivated the photo section while I get things straightened out and configured exactly how I want them. I know you’re probably heartbroken, and all I can say is that the pain will eventually subside.
Since it will probably be a while, why not head over to Flickr and look at other people’s weird and usually boring photos?
Ciao!
EDIT 6.9.2007 — I finally took a little time today to sort out some of the problems with my photo system. As you can see above, the option to get to my galleries has been reinstated, as well as the box that previews 14 of the most recent photos. I still have some tinkering to do, but I’ll be resuming my hobby of uploading useless and irrelevent pictures once again. Rock on!
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
I’ve been a fan of Harry Potter, both the books and movies, ever since my girlfriend forced me to watch Sorcerer’s Stone with her back in 2001. Prior to that I had heard the buzz but magical fairytales with spells and dragons and muggles had never interested me. In fact, I’d say I’m still very prejudiced against anything that falls under this genre. To me, a movie about hobbits battling ogres seems retarded in comparison to a well thought out and implemented sci-fi story such as Star Wars, Serenity, etc. Surprisingly, Harry Potter has managed to earn my respect as one of the most immersive series of books I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. I’ve been captivated with Harry’s progress as he’s thwarted Voldemort and his minions throughout the six books that J.K. Rowling has released so far. It’s with bittersweet anticipation that I look forward to the seventh and final installment, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” (due July 21st of this year). I say “bittersweet” because while I look forward to the inevitible final battle that Harry will fight against Voldemort, this will be it for the Harry Potter series. J.K. Rowling has stated publicly (more than once) that she has no intention of ever writing an HP book again. All good things must come to an end, and I’m afraid Harry Potter is no exception.
Anyway, I have a few suspicions as to how events will unfold in Deathly Hallows, so I figured I’d jot them down here and revisit them after reading the book in two months to see how close I got. Here some of my thoughts regarding Deathly Hallows:
1. Dumbledore is dead, and he’ll stay dead. That is, the “real” Dumbledore is dead, although to some degree he lives on in his portrait, which I feel will play an important role in the upcoming book. This was touched on at the end of Half Blood Prince.
2. Snape did not betray anyone other than Voldemort in HBP. I’m almost certain that his killing Dumbledore was a prearranged act orchestrated by none other than Dumbledore himself. I refuse to believe that Snape is as evil as he seems. Harry would probably disagree.
3. Sirius will make another appearance. As with Dumbledore, I strongly believe Rowling will find some way to get Sirius back into the story again.
4. The necklace at Grimmauld Place is a horcrux (this seems really obvious based on the hints in the books).
5. So is Harry. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again — I think the scar on Harry’s head is more than just a wound from Voldemort’s attempt on his life. I bet it’s the sign of a horcrux. Dumbledore has even said that the attack “left a piece of Voldemort” in Harry, which explains his parsel tongue abilities, etc. Given the fact that Harry has to destroy all the horcruxes in order to destroy Voldemort, it would seem that…
6. …Harry will have to die before then end of the book. As I mentioned above, Rowling has stated that she has no desire to continue the series beyond Deathly Hallows. Killing off Harry would be an excellent way of finalizing things.
7. Who else will die? Man, that’s a tough one. Although I have no clues to support it, I have a feeling that Ron is on his way to the grave with Harry. I can’t wait to find out because I’ve always disliked Ron. I also suspect that Viktor Krum will die. Again, I have nothing to support my theory other than a gut feeling. For some strange reason I also suspect Hagrid’s days are numbered. Like I said — this is a tough one! Hell, maybe Voldemort develops a magical neutron bomb that kills every living organism on Earth?
8. Draco Malfoy will become instrumental in Voldemort’s downfall. He’s been a raging little prick throughout the entire series, and I think he’ll finally redeem himself alongside Snape.
9. Hermione will become a teacher at Hogwart’s. With Harry and possibly Ron and Viktor dead, what else is she going to do the occupy her time?
10. I read somewhere that Harry’s Aunt Petunia will figure prominently in the story somehow, but she’s not magical or anything. This really puzzles me. I’m wondering if she had some connection (not necessarily an intentional one) to the murder of Harry’s parents?
I’m hoping that Moody will play more of a prominent role than he has since Goblet; I always thought his character was pretty cool (the movie version of Mad Eye just didn’t do him justice). The same thing goes for Viktor Krum. I know he’ll be in Deathly Hallows but I’m curious whether he’ll have any real significance. Man oh man, the suspense is killing me. As far as I’m concerned, July 21st can’t come quick enough! Time to fill out a pre-order for the book…
On a side note, I’ve always been really impressed with the cover art of the books, done by the very talented Mary Grandpre. Her work has a very distinctive look and the HP covers she’s done convey a story all by themselves.