Order of the Phoenix -- impressions after 2 viewings

We saw the movie at the midnight release and then a day later Chip *WON* two tickets to another showing for Saturday so ---- I mean what else could we do??

Anyway, now that I've seen it twice I have a few impressions

One thing that always disappoints me about the movies is that they can never match the books. I understand that there's not enough time in 2+ hours to catch everything. They do sort of "fill in" the books for me. For instance, now I have a much better picture in my mind of Luna Lovegood. And let me say that I *LOVE* Evanna Lynch (I think Chip thinks I have a "girl crush" on her). She catches that dreamy/spacey quality of Luna so well. Don't worry, you're just as sane as me. Kudos to casting on THAT casting call.

No quidditch :^(. Didn't get to hear "Weasley is our King".

Jason Isaacs -- WOW -- I really hated him as Lucius Malfoy in this movie - I mean I LOVE the way that Jason Isaacs portrayed Lucius Malfoy and made me hate Lucius. Now lets everybody just calm down... shall we?

Now I might have disliked Mr. Malfoy -- but Umbridge really got my goat (or Centaur in this case). Pure evil. I kept trying to think that maybe if the Ministry really thought that Dumbledore was waging a war against the ministry that might excuse some of her behavior but I couldn't forget that (from the book) she had ordered the dementor attack on Harry. I can't find an excuse for that.

I'm thinking Tonks for Halloween.

What follows is a spoiler for those that have not seen movie 5 AND have not READ book 6.

Cornelius Fudge resigned as Minister of Magic (it was a headline of the Prophet that passed by). Book 6 starts with the introduction of the new Minister of Magic. I've loved Robert Hardy since he was Siegfried Farnon in All Creatures Great and Small.
I'm going to miss him in the Potter movies.

BYE BYE Siegfried (though I wouldn't cry if somehow Peter Davison managed to get cast in an HP movie).

nearest book meme

This has been going around. Since I have a lot of "closest books" to my computer (there's a 6 shelf bookshelf nearby -- which is the closest book? The one on the first shelf or the second or the third?). I did have Dora the Explorer Madlibs Junior ON the computer table -- that that doesnt' have the required number of pages.

So I decided that the next time a book lands on my computer table, I'd use that book for the closest book meme. (If you look at my last post - you may understand how this book came to be on my table)

And here goes ...

The game:
1. Grab the nearest book to you.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 4 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.
5. Don't you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.

From The Yale Book of Quotations edited by Fred R. Shapiro


David Byrne
Scottish-born U.S. Rock musician, 1952

1 And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house
With a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself
Well, how did I get here?

"Once in a Lifetime" (song) (1980). Cowritten with Brian Eno.

2 And you may ask yourself
What is that beautiful house?

(OKAY -- so that was a bit confusing as the punctuation is weird enough in a book of quotations so I just counted end of sentence punctuation marks and went from there).

What was I gonna say???

Ran across the following on Reuters.

Remember your home phone number? Forget it!

LONDON (Reuters) - Can't remember life before mobiles? Chances are you'll also struggle to recall your home phone number and family birthdays.

According to a survey released Friday, the boom in mobiles and portable devices that store reams of personal information has created a generation incapable of memorizing simple things.

A quarter of those polled said they couldn't remember their landline number, while two-thirds couldn't recall the birthdays of more than three friends or family members.

The tech-savvy young fared worse than older people. The under-30s could remember fewer birthdays and numbers than the over-50s, according to the survey.

Two-thirds said they relied on their phone or electronic organizer to remember key dates.

"People have more to remember these days and they are relying on technology more for their memory," said Ian Robertson, professor of psychology at Trinity College, Dublin.

© Reuters 2006. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.

What about the folks between 30 and 50? What do they remember? (Or did the pollsters forget to poll those folks??)

I believe (though I can't verify) that Einstein was quoted as saying that he didn't memorize his phone number because he wouldn't be bothered to memorize something that he can look up.

(I use that philosophy often in my work doing income taxes - no I bloody well don't have the tax tables memorized).

Another predictions quiz -- feel free to copy and keep score

1. Will Harry die and stay dead at the end of HPDH? (3 points)

NO

2. Will Voldemort die and stay dead at the end of HPDH? (3 points)

YES

3. Excluding Harry and Voldemort, who will be the most prominent character to die and stay dead? (3 points)

Hagrid

4. From HBP (p125, American Hardcover), in the shop while the trio were listening with Extendable Ears, what did Draco show Borgin that scared him? (3 points)

Draco has the Dark Mark

5. Assuming Hogwarts reopens as a school, who will return as a student, which means enrolled in classes whether or not they attend the classes (answer yes or no for 1 point each):

a. Harry?

Yes

b. Draco?

No

c. Hermione?

Yes

d. Luna?

NO

e. Ron?

Yes

f. Neville?

Yes

g. Ginny?

Yes

6. Which will be the most prominent couple to marry, if any, during the time period covered in DH, excluding any epilogue? (3 points)

Bill and Fleur

7. Who will be the unusual person who performs magic for the first time "very late in life?" (3 points)

Aunt Petunia

8. Assuming Hogwarts reopens as a school, who will be the: (1 point each)

a. Head Boy?

Neville

b. Head Girl?

Hermoine

c. DADA Instructor?

Shacklebolt

d. Potions Master or Mistress?

Aberforth (hey -- how far is a barkeep from a potions master??)

e. Headmaster or -mistress?

McGonagall (interim)

9. Where do Snape's ultimate loyalties lie? (3 points)

I say he's a free agent, trying to figure which side will end up on top.

10. Identify the six Horcruxes (asuming 7th soul fragment is in Voldemort's body) (1 point each)

a. The Diary (given)
b. The Ring (given)
c. The Locket (highly suspect)
d. Nagini
e. Helga's Cup
f. The Scar

11. What are Snape's a) patronus and b) boggert? (1 point each)

A cauldron

Harry

12. What is behind the locked door at the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic? (2 points)

Love Love Love (I'm not sure HOW that's behind the door??? Maybe an old Beatles recording :} ).

13. True or False? R.A.B. is Regalus Black (2 points)

Yes

Make up to 10 predictions not covered in the Compulsory Question section. (Up to five points each, depending on accuracy and creativity. Avoid overly obvious (Snape will have greasy hair, Herminone will answer a question correctly)

Neville will do something Incredibly Significant in the upcoming battle (like kill 13 death eaters at once or something).

Molly Weasley will die in order to save one (or more) of her children -- possibly the git (Percy)

And I realize I don't get ANY points for this one -- but somewhere, sometime in the book Jo is going to have Fred and George cause us all to be rolling on the floor laughing.

Dumbledore's inclusiveness is going to be significant, all the "good" magical folk are going to need to work together.

Harry will have a son -- who will look just like his father (BUT -- if he get Ginny Weasley pregnant -- the child will look "just like his father" but have "his other's hair")

AND -- I keep thinking that both Hagrid *AND* Arthur Weasley will die -- every time Harry gets a father figure ...