Daniel Radcliffe turns 18 today. Yahoo. How would you like to be the richest kid in England? And know how the character you originated is going to die/live? Sort of surreal, if you ask me.

And I only post this because the post I made three years ago about him turning 15 broke my site for a little bit, because I was silly when I started out here...

It was fun talking about HP when I got to work this morning. Nice to know I'm not alone in my like of the boy wizard.

So after speed-reading HP 7, I slept for two and a half hours then dragged my butt to the emissions station so I could get the new car tested, then it was off to the DMV (glad I had a backup DMV to visit, because the first one, which used to be a huge office, has been downgraded to a contract station and only open the 1st and last Saturdays of the month...) to pay the title fee and sales tax. Which was not fun for my wallet, let me tell you. And the annoying thing? I could have slept in an hour more and not gotten the emissions test, because the lady didn't even look at it until I mentioned that my (transferred) plates expire in October, and she said I would have to come back in for that. I bet she still could have renewed them then (you can renew three months in advance) but she said she couldn't. As long as I go back before the tests expire, I'll be okay, but there's no way I'm paying for them again. Silly DMV.

Then I spent the rest of the day on my parents' couch, not quite sleeping, but certainly being very sedentary.

I read the end of HP 7 again yesterday

Posted by Jen at 2:43 PM | Permalink

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12:32 am to 6:18 am. I watched the sun come up as I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Well, damn, JK. You did a good job. The ending was pretty exciting. Satisfying, even.
Gonna put this next behind the cut just in case people don't want to know, but it's not all that spoilery, especially if you already read the Washington Post review, like I did.

I hate that you killed off some of my favorite characters, and did so callously. I'm glad that you answered questions. I'm glad you picked things up from long ago. I'm so glad I reread the books before this one. I hate that it's the end. And I had to laugh at the music on my iPod as I finished the final chapters: Transformation, from Disney's Beauty and the Beast, and Resurrection, the final song in the soundtrack of The Passion of the Christ. Sometimes irony likes to be as subtle as a hammer.

And now it's time for bed, since I actually have things to do today.

Posted by Jen at 6:21 AM | Permalink |

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  The Shadow Proves the Sunshine, Switchfoot

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I'll let you know when I'm done.

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  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
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Just finished the 6th Harry Potter book (to the accompaniment of the 5th movie soundtrack, natch), and so am ready for the midnight release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows this weekend. I'm totally dressing up. It will be fun. And perhaps good that I didn't manage to finish my Gryffindor scarf, as it will be in the mid- or upper-90s Friday, and unlikely to cool off much before midnight...

Found a bookmark in my copy that mentioned HBP's release date, and found it sort of scary that I started rereading the book for only the second time almost exactly two years to the day I read it on release day. Weird. Was rather more warm to it this time, what with taking two days to read it rather than only eight hours...I've got some thoughts, and I'm remembering how much I miss or hate certain characters. JK Rowling still has some odd ideas about teen romance (or perhaps I just had an abnormal experience in high school) but she's not *quite* as bad as George Lucas.

It will be interesting to see that one made into a movie.

Did a lot of web design over the weekend and today. October is going to be a good month. And I'm seriously (Siriusly) thinking of going to Archon, since I'd have HP friends going...gotta decide soon. Deadline is Friday.

Time for bed.

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  Fireworks (OotP soundtrack), Nicholas Hooper

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Whew! Another fandom midnight movie premiere. Saw HP and the OotP last night (with friends! finally!) and enjoyed it. The Post-Dispatch reviewer gave it a B+, and that's probably what I'd give it too...there was an awful lot missing (when you have to distill 820 pages into a 2:18 movie, of course there will be) but I think they did a good job at editing.

Daniel Radcliffe is still too cute for his age. His acting is better in this film than the others, though he was pretty good in Goblet of Fire. However, his acting is almost all we get to see. The other characters have been pretty much cut to secondary roles. Usually the most is made of any role, however small.

There are some tough scenes in the movie (as they were in the book, and if you haven't read it, I won't spoil you) but they're done well. One of my friends remarked that this one was the first she'd seen where she'd read the book first, and it is a little odd to see it, knowing what happens. I think this one did a good job at keeping the suspense up even if you knew how it would end. Of course, I don't think I've read OotP since the last book came out, so it's been a while, and things had sort of faded into the fogginess of my mind.

I liked the ending (in the sense that it was well done, not the it's-a-happy-ending way), though I wish it could have explored the book storyline a little more. There were some slow parts, and I wonder that they chose not to expand on the conclusion. People would watch it no matter how long it was. It's the shortest movie of the five that are made, yet the longest book. It could be longer.

The music wasn't wonderful. Nicholas Hooper composed it, and while there were a few times of hearing Hedwig's theme reworked, most of it was new. It was very unobtrusive except when there were establishing shots, which I've never understood. Yes, let's have sweeping orchestrals while showing you castle turrets. I'll probably buy it anyway. I miss John William's score, though.

This one won't make me rush out and see it again immediately, unlike Pirates 3, but I'll be happy to go with my parents or other friends.

PS about the car...cross your fingers that a) I can get it in for painting and alignment today (things that they would do anyway, but I bought it from them too fast) b) I can get a hold of my salesman so i) I can get a rental car for the few days it will take to paint and ii) they'll agree to fix the cupholder that they *should* fix, but we didn't notice at the beginning and c) that I really can afford this car...

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