Goodbye.

This year has been interesting.  I'm not really sure what my blog ever ended up being about and I don't think it had a definite point.  My original idea kind of faded out pretty early on, and it ended up being more of just whatever I felt like writing about at the time.  I kind of wish it turned out differently, rather than simply writing anything to fill the word requirement.  But it is what it is.  I do think my blog has had some high points though.  I liked writing about the movie Cedar Rapids in this post.  I also enjoyed writing about a mash-up in this post, which got me a pretty large following from Denmark.  My favorite posts were those in which I could include a picture, video, link, or really anything to connect my post to others.  Those were also the most fun to write, such as this post.  But this is the end.  I probably won't be updating this blog anymore.  So to my readers, who I'm pretty sure are nonexistent, goodbye.  It was a good time, well kind of.

Body Language

No, I'm not talking about Jesse McCartney's song, although I am a fan of it.  Once again, StumbleUpon has directed me to an interesting link.  Now I can learn all the basics of body language.  What does it mean if someone is tapping their fingers?  They're bored or anxious.  But this site also offers an alternative description for every single one of its types of body language.  Fantastic.  Now I know rubbing your nose doesn't always mean you have a negative thought or doubt, you could just have a sore nose or be wearing glasses that don't fit.  Oh the internet, I feel like I've learned so much today.

Spells!

Thank you StumbleUpon for taking me to this.  I'm so glad I found out this exists, a list of every spell used in every Harry Potter book or movie.  This is fantastic.  Now if I ever need to know how to blast someone, I can easily find the spell, "confringo", along with it's Latin root, pronunciation, and where I can find it mentioned in Harry Potter.  Thanks Wikipedia, and the endless number of people adding to this page.  My life is complete.  Now if I ever am in the presence of someone with a broken nose, I can simply cast "Episkey" and they will be healed.  Fantastic.

The Christmas-Easter Family

Yeah.  My family has become one of those.  Only venturing out to the church twice a year, on the days everybody else goes, Christmas and Easter.  It hasn't always been this way, though, so how did it happen? A few years ago we were going more than twelve times a year, then all of a sudden we leveled off at two.  Maybe I'll never know, but the GirlGazette does feel the need to bash me for my recent practices.  

The writer of GirlGazette wrote this post earlier today.  "In all my life I’ve noticed that the two busiest days of the year for the church is Christmas and Easter, some even say Easter rules out Christmas. At my church, and churches I’ve been attended during Easter, the congregation/church body is practically doubled with “Easter only church-goers”, people who go to church on Easter Sunday, but don’t come back until next year and maybe Christmas if they feel like. So today, I sat down and put together a list of possible reasons for why people only go to church on Easter Sunday, do you fall into any of these?

• Just to say you went to church on Easter
• Your folks made you
• You don’t wanna disrespect the people who invited you
• There’s food
• There’s free food
• So and so is going
• You feel obliged
• You feel religious, as if you belong to something

If you got church for any of the reasons stated above that don’t include your desire to learn more about Christ, then this Easter you could live G.I.R.L. by going to church  and not for the reasons listed and open your heart and mind to what Christ has to offer you. Side note: the easiest place to glorify God, inspire and be inspired, read His word, and live accordingly is church no doubt."

Now from this post I have to believe this site has religious affiliations, but I think this girl's tone is a little rude for someone claiming to be a regular church-goer.  No need to frown down on the Christmas-Easter family.  We have good intentions, maybe we're just too busy to go every other day of the year.  And don't tell me make time for God, now you're just sassing me.  I guess the real reason is that we just stopped, but not on Christmas and Easter.  And there are plenty of others out their like us.  I know for a fact the whole church is isn't overfilled for three services on a regular Sunday.  

Here's a little review of her reasons.  "Just to say you went to church on Easter".  Huh?  Do people actually do that?  I've never heard of that before in my life, and that's probably because no one goes to church just to say they did.  If they wanted to do that they would lie and say they went, but actually stay home and do an egg-hunt secretly by themselves.  Discredited.

"Your folks made you".  More legitimate I guess, but I doubt anyone reading this ranting blog went to church only for this reason.  In fact, anyone reading this ranting blog probably goes to church every week even if they are deathly sick.  And just from the use of the word "folks" I bet this person is over 40, therefore they are the people forcing their children to church. GirlGazzete, I don't feel like I'm being forced to do anything.  You're wrong again.

"You don't want to disrespect the people who invited you".  The only people I've ever been invited to go to a church service with are in my family, and I'm sure I disrespect them all the time.  Sorry.  Wrong again.

"There's food."  Maybe, but it's not good food.  I didn't even eat any of it today, so clearly not the reason I went, and I don't think the church food brings in many people to the service.  Maybe a few sneak into the basement without going to the service, but they aren't contributing to the overflowing sanctuary.

"There's free food."  Did this girl really use both of these as reasons?  They need to be combined into one.  End of story.  And by the way, no, that's not why I went.

"So and so is going."  I would only do this if "so and so" happened to be Ryan Lochte or Barack Obama.  Not going to church for the sole reason that an old neighborhood friend will be there.  No thanks, I'll call them up if I want to reconnect, not pretend to be interested in church once a year so I can see them.  I'll go for another reason.

"You feel obliged."  Well, a little bit.  I mean, it is Jesus' resurrection day and all that.  Kind of important, I feel like I should be there.  I've been going to church forever, and always on Easter, (apart from the year my dad made me sit in pizza grease and half the relatives got lost), but it's more than that.  Out of all the church services I've been too, which is a lot, I've come to enjoy Easter and Christmas the most.  The sermon is always interesting and we sing songs I actually like.  It feels like a tradition to me, the same way Christmas church is, and I like it.  I think it's kind of pointless to go to church if you're bored the whole time and counting the minutes down, because what would you get out of that.  I go when I know that won't happen, so no, it's not because I feel obligated, it's because I want to.

So "You feel religious" is just completely out of the picture at this point.

Christmas-Easter Families, don't be offended.  You aren't all shallow for only going to church twice a year, you're practical.  When you go, you're getting everything out of it, not just going through the motions.  It's a fine way to have faith, despite what GirlGazette has to say.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Last week while I was in Florida for YNATS, one of the other swimmers and I went to see Harry Potter World after we were done at the meet (actually called "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter").  IT WAS SO COOL! Being a huge Harry Potter fan I probably would have found something to love even if it ended up being super lame, but it was fantastic.  After entering the park I had to take a quick detour through something to do with Dr. Suess, but once we entered the part of the park devoted to Harry Potter it was fantastic!  We walked through Hogsmeade to get to the first ride, Dueling Dragons, which was pretty good.  But the best part of the ride was probably the decorations they had along the way.  While we were walking up to where the line was supposed to begin there were flags that said things like "Go Fleur" and "Krum for Durmstrang", and other Triwizard Tournament related phrases.  Once we entered the indoor part of the wait (which was hardly anything, five minutes at most) the real cool stuff came.  We saw the Triwizard Cup and the Goblet of Fire, it was ridiculous.  And since there wasn't a big line, we could stand and enjoy the cool artifacts, and walk quickly past the inbetween spaces of the line.  So cool.

But the main attraction of the park was called Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.  The line for this line was much longer (75 minutes), but so worth it.  And the line for this ride was filled with adventure as well.  The line kept moving at a pretty steady pace, so we were walking slowly for almost the whole time as well.  The outside portion of the line began after a quick pass-by of the Mirror of Erised and a few other cool things from early books, like a site from Harry's battle with the Basilisk.  Once we were in the long stretch of line, there was less to look at, but we did pass by some Mandrakes and a few other Herbology Creatures.  And I found a guy wearing a Dunder Mifflin shirt, bringing a little of The Office into Harry Potter, a pretty nice combination.  The next indoor portion was by far the coolest, and obviously the most expensive.  The recreated a corridor with moving and talking portraits, and when we entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom Harry, Ron, and Hermione were in there too, and eventually showed off a little by going under the invisibility cloak, a demonstration of video project on glass of some sort.  We walked past the Fat Lady and had another portrait tell us the safety guidelines for the ride as we passed by the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

The actual ride was ridiculous, in a good way of course.  It began when we got on this conveyor belt of sorts and strapped ourselves into seats that moved along.  As we neared the end of the track Hermione began talking and all of a sudden we were flying!  We witnessed Harry and Draco playing a Quidditch match and  ran from a dragon (who blew nasty smoke in my face).  We watched the spiders and the family of Aragog come dangerously close to eating us, close enough to spit on us, and flew through the Chamber of Secrets to see the decomposing Basilisk.  Perhaps the most terrifying part of the ride was the dementors, close enough for us to reach out and touch, and they could have sucked out our souls!  The ride was a combination of digital effects projected on a screen and actual figures coming at you in real time.  A true Harry Potter experience.

After our adventure, we passed through one of the many gift shops scattered throughout the relatively small park.  It was pretty impressively stocked.  There was everything from golden snitches to dolls of Voldemort to most t-shirts imaginable (although there was no shirt with Malfoy on the back to my disappointment).  You could even buy the Harry Potter books there, but I can't imagine why anybody would want to.  As we passed through the streets of Hogsmeade there were a few stands where you could buy Butterbeer and Pumpkin Juice, it was all really authentic.  But then we saw a long line.  It was for the wand show!  We stood in this line for a good 45 minutes, but the show was so cool!  We entered the shop and Ollivander began talking, then all of a sudden picked someone out the the audience (who happened to be the sister of the girl on my relay) and she participated in the wand show.  He handed her wands and she pointed them at various things around the room, making it clear the wand was wrong for her.  When she tried to water a plant it died.  (We wanted her to try and hex him, and see what he would do, but she refused).  Then, when he finally handed her the wand she was best matched with, fans turned on and blew her hair back, and the room had a nice glow.  The wand had chosen her.  We were then directed into a gift shop where we could all buy our own wands, I obviously chose the Elder Wand, and then proceed back to the street.

The park also included other authentic attractions.  The restaurant, The Three Broomsticks and The Hogs Head, was stocked with things one might actually eat at Hogwarts, but were less than ideal for a day at an amusement park.  I wasn't exactly in the mood for real chicken or a roasted pig.  The candy shop, Honeydukes had quite a variety from Chocolate Frogs to Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans to Peppermint Toads and even more I can't remember.  It was attached to Zonko's Joke Shop, which really had Extendable Ears.  But everything was priced super high.  So we headed out to the final ride, something to do with a Hippogriff, promising to return for our Chocolate Frogs later.

The ride was pretty lame all around, it was described as a family ride, but we did get to see Hagrid's Hut and get a close up look at Buckbeak, and I felt slightly obligated to go on it.  I needed the true Harry Potter experience after all.  But by around noon we were ready to head out.  The park wasn't that big, although it was super cool.  We checked out the rest of Universal and came back later in the day for another ride on the Dueling Dragons and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.  The park was great, and any Harry Potter fan would thoroughly enjoy everything from the Harry Potter soundtrack that can be heard throughout the park to the shops, although they were a combination of Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley, yes I did catch that mistake.  Nice job overall, Universal, although I was slightly disappointed there wasn't anyone dressed as Voldemort running around.  The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was fantastic.

Looking Cool Update: Not so much anymore.

Just saw the boy walk by again carrying his skateboard.  He must have taken another tumble, and someone clearly saw him this time because he looked frazzled.  Maybe I'll keep my secret to myself this time.  He doesn't have to know I witnessed his embarrassment, as long as he pledges to give up skateboarding.  And it looks like that's what he is about to do, judging from the look on his face as he slowly walks home with his skateboard in his arms.  Not looking cool now, are we?

Looking Cool.

As I was looking out my window about one minute ago there was a little boy skateboarding.  I don't know what happened but somehow he fell off that skateboard and it rolled away from him.  He had to chase his own skateboard down part of a hill. I know he didn't think anyone saw, so he just hopped right back of that thing and kept going like nothing happened, but I'm onto you little boy, I saw that.  It's all about maintaining composure and pretending people don't see your embarrassing moments, I understand, I've had my share of trips up the stairs and quickly walking away, but someone always sees it.  Just thought you should know, sometimes people see these embarrassing things, so maybe in a few years I'll bring this up to him again, but for now he can just skateboard and pretend he's looking cool.