7th Time is the charm

Hello Everyone!
I hope everyone's summer is going well. Now, that July is almost over and the "Harry Potter July" as some of my friends called it is settled down.
I am going to start off with the movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Year 5) was an interesting perspective to the longest book in the series. To the dismay of some fans, such as myself, they left out unique parts to the story like flashbacks in the Pensive. The directors made the shortest Potter film but yet it was the longest book. Entertaining for the summer, not an Oscar competitive film. The standout performances from the film were from characters that I did not like in the book- Luna Lovegood, Umbridge, and Bellatrix Lestrange.

Now, lets zoom to the last book in the series that has made its author, J.K. Rowling, richer than the Queen of England. I apologize in advance for the spoilers. I will preface the comments of the spoilers with SPOILER ALERT, so you know not to look at what I wrote. After finishing the final epic, my first thought: What was with all those deaths? I am sure I am not the only one who did not expect most of them. There were some where I was like "Oh my!" and others where I was like, " What was the point?"

SPOILER ALERT! The deaths that I were sort of upsetting were Dobby, Fred, Tonks, and Lupin. Some of the other deaths were shocking but these four were each catered to their personality. From Fred's smile as he went to the other side to Dobby dying while serving Harry. Rowling wrote these four deaths well.

This book's main disappointment was that it was too choppy.

SPOILER ALERT!! For example, Rowling did write a lot about the relationships of wands between the owner and wand, wand and wand, and most interesting is dealing with the rules of the wand during a duel. She gave us bits here and there, nothing all in one shot which led to some confusion.
One of the final battles, was fantastic! It drew the lines with good and evil.

SPOILER ALERT! The Houses (minus one house: can you guess which one?), teachers, creatures, and the Order gear up to fight the lone House, Death Eaters, and the other Dark creatures at an epic battle that takes place at Hogwarts which leads to several deaths.

Overall, the story was good, bit choppy but not one of the best like I liked 5 and 6 the best. Seven gave us the answers to lingering questions, which was nice. But everyone is reading, for the final showdown between Lord Voldemort and Harry Potter. The best thing to take from 7: Is that no one seems to be who they truly are until the very end. This can be applied to the final outcome of Potter because the ending is open ended and the ones who survive you don't know where they really stand.
Signing off,
Sam

Moving Operations!

Hullo all!

For the next month+ you'll be able to find me at my UK blog:

Mostly Harmless

-Aram

Happy 4th of July!

Have a happy and fun Independence day folks! Remember to hold the fireworks away from your face.

Virus Alert: GTA Mod

A new piece of malware has been making some serious rounds through the internet. There is a video on YouTube, supposedly of a new mod for the game Grand Theft Auto. At the end of the video it links you to the site where you can supposedly download the mod. Don't, it's a serious piece of bad software.

Full article

You know you want it.

Hey everyone!
Okay, so the fateful day is upon us. June 29, a day that will go down in pop-culture record books. I-Phone day!! So, this godsend of a gadget has been selling for approx. 3 1/2 hrs. Lines for the phone have been starting since Monday even though it will take a chunk of change out of the buyers' wallets selling from $500 for the lower gigabyte phone and approx. $600 for the higher gb phone.
News reporters have been reporting about of course, the disadvantages of the phone including the slow internet and the difficult keypad as well as other numerous "kinks." For $500, its so worth it! I rather wait though until Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple and the Apple Engineers come out with more stuff for the I-Phone. If you don't know what I am talking about see the I-Pod as an example. I will be the first person in line for a hot pink I-Phone.
But honestly, the question I raise with the phone. Is why do you need all the stuff? Granted its easy access to the internet, pictures, music, and a phone which can fit in your purse or pocket. But if you have an i-pod or a phone that as the internet, why do you need the I-Phone? The answer for me is simple: Its just so cool!!! I am a gadget person and I love that kinda stuff. I guess as we get older, we still have some kid left in all of us... Except toys become gadgets like the I-Phone.. I still can't believe all this fuss is for a phone!?
Signing off,
sam.

What an anti-Giuliani ad should say.

Considering Rudy Giuliani's image as the hero of Sept. 11, 2001, and the nation's ultimate first responder, burnished yet again by the warm reception he received at a firehouse during a recent campaign swing through South Carolina, it might surprise many of his supporters to learn that the country's largest union of firefighters hates "America's mayor" with a passion.

...

"Our disdain for him," said the letter, "is not about issues or a disputed contract. It is about a visceral, personal affront to the fallen, to our union and indeed, to every one of us who has ever risked our lives by going into a burning building to save lives and property."

...

The public may also be unaware that Giuliani's preparation for and management of the crisis that has come to define his career, and on which his presidential ambitions rest, has actually become a case study for emergency management experts of what not to do.

Full Article Here.

There is always room for Paris

Hey guys!
So now we are about a month into summer and of course, we have news about the latest adventures of hotel heiress, Paris Hilton. Much to the dismay of her fans, she has been sent off to jail twice. But not for two separate issues, it was the same crime that she had to serve time for. The reason why she went to jail again for the second time is still unsure. It is rumored on the news channels, that she was not eating and suffering from a nervous disorder. The judge called her back into his court when he found out she was released with only serving about three days into jail sentence. She was put back into the jail after serving a few days in house arrest which was another possibility to serve her time. If she was allowed to continue with house arrest, she would be serving it in her mansion in the Hollywood Hills. Not bad, for someone serving time, sign me up for that vacation!
Paris Hilton when she was forced back into jail, was under examination at the treatment center for her "undisclosed medical issue." She is now currently serving the rest of her 45-day sentence in the women's jail. Just days before she started to serve her sentence, she discussed to the press how she was going to serve as a role model to kids and serve her sentence completely without any problems. Odd or does she have a different way of defining that? Recently, she talked to the Hilton's family friend, Barbara Walters, stating that, "I used to act dumb, that act is no longer cute. Now, I would like to make a difference, God has given me this new chance." Some people like The View co-host, Joy Behr, bring up the point when people go to jail why do they always find God?
Was the Simple Life's characterization of Hilton really her just acting? Possibly. The jail time has given her even more press time. Details come out daily. Some journalists like Gia Cortina from the Post Chronicle suggest that she is going to come out even more famous. Oh just great, we need another rich ,spoiled, famous for all the wrong reasons woman in Hollywood? But I really just don't care, and I know many people don't care. Lots of people are happy that she is in jail. Just check out the MTV Movie Awards where Sarah Silverman made a couple jokes about her situation and the crowd erupted into applause. Hopefully, she learned her lesson but we can never be too sure? I don't really want to judge her because I don't know her but her situation is tough and its a good learning experience, even if your a 26 year old heiress.
Well that's all for now!
Signing off,
Sam