Belated Potter Post

I finished reading book 7 in the Harry Potter series so I can finally read all those Harry Potter posts, (e.g. from Toe and niceheart). And I agree with Vern's comment in Toe's post: ka-korny nga yung last chapter (i.e. the epilogue). hehe. Anyway, what can I say? Galing talaga mag-sulat si Madame Rowling. I'm not really much of a fiction book reader. As I've previously posted, I only listened to books 1-4 of HP and only started reading the HP books when book 5 came out. Like niceheart, I'm also a slow reader. I'm just not one to sit for hours on end just reading. Thus, it'll take me a while to finish a book. I haven't even finished reading Return of the King (book 3 in the Lord of the Rings series)... and I started reading that book a few years ago. haha.

Anyway, I was wondering what it is about the HP books that has made them so captivating for readers worldwide. I have a few theories. One reason: I think it's because people can identify with the characters. I mean who among us can't sympathize with Snape, a guy with a dark past and who ****WARNING: SPOILER AHEAD***** as it turns out is a guy trying to redeem himself... as Potter finally finds out in the end. I was always rooting for Snape and I'm glad that he turned out to be a good guy. I thought it was a nice touch that Harry Potter finally paid tribute to Snape, a guy he previously detested by giving his son the middle name of Severus. Potter must really owe the guy big time though. I mean naming your kid Severus? hehe. Well, at least it's only a middle name. Oh, wait, the first name he gave the kid was Albus. Albus Severus. Poor kid. Good thing the kid's only a fictional character. ;)

Another reason why I think the book has captivated so many readers is because the characters are funny. They don't take themselves too seriously all the time and they can easily crack a joke or two even during dire situations. For example, how about Hermione making fun of Ron because Ron was complaining about how he lost some fingernails while she and Harry were fighting for their lives in Godric's Hollow?

Hermione: "Imagine losing fingernails, Harry! That really puts our suffering into perspective, doesn't it?"

How about Ron literally using the word "effing" on page 307?

Ron: "Yeah, and we're about as near getting rid of it as we are to finding the rest of them -- nowhere effing near, in other words!"

They're so proper, aren't they? They don't even say the whole curse word. haha. I couldn't remember exactly where Ron said "effing" so I typed in "Where does Ron say effing in deathly hallows" in a search engine. hehe. Now, Mrs. Weasley calling Bellatrix a ..... well, that's a different story. hehe. Well, that's my bellatrix... I mean belated Harry Potter post. :D

On a completely unrelated note, here's a song to go out on for the weekend. It's called "San Antonio Rose" as performed by Les Paul and Chet Atkins. :DHave a nice weekend, people! ;)

Technorati tags: Harry Potter

Online Accounts

I think I have too many online accounts. In addition to blogger (aka blogspot), I also have accounts in multiply, flickr, friendster, technorati and youtube. Ok, that's actually not too bad. I thought I had too many accounts. hehehe. Here's what I learned from each of them:

1) Friendster -- I'm not really sure why I have a friendster account. I've thought several times of deleting it because I really have no idea what benefit it provides. I think there's an age limit, too, b/c there's not that many from my age group who have a friendster account. hehe. Also, the site is not really that popular here in the states since myspace is the preferred networking site. Most bands here, for example, have a myspace page, but not a friendster page.

2) multiply -- I have no clue why i have a multiply account. It's essentially like friendster, i.e. another networking site. The one thing I don't like about this website is that people who don't have a multiply account can't comment on the site. Probably the one good thing about it is that it seems you can post as many photos as you like, unlike the next website I'm going to talk about....

3) ... and that's Flickr -- this one is pretty good. It's only good though if you're a paying member. Otherwise, you're limited to posting 200 photos online. yeah, I know, like my life merits more than 200 photos. hehe

4) technorati -- this is supposed to be good for tagging one's blog posts so that one can get traffic. It also shows you statistics like how many people link to your blog, how many people de-link from your blog (oh, well... hehe), etc. Although I haven't checked technorati in a long time, I still use the tags. Don't believe me? Just look at the end of this post. :D

5) youtube -- I learned that there's so many talented, amateur musicians out there. I also learned that there's a lot of Simon Cowell wannabes ready to criticize you if you don't play a song the way they think you should play it. Oh, what would the world be without haters? Oh, right. A better place. ;) Constructive criticism is good. But people who just want to insult you because they think they're funny? Not so much.

6) blogger -- Of course, there's blogger. Probably the only site I really put any effort into. Blogging actually requires brain cells and isn't a popularity contest like some networking sites sometimes seem to be. You have to actually have something interesting to say. Otherwise, people will not read your blog. When I started blogging, the idea behind it was that I would promote ideas I believed in. I would also post stories or observations that I found amusing. Since I'm not blogging anonymously, I also make sure I don't say anything offensive or curse like a sailor. Dirty jokes are definitely off limits. So are insults or put-downs. That's not the kind of blog I want to project. Lately, I've reached the point where I seem to have promoted everything I've wanted to promote... said everything I've wanted to say. Do I have any stories or ideas left to share? We'll see.

Ok, so that's about 6 web accounts. I wonder what the average number is for other folks. And the more accounts you have, the more interesting your life must be, right? :D

Technorati tags: friendster, youtube, multiply

A Meme, a Draft, a Newsletter

Updated 10/10: I updated the instructions on how to do a screen capture on a Windows machine.

I've been tagged by carey to do the following meme:

My Desktop Free View Instruction:

A. Upon receiving this tag, immediately perform a screen capture of your desktop. It is best that no icons be deleted before the screen capture so as to add to the element of fun.

You can do a screen capture by:

[1] Going to your desktop and pressing the [Shift] and Print Scrn keys (located on the right side of the F12 key).
[2] Open a graphics program (like Picture Manager, Paint, or Photoshop) and do a Paste (CTRL + V).
[3] If you wish, you can “edit” the image, before saving it.

For MAC users: Press [ Apple] [ Ctrl ] [ Shift ] and [ 3 ]

B. Post the picture in your blog. You can also give a short explanation on the look of your desktop just below it if you want. You can explain why you preferred such look or why is it full of icons. Things like that.

C. Tag five of your friends and ask them to give you a Free View of their desktop as well.

Anyway, here's my desktop:

Pretty cluttered, isn't it? ;)

If you have an interesting and/or unique-looking desktop, consider yourself tagged. If you have a plain-looking desktop, then, well, make your desktop more interesting. heheh.

On another note, I have this old draft (about a year old) I've been meaning to post. I never got around to it and the topic was also a meme during that time. I unfortunately didn't get tagged last year for the meme. Tsk tsk. hehe. The post is about Christmas songs. I know what you're thinking: isn't it too early for a Christmas post? Maybe. But it's only two months away so I might as well post it before I forget. hehe. Here's what I wrote back then, more or less:

Well, they're starting to play Christmas music once again. I think Christmas music has been overdone. I mean "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "Frosty the Snowman", etc.? Ehh...I don't know. Perhaps, the traditional Christmas songs should be replaced. Hmm....I sound like a Scrooge. Ah, well. I guess I've just heard one too many Christmas songs in my life. There are some Christmas songs that I like however and here's my list of 'em:

1) "Last Christmas" by George Michael. I think Wham actually performed this, but I can't remember any radio DJs saying Wham performed it. Funny how Andrew Ridgley, the other half of Wham, always gets left out of things.

2) "Blue Christmas" by Elvis Presley. A very sad song indeed.

3) "Please Come Home for Christmas" performed by either The Eagles or Aaron Neville. A bluesy Christmas song.

4) "Do They Know It's Christmas" from Band Aid. Bono, Sting, George Michael, Phil Collins and .... uhhmm... others. hehe. All in the same room and all for a good cause . Cool.

5) "Mele kalikimaka" performed by Jimmy Buffet. This song is just so catchy even though it's so simple (just a verse and chorus, it seems). It's not easy to play on the guitar though b/c it doesn't have the typical chords of simple songs.

6) Nuff Sedd's "Life is Perfect":

Ok, so this song isn't a Christmas song. I just like this song. hehe. It's reggae from Hawai'i. I guess it's hawai'ian reggae. ;) And the singer's got a pretty nice voice, too.

Last topic: newsletter from work. Whoa, three topics in one post? That's pretty rare for me. :D Anyway, the company I work for handed out this newsletter that had a section on what are the best and worst Halloween treats:


When I used to live in a house and trick or treaters knocked on my door, I've been guilty of handing out some of the candies listed in "worst treats". I understand the purpose of the newsletter, but giving out trail mix, peanuts and popcorn as treats? hehehe. Oh, well. I suppose they're healthier.

Technorati tags: memes, Christmas music