[mood| amused]
[music| Era - Ameno]


OMG, you guys! I just watched Get Smart and although I went because of I used to watch the series nobody told me about the slashy, slashy moment in the film. Fandom is ever ready to exploit this, so point me to the good slash please?

SPOILERS under the cut. You have been warned.

( Agent 23/Agent 86 )

In other news I have been dabbling in HP second generation slash, but I can't say it does anything for me. All the kids just seem like re-treads of their parents and I get the feeling that author is just writing H/D or R/S with the handles changed. Anyone else get that feeling? If not, point me to good second gen slash also. Recs appreciated.

[mood| angry]
[music| Kat Flint - Anticlimax ]

90 percent of the time, whenever I exchange phone numbers or email addresses, I tell people not to send me forward me jokes/inspirational messages/extraordinary photos, etc. I don't need any more spam (given that my inbox is full of advertisements and offers to enlarge parts of the human body that I don't even possess). Yet well meaning individuals inevitably ignore this polite request and forward me jokes that they find funny. This is apparently meant to be a nice gesture, indicating that they want to bond with me and be my friend. The result, however is that I receive "jokes" like this in my inbox.
( To all the ladies who have a good sense of humor, it proclaims: )

So for all those "enlightened" guys (hint: if you find forwards like that funny, you're not really enlightened), if you want to bond with me then talk about the weather, talk about how the country is going to the dogs, talk about the latest celebrity scandal or what Oprah is giving away this week. But for Pete's sake don't send me jokes. Period. I can manufacture my own humour without the help of ready-made jokes from the Popular Prejudice factory. And for all the dudes who attempt to talk to me about my nascent feminism: this is what we want. A world where "jokes" like this aren't considered funny. In fact they're not considered as jokes at all.

And here endeth the Apropos-of-nothin Rant of the day. Garnish as desired.

[mood| amused]
[music| Dumbledore is Gay ]

Tired of the Dumbledore posts yet? Oh wait, here's another one!

Okay, so I was going to comment on all the reaction posts, but I found my reactions too ambivalent and longwinded. Basically, I like it, but not too much. On one hand, I'm glad that the word gay actually exists in JKR's vocabulary. OTOH, saying it in an interview kind of diminishes the impact, because interviews =/= canon. Yes, that's right, interviews are not canon. At best, they're quasi-canon. If you read the books and come away thinking that Dumbledore was straight, nobody can say that's wrong. If you want to believe that Snape joined the Death Eaters because of his need for attention and not because he thought it would impress Lily, that's great. If you thought James bullied Snape because he was a jerk and that it wasn't connected to jealousy of his friendship with Lily, that's fine. (I dislike both the latter statements because well, Lily overshadows both boys. It's as if everything they did was somehow related to her. Geez, JKR, give them some independent motivations!)

Most of us were shipping DD/GG within hours of DH's release, so is authorial validation something we really need? Is anyone going to declare some their Grindeldore fics AU because it's mutual on both sides? Maybe it's just my post-DH apathy but I don't get what the fuss is about.

I'm also puzzled by this idea that because JKR made one of her characters gay, it means she has to espouse the whole GBLT agenda. And that any gay relationships in popular canon should be portrayed as perfect and flawless, that by making the gay character kind of a sleazeball, it makes all gay people look bad. (Come on, there's so many screwed up het relationships, both requited and unrequited, with both partners being complete asses in popular canons) The only people who think that those relationships are representative of gay people everywhere are those who are already prejudiced in the first place.

[mood| curious]
[music| Vitamin C - Friends Forever (very appropriate, no?)]

So now that DH has come out and we’ve been given the motivation behind Snape’s actions - the relationship between him and Lily – we Snapefans are going to have to deal with Lily Evans’ character. Much like the Remus fans had to deal with Tonks after HBP, whether Tonks interested them or not. So although I did not care much for Lily Evans/Potter it didn’t bother me much, I could cheerfully turn my attention to those characters in canon that I cared more about. Post-DH however, I find I have to come to terms with the relationship between Snape and Lily and I’m sure many of you are in the same situation. So this is a post devoted entirely to examining the relationship between the two as it was presented to us in canon. Let me hear what you think, I am interested to find how Snapefen are responding the girl that had such an impact on Snape’s life, not only while alive but long after her death as well.

This contains a ton of questions; because as Dr. House says, you look a lot smarter asking questions instead of dumbly not answering them. *g* My reading of the Snape-Lily friendship is all too apparent however. As I said: Pre-DH, Lily wasn't my favourite character by a long shot so I cannot pretend my interpretation is very charitable to her, but in case anyone has a kinder reading, I’m open to persuasion. Convince me! Convince me that I’m reading it wrong and that I’m being too harsh. Go on.

Oh, and all the page numbers are from the UK edition, but since it's mostly focused on the The Prince's Tale it hardly matters...

( Come all ye Snapefen, and give me your opinions... )

Now I'm off to download Semagic and figure out how to cross post this to GJ, JF and IJ where I've recently created accounts. I'm ellecain everywhere. Am in the process of finding everyone everyone on my f-list, and thinking that this as good a time as any to friend new people. Hurrah for fandom "friends" - they're less confusing than the Snape-Lily kind of friends, even if you believe that LJ friending is SRS BIZNESS! :-)

[mood| amused]
[music|Leah Haywood - Crazy ]

Just for the record:

- Buying the book does not mean I have to like it or love it uncritically.

- People have the right to express their love or hate for DH in their LJ's, in their friends' LJs, or any community where their opinions are wanted and welcome. If you liked the book, good for you. If you hated it, I'm sad to hear it and I sympathise.

- If you hated the book, then it is not okay to call for JKR's head on a plate. However, it is okay, IMHO, to criticise her writing style, the plot, the characterisation, the McGuffins, the themes, the structures and the kitchen sink etc.

- Yes, we all knew JKR's writing style wasn't the best but complaining about it after the seventh book is still valid. Just because we all knew what we were getting doesn't mean we were all that happy with it before either.

- Seriously, complaining about peoples' reactions to the book is even wankier than the wanky reactions themselves (yes, I realise the irony)! If someone loves it, don't hate on them for doing so. If someone hates it, you don't get to call them crazy. Just. Let. It. Go.

- This is fandom! Of course people are going to read the books with an eye for their favourite characters! Of course we are going to nitpick the inconsistencies! Of course there are going to be bitter shippers, people who hated the epilogue (and people who liked it), resentful fans, fans in denial, fans writing meta to console themselves and to make sense of the new canon. We all have a lot of emotional investment in these characters, in the HP series as a whole - who expected fandom to react rationally or uncritically?

- So saying: Why are you getting so worked up about a childrens' book? - not going to work in fandom, ok? You smug non-HP fans are preaching to the wrong crowd.

So, if you liked the book, get out there and find like-minded people who did. If you hated it, find people you can commiserate with. Leave the opposite party well enough alone until you feel you can discuss it rationally. And if you must laugh at them, do it in locked posts. Live and let live.

That is all.

(FWIW, just so that you know where I'm coming from, I liked the first 2/3rds of the book, was disappointed with the rest; thought the book worked well as a single volume, but not as the final part of a series. Disliked some parts, while adoring others. So please do not pigeonhole me into any category - neither I Loved It, nor I Hated It. My reactions, just like everyone else's are much more complicated than that.)

[mood| sick]
[music| You're So Vain]

JKR is promising to write character backstory AND tell us what happened during the 19 years of the epilogue!
Is this her version of sticking it to fandom? Get your fics out before they become AU!

In her first tell-all interview since the release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” J.K. Rowling told TODAY’s Meredith Vieira she "probably will" publish a Potter encyclopedia, promising many more details about her beloved characters and the fate of the wizarding world beyond the few clues provided in the seventh book’s epilogue.

She's going to close all the doors to the story? Close the canon even more? NO! Please god no!

The encyclopedia would include back stories of characters she has already written but had to cut for the sake of narrative arc (“I've said before that Dean Thomas had a much more interesting history than ever appeared in the books”), as well as details about the characters who survive “Deathly Hallows,” characters who continue to live on in Rowling’s mind in a clearly defined magical world.

Look, I don't mind about characters like Mafalda who never made it into the books, but if she screws with Snape again, I am NOT going to be happy. I'm still recovering from DH.

[mood| depressed]
[music| SPOILERS AHOY!]

Pre Book-read Experience:
I was so excited on Saturday, me and my friends woke up at 4 30 in the morning so we could queue up to get the books at 6 am when the shops opened. We stood in line for over an hour and a half as dawn broke and the city woke up. There were about 150 people in line and it grew longer with every minute. There was these adorable fathers with their kids all dressed up for school so that they could buy the book before they had to go there. A ton of nerdy young kids between the ages of 16 to 26 all looking half asleep. It was fantastic! I've never queued up for a HP book before so I was very lucky I got the chance to do it before the series ended. The books sold like pancakes of course, by Saturday evening, you couldn't buy a copy of DH in the major bookstores for love nor money. They were all sold out.

( And after all the excitement and anticipation, when I finally got the book in my hands and started reading... BIG HONKING SPOILERS FOR THE WHOLE BOOK )

Wow. I don't think I even covered the important parts of the book here. Just what came to my head at random. Totally Uncensored, and full of typos and CapsLock... I did like DH on the whole. Really liked it. I understand that my reactions are just fannish disappointment or fannish glee, but fandom does this to you. I'm just glad that I'm not as bitter as I feared I might be after reading how it all ends. Well, tell me if you had any of the same reactions. Misery loves Company right?

[mood| scared]
[music|Bon Jovi - Say it isn't so ]


Deathly Hallows leaked 4 days in advance?! Say it isn't so!

I figured it would be leaked but I thought I'd have to stay offline only for a day or so! Now I have to go 4 days without even looking at LJ. There are the skeptics who think this is fake and those who believe it's an elaborate hoax, but I'm taking no chances. I'm disappearing.

The thing is, I'm worried if this is going to be worth it. If it is the real copy and if the major media media outlets talk about the book while giving away spoilers, someone is bound to come to me in RL and blurt it out. Also the hype may have caused my normally don't-really-care-much-about-HP to seek out and download DH. So I run the risk of getting spoiled just by going out into society. And that makes me wonder whether I should just read the leaked version to make sure my reading experience is spoiler-free. Help? Advice? (Tell me what to do!)

I wanted so badly to discuss my reactions to the movie with people, but now I'm going to wait till Sunday to do that. I also wanted to discuss DH with people immediately after it came out, but I guess I'll have to forgo that as well. I'll just seek out peoples' reaction posts later - so don't be surprised if you get a comment on some old ancient post from me... LOL, I found it amusing to read peoples' reactions to HBP two years later, so it's fine by me. I'm just sorry I'll miss the wank. :-(

Right, so this is me saying buh-bye. I will not be coming to LJ until late Saturday/early Sunday. See you then!

[mood| anxious]
[music| Lily Allen - Smile ]

Yeah, been slightly out of the loop for a while - RL is getting hectic. My fannish squee has also waned somewhat so it's excellent timing for the double HP helping we're getting. So as the new movie and book get my cylinders all fired up again I face the question of - Spoilers!

I've been very spoiler friendly but I'm likely to stay offline for a couple of days before the book release. Any of my DH reaction posts will be placed under a cut - I know how people hate to be unintentionally spoiled, it happened to me after the HBP release! Same goes for the OotP movie - everything is going under an lj-cut. No spoilery headings, no spoilery icons. Mmmkay?

I am however, going to make up for my absence by desperately seeking out reaction posts and discussion (and yes, the ever entertaining wank!) and giving out my TL;DR opinions to anyone who will listen. :-) So let me know if you're going to be online on the day of, or the day after the book release. Also does anyone know of any communities for DH chapter discussions - like hbp_chapters the last time round? Any community, website or message board recs? 'Specially the wanky ones. Where's the action, folks? Inquiring minds want to know!

[mood| confused]
[music|Atomic Kitten - Ladies Night ]

Okay, I'm reading a lot of these discussions on women in HP, and what with the accusations of misogyny being thrown around, I'm having misgivings getting into this at all. But these are debates that come up often so I want to find out where I stand once and for all.

For what it's worth, it seems to me that the basic divide is the disagreement between whether the female characters drive the plot in any significant way. Some feel that this is the case, while others don't. What affected me the most however, was this exchange between Aja and Gun that I think really got into the heart of the issue. I think there are excellent points on both sides; and while I agreed with Aja for the most part, I could see where Gun was coming from. But in trying to compose my reply I got quite lost in all these questions, so help me here.

These are questions that have been bothering me throughout, I'm putting them up to find out what you guys (well, HP fandom in general) think. So help me find out whether my views contain any internalised misogyny. :-)

( Active women in HP? )

Basically, I just want everyone to stop throwing these implicit accusations of misogyny on each other. I know it's back to business as usual now that our brief bout with Fanlib and SixApart is over, but really, let's hold off the wank until Book 7 hmm?

Also,OMG I turned 20 while typing this post! Whoo-hoo! Have two decades of experience under my belt now... Can't say I'm sorry to leave my teens behind. *g*

[mood| amused]
[music| Superbus - The Radio Song ]

So in between all this hype over possible spoilers for Deathly Hallows, there's a .pdf file on the internets masquerading as the official leaked version of Deathly Hallows. This has been around for the last - oh, 2 to 4 weeks? And I gotta tell ya, it's been amusing me no end.

Example: one of my closest friends got all excited because her friend informed her of the so-called manuscript. Sadly I wasn't as enthusiastic as she hoped I would be. :-) I did manage to finally convince her that this was, without doubt, a total hoax. And so she passed on the message to her friend who was busy downloading the fake manuscript.

So this friend of hers (who's a total stranger to me, in a totally different city) calls up. And my friend puts me on the phone. So there I was at the tailor's where my friend is taking measurements...

ME: Look I know you're really excited and I hate to break this to you but that's not the real Harry Potter book.

FRIEND'S FRIEND: Yes it is! I'm telling you it's the real one! It's got all the characters in it! And they're even searching for the Horcruxes and everything!

ME: Er, yeah. See, I'm pretty sure that's a fanfic. *explains what a fanfic is*

FF: No, the style is totally like JKR! It's the leaked manuscript, I'm telling you!

ME: Look, it's a hoax okay? You've been had. Someone out there is having a real good laugh at your expense.

FF: But it has to be the real thing! I'm downloading it right now!

ME: You're still downloading it? So how come you know what the style is like if you haven't read it?

FF: Well, it says so on the website, of course!

ME: *headdesk*

And yeah, I did get a lot of weird stares from the people in the shop. Still, I lolled when I got home. *g*

[mood| confused]
[music| The Ditty Bops - Sister Kate ]


Okay, so I was watching American Idol (we get it late in Asia), and in between all that barely disguised UST between him and Ryan Seacrest, Simon made a comment that made me prick up my ears. I fail at remembering names, but y'know that girl who sang Celine Dion's "It's all coming back to me now"? Yeah, her performance was one that I enjoyed. So I wasn't very happy with Simon when he criticised her for it. But what did strike me was that he called it - an "indulgent" performance.

And later, I realised that I have been labeling fanfics with that word for a very long time. I really think that there are some fanfics that can be categorised as overly indulgent. I realise that sounds silly given that fanfic-writing is inherently a highly self-indulgent activity; but in some cases where certain aspects of the character are ignored or the plot is derailed in order the satisfy the fic-writer's wishes, that same indulgence is jarring for certain fic-readers.

I gotta put a standard disclaimer here, that this is all IMO, so don't jump down my throat. It's subjective, okay? And I am only speaking up because this is a nagging feeling that I experience repeatedly. And despite the fact that I don't write fic (I tried, I knew it was crap, so I'm not inflicting it on you guys), as a fanfic reader I think I'm allowed to weigh in on those patterns in fic that I do not care for.

Let me explain.( cut for excessive TL;DR on fanfic and indulgence, with a helping of American Idol )

So for what it's worth, indulgence is good. Over-indulgence is not. It's a turnoff; sacrificing a good plot and excellent pacing for character B's ass is not worth it. Draco is sexy; we know that already. So don't interrupt your fabulous story with the overly-indulgent descriptions of Lucius or Sirius or Draco or whoever. As a fic reader, those are my two cents.

[mood| irate]
[music:Nelly Furtado - All Good Things Come to an End | ]


Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Huh?

I would've preferred the Pillars of Storge.

Okay, this is all due to sistermagpie post here, which had interesting tangents on "Being a Man" connected with HP. At the same time, I've been reading The Future Of Men , a book that looks at the definitions of masculinity in the today's age and how men (and women) are reacting to changes in the idea of what it means to "be a man" when gender expectations are in a state of flux. So what does this have to do with HP?
Well, the book talks about young boys and their male role models, and how ideas of masculinity are implanted in young boys by watching older male-figures around them.
And sistermagpie has a line in her post that I felt I should expand on:

how young men grow up and how true authority figures act as guides for them. For Snape this might have been Dumbledore, for Draco it might have been Snape (with Dumbledore playing that role on the Tower). In both cases the young men started with bad role models

( Hp Boys, their role models, and masculinity in general )

Um, yeah, I'm still here.

I have successfully resisted the urge to post about the OOtP movie previews. I figured I was going to do the same squeeing as everyone else. But now I'm getting impatient. I have to wait till July 13 till the movie comes out? That long? :-(
So in the meantime I'm just sitting around. That and my posts in deathtocapslock I'm really glad about that. I was worried about that, as I always am when I participate in any kind of community. But fandom's been wonderful to me so far. I'm no longer afraid "Will anyone read it?" "Will they flame me if it's no good?". So to everyone who's been so kind and accepting, not just here on LJ, but in other mailing lists, and comms: Thanks a million!

And because I can't resist, you're get going to get silly quiz results. This one was gacked from tournevis
( And I don't think it suits me at all. )

[mood| excited]
[music| Jet - Are you gonna be my girl? ]

Brad an Angelina are in town!!!!!

I'm inordinately pleased about this, since in the past I have moaned endlessly over how no celebrities ever come here. These complaints usually find their way to my tongue when I badly want to go see a pop concert. I start ranting about how I live in a city no-one cares about, and how no celebrities ever come to India despite our contributions to their wallets. This is, actually quite unfair. We've had concerts in India by Bryan Adams, Enrique, the Backstreet Boys, Westlife, and I know INXS are coming for a tour this month. Sadly, seeing as I live 4 hours from Mumbai, I know that's where it all happens. Famous people go to Mumbai - a fact I'm now resigned to.

That's why I'm so very happy that Brangelina descended in Pune! For once, we get to hog the limelight. And the best part is, they're shooting A Mighty Heart in Sindh Society where my best friend's boyfriend lives (I've been coaxing her to get us an invitation already)! The paparazzi are going crazy of course, but Team Brangelina outfoxed them completely, with smart security arrangements, and thus all we got were a couple of grainy shots. Still, there's four weeks to go...no doubt we'll be getting much more.

In other news, following up a comment on static_pixie's journal, where she confessed that her obsession with HP is more because of Draco Malfoy than Harry Potter; I confessed that I chalk mine up to Severus Snape.
This is very confusing for people who have just heard about my HP fanaticism.
Someone just asked me the other day: "You love Harry Potter don't you?"
Me: (indignant) No I don't! I think he's a dumbass!
Him: But they told me you're a big fan of the Harry Potter books?
Me: Oooh, yeah I am! I just dislike the main character.

At this point he looked even more baffled than before.

I keep getting these weird reactions from people since I found myself in fandom. One time at dinner, I was trying to make a point concerning class, social values and prejudice. Now the friend I was with is kinda sensitive during these discussions. Plus, this is India yo! We not only have economic class divides, but the remnants of the caste system. So I felt it would be best not to use RL analogues, and instead made my point using Harry Potter.

Now there was a group of teenage guys sitting at the table next to us, and they heard me saying things like "Wizarding World" and "Muggles". And they were all "Ohmigawd, they're talking about Harry Potter!"
(Insert BIG LAFFS here)

Nick Hornby said in Fever Pitch that he had subjected his friends to many pointless analogies to football over the years, and that he now admitted that football had nothing to with things like the Gulf War. I sometimes worry that I may end up the same way, comparing HP with things that are totally unrelated.
But hey, in fandom, that's normal right?

[mood| calm]
[music| Death Cab for Cutie - Soul Meets Body ]

Well, everyone's talking about the OOTP film preview pics that were released recently. And now, I'm jumping on the bandwagon too since no one in RL wants to hear me whine about Dan's new haircut.

Funnily enough, it wasn't on LJ but through this Newsweek article that I found out about it. I think it's excellent that Emma Watson is giving thought to her career beyond the HP movies. Heaven knows, she could get through life on the movie royalties but I'm pleased to know she's academically inclined as well. It's funny, because I always worry about actors (as well as popstars and sports personalities) preparing for their lives after their popularity has faded. So it reassures me somewhat to see Emma Watson's indecision.

But then what happens to Movie!Hermione???

Seriously, the only reason my clueless-about-HP friends were persuaded to accompany me to GoF was the stunning preview of Hermione in that blue pink dress. I took a party of fifteen people to the first show of GoF, and half of them hadn't ever opened a Harry Potter book. They only came for Emma Watson. And although few of them understood what was going on, the wolf-whistles during the Yule Ball provided enough entertainment.

(Incidentally, I have resolved to go see OOTP alone. One friend, told me she had read GoF years ago, and remembered very little. During the movie, I overheard her explaining authoritatively to someone else during the pensieve scene: "Now Dumbledore pulls a hair out and puts in the peninsula." O_o )

Also, looking at the pics put up in potter_women that static_pixie linked to, I have to admit the Neville-Hitler comparisons are justified. Having read the comments before seeing the pictures, I couldn't stop giggling. Also hilarious, was static_pixie's comment about how Hermione is fast growing into an Abercrombie model; oddly enough, I don't hear JKR complaining; despite her rant about appearance being unimportant. You'd think you'd see a, "Boys, Hermione is NOT Emma Watson!" in an interview or two. But, of course not, boys would not be that silly.

And what's with Umbridge dressing in all-pink? Don't get me wrong, I love her. But I thought it was just a cardigan!
Oh, wait. These are the movies ellecain. Clothes that would be blue, magically turn to pink! And don't you know Imelda Stanton totally wants to get those Hermione catcalls this time? Ha! Hermione and Umbridge, both in pink. Coincidence? Movie!Foreshadowing? You decide.

This meme has proved itself so popular that I could not resist.
For anyone out of the loop, you go here and pick out five quotes that represent you. I dont know how far the quotes I picked represent me. I just picked them out because I like them. And no, I wasn't tagged or anything.I happened to see this meme on so many LJ's, I became tempted to do it on my own.
( So without futher ado: )

So I went to meet a friend of mine whom I haven't seen for a while. We arranged to meet in coffee bar at lunchtime. I was really looking forward to it and agreed to the plan even though I had a presentation due the same day. In order to get as much done as possible while enjoying myself, I took a book along with me in case of a delay on her part.

I also carried a yellow rose for her. This was due to the much overhyped "Friendship Day". Now, I abhor the practice of handing out "friendship bands" (little decorated ribbons) as a symbolic gesture, but people feel hurt when I don't give them any and accuse me of being cold and uncaring. So I find giving yellow roses not only appeases them, but makes them feel even more appreciated.

So there I am, in the cafe, with a single yellow rose and a book in my hand, waiting for my friend. Who never came.

I got stood up in the worst way. I called numerous times but received no answer. I figured she would show up eventually, and sat there sipping my coffee and reading my book for two whole hours. And she didn't show up.
And in the middle of the whole fiasco, I thought to myself: "I'm Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail!"

Yeah, I'm a sucker for romantic films and I adore Mr Darcy, so its no surprise I love that scene. Sadly, no charming multimillionaires came over to talk to me, and pretending I was starring in a Hollywood blockbuster couldn't save me from feeling like an utter loser.
Came home feeing totally pathetic.

Apparently, my friend messaged saying she couldnt make it. I never got the message and now we have another rendez-vous scheduled. To which I will not be going alone.

Have I ever expressed my appreciation for a good teacher? A competent one who makes learning fun? One who revitalizes a class, makes you want to learn more, and not regret choosing her subject?

( I observed an extremely interesting dynamic today. )