An Invisible Point of View

America in the Potterverse

2012-05-31T23:30:00.000-04:00

First post in over a year. Yeah, not surprised. School has a habit of taking over your life. I want to talk about one of my favorite book and movie series -- Harry Potter. I have read every book at least once, although, I tried to reread all of them but school gets in the way. I have watched and own all eight films. I was a Beta tester for Pottermore. I'm a Slytherin, by the way. This is kind of funny, considering that all of my friends would peg me as a Ravenclaw. As much as I love Harry Potter, there are a few things that bother me. One of which I will discuss below.

Ever since I read the Harry Potter series, I was curious as to how things would work in the United States in J.K. Rowling's wizarding world. I think the American wizarding government would be an executive department in the federal government, much like the State Department or Department of the Treasury. The Department of Magic would be headed by the Secretary of Magic. I would imagine it would be set in Washington, D.C. I would hope that most American witches and wizards would follow the laws (at least, most of them).

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry educated the majority of witches and wizards in Britain and Ireland. However, parents could decide to homeschool or send their children to foreign wizarding schools. At least, that was until Voldemort's temporary takeover during the 1997-1998 school year. The only other schools that are mentioned are Beaubatons Academy of Magic in southern France, the Durmstrang Institute which is located either in Norway or Sweden, a school in Brazil where Bill's pen pal went, Mahoutokoro in Japan, the Salem Witches' Institute in the United States, and the Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts, which was most likely located in Great Britain.

Due to the large size of the US and its population, I would imagine that the Salem Witches' Institute is one of a few wizarding schools that are divided by region. Due to the name, it is more than likely that it is set in Salem, Massachusetts, the site of the infamous witch trials. It would be for students living in the North or Northeastern United States. It may be an all-girls school or it could be a coed school that was originally for witches. Due to the conspiracy theories, a school could be set in or around Roswell, New Mexico or Area 51 in Nevada for students in the Western or Southwestern United States. A Southeastern school could be set in or near New Orleans, Louisiana due to the practice of Voodoo by some Louisiana Creoles, such as Marie Laveau and her daughter. I am not sure if residents of Alaska and Hawaii would go to a school in the continental US or a school in a neighboring country, such as Canada for Alaska. I believe there would be some focus on liberal arts and a foreign language requirement, in addition to magical courses for the US wizarding educational system.

As for magical sports, Quidditch is still played but Quodpot is more popular. There is a national Quidditch team and league. The Fitchburg Finches from Massachusetts and the Sweetwater All-Stars from Texas are two notable American Quidditch teams.

Note: Some information is obtained from the Harry Potter Wiki, while the rest of this is based on my own thoughts after researching forums where others have discussed the same issues. I encourage comments and feedback.

Soap Wedding Redux

2011-02-11T14:14:00.007-05:00

On February 11, 2011, ABC played some of their fan favorite soap weddings in lieu of new episodes as a way of cutting costs. I did not watch that of All My Children. But apparently, it was the one where soap icon Erica Kane wed Jackson Montgomery. One thing is for sure, they just don't the same amount of romance in soap operas that they did three years ago, let alone ten or twenty. Which is rather sad.

For One Life to Live, they chose to play one of Todd and Blair's weddings. This is the same wedding which Blair today considers the happiest moment of her life. The portrait that Eli bought from Tomas that was painted in 2003 came from a picture taken at this wedding. Todd was played by Roger Howarth, the originator of the role. I happen to prefer the current Todd, Trever St. John, myself. Also in this episode, are Viki and Todd's niece and nephew, CJ and Sarah Roberts, Dorian's eldest daughter Cassie and Joey Buchanan. At this period in time, Joey was played by Nathan Fillion of Firefly and Castle fame. Marty and her now-dead husband, Patrick Thornhart, appear to have recently met. Marty still holds no interest for me and looks even more evil than she does today. It was nice to see some of the chemistry of Joey and Kelly, who the writers are trying to get back together today. It was great seeing the late Phil Carey as one of the soap world's famous patriarchs, Asa Buchanan. Asa was with Alex Olanov--annoying as ever.

As for General Hospital, it is Scrubs Wedding Take Two. Robin and Patrick finally made it down the aisle together in this episode. The last time they tried to marry, Robin went into labor with their daughter Emma. Robin's superspy parents, Robert Scorpio and Anna Devane were in attendance. I can only hope that my Scrubs get back together. Terrell is a fine doctor and a handsome man. However, the only reason he is getting close to Robin is because Lisa (the psycho bitch that used to date Patrick in med school wants him back) asked him to seduce her. Lisa is just using Terrell's affections for her (what does the man see in her?) to do her bidding. Sonny is in agony over Michael being in the coma because of the ricochet bullet. Dylan Cash--best Michael ever. Cash could play the character as a little brat who tries to get his parents together at all costs or a sweet kid. I miss Lainey, Robin's friend and the hospital's last shrink. We also see the beginnings of the Spinelli-Matt-Maxie triangle. Both pairings have their merits but I have to say that I prefer The Blonde One with Dr. Hunter. Spinelli would be a great catch but the poor guy is so unlucky in love (Lulu, Georgie, Jolene, Maxie, Winifred). Maxie was his best relationship but Maxie's faults kept getting in the way.

General Hospital 12/21/2010

2010-12-21T15:01:00.005-05:00

Today is the day! Luke and Tracy's wedding day, that is. Tracy is does not fully believe that her husband-to-be will go through with the ceremony. Maid of honor Lulu and bridesmaid Maya are trying to quell the bride's fears. Luke is having cold feet and is not dealing well with being sober. Lucky and Ethan are going to make sure that he doesn't pull a runaway groom.

Dante tells Sonny that a man matching Jerry Jacks' description was shot and fell into the river by the docks. I am so glad that that psycho Jerry is dead! Sonny mistakenly thinks that Brenda is safe with Jerry dead. It would have been too easy if Jerry was the Balkan. Jason hasn't heard the news about Jerry's death and does not want to go to the wedding with Brenda.

Spinelli is indulging in his film noir-ish private eye fantasies again and is caught by Carly. When will Carly and Spinelli give up on their stupid discredit Dante plan? It will only blow up in their faces and hurt everyone. But one good thing can come from their investigation--I want to know where the mysterious baby comes into play.

Darn, we still have to deal with psycho Lisa drama. Our estranged Scrubs are trying to work out holiday plans for their daughter. I do hope that these two can reconcile sometime down the line.

Sonny wants to incorporate Brenda into his children's lives this holiday season. Michael wants to know if Brenda intends to stay in Port Charles with Sonny or go back to Rome when the Balkan is dealt with. I would also like to know if this will be another failed romance between S&B, particularly since I did not watch when they were together before.

Jason and Sam take advantage of their Brenda-free time. Yay! There has not been enough of them in quite some time. Jason and Sam decide to get a Christmas tree together.

Poor Alice. She just can't stand that Luke loves Tracy. Father-of-the-bride Edward tests Luke's love for Tracy by offering him money not to go through with the marriage. Luke passed. Luke still has not signed Tracy's prenup. All the Spencer children and Alexis get him to sign, ensuring that the ceremony does take place.

Luke made it to the wedding. Tracy was so happy to see that her groom was waiting for her and that he had signed the prenup. She stopped the priest's speech in order to make sure that Luke did in fact sign. Luke professes his love and intentions to marry her. She responds in kind.

One Life to Live 11/23/2010

2010-11-28T16:00:00.003-05:00

Natalie tells Gigi that John is the father but Gigi notices that Natalie has been crying. She confides in her friend about the paternity results and that she did not want to tear apart anyone's happiness. Gigi promises that she won't tell anyone that the baby is Brody's. Marty decides that she will tell John about Natalie's baby's paternity by disguising the results as a baby gift. She was a few steps outside of John's apartment when she got a call about Cole. Natalie put the paternity results in the fireplace, only for them to be recovered by Brody.

Echo and Charlie want to have lunch with Rex. They end up going to the same restaurant where Bo, Nora, and Matthew are eating. Bo is still wary about his son interning with Clint. Bo, ever the father figure to Balsom, wants to know how Rex feels about the results. Matthew overhears the conversation. Clint's employee, who switched the paternity results, also walks into the diner. Matthew is starting to realize what Clint has been hiding. Rex tells Roxie about his parentage and she does not take it well.

Viki goes to tell Dorian that they were wrong about Clint and Rex. Dorian warns her that Echo is going to milk her connection to Charlie. After Roxie kicked her out, Echo went to ask Charlie and Viki if she could stay with them. As if we couldn't tell that was going to happen.

One Life to Live 11/22/2010

2010-11-28T14:56:00.002-05:00

Due to the Thanksgiving holidays, I have not been able to get online much nor have I watched OLTL. I am just now able to watch them and post recaps/reviews.

Last time on One Life, we had triple baby daddy drama and the results are in! Brody professes his love for Jessica and her baby, even if it is not his. But it is. Darn, I was hoping for it to be Ford's! As for the other pregnant Buchanan twin, she tells Brody that it is John's baby. Clint's inside man was successful and now Matthew is becoming suspicious of his uncle's activities. Rex officially finds out that his mother is Echo but will have to wait a bit longer to find out Clint is his father. Switching paternity results is such a pain! Viki knows that something is amiss when Clint all but jumps for joy at not being revealed the father. Clint had also asked that his daughter's paternity test result be Brody Lovett. However, I am thinking that the man got the wrong Buchanan daughter. This theory could be true due to Natalie's result having Brody down as the father.

Ford is trying to reconcile being in a real relationship with Langston but not having sex any time soon. She wants to wait 6 months before they have sex again. While they are discussing this matter, Jessica calls to tell him the good news. Ford, who had previously said that he did not want to be the baby's father and would have let Brody raise it if it was his, looked quite sad.

Todd makes sure that Marty will never see Hope or Starr again. I think Marty is going to go off the deep end. I wonder if she will try to kill anyone. Todd clues John in on Marty's intentions. John stops Marty from seeing Hope and causing trouble. Marty asks John about Natalie's amnio results. Apparently, Marty had seen Clint's guy in the genetics lab and asked to print something off.

Power Rangers

2010-11-15T19:02:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite shows when I was a kid was Power Rangers. I am still a fan of the show and I am anxiously awaiting the eighteenth season, Power Rangers Samurai. The show usually has a good combination of action, comedy, values/positive messages, and interesting stories.

Tonight, I watched the eighth episode of the second season, "The Power Stealer", at http://www.powerrangers.com/. This episode originally aired on September 20, 1994 on Fox Kids Network. The episode opens with the teens trying to clean up the community. Lord Zedd creates Octophantom, an octopus/elephant hybrid monster to drain the rangers power. Tommy is the first of the Power Rangers to fall victim to Octophantom, followed by Zack, Kimberly, and Trini. Jason and Billy must rescue their friends by distracting the monster with a mirror shield. Of course, the episode ends predictable with a Megazord battling the overgrown monster and the rangers saving the day.

Interview with Sarah

2010-11-15T18:38:00.003-05:00

As part of our final project, we were told to incorporate a video and an interview into our blog. I decided to combine the two by interviewing my roommate, Sarah. I asked her the following questions:

Do you prefer to watch television shows on TV or online?
Name 3 of your favorite TV shows.
What do you consider to be advantages to watching shows online?
What do you consider to be disadvantages to watching shows online?
What shows do you believe should be available online legally that currently are not?

My roommate watches shows both on television and online. According to Sarah, watching television shows online is fast and convenient, especially since there are no commercials. However, some things that she watches are uploaded in parts on YouTube. Some parts of a show may not be uploaded or they may be deleted. She likes to watch Glee, The Tudors, and certain shows on the Bravo network. Sarah sometimes wishes that the shows on Bravo that she watches were available to watch online.

Review of One Life to Live 11/11 & 11/12

2010-11-14T18:35:00.005-05:00

Todd and Tea held their belated wedding reception. Tea gave a speech about the importance of living life to the fullest and loving loved ones with your whole heart. It was a very moving speech and many should heed those words. Dani sung for her mother as a surprise.

Gigi refuses to return Rex's calls after his stupid mistake. While she has dinner with Cristian in Paris, Rex escorts Kelly to the party. Both non-coupled pairs share drunken kisses and express confusion and guilt at their actions. Kelly admits that she still has feelings for first love Joey Buchanan. I wonder how many weeks the viewers will have to wait for Joey's recast to appear in Llanview, PA. Whoever the actor is, he will not be as good as Nathan Fillion.

Despite Clint's warning that Rex never know his parentage, Echo still intends to tell her son that night. Apparently, Clint has known about Rex being his son since Rex's son Shane was diagnosed with leukemia in March 2009. Clint was a perfect match for his grandson and did not divulge this information. He planned to have a team on standby if the stem cells that Gigi's sister Stacy had did not work. To ensure that Rex's paternity does not come to light, he threatens Echo with turning Rex in for corporate espionage. After badgering from Viki, Charlie, and Bo, Echo is forced to reveal that she is Rex's mother.

Starr is still reeling from Cole going to prison. James goes to check up on her and offer her support. She throws herself at him and says that she wants them to make love. James, being the compassionate gentleman that he is, does not take advantage of her and tries to talk some sense into her. Part of her emotional turmoil comes from that fact that she is angry at Cole for putting himself in his position and leaving her to raise their daughter alone.

Marty broke into Vivian's office and took Natalie's medical records pertaining to the amniocentesis. She crashes the party and tries to turn John against Natalie. John isn't taking the bait and tells Marty to leave. How long will we have to have that WTD storyline hanging over our heads?

And now for the minor subplots that get fewer scenes: Destiny told her friend Matthew Buchanan that Greg is her father and Shaun's deceased ex-girlfriend is her mother. Darren is wondering why she didn't tell him first since he is her boyfriend. For me, this would be obvious. She can not talk to most of her family since they have lied to her since she was born. She needed to talk to someone she trusts and Darren was not around at the time. Inez asked Bo to keep an eye on Eddie. Clint asked why she didn't ask him for help. Hmmm...let's see. I think it would be best to stay on the right side of the law since she works for the police commissioner. Not to mention the fact that Clint is the one responsible for having her son Bobby being beaten up (which she is not aware of yet). Langston still has feelings for Ford but does not know whether they can have a relationship. Say yes, try it out please!

Review of One Life to Live 11/9 and 11/10

2010-11-13T18:14:00.004-05:00

Cristian and Gigi made it to Paris. Cristian intended to spend a nice romantic evening with Layla, his fiance; however, she was called away to work. Gigi found herself being taunted and provoked by Rex's ex, Adriana Cramer. I used to prefer Adriana over Gigi but now I think Adriana is being a petty snob. It was also very stupid of Rex to mention to Adriana that he and Gigi have not had sex since the incident with Gigi's sister Stacy. I loved how the waiter who does not know English believes that Rex and Gigi's relationship is doomed.

Dorian, ever the meddlesome mother hen, tries to get her niece Kelly's mind off of men like Todd and Rex by hiring a sexy masseuse. Kelly spurns his advances and heads off to a steam room, which turns out to be the men's instead of the women's. And so we have another instance of Rex and Kelly seeing each other naked again. What do you want to bet that we see Rex and Kelly have a fling, as well as Gigi and Cristian?

Cole is sentenced to 10 years in prison. He is granted time to say goodbye to his family and friends before he is taken by John. Marty blames Cole going to prison on Natalie and John, so she tells John that Natalie had an amniocentesis to test the baby's DNA. John is of course angry and confronts Natalie. I'm surprised that that witch Marty did not go ahead and say that Natalie's baby could be Brody's.

There is so much tension in the scenes with the Ford family, that you couldn't cut it with a knife. Eddie continues to hold the threat of turning James in to the cops in Dayton, Ohio over his sons. Inez and Nate come face-to-face with Eddie when going to drop off food for Ford. He calls Inez a whore mistakes his youngest son for her latest of many boyfriends. He believes that she cheated on him and got pregnant when he threw her out. Ford and James tried to keep their mother and little brother away from Eddie, which I thought was sweet since a few months earlier, they (mainly Ford) did not want anything to do with the Salingers.

Review of One Life to Live for 11/8

2010-11-11T13:55:00.008-05:00

Due to ABC.com only having 11/9 available as of yesterday, I had to watch Monday's episode on YouTube in 4 parts. The only good thing about that was not having to see commercials.

Because Todd and Tea got married when they thought Tea was dying of a brain tumor, they did not have much time to celebrate their marriage. They and Dani have decided to hold a delayed wedding reception party and are going around town inviting all of their friends, family, frenemies, etc. They even hire Echo to take pictures at the party.

Rex is told by Viki that the love letters were copied from a book. However, she did not tell him that Echo is his mother. Nor did she tell him that she believed that Charlie is his father. Clint, Rex's actual biological father, told Echo that the reason he wants nothing to do with Rex is that he thinks he is a gold digger. I find it strange that Clint, who is all about keeping the wealth in the great Buchanan family, adopted most of his ex-wife's children and treated Natalie (who is actually his and Viki's, unlike her twin Jessica) wonderfully even though she wanted her inheritance.

Now for some Ford family drama. The child abusing SOB, Eddie Ford, has come to Llanview in search of his son James. Eddie wants the $50, 000 back that James stole from him and threatens to turn James in. When he finds out that someone beat his eldest son, he wants revenge. This strikes me as a bit hypocritical as Eddie beat up his sons and ex-wife but gets angry if someone else hits his kid. Eddie also finds out from James that his ex, Inez, is also in town and that she has told her sons the truth about her absence in their lives. I wonder what will happen when he finally sees her and their youngest son. Speaking of Inez, why is Nora so jealous of her?

Review of One Live to Live 11/5

2010-11-09T08:45:00.003-05:00

Cole turned himself over to the police and will be charged with murder. I am so glad that we will soon be rid of him. Marty has to defend her decision about releasing Hannah to the review board. I wish that Brody would stop jumping all over Ford because Ford may or may not be Jessica's baby daddy. I actually want Jessica's baby to be Ford's, even though I like Jessica and Brody together. It is so obvious that Ford already cares about the child's wellbeing and he does not know if it is his yet. Plus, the Ford family is not lacking in the looks department (Ford, James and Nate--yummy!). It appears that the infamous abusive father of the Fords is in Llanview. Echo tells Clint that Rex is their son and he admits that he forged the letters. This means that Clint has to know that Rex is his but why does he not want to acknowledge this fact? Is it because he hates that Echo nearly broke him and Viki up? Speaking of Viki, she has figured out that Echo is Rex's mom.

I Dream of Jeannie

2010-11-06T13:09:00.002-04:00

I have recently gotten back in the habit of watching I Dream of Jeannie on TV Land. I used to watch this and Bewitched all the time when I was younger. The episode I am currently watching is where Jeannie writes a book on childcare and gets it published under Tony's name. In order to expose the book as a fraud, Dr. Bellows has Tony babysit his unruly nephew and General Peterson's shy granddaughter. It is funny to watch Tony to try and relate to the children when he has no experience. Why does Dr. Bellows nephew, Richard, cause so much trouble, such as smashing model airplanes? When Bellows and Peterson come to pick up the children, all three men are surprised to see Gina and Richard having a friendly conversation about model planes. When asked how he did it, Tony replies "Chapter 13". Tony asked Jeannie what she did to the children, to which she replied that she just brought them together and that the last chapter was on boys and girls.

Review of One Live to Live 11/2

2010-11-03T18:04:00.004-04:00

There is so much chaos, conflict, and dysfunction on soap operas. It is always nice to happy family moments every now and then to counteract the bad things that happen to the families. It was great to see Todd, Tea, Dani, and Starr together after Tea's supposed death, kidnapping/hostage situations, and the explosion. Dani and Starr have not seen each other since Dani was sent to retrieve medical supplies for Eli. Shortly after that was when Starr and Hope were able to make an escape. Starr was finally able to hear that Dr. Greg Evans was helping Eli to convince Tea that she was dying of a brain tumor. Just as the Manning family is about to leave the hospital, they see Greg being taken away by the police. I wonder what he and Tea will say to each other.

I do not really understand why James decided to help Cole evade the police. I know that his motivation for doing that was Starr. I believe John was right in saying that it would be worse for both Cole and therefore Starr if he does not turn himself in.

As for Rex's bio parents storyline, Echo is trying to pump Rex's "adoptive mother", Roxie, for information on him. Afterward, she calls Clint and tells him that they need to talk tomorrow. Viki finally realizes that Rick and Lili's love letters came from a book. I have two questions regarding Clint/Echo/Rex. Does Clint know that Rex could be his son? And what did Clint do to Echo that was supposed to prevent her from troubling him?

It appears that Cristian and Gigi are going to Paris. Let's just hope that they do not develop romantic feelings for each other.

Review of One Live to Live 11/1

2010-11-03T16:05:00.003-04:00

Because my classes interfere with my favorite soap operas, I am forced to watch them online at abc.com using their video player. There are advantages to watching my soaps online, such as not having to deal with many commercials, being able to pause, and being able to focus on other things during the few short advertisements that are played. One of my favorite soaps is One Live to Live, which along with General Hospital, airs on ABC.

Cole, Starr, and baby Hope finally get to have their happy little family reunion after two kidnapping/hostage situations. The Cramer women (Blair, Kelly, Langston, Dorian, Starr, and Hope) also have reunion after the damage inflicted upon them by the evil Eli and crazy Hannah. Hannah is so damn delusional! She kidnaps and attempts to murder three people (including a toddler!) in order to ensure that she has Cole to herself. After she is arrested, she actually believes that Marty the psychiatrist (and Cole's mom) will actually stand up for her at her arraignment after threatening the woman's family. I agree with Blair that Marty should have realized that Hannah was actually crazy and that it was a stupid idea to let Hannah live in Marty's home.

Cole did not know that Hannah was the one holding Starr and their daughter hostage (this time). He shot and killed Eli because he thought the girls died when Eli set the warehouse to explode. Marty, knowing that her son already had a record, decided to take the fall for him. There is nothing wrong with a mother wanting to protect her child. However, Cole is impulsive and never thinks things through. Marty did not think about Cole's fingerprints on the gun nor the lack of gunshot residue on her person. She gets all pissed off at Natalie didn't lie to John. Natalie tried to lie but the forensic reports were already in and John is a smart detective. Nor does Marty have any right to say that Natalie is responsible for Marty's family falling apart. Cole was the one who murdered Eli. Cole and Starr have been falling apart for quite awhile (how much longer do I have to wait for James/Starr?). John and Natalie were already finding their way back to each other before Marty even found out she was pregnant. Eli was the one to push Marty down the stairs which caused her to miscarry.

Meanwhile, Rex and Viki try to figure out what Echo has to do with Rex's parents. According to Echo, Clint (Viki's ex that cheated on her with Echo) gave her the necklace after a business trip to New Mexico. The writers are making it seem as though Clint and Echo are Rex's biological parents. But Rex found out his parents' names were Rick and Lili, when he went to Santa Fe. When Rex was talking about Rick and Lili's love letters, Viki thought they sounded familiar. Cut to Clint reading a book titled The Love Letters of Rick and Lili. Guess that answers that question. On a side note, I hate when casting directors pay no attention to genetics. Two blue-eyed parents can not produce a child with brown eyes!

Blog Intro

2010-11-02T19:55:00.003-04:00

I am starting this blog for my Internet and Society class. My blog will primarily consist of my thoughts on the TV shows that I watch. I may discuss the pros and cons of watching programs on TV and online. I am open to suggestions on for new shows to watch, so leave me a comment.