Vain & Nerdy Guide to Life

Annoying Posts From Facebook Pages You Don't Like (And How to Get Rid of Them)

2013-01-15T16:11:00.000-05:00

Have you ever noticed a post from a page you don't like (and have never liked) in your news ticker on Facebook? Perhaps something inane like Teen Quotes or something about swag (whatever that may be) or other things which are completely irrelevant to you and your eyes and your Facebook newsfeed? Well, Facebook is showing these posts to you because they're paid to do so by the page owners. Fortunately, there is a way to get rid of these pages once and for all. Here's how:

Step 1: Select the post in question, hover on top right.

What we don't always know is that every single of these posts comes with a "report" button, although reporting is not quite as simple as just clicking it. First, pull up the full post by clicking on it in your news ticker; move your mouse to the top right-hand corner of the post to bring upt he highlighted x. Click this button.

2. Click "Report story or spam"

If you are seeing it, chances are, it's spam to you; therefore it is perfectly okay to report it as such. Click on that shiny button; you are one step closer to freedom... at least from that page's posts.

3. Click "File a report".

This will insure there is a strike against the page. By itself, this action won't do anything; however, it feels damn good to do. However if you are lazy or don't care enough, skip ahead to step five.

4. Actually file the report.

Click the option that says "Spam or scam". Don't feel bad - a lot of the pages share posts from sites that are known to contain vicious malware. You're doing people a favor with this.

5. "Hide All Stories From ______________"

See that top link of the two, above "file a report"? That's right. CLICK IT. It will feel so good, and then you will get the following response:

And BOOM, that's it, you are FREE AT LAST from the clutches of the evil swag-pages, spammers and like whores.... well, just the one that showed up in your newsfeed.

Sadly, eradicating these pages from your newsfeed is like eradicating cockroaches when armed with a can of RAID... the only thing you can do is spray each one liberally and hope it dies wherever it crawls off to.

Good luck, and may fortune be with you.

Outfit: Leopard Dress

2013-01-09T13:17:00.002-05:00

Experimenting a bit with brocade tights and leopard print today. Not one of my successes; blogging it anyway. Really fond of this dress though; the fabric is super soft and velvety, and it fits me perfectly! The only thing I am sad about is that I'm so tall. The dress hits at about knee-length for me, where it should be somewhere at mid-calf. Oh well, those are the pitfalls of being 5'10!

You can get the dress here at SammyDress.com. It's a great deal!

Outfit: Don't Know Where I'm Going

2013-01-08T13:58:00.001-05:00

Spent some more time experimenting with my new camera; this time during the day and outdoors. Thank you timer feature - this way I can be a camera whore AND avoid humanity, all in one fell swoop.

More photos under cut. (And no, it's not a cut for Justin Bieber.)

Fujifilm Finepix AX550 Review

2013-01-08T05:28:00.001-05:00

So, I recently got this camera, and thought I ought to put in a small review of its capabilities. Fujifilm AX550 is probably the best camera I have ever used, with obvious exclusion of DSLR cameras. 16 megapixels, very clear resolution, and does great with closeup shots and dodgy lighting. I haven't had a chance to test its full capabilities yet, but I thought I'd share a few of the shots I got so far. Overall, I am very impressed with this camera - despite the fact that I am just fooling around, I accidentally got some pretty good shots!

The first thing that impressed me was the camera's ability to capture small details. I took several photos of this ring as an experiment in different lighting conditions; it's a quite small ring and the majority of the detail is very tiny. AX550 captured every single detail very well, no matter how much lighting was available. Above is a photo taken in a brightly lit room under fluorescent lights; below is a photo taken with only a string of holiday lights nearby. (Don't judge, I like the warm atmosphere those lights create.)

Obviously, macro shots with this camera are more blurry than what you would get with a DSLR; however, for a $70 camera, this is really impressive quality. It takes a little bit of work to get it to focus exactly how you want it to, but it's a hell of a lot easier than using a DSLR.

Seriously, though, can we talk about how true to life the colors are? This photo of my Dalek booklight shows it being EXACTLY the color it is in real life.

I have yet to test this camera's outdoor capacity, both in the day and the nighttime. However, it has special settings for daytime, sports and fireworks photography and was generally reviewed online as being a great camera to use outdoors, so I expect my review to be even more favorable once I've had a chance to test it further.

Overall, though, it's a great camera and I am looking forward to testing it further :)

The Hobbit on Anderson Cooper, My Art Portfolio, and more!

2013-01-05T13:48:00.001-05:00

Hello again everyone! Today, I'd like to briefly talk about being in the same room with Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Andy Serkis and Richard Armitage last December, as well as about some other stuff going on in my life. It's been an unexpected journey, most certainly!

Obviously, first off, I'd like to talk about the Anderson Live recording that I was very fortunate to attend. It was a very cold morning, but the experience was AMAZING. I was very shocked by how short Martin Freeman really is! Ian McKellen was full of energy and it was very startling to see Gandalf running around and so very un-Gandalf-like. Definitely unexpected all around.

I've also finally gotten around to uploading an art portfolio. You can check it out at scarletprophesyart.tumblr.com.

Finally, I'd like to note that the world indeed did not end. Thank you, Doctor, and the Winchesters.

The Return of the Blogger

2012-12-08T13:35:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a while, I suppose. Things got rather hectic and I simply wasn't able to keep up with this blog. Plus, Pottermore has NOT been working for me very well ever since they updated with chapters 5-11 - thus, no walkthrough or anything. And, these past few weeks have been absolutely insane for me!! Starting a new blog, going to events, and doing a lot of freelance work took a lot of energy... but I'm back! So, read on about my being in the same room as a whole bunch of famous people, NYCC 2012, and my new venture into the blogverse - 3ChicGeeks.com!

me casually not blinking - photo by Ashley Cutrer

Of course, first and foremost, let's talk about the awesomeness that was New York Comic Con. I only went on Friday - by the time I actually got around to getting the tickets, the three-day passes had sold out everywhere. It was pretty fun; got stalked by a weeping angel, nearly bitten by Spike and Drusilla, met several Doctors (who may or may not have been the same Time Lord regenerating over and over again and returning to the same con, which is TOTALLY what I would do if I were a Time Lord), and spent a lot of money on I'm not quite sure what. Oh, and completely forgot about Tom Felton, because I was too busy chasing Loki cosplayers down for photos.

And while we're at it, let's talk about that one time I was in the same room as a bunch of famous people. Through the awesome HP meetup, The Group That Shall Not Be Named, I happened to get a chance to attend the live taping of an episode of Anderson Live - featuring Emma Watson, Ezra Miller and Logan Lerman. They spoke at length about Perks of Being a Wallflower. It was an absolutely amazing experience! Emma's dress was totally gorgeous. You can see the whole clip above if you are curious!

And, of course, let's talk about my newest blog venture, which has been occupying the majority of my time - 3ChicGeeks.com! Pretty much, it's similar in content to what I post here - which is another reason I haven't been updating ~~very much~~ at all. My friends Amber, Cecelia and I decided to start it in early October, and launched it officially November 5th (aka Guy Fawkes Day). It has a lot of quality content and is very entertaining, so you should totally check it out. If you think I'm clever, wait til you've read stuff from the other two girls!!

All in all you can TOTALLY look forward to more updates from me in the future. Thanks for reading~!!

Pottermore: The Potions Puzzle

2012-09-19T10:10:00.000-04:00

So, at last, Pottermore has been updated - on Hermione Granger's birthday, no less. I will be bringing a complete walkthrough for the latest parts as soon as I am done with them; however, for now, here is a small guide on the new addition to Sorcerer's Stone. The potions puzzle was an instrumental part of the book - one that got overlooked. I thought it might be too late to include it but apparently, it wasn't.

The puzzle is easy enough; especially if you remember which potions Hermione had picked out originally. However, you can probably figure it out if you think about it. If you don't want to think though, the last picture shows the answer!

Pottermore: HOGWARTS, HOGWARTS, I think I'm going back---

2012-08-26T23:15:00.001-04:00

Pottermore, after torturing us endlessly, has finally announced it... we'll be going back to Hogwarts, where everyone thinks we're cool, on September 1st. Well, I guess there go my plans for that day. Chapters 5-11 of Chamber of Secrets will be open... wide open.

Fanfiction to Read: Reading Drarry Out Loud.

2012-08-22T00:19:00.002-04:00


Disclaimer: I have no idea where this came from but... mpregs ahoy!

So, we all know of Draco/Harry. Some of us love it, some of us hate it. However, I've decided to take it one step further. Recently, a really awful fanfiction floated up (much in the same way that awful shit always does) and it was so horrendously bad and cringeworthy, I decided to v-log my way through reading said fanfiction. Be warned: this fanfiction contains mermaids, Mermaid!Harry, OOC Draco and Harry and everyone, mermaid sex, and mpregs. If you're feeling strong enough to handle this, well... vid's after the cut.

Over My Head: Roleplaying, EDs, and Attachment

2012-08-21T01:40:00.000-04:00

Recently, I have joined an RP group, a Harry Potter roleplay, set in the next-gen universe. We all use OCs, and had to make up our own characters. I made up mine on the spot, tossing together bits and pieces to create a complete person, perhaps akin to someone I know... many someones. His name is Christian Peverell; he has long red hair and green eyes. He's tall, about six foot two. He dreams of being a singer in a rock band. Muggleborn, of course. Confused about his sexuality. And, most importantly, Christian is anorexic.

I'm not sure what possessed me to create a character that is anorexic. I myself have never had any eating disorders. I do know many people who had either anorexia or bulimia, sometimes both. Frankly, I always felt that I failed them all as far as friendship goes, because I've never been able to help them, in any way. It was always a kind of wall that I never could break down, and after a while I kind of gave up.

Christian started out being a kind of easy going lad, and a prankster. However, I did my best to write all the symptoms of anorexia in from the very beginning. I'm very much against half-assing it and saying, good enough. It's not, good enough. It needs to be right. It needs to be accurate. I need to understand.

Lately, his anorexia has become one of the most important points of the RP that I orientate by, much more than his clumsiness or his pranking skills. I suppose that serious issues tend to come out that way after a while, taking over any positive characteristics. As I am writing this, Christian is in bed in the Hospital Wing, and the school authorities have been alerted to his ED.

Another thing has come up: Christian's substance abuse. While he does not do drugs, he is a heavy drinker, preferring to get wasted rather than to face his problems. This is something I myself do have experience with; there was a point in time when I just wanted to drink myself under the table and forget about everything, just drown in a sea of booze. It never helped anything, though. I'm not sure what made me throw that in, though. Just something about the character was screaming at me, do it, do it! You know you want to!.

And, finally, poor Christian is just now coming to terms with the fact that he is bisexual. It's kind of difficult to describe. I accepted my own bisexuality quite easily; however, Christian's a hot mess so that just ain't the way out. So, yes, relationship drama. Lovely.

As the day of RP winds down, and all the characters settle for the night, I find myself pondering Christian's fate. I like my Christian very much; it should be mentioned I get VERY attached to any and all creations of my mind. Christian gets a large dose of my attention right now, because he's such a new and such a difficult character.

Frankly, I don't know what I should do with him. I want to help him recover, but I know it takes time. It would be super tedious in terms of the RP; we play out each day from start to finish, sometimes taking two days or more on one event. The more time I spend reading scientific journals about therapy and recovery techniques, the more time I spend on Tumblr looking at the "pro-ana" tags, the more time I spend on my friends' Facebooks, wondering where I went wrong... well... the less hope I have in being able to make Christian into something other than a walking disaster.

In a way, Christian Peverell is a construct that my subconscious put together on the fly, and somehow ended up a conglomerate of all the things I regret not understanding or not fixing properly. He's made up of a thousand separate events where I feel I failed as a friend, as a lover, as a human being. And I'm really not sure what to do with him, any more than I was sure what to do when the situations originally came up.

Yes, he's a difficult character, and yes, I don't quite know what I'm doing. I'm in over my head, and I don't know what to do with him. Thankfully, it's a bit of a slow time, so not many projects are making their way into my inbox. However, he's been eating away at my free time, my dreams, my thoughts, always bothering me with new ways to refine Christian's character, to understand him further, to help him...

I might just be too attached to an imaginary being. Of course, we must always remember the words Albus Dumbledore said: Just because it's in your head, doesn't mean it's not real.

I don't know. I'm not sure what I should say about this. I'm kind of disorganized and confused. It's definitely testing my ability as a writer... I just don't know.

[Reblog] Realm Beyond Sight: Hogwarts inspired couture dresses!

2012-08-13T22:04:00.001-04:00

Just a small update, ladies and gentlemen. I came across this LOVELY blog post with some couture dresses based on the four Hogwarts houses, designed by DeviantArt's DistantDream. Rather than writing a whole new thing on it, I thought I'd just link you to it!

Have to say, my absolute favorite out of all of these dresses is the Ravenclawesome one. It's totally my style!! (Even though I am a Slytherin...)

Realm Beyond Sight: Hogwarts inspired couture dresses!: If you are looking for a stylish dress to wear out on the town while still representing your house at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...

Twilight and Toxic Relationships

2012-08-13T19:20:00.001-04:00

Since I have nothing much to write about today, I thought I'd share one of my academic essays. This is an example of my work while writing essays and research papers. If you are interested in hiring me to do a research paper or essay, use the contact form provided in the Contact Me tab.

Relationships can be very difficult and stressful. Romantic relationships especially demand attention, time, care, and responsibility. Living as we do in a society that prizes a successful and loving relationship above most things, it can be very hard at times to live up to the standard. The desire to succeed at love has fueled a whole industry of self-help books that are geared towards people who want to be in a steady and loving relationship. Some books, such as The Rules tell women that they must make an extra effort to attract a man and keep him interested. Meanwhile magazines such as Cosmopolitan give hundreds of inane tips in each issue on how to keep a relationship from going stale, from “He Shares the Details of His Day, Therefore He Must Be Hiding Something” to “If He's Happy, He's Cheating” (Dennis and Smith 2011). With all these challenges and pitfalls and bad advice, it is unsurprising that modern relationships are a great source of stress for all involved. The best way to understand modern relationships is to examine the relationship portrayed in this generation’s most popular romance novel, and study how the characters display an unhealthy dynamic in their relationship.

In pop culture and amongst our peers, we often encounter the influence of several pieces of bad relationship advice. Women are encouraged to be borderline obsessive about her boyfriend. The way it should be, he is the center of the universe, and no one else matters. While this is not, by any means, a new phenomenon, it is one that has become more prevalent since Stephenie Meyer published the Twilight series. The heroine of the series, Bella Swan, is shown to fall in love immediately with the main hero, Edward Cullen, despite the fact that he was rather unpleasant to her at first and implied that he might accidentally kill her on their first date. “She loves Edward so much after a very short period of time (weeks if not a month or two) that she is willing to die for him” wrote one reviewer after reading the first book (Bruce 2008). The review continued on to reflect on the dangerous picture of love that Twilight paints: “Reading Twilight, the message is very clear. Love is obsessive. Love is dangerous and the danger is thrilling. Love is controlling… As long as he loves you (and is good looking enough), his hurting you is acceptable.” Many couples like this stay together a year or two years – certainly longer than the time it took Bella to fall in love with Edward. However, the urge women have to put their boyfriends first in their relationship has a feel of the same obsessive love that is portrayed throughout the novel.

It is a common thing to cry and be depressed for a little bit after a break up – everyone does it, for about a week. However, once such a toxic relationship ends, we often see a kind of deep depression that a woman probably won’t snap out of after a week. A deep depression could lead a young woman to skip classes or work and drink a lot, delving further into a self-destructive pattern. One Twilight critic notes that Bella curls up and cries for several months when Edward left her, and jumps off a cliff to attract his attention. She then questions, “When was it acceptable to start encouraging self-harm just because a guy left you?” (Choi 2012). It is a terrifying and dangerous reaction, and the loved ones witnessing such a breakdown should consider finding her some psychiatric help. This reaction is by no means unique, or even rare.

The fact is, though Twilight shows us an idealized love, we are not living in the world of Twilight. Most men, when they encounter a woman who takes her cue from Bella Swan when it comes to relationships, know to turn around and run away screaming. Relationships are difficult enough as they are. People are pressured to pair up despite having little or no chemistry, to the point where some couples are so incompatible that you have to wonder why they were together in the first place. On top of this, women are also expected to obsess over their men constantly. It is unsurprising that relationships are a source of stress for most people – we, as a society, are taught the exact wrong way to go about it by media and pop culture. Though Twilight is by no means the only culprit, and the attitudes it perpetuates come from a distant past, it is a great study of why relationships are so difficult. “In the end, a relationship should never make you feel like crap. If it does, it’s a strong sign the compatibility is poor. It doesn’t matter how much you love one another – love is not enough to repair poor compatibility” writes one behavioral scientist (Hartman, 2011). It is far easier to paraphrase a popular saying most netizens offer as a show of support on relationship related forums – if he makes you cry, he isn’t good enough for you.

Bibliography

Bruce, Nya. "Twilight: Does It Portray an Unhealthy Image of Relationships?" Yahoo! Contributor Network. Yahoo! Voices, 26 Dec. 2008. Web. 28 July 2012. <http://voices.yahoo.com/twilight-does-portray-unhealthy-image-relationships-2367855.html?cat=38>.

Choi, Ivy. "Why I Hate Twilight." Her Campus. Her Campus LLC, 10 Apr. 2012. Web. 28 July 2012. <http://www.hercampus.com/school/virginiatech/why-i-hate-twilight>.

Hartman, Christie. "Relationships: When Is Stressful TOO Stressful?" Relationships: When Is Stressful TOO Stressful? Dr. Christie Hartman, PhD, 01 Nov. 2011. Web. 28 July 2012. <http://christiehartman.com/blog/?p=759>.

Hong, Dennis, and Katherine Smith. "7 Psychotic Pieces of Relationship Advice from Cosmo." Cracked.com. Demand Media, 06 Apr. 2011. Web. 28 July 2012. <http://www.cracked.com/article_19066_7-psychotic-pieces-relationship-advice-from-cosmo_p2.html>.

International Quidditch Association... wait, what?

2012-08-11T16:36:00.001-04:00

International Quidditch Association... yup, folks, you've read that right! There is actually an international association dedicated to playing Quidditch. Please excuse me while I am mindfucked.

In all seriousness, though, it's pretty awesome. As most people know, I am somewhat new to participating in the fandom to the degree I am now. It never ceases to surprise and amaze me, just how much determined Potterheads are able to recreate. There's even a petition going around, with an aim of making Quidditch an Olympic sport. I think, that might actually get me watching the Olympics!

I have never watched a game of earth-bound Quidditch in my life. Perhaps I should check it out... especially since NYC has its own Quidditch team, the Badassilisks.

Incidentally the International Quidditch Association are now looking into organizing a full-blown video production team. If anyone is interested, they can check it out here: http://www.internationalquidditch.org/2012/08/video-production-assemble/

Someone really should develop functional broomsticks that can be flown. I think, once that happens, Quidditch will become the most famous game on the planet.

Now, please excuse me while I youtube some Quidditch matches.

Tom Felton, Anne Rice, and why NYCC 2012 is Going to be Awesome

2012-08-09T13:58:00.001-04:00

Okay, this pretty much says it all. Tom Felton will be at New York Comic Con, and he will be ready to Crucio everyone. Or, well, that's what the fansites say, anyway. Once you add in the fact that Anne Rice herself will be making an appearance... well, I have two killer reasons to go to New York Comic Con this October, come hell or high water... or giant army of Death Eaters.

From what I understand, there is currently no schedule available, so I can't start planning how to best Apparate around Javitz Center quite yet. Some of the guests already have assigned dates: for example, Booker T will only be present on Saturday. However, dates for Tom Felton and Anne Rice have not been announced yet. It is probable they are still trying to work out the details.

Also attending will be Kim Harrison, who writes fantasy novels. I vaguely remember reading a few of her books, so if I get a chance, I think I would like to meet her as well. Anne Rice, meanwhile, is a legendary vampire novelist, creator of the iconic Lestat de Lioncourt. The vampire novels she wrote are heavily charged with erotic energy and controvercy; frankly, I found them much sexier than her actual works of erotica. In any case, The Vampire Chronicles is a well-known series that makes Twilight quite insignificant.

Panels have also not been announced yet. Here is hoping for a two-hour presentation on Drapple shipping and why it's awesome?? (Just kidding. It should be at least three hours.)

I think that pretty much wraps up this post. Apples?

Fanfiction to Read: Remus Lupin, PI by Larry Huss

2012-08-08T22:16:00.000-04:00

Have you joined the Pottermore Sorority and read all about my experience at a Harry Potter meetup? Still find yourself bored? Time for Weekly Fanfiction Roundup! Today, I thought I'd write about an epic mystery fanfiction that has become a clear favorite of mine.

I have chosen Larry Huss's 30-chapter AU fic, Remus Lupin, PI, because I was recently re-reading it for the third (or maybe fourth) time. It takes place in an alternate universe, where a streetwise and tough Remus Lupin becomes a film noir style private investigator protagonist. In a cloud of smoke and mystery, he fights to right great injustices, and save Harry (and Sirius) from an unhappy future.

The story is very much AU, although all the Horcruxes and basic canon concepts are accounted for (such as the abusive Dursleys, Remus being a werewolf, etc). The narrative feels a bit dry at first; however, once the reader looks closely they will find witty jokes hidden below the straight-to-the-point writing. Often, there will be references to the original story in places you least expect them, which will have you rolling around laughing in the most inappropriate moments.

Overall, it is a very enjoyable read. It can feel a bit dry at times, as I've said before - Larry Huss writes in a style that is straightforward and quick to get to the facts. Nevertheless it does remind me of the 1930s-1940s film noir classics, and serves its purpose admirably.

The link to Remus Lupin, PI can be found here: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6275865/1/Remus_Lupin_PI

Read If: You like AU fics; you want Sirius to survive, be free, and enjoy all the snausages and strippers he'd ever want; you like the Meddlesome!Dumbledore invoking the Greater Good™

Pairings: Harry/Hermione, Harry/Padma, a hint of Harry/Luna; Remus/OC; Flitwick/OC

Main Characters: Remus Lupin, Harry Potter

Completion Status: Complete

My Rating: 89/100

Sorority of Pottermore and Fraternity of Pottermore?

2012-08-08T19:12:00.000-04:00

Have you ever wanted to join a sorority or fraternity? Are you a huge fan of Harry Potter, and a big Pottermore player? Well, these two Facebook groups might be just for you! Of course, it might seem a little strange at first - sororities? At Hogwarts? Actually, it's much more awesome than you think it could possibly be.

I joined APTO recently, fueled by a desire to meet fellow Potterheads and a carpe diem attitude (if you don't know what carpe diem is, it's sort of like #YOLO in Latin). I wasn't sure what to expect; I never went to college, never pledged a sorority, and never had the urge to join anything - besides possibly a band. However, I was definitely not prepared for the warm welcome the APTO regulars gave me. It is a very close knit community of intelligent women of all ages. If one of the sisters finds herself in need of advice, or wants to share news, be it good or bad, there is always several others willing to lend an ear, a joke, and advice. The majority of the members are currently Slytherin, but all houses are welcome.

Recently, a second group, a fraternity, was started today. It is a place for men who would like to join a HP-related fraternity. It just makes sense for a fraternity to exist if there is a sorority, doesn't it? They have not yet decided on the letters of their fraternity yet.

I strongly suggest joining either if you would like to be part of a large group of like-minded individuals. It's fantastic!

If you would like to join the Sorority of Pottermore, you can find them here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Sorority.Of.Pottermore/
If you would like to join the Fraternity of Pottermore, you can find them here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Fraternity.Pottermore/

Meetups, Victories, Waiting, and Slytherin

2012-08-06T19:04:00.000-04:00

Well, for the past week or so I've been neglecting this blog. Frankly, it shouldn't be surprising, as there's not much Pottermore related stuff to blog about. In any case, I thought it would be good to write up a little recap of all the things I did this past week when I wasn't working on projects that cannot be named. Amongst these things is a boatload of headcanons I wrote for the fanpage I admin (which I won't be sharing since Ms Rowling owns the copyright to those), going to a Harry Potter meetup and learning some fascinating stuff, and finally achieving an important goal from about 7-8 years ago. Interested? Read on!

One of the difficulties I had last week was wrestling with the MailChimp site. I was attempting to set up a newsletter for the fanpage It was one of those things that just... never work. MailChimp is incredibly laggy, incredibly unresponsive, and incredibly frustrating. Points for including a cute monkey, though. Definitely wouldn't use it again.

Aside from my newsletter woes, I have attended an awesome HP meetup last Thursday. It was great meeting fellow Potterheads. That day's discussion was centered around several academic presentations relating to the Harry Potter world. It began with a small presentation on how to cosplay a character well, and how to create realistic looking scars in no time. Following this, there was a presentation on why Pottermore sortings are not always accurate; I feel that I came away with a deeper understanding of why I am a Slytherin. This was probably not an intended consequence, but... what can I say? Slytherin is AWESOME. I did not think myself a Slytherin when I got sorted, but it seems to fit the more I go through life. Funny thing is, green is my least favorite color...

We then enjoyed a presentation about the Welsh and Irish translations of Harry Potter. It is fascinating what names will be changed to in translations; for example, in the Russian version, you'd have "Garri" and "Germiona" instead of "Harry" and "Hermione". For those of you who are wondering why the hell I know what the Russian version's translated names are, I had the misfortune of needing to read the fourth book when the English version of it was out at the library. Seeing as Russian is my native language, I decided to pick up the Russian copy. I spent the rest of that night trying to figure out all the names and how they correlated to the English version. I should probably pick up the HP books in Russian again, and check all the differences... Russian translators have a way of mangling things.

Later on, there was a rousing cry of Badger Pride, and an impassioned speech on why Hufflepuff is the best house. Frankly, Hufflepuffs do get a lot of hate for being the house that isn't smart, cunning, or cannon fodder. I'd just like to take a moment to say... you want to be in the house that everyone trusts implicitly? How very Slytherin of you. (Just kidding!) There was then a screening of the latest version of the teaser trailer for Auror's Tale, followed by a Q&A about the series. The big announcement that day was, Alivan's Master Wandmakers would be selling a line of wands designed especially for Auror's Tale characters at LeakyCon this year.

Allow me a moment to shake my fist at fates, and wish I was going to LeakyCon this year, because the shopping and the academia would be so worth it.

Last but not least, (for butterbeer is never least), there were awesome butterbeer cupcakes by Jenny from Jenny's Cakes With Character. Hopefully, my better half won't object, but this settles it - there will be a Marauder-themed cake at the wedding. My cupcake had green sprinkles on it... because, of course, Slytherin is AWESOME.

Now, as for that achievement of mine? I'll warn you, it's lame and nerdy. I play Neopets, and have been into it since I was twelve years old. I sometimes quit and came back. My latest cycle of coming back came this past October. In any case, this week, I finally achieved something that I never thought would happen when I was 12.

You see, my friends, I got myself a faerie Kougra. I never thought a day would come that I'd get one. Frankly, it hasn't been my priority for a long time; I'm not really sure if I have any priority as far as Neopets goes, except for blowing off some steam. However, I feel the urge to brag about it, seeing as... well, I have a faerie Kougra, and she is all mine! Her name's Dicyx, if you are interested in looking.

I considered painting my Aisha faerie, but frankly, a faerie Aisha just looks like a regular blue Aisha with wings these days. I also prefer my Aisha in camouflage. My Bori is blue, but I don't think I'd like to waste a dip in the pool on him, as a faerie Bori is also uninteresting. And, finally, my Xweetok was the first one I painted, and she is starry... so I would rather not change it. Thus, I ended up just picking up a kougra with alright stats from the Pound and took her over to the Rainbow Pool.

Joy, and all that jazz. With that said, I should hopefully be able to update more often now that this week is out of the way!

Fanfiction to Read: A Black Comedy by Nonjon

2012-07-26T05:55:00.001-04:00

Dementors, check. Badges that don't actually do anything? Check. Nothing significant to report on? Check. And, with that said, let us proceed to today's fanfiction review...

This week's choice is Nonjon's A Black Comedy. It is set in a post-HBP AU world... AU in more ways than one. For one, nothing from the Deathly Hallows made it into this story... well, I do believe it was started before Deathly Hallows, in any case. This story is a lighthearted romp through an alternate universe, where Harry Potter and Sirius Black are reunited for the first time in ten years.

The story begins with Harry Potter, age 25 (if my count is correct), who is poking around the Death Veil's chamber. He gets the bright idea to test out something... and gets sucked into the portal. Somehow, when he gets spit out, he finds himself in an alternate universe - and reunited with his godfather, the sexy, awesome, Sirius Black.

Reunited, and full of badassery, the troublemaker duo hit the Wizarding world hard with their brand of mischief-making. The story features lots of humor of all sorts (including some rather adult humor), and a brotherly dynamic that could put the Weasley twins to shame. Fast moving plot, epic pranks, and awesome fight scenes. Frankly, I have read this fic about 15 times, and have it saved on the computer... it never gets old. I can read it over and over again, and still giggle at the jokes like an idiot.

If only someone would make this into a movie... it would be the most badass movie of all time.

The link to A Black Comedy can be found here: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3401052/1/A_Black_Comedy

Read If: You never got over Sirius's death; you enjoy jokes and pranks; or you are supremely bored and need a long fic to distract you.

Pairings: All and none (Sirius and Harry live the bachelor life, and that involves picking up quite a few birds. Just a warning - Tonks might feature heavily as one of Harry's paramours.)

Main characters: Sirius Black, Harry Potter

Completion status: Complete

My rating: 100/100

Pottermore: Badges Explained

2012-07-25T12:32:00.002-04:00

So, here we are - Badges are a newly announced feature on Pottermore. So, what do these badges actually do, you ask? Frankly, for now... absolutely nothing. We just have them. However, it is a new feature, and I might as well write about it.

Now, then... Here's what these badges entail:

That's right, a whole lotta nothing. It is basically like getting a gold star on your work in class, simply for turning it in. Everyone who has played Pottermore has done these things - they are, by no means, achievements of any sort. Pottermore Insider has announced that there will be more badges added as the story continues; whether they will be of any use, is not revealed.

As of right now, they don't unlock any content. They also do not give us any interesting bonuses. It's not even something to brag about, because EVERYONE HAS THEM.

All in all, I feel it is a very pointless feature.

Also, Pottermore, I'd feel SO much better if, every time I have something negative to say about a feature, my comment didn't get into "under moderation for eternity" section. Just sayin.

Short and Boring Personal Update

2012-07-25T10:57:00.003-04:00

Yeah, I've been silent for the past week... nothing to update here, is all. I've got A TON of things I'd like to write about, really, but I haven't got the energy, as I have been doing a lot of freelance work lately, as well as working on my mystery novel. The working title, as you may have seen on Twitter, is Canterbury Jones and the Strange Asparagus of Doom.

In any case... nothing so interesting going on. I'm just utterly tired. However, here's a rundown of the latest news:

Emma Watson being considered to play the lead role of 50 Shades of Grey, reportedly. Whole Harry Potter fandom hopes this is not true.
Mrs. Edward "Sparkly" Cullen, allegedly slept with some guy who is NOT Mr. Edward "Sparkly" Cullen. People's delicate sensibilities are shocked, violated, and skullfucked.
Pottermore has yet to update. July 31st looking more and more likely as a date for release of chapters 5-11.
Rupert Grint ran with the Olympic Torch today, and it was awesome.
MyHogwarts.com is a very fun site.
I've finally achieved the perfect shade of golden bronze nail polish.
We had a flood at the studio last thursday. RIP monitor and one of the Macs.
I have a bunch of mysterious muscle and joint pains that aren't going away... and have had them for a week now. #FirstWorldProblems

Fanfiction to Read: Estora's Journals and Ice Cream Series

2012-07-18T03:44:00.000-04:00

Not much is going on at the moment, Pottermore-wise. Thus, I have decided to start up a small weekly series, talking about my favorite Harry Potter fanfiction at the moment. I know it can be very very difficult to find a good story worth reading - I think I spend more time searching than actually reading sometimes!So, this weekly fanfic roundup of sorts is here to help you, my reader, find a fanfic to read that doesn't suck. Read on for my first choice...

This week's choice is Estora's Journals and Ice Cream series. It picks up at the end of 19 Years Later chapter. We start by following around Lord Draco Malfoy, newly divorced father of two. A bit lost with this new state in life, he befriends the Weasley clan he once despised. Oh, and it is a series of murder mysteries.

The first two stories of the series feature Lord Malfoy as protagonist and are somewhat innocent. However, with the third book, Ron Weasley comes on the scene as the protagonist and narrator, and the plot becomes a twisting maze of political intrigues. If you are a fan of complex stories, definitely go for this series!

Estora gets bonus points for being a clear, concise writer who is able to carry her ideas onto the paper with minimum confusion. Her spelling and punctuation are impeccable - a bonus when one has spent hours and hours trawling through a veritable swamp of fanfics written in all-lowercase by angsty thirteen year olds.

The link to the first story, Draco Malfoy and the Trials of Single Parenthood, follows: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7590921/1/Draco_Malfoy_and_the_Trials_of_Single_Parenthood

Read If: You like mysteries and following canon pairings

Pairings: All canon

Main characters: Draco Malfoy, Ron Weasley

Completion status: Two finished, one in progress, more due to come in the future.

My rating: 92/100

#Pottermore: It's down!

2012-07-17T09:53:00.001-04:00

Anyone got news why??

I checked their Facebook page, it's mainly a bunch of 13-year olds complaining about lag and sorting hat issues that put them in Hufflepuff.
Comment below if you've got info on what's up and if it works for you!

Pottermore: Reports are flying in...

2012-07-17T02:36:00.001-04:00

More screencaps are flying in of people who have moved past the 5th chapter of Chamber of Secrets on Pottermore.Some say that it is a glitch; others say it is a beta testing extravaganza (to which we are cordially not invited). However, we have yet to discover any news from the people currently experiencing these chapters for themselves. They are being quite silent - possibly, under an Unbreakable Oath to not say anything?

I'll keep y'all posted on what the deal is here. My money's on secret beta testing! However, chapters 5-11 should be released soon, in any case. I'm still rooting for July 31st!

Technorati claim token post

2012-07-15T21:31:00.001-04:00

This is the post I need to post in order for the post to be posted because, you know, no post on Sundays.

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Now, enjoy this photo of the metal subgenres as depicted in the form of popular Harry Potter characters.

Pottermore: "Be patient, this page will unlock very soon"

2012-07-15T05:49:00.002-04:00

This is the message I got when I clicked on Chapter Five of Chamber of Secrets in the Pottermore Gateway (gotta test it, don't ya?). I never got this previously - I only got the popup telling the chapter name, with a grey background, and that zero of my friends are currently on this chapter. "Be patient, this page will be unlocked very soon", it says, "Parts of the experience are locked so that the story is not spoiled for you."

This comes on the tail end of the news of several Slytherins being able to access Chapter Five of Chamber of Secrets as early as today (see my previous post for more info). It seems more and more likely that we'll be seeing Chamber of Secrets as soon as today - but I could be wrong.