Where I Was

Sorry I didn't post from Europe. But I am back. I was on a school trip to Edinburgh, Scotland; London, Oxford and Stratford upon Avon, England (obviously); and Paris. Here are a few picture highlights.

The Elephant House coffee shop in Edinburgh where Rowling wrote the first HP. (By the way, I also drove past the Eagle and Child in Oxford which is where the Inklings [Tolkien, Lewis, etc] hung out, but no pics)

The view from the window of the Elephant House is of Edinburgh Castle. Looks just like my vision of Hogwarts.

Just couldn't resist this obvious shot.

Another obvious shot, but London's Tower Bridge is so darn pretty I couldn't help myself.
Another view of London from the Milennium Bridge. Apparently it used to wobble, but I can vouch that it's wobble-free now.
Here's Big Ben and the Eye, which we rode and was very cool.

As an English teacher I was duty bound to go to the recreation of Shakespeare's Globe Theater.



I thought this was an appropriate shot ("Swan at the Globe") since that is what some of my students call me Swan.

Proof the British like their beer. I enjoyed fish and chips and a beer at a pub on the Thames while a soccer game was playing the background. Could there be a more British scene?

The famous white cliffs of Dover. This is the view from our ferry as we crossed the channel to France.

Me and Monet. Proof that I got some culture in France.

This was the view of Greenland from our plane. I couldn't believe how beautiful, not to mention cold looking!

Be assured, there are many more pictures where those come from! Bear with me if I post more soon.

Jo's Blog Dump 9/24/2007

I'm watching the premiere of The Bachelor and it's just painful. I didn't know that women could use such bad pick-up lines...for instance, "Do you believe in love at first sight or should I get out of the limo again?" Seriously. I'm hooked, at least for tonight.

I was very excited to find out this weekend that there's going to be a sequel to my favorite independent reader book of the past year. The second story about The Mysterious Benedict Society, by Trenton Lee Stewart, will be out in May 2008.

Also, Mary Engelbreit is lending her adorable art to a series of classic stories for girls, all particular favorites of mine. Watch for A Little Princess and The Secret Garden, both by Frances Hodgson Burnett, next month, and Anne of Green Gables in February.

Also, Borders has a new website. It's still in beta, but give it a shot - it has some nice features

Need a little pick-me-up? Bookmark ComplimentBot 4000. You'll get a new uplifting message every time you refresh. Also good when you need a special sentiment for a greeting card.

Another fun Harry Potter video, this time he's in the hood. It's a good one.

There's a new fashion magazine called Eliza, "created for women who want to be stylish, sexy, and engaged in the world while retaining high standards in dress, entertainment, and lifestyle." I haven't seen an issue in person, but the pictures look pretty interesting.

At church on Sunday, it was announced that the Pastor Search Committee has chosen someone to fill our pulpit. I did my thing and googled him but couldn't find out much. He's a young guy with a family and we'll get to meet him in person in 2 weeks.

My new backpack. I'm loving it.

Here is a transcript of J.K Rowling and her recent web chat answering a ton of good questions. I can't think of anything left to ask, which I guess is a good sign.

I'm excited to see you all soon!!!

Obsessions - Updated

Harry Potter

Where do I even start on this subject?

*** SPOILER ALERT ***

The book was wonderful. Very satisfying. I’ve heard some people say they don’t like the epilogue but I do, even if it is all a little too pretty and convenient. The whole Harry as Horcrux/prophesy/Voldemort’s spell rebounding on himself thing felt a little contrived to me, as explained in this article on Slate (although I’m not nearly as bothered by it as the article’s writer). What I did enjoy was all of the back story and connections. I also appreciate that with the epilogue and the killing off of so many characters(17 by my count, both good and evil), Rowling makes very sure that no one can try to pick up where she left off unless it's about the next generation. Snape is one of my favorite characters and while I was sad to actually read it, I knew that he had to die. Still, I'm glad that he remained complicated right to the end. And yeah for Neville the hero! Two things it would have been nice to know more about: the fate of the Dursleys and the arch that killed Sirius.

*** END OF SPOILER ALERT ***

Check out my flickr pictures from Friday's Harry Potter party:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9347435@N06/sets/72157601011915427/

And also go to this link for videos of NBC's exclusive and information interview with J.K. Rowling.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/18783376/

Books

Megan, you asked for recommendations of things to read now that HP is over. Well, you can always wait for the HP encyclopedia that JK Rowling is now promising. As far as other childrens’ books that have great characters and smart plotlines, I’d recommend The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart – there are rumblings that it may turn into a series. And Jon would recommend the A Song Of Fire And Ice series by George R. R. Martin. That’s probably my next big book project after I finish reading Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen, by Julie Powell.

Shoes

I stumbled on a great new website for shoes last night. Endless.com. Even if you aren’t in the market for anything new you should take a few minutes to play around – it’s fun and addicting. And if you have an Amazon account, you can log in with it to create a wishlist. Currently on my list: BC Babycakes in pink. Oh yeah, and did I mention they have free overnight shipping and great prices? And for those of you interested in size 11s, they have 1795 options.


New Town

I’ve already told you how strange my new community is. Here are some other things I've discovered. I already knew that we have beautiful skies here in St. Louis but we have a wonderful view of them here. Why? Because we live in the flood plain of the Missouri River so there is nothing obstructing our view. Being in the flood plain also means that if there is ever another major flood like the one in '93, we're in trouble. Actually, that's not true, we are better off than most people in New Town - since our apartment is on the 2nd and 3rd floors we could just put a raft outside our living room window to escape, yet our things would hopefully stay dry above the water line. Another discovery - we basically live in the boonies, sticks, country. You'll see what I mean if you come for the luau. We are on the very northern edge of civilization. But that means we are only 10 minutes away from Illinois by ferry. Is that good or bad? You decide.

Blogs

I’d like to welcome my good friend Danielle to the wide world of blogging. She’ll be updating The Scott Spot with pictures of her precious children. Check it out when you get a moment – there’s a permanent link in the right hand column.

Post Potter Depression

Since getting at the LA airpot yesterday at 3:30, until 2:30 this afternoon I've done nothing but read, eat and sleep. (Reading on the plane in itself was an adventure, people kept wanting to talk to me about the book and were having loud conversations about it around me, not to mention the woman who was reading it ALOUD. I ended up getting in trouble with two different flight attendants because I was listening to my Ipod at the wrong times, but I was just trying to avoid all the spoilers!!)

But now it's done and I'm in a slump. I always do this when something I love finishes. I cried a lot when I finished the last Anne of Green Gables book (is that too nerdy to admit?). Graduations are hard for the same reason. I grew very attached to those HP books (although not to the extreme of the girl I read about in the paper who redecorated her room and her entire wardrobe in Slytherin colors). Now there are no new adventures and I will miss these characters. But all in all, I was quite satisfied with the ending. I actually was right about several things which of course pleased me tremendously. But there were still some good surprises.

Good thing I have two jobs starting and grad classes to attend to keep me busy!

More Potter

I've got lots to post about HP7, but for now, here's an AP photo... I was the first person in our store to pull the book out and hold it up to the cheers of the crowd. I'm not fully recovered from the lack of sleep but when I get a few minutes I'll try to post more details.

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/en/102601potter/im:/070721/482/f9a729a1234749fbb4c4ae5d8cc0fdc2

Done!

Ok, I realize that some of you may have finished it already, but, after about 7 years since I read the first book (dramatic pause...), I have now completed the entire Harry Potter series. I won't post any spoilers (Kel, hope you enjoyed LA instead of reading), but I'll just say that I really enjoyed it. There were some slow parts, but at least we didn't have to read on and on about quidditch. Without spoiling it for others, for those of you that have read it, what are your thoughts about the book? Did it answer your questions, if you had any? I appreciated that Rowling made an effort to tie up a lot of loose ends, and other than wondering who Victoire's parents were (and was she named after Victor or for victory?), I really didn't have any questions by the end.

Any recommendations on new books or series to read?

The Inevitable Harry Potter Post

With Movie #5 and the last book coming out this month, this post seems inevitable. I am re-reading the books, right now in the middle of 3 (I know, too much time on my hands). It's been good to reread them though, it had been an awfully long time and I had forgotten a bunch. Like the fact that one of the reasons Snape hated Harry's dad so much was because James saved his life when they were younger. Totally forgot that. Also forgot how annoying Ginny was in the first books. She definitely got a lot better as she grew up.

So what do you think are the answers to some of the important Potter type questions?

1. Is Dumbledore dead?
2. Snape good or evil?
3. Who are the two characters who will die?
4. Is Harry or Neville the one predicted to be Voldemort's downfall?
5. Will Harry and Ginny be together?
6. Will Jo persuade Jon to dress up for the Borders party?

Here are my thoughts, but am still totally unsure.
1. yes
2. good
3. Snape, maybe Hagrid or some other friend, but not Ron or Hermione
4.This one could go either way, but I think Neville is important
5. Yes, no, yes...???
6. No

I also realized that I will be out of town when the book comes out. Will I be able to wait to start reading until Monday night? Or will I break down and ruin my enitre LA trip because I will have my nose in a book? Inquiring minds want to know.

Here's a little Harry reading, should you be interested. For what it's worth, I agree with Sarah Karnasiewicz on several points. J.K Rowling's site, especially her FAQs are interesting, if you're super nerdy.

I will definitely see the movie, but don't care too much about it. Order of the Phoenix was not my fave. Any Harry thoughts out there?

Big Fun Wedding In Hawaii Days 4 & 5

I'm supposed to be getting in the shower, not blogging, so I'll keep this short and just tell you about the pictures.

^ Hula dancers in the Pan-Pacific Matsuri Parade, the second parade to march past our hotel in as many days.

^ After dinner #2 at Roy's. Both times they hooked us up with complimentary congratulatory desserts. And once again, the food did not disappoint. This is the original location but there are several others including one in Chicago. Definitely check it out if you get the chance.

^ Jon getting ready to snorkel at Shark's Cove. Thanks for the recommendash, Matt.

^ Me at Shark's Cove.

^ Shark's Cove. By the way, after we went to Shark's Cove we went back to Ehukai and our random dog friend was there again.

^ The name of this business means "Wet Butt." At first I thought it might be a bar or something, but it's much more clever than that. They sell waterproof seat covers.

^ Harry Potter (and Borders) is everywhere, apparently.

Harry Potter Hodge Podge

Potter Puppet Pals - check out more videos on YouTube.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be 784 pages, making it the 3rd longest book in the series. And Harry is going green.

Hodge Podge

Spring is here with a vengeance, to the delight of some (me!) and the chagrin of others (Jon). The trees are green, allergies are acting up, and there's roadkill everywhere. It's wonderful.

Books

There’s a lot of big news in books today. First, the cover…

Next, Oprah announced her new Book Club title yesterday – Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Sounds like another depressing one. Girls, cruise reading, perhaps?

There was a major release in the world of children’s picture books this week. Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy, by Jane O’Connor (author) and Robin Preiss Glasser (illustrator), made its debut on Tuesday. I wore a pink boa and tiara to the bookstore last night for the occasion and probably will again on Saturday. I don't think it really helps sell the book - I just like to dress up at work. It's nice to have a job where I can wear a boa without it having anything to do with a pole. This is my friend Lauren in the picture with me - she's holding the new book and I've got the original. Yes, we are nerds.

Calling all readers, teachers, and especially Beverly Cleary/Ramona Quimby fans. April 12 is Drop Everything And Read (R.E.A.D.) Day! Not that the readers of this blog need an excuse to ignore other activities and responsibilities for the draw of a good book, but it is fun to have a day dedicated specifically to celebrating the joys of reading.

By the way, I did score a copy of Grace (Eventually), the new Anne Lamott, so once everyone is back from cruising, I'll start it around.

Cavemen

My favorite Neanderthals are getting their own show. And I just discovered this fun site today: http://www.cavemenscrib.com/.

Idol

Kelly, in response to your Idol comments, it seems my friend Damon’s wife Rachel has done a little research on this subject. Read her post called “I’ve Figured It Out” from March 14.

Robbie

Quick update. He is doing really well. He hasn't taken a pill in 2 days and he said that today was the first day in a month that he has actually felt somewhat healthy. He said he doesn't feel sick, just a little tired. He worked for a few hours yesterday and said it actually got easier as he went along. The doctor said that the fact that he is not in any pain is a really good sign and probably means the tumors are shrinking. They'll do further testing at the end of the chemo to find out for sure. So thank you for all of your prayers and all of the other ways you've been supporting us. He still has 2 more rounds of chemo to go through which will probably make him really sick like last week so please keep him in your thoughts. I can't tell you how good it was to talk to him on the phone just now and have him sound like his old self.

Bracketology

Hi all. I've been avoiding posting all week because I was so excited about Kristy's post and I didn't want to knock it out of the top spot. But I now feel that we need some new material so I'm doing my part.

Bracketology
You may have recently read about a new book called The Enlightened Bracketologist: The Final Four of Everything, out just in time for March Madness. The book is a collection of brackets each based around a specific theme. The contributors use a series of head-to-head matchups to determine top songs, moments in history, top marital disputes, etc. They encourage readers to use bracketology to determine favorites and make decisions, and they even provide a blank bracket. One contributor and his wife used bracketology to determine their favorite name for a boy when they were expecting. They caution that you can't worry too much about "'seeding." Unlike basketball, there are no numbers and statistics to help you determine which of your top 32 favorite chick flicks should be paired in the first round. Just list them randomly, or create "regionals" (sub-categories of 4 or 8 or 16 used to group items in the first round) and trust that your favorite is going to win in every round and end up in that final spot.

I can already see that this could be a fun little time-waster for this group, especially since there is also a website: www.dailybracket.com. Not only can you browse and comment on other brackets, but you can create your own as well. Let the games begin.

Saturday Night at the Bookstore
Two middle-aged women were smoking pot in the women's bathroom and someone put one of the customer computers into DOS mode and typed F*** You all the way down the screen.

30 Update
Tomorrow is my 30th birthday, and I'm still really looking forward to it. Somehow, my hair seems to have gotten the memo about this milestone because over the last few weeks I've found many new, longer, thicker gray hairs all over my head. In honor of my 30th birthday I've actually purchased gifts for each of you. More to come on that...

HP7 Update
The initial printing of book 7, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, will be a record 12 million copies. That is a fact, but on the rumor and speculation side of things, there are reports that the book will top 700 pages and that dear Harry will not live to see the final page. Also, watch http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/ and http://www.jkrowling.com/ for information about the Knight Bus National Tour and the rest of Scholastic's "There Will Soon Be 7" marketing campaign.

Hawaiian Minute

These are my new shoes.

Robbie Update
Robbie (my 26-year-old brother, for those that don't know) starts chemo on Monday. He will be doing three 3-week cycles that will end May 15th. Jenni graduates from college on May 13 and their wedding is May 26. The wedding is going forward as planned but the honeymoon might be postponed as Robbie as probably isn't going to have much energy for traveling. Or for other honeymoon-ish activities.

The official description of his cancer is stage 4, grade T3 testicular cancer, exactly what Lance Armstrong had. The tumors that remain in his lymph nodes have just about doubled in size since his surgery less than 3 weeks ago. He's got quite a bit of pain right now from the tumors - they are pressing on his internal organs and sitting on a pelvic nerve. Oddly enough, Robbie actually said that he can't wait for chemo to start because his pain should be almost completely alleviated by the end of the first week.

Using only chemotherapy, the cure rate for this cancer is 90%. The doctor said that if you had to get a certain type of cancer, you would want to get this type because testicular cancer cells are very receptive to chemo. It actually works to Robbie's advantage that his cancer is so aggressive, because it leaves the cells more susceptible to the chemo. Weeks 1, 4, and 7 of his treatment are his "on" weeks. He will actually go to the cancer center every day from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and be hooked up to an I.V. the entire time he's there. The rest of the weeks are his "off" weeks and he'll only have to go in for one 1-hour treatment each Tuesday. The doctor said to expect that he'll lose all of his hair (which isn't a huge difference from how he wears it now). Other possible side effects include: change in appetite and food preferences (maybe he'll start liking veggies), lots of nausea and vomiting, fatigue, high risk of bleeding, kidney damage, nerve damage to fingers and toes, hearing loss, and lung toxicity (he'll have to stay as far away as possible from all cigarette smoke).

Robbie and Jenni also found out that it is pretty likely that even before starting the chemo he is already sterile. Still, they are taking steps to deal with fertility issues now and Robbie will be making a couple of "deposits to the bank" before chemo, including one at 6:00 a.m. Monday morning. Ugh. Poor guy. Whatever barriers we had with talking about these things in our family just a few months ago, they are gone now. Anything is fair game.

America, Go To The Head Of The Class

While keeping my brother company tonight during his recovery, we watched part of a new game show on Fox. It's called "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?" and features Jeff Foxworthy as the host. I love quiz shows - have I told you all about how I attended an open casting call in Chicago for "Weakest Link" and did quite well on the test but they didn't like the fact that my dad (sort of) works for NBC - but I simply don't think I can get behind this one. As Robbie said, this might be the first show where you qualify by failing the test.

Consider this progression: first came "Jeopardy," which requires you to actually know things and gives up to 61 clues per game, with a theoretical maximum one-day purse of a mere $566,400. Then, there was "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" (correct answer: me!). Just 15 questions, progressing in difficulty, with a $1,000,000 prize waiting at the end. Now, we have "Fifth Grader," where all you have to do to win a million dollars is answer 11 questions in categories such as "1st Grade Grammar" and "3rd Grade Astronomy." And in true "Millionaire" style you even get 3 lifelines, all various forms of help from five cute smarty-pants child actors that appear on each episode. (And I suspect they are given the answers ahead of time.)

During tonight's episode, it pained me to watch a grown man struggle to determine the suffix of "unfortunately" and a woman incorrectly guess that the number of U.S. states bordering the Pacific Ocean is 3. Astonishingly, last night's debut was the "most-watched series debut in Fox network history" and "the most popular debut of any series since 1998." Really, in 9 years there has been no series premiere more anticipated than this? Maybe the appeal is all about that final moment for each contestant after they've answered their questions and been awarded their money when they have to look into the camera and declare, "I am not smarter than a fifth grader!" That, my friends, is something to be proud of.

Confession: I must sheepishly admit that my mom, my brother, and I all had trouble with how many teaspoons are in 5 tablespoons. You would think this would be something I should know, but as someone who does not cook the last time I probably encountered this was actually in 3rd Grade Measurements. And by the way, the answer is 15.

This is a big month for our blog. Three more of us will be entering our fourth decade. Ugh. 30 doesn't sound so bad. In fact, I'm really looking forward to embracing my 30s. But fourth decade? You know what comes at the end of it, right? 40.

I was going to try the webcam again and post another in-the-moment picture, but then I realized it would look exactly like the one from Monday. Same shirt (don't worry - it saw the inside of a washing machine just this afternoon), same yellow pillow behind me. The only difference is that Jon is now on Year 2. He is particularly entertained by Scabbers. I have no idea why.

No longer a pair

Robbie had his surgery this afternoon and all went well. The procedure itself only took about an hour and the incision and healing process are just as if he had a hernia operation. It was supposed to be outpatient but he was having some pretty bad nausea afterwards so they decided to admit him overnight. The pathology report will be back in about a week. Until then, early markers indicate that the cancer probably hasn't spread but the doctor did talk like some sort of follow-up treatment would probably be necessary. He wouldn't commit to anything until the lab report comes back though - oh, and until they do a CAT scan.

For those that haven't heard, the really wonderful news is that Robbie qualified for a cancer trust that is going to pay for all of his expenses, retroactive to his first visit to the doctor back in January. Knowing the extremely high cure rate for testicular cancer, Robbie's biggest concern through all of this was how he was going to pay for it with no insurance and right before his wedding. Thankfully, that is no longer an issue.

This is my first post from Jon's NEW new laptop. The first one he got for his birthday a few weeks ago died an ugly, brutal death after a short fall off the bed last week. This one is an HP Pavilion dv6000 - it came with Vista and Office 2007 which is bizarro. Plus, it conveniently has a webcam built right in.

Okay, maybe that's not such a good thing after all. I would like to point out that the book you can just see there in the left of the picture is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. That's all I'm going to say about that, except that I'm really proud of Jon.

P.S. He just finished the book and said, "okay, where's the second one?"

Just Links Today

I can't talk about the game, so here are some links.

SNL Harry Potter parody - in case you haven't seen it.

Super Bowl of Love - one of the best ads of the night.

Roger Wehrli elected to Football Hall of Fame - Roger is a former member of my church. Congrats!

HP7

The people printing the 7/7/07 buttons on cafepress.com were wrong. And the people that said HP7 wouldn't come out in July because OOTP is hitting theaters on 7/13/2007 were also wrong. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will arrive on 7/21/2007. Well, actually the book will start arriving at bookstores well before that, but with very clear and firm instructions to not open the boxes until midnight on the 21st. Put this date on your calendars and then book your plane tickets to come to St. Louis because my store has just about the most amazing Potter Party anywhere. I mean that. The planning has started and we're claiming our characters, although I have not picked mine yet. Any suggestions? (Off limits: Harry & Hermione. Already taken: Dobby, Bellatrix Lestrange, Professor Trelawny.) I'm having a hard time convincing Jon (who hasn't read even one chapter of the books) that he should be Sirius Black but he would be perfect as his hair has gotten a little long and the costume is so easy to put together. My friend Dan is usually Sirius, but his hair is short now and it doesn't sound like he wants to grow it out.

The Leaky Cauldron has a growing but already extensive list of what's left to tie up in Book 7.

In other odd news:

Eagle lugging deer head causes outage

Hard choice: Iguana faces amputation

U2-charist: U2 service brings rock to religion

New Things

Just a short one today...

New Blogger

Readers, have patience with us over the next week or so. We are doing the big Blogger switch. I've migrated the blog but now all of the authors have to do their part and join Google. So if we are slow with our posts or if things look funny for awhile, that's the reason.

I've got to figure out why things are spaced so far apart along the right side of the page, but you will notice that there are some new features. 1.) A new picture. (I'm going to have to dig out an old one from college to get all 6 of us in it. Sorry, Megan.) 2.) Labels! Finally there's a way to sort posts by author. Notice that there are zero posts from Kristy. 3.) A new drop-down format for the archive. If we don't like it, we can change it back.

HP7

For all of the Harry Potter fans out there, Scholastic has announced the title of the 7th and final Harry Potter book. There is much speculation that the release date will be 7-7-07, but there is nothing official to back that up. As Rachel pointed out when I texted her about the title, the title probably has something to do Godric's Hollow.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows