Harry Potter Proposal [Pic]

I should just make a series of these, for geek guys and gals that need ideas proposing to their significant others.  Why do I say that?  Because I once posted a Munchkin Marriage Proposal, and mere days ago found a super-cute Pokémon Proposal.  Sheesh.  Geeks are seriously too romantic/creative.

 

[via geekologie]

Watch It: Indulge in the First 15 Minutes of Game of Thrones!

This show makes me really wish my boyfriend and I had cable.  This show is premiering on HBO April 17, and is adapted from George R. R. Martin’s “Song of Ice and Fire” series (which apparently I really have to read).  Sean Bean—who you may remember as Boromir in Lord of the Rings—stars in the show. 

The question is:  Will you be watching?

Let me know in the comments!

 

[via igeektrooper]

Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gently Series Coming to BBC [+ Trailer!]

Hooray!  The genius mind of Douglas Adams is once again being recognized for its greatness.  Adams’ Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency series has been adapted for television!  Hitchhiker’s fans, rejoice! 

Here is the trailer, for your viewing pleasure:

 

No word yet as to when exactly it will premiere (in the US; in the UK it was out December 11), but that doesn’t stop me from being excited about it!  Stephen Mangan will star as Dirk Gently in this television movie.

I have heard some polite critiques of the movie, but I’d rather watch it myself and judge it from there.  I will admit that I’ve never read the books (yes, I’m a horrible DA fan!) so I should probably get around to doing that before watching this TV movie. 

 

What do you think?  Have you read the books?  Have high hopes?  Will you be avoiding it at all costs, burning your ears out with acid at the mention of the BBC Dirk Gently adaptation?

[via Tor.com]

Technorati Tags: BBC,tv,movie,Dirk Gently,Douglas Adams,Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,geeky,books

20 Things You Didn’t Know About Harry Potter [Guest Post]

My sister was gracious enough to write this up for me.  So thanks, sis!
--
Now I’m sure if some of you’re crazy and obsessive like me, you know most of these already. My hope is that I’ll enlighten you with maybe one or two little facts you didn’t know, and show all of you who aren’t nutty and whacky some interesting tidbits about Harry Potter, the world he lives in, the characters around him, and J.K. Rowling herself.
20 Things You Didn’t Know About Harry Potter
1. W.O.M.B.A.T.s (Wizards' Ordinary Magic and Basic Aptitude Tests) (Grades 1, 2, and 3) could be sat by Muggles, although the Wizarding Examinations Authority does not believe that any Muggle would have the inner-knowledge to achieve a pass. The tests are not simple Harry Potter trivia tests, but require extensive knowledge of canon and intuitive knowledge of the wizarding world. (c/o www.jkrowling.com and www.hp-lexicon.org)
2. Most wizarding children are home-schooled before attending a wizarding school like Hogwarts (due mostly to the fact that they can inadvertently or deliberately use magic even at a young age).
3. Albus Dumbledore invented the method of communication using Patronuses specifically for the Order of the Phoenix. Members of this group are the only witches and wizards schooled in this method.
4. Professor Filius Flitwick is human with a dash of goblin ancestry. (Yes, that’s why he’s so short.) This makes him more empathetic to half-breeds (such as Hagrid; half-giant) and more welcoming to all students (including Muggle-borns).
5. Neville Longbottom could have been Voldemort’s target rather than Harry Potter.

a. It’s interesting to note that Voldemort chose the half-blood boy to target rather than the pure-blood. After all, Voldemort is half-blood himself, even though he denies it (or rather, simply fails to acknowledge it).

6. In the wizarding world, photographs move thanks to a potion that wizards use in the developing process.
7. Wizards can make areas Unplottable as well as make themselves Untraceable.
8. Dean Thomas’s father was killed by Death Eaters after he refused to join them when Dean was very young. (Dean was then raised by his mother and step-father, both Muggles, and has always thought himself to be Muggle-born.)
9. There was a Weasley cousin, Mafalda, who was dropped from the books. She would’ve been in Slytherin and would’ve given the Trio information about the Death Eaters because she was nosy and couldn’t keep her mouth shut. Rita Skeeter was created to replace that character, as an eleven-year-old could only find out so much, while a reporter with little or no morals could get pretty much any information.
10. Rowling had tried to use chapters similar to the first one in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in “Philosopher’s Stone”, “Prisoner of Azkaban”, and “Order of the Phoenix”, but finally found a place for it in the sixth book.
11. Crookshanks, Hermione’s half-cat half-Kneazle, is based on a cat Rowling saw on her lunch breaks in London in the late 1980’s.
12. Gilderoy Lockhart was based on someone Rowling actually knew. (She insists that he’s probably telling everyone he knows that he inspired Albus Dumbledore and will never guess which character he really inspired. Or that he claims he actually wrote the books and lets Rowling take the credit because he’s nice.)
13. A never-published song sung by Nearly-Headless Nick which details his death can be found on www.jkrowling.com.
14. Rowling’s editor wanted to cut the scene in which Harry, Ron, and Hermione fight the troll in “Philosopher’s Stone”. Rowling argued hard to keep it because she felt Hermione’s previous annoying-ness required something (quite literally) huge to redeem her in the boys’ eyes.
15. Ginny Weasley is the first girl to be born into the Weasley family for several generations.
16. Fred and George Weasley were born on April 1 (April Fool’s Day).
17. A Squib is a non-magical person born to at least one magical parent. Squibs are rare, as magic is a strong and resilient gene. Some notable Squibs: Argus Filch, Arabella Figg, Merope Gaunt.
18. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all have wands that coincide with Celtic assignations of wood (based on birth date). Harry’s wand, though, was always a holly wand. Ron and Hermione were the only characters for whom Rowling specifically followed Celtic assignations.
19. Gideon and Fabian Prewett, highly skilled members of the original Order of the Phoenix, were Molly Weasley’s brothers.
20. Rowling is less than fond of most sports; so when she came up with Quidditch, she tried to come up with a sport that she would be interested in watching or even playing herself.

Well, there you have it. Just a short list of trivia for Potter-fanatics. Enjoy this weekend of Potter Mania, read one of the books, or go out and see Part I of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! It’s sure to be a great time!
Magically yours,
Bambi

So my question to you:  Do you know any other interesting Harry Potter Facts?

Technorati Tags: Harry Potter,Hogwarts,Deathly Hallows,movies,books,JKR,Facts,I bet you didn't know

Butterbeer Recipe— You Don’t HAVE to go to Hogsmeade to Enjoy It

Considering the first part of the last Harry Potter movie (The Deathly Hallows Pt 1) opens for a midnight showing tonight, I thought I’d devote today to everything Harry Potter!

To begin, here’s a perfect recipe for Harry Potter parties, especially since temperatures keep dropping.  Of course, I’m talking about Butterbeer!

Actually, I have two recipes. If you search online, there are hundreds of varying recipes, so I’m showing you one that is very easy to make, and one that is a little more complicated, but both look good!

 

Rosmerta's Recipes - Butterbeer by Melissa

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (8 oz) club soda or cream soda
• ½ cup (4 oz) butterscotch syrup (ice cream topping)
• ½ tablespoon butter

Directions:
Step 1: Measure butterscotch and butter into a 2 cup (16 oz) glass. Microwave on high for 1 to 1½ minutes, or until syrup is bubbly and butter is completely incorporated.
Step 2: Stir and cool for 30 seconds, then slowly mix in club soda. Mixture will fizz quite a bit.
Step 3: Serve in two coffee mugs or small glasses; a perfectly warm Hogwarts treat for two!

[via MuggleNet]

 

Now for the harder recipe…

How to Make Butterbeer - Perfected Recipe

Ingredients:

• 10 OZ of Cream Soda (1 & 1/4 cups)
• 1 Tbsp of Salted REAL Butter
• 1/2 Cup Butterscotch chips
• 1/4 Cup liquid Creamer

Directions:

1. Put the Butterscotch Chips and Butter in a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 30 seconds. Stir and Heat for another 30 seconds.
   The Chips and butter should be a thick stir-able paste.

2. Now add your Creamer to the bowl. I use the Original Coffee Mate Liquid Creamer.
   Microwave in 30 Second increments again. Stirring each time.
   I have found it usually takes about 4 times (2 minutes) to get the right consistency.
   Set your mixture aside.

3. Heat Cream soda in the microwave for 90 seconds.
   BE VERY CAREFUL!
   Since microwaves vary I must add, my microwave needs about 2 minutes.
   Make sure not to over heat the Cream Soda or all of the fizz will be gone.

4. Pour Butterscotch mixture into heated Cream Soda.
   Stir & Serve!

[via eHow]

 

Technorati Tags: butterbeer,harry potter,Hogwarts,hogsmeade,recipes,food,beverages,JKR

Once Wicked Always Dead [Book Review]

I was given the opportunity to review T. Marie Benchley’s new book, Once Wicked Always Dead!  I jumped at the chance because I loved the title and have always been interested in socio/psychopaths. 

To begin, here’s a bit about the book:

“Molly Madison is unaware of the sociopath who is on the loose, creating havoc with a sense of their own justice. Her life is shattered by the sudden death of her beloved parents and the revelation of her husband Phillip's affair with another man. Molly leaves the life of country clubs and the luxury of city life and heads west to Montana, resolved to run the family ranch, and to move on with her life. Her attraction to Clayton Leatherbe, the ranch foreman, is instant, but before a romance can blossom, the ranch falls prey to sabotage by wealthy land developers determined to drive Molly out, and Clayton learns of a family secret that could put the ranch and Molly’s life in jeopardy. A sharp mystery that deals with the themes of family secrets, betrayal, love, and loss, Once Wicked Always Dead is a strong debut from an author with literary blood in her veins.”

M.M.W.E. Publishing House
Hardcover, 336 pages
$24.95 US, $27.95 CA
ISBN: 9780984478705
Also available in Ebook
E PUB: ISBN 9780984478729
E PDF: ISBN 9780984478736

 

What I Thought:

I will start off by saying that this is a little bit out of my normal, reading-for-pleasure comfort zone.  I mostly read fantasy.  And as many people know, fantasy novels are generally pretty long (the book I’m reading now is x pages long), normally are part of a series, and are filled with detailed descriptions and a complicated, in-depth plot.

So, when I started reading Once Wicked Always Dead, I instantly realized that the writing style and plot were much simpler than I was accustomed to reading.  Not a bad thing, though.  I got through the book very quickly because of it, and it was definitely not a boring read.  Bentley did an excellent job of characterization; even though some of the characters at first seemed cliché, they turned out to have much more depth than I expected. 

Near the end of the novel, I was blindsided by a twist which I wholly did not seem coming.  It was very well crafted, and, like most books, ended with a happy ending.  I will admit that I was a little disappointed by the “killer", but then again, being someone who has read nonfiction books about various serial killers and a huge fan of novels like American Psycho, I expect killings to be pretty descriptive, bloody, and gruesome from the beginning to the very end.

All in all, I would give this book 4/5 stars! Great light read and pretty interesting, to boot!

**This is a sponsored review.  I was sent Once Wicked Always Dead for free for review purposes.  However, as always, my review is 100% honest and always my own words**