V is for Voldemort...and the Very Annoying Mr. Anonymous

A short, short list of contests and blog hops at the bottom!

V is for Voldemort and the Very Annoying Mr. Anonymous

Voldemort is brilliant, beyond evil, a complete sociopath. He doesn't have an ounce of beauty or compassion or understanding in him making him a fabulous and unstable villain. We never know who he'll go after next because he's willing to sacrifice anything and anyone. 

My favorite part about Voldemort, however, is that a boy is the one who destroys him. I love YA lit in part because kids and YA characters are often naive and unjaded. They believe in right vs wrong. They are passionate enough and foolish enough to fight unswervingly for what's right and just. I love that Voldemort can't understand love and friendship and virtue - everything that makes up HP.

And now the Very Annoying Mr. Anonymous

A few weeks back, I changed my preferences and allowed people without a Google Account to comment Anonymously on my blogs. After doing so, I had some lovely conversations with people I might not have heard from otherwise - and I really enjoyed them. However, I also starting getting attacked - yes attacked! - by the Very Annoying Mr. Anonymous. 

Mr. Anonymous doesn't spell very well. His grammar and capitalization skills are poor. Even as a grammar teacher, I understand we all make mistakes (myself included). But it makes me angry when the Very Annoying Mr. Anonymous does it - partly because I know he's not reading my posts (which makes me feel better about bad-mouthing him here...I don't like to make people - even annoying people - feel bad about themselves). 

When Mr. Anonymous comments, he tells me he likes what I'm saying in my posts or that I have a very fresh perspective or that I'm really smart and he wants to talk with me more about how I can help him improve his blog but HE'S LYING! He just wants me to visit his blog and buy something stupid like magnetic paperclips or the world's shiniest (self-proclaimed) shoe polish. Well, Mr. Anonymous, you're not fooling me - no matter how many posts you visit (or how outdated those posts may be), I will win this fight! *shakes fist dramatically in air* 

Unfortunately the only (reasonable) way to win is to either turn on CAPTCHA - which I just can't do - or turn off the ability to comment anonymously. I wish there was some other way, but there isn't. So, I'm sorry. I really am. Mr. Anonymous ruined our fun like that seventh grade student who sticks his chewed up wad of gum under my desks so many times that no one is allowed to chew gum in class anymore. Very annoying, isn't it?

Contests and Blog Hops

The Writer's Voice competition begins May 1st. 

Operation Awesome is hosting another Secret Agent Contest on May 1st.

Secondary Characters Blog Hop hosted by the wonderful ladies: Rachel Schieffelbein, Theresa Paol, Kelley Lynn, Jessica Salyer, Jenny Morris, and Suzi Retzlaff will be May 22.

Alex J Cavanaugh, Stephen Tremp, Livia Peterson and Al Diaz are hosting The Best and Worst Remakes Blogfest on May 17.

U is for Umbridge and....Undeniable Book Depression

A short, short list of contests and blog hops at the bottom!

U is for Umbridge

God bless J.K. Rowling for creating so many fabulous characters with more importantly for the purposes of my posts so many varied names. Doloris Umbridge is a wonderfully evil character. She disguises her cruel and abusive nature with her childish, high pitch voice and affinity for kittens and pink. The angrier she gets, the sweeter her voice becomes. She lacks ethics yet preaches the importance of them. I loved reading about Umbridge because I passionately hated her. Rowling's characterization is brilliant to evoke such strong emotions from her readers.

Speaking of brilliant writers....*cough, cough, gracefully clears throat* ....I know. I should shut up. I've now professed my obsession love for Marissa Meyer and the Cinder series plenty of times. And I apologize for going there again, but I've entered a serious and undeniable book depression. I felt this way after finishing the HP series, the HG series, the Divergent series, the Twilight series,... but this one is the worst.  I finished Scarlet last night and then wanted to do nothing but put my pjs on, crawl into bed and reread my favorite scenes....which I did after putting my cutie-pah-tuties to bed. I have to return this book to the library today and after I do, I'm going to buy it because I need to have it on my shelf or nightstand or whatever...Yes...I'm that impressed  in love  (let's be honest, shall we?) obsessed with it. Yes, it's that good.

Moving on...let's talk about tomorrow....because I think it might be healthy at this point....Tomorrow I'll be talking about Voldemort (unless I change my mind) and the Very Annoying Mr. Anonymous.

Contests and Blog Hops

The Writer's Voice competition begins May 1st. 

Operation Awesome is hosting another Secret Agent Contest on May 1st.

Secondary Characters Blog Hop hosted by the wonderful ladies: Rachel Schieffelbein, Theresa Paol, Kelley Lynn, Jessica Salyer, Jenny Morris, and Suzi Retzlaff will be May 22.

Alex J Cavanaugh, Stephen Tremp, Livia Peterson and Al Diaz are hosting The Best and Worst Remakes Blogfest on May 17.

N is for Neville

N is for Neville

I love Neville Longbottom in Harry Potter. 

I love that J.K. Rowling sets up her entire series with the possibility that the prophecy foretelling the "one with the power to vanquish" Voldemort could be Harry or Neville. By doing this, she creates yet another unexpected hero among her characters.

He's shy, clumsy, and introverted. It takes him a while to become a dynamic character. But in the final scenes of this series, he displays such impulsive bravery that I couldn't help but cheer out loud at his heroics while reading the book.

Know what else I love that begins with "N"? Nighttime. Know what nighttime is good for? Sleep. A logical argument that my 8month old refused to buy into last night. 

Must challenge my inner-Neville Longbottom to brave the day today.....

H is for Harry Potter

Running a bit late today....I look forward to blog hopping and reading everyone's posts later this evening. ;)

H is for Hagrid, Hermione, Harry....must stick with Harry.

I've already addressed Rowling's brilliance with characterization. Out of all of her characters, none is more perfect than Harry Potter. Harry is a classic rags-to-riches boy. He's the awkward average nobody that proves to be braver and smarter than even he thinks he is capable of. His strong sense of right vs wrong makes him a character everyone wants to root for. He makes us think we all have greatness (and magic) inside of us. 

Love Harry Potter.