Harry Potter What-If #4

What If Crouch hadn't gotten the gillyweed to Dobby in time for Harry's second task?  No significant effects here, I'm just kind of amused at the thought of any of the champions just sitting in the shallow part of the lake with nothing to do for an hour.  Kinda like LeBron in the 4th quarter of an important game.

Transformers (and HPWI)

Saw Transformers tonight, and it passed the subterranean bar of my expectations.  The highlights: surprisingly good cameos, someone actually says "Kill them all," some fun action, quasi-recognizable Transformers.  The lowlights: even given the premise, science was ignored; writing/directing/acting (as usual), the rest of the Transformers, the attempts to make it seem significant or emotional.  The story actually is worse than the first two, but individual scenes are definitely better than the second.  It will be exactly what you expect, whatever you expect.

Harry Potter What-If #3:

What If the Ford Anglia had something better to do (pretty much anything) than rush into Spider Grove and save Harry and Ron?  Harry and Ron become tasty spider treats, and OldTom sacrifices Ginny to corporealize (bad year for the Weasleys!).  I think OldTom would polish off Voldemort and his horcruxes.  Would Neville become the new Chosen One?  Maybe, but OldTom's the kind of up-and-comer who would finish what he started.

Harry Potter What-If #2

Sorry - no bigger blog post, but I wanted to keep my microseries going.

What If Snape had actually tried to protect the Sorcerer's Stone instead of writing a word problem, and put poison in all seven vials?  Hermione's dead, victim of her own faith in the educational system.  Harry is stuck in the room or dead if he tries another vial, but ... Quirrell/Voldemort probably keep trying to decipher the Mirror of Erised until Dumbledore returns, and that could give Dumbledore the chance to capture/destroy Voldemort at his leisure.  If Harry survives, he becomes just a rule-breaking know-it-all with no Impending Doom excuses for his misbehavior, and probably ends up the attendant on the Knight Bus, telling everyone that he's just waiting for his Prophecy to come true.

Bad Teacher, Worse Movie

You might think I do nothing for you, but I am about to save you time.  Bad Teacher looks funny - Jason Segel and Justin Timberlake can be hilarious.  But Cameron Diaz' black hole of unfunny expands to cover Timberlake, and Segel only has a few good lines.  It's the script that's terrible - someone thought teacher stereotypes would be funny (and in fairness, I know teachers like each of them), and forgot that a story involves a plot, or meaningful character growth/shifts - think second half of Office Space.  Avoid like the plague.  If you're desperate for movie theater air conditioning, go with X-Men or a few great independent movies like Submarine or Beginners (or Win Win if you can find it - Paul Giamatti is awesome).

An important event is coming up on July 15 as the last Harry Potter movie spells the end of my midnight movie career (except both Hobbit movies, and any future Potter movies now that J.K. Rowling is writing more books ... OK, not so much an end).  I'm rereading all 7 books, and would like to try a miniseries on the blog, so here goes:

Harry Potter What-If #1

What If anyone in the world remembered the Time-Turner existed?  Good guys win, unless Voldemort can make one too, in which case it becomes a chicken race of who will go back farther in time to shift events their way.  I await the fan-fiction entries.

12 Decadal Highlights: Part 5

Click here for Part 1 and the explanation.

#1: Met A Girl

Fell in love.  Got married.  Five years later I'm still the luckiest man in the world.  I love you Laura!

Happy New Year everyone!

12 Decadal Highlights: Part 4

Click here for Part 1 and the explanation.

#3: So Much Work

I'm not sure if I'm proud of this, but I've worked for 9 different employers in the decade, including specific projects for at least 11 major clients.  See if you can guess which ones weren't part of the career plan (some left anonymous due to confidentiality or forgetting):

Enform/Sungard

annuity agency

Round Rock Independent School District

Digital Motorworks/ADP

PerformanceRetail

Coremetrics

marketing agency

AlterPoint

S3

#2: Back To School

Sadly no grad school, but I took UT night courses for credit in WWII history and Civil Liberties.  WWII included about a dozen films and only three books - I'd rather have had them flipped, but apparently most non-standard students don't feel that way (probably not standard students, either).  Civil Liberties was exactly the kind of class I wanted - roundtable discussions each week, and flexibility (almost too much) in writing assignments.  I've taken a short break from formal classes, but anticipate returning soon.

TOMORROW: What's #1?  Filing my first auto insurance claim?  Nope.  Having USAA insurance?  Closer...

12 Decadal Highlights: Part 3

Click here for Part 1 and the explanation.

#6: Hawaii

I left Hawaii on July 26, 1985, and finally returned in November 2003.  I had a week to explore old haunts, see friends again, and remember that the state hates me.  Not the government - just the state.  First it conspired with Minnesota to give me an ear infection on the flight there, meaning I had to avoid putting my head underwater.  No problem - who wants to bother with the beaches when you're in Hawaii?  Then our car got towed at the surfing competition, leading to a 2-hour search through ... um, interesting neighborhoods and several Hauli*-unfriendly people.  On the plus side, I visited the library of the Mid-Pacific Institute and remembered a musty basement smell I strongly associate with books.  Rereading that sentence, it might sound like I'm being sarcastic, but it was a truly wonderful experience.

#5: Stayed In Place

It's the first decade I stayed in one city (yes, I'm counting Pflugerville as staying in Austin).  Relationships are stronger, and I had to pack far less times than in the 90s.  The 80s only had one move, but it was across half an ocean and half a continent.  From this steady base of operations, I did visit several places for the first time: Seattle, Tulsa, Indianapolis, Vancouver, Gainesville, Banff, Disneyworld.  (I went near San Francisco for work, but I don't think I can claim it until I visit the Golden Gate bridge.)

#4: Real Estate

I bought a townhouse in 2003, when everyone said to invest in real estate because it "only goes up."  That hasn't held true so much, but in fairness, the condo did appreciate 24% in 4 years before we bought the house.  Owning a house has frequently made me appreciate renting, but I do enjoy having a place that is mine (and/or Laura's).

TOMORROW: School or work?  I reject the tyranny of the or!

*Native Hawaiian slang for Caucasians.