America in the Potterverse

First post in over a year.  Yeah, not surprised.  School has a habit of taking over your life.  I want to talk about one of my favorite book and movie series -- Harry Potter.  I have read every book at least once, although, I tried to reread all of them but school gets in the way.  I have watched and own all eight films.  I was a Beta tester for Pottermore.  I'm a Slytherin, by the way.  This is kind of funny, considering that all of my friends would peg me as a Ravenclaw.   As much as I love Harry Potter, there are a few things that bother me.  One of which I will discuss below.

Ever since I read the Harry Potter series, I was curious as to how things would work in the United States in J.K. Rowling's wizarding world.  I think the American wizarding government would be an executive department in the federal government, much like the State Department or Department of the Treasury.  The Department of Magic would be headed by the Secretary of Magic.  I would imagine it would be set in Washington, D.C.  I would hope that most American witches and wizards would follow the laws (at least, most of them).

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry educated the majority of witches and wizards in Britain and Ireland.  However, parents could decide to homeschool or send their children to foreign wizarding schools.  At least, that was until Voldemort's temporary takeover during the 1997-1998 school year.  The only other schools that are mentioned are Beaubatons Academy of Magic in southern France, the Durmstrang Institute which is located either in Norway or Sweden, a school in Brazil where Bill's pen pal went, Mahoutokoro in Japan, the Salem Witches' Institute in the United States, and the Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts, which was most likely located in Great Britain.

Due to the large size of the US and its population, I would imagine that the Salem Witches' Institute is one of a few wizarding schools that are divided by region.  Due to the name, it is more than likely that it is set in Salem, Massachusetts, the site of the infamous witch trials.  It would be for students living in the North or Northeastern United States.  It may be an all-girls school or it could be a coed school that was originally for witches.  Due to the conspiracy theories, a school could be set in or around Roswell, New Mexico or Area 51 in Nevada for students in the Western or Southwestern United States.  A Southeastern school could be set in or near New Orleans, Louisiana due to the practice of Voodoo by some Louisiana Creoles, such as Marie Laveau and her daughter.  I am not sure if residents of Alaska and Hawaii would go to a school in the continental US or a school in a neighboring country, such as Canada for Alaska.  I believe there would be some focus on liberal arts and a foreign language requirement, in addition to magical courses for the US wizarding educational system.

As for magical sports, Quidditch is still played but Quodpot is more popular.  There is a national Quidditch team and league.  The Fitchburg Finches from Massachusetts and the Sweetwater All-Stars from Texas are two notable American Quidditch teams.

Note: Some information is obtained from the Harry Potter Wiki, while the rest of this is based on my own thoughts after researching forums where others have discussed the same issues.  I encourage comments and feedback.

Soap Wedding Redux

On February 11, 2011, ABC played some of their fan favorite soap weddings in lieu of new episodes as a way of cutting costs. I did not watch that of All My Children. But apparently, it was the one where soap icon Erica Kane wed Jackson Montgomery. One thing is for sure, they just don't the same amount of romance in soap operas that they did three years ago, let alone ten or twenty. Which is rather sad.

For One Life to Live, they chose to play one of Todd and Blair's weddings. This is the same wedding which Blair today considers the happiest moment of her life. The portrait that Eli bought from Tomas that was painted in 2003 came from a picture taken at this wedding. Todd was played by Roger Howarth, the originator of the role. I happen to prefer the current Todd, Trever St. John, myself. Also in this episode, are Viki and Todd's niece and nephew, CJ and Sarah Roberts, Dorian's eldest daughter Cassie and Joey Buchanan. At this period in time, Joey was played by Nathan Fillion of Firefly and Castle fame. Marty and her now-dead husband, Patrick Thornhart, appear to have recently met. Marty still holds no interest for me and looks even more evil than she does today. It was nice to see some of the chemistry of Joey and Kelly, who the writers are trying to get back together today. It was great seeing the late Phil Carey as one of the soap world's famous patriarchs, Asa Buchanan. Asa was with Alex Olanov--annoying as ever.

As for General Hospital, it is Scrubs Wedding Take Two. Robin and Patrick finally made it down the aisle together in this episode. The last time they tried to marry, Robin went into labor with their daughter Emma. Robin's superspy parents, Robert Scorpio and Anna Devane were in attendance. I can only hope that my Scrubs get back together. Terrell is a fine doctor and a handsome man. However, the only reason he is getting close to Robin is because Lisa (the psycho bitch that used to date Patrick in med school wants him back) asked him to seduce her. Lisa is just using Terrell's affections for her (what does the man see in her?) to do her bidding. Sonny is in agony over Michael being in the coma because of the ricochet bullet. Dylan Cash--best Michael ever. Cash could play the character as a little brat who tries to get his parents together at all costs or a sweet kid. I miss Lainey, Robin's friend and the hospital's last shrink. We also see the beginnings of the Spinelli-Matt-Maxie triangle. Both pairings have their merits but I have to say that I prefer The Blonde One with Dr. Hunter. Spinelli would be a great catch but the poor guy is so unlucky in love (Lulu, Georgie, Jolene, Maxie, Winifred). Maxie was his best relationship but Maxie's faults kept getting in the way.

General Hospital 12/21/2010

Today is the day! Luke and Tracy's wedding day, that is. Tracy is does not fully believe that her husband-to-be will go through with the ceremony. Maid of honor Lulu and bridesmaid Maya are trying to quell the bride's fears. Luke is having cold feet and is not dealing well with being sober. Lucky and Ethan are going to make sure that he doesn't pull a runaway groom.

Dante tells Sonny that a man matching Jerry Jacks' description was shot and fell into the river by the docks. I am so glad that that psycho Jerry is dead! Sonny mistakenly thinks that Brenda is safe with Jerry dead. It would have been too easy if Jerry was the Balkan. Jason hasn't heard the news about Jerry's death and does not want to go to the wedding with Brenda.

Spinelli is indulging in his film noir-ish private eye fantasies again and is caught by Carly. When will Carly and Spinelli give up on their stupid discredit Dante plan? It will only blow up in their faces and hurt everyone. But one good thing can come from their investigation--I want to know where the mysterious baby comes into play.

Darn, we still have to deal with psycho Lisa drama. Our estranged Scrubs are trying to work out holiday plans for their daughter. I do hope that these two can reconcile sometime down the line.

Sonny wants to incorporate Brenda into his children's lives this holiday season. Michael wants to know if Brenda intends to stay in Port Charles with Sonny or go back to Rome when the Balkan is dealt with. I would also like to know if this will be another failed romance between S&B, particularly since I did not watch when they were together before.

Jason and Sam take advantage of their Brenda-free time. Yay! There has not been enough of them in quite some time. Jason and Sam decide to get a Christmas tree together.

Poor Alice. She just can't stand that Luke loves Tracy. Father-of-the-bride Edward tests Luke's love for Tracy by offering him money not to go through with the marriage. Luke passed. Luke still has not signed Tracy's prenup. All the Spencer children and Alexis get him to sign, ensuring that the ceremony does take place.

Luke made it to the wedding. Tracy was so happy to see that her groom was waiting for her and that he had signed the prenup. She stopped the priest's speech in order to make sure that Luke did in fact sign. Luke professes his love and intentions to marry her. She responds in kind.

One Life to Live 11/23/2010

Natalie tells Gigi that John is the father but Gigi notices that Natalie has been crying. She confides in her friend about the paternity results and that she did not want to tear apart anyone's happiness. Gigi promises that she won't tell anyone that the baby is Brody's. Marty decides that she will tell John about Natalie's baby's paternity by disguising the results as a baby gift. She was a few steps outside of John's apartment when she got a call about Cole. Natalie put the paternity results in the fireplace, only for them to be recovered by Brody.

Echo and Charlie want to have lunch with Rex. They end up going to the same restaurant where Bo, Nora, and Matthew are eating. Bo is still wary about his son interning with Clint. Bo, ever the father figure to Balsom, wants to know how Rex feels about the results. Matthew overhears the conversation. Clint's employee, who switched the paternity results, also walks into the diner. Matthew is starting to realize what Clint has been hiding. Rex tells Roxie about his parentage and she does not take it well.

Viki goes to tell Dorian that they were wrong about Clint and Rex. Dorian warns her that Echo is going to milk her connection to Charlie. After Roxie kicked her out, Echo went to ask Charlie and Viki if she could stay with them. As if we couldn't tell that was going to happen.

One Life to Live 11/22/2010

Due to the Thanksgiving holidays, I have not been able to get online much nor have I watched OLTL. I am just now able to watch them and post recaps/reviews.

Last time on One Life, we had triple baby daddy drama and the results are in! Brody professes his love for Jessica and her baby, even if it is not his. But it is. Darn, I was hoping for it to be Ford's! As for the other pregnant Buchanan twin, she tells Brody that it is John's baby. Clint's inside man was successful and now Matthew is becoming suspicious of his uncle's activities. Rex officially finds out that his mother is Echo but will have to wait a bit longer to find out Clint is his father. Switching paternity results is such a pain! Viki knows that something is amiss when Clint all but jumps for joy at not being revealed the father. Clint had also asked that his daughter's paternity test result be Brody Lovett. However, I am thinking that the man got the wrong Buchanan daughter. This theory could be true due to Natalie's result having Brody down as the father.

Ford is trying to reconcile being in a real relationship with Langston but not having sex any time soon. She wants to wait 6 months before they have sex again. While they are discussing this matter, Jessica calls to tell him the good news. Ford, who had previously said that he did not want to be the baby's father and would have let Brody raise it if it was his, looked quite sad.

Todd makes sure that Marty will never see Hope or Starr again. I think Marty is going to go off the deep end. I wonder if she will try to kill anyone. Todd clues John in on Marty's intentions. John stops Marty from seeing Hope and causing trouble. Marty asks John about Natalie's amnio results. Apparently, Marty had seen Clint's guy in the genetics lab and asked to print something off.

Power Rangers

One of my favorite shows when I was a kid was Power Rangers. I am still a fan of the show and I am anxiously awaiting the eighteenth season, Power Rangers Samurai. The show usually has a good combination of action, comedy, values/positive messages, and interesting stories.

Tonight, I watched the eighth episode of the second season, "The Power Stealer", at http://www.powerrangers.com/. This episode originally aired on September 20, 1994 on Fox Kids Network. The episode opens with the teens trying to clean up the community. Lord Zedd creates Octophantom, an octopus/elephant hybrid monster to drain the rangers power. Tommy is the first of the Power Rangers to fall victim to Octophantom, followed by Zack, Kimberly, and Trini. Jason and Billy must rescue their friends by distracting the monster with a mirror shield. Of course, the episode ends predictable with a Megazord battling the overgrown monster and the rangers saving the day.

Interview with Sarah

As part of our final project, we were told to incorporate a video and an interview into our blog. I decided to combine the two by interviewing my roommate, Sarah. I asked her the following questions:

1. Do you prefer to watch television shows on TV or online?
2. Name 3 of your favorite TV shows.
3. What do you consider to be advantages to watching shows online?
4. What do you consider to be disadvantages to watching shows online?
5. What shows do you believe should be available online legally that currently are not?

My roommate watches shows both on television and online. According to Sarah, watching television shows online is fast and convenient, especially since there are no commercials. However, some things that she watches are uploaded in parts on YouTube. Some parts of a show may not be uploaded or they may be deleted. She likes to watch Glee, The Tudors, and certain shows on the Bravo network. Sarah sometimes wishes that the shows on Bravo that she watches were available to watch online.