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Assorted Fanfic Reading Zones




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Tuesday, July 26, 2005
 

A Different Kind of Blog tool

Dave Winer released his new open source OPML editor (OPML is an Outliner format (using XML)) this week. Very interesting gadget. He built it on top of "Frontier", the same thing "Userland" used as the basis for "Manila" and "Radio"

The first useful thing in it is the browser-less, outliner based Blog tool. He'd also put up a test blog server, on top of Frontier that uses OPML files, so people can test out his ideas. I've been playing:

http://blogs.opml.org/acs/

Much easier to use than a browser based tool.


10:25:19 PM    Notes []



Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

This is the longest of the six books. 800+ pages. I'm just going to run quickly through it. (Otherwise I'll never get to Book 6 before Saturday).

Once more, we start out with an alienated Harry. And it doesn't get any better. I think Dumbledore makes a big mistake not involving Harry right from the beginning but waiting until he's in danger.

Who sent Aunt Petunia that Howler? She obviously knows more about the wizarding world than we originally thought. Was she a squib?

Nymphadora Tonks wanders onto the Potter stage. We find out a couple chapters later that she's related to Sirus Black (And that he's related to the Weasleys - I wonder if Tonks is related to the Weasleys? Sirius says all pure-blood wizards are related - does that mean he's related to Harry? Not necessarily. It isn't clear how far back(generations) your relatives have to be before you are considered a "pure-blood". )

And the infamous "underage magic" trial is ahead of us.

Don't forget that Harry is only 15 when this book starts. He's feeling persecuted AND he's suffering from the beginnings of teenager angst. Not a good combination. Throw in Sirius Black, who's been cooped up in that house for months... and good things are certainly not going to happen.

Putting Harry on trial in front of the Wizengamot for underage magic usage. Dumbledore wasn't impressed. The Ministry of Magic must be falling apart.

We first meet Umbridge (Or do we? I wonder if she was one of the witches at the trials Harry saw in Dumbledore's pensieve?)

Harry manages to not feel too put out over not getting to be a Prefect. A little bit of maturity. One wonders why Draco Malfoy got to be one. That's a bad idea...

We finally meet Luna Lovegood - of the dirty blonde hair, light eyebrows, and bulging eyes (Hmmm... crossover territory - maybe Buffy is related to Luna? Has that ever been done?). Luna doesn't seem to care what everyone thinks about her... but is very defensive of her father and his magazine (The Quibbler).

Why can Luna see those horse things (We haven't gotten the name for them yet)? Who does she know who died (I think her mother but I haven't gotten to that part of the story yet) ? As soon as we know what it takes to see one we know why Harry can.

Yikes... Umbridge as the new D.A.D.A. professor.

Harry! Temper! Getting banned from Quidditch for life? Not sure how Umbridge managed that...

So... Ron (Keeper) and Ginny (Seeker) both make the Quidditch team...

Ginny's personality is really developing now that we're into Book 5. Luna is still a little flaky. But Neville seems to be coming along.

I don't recall any fics that actually have the info about getting into St. Mungo's correct (if at all)

The Room of Requirement that Harry and Co. are using for "Dumbledore's Army" is interesting. But different....

So... anyone think Umbridge fired Trelawney first because she thought it would make the biggest spectacle?


8:36:36 PM    Notes []



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