Asymptomatic

I will start this post by saying this: If you didn't finish the book, come back later. Ok, now with that out of the way...

The Deathly Hallows was a pretty good book. I was satisfied by the story and thought it brought a decent close to the Harry Potter series. I particularly liked the descent into Gringotts, and the clever traps awaiting Harry in the Lastrange vault. I enjoyed the quest into the Ministry of Magic, too, imagining how the elevator scene would play out in movie format -- something akin to a Keystone Cops flick. I suppose that I could generalize and say that the key stand-alone adventures in the book were all very satisfying.

The downside of the book has mostly to do with the book construction. The camping scenes were meant to seem long and solitary for the group of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but the book really drew out in those areas. I think some editing could have reduced those significantly. But my main gripe with the book is that the "fight scenes" were often not comprehensible. Here's where I hope you other Harry Potter readers can help me out.

I think I may have finally figured out the end, after re-reading pages 742-743 five times. more

There are these creatures that live under my porch, and up until yesterday, they were quite friendly with me.

When I first noticed them, I thought that someone had dropped a sack of potatoes near the walkway to the front door. They were each about the size of a potato, with brown mottled skin, not unlike the textrue of a potato. They had very small eyes that were entirely pupil sunk into their noseless faces. Each had a pair of twig-like legs and arms, and some of them carried twigs sharpened into potato-people-sized spears. They seemed altogether shocked when I happened upon them.

I had come home early from work for a reason that now seems wholly insignificant, and found several of these creatures hopping out from under my porch and making strange gesticulations toward the mums in the planter with their spears. They were apparently involved in quite a heated argument, otherwise they might have noticed me pull into the driveway and scattered, leaving me none the wiser....

During the summer when I was 12, my parents decided that it would be a good idea to get me out of their hair while they dug up the back yard to get at the sewer system. So on that week, they sent me on a special trip to Camp Sandy Hill.

Camp Sandy Hill is a Christian camp. They do things that regular camps do, but with a Christian spirit and other Christian activities mixed in. There are regular prayer times, and all of the camp songs are about Jesus or God or the bounty of God or how God smote someone bad or raised up soemone who was good or maybe Noah. You get the idea.

I wouldn't actually be staying at the camp. I would be part of a group of hikers taking backpacks across many miles of the Appalachian Trail. As a former scout, camping wasn't unknown to me, although this would be my first time out in the wilderness with only a backpack for supplies and feet for transportation. more

We're only going to be living in Downingtown for a couple more weeks. Every other day, I drive past a house at 118 Logan Ave. where we lived until I was 10 years old.

If I remember correctly, these houses were built with the intention of being used by the families of the people who worked at the Sonoco paper plant across the street. My grandfather used to work at that plant, and his office was only a short walk away.

The house is now completely boarded up. I walked around the ground and took pictures, since I don't have any from when we lived there, and I still have memories of the place. more

Wow! Did you guys catch the season 2 finale of Lost last night? Now what are they going to do?

I just have a few comments on last night's episode:

• Clancy Brown - I dug this guy when he was on Carnivale. I think his role in Lost was well-suited, too. Still playing that kind of creepy guy.
• What are you, stupid? - Ok, so you're abandoned in the hatch by Desmond with only a scant semblance of instructions and a sense of imposing doom. What's the first thing you do when he shows up off shore in a boat? Try to leave on the boat? Ask him what the heck the button is all about? Question what he knows about the island and the Others? No! You borrow his boat for a raid - that you know is a set-up - to save Walt, the crazy-man's son, and then conspire with him to end the world with magnetic annihilation.
• Boat shots - Yes, the island is pretty. The boat is nice. The waters are cool. I don't care - stop with the scenery shots at the dramatic points and continue with the story already!
• No reflexes? - I guess that they didn't feel it when they were all shot with those stun darts. I would think that you'd reach to pull it out.
• Not quite the Simpsons - Did anyone else fall into hysterical laughing fits at the TV when Sayid says "it only has four toes"?
• Never any power - It's a strong theme in this show that the survivors never have any power. The Others are always stronger. There is always something more powerful and unknown around the corner. Nobody ever has the strength to fight back meaningfully. That's going to get old very, very soon.

I also have some stupid predictions for season 3 of Lost. more