Double, Double Toil and Trouble

So much for blogging every day. I didn't even make it a full week. Oh well.

I can't think of much to write about right now, so I'll just talk about Harry Potter. I'm so flippin' excited! Only 13 days until Deathly Hallows part 1 comes out! I was thinking about going to a midnight showing, but I have to work the next day. I'll probably go after work on Friday, since the hospital is so close to The District, which has a fantastic movie theater.

Megaplex 20 @ The District in South Jordan, UT

Okay, in looking for a picture of the District (not a very good one, sorry), I discovered that there will be some pretty big to-do's in celebration of the movie. I might have to go on Thursday night after all!

Anyway, I love the Harry Potter.  I honestly hadn't heard anything about the story until I was a missionary in Belgium.  My companion and I were speaking with a lady in her home, when she asked if I had read any of the books (there were four at the time).  My companion had read them, and she told me I needed to read them as well.  So I added them to my list of books to read . . . hmm, I wonder where that little notebook has gone.  I also made a list of places to go and movies to see in that wee pad of paper.  That would be nice to know.

So, when I returned (in January 2002--man, I'm getting old!), I believe the movie had just come out the previous November.  I wanted to read the book before I saw the movie, so I borrowed them from someone; I can't remember who, though it was probably Shannah Leigh.  I COULD NOT PUT THEM DOWN.  I'll admit that I can get a little obsessive with good books--I'll stay up all night reading.  But that doesn't happen very often.  Most books I can spread out over a longer period of time.  Not Harry.  I read the first book in one sitting, and I'm pretty sure I had finished the first three within that same week.  I'm not sure why, but somehow I didn't read #4 (Goblet of Fire) until sometime in 2003.  The only reason I remember that is because I was living in a basement in Murray (a couple of miles from where I'm living now), and that is when I went to a Dave Matthew's Band concert (yes, by myself).  I went to USANA Amphitheater early, since I didn't already have a ticket, and I figured I'd be waiting in line so I brought Harry with me.  I ended up getting a front-row seat for $50 . . . I was pretty shocked, but I guess it can happen when you go solo.  The concert was great, but I had left the book (also borrowed from Shannah Leigh) under my seat, and when I got home, I realized someone had spilled an entire cup of beer on it.  Awesome.

I purchased the rest of the books on the days they were released, and read them all within the same week.  Yeah, I guess I do obsess about Harry a little bit, but they are just so well written that you feel like you are a part of the story.  I honestly feel like Harry, Ron and Hermione are dear friends to me, and it's a sweet reunion to read the books again and again.  I have probably been through the series 3 or 4 times over, and I have read the last three books 5 or 6 times.  I don't know many people personally who have read them as many times as I have, but considering how popular they are all around the world, I know I'm not alone.  I know there are some who think that it's weird and evil because it deals with magic.  Yes, it does revel in magic, but really it's about love--how love can overcome all things, even the most evil creatures.  There is so much to learn about friendship and charity and family, and it's all woven into this beautiful world of make-believe.  I know it's just a story, and I know I will never understand real magic, if there is such a thing.  But I understand Harry, and his unselfish journey to save the world from the darkest wizard.

If you haven't read the books, I suggest you do.  There are elements of darkness, but you cannot appreciate the light without them.  Goodness, kindness, friendship and love triumph in the end, and it just fills my little heart with happiness.

Of course, the books are better than the movies, but the visual elements have their place as well.  They have all been very well done, and I love that the cast has remained the same the entire time . . . except for the first Dumbledore, who passed away after the second movie was completed.  I love watching the young actors and actresses grow up before my eyes.  I love seeing how different directors interpret the screenplays.  I love having movie marathons, playing them all back-to-back.  I'm usually doing other things at the same time, since I have seen them so often, but it's just a part of me.  Harry has worked his way into my soul.  Other characters from other books are there as well, but none are as firmly entrenched.

This is a picture of the trio while making the Sorcerer's Stone (the first movie):

They were so young!

This one is from 2007, just before Order of the Phoenix came out (#5):

And here they are while filming Deathly Hallows (#7, coming out on November 19):

Holding hands, getting ready to apparate.

 That's not a very happy picture, but they it shows how they have grown-up together.  I expect we'll see happier pics when they walk the red carpet.

Okay, that's enough.  Only 12 more days.