Wednesday, July 25, 2007
I got the roids
Aparently being on the roids can make you feel kind of high and loopy. Well guess what thats correct, awesome for when your trying to do soem work. yeah
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Harry Potter for skeptics
I found this article on the Post and I wanted MOlly to ready it. I know you think you would hate the series but I don't think you will. Every book you read dosne't have to be some tragic tale to help you on the way to becoming an amazing social worker. However I think you will learn a lot from the series even though they are "kids books" THe harry potter series teaches us about life, love and yes even politics between conservatives and liberals in the education feild (see book 5). I implore you to give it a shot. At the very least you can relate to all the kids who will have most definilty read it that you will be helping.
Proud to Be a Potterhead
By Sabaa Saleem Tahir
Sunday, July 15, 2007; B05
It took three years, a lot of coaxing and putting him in a partial food coma to seal the deal, but I finally got my husband to convert.
"Read the first three books," I wheedled, "and you'll be a believer."
My husband loathes children's books, science fiction and "anything with gnomes and wizards and all that lame stuff." His idea of a pulse-quickening beach read is a thousand-page tome on U.S. foreign policy from 1918 to 1939. But one night a couple of months ago, after the fourth chicken taco, he began to give in.
Six books later, he's a bona fide Potterhead. Victory.
Now we're waiting together for the seventh and supposedly final book in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. At one minute past midnight on Saturday morning, we'll be among the salivating fans who'll be snatching up copies of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."
Finally, the answers to so many burning questions: Will Harry avenge his parents' deaths? Will Severus Snape redeem himself? Will Ron ask Hermione out? Will Lord Voldemort, the biggest baddy in children's literature, finally snuff it?
You'd think a theory-swapping, fan-fiction-loving superfan like myself would be ecstatic.
But I'm heartbroken.
I don't want this journey I've taken with Harry and his plucky gang to end.
Once upon a time, I despised Harry Potter books. (That was, naturally, before I'd read them.) Like any self-respecting college student, I detested anything mainstream. And in my freshman year, Rowling's boy-wizard books were more ubiquitous than Muggles on the Metro at rush hour.
"Children's tripe," I sneered. "I'd rather read something meaningful, like Faulkner or Joyce."
But one sunny Saturday, when I was home with the flu and everyone else was at a music festival, a friend left the first book, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," on my bed. My stubbornness weakened by a virulent infection, I began to read.
By Chapter Two, contempt had been replaced by grudging interest. By Chapter Six, I was hooked. I finished the second and third books in days. And then I was introduced to the bane of every Harry Potter fan's existence:
The waiting.
Months for Book IV, "The Goblet of Fire." Years for the rest. The wait for each new volume was so torturous that I resolved to find company for my misery.
My brother, a film-development executive, was already planning to read the books. I lent him my copy of "Sorcerer's Stone." I bought my other brother, a product manager who's a sloth about finishing books, the series for his birthday. After that, I exclaimed loudly about how great the books were whenever my roommate, a snobbish literature student, was around. She read them on the sly at work. Recent converts include my best friend and my mum-in-law, who alleges that she doesn't like fantasy.
Far-flung fans shared in my misery as well: My cousins in Pakistan had to wait at least an extra month after each release date before they got their hands on Books IV and V. "Tell us what happens," they pleaded over the phone. I wouldn't.
But sharing the books' brilliance and the agony of waiting for them just wasn't enough. So -- go ahead and laugh, I don't care -- I went online and discovered Harry Potter Web sites.
I had no idea how many people visited them. One, MuggleNet.com, gets more than 30 million hits a month from visitors in 183 countries.
At first, I just checked out the news. I wasn't so dorky as to participate in any of the discussions. But eventually I jumped in. That hurdle conquered, I was open to the next level: fan fiction. This is where troubadours of all things Harry develop their own stories, extending Harry's world and creating new ones. And some of their work isn't half bad. Really.
When I'd had my fill of fan sites and fiction, I turned to other books . . . about Harry Potter. The staff of MuggleNet.com released a book called "What Will Happen in Harry Potter 7?" Sounds silly, right? A book about a book that isn't even out yet? Who would buy that? It has sold 300,000 copies.
The other day, I was in the living room reading another Harry Potter theory book, "The Great Snape Debate," by Amy Berner, Joyce Millman and Orson Scott Card. My sister-in-law saw it and scoffed. "I can't believe you're reading a book about characters in another book," she said. "That is so lame."
Her comment made me wonder what it is that makes fans love these books, that has made us stick with them for years and seek out those who feel the same way. Is it, as so many critics say, just escapism? An addiction to cotton-candy reading?
Yes, it has its light moments, but the Potter series isn't all fluff. Harry loses his parents and several allies, is tortured, has his mind broken into and faces all sorts of dangerous beasts, while retaining his good humor and a stubborn streak of bravery. Rowling comments on prejudice, loneliness, the often life-altering angst of young adulthood and the bonds of family and friendship. All with a wicked sense of humor.
As I've read and reread the books, I've been reminded of some important things. That the world isn't divided into only good and evil, but that there are all kinds of people in between -- with all kinds of stories. That you shouldn't just fight for truth and justice, but hold your head high as you do it. That love is infinitely powerful and infinitely complex as well. And that you should never forget what it's like to be young.
So on Friday night, I'll sneak out of work early to meet my husband at a bookstore where we can join other Potterheads in the ultimate rite of nerdiness: book-release revelry. We'll get our copies of "Deathly Hallows," and my husband will have to guide me through the parking lot as I start reading. We'll stay up all night (or I will, anyway) to finish.
But when morning comes, I'm sure I'll be in tears, even if Harry doesn't get smoked by Voldemort. I've spent the past six years finishing Potter books and thinking, "All right, I'm ready for the next one." But this time, there is no next one.
What could I possibly read that will capture my imagination the way Rowling's books have?
Something tells me Faulkner and Joyce aren't going to cut it.
saleems@washpost.com
Sabaa Saleem Tahir is a copy editor on
Proud to Be a Potterhead
By Sabaa Saleem Tahir
Sunday, July 15, 2007; B05
It took three years, a lot of coaxing and putting him in a partial food coma to seal the deal, but I finally got my husband to convert.
"Read the first three books," I wheedled, "and you'll be a believer."
My husband loathes children's books, science fiction and "anything with gnomes and wizards and all that lame stuff." His idea of a pulse-quickening beach read is a thousand-page tome on U.S. foreign policy from 1918 to 1939. But one night a couple of months ago, after the fourth chicken taco, he began to give in.
Six books later, he's a bona fide Potterhead. Victory.
Now we're waiting together for the seventh and supposedly final book in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. At one minute past midnight on Saturday morning, we'll be among the salivating fans who'll be snatching up copies of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."
Finally, the answers to so many burning questions: Will Harry avenge his parents' deaths? Will Severus Snape redeem himself? Will Ron ask Hermione out? Will Lord Voldemort, the biggest baddy in children's literature, finally snuff it?
You'd think a theory-swapping, fan-fiction-loving superfan like myself would be ecstatic.
But I'm heartbroken.
I don't want this journey I've taken with Harry and his plucky gang to end.
Once upon a time, I despised Harry Potter books. (That was, naturally, before I'd read them.) Like any self-respecting college student, I detested anything mainstream. And in my freshman year, Rowling's boy-wizard books were more ubiquitous than Muggles on the Metro at rush hour.
"Children's tripe," I sneered. "I'd rather read something meaningful, like Faulkner or Joyce."
But one sunny Saturday, when I was home with the flu and everyone else was at a music festival, a friend left the first book, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," on my bed. My stubbornness weakened by a virulent infection, I began to read.
By Chapter Two, contempt had been replaced by grudging interest. By Chapter Six, I was hooked. I finished the second and third books in days. And then I was introduced to the bane of every Harry Potter fan's existence:
The waiting.
Months for Book IV, "The Goblet of Fire." Years for the rest. The wait for each new volume was so torturous that I resolved to find company for my misery.
My brother, a film-development executive, was already planning to read the books. I lent him my copy of "Sorcerer's Stone." I bought my other brother, a product manager who's a sloth about finishing books, the series for his birthday. After that, I exclaimed loudly about how great the books were whenever my roommate, a snobbish literature student, was around. She read them on the sly at work. Recent converts include my best friend and my mum-in-law, who alleges that she doesn't like fantasy.
Far-flung fans shared in my misery as well: My cousins in Pakistan had to wait at least an extra month after each release date before they got their hands on Books IV and V. "Tell us what happens," they pleaded over the phone. I wouldn't.
But sharing the books' brilliance and the agony of waiting for them just wasn't enough. So -- go ahead and laugh, I don't care -- I went online and discovered Harry Potter Web sites.
I had no idea how many people visited them. One, MuggleNet.com, gets more than 30 million hits a month from visitors in 183 countries.
At first, I just checked out the news. I wasn't so dorky as to participate in any of the discussions. But eventually I jumped in. That hurdle conquered, I was open to the next level: fan fiction. This is where troubadours of all things Harry develop their own stories, extending Harry's world and creating new ones. And some of their work isn't half bad. Really.
When I'd had my fill of fan sites and fiction, I turned to other books . . . about Harry Potter. The staff of MuggleNet.com released a book called "What Will Happen in Harry Potter 7?" Sounds silly, right? A book about a book that isn't even out yet? Who would buy that? It has sold 300,000 copies.
The other day, I was in the living room reading another Harry Potter theory book, "The Great Snape Debate," by Amy Berner, Joyce Millman and Orson Scott Card. My sister-in-law saw it and scoffed. "I can't believe you're reading a book about characters in another book," she said. "That is so lame."
Her comment made me wonder what it is that makes fans love these books, that has made us stick with them for years and seek out those who feel the same way. Is it, as so many critics say, just escapism? An addiction to cotton-candy reading?
Yes, it has its light moments, but the Potter series isn't all fluff. Harry loses his parents and several allies, is tortured, has his mind broken into and faces all sorts of dangerous beasts, while retaining his good humor and a stubborn streak of bravery. Rowling comments on prejudice, loneliness, the often life-altering angst of young adulthood and the bonds of family and friendship. All with a wicked sense of humor.
As I've read and reread the books, I've been reminded of some important things. That the world isn't divided into only good and evil, but that there are all kinds of people in between -- with all kinds of stories. That you shouldn't just fight for truth and justice, but hold your head high as you do it. That love is infinitely powerful and infinitely complex as well. And that you should never forget what it's like to be young.
So on Friday night, I'll sneak out of work early to meet my husband at a bookstore where we can join other Potterheads in the ultimate rite of nerdiness: book-release revelry. We'll get our copies of "Deathly Hallows," and my husband will have to guide me through the parking lot as I start reading. We'll stay up all night (or I will, anyway) to finish.
But when morning comes, I'm sure I'll be in tears, even if Harry doesn't get smoked by Voldemort. I've spent the past six years finishing Potter books and thinking, "All right, I'm ready for the next one." But this time, there is no next one.
What could I possibly read that will capture my imagination the way Rowling's books have?
Something tells me Faulkner and Joyce aren't going to cut it.
saleems@washpost.com
Sabaa Saleem Tahir is a copy editor on
Steph and Molly
WHERE ARE YOU GUYS, I HAVE YET TO SEE YOU WRITE ANYTHING ON HERE. THIS WAS CREATED FOR ALL OF US. YOU ALL KNOW I LOVE TO TALK ABOUT MYSELF AND WHAT I'M THINKING BUT COME ON I CAN ONLY GO SO FAR. PARTICIPATION IS THE WORD OF THE DAY.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Sex and the City Movie
Have you all heard that they offically ARE making a Sex and the City movie now? At first I was really excited to hear that they would be back and making a movie, but now... not so much. I don't know how they can take the show and turn it into a 2 hour movie, it's just not the same. I am guessing that the movie will take place a year or so after the series left off, maybe showing Carrie planning a wedding with Big and Charlotte with her asian baby. But really - what kind of storyline can they come up with? I think they ended the series really well and it left us to imagine what happens next for them.
Oh well, I know i'm going to go see it opening day anyway!
E! Online Article
-NJ
Oh well, I know i'm going to go see it opening day anyway!
E! Online Article
-NJ
Boys and Baseball
Why is it that men think then when playing in a game with women that no matter how bad they suck that the women will always be much worse and less reliable. My softball game last night was no exception to this rule. The women were placed in a nonexistent position that was somewhere between first, second and right field and were the only ones asked to sit out an inning for the other girls to go and play the sudo position. To add insult to injury when an woman actually got to play a base they male closest to her would come and get infront of them to play the ball even though it wasn't their play to get.
If the guys on my team insist on handing out directions to me, telling me where to stand, who to throw it too, and when to run they better have the decency to know what they are talking about. No person male or female should ever give directions in a sporting event unles they have earned the right to say they are actually good at the game; which none of these men have. True they are not terrible at softball but neither are the girls. On a team of enviornmental nerds who I'm sure have never played a sport in their life with the exception of a few girls and maybe one guy there certainly seems to be a lot of undeserved bravado.
No this is not about being purley annoyed, it is the fact that men still can't not bear to let the girls play for fear of being emasculated. I have no problem letting them feel that way, to me it's what ever wins the game and since the team is 2 and a million I think its time to change the rules a bit.
Point: The next time some little pussy ass guy tells me when to hit, throw, or run in softball I'll hit and throw the ball right at his nuts.
K
If the guys on my team insist on handing out directions to me, telling me where to stand, who to throw it too, and when to run they better have the decency to know what they are talking about. No person male or female should ever give directions in a sporting event unles they have earned the right to say they are actually good at the game; which none of these men have. True they are not terrible at softball but neither are the girls. On a team of enviornmental nerds who I'm sure have never played a sport in their life with the exception of a few girls and maybe one guy there certainly seems to be a lot of undeserved bravado.
No this is not about being purley annoyed, it is the fact that men still can't not bear to let the girls play for fear of being emasculated. I have no problem letting them feel that way, to me it's what ever wins the game and since the team is 2 and a million I think its time to change the rules a bit.
Point: The next time some little pussy ass guy tells me when to hit, throw, or run in softball I'll hit and throw the ball right at his nuts.
K
Monday, July 16, 2007
Thoughts on short people
What is everyone's thoughts on having sex with a guy who is by all accounts noticably shorter than you. At least by a couple inches, even though you think the guy would probably be a dynamo in bed. Would you do it? I mean would you have to hunch over to kiss him, vissualizing it is creepy but still if your guaranteed good sex, what a toss up.
So I am going to try and write on this thing daily during the week, since I'm bored at work and have an endless supply of topics that are annoying me at any given moment. Lets hope this doesn't become the washintonienne.
So I am going to try and write on this thing daily during the week, since I'm bored at work and have an endless supply of topics that are annoying me at any given moment. Lets hope this doesn't become the washintonienne.
Welcome to our Blog!
Hi Ladies!
SOMEONE had the idea of setting up a blog so that we can all post what is going on in our lives. Hopefully we can post some funny stories and pictures. I look forward to reading our posts!
-Nancy Jane
(I HAD a picture here but someone made me take it down)
SOMEONE had the idea of setting up a blog so that we can all post what is going on in our lives. Hopefully we can post some funny stories and pictures. I look forward to reading our posts!
-Nancy Jane
(I HAD a picture here but someone made me take it down)
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