And Then The Harry Potter Fans Broke The Internet (Plus Geek Is Not A Members Only Club)

Anyone who is a Harry Potter fan probably already knows that at four this morning (Pacific Standard Time) JK Rowling released a special announcement about her new site: Pottermore. This site is going to be an interactive way to read the Harry Potter books. There'll be games to play and you get sorted and get a wand and go to Hogwarts. You can see some of the screenshots here and it looks so flippin' amazing! It'll go live in October, but on July 31st a group will be selected to beta test the site.

Now, as I mentioned, this announcement was made at 4 this morning (at least in my time zone). A normal person would just check what the announcement was first thing in the morning. I am not a normal person. A slightly less sane person may have just set an alarm to wake up, check the announcement, and then go back to sleep. I am not that sane.

No, I am the person who stayed up until four this morning, waiting to see what JK would tell us. Instead of sleeping like a normal person (and one who had to be up at 8:30 this morning), I sat in front of my laptop, cataloging my books, and chatting with other friends who are just as crazy as I am.

I watched the announcement, I followed the owl, and I tried to input my email, before giving up because it wasn't working for me. I have tried periodically throughout the day and only just now made it through. Which brings me to believed that one day, when the internet crashes and dies, it will be because of the Harry Potter fandom.

I have no clue how this phenomenon will come to pass. I don't know what we'll do to flood the servers and break them for good, but I am sure, based on how long it's taken to wade through the masses and finally get my email in, that we will short circuit the internet. Because we're just going to keep growing as years go on and the children of the fans are introduced to the series. The geek generation is starting to have children and they will be Harry Potter fans.

Speaking of the geek generation, I'd like to bring up the mudslinging happening in the bowels of the internet over Miss America winner Alyssa Campanella and whether she can be a geek. People lit up Twitter, arguing that she can't be a geek because she's too pretty. Many people believed she was lying just because being a geek is considered cool now.

One man said on Twitter "anybody that can walk in a bar and get free drinks all night shouldn't constitute as a 'geek'. 'less they're doing ppl's hmwrk." And while I could smack the guy's use of English, that's not the biggest issue with this statement. The biggest issue here is that being a geek has become a kind of club that only certain people are allowed into. If you aren't geek enough, if you're too pretty, if you aren't smart enough, you can't be in the club.

You know what that reminds me of? The popular people clique in high school. The people who dictated where you ranked in school. Isn't part of being a geek being able to throw off the restrictions on what you have to be to fit in? As a geek you get to love things and talk with people who like the same things as you. What part of that says only certain people can do that?

And I kind of get why some people feel threatened by people hopping on the bandwagon because being a geek is cool now. Some of the people jumping in are those who mocked us mercilessly for liking the same thing in school. What's to say they won't ruin the wonderful thing fandom and geekery has created?

But you know what's been created by those things, the best part of being a geek? It's getting to love something wholeheartedly and unashamedly and sharing that love with others. It's outside the bounds of what's "in". Geeks get to make their own niche, burrow down deep, and stay there, nice and cozy, chatting with others in nearby burrows, unaffected by the changing social climate of the world. All we need is a fan to chat with and we're good.

Why aren't other people allowed to love things, just because maybe they're a little late to the party? Are you not a Harry Potter fan unless you've been there since 1997 when it released? Are you not a fan if you only recently fell in love with Doctor Who? Who are we to dictate the love people are allowed to have for things?

Personally, I think even if people are jumping on the bandwagon, there's a high probability they'll find something they truly enjoy and after the social fads have turned to something else, those people will still have a fandom and fans to geek out over things. And then maybe shows like Firefly will get to live on, while some of the more mind-numbing shows can finally be laid to rest (I'm looking at you Kardashians).

Here and here are a couple more arguments about not shunning people from the geek community. I hope that people understand that dictating who can do what or who can be something is absurd. Keep an open mind and maybe you'll get another fan to join your cult ;)

Feudalism Should Have Worked

My mom and I were recently discussing health insurance and how it used to be that people worked for their company or business for forty or fifty years and then retired with a pension and benefit package. The employees were loyal to their company and in turn, the company looked out for the employees in the benefits they received. It was a system of mutual benefit.

And yes, I know that we tend to add glossy coatings to our notions of the past. That what seems like it was wonderful still have its major flaws. But it also seems that for some reason, we have moved away from the idea that human beings should actually care about one another. Not just that you look out for friends and family and feel bad for the far off children starving in Africa.

But that you have true compassion for strangers on the street. It feels like now we all assume the worst of other people. Because a few of the people on street corners aren't actually homeless, we've painted all of them as liars and cheats. Because some people bring homelessness on themselves through really bad decisions, suddenly every homeless person has done something to severely screw up their life and this is their penance.

In medieval England, there was a system known as feudalism that most of the lords operated under. The way it worked was the vassals who lived on the lord's land worked the soil and produced crops, as well as raising animals for hie table. They provided food and labor for the noble. In return, the noble gave them a place to live, as well as protection under the laws of the land and looked out for his people.

At least, this is how it was supposed to work. With many nobles, this is how it worked. The nobles take care of their people and the people provide for the nobles. It was a mutually beneficial system. Unfortunately, as always seems to happen with humans, there were a few lords who took advantage of the system and believed they were entitled to all the benefits without having to hold up their end of the bargain.

And sadly, as a society we're in the same place know, just in a slightly different setting. Instead of nobles and peasants. we have workers and companies. Part of working for a company is that they provide you with reasonable compensation and benefits. In return you provide dutiful service and work to advance the company.

However, some companies (not all of course, but enough that it's discouraging) have decided that since they can always get new workers so they need not find ways to look out for their employees. Instead of the health insurance and other insurance plans that actually provide good coverage without making a person broke, the companies look for the cheapest deal for the company and leave their employees to cover the rest of the costs.

When did it become okay to care more about the bottom line than people? Well, in part it started because as a country we started buying imports (half the stuff we buy is made in China) rather than things made in America. As a country we realized that foreign products are cheaper and cared more about that than funneling money into our economy and supporting it.

There are no perfect answers or solutions here. Companies look for the cheapest solution because they're afraid of being outsold by their competitors overseas. People buy foreign products because sometimes they just don't have the extra money to spend one more expensive products made in America. But you also pay a little more for better quality.

So what can we do to change things? Unfortunately, a large group has to change to make a difference. But let's say that everyone bought just one thing that's American that they usually buy from overseas manufacturers. Suddenly there's a little more more in our economy, and maybe companies feel a little more secure and funnel better benefits to their employees (I'm not saying that it will happen, but it could).

But because we live in an imperfect world most likely someone will find someway to take advantage and the system will fall apart. Sadly, that's the world we live in. I didn't mean for this post to sound so morose.

So I will end with this, for every person willing to screw over someone else for there own gain, there is also a person who is willing to help someone down on their luck. There are good people in the world, you just have to find them.

And maybe someday, whatever the current version of feudalism is, will actually work the way it's meant to. We can always hope.

The Geek Shall Inherit The Earth

I am a geek (You may have guessed this from the number of posts I've done about fandom and Harry Potter). As a geek, one of the blogs I love reading is Epbot which has absolutely wonderful posts about all kind of geeky and sweet things (the blog is done by the woman who does Cake Wrecks, which means it has to be good).

Today, she posted about an article that talks about why people who are often ostracized in school (i.e. the geeks) usually succeed outside of it. This is because geeks usually have more creativity, originality, integrity and resistance, as well as a love of learning. Which in school leads them to think outside the box and take an interest in things they actually enjoy, rather than what the latest fads are.

In the real world, curiosity and being genuine means that you won't hop and skip from place to place. When the going gets tough, geeks are more likely to stick it out a) because they know how to deal with that and b) they're most likely interested in what they're doing. And c) (at least if most geeks are like me) you're stubborn enough that you won't just let the project go, simply because you want to prove you can do it.

You know who the geeks are? Pretty much every popular author ever. Because authors are odd people. They tend to have whole worlds spinning through their minds (maybe they even talk to themselves. I mean, not like I have any experience with that, but I'm sure it happens ;) ). And why do they want to write? Because they love to read. Go ahead, ask any author you've ever loved whether they liked to read as a child. I guarantee that 98% of them will say absolutely, and most will be readers to this day (I leave the 2% for the freaks who think they can write well without being a reader).

It's the geeks who have the imagination to do amazing things. Like create Google (speaking of Google, have you seen their workplace? It makes me wish I was a computer person so I could get hired there). The geeks are the writers, the innovators, the artists. They make good employees because they have new ideas and don't just follow the herd. They have minds of their own, which they put to good use.

And after high school, they come into their own more in social situations. Half the reason a lot of people in high school are awkward is because if you stick out, you get ridiculed. If you say something stupid, you get ridiculed. If you don't wear the right outfit...I think you see where I'm going with this.

To be different in high school, you either keep your head down and only share your geekery with those you can really trust...or you go the route I did (which not a lot of people can do), which is you grow a thick skin and shrug off any mockery (especially from your siblings). The upside to this choice is that after a while people write you off and leave you alone. I made it through high school fairly unbothered because it was clear I didn't give a damn what the "popular" kids thought about me. So they saw me as the smart kid who kind of blended into the background; it was a nice place to be, considering I had glasses, braces, and a slightly unflattering sense of style.

And, here's some proof that geeks end up better off. I spent the last two years of high school doing Running Start, taking classes at the community college and only returning to my high school for bi-monthly Sci-fi Fantasy Club meetings (of which I was Vice President). Two years later, I'm graduating from my university with a Bachelor's degree before I can legally drink. I have three novels completed (which will be sent to agents and editors sometime in the near-ish future). I am still on speaking terms with the people I was closest to in high school and I have made friendships in college that I know will last. And I know what I want from life and who I am. How many twenty year olds can say that?

So, to parents know that your children as geeks will turn out well (and even if they aren't geeks, this doesn't mean they are doomed. It just make take them longer to figure some things out). And if there are geeks in high school right now (or middle school or elementary school), know that you are awesome and will come out ahead in life. So go forth geeks, live long and prosper.

Geek Cred for the Doubting Thomases

*Vice President of Sci-fi Fantasy Club in high school

*Officer of Harry Potter club

*Has forgotten more about Harry Potter than many will ever know

*Wanted (and obtained) a bow not for hunting, but because I am a fantasy geek

*Ditto wanting to learn sword fighting and martial arts

*Knows all the words to the songs in the Buffy musical episode

*Knows Darren Criss not from Glee, but from A Very Potter Musical

*Math Olympian in middle school (cried because I wasn't going to be able to do math on a Saturday)

*Ancient Greek student

*Word Nerd

*Owns close to 500 books (at least a third of which have been read multiple times)

*NaNoWriMo participant (and winner) three years in a row

*Actually gets Math and Science jokes (and finds them hilarious)

Volunteering To Be Stalked (AKA Twitter)

So everyone who has ever wanted to be part of the internet community ever knows all the warnings about, "Be general with what you say" "Don't give away personal information" and "No one is who they seem on the internet." The digital world can be a seedy place. Just look at (this is where some sort of technology or internet joke would go if I could actually think of one). And it's true that you need to be careful on the web.

That being said, I find it amusing just how much we do put online. Just look at Facebook. Yes, it is protected by varying levels of security and you can choose who sees what. But how many people put their contact info on it? Their school? Their class schedule? The times they're at work? All of that information would make it easy to find someone and stalk them. And not the good kind of stalking. The kind that ends up with you duct taped in the back of a van headed for the Mexican border.

Now at this point, maybe someone protests. They say, "But I make sure that only my friends can see my contact info." Okay, good point. However, a lot of people add friends to their list that they've never met. Often this serves the purpose of getting a bigger house or clan or hunting party or karaoke gaggle for whatever app you're playing (I play Sorority Life. Yes, I find this sad. But I get to play dress-up!) Yes, you can delete the people right after they're part of your house, but they still can see your information for a little while.

Or perhaps you simply get a request from someone saying they saw your profile and thought you seemed cool. Or they're trying to network with people in their area. Or they're your aunt's niece's best friend's high school sweetheart and decided to add you. Or they simply say they went to school with you and can't believe you don't remember them (can you tell I have the imagination of a serial killer? Not so much with the death part but with finding people).

Now these people have access to that contact info. Or even if you don't put up contact info, they have access to any number of posts, pictures, and details about your life. Kind of freaky when you think about it isn't it?

This post is not to condemn the whole idea of social networking. I love my Facebook. I love being able to easily see what's going on with people in my life. And I'm definitely not going to get rid of it just because someone, someday, might use it against me.

But isn't it kind of crazy the things we air online for everyone to see? With Facebook, people know the moment you enter a relationship with someone else (at least if you change your status as most people do). People you only have a passing relationship with know far more about you than they usually would. Some people have knock down, drag out fights over a status comment. Things that used to be kept private or shared with people you knew best/saw often are now put up for everyone in your friends list of 300 people to comment on.

And pictures? I heard somewhere that you should never do anything you don't want to see on Facebook, because that's where it will end up. Every embarrassing thing you ever do somehow manages to show up on the internet at some point. At which point, the most conservative of your church's ladies and any future love interest is sure to see it.

And depending on who your friends are, you have to sensor yourself anyway or be prepared to face the consequences. I have many people from my church as my friends and sometimes I pause and ask myself how they'll react to a certain phrasing. Usually I go ahead and post it how I was going to say it anyway because I don't want to set up a front for who I am and how I think, but that second of hesitation is something I never would have thought I'd need.

Again, this is not a post to demonize the internet. I am a child of the digital age and I know my life would be far different if it didn't exist. Not necessarily bad, since I am complete believer in the power of books, but definitely different. The World Wide Web allows me to stay connected with family and friends and it allows me to write. Having a blog lets me develop my voice and get instant responses to my thoughts. It's really, really cool.

The post instead is more a musing. A "isn't this kind of crazy?" post. And maybe a warning to be careful who you trust online and what you allow others to see. I actually developed a false name linked with email accounts just for her so that I could hide a little more easily online (because I was kind of paranoid that someone would track the name back to an email account that had my real name and then follow that to who I really am). I still use the name every now and then when I'm not entirely sure of who will see what I'm doing on a site. But I won't give away the name here ;) Surf safely. :)

Voldemort Regenerates Every Few Decades

Originally, I planned for today's post to be about how easy it is to stalk people on the internet and how we share information. But Bin Laden's death together with today being Harry Potter Day, to commemorate the day Voldemort fell, kind of messed with my plans. As most of the US knows by now, Osama Bin Laden was located and killed yesterday in a planned strike. A founder of Al-Qaeda, the group responsible for the attacks on the Trade Towers and Pentagon, and the tragic deaths of thousands (including the brave souls on flight United 93 (by the way, never watch that movie unless you want to bawl)), Bin Laden falls firmly in the category of "villain".

It's always a joyous occasion in movies when the villain is finally vanquished. The world has been saved from evil; who wouldn't want to celebrate? I completely agree, let us rejoice that a little less evil is loose in the world. There's no way I want Bin Laden to live and continue orchestrating the deaths of thousands.

But at the same time, I can't feel the same kind of joy in the celebrations on TV. Yes, we've eliminated a truly bad person. But part of me still thinks, "We hunted this man down and murdered him. Are we always so blasé about the deaths of others?" I am not arguing that Bin Laden didn't deserve to be punished for what he's done (believe me, in no way am I advocating leniency for him). And maybe I just am overly sensitive or compassionate, but treating this event like New Years in Times Square feels wrong.

When Harry killed Voldemort, I know there was celebration. The wizarding world had been saved, an evil that threatened the world for more than twenty years was finally vanquished for good. But even at the end, Harry offered Voldemort compassion. Harry asked him to look inside himself for even the tiniest shred of remorse. And even when it came right down to it, Harry couldn't use the Killing Curse on Voldemort. It was the rebound of the curse from Voldemort's own wand that killed him.

The wizarding world celebrated the fall, but I think Harry, the person who had lost so much because of this man (or whatever he was by the time he died), still felt compassion for him. A lot of anger and hate for what he'd done, but still some compassion. A life taken, even a truly evil one, is not meant to be viewed so coldly. Everybody has somebody who will mourn them, a fact that's easy to forget when someone has wreaked so much havoc and pain.

Today is May 2, the day that Voldemort fell finally to death. I find it peculiar that so close to Voldemort's death date is also the death of Osama Bin Laden. Even eerier? Hilter also died around May 1st. Is the first part of May just a particularly unlucky time to be a villain? Perhaps.

My (much more intriguing) theory? Voldemort regenerates every few decades. Think about it. Hitler created a network of followers who committed atrocities in the name of the man's prejudice. He was charismatic and for a while even well liked. He died in 1945. In the 70s, Voldemort rises to power, establishing his reign with followers who share his prejudices and terrorize the world. He's finally vanquished in 1998.

That same year, Osama Bin Laden lands on the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list for his part in the US embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya. Again, here's a man who's collected a group of followers to carry out horrible plans in the name of his prejudices. Coincidence? Maybe. But it's a kind of eerie coincidence.

*Note on Voldemort: I know that he is at least partly based on Hitler. But still, perhaps he was Hitler. And maybe JKR knows more than she's telling.

The Next Chapter is Obscured

Have you ever been looking forward to a time in your life only to realize as it approaches that you're terrified of what lies on the other side? Or lived somewhere temporarily only to realize you never want to leave? You've met people you can't imagine not seeing, you've done things that have changed your whole make-up and the vision of what's past where you are now is too hazy to make out.

This is where I find myself now. I have eight weeks until my graduation from college...and I have no idea what happens next. I know I want to write. I know I'd love to work in a bookstore. I know that I want a kitchen where I can actually maybe cook something other than toast. But I have no idea where I'm going. Part of me is exhilarated...and part of me is absolutely terrified.

I've been in school for sixteen years. Sixteen years. That's over a decade and a half. The last time I wasn't in school, Bill Clinton was President, Friends was just starting out, and the internet was just beginning to gain public popularity. No one had ever heard of Myspace or Facebook or blogging. And, oh yeah, I was four. The great thing about being four is no one expects you to have your life figured out.

When I graduated high school, yes the future was a little bit frightening, but I had a plan. I was going to college, where I would get my degree. And I never really got further than that except that I wanted to write. But unless I figure out a way to live off of air, grass, and rain water, I'm going to need an actual source of income.

And really, that's only part of what's scaring me and making me so melancholy when I think about leaving. Because I've come to love the people here. All the people who I've bonded with here, who've changed me. The people who say, "Hey, we're going to do something this weekend. Wanna come with?" The people who know that I will always have a book, know that I can't eat anything, laugh at my absolute lack of personal body warmth.

And I'm going to have to leave them. Yes, I can visit (I'm not being exiled from the town). But it won't be the same as living here. I won't be able to walk two minutes and find a friend to talk to. I won't be able to find out on Tuesday about a party on Wednesday and be able to make it.

I felt this a little bit with people in London. When I had to leave it was saddening. But I knew that we all lived in a different place. I knew it was only a month and being in London was like living in a different world. When and if I came back, there wasn't a high probability of the people I grew so close to still being there.

My friends have joked that they're going to kidnap me and that I can live in one of their closets. And yes, it's that is mostly friendly banter among friends. But what if? What if I just took one more year and lived in that friend's closet? I've lived my life as the responsible student, what if I just broke down and lived on a friend's couch for the next year?

But then there's the fact that I also really want to be home. I want to have the chance to snuggle on my dogs whenever I want and watch Castle and The Amazing Race with my family without having interference and shoddy Skype picture and sound. I want to shop somewhere close to inexpensive and not spend thirty dollars a week on bread, lunch meat, and cookies. I want to have a real kitchen and cooking space.

So I feel lost. And I probably only an thinking about this because I have far, far too much time on my hands. Maybe I just need to lose myself in a reading haze and forget about life.

Chapter 7.4: Saint Valentine and A Message of Hope

So it's that time of year again, the day filled with groans, cheers, and chocolate. No, not Halloween. It's Valentine's Day. Or Singles Awareness Day if you feel kind of bitter about Valentine's Day. A hopeless romantic at heart, I like Valentine's Day and do not feel the need to rename it. I may not have a significant other, but I still love giving and getting Valentines from my friends and family. Plus I love hearing stories of sweet Valentine's that others have had.

And of course, I love to research things and so I went to look up the history behind Valentine's Day. The origins of the day aren't actually very well-known and the accepted story may be completely fabricated. But the most popularly believed story is that Saint Valentine was a priest under the reign of Emperor Claudius II. Claudius declared that young men in the army were forbidden to marry. Of course, many of the men still had sweethearts they wished to wed so Saint Valentine continued to marry couples in secret. At least two Valentines were martyred by Claudius on February 14th in different years of the 3rd century.

In Rome, during the same time, there was a pagan festival celebrating Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage and fertility. This festival was called Lupercalia and was held for three days, between February 13 and 15. During this festival, men slaughtered goats, dipped the hides in the animal's blood and then slapped women with the hides for fertility. Oh those wacky pagans.

Of course, when Christianity took over Rome, they had to rework the pagan holidays to fit in with their religion (goodbye solstice, hello Christmas). So to honor Valentine (supposedly) they created Saint Valentine's Day, the name of which was shortened over time. But how was romance tied to the day? Well in Lupercalia, the men would choose the name of a woman to be paired with for the festival (and maybe longer if they hit it off) for...fertility.

Today of course, this is really a holiday for the flower companies and candy people, as well as Hallmark. But it's also a day to just show you care. You don't have to have a boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse/lover to show that you care. You can offer to walk your neighbor's dog, give your babysitting services to your aunt (or parents depending on how young your siblings are), or baking cupcakes for your classmates (or study group or co-workers (but only the ones you like ;) )).

So along those lines, I would like to recognize an organization that is showing the world it cares and does it every day. The It Gets Better Project is an organization working to show gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth that life will get better. People can be cruel, especially high schoolers and middle schoolers. Now, imagine you have something different about you that makes you stand out when all you want is to be treated like everyone else. Having a sexuality different than heterosexual is akin to being the most stereotypical geek. Basically, anyone feels the slightest inclination to make your life hell (maybe they're afraid because you're different, maybe they fear their own sexuality, maybe they're just homophobic) will probably do so.

The It Gets Better Project lets those youth know they are not alone. They give encouragement to let them know that this time of your life will not last forever. It was created in response to the suicides of so many gay teens in 2010. And many celebrities and even normal people have lent their stories as encouragement.

I fully support this project. I am straight and avoided most teasing in school since I simply didn't let potential bullies think I cared (even when I did). And I got out early through the Running Start program. But my heart goes out to every teen who has every been bullied. Every teen who dreaded school because of being tormented, who ever thought that suicide was the only way they could leave that pain behind. High school seems like it will last forever and that even after school, there's no guarantee that things will improve.

I can't guarantee things will improve, no one can promise that 100%. But once you leave the narrow slice of humanity that occupies your high school, you'll find there are more people who care, more good people in the world than bad. There'll always be people who suck, who try to bring you down. But remember that you have amazing gifts. You are an individual with so much to offer the world and we need you. The world needs you so hold your head high and remember that It Gets Better.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone.