In two and a half weeks, I will be taking a road trip to see a friend in Colorado. The exciting part is viewing autumn colors, but also seeing a new state. Colorado has been a bucket list trip because of the scenery and the hiking trails. I have known college friends who have moved out to Colorado and don’t have anything negative to say. If anyone has ever been to Colorado and have suggestions for me of places to see, please comment below.
With this trip, I have actively chosen to drive versus fly. The drive time will be thirteen hours one way. For some, this would be dreadful, but for me, I enjoy driving. I put on my favorite podcast and I have control of making stops along the way. It will be an achievement to say that I drove twenty six hours all by myself. I will say if I do make a return trip to Colorado, I will fly, but because I have never been, I want to drive the distance.
The current trip itinerary includes:
Boulder, Colorado
Casa Bonita from South Park
Rocky Mountain National Park
In between my trip, I have been checking out Atlas Obscura for unique things to do while I’m in Colorado. I would love geeky ideas including escape rooms, comic book stores etc. while I’m there.
This will be my last trip of 2019. This will allow me to save for future traveling in 2020. I’m counting down the days until I see the Rockies in person.
I wasn’t able to attend the Throne of Eldraine pre-release last weekend. My brother was kind enough to snag me a pre-release kit when he played on Saturday. In my pre-release kit was a code for six free Throne of Eldraine boosters on Magic: the Gathering: Arena. This caused me to re-download Arena even though I had already uninstalled it twice from my laptop. I have mixed feelings around Arena which caused me to type this post today.
I first downloaded Arena because of time. I barely have time after work to exercise, cook dinner, do laundry and go to sleep. Playing Magic in person doesn’t fit into my after work routine. I appreciate the convenience of logging into Arena and getting matched with another player in the comfort of my apartment. Completing the daily tasks is motivating due to the reward of extra coins. This in turn can be spent on booster packs. It’s a way where I can earn cards without having to put actual money into the format. That’s about the only positive thing I can say towards Arena.
It boggles my mind how there isn’t a mobile version of Arena. It would be 1000 times easier for me to get a game of Magic in on my lunch break versus having to pull out my laptop after a long day at work. Many other competitive card games utilize a phone app including Eternal published by Dire Wolf. Many other Magic players would play Arena if it was available as an app. For a well established, gaming company, Wizards of the Coast has been missing the mark in terms of making Arena accessible.
Another mild inconvenience is Arena takes up a bit of memory. I don’t have a gaming laptop, so my memory is precious. Arena has many network patches and updates which causes the game to grow in size. This helps with the realism of the game, but also doesn’t work for me. If Arena was available in a mobile platform, I could play the game on my phone versus my limited capacity on my laptop.
At this moment, Arena is front and center on my home screen. I’m getting enough boosters to build a Throne of Eldraine Black & White Knight deck. I’m hoping to use that deck in standard play if I obtain enough Black & White cards. Arena has kinks to work out, but it has loads of potential to become a legitimate, online gaming experience.
When I heard DC was filming a Birds of Prey movie with Harley Quinn leading the charge, I was skeptical. Suicide Squad was a fun movie, but had inconsistencies including the over the top performance by Jared Leto. I didn’t mind Margot Robbie’s version of Harley, I hated how she was dressed in the movie. It’s ironic because I have cosplayed Suicide Squad Harley multiple times this year. However, I bought the “Daddy’s Little Monster” crop top at good will for $3 and if that’s not thrifty cosplay, I don’t know what is. The first trailer of Birds of Prey was released in the beginning of September. Here are my thoughts when I watched the trailer.
Harley’s new neon outfit is fun. It’s a departure from the “jester” origins, and it doesn’t look as hyper-sexualized like the Suicide Squad movie portrayed her as. She has her mallet which is certainly Harley’s weapon of choice, and I like the eyeliner black heart on her cheek. She comes into camera saying, “I’m so f****** over clowns.” I’m glad the DC cinematic movies are bringing her into their universe, while allowing her to get away from being the Joker’s side kick.
We see a short clip of Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress who I think looks bad ass. She takes off her hood and we can see the cross bow being unleashed on an unseen enemy. Right after the appearance of Huntress, there’s a clip of Black Canary in golden leather pants. Ewan McGregor was cast as Black Mask and I adore him, so I’m into it. He looks like a spoiled rich boy and even though it doesn’t seem like Black Mask from the comics, I’m still interested in how he plays his role.
The Bird’s of Prey logo appears and that’s when we can see some of the cast members walking around in what appears to be an abandoned warehouse. Towards the end of the trailer, Harley is sucking on a lollipop with the words “see you soon” flashing on screen which signals the end of the trailer.
As a fan, I do my best to reserve judgement. I have been proven wrong on casting choices too many times to count. As a prominent DC fan, I can’t wait for this movie. Birds of Prey is one of my most anticipated movies in 2020.
When I attended Gen Con, I scored some exclusive goodies. In addition to being able to test board games from both Goliath Gamesand Games by Bicycle,I was also given a couple freebie items to take home with me. One of these items was an exclusive at Goliath Game’s booth. This item was a GlowBot specifically a Robin GlowBot. GlowBot’s are a line of figures created by Goliath that have glowing beads. These beads when plugged into their character, allow the character to light up in the dark. I was given the Robin version, which was the Gen Con exclusive. It reminds me of a Funko, light-up, collectible figure. After putting it together last weekend, I’m excited to share with you all about this GlowBot.
When I first opened the box, I saw there were the beads packaged in a plastic baggie, along with the cord. There’s also a sheet which demonstrates which color beads go where. It took me about forty five minutes to put all the beads in the correct places. Athena, my kitty, was particularly interested in this as well.
After putting Robin together, I was impressed by the appearance of Robin when he lights up. Usually I’m skeptical about figures like this because when put together, they often don’t look like the character they’re supposed to be. However, I was happily surprised to see Robin glowing and actually looking like Robin.
These GlowBots are adorable. They’re perfect to act as a night light or it would work great as a desk accessory at work. Besides Robin, they had Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, Joker and Harley Quinn. Thanks to Goliath Games for allowing me to take one home, it helped make my Gen Con experience memorable.
Fall is coming which means trips to the Apple Orchard, pumpkin carving, hanging Halloween decorations and playing scary video games. Besides Fall themed activities, it also means a new Magic: The Gathering block is being released, but this one has me rather intrigued. It’s titled Throne of Eldraine and it’s a story book themed Magic set. Normally, I wouldn’t consider myself a fan of fairy tales, but this seems to intertwine the “lighter” tales with a darker edge. I wanted to preview this set and share my excitement for this set.
Throne of Eldraine is described on Magic: the Gathering’s website as a “storybook land of castles and cauldrons”. Part of my love for the Magic: the Gathering pre-releases is the lore behind each set. There’s a story going on underneath all of the games everyone gets to play. I try to purchase a bundle which consists of boosters, a deck box, plenty of lands and a special booklet containing extra art and story background behind the set. After researching, I found the booklets were discontinued which is a shame because the booklet would be perfect for Throne of Eldraine. No matter what, I intend on purchasing boosters or a pre-release kit for this set.
Throne of Eldraine is open for pre-order for both local game stores and for Magic: the Gathering Arena. The pre-release will happen on Friday September 27th with the actual release being on October 4th. Pre-releases are one of my favorite ways to play Magic because I get to play with the cards early, but also being challenged by having to create a deck without knowing which cards I will pull. I’m getting better at putting decks together, but it’s still a challenge for me. If you’re playing in this pre-release, tell me what you think of some of the new cards in the comments below.
I thought I had already written this post, but I hadn’t! I finished Order of the Phoenix a month ago and forgot how much was left out of the movie. I thought Order of the Phoenix would be a pain to read due to its length, but it was more enjoyable than I remember, despite Umbridge being a main character. Here is everything I forgot from Order of the Phoenix.
Poor Dudley puked on the floor from the Dementor encounter.
Aunt Petunia knew what Dementors were.
Uncle Vernon recognizes Lore Voldemort’s name and how he was gone. When Harry tells Vernon that Voldemort is back, Vernon actually looks scared.
“Remember My Last Petunia.” That was a great Howler.
Tonks sent a letter to the Dursleys, saying they won “best kept lawn.” The Dursleys cash in on their prize, leaving Harry home alone.
Elphias Doge, Dedalus Diggle, Emmeline Vance, Sturgis Podmore, and Hestia Jones are all witches and wizards who show up to escort Harry out of the Dursleys’ home.
Tonks got top marks as an Auror for her ability to change her appearance. It was the “conceal & disguise” test as an Auror. She just passed this test recently.
Metamorphmagus are born, not made. Very rare.
Harry became “disillusioned” when he flew to 12 Grimmauld Place. This meant Harry became a human chameleon.
Percy was hired up into the Ministry to be a spy for Arthur, since Arthur is working with Dumbledore. This is punishment for Percy because he couldn’t see that Barty Crouch was under the Imperius Curse. Percy moves out and doesn’t speak to his family.
Evanesco makes things disappear. Used in the Order of the Phoenix’s plans to make them disappear so Harry couldn’t see them.
Sirius is stuck in Grimmauld Place because Wormtail revealed Voldemort’s return and told the Ministry that Sirius is an animagus. The ministry would be looking for a Black Dog wandering around.
Sirius and Molly debate whether Harry should know what the Order is discussing. Molly says Sirius isn’t a great role model and wants to protect Harry. Sirius reminds Molly that Harry isn’t her biological son.
Molly makes a good point. Harry isn’t an adult. He is only 15 years old. Being older, reading this book, Sirius does come across as a bit immature.
Kingsley Shacklebolt has been feeding false information to the Ministry, such as strange places Sirius Black has been spotted.
Dumbledore’s been demoted from Chief Warlock on the Wizengamot because he announces Voldemort’s return. They also debated taking away his Order of Merlin, First Class.
Didn’t know “breakfasted” was a word. Harry and his friends “breakfasted” rather quickly. Page 101
Buckbeak is hiding out at 12 Grimmauld Place upstairs in Sirius’s mom’s bedroom.
Sirius was a disappointment to his mom, “broke her heart”. According to Kreacher.
Sirius can’t “release” Kreacher because he knows too much about the Order.
Sirius’s Uncle Alphard left him gold. Helped him get his own place at age 17 and allowed him to escape his insufferable family.
Sirius’s family suffered from “pure-blood mania,” where they wouldn’t look at a person who wasn’t “pure-blood.” The Black family thought they were royalty.
Regulus became a Death Eater (first mention of his brother) and was killed by Voldemort (we find out that’s not entirely accurate).
Sirius’s family originally supported Voldemort’s ideology. Once they realized what Voldemort would do to get that power, his family started to fear him.
Nigellus was Sirius Black’s great-great-grandfather, who was the most hated head master at Hogwarts.
Araminta Meliflua was a relative who wanted Muggle Hunting legalized.
Aunt Elladora would behead her house elves when they couldn’t lift tea anymore.
Tonks is related to Sirius, and she’s also a half blood, her mom being a witch and her dad being a Muggle named Ted.
Sirius is technically related to the Weasleys and Draco Malfoy.
Sirius yells at Harry when Harry says Sirius didn’t mention he was related to Bellatrix.
12 Grimmauld Place is unplottable (mentioned in the Goblet of Fire) and can’t be located on a map.
Kreacher actually cried when Sirius threw out a golden ring with the family crest on it.
Dumbledore ordered Sirius to stay at the Order while Harry went to his trial (much to Sirius’s chagrin)
Sirius seems angrier in the book than in the movie. Being stuck in his house and not being able to go outside is taking a toll on him.
Harry and Mr. Weasley entered through a red telephone booth. I can’t remember if that happened in the movie or not.
Harry is on level #2 in the Ministry of Magic, that’s one of the top floors, I believe. In the movie, it makes it seem like Harry is going underground.
Harry enters the same courtroom used in Dumbledore’s memories with Barty Crouch Jr.
Fudge keeps saying he “wants this over with.” Meaning Fudge wants to quickly expel Harry because of what he’s been saying about Voldemort’s return. That’s really gross.
Harry donates his galleons to Mungo’s after being cleared of all charges.
Hermione makes a comment about how Sirius isn’t sure if Harry is Harry or James. Imagine how Sirius must feel. His best friend is murdered, he’s imprisoned wrongly, and he sees his best friend’s son, who looks exactly like him. That must be tough for him.
Ron becomes a prefect and Mrs. Weasley is so excited.
Harry felt he should have gotten the prefect badge because of everything he’s done. For once, Ron has beaten Harry in something, and it makes Harry say some awful comments. This is definitely a toxic side to Harry.
Lupin was the prefect when James and Sirius were in school.
Moody gives Harry the picture of the original Order of the Phoenix.
Marlene McKinnon is a witch in the picture, and her whole family was murdered two weeks after the picture was taken.
Benjy Fenwick is a wizard in the Order of the Phoenix who was also killed after the photo was taken.
Edgar Bones was also killed after the photo was taken.
Caradoc Dearborn vanished 6 months later, never to be seen again
Hagrid was also in the Order of the Phoenix
It took 5 Death Eaters to kill Gideon Prewett and his brother Fabian
Aberforth Dumbledore was also in the Order of the Phoenix
Dorcas Meadowes was murdered by Voldemort himself
Harry found the photograph to be disturbing, and after Moody shows it to Harry, he runs off. Their happy faces in the picture without knowing their demise. I feel for Harry, as I would probably be disturbed looking at this photograph as well.
Molly, seeing her dead family members as her boggart, was really sad.
Seeing the photograph, Harry was forced to grow up. This is what Molly was referring to; he is still a 15-year-old kid.
Luna is a 4th-year. I assumed she was in the same year as Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
Neville brings his Mimbulus Mimbletonia on the Hogwarts Express. It squirts dark green liquid that smells terrible. Poor Harry gets a face full of it.
Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson are the prefects for Slytherin house.
Ron and Hermione initially don’t know that Harry gave the twins his Triwizard Tournament money.
Ron wants to be an auror!
Draught of Peace is a potion that’s supposed to decrease anxiety. It’s super complicated to make.
Ron and Hermione call Harry out for his rude behavior. (Harry is constantly yelling at Ron and Hermione)
I can sympathize with Harry. He’s sent to McGonagall’s office, and she tells him to keep his temper under control.
Bowtruckles are taught in their lesson.
Hermione is initially super rude to Luna, and Harry puts her in her place.
Sturgis Podmore (member of the Order of the Phoenix & who picked up Harry in the beginning) was arrested and sentenced to Azkaban for 6 months. He was convicted of stealing from the Ministry of Magic. Was this a lure by the Ministry to take down allies of Dumbledore?
Fred & George accidentally gave Katie Bell a blood blisterpod, and now she has to go to the hospital wing.
Percy writes to Ron letting him know he should cut ties with Harry. What an idiot.
Umbridge is proposing policies to discriminate against werewolves and merpeople. It’s also made it difficult for Remus to get a job.
Sirius made a comment, “You’re less like your father than I thought.” As far as Sirius risking his safety to see Harry. It’s not Harry’s responsibility to be exactly like his father. That’s an unfair statement for Sirius to make.
Hog’s Head is where Harry meets the soon-to-be members of Dumbledore’s Army. It’s also the same place where Hagrid won Norbert.
The people who showed up were. . .
Neville
Dean Thomas
Lavender Brown
Parvati and Padma Patil
Cho & one of her friends
Luna
Katie Bell
Alicia Spinnet
Angelina Johnson
Colin Creevy & his brother Dennis
Ernie Macmillian
Justin Finch Fletchley
Hannah Abbott
Random Ravenclaw students
Fred & George Weasley
Lee Jordan
Ginny Weasley
Foreshadowing! Cho’s friend shows up, and she doesn’t look happy to be there. This is the same friend who rats out Dumbledore’s army to Umbridge
Susan Bones, a Hufflepuff student whose aunt served on Harry’s trial, also showed up at Hog’s Head.
Random fact: if a boy goes up to the girls’ dormitory, the stairs turn into a slide.
Umbridge’s rule of “no clubs.” Also includes Quidditch. The Gryffindor team had to reapply to be able to play Quidditch. What an evil person.
Sirius finds out about Dumbledore’s Army from Mundungus, who was in the Hog’s Head listening and following Harry. Sirius feels a sense of pride with Harry acting more like James.
Sirius contacts Harry through the flames, and Umbridge’s hand arises from the ashes to squish out the flames. Another reason why she sucks.
Dobby is the one who tells Harry about the Room of Requirement in the book.
Dumbledore’s Army completes their first lesson on practicing Expelliarmus.
Hermione gives all the members of the Army a coin that’s been put under the Protean Charm. Any time Harry changes the meeting, the coins grow hot and change to the date on the other member’s coins. That’s awesome.
Crabbe & Goyle are Slytherin Beaters this year.
Harry beats Malfoy AGAIN in Quidditch. Unfortunately, Ron let in most of the goals as the Keeper.
Umbridge gives Harry and George a lifetime ban from playing Quidditch after Fred & George pummel Malfoy after he throws insults about their mom.
Hagrid goes to find the giants with Madame Maxine, unlike in the movie, but it appears he goes by himself.
Hagrid was negotiating with a giant named Karkus, except he was killed by another giant named Golgomath. Gologomath was the giant who injured Hagrid. Hagrid saw the Death Eaters approaching the giants.
Hagrid teaches about thestrals in his first lesson back at Hogwarts. Meanwhile, Umbridge is super racist and rudely asks students if they can hear him because he’s a giant.
Umbridge announces that thestrals are classified by the Ministry as dangerous. The Ministry of Magic is a corrupt government society.
Dobby decorated the Room of Requirement for Christmas. How cute.
Ginny replaces Harry as the Gryffindor seeker.
Dumbledore’s headmaster portraits are displayed in other areas, so they can go to and from the Ministry and St. Mungo’s as needed.
Dumbledore starts ordering Phineas to send a message to the Order. This is the same Phineas who is related to Sirius Black, who was also one of the worst Headmasters in Hogwarts’ history.
Immediately after meeting with Dumbledore, Harry & the Weasleys use a portkey to go back to Grimmauld Place. McGonagall has to distract Umbridge from finding out the boys were walking around Hogwarts late at night.
There’s an argument about whether or not the Weasley kids can go see their father. The Order doesn’t want the Ministry to know Harry is having visions. It would look rather suspicious if they showed up at the hospital without anyone telling them about Arthur’s attack.
Mungo’s is disguised as a red brick building titled Purge and Dowse Ltd.
The logo of St. Mungo’s was a wand and a bone crossed together.
Dilys Derwint was a former healer (not doctor), and she was one of the headmaster’s portraits in Dumbledore’s office.
Second Floor – Magical Bugs (Dragon Pox or Scrofungulus)
Third Floor – Potions (rashes, uncontrollable giggling)
Fourth Floor – Spell Damage (jinxes, hexes, etc.)
Fifth Floor – Visitor’s Tea Room and Hospital Gift Shop
Arthur says every time they take off his bandages, he keeps bleeding. It must be the snake’s poison that’s preventing him from being able to stop the bleeding.
Next to Arthur is a man who was bitten by a werewolf, and there’s no cure for that.
Harry thinks about leaving Grimmauld Place after hearing about how he could be possessed by Voldemort.
Phineas Nigellus tells Harry a message from Dumbledore instructing him not to leave Grimmauld Place.
Ginny is much better in the books than in the movies. Ginny reminds Harry that she knows what it’s like to be possessed by Voldemort. Ginny couldn’t remember where she was when she was possessed by Voldemort. Since Harry has been in control of his thoughts, it’s clear he isn’t being possessed.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny see Professor Lockhart, and the healer accompanying him is impressed that he has “visitors.” Apparently, no one has visited Lockhart since being admitted to St. Mungo’s.
I forgot how terrible Neville’s grandmother is. She says that Neville doesn’t have his father’s talents.
Neville’s grandmother accuses Neville of being ashamed of his parents. She proceeds to tell the group how they were Aurors and they were tortured.
Alice Longbottom gives Neville one of her bubble gum wrappers, to which Neville sadly puts the wrapper in his pocket.
Sirius and Snape have a huge fight, which leads to Sirius pulling out his wand and Harry getting in the middle. It’s rather immature that a fifteen-year-old boy has to get between them.
Legilimency is the ability to extract feelings and memories from another person’s mind. Occlumency helps protect someone from that.
Being skilled in legilimency doesn’t mean someone can read minds, but rather know if someone is lying to them.
Someone usually has to make eye contact with them to use Legilimency.
Hogwarts has protections that protect students’ minds from outside sources.
Resisting Legilimency is similar to resisting the Imperius Curse.
The spell is Legilimens.
Harry starts randomly laughing as he is on his way to his bed. It’s because Voldemort is really happy, and it caused Harry to feel that way too.
There was the murder of Broderick Bode. He was injured at the Department of Mysteries, and someone delivered Devil’s Snare to his bedside, where it strangled him. Harry met him talking to Arthur Weasley, and Ron remembers his dad talking about him.
The prisoners breaking out of Azkaban have shaped how people view Harry’s story of Voldemort’s return. The Ministry seems unorganized in how they are dealing with the prison breakout.
The breakout motivates Neville to improve on his spells. He is the one who learns the spells the quickest, aside from Hermione.
Wood was recruited into professional Quidditch by Puddlemere United.
Cho always wants to talk about Cedric, and she asks Harry about whether he asked about her before he died.
Hermione writes to Rita Skeeter and brings Luna with her. They plan on writing Harry’s side of the story in the Quibbler (I forgot about that.)
Ginny would steal Fred and George’s brooms when she was six.
Ginny caught the snitch in their game against Hufflepuff, but they still lost because Ron let in so many goals. Angelina was hit in the mouth with a bludger.
Harry in the Quibbler article named Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle’s fathers as current Death Eaters.
Bode (the man who was murdered from St. Mungo’s was under the Imperius Curse by Lucius Malfoy (I believe he learns this from a dream by Voldemort)
Dumbledore hires Firenze, a centaur, to replace Trelawny after she’s sacked by Umbridge.
Dobby warns Harry that Umbridge knows about Dumbledore’s Army. In the book, only Harry is caught instead of the whole DA.
Marietta was the victim, and she was horribly disfigured by these purple pus-filled blemishes on her skin.
Umbridge grabs Marietta and shakes her, which prompts Dumbledore to pull out his wand. Go Dumbledore.
Dumbledore gloating at Fudge, “I could break out, of course, but what a waste of time.” This is a reference to being put away in Azkaban.
I wish in the movie they kept the part where Dumbledore hexed Fudge and Umbridge.
Umbridge invites Harry up to her office to ask about Sirius Black. She makes it very clear that he knows where he is.
Harry makes it clear to Cho that he doesn’t have any sympathy for Marietta, and what Hermione did was justified.
When James Potter cursed Snape, Snape cursed back at James, causing a huge gash to leak blood.
James says he will stop bullying Snape if Lily goes out with him (which is really gross manipulation).
Snape calls Lily a Mudblood after she defends him.
Harry uses Umbridge’s floo powder fireplace after Fred and George cause a distraction. This allows Harry to talk to Sirius and Lupin about his father.
Lily dated James in their seventh year.
Both Lupin and Sirius are upset that Snape discontinued Occlumency lessons.
Fred and George were going to be whipped by Umbridge, and this was the moment they left school (not during exams like in the movie).
OMG, someone let a hairy sprouted Niffler into Umbridge’s office where it tried to eat her rings.
Students would use Fred and George’s stuff to vomit to get out of Umbridge’s classroom.
Peeves even starts wreaking havoc, and the professors do nothing to stop him.
Harry (after Fred and George leave Hogwarts) admits to Ron and Hermione that he gave them the gold to open the shop.
During the Quidditch match between Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor, Hagrid allows Harry and Hermione to meet Grawp.
Umbridge thinks Hagrid put the Niffler in her office (which he didn’t).
Hagrid ended up saving Firenze’s life from the other centaurs; therefore, he is not welcome in the Forbidden Forest.
Ron won the Gryffindor Quidditch Cup in their fifth year.
A second niffler was let into Umbridge’s office, lovely.
While taking their astronomy exam, Umbridge brings people to Hagrid’s cabin where they attempt to hex him. They also hex Fang. When McGonagall comes to Hagrid’s aid, they hex her too.
A Giant’s blood makes it tough to stun them.
Lee Jordan admits he was the one who put the Nifflers in Umbridge’s office (not Hagrid). He admits it because he felt bad that Hagrid took the fall for that.
After Harry’s first Sirius dream, he tries to find Professor McGonagall, but she is at St. Mungo’s recovering from the stunning spells she received trying to come to Hagrid’s aid.
Before they go to the Department of Mysteries, they attempt to contact Sirius in Umbridge’s office.
When they get in trouble in the book, it’s because Harry tries to contact Sirius. In the movie, it’s when they are all caught after Dumbledore’s Army meeting.
Umbridge puts Snape on probation because he doesn’t have any more Veritaserum.
Umbridge called the Dementors to Harry’s place at the Dursleys
Incarcerous is the spell Umbridge uses to tie up one of the centaurs. As an added slap in the face, they break her wand, too.
In the book, Grawp rescues Harry and Hermione from the centaurs, not from Umbridge. In the book, Grawp is injured as one of his blood droplets drops on Harry.
The thestrals come to their aid because they smell the giant’s blood on Harry and partially on Hermione.
When the group entered the Ministry of Magic, there was no security person to scan their wands.
When they enter the Department of Mysteries, the doors rotate, so they have no idea which door they entered from.
In one room, they find a tank filled with brains (becomes important later).
Harry discovers the archway in a pit similar to an amphitheater. This is where one of the main battles takes place.
The Death Eaters who come to the Department of Mysteries include:
Nott * stunned by Hermione early on in the battle*
Jugson
Bellatrix – Tortures Neville, Stuns Tonks, Kills Sirius, Injures Kingsley, later escapes with Voldemort.
Rodolphus
Crabbe
Rabastian
Dolohov injures Hermione, Hermione also removes his speech, so they can’t give away their position. Also kicks Neville in the face and breaks his wand. Stunned by Harry. Revives himself, injuring Moody, causing his eye to roll around in the amphitheater with the arch. Sirius begins dueling with Dolohov after he tries yet again to go after Harry.
MacNair attempts to strangle Harry. Poked in the eye by Neville, where Harry can stun him.
Avery
Rookwood
Mulciber
Lucius Malfoy – attempts to steal the prophecy from Harry, is stunned by Harry, and duels with Lupin.
One unnamed Death Eater was stunned by Harry.
There’s a Death Eater who puts his head in a jar, and it turns into a baby’s head. This Death Eater is also unnamed.
Dolohov releases purple flame across Hermione’s chest, which causes her to fall unconscious.
Neville’s wand, that broke (caused by Dolohov) was his father’s old wand. To be fair, his dad would be so proud that Neville came to the Department of Mysteries and he partook in a battle that his father started.
The room with time was where all the Time Turners were kept.
Ron was hit with a curse that makes him laugh, whereas Ginny’s ankle is broken after Luna uses a curse nearby her.
Luna was hit with a stunning spell after trying to seal the doors they’re in.
Ginny shouts a warning to Harry, but is stunned immediately after.
Harry trips and falls into the room with the arch.
Neville tries to come to his aid, but he’s tortured by Bellatrix with the Crucio Curse. This is so infuriating to me.
As Harry begins to hand over the prophecy to Malfoy, this is when the Order shows up.
Lucius Malfoy attempts to steal the prophecy from Harry, but after throwing the prophecy to Neville, he stuns Lucius.
Lupin jumps in between them to duel with Lucius.
The prophecy finally breaks after Neville drops it as they try to escape.
Dumbledore arrives looking “white and furious.” Dumbledore is mad as hell, and I’m here for it.
Sirius is killed when he battles Bellatrix after making fun of her. His death scene in the book is quicker than I expected. I thought I would be more emotional reading about it, but honestly, I was angrier at Bellatrix and what she is capable of with dark magic.
Kingsley continues to duel with Bellatrix.
Dumbledore groups the other Death Eaters with white ropes.
As Harry is dueling Bellatrix, Harry taunts her about the prophecy breaking and how Voldemort will be angry. Bellatrix begs Voldemort not to punish her.
As Voldemort attempts to kill Harry, the statue in the fountain springs to life and wraps itself around Harry and dragging him away from the battle.
One statue goes after Bellatrix and pins her to the floor.
Fawkes comes to Dumbledore’s aid and swallows one of Voldemort’s killing spells, killing the phoenix.
Portus is the spell used to create a portkey
The real reason Dumbledore didn’t speak to Harry was his fear of Voldemort using Harry to spy on him.
Kreacher lied to Harry about Sirius being at home when he originally contacted him. Kreacher purposefully injured Buckbeak, which caused Sirius to come to his aid. Kreacher left after Sirius told him to “get out” during the Holiday break. There, he traveled to Narcissa Malfoy’s home, where he revealed how Harry would do anything to protect Sirius if he were to be “in danger.”
Snape became worried when Harry and Hermione didn’t come back to the school, so he called the Order. Snape knew about Sirius being at the Department of Mysteries because Harry had told Snape earlier.
The reason Harry is protected at the Dursleys is because of his Aunt Petunia’s blood bond to Lily. This is the same magic that protected Harry from Voldemort as a baby.
Hermione had to take ten different potions to recover from Dolohov’s magic.
Dumbledore rescues Umbridge by himself from the centaurs.
Towards the end of the book, Moody, Tonks, Lupin, and Mr. Weasley basically threaten the Dursleys to take care of Harry this summer. Moody even shows them his eye to properly scare them. What a way to end the book.
As I mentioned, the Order of the Phoenix has many details that are important to the story, but are left out of the movie. For example, when Harry has his dream with Sirius in the Department of Mysteries, he tries to go to McGonagall, except she’s hexed by Umbridge and is in St. Mungo’s. Harry can’t go to Dumbledore as he’s been banished. Harry even uses Floo powder to go to Sirius at 12 Grimmauld Place, except he can’t find him before he’s caught by Umbridge. Harry isn’t as impulsive as the movie would make him seem.
Another point I wanted to make about the Order of the Phoenix is the deterioration of Sirius Black’s mental health. Sirius wants Harry to be like James, so that it becomes unhealthy. Molly is right when she argues with Sirius, especially about whether to give Harry the original “Order of the Phoenix” photograph. Harry becomes revolted as Moody reveals that many of those members were murdered shortly thereafter. Harry is only fifteen years old; he’s still a child.
The Order of the Phoenix is one of my least favorite books because of Umbridge’s presence. I’m glad I can move on read my favorite Harry Potter book and that’s The Half Blood Prince.
Gen Con is so much more than spending a bunch of money at the exhibitor hall. In between board game purchases, developers host players to demo their games. Three months before Gen Con, you can register for game demos, often these events are free. One of the demos I registered for was a space exploration game titled Lander. As our demo leader Dan stated, it’s loosely inspired by The Settlers of Catan, but in space.
Lander is a space themed strategy game where players take on the role of corporations to complete missions in space. There are three playing styles within the game, but in the demo version, we played the basic simulation. The win condition in the basic simulation is to have seven completed mission stars. In order to complete missions, you need to complete your crew and gain resources. It’s more complex than what it sounds which is where the challenge comes in. I lost the game because I didn’t attach the right characteristics to the right crew members. As a result, I couldn’t complete the mission.
Unlike The Settlers of Catan, Lander puts more focus on negotiation. There’s an hour glass within the game which represents the time you have to successfully negotiate with another player. It’s funny because one of the players in our demo group hates Catan with a passion because of how you can be a jerk in the game, yet they ended up loving this game once we finished.
Immediately, I wanted to purchase this game after I completed it. However, Lander isn’t out yet. It will be an upcoming Kickstarter campaign launching in March of next year. What makes Lander a unique campaign is their #playbeforeyoupledge. Many local game stores will receive a copy of Lander, which allows players who couldn’t attend Gen Con to play Lander and determine if they will back it in March.
Lander is a complex strategy game that needs to be played multiple times. It was more challenging than I had anticipated, which makes it worth replaying. One of my good friends loves The Settlers of Catan, and I want to introduce her to this game. Lander will be on a future Kickstarter campaign, which will launch in March next year. I plan on writing a blog post about this game once it gets closer to the Kickstarter launch. Otherwise, feel free to browse through Lander’s website and check if your local game store will have a copy to play.
I was telling a couple of coworkers about Gen Con. One coworker made a comment asking, why do you cosplay? She doesn’t know enough about cosplay to know why someone would want to dress up as a fictional character and parade around a convention hall. It’s a legitimate question especially because she had never heard of the term cosplay before. I thought about my answer and this made me want to devote a whole post as to not only why I cosplay, but how it improved my self esteem.
When I was in middle school, I was increasingly aware of how much I hated my body. When I say hate I meant I truly despised the way I looked in the mirror. I didn’t feel confident when I would wear shorts or a swimsuit. I didn’t know if I would ever come to appreciate my body the way it is.
When I graduated from high school, my confidence started to blossom, but I had a long way to go to address how I felt about my body. When I went to my first CONvergence back in 2013 was when I cosplayed for the first time. Me and a friend cosplayed as Mario & Luigi. It was a simple cosplay I purchased from Ragstock. However, once I put it on, I felt cute and could walk around and do what I pleased. I received some warmhearted compliments on my cosplay. Once CONvergence was over, I knew I wanted to do more with cosplay and challenge myself to take on other characters.
The more I cosplayed, the more my confident I became. There were cosplays that were more revealing than others. What empowered me though was the control I had to show what I wanted on my terms. It was my body and I could conceal or reveal it if I chose to. This conscious choice I made is what has allowed me to fall in love with myself and the way I am. Additionally, cosplay exposed me to other body types and seeing other people rocking what they have, creates this open and accepting environment.
I owe a lot to cosplay and how it’s changed my way of thinking. Every time I know I’m attending a convention, my head starts spinning as to potential cosplay options. Once I settle on an idea, I’m determined to pull it off. My relationship with my body is one I will always have to work on and be aware of, but I’m at a much better place mentally and all it took was to dress up as Harley Quinn.
This past weekend, I attended Gen Con for the first time. Gen Con is a four-day gaming convention located in downtown Indianapolis. This convention encompasses several facets of gaming including board games, PC gaming, trading card games, RPGs, LARP (Live Action Role Play), and more. Detailing my experience attending Gen Con is difficult. It’s challenging to put into words how much this convention meant to me as a gaming geek. For those who are looking to attend Gen Con, I would highly recommend it.
My journey to Gen Con started in February of this year. I applied for a press badge on a whim because why not? I was approved for a press badge for C2E2 in Chicago, so why not try it for Gen Con. My press badge was approved within a couple of weeks. Within a month before the convention, my email was flooded with board game developers wanting to set up a time for demos and interviews. I settled on two demos with Goliath Games and Games by Bicycle. To prevent this post from being incredibly long, I will write a separate post on the games I did “demo” from both developers.
After realizing I was going to Gen Con, I recruited my brother to come with me. I was already planning on driving to Indianapolis, but I didn’t want to go alone. Having my brother with me throughout the drive made it more bearable. We listened to NADDPOD as we drove to get hyped up for the convention.
My friend, Me and My Brother waiting to go into the Vendor Hall at Gen Con 2019.
Me and my brother chose to stay in an Air BnB versus a hotel downtown. Part of this decision resulted because I couldn’t find any hotel on Gen Con’s website with a room available. As soon as passes go on sale in January, hotel rooms are reserved. By the time I was looking for a room, I was coming up with nothing. Our Air BnB was about 25-30 minutes away from Downtown Indianapolis. One of my regrets was not staying right in the heart of downtown. I wanted the full Gen Con experience, but I felt that was stunted because we knew we needed to take a Lyft. We also had to bring almost everything we needed for the day because we didn’t have anywhere to store our stuff. This didn’t take away from the convention, but it made me realize what I want to do for next year.
LOOK AT THIS CROWD! Waiting to enter the vendor hall.
When I first approached the Indianapolis Convention Center on Thursday, I was in awe of how big the vendor hall is. There are 30 ROWS OF VENDORS. 30 ROWS!? I was overwhelmed. How could I look at all the games where there are that many developers who appear at Gen Con? It wasn’t until after the third day of attending that I felt I had seen every vendor. I brought $300 of spending cash with me and even though it was enough for me, I could have easily saved more.
I lost the game.. playing Lander at Gen Con 2019.
As far as the gaming, it’s extremely organized. On Gen Con’s website, I signed up for a couple game demos before the convention began. However, I discovered I could also buy generic gaming tickets if I found a game I wanted to demo, but didn’t have it in my schedule. I demoed an intergalactic strategy game, Lander which doesn’t launch on Kickstarter until March of 2020. I will write a separate post about game testing Lander. I plan on “kicking” the game once it launches because I enjoy the strategy of what the game has to offer.
Another reason I loved Gen Con was I felt I was at the center of board game news. As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, I played Lander which hasn’t even been released yet. It felt like I was getting a “sneak peek” of a game that hadn’t launched.
To end my post, I wanted to sum up the turnout of Gen Con 2019. Gen Con had a record-breaking year with 70,000 attendees. There were 19,600 ticketed gaming events, over 2,000 of these tickets were electronic tickets found on the Gen Con app. Finally, Gen Con took measures to cut down on waste that the convention produces. For their efforts, they prevented 24,000 cups from ending up in Indiana’s landfills.
Gen Con was super cool.
Gen Con was a life-changing experience for me. I never felt more proud to be a gamer and to be in a place where I fit in. This convention is one I hope to attend again in 2020. Hopefully, I will see some of you there.
My blogging schedule has been irregular lately due to attending Gen Con in Indianapolis last weekend. Gen Con was one of the best conventions I have ever attended and I plan to write about my experience soon. Hopefully, my blog posts will be on a regular schedule since I don’t have any more out-of-town vacations or conventions to go to. I took this Monday off from work because I figured I would need a day to recover from the convention. Besides catching up on housework, I decided to finish playing Heavy Rain, a game I started almost two months ago, but couldn’t find time to finish. Heavy Rain had a mysterious story, but it’s a dated game in terms of graphics and the controls.
Heavy Rain is a psychological thriller launched by game developer Quantic Dream. The game centralizes on four playable characters: Ethan, a father suffering from PTSD, Scott Shelby a PI, Norman Jayden, an FBI agent and Madison, a photojournalist. All of the characters are wrapped up in solving the mystery of the “Origami Killer”. The Origami Killer kidnaps boys and forces the parents to perform trials to see how much they love their kids. If the parents fail their trials, they won’t be able to save their son from drowning in a sewer grate. Various chapters are told by the characters as they uncover little by little the secret to the Origami Killer’s identity.
The story itself is rather creepy. There were a couple chapters with jump scares, but it was far and few in between. I hate playing video games with jump scares because I can’t focus on the game. I wasn’t expecting how the story was going to play out which allowed me to feel surprised by the reveal of the killer’s identity. As the chapters continue, the chance of killing one of the playable characters is high. On my first play-through, one of my characters died as that tends to happen in these types of games.
The number one deterrent for wanting to replay this game is the controls. The controls feel unnatural. To move each of the characters, you have to hold down the right trigger for the entire movement. I would much rather use a joystick to move my character because it’s more seamless with the controller. Another slightly annoying factor with the controls is all the QTE. QTE or Quick Time Events is when a series of buttons comes up in rapid succession meaning the player has to hit the buttons on the controller in response. I don’t mind QTE sequences, but the buttons during some chapters felt really weird. There were times when the QTE was trying to direct me to move my controller in a certain way and I wasn’t comprehending what I was supposed to do. As a result, there were certain QTEs I had to replay more than others and that became obnoxious.
Heavy Rain is one of those games that’s dated, but it inspired countless other games since then. I respect Heavy Rain as being a dramatic and well-made game at the time of its release. I struggle with wanting to replay this game again. I purchased Heavy Rain in a two-pack with Beyond Two Souls. I plan to play Beyond Two Souls despite Heavy Rain’s terrible control settings. It’s worth it to play Heavy Rain as the story is worth experiencing.
Bizarre Brunette 