DarthTofu

Alrighty, then, the votes are in, and here are the final standings for the biggest spammer on the forums: Mad and I are tied for first place, with five votes (35% of the voters) each, with Mitth getting second place in the not-even-close battle, with two votes and a total of 14% of the total vote. Rob and SOCL both finished third, with one vote (7%) each, and nobody voted for Kaja or Psych, leaving them dead last except for, of course, those of you who post in moderation and weren't even nominated as spammers. If anyone new wants to vote, feel free to- that's kind of the reason I gave this thread a bump. If not, I believe Mad and I can both add "Kings of the Forum Spamming" to our sigs, or something to the same effect.

You and my father have both been asking that question continuously, Tex. I think it all goes back to book two, and then even further. Dumbledore says, "Those who remain loyal to me shall find help when they need it" or something like that. Neville certainly remained loyal to Harry and Dumbledore, leading Dumbledore's Army single-handedly when Luna and Ginny left, and when he needed help, Godric Gryffindor's old hat produced the sword for him, as it did with Harry. I think that's part of the sword's magic, that it was tied to Gryffindor. The Sorting Hat was his, and with Gryffindor gone, the sword might identify with the hat as its former master, arriving when one with the same qualities as Gryffindor needs it. Quite frankly, we must ask why the big G. would shove the sword in the hat in the first place- he likely wouldn't. Thus I feel that, as I've said, the sword is linked with the last relic(s) of Gryffindor. As for Harry and Ron's proffessions: Rowling has stated in an interview on NBC that they are both now Aurors, with Harry as the head of the department. Hermione is supposed to be "rather high up" in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She apparently wrote a far more detailed epilogue originally, but then felt that it didn't flow properly, and so revamped it, leaving more details of character life unknown, but doing something that left her happier. She said something about writing an encyclopedia on Harry eventually, and in it she would give more details, including who the all-new headmaster of Hogwarts would be (McGonnigal (sp?) is apparently too old for the job).

Haha. Tickets on my little island cost six bucks. I hope to see the Simpsons Movie today, but I don't know that I will. One of my friends is seeing it with his mom, and I have some crap to do around the house... If I do see it I'll put up a review for the flick and tell you if it's actually smart humor or guy-gets-a-hammer-to-the-eye-and-screams-in-pain humor.

Hehe- I suppose that if I'm going to add one or two minor character deaths, I'll have to add them all, won't I? Should I have tacked the rest of the horcruxes on as well? I fully expected Snape to kick the bucket, but I expected him to die as this great hero with his cruelty and such as part of a master plan, such as how Harry lived with Dursleys and Figg was mean to him so that she could ensure that he was alright. When he died as a sort of anti-hero, protecting Harry only because he was the son of Lily Evans, you get the feel that, while he's certainly brave, certainly devoted, certainly crucial to everything, he's really not that good of a guy.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070205.html

Whose death surprised/saddened you the most in the new book? I didn't want to ruin Rob's discussion, hence this thread. I think everyone already knows whose death shocked me the most.

I saw Night at the Museum while I was away. It's a good movie for kids, with humor that's mostly slapstick and such, but with some veiled stuff for the adults who must watch it with them. ("I won't quit you!") I thought that it was pretty good, though, with the overall message of "Go to a museum, and read up on your history. It's interesting." Edit: Transofrmers pretty much summed up.

I loved the ending, though the one thing that I felt the epilogue lacked was a description of what everyone looks like nineteen years later. It was heartwarming, it gave a sense of closure, and it left the door open for imagination for everyone. HUGE SPOILERS! Just a warning in case you're a bloody fool and didn't read the thread title. Fred Weasley's death really hurt for me. I nearly woke up the person who was trying to sleep in the same room as me when it happened, and I can honestly, without any shame, say that I cried when it happened. Fred and George, the united Weasley twins, who caused mischief and gave us those great moments of comic relief, but weren't just two dimensional supporting characters, for they had moments of pain and suffering as much as anyone else. He helped his brother get over having a hole blasted in his head and took it so well, and then was killed, sundering him from his twin, destroying that semblance of harmony and symmetry between them. When it happened I found myself whispering, "Fred and George are just George, now," and not wanting to believe it because there wouldn't be another book where he'd be dead, but ultimately he was. I know that they aren't real and all, but the characters just seem so alive while you read, and I got rather caught up in it. Granted, I was running on a total of four hours sleep for two days, so that didn't much help me discern reality from fantasy. My favorite part was either A) Snape's memories, showing how he acted and why and how he became the way he was or B) The chapter King's Cross. Dumbledore's line- "Of course it's in your head, Harry, but why on earth does that mean that it isn't real?" is probably the epitome of the whole series and of Dumbledore himself. I nominate it as the best quote of all time, even if I don't honestly believe it to be as much. Anyway, that's my two bits worth. I'm not blacking the text because A) Blacking text annoys me and B) People who would piss and moan were warned in the title and in the first post.

The number of misspellings on that petition combined with Kaja's claims that a PC really couldn't handle it leave me inclined to just experience it on a friend's 360.

Damn, I really hate to double post. So anyway, in my nerdiness I just spent the better part of three hours or so reading the Wikipedia articles on just about every Harry Potter character and location. Here's something that I don't know that we've discussed: Godric's Hollow, where Harry's parents were killed, has been confirmed by Rowling to be named for Godric Griffindor. Significant, methinks. Also, my father figured out why there are seven Weasley children, and I feel rather foolish for not figuring it out- they're named for the Knights of the Round Table- King Arthur, Sir Percivul (Percy), Fredrick (Fred), Guenevire (Ginevra, AKA Ginny), etc. Ron is apparently named for Arthur's spear, "Rhongomynyad" in Welsh legend(Source) It's been confirmed that Krum will be returning for book seven, as well as that Sirius's motorbike from book one will reappear. In an interview she said: "you will find out [where the bike is], but the real sleuths among you might be able to guess." I say it's at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, personally, or else Hagrid still has it. Here's a great interview with Rowling from some Potter fanatics.

OOC: ‘Cause SOCL yelled at me to post something new… IC: Before I really registered what I was doing I’d pulled my blasters on the Jedi again. “You could have done that and gotten Igens across without a sound. Why didn’t you?â€

I know this has been posted before, and by me to boot, but I think that it needs to be seen again. Edit: Oh, and before anyone asks, my new avatar is the Devil from Sinfest. Great comic, that one!

What about Bumblebee in the tunnel? He went from busted-up to nice-looking quickly with what I think was holo technology.

Reallly, Rob, that was aweful. "This is Red Five, I'm going in!"

Who are we to say that there's no love between them? Granted, you're probably right, it's likely about money, but still. @Rob: You know, I specifically refrained from commenting on the car makeout scene because I didn't want to cause a hubub with it. The one thing that I can think of that really annoyed me was how the robot forms of the Transformers still retained tires and windshield pieces and such. That struck me as rather odd, considering how they seem to have a holographic exterior that makes them look like a car, where they really transform into something else. I also thought that they could transform into anything, couldn't they? It would certainly make more sense if they could, would help them get around easier, etc.

What about Squeaky? I think I voted either Canderous or HK. It was a long time ago, so I can't really remember. Probably Canderous since I went on a Wookiepedia binge on Mandalorians.

Death by chocolate... Huh. All I've ever had is "cursed life where you wish you were dead" by chocolate. I must try this new concoction...

The OT relied on special effects, but it didn't go out of its way to take advantage of them, except perhaps in ESB with the giant slug. The prequals seemed to rely far too much on special effects, and the acting was just horrible. We already knew what would happen in the end (IE Anakin would become Darth Vader, Senator Palpatine would become Emperor). The movies broke from the cannonical material that already existed and hinted toward the Clone Wars coming about from the clones going mad. Yoda was depicted as, how did someone put it, a "Circ Dis Ole(sp?) dancer on steroids" was it? Too much didn't make sense, and ultimately Jar Jar was far more annoying than he was entertaining. There's a reason he said a gran total of two words in episode three! The prequals went on something that we'd all wondered about and formed our own theories and conclusions about, and they gave us something totally new, totally unexpected, and totally not in keeping with our imaginations. Ultimately that alone was enough to ruin it for some fans. In addition to this, Episode II broke entirely from the existing Star Wars material by making most of the movie a love story! The OT managed to give the story of Han's love for Leia while still maintaining that feeling that action we so loved as well as developing characters on the fly- for instance, in the original Star Wars, a New Hope, Han Solo takes off before the battle of Yavin, but then returns in the end to help finish the fight, showing that, while he isn't the world's best person, and is a rogue, he still has a conscience that he has to listen to, and is capable of being a great friend. Character development was pitiful in the prequals, and they just dragged in too many places, or spent too long on action scenes (Matrix syndrome in Episode III, for instance)

Outclassing everyone again, K! Very Nice! It looks practically real! I suggest that get added to the final version of Reloaded's Encyclopedia as a planet image... Dang!

Mandalore, you're butchering of the English language is causing my physical pain. Over many years this language has been refined into something that can be used effectively to communicate. While considerably more complex grammatically and verbally than most languages, proper spelling should not be beyond you, and it should at least be possible to couple a series of words you have typed together into their equivelant in speech. You, however, have simply posted a collection of formless, orderless words, most of which are spelled incorrectly, in large paragraphs, ranging from vaguely insulting to downright insolent. If you don't enjoy the company of the people on the forum, you would likely do well not to frequent the forums. You would also do well to learn how to reply to multiple persons in a single post. If you read nothing else in this post, please read this: Grow a brain, and make sure that it has some manners built in.

Oh, man, my parents have iTunes open right now, and guess what song is playing when I come to that gif? Chariots of Fire! What are the odds of that?!? Wait, I'm an American- Never tell me the odds! It's even at the running-music-moment right now! That's great!

Rise! Rise! Give my creation LIFE!!! Yes, folks, I've gone back through three pages of dead threads just to find the joke thread. Why? Because it has some great jokes, and because I just heard a good one! An atheist and a Christian are driving along a highway when they get into a head-on collision. Neither driver is harmed, but both cars are totalled. "You know," says the Christian, "I think this is a sign that we should put aside our differances and just be friends." "You're right!" says the atheist. "Here, let's drink to it!" he pulls a bottle of burbon out of his trunk and hands it to the Christian, who takes a long swig. "Your turn," says the Christian, handing it to the atheist. "Nah," replies the atheists, throwing it away where it can't be found. "I think I'll just wait for the police to arrive."

I have been that age in a loooooooonnnggggg time J *Clears throat* BEAK! I do believe you meant to say that you haven't been that age in a "loooooooonnnggggg time." Also, there should be a comma after the word "time" to indicate that you're addressing Jahled. But that's kind of going overboard, even for me. My issue with Hayden in Ep II was his overacting- "They're like animals (*Sniffle, tear, cry, weep, moan, groan*) and I slaughtered them! (*More weeping and moaning and groaning*) Like ANIMALS!!!!" My issue with him in Episode III was a lack of acting- *Dead monotone* "I hate you Obi-wan. I'm going to kill you. You will try to resist, but you'll die." *Half-hearted battle cry* Pained as I am to say it, Hayden was at least better as Anakin than Jake Lloyd (sp?). Sheesh, that kid was terrible. "Now this is podracing!"*Hurl*

Haha! I still remember all of the games I played on the old FatMac my family used to own, back about ten years ago when we played on it in Cuba! Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis... Ah, I never stopped playing that game until the computer finally kicked the bucket.... Such a fun game...

Damn you and your logic, SOCL. Now I have to go read Tatooine Ghost just to appease the voices in my head... You bastard. Now, as you said before, not to argue with you, but I think there were some character dropping issues. Sometimes a character wouldn't have an explicit removal from the plot- take Droma for instance. He was very active in Agents of Chaos, but come Balance Point he completely disappeared, having nothing to his credit but Han saying something to the extent of "Fine!" and walking away until the Force Heretic books. I personally quite liked Droma, and was sad to see him written out in such a way. The same thing goes for Corran Horn. He was cameoed in Star by Star, Enemy Lines, and a few others, but ultimately he was only just barely present in them, whereas with Dark Tide he was a main player, as well as in Edge of Victory II and The Final Prophecy. That kind of nagged at me, as if the authors were afraid to touch the character for fear of messing with Michael A. Stackpole and Greg Keyes or something like that. If anybody gets the contract besides Del Ray, I really want it to be Baen- that ought to ensure that Allston is still writing for Star Wars! Well, that and they have a lot of experienced SciFi writers on their team... Still, I very much like what Del Ray has done, and hope that they keep on doing it.