Hello all! I know it has been ages since i've written, and I am truly sorry for that, but I have been at school. And to be honest, there hasn't been much to write about in regards to Pottermore lately. However, as we are currently reading the Prisoner of Azkaban in my literature class on the adolescent Hero's journey, I decided to re-visit the site today and it occurred to me as I was going through the chapters of the third book, that there are some new elements that I would like to talk about! :)
First and foremost, the third House Cup recently came to pass. While I am hopeless at earning points on Pottermore, I know there are many out there that worked hard to contribute, and I wholeheartedly congratulate Slytherin on their victory!
Second, I would just like to note that the third book, the Prisoner of Azkaban, is my favorite of the entire series. As my literature professor remarked, it is essentially the axis that marks the pivotal turning point in Harry's journey. He is no longer a naive little boy. From the fourth book on, things get progressively more serious and deadly. The entire plot of this book really shows that transition in Harry's life. I also really enjoy the character development and the introduction of some of the most important figures in Harry's life, Lupin and Sirius.
Third, as I was going back through the first few chapters of the third book, I was surprised and delighted to find that they have added audio recordings of the text throughout some of the chapters! This is just another wonderful element that adds to the interaction and immersion of the Pottermore experience. I just love this addition, and I hope they use this feature a lot more in the next books!
I have one general note to say, and that is that what I love about Pottermore on a whole, is that it easily allows us to re-experience an entire book in the length of about twenty or thirty minutes, if you are taking your time and going through everything. It takes even less time if you are rushing. What i'm getting at, is that it is unrealistic to believe that most of us have the time to sit and watch one of the full length movies or re-read one of the books whenever we want. Sometimes, yes we might have time, but for the most part, we don't. Pottermore allows us to re-visit the stories quickly and visually, which is heartwarming.
I am now re-excited for the last seven chapters of the Prisoner of Azkaban to be released! When Pottermore was first announced, I had said that it was going to be seven more long waiting periods for us Potterheads, and boy was I right! Luckily, it's not as bad as waiting for the books or movies to come out, and the content we are getting is worth the wait.
I hope you all are doing well! Let me know in the comments what your favorite book of the series is :)
-Danielle
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Monday, November 12, 2012
The Final Chamber Chapters!
So a week or two ago, Pottermore released the last chapters of the Chambers of Secrets. I didn't have a chance to check them out right away, which is why I haven't blogged about them either. I've been super busy with school and getting ready to go home to for Thanksgiving. However, I finally had time to explore the last few chapters, and i'm here today to talk about them! :)
First, I want to say that I generally like them, like everything on Pottermore. The art is aesthetically pleasing to look at, and the new added sound effects are fun as well. I also liked how specific and detailed they got with each page of each chapter. They really focused on small parts of the story, which was nice.
One of my favorites was "Nearly Headless Nick's Party" because it was one of the ones where you had to click to go further into the room, instead of just zooming into the same page. My absolute favorite was "Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom" because she is one of my favorite characters. She makes me laugh so much! ;) It was also really cool that you had to wipe the slime off the mirror to be able to see the rest of the page. Another one of my favorites was "Harry and Draco's Duel" because you had to choose the right spells to move forward. It was just something extra that made the experience more enjoyable.
Two other cool pages were "Dumbledore's Office" and "The Slytherin Common Room." I've always loved Dumbledore's office, from the way it's described in the books, and the way it's portrayed in the films. I didn't actually get to enter the Slytherin common room because I didn't have time to brew Polyjuice potion, but i'm sure it is cool! Let me know if any of you have been able to unlock it! :) "Into the Diary" was also a really cool use of flash, when we zoomed into Tom's memory like Harry did.
Another cool use of flash was "The Entrance to the Chamber" when the sink faucets move to expose the entrance. These little additions are what makes the second book better than the first book on Pottermore. Of course, the cutest and best chapter of all in the last, "Dobby, a Fee Elf!" ;) I love him so much and it was so cute! I yelled in excitement just like I did when I originally read it, and every time I watch the film! SO there you have it. My review of the last chapters of the Chamber of Secrets! Let me know in the comments what you think about the book! :)
-Danielle
First, I want to say that I generally like them, like everything on Pottermore. The art is aesthetically pleasing to look at, and the new added sound effects are fun as well. I also liked how specific and detailed they got with each page of each chapter. They really focused on small parts of the story, which was nice.
One of my favorites was "Nearly Headless Nick's Party" because it was one of the ones where you had to click to go further into the room, instead of just zooming into the same page. My absolute favorite was "Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom" because she is one of my favorite characters. She makes me laugh so much! ;) It was also really cool that you had to wipe the slime off the mirror to be able to see the rest of the page. Another one of my favorites was "Harry and Draco's Duel" because you had to choose the right spells to move forward. It was just something extra that made the experience more enjoyable.
Two other cool pages were "Dumbledore's Office" and "The Slytherin Common Room." I've always loved Dumbledore's office, from the way it's described in the books, and the way it's portrayed in the films. I didn't actually get to enter the Slytherin common room because I didn't have time to brew Polyjuice potion, but i'm sure it is cool! Let me know if any of you have been able to unlock it! :) "Into the Diary" was also a really cool use of flash, when we zoomed into Tom's memory like Harry did.
Another cool use of flash was "The Entrance to the Chamber" when the sink faucets move to expose the entrance. These little additions are what makes the second book better than the first book on Pottermore. Of course, the cutest and best chapter of all in the last, "Dobby, a Fee Elf!" ;) I love him so much and it was so cute! I yelled in excitement just like I did when I originally read it, and every time I watch the film! SO there you have it. My review of the last chapters of the Chamber of Secrets! Let me know in the comments what you think about the book! :)
-Danielle
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
The Chamber of Secrets has been Opened!
Enemies of the heir beware! The first four chapters of The Chamber of Secrets are now available on Pottermore! I must say that I was not expecting them to come so soon, so I was very happy to read that in my twitter feed this morning. I have only been able to get on to check them out now though.
So let's begin! I must say that I am pretty pleased with the chapters so far! Since adding the sound effects and such, Pottermore has been a lot more enjoyable. I also love collecting new things and finding all the hidden treasures, which I haven't been able to do since I already found everything in the first book.
What I like the most though, is how many more mini games and puzzles there are that you have to solve before unlocking the next chapter. Not only do they make it more interactive, but they also make it a more fun and enjoyable experience than just simply reading (although I love reading!). I believe that this is the heart of what Pottermore itself is trying to be, and I like it a lot!
Needless the say, i'm excited to see the rest of the book, and the other 5 of course! I will probably be on and playing a lot more now that it is summer! So tell me what you think of the new chapters in the comments!
-Danielle
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Pottermore Opens to the Public!
In honor of the recent additions and changes to Pottermore, as well as its grand opening to the general public, I thought that a new blog post was in order! Finally something new is happening with Pottermore, and I for one am very excited about the direction that it is going!
First off, it's very exciting that Pottermore is now open to everyone. It was amazing to see the student numbers shoot up and skyrocket! I'm happy that now I can enjoy the site with all of my friends. I'm looking forward to seeing the looks on all their faces as they experience it for the first time, go through all the chapters of the first book, and get sorted!
Secondly, there have been many changes to Pottermore that have been taking place that are making me happy! The biggest one by far is the addition of sound effects and music! I went back through all the chapters to hear all the new sounds and it was great! :) Another change is that wizard duelling is now up! I know that has been up for a while, but seeing as I haven't posted in ages, I thought i'd mention it. I also saw Pottermore tweet that there is new exclusive content from JK Rowling, but I haven't read that yet. It should be awesome though, because I absolutely LOVE the written content of the site!
Thirdly, and by far the most exciting news, is that Pottermore recently tweeted that they are well on their way to finishing the Chamber of Secrets book! I am absolutely ecstatic to hear that they are finally moving forward with it! I think it's most exciting to the fans that have been with Pottermore since before it came out, and have been waiting since the minute they finished the first book! (like me). I just can't wait, and i'm sure we won't be disappointed when it finally comes out!
Lastly, I wanted to talk about the House Cup competition. In JK Rowling's video at the end of book one, she mentions that there will be a House Cup ceremony, and we will be notified when it will be taking place. I haven't heard anything about it since, and i'm very curious to learn more. It sounds awesome, and like a great chance to get tons of users online at the same time. I'm looking forward to hearing more!
Well, that about sums it up! Hope you enjoyed my quick catch-up blog post! :)
-Danielle
First off, it's very exciting that Pottermore is now open to everyone. It was amazing to see the student numbers shoot up and skyrocket! I'm happy that now I can enjoy the site with all of my friends. I'm looking forward to seeing the looks on all their faces as they experience it for the first time, go through all the chapters of the first book, and get sorted!
Secondly, there have been many changes to Pottermore that have been taking place that are making me happy! The biggest one by far is the addition of sound effects and music! I went back through all the chapters to hear all the new sounds and it was great! :) Another change is that wizard duelling is now up! I know that has been up for a while, but seeing as I haven't posted in ages, I thought i'd mention it. I also saw Pottermore tweet that there is new exclusive content from JK Rowling, but I haven't read that yet. It should be awesome though, because I absolutely LOVE the written content of the site!
Thirdly, and by far the most exciting news, is that Pottermore recently tweeted that they are well on their way to finishing the Chamber of Secrets book! I am absolutely ecstatic to hear that they are finally moving forward with it! I think it's most exciting to the fans that have been with Pottermore since before it came out, and have been waiting since the minute they finished the first book! (like me). I just can't wait, and i'm sure we won't be disappointed when it finally comes out!
Lastly, I wanted to talk about the House Cup competition. In JK Rowling's video at the end of book one, she mentions that there will be a House Cup ceremony, and we will be notified when it will be taking place. I haven't heard anything about it since, and i'm very curious to learn more. It sounds awesome, and like a great chance to get tons of users online at the same time. I'm looking forward to hearing more!
Well, that about sums it up! Hope you enjoyed my quick catch-up blog post! :)
-Danielle
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Doctor Who: A New Obsession
*** WARNING: contains some spoilers! Be warned! ***
Hello all! It's been a while! There really wasn't much to discuss about Harry Potter this holiday season. The only news I have personally, is that for Christmas I got LEGO Harry Potter Years 5-7 for Wii, and the complete 8-disk collection of Harry Potter DVDs! I ordered them the DAY BEFORE they left store shelves. I still find it completely ridiculous that they did that, but what can you do?! Anyways, i'm here to talk to you today about sometime new in my life, that I now hold very dear, and that is Doctor Who.
I have pretty much known about Doctor Who for a few years now, but being in the U.S. I wasn't too educated about it, and I didn't think i'd ever be able to catch up to the current season. Over this past summer (2011) however, my sister and I started watching it from the beginning. That summer I watched pretty much all of seasons 1 and 2 and some of season 3 of the new series that started with Christopher Eccleston. I really liked it, but I wasn't obsessed with it yet, and I had a lot more to do that summer than just watch Doctor Who. Then I moved to college and kind of forgot about it. Over this Winter break, however, a Whovian party was hosted at my house, and I didn't know half of the characters there that people were dressed up as. At that moment I pledged to catch up and watch every episode of Doctor Who. So I finished season 3 and watched pretty much all of season 4 over break.
When I got back to school, I watched season 5 in its entirety in two days flat. All of this has been on Netflix up until now, by the way. Then I got to the most current season, season 6, that aired in 2011. That is not on Netflix yet, so I bought it on iTunes and watched it in another two days flat. I also watched the 2011 Christmas special at a friend's house over break. Needless to say, I've had my fair share of Doctor Who over these past two months, and I love it! It has filled my Harry Potter void, and I can't wait for the new season to come out in April I believe!
This brings me to discussion of the Doctors. I started with Christopher Eccleston, and he was alright, but not my favorite. He didn't last that long either, which was sad. Next was David Tennant, who lasted three entire seasons! He has been my favorite for so long because he is just so brilliant! I just love his acting, and his personality as the Doctor. He is so emotional about alien invasions and you can see the pure agony in his face when there are casualties because of him.
This leads me to the companions. First there's Rose, who was there for a long time. I liked her, a little better with Tennant than with Eccleston, but I'm still not sure how I feel about their romantic relationship. How she leaves is really sad, but I always felt that she got into too much trouble, and the Doctor was always saving her. Next is Martha. I always thought that Martha was too independent and strong willed to be a good companion, which is why she leaves so soon and gets that secret agent job or what not. Then there's Donna, who is my favorite companion of Tennant I think! At first I absolutely hated her, especially when she first appears in her wedding episode. After she comes back, though, I began to love her! She is so strong willed and matches the Doctor's attitude perfectly. Also, I freaking LOVE her grandpa! How she leaves is absolutely one of the most depressing moments in Doctor Who. Ever. Period. I literally cried.
The only thing that can top Donna's departure is David Tennant's departure as the Doctor. "The End of Time" double feature episode left me sobbing! It was just so heartbreaking. So then we were left with goofy Matt Smith entering the picture. At first I didn't like him at all, but then I actually started watching him, and now I love him! The only down side to him is that I feel that he is less emotional than Tennant was, and is way more okay with killing aliens than any other Doctor has been. His goofy attitude goes too far sometimes. However, I do love his personality, and the quirkiness that he adds to the role. Just his outfit is absolutely ridiculous, but perfect at the same time! A tweed jacket, bow tie, and a fez? Seriously? Haha!
Now to talk about his companions. So far, Smith has only had Amy Pond and Rory Williams. I love Amy's story, and I think Rory is really cute and nerdy. The episodes were pretty good in season 5. I love the progression of Amy and Rory's relationship, and how at the end she has never ending devotion to him because of what has happened and what they have been through together. Young Amy is so cute! "The Eleventh Hour" is still one of my favorites of the season!
Then there's season 6, which also brings me to River Song. Let me just start by saying that season 6 was absolutely spectacular, and was a real roller coaster ride! Although there are many questions and problems I have with it, that is easily balanced out by the incredible writing of Steven Moffat! Anyways, so River Song is first introduced in season 4 in "Silence in the Library" with David Tennant. When I first saw her, I thought it was sad that she died, but I didn't really think much of it because we really didn't know anything about her besides the fact that she was supposedly really important to the Doctor in the future. Then she returns twice in season 5, and she's still really ambiguous, but now she's flaunting all this knowledge she has, can fly the TARDIS, and speaks to the Doctor like she's his wife (spoiler! ;) haha) and I started to not really like her. Then in season 6, her identity is finally revealed, and I pretty much like her now. I still can't quite see the romantic relationship between her and the Doctor, but what can you do? Also, all of my questions have still definitely not been answered yet. There are a bunch of parts in "A Good Man Goes to War" when she reveals who she is that I don't understand and have questions about. Perhaps they will be answered in season 7, but we won't know until it comes out. One last thing though, I think Alex Kingston is a brilliant actress, and plays the role very well! I'm just still coming to terms with that fact that she pretty much has the Doctor on a leash.
Overall, I am now obsessed with Doctor Who. That's pretty much the extent to what I was trying to portray in this blog post. Sorry if you hate Doctor Who or thought this was long or boring. I just wanted to write this. So, please comment and let me know if you watch and like Doctor Who, who your favorite Doctor and companion are! :)
-Danielle
Hello all! It's been a while! There really wasn't much to discuss about Harry Potter this holiday season. The only news I have personally, is that for Christmas I got LEGO Harry Potter Years 5-7 for Wii, and the complete 8-disk collection of Harry Potter DVDs! I ordered them the DAY BEFORE they left store shelves. I still find it completely ridiculous that they did that, but what can you do?! Anyways, i'm here to talk to you today about sometime new in my life, that I now hold very dear, and that is Doctor Who.
I have pretty much known about Doctor Who for a few years now, but being in the U.S. I wasn't too educated about it, and I didn't think i'd ever be able to catch up to the current season. Over this past summer (2011) however, my sister and I started watching it from the beginning. That summer I watched pretty much all of seasons 1 and 2 and some of season 3 of the new series that started with Christopher Eccleston. I really liked it, but I wasn't obsessed with it yet, and I had a lot more to do that summer than just watch Doctor Who. Then I moved to college and kind of forgot about it. Over this Winter break, however, a Whovian party was hosted at my house, and I didn't know half of the characters there that people were dressed up as. At that moment I pledged to catch up and watch every episode of Doctor Who. So I finished season 3 and watched pretty much all of season 4 over break.
When I got back to school, I watched season 5 in its entirety in two days flat. All of this has been on Netflix up until now, by the way. Then I got to the most current season, season 6, that aired in 2011. That is not on Netflix yet, so I bought it on iTunes and watched it in another two days flat. I also watched the 2011 Christmas special at a friend's house over break. Needless to say, I've had my fair share of Doctor Who over these past two months, and I love it! It has filled my Harry Potter void, and I can't wait for the new season to come out in April I believe!
This brings me to discussion of the Doctors. I started with Christopher Eccleston, and he was alright, but not my favorite. He didn't last that long either, which was sad. Next was David Tennant, who lasted three entire seasons! He has been my favorite for so long because he is just so brilliant! I just love his acting, and his personality as the Doctor. He is so emotional about alien invasions and you can see the pure agony in his face when there are casualties because of him.
This leads me to the companions. First there's Rose, who was there for a long time. I liked her, a little better with Tennant than with Eccleston, but I'm still not sure how I feel about their romantic relationship. How she leaves is really sad, but I always felt that she got into too much trouble, and the Doctor was always saving her. Next is Martha. I always thought that Martha was too independent and strong willed to be a good companion, which is why she leaves so soon and gets that secret agent job or what not. Then there's Donna, who is my favorite companion of Tennant I think! At first I absolutely hated her, especially when she first appears in her wedding episode. After she comes back, though, I began to love her! She is so strong willed and matches the Doctor's attitude perfectly. Also, I freaking LOVE her grandpa! How she leaves is absolutely one of the most depressing moments in Doctor Who. Ever. Period. I literally cried.
The only thing that can top Donna's departure is David Tennant's departure as the Doctor. "The End of Time" double feature episode left me sobbing! It was just so heartbreaking. So then we were left with goofy Matt Smith entering the picture. At first I didn't like him at all, but then I actually started watching him, and now I love him! The only down side to him is that I feel that he is less emotional than Tennant was, and is way more okay with killing aliens than any other Doctor has been. His goofy attitude goes too far sometimes. However, I do love his personality, and the quirkiness that he adds to the role. Just his outfit is absolutely ridiculous, but perfect at the same time! A tweed jacket, bow tie, and a fez? Seriously? Haha!
Now to talk about his companions. So far, Smith has only had Amy Pond and Rory Williams. I love Amy's story, and I think Rory is really cute and nerdy. The episodes were pretty good in season 5. I love the progression of Amy and Rory's relationship, and how at the end she has never ending devotion to him because of what has happened and what they have been through together. Young Amy is so cute! "The Eleventh Hour" is still one of my favorites of the season!
Then there's season 6, which also brings me to River Song. Let me just start by saying that season 6 was absolutely spectacular, and was a real roller coaster ride! Although there are many questions and problems I have with it, that is easily balanced out by the incredible writing of Steven Moffat! Anyways, so River Song is first introduced in season 4 in "Silence in the Library" with David Tennant. When I first saw her, I thought it was sad that she died, but I didn't really think much of it because we really didn't know anything about her besides the fact that she was supposedly really important to the Doctor in the future. Then she returns twice in season 5, and she's still really ambiguous, but now she's flaunting all this knowledge she has, can fly the TARDIS, and speaks to the Doctor like she's his wife (spoiler! ;) haha) and I started to not really like her. Then in season 6, her identity is finally revealed, and I pretty much like her now. I still can't quite see the romantic relationship between her and the Doctor, but what can you do? Also, all of my questions have still definitely not been answered yet. There are a bunch of parts in "A Good Man Goes to War" when she reveals who she is that I don't understand and have questions about. Perhaps they will be answered in season 7, but we won't know until it comes out. One last thing though, I think Alex Kingston is a brilliant actress, and plays the role very well! I'm just still coming to terms with that fact that she pretty much has the Doctor on a leash.
Overall, I am now obsessed with Doctor Who. That's pretty much the extent to what I was trying to portray in this blog post. Sorry if you hate Doctor Who or thought this was long or boring. I just wanted to write this. So, please comment and let me know if you watch and like Doctor Who, who your favorite Doctor and companion are! :)
-Danielle
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
10 Years Ago Today...
Wow. It's been a little over a month since I've blogged! Boy, how time flies! I'm sorry! I've been super busy with school lately. It's crazy. Thanksgiving holiday is coming up though, and then soon after that is Christmas, where i'll have plenty of time to blog! :) Yesterday (the 15th) was actually my birthday, so I was kind of offline for most of the day. I love my birthday because it's in Fall, the month of November, and close to Thanksgiving, but most of all because 4 of the 8 Harry Potter films were released on or around my birthday. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was released on November 16th 2001, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was released on November 15th 2002, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was released on November 18th 2005, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 was released on November 19th 2010. You can't deny how completely awesome that is ;)
That brings me to my main topic for today: what today represents. Today is the anniversary of the release of the very first Harry Potter film. 10 years ago, on November 16th 2001, kids of all ages lined up at theaters everywhere to watch the boy wizard come to life in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I was eight years old, and this sparked the beginning of at least four Harry Potter movie premiere birthday parties for my twin sister and I. Granted, I had not read the books yet, but my brother had, and I liked the story line. Who wouldn't?! :)
In other Harry Potter birthday related news, my Mom got the "Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey" book for me!!! I am SO excited and cannot wait to hold it in my hands and look over every inch of it! (since i'm away at school, I won't get to see it until i'm home for Thanksgiving). You can purchase the book HERE and watch the advertisement HERE. Even though I have not read it yet, I know that I absolutely and wholeheartedly recommend it completely!!! <3 :D
While some complain and question the casting director's judgement on the actors portraying our beloved characters on film, I personally love all the actors, and think that they were cast perfectly. Also, the fact that they have stuck together for ten years is also amazing, and really shows on film with how much chemistry they have together and how well they are able to bond and adapt with each other. It really added to the films, because the characters in the book grow up with each other as well. It's just perfect, in my opinion.
Anyways, I just thought I'd stop by and chat, and let you guys know that i'm still alive ;) I'll be blogging and tweeting much more over the holiday season. For now, unfortunately, I must get back to studying. Until next time.
-Danielle.
That brings me to my main topic for today: what today represents. Today is the anniversary of the release of the very first Harry Potter film. 10 years ago, on November 16th 2001, kids of all ages lined up at theaters everywhere to watch the boy wizard come to life in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I was eight years old, and this sparked the beginning of at least four Harry Potter movie premiere birthday parties for my twin sister and I. Granted, I had not read the books yet, but my brother had, and I liked the story line. Who wouldn't?! :)
In other Harry Potter birthday related news, my Mom got the "Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey" book for me!!! I am SO excited and cannot wait to hold it in my hands and look over every inch of it! (since i'm away at school, I won't get to see it until i'm home for Thanksgiving). You can purchase the book HERE and watch the advertisement HERE. Even though I have not read it yet, I know that I absolutely and wholeheartedly recommend it completely!!! <3 :D
While some complain and question the casting director's judgement on the actors portraying our beloved characters on film, I personally love all the actors, and think that they were cast perfectly. Also, the fact that they have stuck together for ten years is also amazing, and really shows on film with how much chemistry they have together and how well they are able to bond and adapt with each other. It really added to the films, because the characters in the book grow up with each other as well. It's just perfect, in my opinion.
Anyways, I just thought I'd stop by and chat, and let you guys know that i'm still alive ;) I'll be blogging and tweeting much more over the holiday season. For now, unfortunately, I must get back to studying. Until next time.
-Danielle.
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