Catharsis

ca·thar·sis: (1) the purging of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions (2) the feeling you get after you've just finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the last Harry Potter book EVER, for the first time.

Eight Hours, Thirty Two Minutes, and Twenty Six Seconds

Okay, so maybe I'm being melodramatic, but I'm seriously dreading the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It's strange; I've been waiting for this day for a long time, but now that it's here I'm sort of freaking out. I even had nightmares last night that they sold out of copies before I had a chance to buy it. It's so hard to believe in a few hours I'm going to know how my favorite story ends. I've been reading these books since age nine, and the concept that after won't be anymore sequels is very difficult for me to grasp because I've spent the last eight years continually wondering 'What will happen next?' and after Deathly Hallows there won't be a 'next'. I feel like my childhood is coming to a very abrupt halt. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I can't help but associate Harry Potter with my childhood and now that one's ending so is the other. It's very depressing. The nights I spent laying in bed contemplating if Snape is good or evil, praying Harry and Hermione will get married, and wondering if Harry will survive book 7 are officially over. By tomorrow I'll know exactly how this story ends and right now I'm not quite sure I'm ready for it. I'd almost rather wait a couple years before reading Deathly Hallows, but then I'd be risking hearing about the end through somebody who's not the author. (I hate spoilers!) And as much as I'd like to savor the book, I know I'm going to devour it in one night. In case any of you were wondering how I was going to spend the eve of the release, I'll be at Barnes and Noble celebrating (?) with other fans, and probably crying my eyes out on the way home. There's been rumors a sorting hat will be at the bookstore. I hope I get Gryffindor, but in the words of Hermione, "I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad."

The New York Times Spoils Deathly Hallows

The New York Times, after recieving an early copy of the newest Harry Potter book, published a review revealing plot details. I managed to avoid the review until I accidently came across some quotes through google. I'm not going to give any details, but I was very upset and closed the window as soon as I realized what I was reading. Why couldn't they had just waited till the 21st? By then all the hard core fans would have been through with the book. JKR says:

"I am staggered that American newspapers have decided to publish purported spoilers in the form of reviews in complete disregard of the wishes of literally millions of readers, particularly children, who wanted to reach Harry’s final destination by themselves, in their own time. I am incredibly grateful to all those newspapers, booksellers and others who have chosen not to attempt to spoil Harry’s last adventure for fans."

Mission Trip

Here are some photos (courtesy of Laura Stancher's Facebook) from the mission trip I went on last week to inner city Knoxville TN. We had about 10 youth from our church, St. Andrew, along with 50 or so other ELCA Lutherans stay at St. Johns for about a week and help out serving various ministries in the area.

This is Aaron painting the Volunteer Ministry Center. We also painted the hallway. I wish I would have got a picture of that awful blue color the upstairs used to be.

This is Preston and his biggest fan. This photo was taken at the Knoxville Area Rescue Mission (aka KARM), a homeless shelter. A group went there and babysat the kiddos so the adults could have a meeting. Preston had the pleasure of being the only male coming from St. Andrew. I don't think he minded.

This is my friend Kaleigh and baby Heather at KARM. Heather is two monthes old. Kaleigh is seventeen years. =)

This is Kristen, a resident at KARM, and I. I've spent a lot of time with kids this summer so I left the babysitting up to my fellow mission workers and chatted with Kristen instead. We had fun.

The group did a scavenger hunt and part of our assignment was to take a picture representing a transformation. Our team did baptism, represented by our playing in the fountain. During the race, I had the interesting experience of being held hostage in a bathroom. I took a potty break towards the end of our little competition and found that the door wouldn't open. Another team was holding it from the other side demanding me to give them answers. You'd expect me to be angry, but I actually found the whole event to be hilarious! I about died laughing on the bathroom floor.

Elizabeth (blue shirt) and I met these two lovely ladies at Guy. B. Love, a sort of nursing home. We put on a Christmas in July pageant and then sat down with the residents for cookies. Valarie and Mary were hilarious. They told us all about their favorite Christmas memories and they even sang us their favorite song. I don't remember what it was called. They also asked us to pray that all the demons haunting Guy. B. Love go away.

Here's Emily B. trying on some of the kid ties while we hung up the baby clothes at Angelic Ministries. AM is a place where people can get clothes (for job interviews as well as pajamas), beds, toasters, shoes, strollers and other necessities. They pair each shopper with a guide who helps you find what you need and serves as a sort of spiritual mentor.

This is my youth leader, Sarah, cringing while we go through a series of trust falls.

This one was called "the wind and the willow". Elizabeth looks like she's enjoying these trust falls a lot more than Sarah.

This is me and my new buddy Gavin. He's quite a handful. I met him at the Wesley House, a summer camp for kids from lower income families.

This is a group of us and the Water Wagon.

What's a Water Wagon?

The Water Wagon crew walks around down town Knoxville and serves water to whoever is in need of a cool drink.

The Water Wagon was definitely a high point of my week.

Saint Andrew Lutheran Youth (plus Elizabeth).

WOW week 3.

J.K. Rowling on Jonathan Ross

Hilarious! (The videos I had put on here earlier in the week were deleted so they nolonger would play. Don't worry, these two work, you just have to ignore the spanish subtitles.)

part 1


part 2

Stephen King Mourns the End of HP

"When it comes to Harry, part of me — a fairly large part, actually — can hardly bear to say goodbye."

You and me both Stephen King! Entertainment Weekly published this very sad/funny/uplifting article written by Stephen King about his feelings about the end of the beloved Harry Potter series approaching so soon.

"No ending can be right, because it shouldn't be over at all."

Even though King is dissappointed Harry's story won't be able to continue on forever, he manages to wrap up his column reminding fans that there will always be other great stories.

"But there's comfort. There are always more good stories, and now and then there are great stories. They come along if you wait for them. And here's something I believe in my heart: No story can be great without closure. There must be closure, because it's the human condition. And since that's how it is, I'll be in line with my money in my hand on July 21. And, I must admit, sorrow in my heart."

A Thousand Splendid Suns

A Thousand Splendid Suns has undoubtedly lived up to the expectations of Hosseini's fans. Just like The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns was the beautiful, haunting, and powerful cultural tale of innocent people triumphing over violence. The book, set in Afghanistan, tells the story of two very different women. Mariam is the illegitimate child of Jalil Khan, the owner of multiple businesses and husband to three wives, and Nana, an ugly, bitter, and old maid who worked for Mariam's father. Laila is the child of a well respected teacher and his wife, a modern woman. Although Mariam and Laila each come from unique backgrounds, they both have experienced similar grief and loss. When the Taliban invades their city, Kabul, the two women find themselves being forced to serve the cruel Rasheed. Together Mariam and Laila suffer; the pain causing them to grow closer than ever expected. Their bond helps them overcome the violence they've faced and allows a new life to be started for their family.

Now let's compare and contrast. Is A Thousand Splendid Suns as good as The Kite Runner? I think one of the most intriguing things about reading The Kite Runner was how you feel like you're getting this very real cultural experience by simply sitting in a chair and soaking up words. Afghanistan is all over our TVs, newspapers, and computers here in the U.S., but I don't think the way of life is something many of us have a good grasp on. When I first read The Kite Runner I found that place, those people, and their customs to be so interesting because it was something I'd been exposed to continually, but didn't really understand. It was a complete different world from our own. Reading one of these books almost feels like reading a fantasy story because it takes you out of your normal environment and puts you in a place that's pretty hard to imagine without some help from your lovely narrator. That excitement, the thrill of a new place is sort of difficult to get back when you're reading about the same place you've read before. A Thousand Splendid Suns was a truly amazing book, but that world wasn't as intriguing as before because, well, I'd already been there. It you've never read The Kite Runner or A Thousand Splendid Suns and you're wondering which book to read first, I suggest The Kite Runner. Unlike A Thousand Splendid Suns the book is set in Afghanistan as well as the U.S. so the contrast between the two places is very apparent. Read The Kite Runner first and then immediately run to your bookstore and buy A Thousand Splendid Suns. The $18.00 you'll spend is 100% worth it.

See more reviews or buy A Thousand Splendid Suns at Amazon.com.

Stephen Colbert "arguing" with Khaled Hosseini on BookTV

Colbert fans and Hosseini fans unite in laughter! This video is hilarious.

When I was looking up some Khaled Hosseini stuff on YouTube, I found out there's a movie being made of The Kite Runner. It should be released on November 2nd this year. The dialogue is in Dari, but there'll be English subtitles. It will be released in the USA (yes!). I think The Kite Runner would make a great film. I'm anxious to see how it'll turn out.

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July!

Labels

I'm going to take a moment and define my labels.

Book Reviews include a brief summery of a book along with my personal opinion on whether or not the book was worth my time reading. Occasionally I'll include excerpts from the book when I can't quite capture the tone of the novel in my own words. I also usually will link to other reviews or a place to purchase the book (almost always amazon.com).

Diary posts are all about my personal life: my vacations, college visits, or stories. More than likely, a diary entree will come complete with photographs.

The Excerpts and Quotes label is pretty self explanatory. This is a place I can share my favorite lines from books, songs, poetry, movies and other art involving words.

Film Reviews are still a little unclear to me. I've only done one, so it's hard to define. I'm guessing it's exactly like the book reviews, except movies instead of literature.

Lists are pretty broad posts. Normally I do something book related, but I'm not limited to do so. Lists can be as simple as what I bought today at the book store or as elaborate as multiple book reviews about novels in a similar genre.

Podcast Reviews will be a synopsis of what typically happens on show, who the show is geared towards, and some fast facts, such as how long an average episode is, video/audio, or if the podcast is discussion based or interview based. I also usually will share my opinions about how enjoyable the podcast as a whole is.

Utterances are a way of sharing with the world advances in my vocabulary. Whenever I learn a cool new word I post. I call these entrees 'Utterances' because dictionary.com defines an utterance as "something uttered; a word or words uttered." I learn these words I'm posting about through real world context. Utterances have been, in fact, uttered in my presence.

Wrinkled Thought posts are very similar to diary posts, except these posts usually do not elaborate on my personal life. YouTube videos, news, book related school assignments, or just funny things I've picked up on are all fair game when it comes to these posts. I also usually include blog related announcements in this label, such as the post you are reading right now.

I'm glad I did this. I'm sure as time goes on this list will expand, but, for now, at least we're all clear on what to expect when you see something is stamped with any of the above labels.