The more we waste time on the internet together, the happier we'll be. Cause my links are your links....

I literally haven't done one of these since 2011, so I think we're overdue for some sharing of time-wasting internet things. 

• This is a game where you're a giraffe who has to stretch his neck to give kisses to other giraffes. If that doesn't make you smile, then you probably have no soul. Or you're Voldemort, and have broken your soul into 7 pieces with some seriously dark magic. 
• How women saved Star Trek and are generally awesome at being geeks and not giving two flips. 
• On the topic of boldly going and all that, I think the title of this article does a good job summing this up: Would you sign up to die on Mars? But in other news, GUYS. WE ARE GOING TO LIVE ON OTHER PLANETS. THIS IS LIKE STAR WARS ACTUALLY HAPPENING (so where is my Han Solo?? R2-D2?). Of course we're wrecking it by making it a reality show, which is very Asimov-ian of us, but what'd you expect.
• A good and very relevant article about comparing yourself to others (especially in regards to social media) and how we need to cut it out.
• I don't know if I'd go so far as to say I'm "dating myself," but this article has some good ideas about how to actually enjoy being single. Which seriously, why haven't I written a book on this yet?
• Also, I don't think I need 8 reasons to wear a petticoat, because the word "petticoat" is a good enough reason.
• And finally, this might be the most perfect Tumblr in existence. 

Enjoy! And if you have any cool sites, games, articles, etc. please share in the comments! Because sharing is caring. Except when it comes to herpes. 

I understand the language of waves.

Lose job. Best friend takes day off work to go to beach to "celebrate."

Best place to be. :)

(We found a manatee preservation park! There were none there...YET. But now we know it exists!)

Tell me I'm not lucky, and I'll tell you you're a liar.

She wasn't where she had been. She wasn't where she was going…but she was on her way.

I DID IT!!!!

After a lot of blood, sweat and tears (LITERALLY, you think I'm joking), I finished. I worked hard. I cried a lot. I almost gave up. I vanquished a buttload of papers, exams, bad teachers, anxieties, and read almost 40 novels and COUNTLESS short stories. And I'm DONE.

THIS IS JOYFUL AND TRIUMPHANT.

My commencement ceremony was lovely. They had BAGPIPES. Need I say more? My friend, Elizabeth, came to see me, along with my parents and that one guy that I share the upstairs with. And then afterwards, lovely Bethany and I had a dinner and movie date. It was pretty much a perfect day.

Then today, I scrubbed the microwave and cleaned windows at Plato's.

THIS IS LIFE, THOUGH, APPARENTLY.

Since my commencement speaker was a little boring and highly conventional, I downloaded this onto my iPod and I will forever maintain that Conan was actually my commencement speaker. Because he's an amazing human being.

I encourage EVERYONE to pretend accept that this was their commencement speech. It's 23 minutes, but worth every second. Conan O'Brien: I love you.

My post-school plans?

(Except for that last panel...I don't think too many people know a lot of stuff, and I don't really like conversation.)

What that may be, I have NO idea. But that's the exciting part. And I promise, whatever it is, I'll be writing about it.

It's gonna be TOTALLY AWESOME.

The time has come the Walrus said for you to be introduced to "A Very Potter Musical."

I'm only posting the first part, but you can and should watch the rest on Youtube.

Here's the deal with this. I am in awe of this group's creativity (they wrote it) and talent (they performed it). I like that I knew who Darren Criss was pre-Glee. It is slow and somewhat dull in some parts, but that's the beauty of Youtube. Also, it's catchy. And there's a very hilarious sequel (featuring Umbridge--played by the Voldemort guy--and Lupin). And Draco Malfoy is played by a GIRL. What more can you possibly want out of life??

It's TOTALLY AWESOME.


How do you think Snape stomached/dealt with being able to watch Voldemort kill and torture others? How do you think he evaded being detected by Voldemort? Do you think he enjoyed it in some ways?
It's my thought that Snape had always had somewhat of a rough upbringing. He lived in Spinner's End, which Bellatrix deemed a "muggle pigsty," and, from what I gathered from "The Prince's Tale," his father was, if not abusive, then distant and disapproving. So he'd probably had a rough go of it all along. Then of course he became a Death Eater, and only switched sides in order to protect Lily Potter. So he'd probably seen some things in his time.

As far as escaping Voldemort's notice, I have really no idea. Dumbledore always goes on about how good at Occlumency/Legilimency Snape was, but you'd have to be PRETTY DARN GOOD in order to get past Voldemort. In my humble opinion, it was Snape's love for Lily that kept him safe from Voldemort's probing. Time and time again throughout the series we're shown that Voldemort underestimates and is blindsided by love. And I do believe that Snape loved Lily, and it was the driving motivation behind his every act, including lying to Voldemort.

And as far as him enjoying it, perhaps. I mean, he was so greasy and creepy, can you really picture him ever being happy with a kid on his knee and puppy in the yard? Some people are just drawn to that darker side of life. I believe Snape was one of them.


What are your thoughts on Snape in regards to his service to Voldemort?

People might think you're....UP to something.

YAY!

So as you can see, in order to celebrate the final film installment of the Harry Potter series on the 15th of this month, the next 2 weeks will be kind of like Pottermania here in the Sea of Snark.

{It's gonna be TOTALLY AWESOME.}

This mostly means I'll post useless images, gif's, links to websites, maybe even some video clips if I'm feeling really adventurous. Also, I found some interesting thought/opinion questions concerning the last book, and since that's the whole point of this madness, I thought I'd do some of those too.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION/GUEST BLOGGING WELCOME.


My sincerest apologies to my readers who have either a) never read Harry Potter, haven't seen the movies, and are therefore in the dark, or b) hate it. To group A, hopefully this will inspire you to read the books (which are, in my opinion, far superior, but the movies are a quick fix to catch you up on things). To group B, WHY.

I have a sordid fantasy about loads of discussion happening here about these topics. Which mostly means that I'll end up posting every gif file I have and I'll get the same person who clicks "utterly life altering" on my reactions bar at the end of every post doing just that.

NEVER STOP, ANON WHOSE LIFE I AM CHANGING UTTERLY. ;)

Sex and love and MAGIC.

When everyone's all excited about their hot sex lives and hot sexy dance parties:

And I react like:




TRUFAX.

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.

Sooo, Harry Potter thing = WILD SUCCESS!

Omg, I am SO glad I was able to finally go and see it! It defied all my expectations and exceeded them. It was...pretty incredible. The mad attention to detail is just inexplicable until you've seen it yourself. My only gripe is the crowd issue. It's so crowded you can barely move through the shops and it's nigh impossible to get enough space to take a decent photo. However, that is a small drop in the whiny bucket. This place is AMAZING, and I highly recommend you to go. Even people there who hadn't seen the movies or read the books thought it was awesome. It's just impossible to walk through there and be like, "Well, they could've done better."

On to the picspam! Unfortunately, for various reasons, both parties I was meant to meet up with reneged on me so these are, sadly, the single-handed myspace self-portrait shots. Alas, I think some of them turned out all right.

Before you guys think I moped around a theme park alone (I mean, granted, I was alone, but I was NOT moping), I actually had a BRILLIANT time. Apart from a very select few people, I'd almost rather go alone simply because I don't like roller coasters, but I do like shopping and wandering and musing and people-watching. Plus, I was adopted by a black family from Iowa in Suessland, introduced to everyone by an enthusiastic train conductor as his "new best friend, Mary," and met the world's most hilarious J. Jonah Jameson impersonator in line for Spiderman. If you open yourself up to people, most of them are pretty nice. So while my pictures might be subpar, I had a really great time and would do it again in a heartbeat.

End rant, NOW on to the picspam! (As always, click to enlarge!)



My Mom's comment was, "Oh my GOD, that's supposed to be Wolverine? They couldn't get anyone better? I mean, he has MOOBS." I think this accurately sums it up. ;D

The Hulk rollercoaster (which I did NOT go on).


Spiderman! Spiderman! Does whatever a spider can! And Mary pretends her 3D glasses are stunna shades.


The kind of directions I am wont to give (ask Bethany or my Mom).

Every 90's kid's dream vacation spot. Also, see why I'm smiling? It's because I'm holding still, and that means he can't see me. :)



There is just such a wealth of bad dinosaur puns. I LOVE it.



The family Coat of Arms. They had one of those crest and sword shops. I love that kind of stuff.

NOW ON TO THE GOOD STUFF:::

The village of Hogsmeade. My first thought upon seeing pics was how ridiculous it is to have fake snow capping the buildings when it's 85 degrees outside and the rest of the park is decorated with palm trees. But that's what's so cool about this park. They ACED creating the environment. There are no vending machines or modern-looking/muggle things around. Even the ATM's are cleverly disguised as Gringott's Wizarding Bank outposts. They somehow managed to grow firs and pines, and it's just amazing. You REALLY feel like you're in the books. Or movies.


In a shop window. I wish there had been an actual shop! I want to read Gilderoy Lockhart's books! But his pictures moved, which was quite enough for me. :))


Inside Zonko's joke shop.

Honeyduke's and the vast assortment of Every Flavour Beans.


The lovely conductor of the Hogwarts Express.


This timetable is one of those "extraordinary attention to detail" things. :))



See why I'm smiling? It's because I know Sirius Black is innocent, and he escapes on a hippogriff. Also, he's the world's most kickass godfather ever. Oh, and his picture moves:

Original Video - More videos at TinyPic
SO AWESOME. I sat and stared at it for like, 5 whole minutes with a guppy face.


The Hogwarts Castle itself is indescribably amazing. It was just...like, if this had been open when I was 12 and the books were still coming out, I probably would've wet myself it's that awesome. There are amazing tapestries and more moving portraits and even more MINUTIAE. The ride is probably my new favorite theme park ride ever. As aforementioned, I really hate roller coasters, but this ride was like, fast and awesome and fun without making me want to vomit. Also, it had all the characters! And dragons! And dementors! And the Whomping Willow! And quidditch! And Malfoy! It's such a blast. YOU NEED TO GO!

According to the girl behind me who had "like, never seen the movies" this was "OMG it's like, a singing hat! That's SOOOO cute!"





THEY HAD THE MARAUDER'S MAP and the feet on it MOVED. I almost squealed. The Marauder's era is my favorite. Unfortunately, the replica map was FIFTY DOLLARS. What is this business, I ask?? It doesn't even move! I hope you step on a lego, Universal Studios pricing department.

"Mischief Managed."


Pulling a Malfoy:



So the Butterbeer really IS pretty good. I mean, it's basically glorified cream soda. I'm still trying to debate if waiting in line for 35+ minutes was worth it. Yeah, there's a line for the BUTTERBEER. If you've never had it, you must try it. But now that I have, I'm not sure I'd wait that long again.

I want this sign for my front door.


"Three turns should do it, I think." -->Timeturner!


It really was pretty spectacular. SO glad I went. And as I've said before, if you get the opportunity to go, you really should. It's a pretty good time.

In parting, here's one of my favorite songs from the "Prisoner of Azkaban" soundtrack (the best one, in my opinion), for some mood music to go with all those pics:


Have a wonderful week!