Snippets found from a chat a while ago:

Sam: You know, I think I dislike people who have LJs for their cats.

Pris: I think I would have to agree.

Sam: a cat’s life is simply not that interesting. And I know people who could use that LJ code.

Pris: “Hairball count: 4, bowls of cat food: 2, cigarettes: 0”

Pris: What’s this smirking all about?

Sam: Percy being evil. She’d just hit the point where he was being a twit, and she was smirking cos Moni was on her case about making Percy evil in her fanfic.

Pris: But… but… he is not evil!

Sam: Of course not *patpat*

Pris: *sniffles* He’s making the ultimate sacrifice for his family! It’s all an act! It’s necessary! He’s just misquided! Wah! *bawls*

Sam: *continues to pat*

Pris: thanks, I needed that.

Sam: “belated teenage rebellion”. That’s all it is.

Pris: yes. That’s Theory #2. I think I’ll write an essay and categorize them.

Sam: Get down with your bad self.

Pris: Or maybe, Percy is secretly THE KING OF SIAM!

I’ve been thinking. I’m considering asking Steve Vander Ark if WIAN could be part of the Lexicon. A merging of sorts. He has such a wealth of material etymology-wise, but because he essentially leaves the etymology up to me (he says on his website to visit WIAN, as “there’s no use reinventing the wheel”), I feel I’m crippling the Lexicon somewhat. It would be better for both worlds. And I think I’d be a lot more motivated to work on WIAN if my feedback was coming from someone other than a bunch of 12-year-olds convinced that the name “Lockhart” came from a Final Fantasy character (yes, this actually happened. Kill me.).

I have a lot of ideas about ways to expand WIAN and improve it as a teacher’s resource, but it’s been so low on the priority list that I haven’t done much work on it. This would definitely help me bite the bullet and get to work. And I really need a change in scenery anyway. This way I wouldn’t have to try to figure out a new layout, too!

Quizlove. Kill me.

dark arts

You excel at Defense Against the Dark Arts. Which is really good because who knows when you’ll run into that disgruntle troll or banshee going through menopause.

Which Class at Hogwarts Would You Excel at?

I’m very amused by the acronym “DA.” Do they realize that’s another name for the “Duck’s Ass” quiff hairstyle?

Your pirate name is:

Red Grace Flint

Passion is a big part of your life, which makes sense for a pirate. Like the rock flint, you’re hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you’re easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!

Arr! Shiver me timbers, I be sparky!

Working on my Percy treatise, I have come to the conclusion that every single one of Percy’s family memebers except for Mrs. Weasley (and maybe Ginny) is an utter jerk, and that Dumbledore is a sick, twisted, demented old man. ::gets back to work, thoroughly disgruntled::

Whee! Renata’s fame continues!

From Neil’s blog:

Dear Neil,

The Zorya sisters (American Gods) has something to do with some mythology storie? If the answer is positive, what storie?

Darlene, the brazilian girl

and

Being as how there’s new improved version of American Gods coming out, has there been any thought about an annotated version? While I can certainly understand people desire for new fiction over retreads of older works I can’t imagine any one not wanting to know just who those background characters were or to have a little bit of “real world” history on the characters that take major roles.

both made me think of the site at http://www.frowl.org/gods/, where you can go to find out a little more about the various gods of American Gods (including the Zorya). (And there’s more on the Zorya here.)

Yaaaaay, Renata! *hearts*

HP Meme! Ganked from the the lovely lady in the second row.

HP Book: Chamber of Secrets. No one appreciates it anymore.

HP Character: Percy, of course. In fact, I’m even more comitted to him after OoP. Heck, he’s even more controversial than Snape!

Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw. Gryffindor is way to generic for my tastes. XD

Teacher: I would most like to have Lupin as a teacher, but I adore Trelawney. And McGonagall rocks the casbah.

Creature: Mooncalf! The truth is out there! (And I can definitely say my LEAST favourite creature is the Billywig. Curse you, overenthusiastic WIAN submitters! *hiss*)

Candy: I’d say Chocolate Frogs, but Steve’s insight into Phineas Nigellus and the ability for a wizard to spy through portraits leaves me creeped out about the cards.

Book Cover: US OoP. Harry doesn’t look like a complete dweeb for once! Though I’m also quite fond of UK’s PoA cover.

Chapter: the Shrieking Shack scene!

Quote or Phrase: Joint-Christmas presents!

Marauder: Whoever wrote this is sadistic. Lupin, I guess.

Weasley: Percy, pbthhh.

Type of Owl: Quoi?

Sorting Hat Song: The original PS song! It can be sung to the tune of the “Gilligan’s Island” theme.

Muggle/Squib: The woman at the zoo that gives Harry a Lemon ice.

Dragon: Erm… are we supposed to think about these things?

Members of the Order: Tonks, hands down.

Hogsmeade Shop: Zonko’s!

Favorite Magazine or Newspaper: The Quibbler

Color Dress Robe: *stares* Blue? What in gravy?

Invisibility Cloak Event: The end of PoA

Death Eater: Snape, because he’s the only Death Eater with a bit of meat to his story. Though the WIAN-nerd within me gives several sets of thumbs-up to Bellatrix’s name. ::salutes JKR::

Obstacle in the Philosopher’s Stone: the chess set! Weasley is our King Knight!

Wand Type: I’m intrigued by the heavy bit of foreshadowing surrounding Cedric’s unicorn tail hair.

Spell: Aberforth Dumbledore’s “inappropriate charms on a goat.”

Unforgivable Curse: Imperius. It’s intriguing. Cruciatus is too violent for my tastes and Avada Kedavra lacks a certain style.

DADA Teacher: Gilderoy Lockhart! And by saying so, I probably become the first person to take this quiz that does not put Lupin.

Gryffindor: Percy, of course. Moving on.

Ravenclaw: Roger Davies, because his name is so close to a character from RENT.

Hufflepuff: Cedric, because Maggie would stab me to death with my own Wacom stylus if I said anything else. Close up second is Zacharias Smith, who is the best thing to ever happen to Hufflepuff because it showed us that they can be total jerks, too.

Slytherin: Tom Riddle!

Ghost: Nearly-Headless Nick, because he gets his name from “Jabberwocky.”

Centaur: Bane, because he has the most etymologically significant name.

Quidditch Position: Keeper. I was always fond of playing Goalie in soccer.

Skiving Snackbox: Fainting Fancies. How are you supposed to administer the antidote to yourself?

Pensieve Memory: Snape’s Worst Memory, full of Marauder-y goodness.

Harry or Ron: Ron. He’s so clueless and amusing. And he doesn’t speak in Caps-Lock for 5 paragraphs straight.

Ron or Hermione: Hermione, because she makes me seem downright unobsessive in comparison!

Hermione or Cho: Hermione! The fanon was right about you, Cho!

Cho or Ginny: Ginny! Despite worrisome Mary Sue-like tendencies, we’ll always love ya.

Dumbledore or McGonagall: Pre-OOP: Dumbledore. Post-OOP: McGonagall all the way!

Snape or Lucius: Snape! The man is bordering on 4-dimensional.

Sirius or Lupin: Curse you, quiz writer! Let’s see, what did I say for the Marauders? Lupin? So I’ll say Sirius here to balance out the love.

Draco or Tom: Tom! Draco is so last season. Actually, I’ve never liked Draco, so it all works.

Draco or Harry: How’s this? I would like to hit both of them in the face with a sledgehammer.

Snape or Sirius: Sirius. Tough break, Sev.

James or Sirius: I have great and t00by love for James, but my love for Sirius is deeper and more enduring. Take that!

Fred or George: George, of course. How could you even ask a question as obvious as that?

Molly Weasley or Arthur Weasley: Arthur. I need a shirt that says “I Collect Plugs.”

Seamus or Dean: Dean. While he does not have a lovely Irish accent, he is a fellow artist, so huzzah.

Fleur or Cho: Fleur! Fleur/Percy is the new… erm… I dunno, Fleur/Bill or something. Theirloveissogeekchic.

Fudge or Umbridge: Umbridge. Her unflinching evil is intriguing. What traumatized YOU as a child? Fudge is dull as dirt, though his fashion sense is tempting.

Harry or Hermione: Hermione. We’ve established in the previous pairs that Harry &lt Ron &lt Hermione in my heirarchy.

Hedwig or Crookshanks: Crookshanks! Because we just know you’re in reality Professor McGonagall’s illegitimate love-child by some Muggle Persian tomcat.

Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia: Petunia, because we knew there was something fishy about you as soon as we learned you have two fireplaces, one real and one electric.

Moody or Tonks: Tonks! All of Moody’s apparent coolness turned out to be PseudoMoody, poor sod.

Whee! Cleaning out my closet, I found “Percy is God and Boba Fett” shirt, my “Molybdenum is the Answer” shirt, and my Weasley sweater! All knitty and maroon and blue for Penn (color v. off in photo), with a P that could stand for Priscilla or Penn or Percy. *squeals* My daddy rocks.

Glee!

They’ve been lost for ages! Awww, I wish I’d done this before Nimbus! I would have liked to bring them and show them off. &lt33333333 Swussian Capitalist and my daddy!