Quidditch for muggles?

Harry Potter May Be Fiction But Quidditch Is A Real Sport.
http://www.ology.com/technology/harry-potter-may-be-fiction-quidditch-real-sport

I don't know about anyone else, but I am beyond excited to see the newest potter film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows this weekend. So I guess I am just all about Harry Potter today. But anyways, I came across this article about people playing their own version of Quidditch. Apparently the "Quidditch World Cup" was last weekend. Almost fifty clubs came to play in the tournament, and one Canadian team endured a dozen hours on buses for the chance to compete on the Big Quidditch Stage. The University of Rochester resorted to shack up in the homes of friends and families all over New York City to accommodate everyone in between matches. Alexander Manshel and Alex Benepe of Middlebury College founded the International Quidditch Association and then made it into an organization with hundreds of teams throughout the country and world. Before the World Cup, visiting clubs were invited to a small park to perform their school cheers and many broke out into songs and dances, shouting Quidditch! While most of the players are doing their best to throw the Quaffle (a deflated volleyball) through hula hoop goal posts, there's an endurance chess match going on where seekers try to run down and capture a neutral player called the snitch. If you have read the harry potter books and/or seen the films, you know all about what I'm talking about. I just thought this was fun and interesting!

Celeb's Naked Pregnancy photos.

http://www.popeater.com/2010/11/12/celebrities-naked-pregnant-photos/

I was struck by this article on popeater.com. Talking about celebs tending to pose nude during their pregnancies for magazines and such, and why they do it. This seems to be a topic that holds many different opinions. Some people look at it as beautiful, and that this is a beautiful time in ones life, and doing such is a memorable thing and makes it something to look back on. "During pregnancy, the naked body isn't as sexualized. It is safer to go nude because you're looking at these women as life-giving vessels rather than sex objects," explains US Weekly photo editor Peter Grossman.While others dub these shoots as "pregnancy porn."Yet, in some ways, these nude pregos are setting unfair expectations for the average mama. Regular pregnant women simply don't look like these women with their shapely bellies and well-proportioned everything else. A lot of women are swollen, veiny, bloated and have cottage cheese thighs when they're pregnant. Some women see the pregnancy pictures as simply another outlet for celebs to channel their self-absorption. What do you think? Beautiful or obnoxious?

Friday Post: Colleges Restrict Four Loko, As Health Concerns Rise.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/11/04/131061866/colleges-ban-four-loko-as-health-concerns-rise

"Little Rhody's big state school is banning Four Loko, the caffeine-boosted alcohol drink that's often called "blackout in a can." These popular Engergy/Alcoholic beverages are being banned on college campuses because they are too dangerous. At a recent concert at the URI campus, 30 people were treated for illnesses or injuries related to alcohol. They're looked at as being dangerous for college students because they are very inexpensive for how potent they are. This incident at URI is not the only one that's happened based off of these drinks, there have been issues reported at Central Washington University and Kansas State. So stores around college campuses are beginning to ban the drink. I personally think it's a dumb idea. Yes I agree that dangerous things can spawn off of kids drinking lokos, but just because stores in the area don't have the drinks, does not mean no one can get them. I bet some students are willing to make a 10-30 minute drive for their fix. Just like anything else that people are not supposed to have access to, they find a way. 

Assignment 3 topic.

For my paper I am using the topic of the role of media use today through journalism and such and its relation to big brother and information control. It is extremely important to control and limit what information about yourself or anyone else for that matter that you put on the internet. Anything and everything can be taken from it, twisted around and misinterpreted. There are lots of bad outcomes that can arise from over informing users on the web.

friday post: More issues with Facebook privacy.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130660598

I know I recently blogged about Facebook and it's privacy defaults. However I came across something new on NPR just now. A recent Wall Street Journal article revealed that different applications that are ran through Facebook, such as Farmville and Mafia Wars are taking the users personal information off of the site as well as that persons friends and giving it to outside companies. Even though most games give a warning before accepting, no one really payes attention and takes a minute to think what that means before playing. This could lead to something potentially dangerous. Essentially anyone can get this information and it can cause problems for the users. People should think before playing.

1984

I think that Julia is an interesting character in the book because her character jumps around in my mind. She shows that Winston is not alone in his thoughts and beliefs about Big Brother. They both show a rebellious side when it comes to the rules and regulations set by big brother, however some of their traits and such contradict each other. Winston is more weary about life and Julia seems to be more content with hers. Her and Winston both want to rebel against Big Brother and do and think about things that Big Brother would not approve of. Both of them risk disappearing for going against it.

1984

So this book confuses me a little bit. From what I have gathered, this book is about a man, named Winston who lives in this crazy messed up world. In his world the government watches the citizen living in his town all day everyday. Their lives are literally monitored, with cameras in their houses and such. The government also invents a new language called newspeak, which is designed to eliminate the use of words that suggest political rebellion.

The government is basically ran as a dictatorship. I don't understand how someone could live in such conditions. Although it is just a story, I think it's completely crazy. Having everyone know everything and everyone being monitored. Winston doesn't like this either, the government prevents free though, expression and sex. He goes and illegally buys a diary to express his feelings into privately.

The way the book is written is clever, because to me while reading it everything makes sense and seems real. While reading this it makes the story seem as if all this makes total sense, and the way they are living is a perfectly acceptable way to live.

However when you step back and really think about what is happening in the book, the craziness leaks out into your mind. It sounds like it is something derived from the holocaust. People being under strict rules and being monitored, only being allowed to do what the government feels is right for them to do.

They aren't allowed to any freedoms, they're basically trapped in this totalitarian way of living. 

Just wanted to add- Winston seems like a rebel. Which is exactly what the government is trying to prevent.
An unforgivable crime is promiscuity between party members.
The government wants to essentially take out all natural human instinct.
Sex is made out to be a job. Strictly for procreation purposes- Has to be controlled.