Skills = things that you trained to do (self-training counts)
Traits = things that are innate
Reading
Writing
Grammar and Spelling
Speaking French
Reading Old English
Reading Middle English
Writing Old English
Algebra
Geometry
Fencing
Cross-stitching
Crocheting
Washing fabric art
Framing pictures
Drawing
Visual observation
Acting/Improv
Telling jokes
Cleaning
Being organized
Using a computer
FrameMaker
Facilitating a meeting
Teaching
Thinking critically
First Aid, CPR
Driving
Cooking
Drinking Beer
Searching the Internet
Playing musical instruments
Math– all math. In fact, anything related to math is definitely a skill that I had to work to acquire.
Creativity
Curiosity
Patience
Being Social
Imagining stories
Remembering Conversations
Pretending to be someone I’m not
Laughing
Loving
Caring about animals
Losing stuff
Liking music
Talking to people
Making friends
and I saw Harry Potter last night.
I didn’t get it. I was horribly confused. About half of the story was amputated, and the movie was still too long. Seriously– there was no dramatic tension, and absolutely no love developed between the audience and the characters. They raped Draco’s character with the sniveling moment– it made absolutely no sense and would have been fine if he’d sneered at her and called her an ugly Mud-blood before she punched him. Would have made more sense and you wouldn’t have had to change any thing else in the scene.
The tension in the book comes from Harry having to decide between saving Sirius and capturing Peter– that was completely absent from the movie; he never even considered using time travel to catch the rat (something he could easily have done at any point after Peter’s escape. As a result, we have no idea that Trelawny’s foretelling was real and referred to Peter and Voldemorte– if you read the book, you knew. The divination is never explained the way it should be.
There were many scenes in the movie that contributed to the story only if you had read the book– otherwise, you were lost in a sea of disconnected scenes. Why did Sirius slash the painting? Never explained, but we know in the book. Who are Moony, et al? Never explained. Why does Harry think the stag and person behind it are his dad? Never explained (and isn’t that an important bit?)
The first two movies were streamlined. They cut things from the book, but everything that went in was designed to move the story towards the eventual showdown with Voldemorte and to make it so the outcome of that showdown was not decided till you got there, and you would know why you were coming along for the ride. This movie appears to have been patched together out of the director’s special effects budget, rather than from any sense of good storytelling.
Otherwise, the weekend was lovely. Aquarium with and her family on Saturday, following a 4 mile run in the AM. A 6 mile run yesterday (more walk than run, but eh– I went all 6 mi). Dinner and a movie with (thank you,Molly!) and general relaxing in the down times. I breezed through about 250 pages of The Shivered Sky yesterday– a very good book by a NaNoWriMo participant, and published by an independent press. Its premise is that there’s been a war in Heaven– and the angels lost. It starts there. I don’t usually enjoy military science fiction (this has a blend of science fiction and fantasy elements), but this is very engaging so far.
