Best End Moments

Alastor Moody

Alastor Moody is, of course, a difficult character to think back on because most of our experiences with him--weren’t actually him

Regardless, he was still an important character, one of the few characters who was in the Order of the Phoenix during both Wizarding Wars. A brave and skilled wizard he was also a good judge of character (Igor Karkaroff), giving (Tonks was his protégé) and he didn’t care too much about what others thought of him—only considering the opinion of those he deemed worthy.

What I think most about him, is he gives us a glimpse into some mental illness, disillusion and how Ron would be in his later years with PTSD. Even as a high-ranking Auror, people mostly avoided him as he had become a bit paranoid

Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you

after all his years serving as an Auror and all those he had put away. He had limited friends he felt he could trust and had shown to have many scars showing all he had been thru. In the brief moments with him, he showed to be sentimental and trying to form human connections where he could and appreciating them: giving Harry the original Order of the Phoenix photo and his relationship with Tonks

PS Very glad Harry worked to get his eye back 

5 Flights Up

I saw this movie at home, privately probably within a year after it came out. I loved it instantly for all three stories that it told. The first story, about the older couple (played by Morgan Freeman and Diane Keaton) showed an accurate couple that I enjoyed. As a couple, they were overall happy and healthy and dealing with walking up a few flights as you get older in New York is a pretty realistic problem that people often don’t think about. Also, they individually and not just as a couple were likeable people. Second, is the issue with their dog (Dorothy) who they will need to pay $10,000 for a surgery for her that *may* work. Ugh, is that not something that happens all the time, especially at that cost. A famous story of my youth is when we paid close to two hundred dollars (at a major discount) to go to an emergency clinic for my hamster/guinea pig where the veterinarian didn’t even notice one eye was reed and close to 3x the size of the other.

While both of these stories were accurate, the one that really blew this out of the water for my family was the third, albeit random, story about the truck driver and its accuracy in our world. It starts just with a truck abandoned (in grid-lock traffic at first) on a bridge. They discover that it was driven by someone who is not a white guy and reports come out before anything actually happens that they think there is a bomb (even thou rush hour has passed and there has been no explosion) and his name and face are all over the news, followed I believe by his home being investigated by the police (who the fuck signed that warrant).

As this story progress I watch, with complete real-world experience, my guess is that he might have just ran out of gas and gone to get some—because they were stuck on a bridge for hours. But then why didn’t he come back…I don’t know, maybe because within a short time he was plastered all over the news as a terrorist (white upbringing v. non-white upbringing) he’s petrified now with no ACTUAL reason or understanding he’s been labelled a terrorist and NYCs #1 to look out for. In the end, I don’t think we get the story of what actually happened from reports, but come to know that he wasn’t a terrorist—typical.

Now all of these things are random, but they are also realistic to happen in a random weekend, look at the news today, so much happens before 6am let alone over a weekend and that’s what this is, just a snapshot of their lives over a few days. Maybe more dramatic than their average weekend, but not completely out of bounds and in contrast to stories that cover years or longer events, that are also good, a story that just covers a couple of days and isn’t focused on the “big events” of getting married, or losing someone— I really loved it.

Hagrid

Rubeus Hagrid; Half-giant, great giant, great Gryffindor, great man, great brother, great friend, great everything. The two things I love the most about Hagrid both have to do with his love, (1) his love for Harry, and (2) his love of everything else

We all know that Sirius loved Harry, but he wasn’t the only one and on another note, I feel part of Sirius’ love for Harry was connected to James. When I think of Hagrid’s love for Harry I think of Molly (and Arthur), who loved him unconditionally. I think of someone who saw Harry as an equal, as a friend, as someone with their own reactions and thoughts; not as someone to be manipulated, convinced or as a child. 

One of the biggest issues I will always have is that none of Harry’s children were named after Hagrid, mostly, because Harry never truly appreciated Hagrid. While he did care for Hagrid, he never had all the respect for him that he should have, some of the respect that he gave to Dumbledore should have been with Hagrid. This is a shame for both of them, as they have a lot in common that Harry didn’t with anyone else. For starters, they both had terrible childhoods and adolescence that related a lot to their loss of parents and community. when they were both young Hagrid’s mother left him and Harry’s parents died. In their teens, Hagrid’s father died and he was kicked out of school and Harry would consistently have to deal with the Dursleys and would become an outcast whenever the admiration of the wizarding world turned to disgust or pettiness (not a very strong bunch). This is in addition to being a standout; Hagrid for being a half-giant and Harry for being “the boy who lived”. 

These are also only a few of the reasons why both end up like lost boys in the wizarding world, whom both turn to Albus Dumbledore as a guide. Hagrid, like Harry, was given a very rough deal early on, but so was Lupin who I also deeply treasure but must point out did not handle it as well as Hagrid. Unlike Harry and Lupin, who both managed to get great friends in their youth, part of what I love and think we can all learn from Hagrid is how he so strongly persevered thru everything. Without all the skulking and pity-parties. At any point in his life he could have run off to be with the other giants, or just hid out by himself with his little bit of magic, but he didn’t, he continued to try, do good and be good. Obviously, he found and had reasons to stay, Hogwarts was his home, but there was an easier way, a path with less rejection and side-glances (just think of him being out in the world will all the different creatures he could be with and care for); regardless of everything Hagrid not only persevered, but he was so, so kind, almost always trusting there to be good in people, giving people the benefit of the doubt and even when he got a bit of temper, he never got mean.

Another thing with Hagrid that was so amazing giving his upbringing was how much he loved and was king, to himself. While he kept it quiet in the beginning, he was never ashamed of being a half-giant, and while he wasn’t happy about getting kicked out of school, he knew he hadn’t done anything wrong and just wished he could learn more magic. When he made mistakes, he owned up to them. Finally, the most endearing thing sounds like all the others but is truly unique: he loved everything. Every creature, he found beauty in it, regardless of everything he saw beauty, believed in love, friendship, the truth and the good. How can anyone not completely admire that, love that

So again, Hagrid is someone to be honoured and admired and to try and live up to, for he never gives up, is incredibly kind, loves himself and loves everything else

图书馆

China is an extremely complex country, while many question why Chinese are okay with censorship and high government regulation, others understand that there are positive and negatives of why they operate and how. I do not extend this to the current situation in Hong Kong, where the people re adamant about wanting to remain separate from China as promised but with the pros and cons of any decision and particularly the decisions and lifestyle in the mainland.

While in some ways more advanced, early last year China’s public libraries were ordered to have a major overall with a standardization of access to all. This included set open hours of operation even during holidays and on weekends, open public spaces, service programs and easy access to information. (1) Additional focus was put on protecting individual’s research and information protected from hackers, special services and safety access for the elderly and disabled and educational activities focused on children. These activities are also multicultural, physical and conversational with centers including family reading campaigns, foreign language training, art and culture exhibitions including books and other community activities available in various foreign languages. (2)

Multi-layered, China has successfully educated and increased their residents access to certain aspects of information and has promoted the access and diversity of information that does not hold the mirror close

 (1)    https://news.cgtn.com/news/7859544d35637a6333566d54/share_p.html

(2)    https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/librarians/management/viewpoints/china.htm?part=5

Percy Weasley

I liked Percy, enough, in the beginning. Similar to Hermione he was ambitious, smart, and just wanted to do well. In a family of seven children it’s understandable when one is different from the rest, and as close to the middle of the pack, it’s understandable he’s even more out of the loop, and we don’t know what his relationship with Charlie or was, or with Ron or Ginny when they were younger.

But there are a lot of things not to like about Percy: he couldn’t relax, he thought too highly of himself, and tried to appear better than he was (the type of person who uses a more ‘sophisticated’ word, but it doesn’t come naturally from them or in the sentence). Being ambitious and following rules are good, but the expression “rules are meant to be broken” has a point. There are exceptions and you shouldn’t follow the rules blindly, another major issue with Percy, he was narrow-minded and couldn’t see the bigger picture. It’s interesting, as in some ways this might have been what impacted his future at the Ministry the most, a lack of spine and compassion, I don’t see how he could have moved up into the Ministry that had Kingsley and Hermione in tow.

The thing that sticks with me is that he seemed to only reconnect with his family in the last moments, thou that could make sense if he was trying to keep a separate watch on things from the inside or was in fear for his life. But, after the battle, he wasn’t that close with his family either (at least not Harry) and it seems their children weren’t close with each other, so I doubt they saw much of each other. This hold on pride is what I don’t like the most, 20 years later, he’s still holding on to shame about being wrong.

The Pillowman

After the older stories by the Grimm Brothers, A Picture of Dorian Gray, and The Lottery in high school--finding the newly written “The Pillowman” was like a breath of fresh air. Another story that twisted your world upside down and had an element of supernatural while also being so accurate about the aspects and attitudes of human nature, just made me feel so at peace. 

The Pillowman is fascinating to me as overall it’s a short story, quick read but has so much depth. There is very little filler, you find out what you need and that’s that. Also, there is great complexity and skill to someone who can make you sympathize with someone who should be seen as evil--whether or not they truly are evil or that sympathy is warranted

The thing with telling “cliche” stories, but with representation, is… these stories aren’t cliche for us.

Picture this. The people at the table next to you have been getting chocolate cake as a dessert for YEARS. After every meal, they get a chocolate cake. Now, it’s been years, and the people at that table can barely stand chocolate anymore. They want maybe a cheesecake. Or lemon mousse.

But your table? Has NEVER had chocolate cake. Mousse is also good, but you are SO hungry for that chocolate cake, cause you never had it before, and it’s brand new for you, and you’ve been watching the other table eat it for YEARS.

That’s what’s like getting a “cliche” story that’s representative. Has it been done a million times before? Yes. Has it ever been done for US? Well… no. Maybe it’s the 500th chocolate cake in existence, but all the other chocolate cakes weren’t meant for us (girls/PoC/queer folk/disabled folk/etc)

So it being cliche is not a bad thing. You may not want chocolate cake anymore. But we want our slice too.

A Little Princess

I first saw A Little Princess (1995 version) probably with my parents around the time of its release. With no film background, I will say, did a great job at ageing the film as I always am surprised to discover that it’s not as old I thought it was (something that has happened repeatedly). While somewhat a romantic, fairy-tale type story the core parts that stick with me are the beauty within the story, particularly when Sarah and Becky are imagining a great feast and the colors of India in the very beginning of the film.

The images created in this film are stunning and completely breathtaking on their own and an amazing job is done using the colors in the fil to show the contrast between what we want our world to be like and what we don’t, the stories are even more real. Yes, the fairy-tale elements of her father remembering her just before she’s about to be arrested (she’s a child but ok), and dramatics of him ending up next door to where she lives, and how regardless of everything she insists on being a kind princess are all good and honorable it is the story of the neighbor that hits the most. Both the bleakest, most realistic, connecting, accurate and somewhat breaking is the father next door who tries to be kind during a war and is grateful for closure when he loses his son and his surrogate son (and in a way granddaughter). I think this is why I saw it with my parents, and so frequently. While there are many stories that accurately portray war, this is one that focuses on being kind in the homefront and probably portrays what they experienced living separated, but closely connected to war and genocide. 

There was no good photo to symbolize the story of the neighbour, but part of the theme of kindness is quoted below

Another unrelated shout-out that connects to a Little Princess to me, shout out to Shirley Temple who will never be bested even by those who manage to get their pets Instagram famous

Best Pranks

1. Season Six, Episode Twenty-Four: The Cover-Up

When Pam and Jim learn Morse Code to not only speak about Dwight infront of him, but with the stapler and pens also can make up crazy stories and conspiracies that Dwight’s brain is “forced” to listen to.

2. Season Three, Episode Seventeen: Cocktails

When Karen spends the evening at the Corporate party apologizing to Jim for ALL the coworkers she dated before him

3. Season Six, Episode Twenty-Four: The Cover-Up

When Darryl pranks himself trying to get Andy back for blaming the warehouse for a late shipment he forgot to process, he ends up getting involved in the fire-printer expose with Andy.

4. Season Three, Episode Seven: Branch Closing

When Jim uses set of Dwight’s stationery that he uses

“From time to time, I send Dwight Faxes. From himself. From the future

PS—Also mentioned in Season Nine, Episode Twenty-Two: AARM when he references that as part of their no nonsense streak that if anyone is expecting a fax they shouldn’t yell out “Michael J Fax, from Fax to the Future!”

5. Season Nine, Episode Three: Andy’s Ancestry

Asian Jim

6. Season Seven, Episode Twelve: Classy Christmas Part 2

Jim coming out into the parking lot with Pam after the ‘Classy Christmas Party’ with Pam and it’s covered in snowmen and he doesn’t know which one has Dwight or anyone else to attack him with snowballs. It’s awful, but it’s brilliant

7. Season Six, Episode Seven: The Lover

The Mallard

How Jim discovers the Mallard (possibly purposefully by Dwight)

How Jim blasts Opera and talks with Andy to mess with Dwight

How Jim gives the Mallard to Kelly

How Jim talks to Dwight directly through the Mallard to ‘catch’ Dwight (also probably purposefully done by Dwight)

But in the end, the Mallard was a decoy

8. Season Three, Episode One: Gay Witch Hunt

When Jim sends Dwight “Gaydar” machine (metal detector) and it lights up when Dwight scans Oscar because of his belt. But Dwight is also wearing a belt so “Gaydar” tells him he’s gay too.

9. Season Seven, Episode Eight: Viewing Party

When Michael runs around the office pretending to be too busy to even speak to Erin, let alone attend her party.

10. Season Seven, Episode Eighteen: Todd Packer

After Dwight blows off Jim’s idea of cramming Todd Packer’s desk so he can only open it two inches and Dwight makes fun of it, Dwight gets very frustrated when Jim, unknowingly at the time, does it to him.

Bonus: The Best Prank we didn’t see:

Dwight knocking himself in the head with his phone, after Jim slowly fills his headset with more and more nickels. 

New Instant Classics

Diversity has *sprung* into mainstream films--no, not saying there still aren’t issues there because there definitely are, but there are different people making films, starting in films, writing in films, directing films--everything that makes more diverse stories be told. Considering the large number of crap sequels and prequels that have flooded cinemas, there stories being told by film, books, thru art...even Youtube, are welcome. Two films that recently I would define as instant classics, I put here because they are films that tell a classic story and would have been long time classics had they been allowed to tell generations ago, both stories also I didn’t realize until I began to type, star male leads who are portraying their real life, personal stories: Kumail Nanjiani and Menashe Lustig.

The Big Sick is great for a lot of reasons, a modern twist on Romeo and Juliet it deals with cultural differences and inner conflict in both a light-hearted and serious way. It’s hard to go not on a twenty page rant about this film, as everyone can agree with both Kumail and Emily about their romantic relationship, but I believe what spoke to many who saw it—and what makes it an instant classic—is that we see the strength of a relationship at it’s worse, and how some people are just intertwined in who you are. I will not speak on behalf of the character of Emily or the real-life woman, but I do believe even with her annoyance that had the situation been reversed, she still would have been there for him.

Long story short, Menashe tells the story of due to cultural conditions must get remarried after his wife’s passing in order to get his son back. While I struggle to understand the BS argument that’s never made, we also watch Menashe and Menashe’s son struggle with being and not being together, both being adored (Mesashe by his son) and outsiders due to circumstance that may not be worth changing. Along with an insight to a very close-knit community, most importantly the film brings back to all the father and son bond when good, when complicated, when desperate and the inner struggle of what is most important**