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Poll: In your opinion, which of the eight Harry Potter films was the weakest? Vote Now!
Author has written 34 stories for Harry Potter, and Pokémon.
Hello to you, the avid readers of fanfiction. I myself have been a reader of fanfiction for about seven years, and have only just started to write my own stories in the past few years. I hope you enjoy them.
I will mostly write Harry Potter and Pokemon fanfictions, though I will do others should inspiration strike. (And a Jurassic Park story is currently demanding to be written!)
For anyone who might be interested, my story Harry's Had Enough has been translated into Russian by Greykot and can be found here:
Greykot has also translated the sequel, Damn Wizards, and it can be found here:
Fanfiction Pet Peeves
Okay, after seeing this on many an author's profile I thought I'd add such a thing to my own.
Really the only thing that I find massively annoying are those I term "morons". These are the kinds of reviewers who will wait until chapter 10 of a story (or later) to complain about a reoccurring theme in the story that has been present ever since the first few chapters. Usually this complaint is about the pairing of the story (which is usually in the summary of the story) or about the fact that the story contains character bashing (or what they perceive as character bashing).
I always make it clear early on in my stories what the pairing will be (if it has been decided upon) or if there is any level of "bashing" of a character, usually within the story itself or in the form of an author's note.
You can probably guess, then, how annoying it is to get a review for Chapter 18 of my story "Harry Potter: Junior Inquisitor" that does nothing more than complain about the character bashing in the story, even though it was made abundantly clear in the summary, numerous Author's Notes and nearly every preceding chapter that Dumbledore, Snape, Ron, Hermione and the Order were not going to be shown in a good light. I mean, I really don't know how much clearer it could have been but the fact that this person waited until Chapter 18 to complain says a lot about them.
Usually they hide away in the form of an unsigned guest review and this one was no exception. There are some people, however, who do exactly the same thing while having a profile.
I don't get the mentality of these people who bypass the summary, character listings, the first few chapters and several authors notes and still complain. Even using the phrase "Don't like, don't read" doesn't get them off your back. Okay, so it is used too much by people with bad spelling, but in its correct usage it is pretty clear - if you don't like the pairing of this story then don't read it. If you think the sun shines because Dumbledore wants it to then can't stand to see it any other way then don't read a story with such a plot line.
I, for one, cannot stand slash fiction. I don't mind of there are gay characters or whatever, but most slash fiction in the Harry Potter community consists of Harry/Draco, Harry/Snape or Harry/Voldemort - to me these are highly unbelievable pairings, therefore if the summary of a story states that the story contains this kind of thing, I don't read it. I know I won't like it, therefore I don't read it. It really is that simple, but some idiots just don't seem to get it.
It has been stated by JK Rowling that Hogwarts has a capacity for around 1000 students.
However, Harry's year group is believed to constist of 42 students: five boys and girls to each house and two extras randomly placed into one of the four. If the same can be said for the years above Harry at least, Hogwarts only has around 294 students during Harry's first year (give or take). That's leaves at least 706 empty spaces in Hogwarts. Although young wizards are free to be educated at home by their parents, or go abroad to schools like Durmstrang to be taught, that alone cannot count for such a loss, and it much be contibuted to Voldemort.
To put it another way, the 1000 potential holding capacity, divided by seven years means that there should be around 142-143 students per year; that's a loss of one hundred students from Harry's school year group alone.
Looking at that result, there should be 35/36 students per house per year; in Harry's year, there seem to be confirmed ten students in Gryffindor.
This also means that there should be 17/18 boys and 17/18 girls in each house per year. In Harry's year, his house has five boys: Harry, Ron, Neville, Dean and Seamus, and, apparently, five girls: Hermione, Lavender, Parvati, and two unnamed girls who are apparently there, but are never named in the books or the films (though one of the Harry Potter games names one of the two Fay Dunbar)
This dramatic decline in the student population is backed up by the books, as when viewing Snape's pensieve memory in Order of the Phoenix, Harry notes around 150 students sitting in the Great Hall doing their Charms OWL exam.
This points to a population loss of more than two thirds, not only through deaths, but also due to people simply not having children.
Scary how long the effects of a war can be felt and seen, isn't it?
My favourite pairing has to be Harry and Hermione. Throughout the first five books, Hermione seems to be Harry's rock; she's the one to come up with solutions to his problems, she stands by him all the time, does far more for their adventures than Ron ever did, and seems to be the only character to go to great lengths to make sure that Harry is not tortured, maimed, killed or driven to insanity. Sure Harry is a little dense towards her, but hey, he's a teenage boy with an emotionally-repressed childhood; you work it out.
A couple of reviews I got for "Damn Wizards" call into question the belief that Hermione lives in worship of authority figures. These reviews suggested that Hermione is actually manipulative and on occasion ruthless in her actions. While I can agree that Hermione can and will manipulate a situation to her advantage, I wouldn't necessarily call her ruthless, and she doesn't necessarily drag Harry into her coercion. More often than not, Harry's the guy who says "This needs to happen" and then Hermione is the one to say "All right then, how about we do it like this?"
If you look at it, Hermione is perhaps the biggest driving force behind Harry, often being the one to force him to take a pro-active stance on things. In Chamber of Secrets its finding out what Malfoy knows. In Goblet of Fire its training for the tournament. In Order of the Phoenix its countering the Ministry and Umbridge's control over Hogwarts.
Then Half-Blood Prince happens, and that whole dynamic of their relationship appears to have mostly disappeared, apart from the occasional prompting to get the memory from Slughorn. She is not interested in Harry's legitimate concerns about Draco. She snipes and belittles him over a graffiti-covered potions textbook (which in and of itself raises questions about Harry, who suddenly appears to have forgotten everything he's learnt about the magical world in previous years if he's so willing to use this book) and she spends her time pining over Ron. So much of Hermione's character is either dropped or turned sour in order to make way for Ginny (this is also done to James, Sirius and Remus in order to convince us that Snape isn't all that bad) and that's why the Harry/Ginny relationship doesn't work to me.
"Behind every great man is a great woman" I believe is the quote. And for the first five books, the great woman behind the great man that is Harry was Hermione. Too bad JKR decided to fight against Hermione's character and force them to become one big happy Weasley family rather than let Harry and Hermione's relationship evolve in the way that so many of us for so long thought that it would.
I also like the Harry/Luna pairing. She was exactly the right person for him to talk to at the end of Order of the Phoenix, she has a kind of loyalty to Harry not seen from anyone except Hermione, and Harry genuinely does like having her around. It's always a fun pairing to read and, to me at least, it makes more sense than Harry/Ginny ever did.
Hermione and Luna are both like kindred spirits to Harry. Whilst both of their upbringings were not as loveless as Harry's, they certainly were as lonely. All three exhibit the results of their upbringing in how they behave; Hermione through her studies, Luna through her dream-like persona and Harry by not wanting to bring attention to himself.
Two other good pairings are Harry/Susan and Harry/Daphne. Neither are things you might think of looking at the books, given how Susan appears only in books 1, 5 and 6, and Daphne is barely mentioned in book 5, but here on Fanfiction there are plenty of well-written, believable stories centring around these pairing; Susan as a loyal Hufflepuff with a good knowledge and understanding of how the Ministry works and about the pure-blood elitism; and Daphne is always a good partner of a disillusioned/bad boy Harry.
In the canon of the books, the Hufflepuffs always seemed to be amongst the first to think badly of Harry, an ally from that house is something that Harry could have done with. And the idea of Harry having a Slytherin ally is always an appealing one (unless the ally is Draco; that usually ends up annoying me).
I will read Harry/Ginny so long as it is written well, but it is not my preferred choice. The pairing in the books does promote the old saying "if you want someone to like you, just be yourself" Harry certainly barely notices Ginny until around the middle of fifth year, which is when he, as well as we the readers, get a few glimpses of her real personality. However, Ginny receives little development as a character; she's revealed to be a bit of a troublemaker, like the twins, which is nice, but she's also shown to be more than a bit mean, which kind of leaves a bit of a bad taste.
Worse than that, though, is when she uttered one line at the end of Half-Blood Prince:
"I knew you wouldn't be happy unless you were hunting Voldemort." (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 30, page 603 (Bloomsbury hardback edition)
Clearly this girl doesn't know Harry at all.
Perhaps worse still is the next thing she says:
"Maybe that's why I like you so much."
What the hell it that?
Pretty solid evidence that she is in love with the hero-image rather than the person beneath, I'd say. Okay, she might have been saying that to protect her feelings somehow, but sheesh! Insensitive or what?
When Slughorn introduced it, I thought that Amortentia would have some major impact on the plot, like Liquid Luck eventually did, and like Polyjuice already had. So when Harry gets this "chest monster" thing, I was suspecting that perhaps Ginny, or someone wanting him to fall for Ginny, was giving him some of the potion. I thought that there was going to be a big "betrayal" storyline, instead Amortentia was reduced to being a mere plot-device to get Ron poisoned. Don't get me wrong, it worked as that plot-device, but suddenly there was the realisation of "Huh. So that's how JKR describes being in love?" Of course there can be jealousy, but a raging monster?
The problem with some Harry/Ginny fics is that sometimes they portray Ginny as Hermione with a tough-girl attitude. It's not always a bad thing, but when the story states something along the lines of Harry found Ginny to be just as smart as Hermione usually gets me thinking well why doesn't this author make this a Harry/Hermione story then? i don't mean to, it just happens. As I said, sometimes it works, other times it seems like the girl says exactly what Hermione would say in the situation, but the name says this girl is Ginny.
Also, I'm not a fan of Ginny befriends Harry earlier and thus everything is so much better stories. Don't ask me to justify it, I just don't like them.
I hate the Ron/Hermione pairing. It doesn't work, I'm sorry, I have recently read the first three books for the first time in years. Of the three, Ron and Hermione get on best in book 2. In book 1, Ron's a prat to Hermione. In book 2 there's a few hints of a possible relationship. Book 3 on the other hand swings things about all over the place, one minute they're the best of friends, and then they hate each other. Only in book 2 can I honestly say that there is maybe an attraction between the two, and then only minimal. After book 3, the whole Ron/Hermione thing was pretty much dropped for the most part, the Yule Ball being the only real hint. Then it came back in book 6 and felt really forced.
Ron: good guy, bad guy, I don't mind either way. I like a bit of Ron bashing as much as anyone who likes Ron bashing, but if the story has a good, loyal Ron, I'm happy to read that too; he just never really did anything to make up for fourth year and seventh year. And I cannot for the life of see why Rowling dumped him on Hermione.
Molly: Don't get me wrong, I think its great that Harry found the long-desired mother figure in her, and, let's face it, "Not my daughter, you bitch." is and always will be one of the most brilliant moments in the series. I guess that I always thought that Bellatrix was a kill for Hermione (as the female lead and Harry's staunchest ally) or Neville (for his own, obvious reasons) or Tonks (again for obvious reasons), or Ginny (because she doesn't really do anything... ever) but I can totally see why JK Rowling went the way she did.
I don't have a problem with Molly being Harry's mother figure, I think the problem is that she's the only mother figure, not only to Harry but in the series in general.
As far as father figures go, Harry's had Arthur, Sirius and Remus. To a certain extend Hagrid can be considered an uncle, and Dumbledore, despite everything, is kind-of the closest thing Harry has ever known to having a grandfather.
Molly is the only mother figure. McGonagall is kind of, though maybe more of a grandmother type, but there were only two points in the series where Harry really, desperately needed her support (you and I both know exactly when these are) but she lets him down completely. Granted she stood up for him against Umbridge during careers counselling, but she ignores him completely about the Philosopher's stone, and when he gets detention when baited by Umbridge, she tells him to keep his head down.
The key problem with McGonagall is her inability to think for herself. I cannot think of a moment where this was made clearer than when the newly selected champions, their headmasters and a few others were talking in the small room off of the Great Hall. To give her her due, McGonagall clearly is on Harry's side in this matter, but there is something that she says in this scene that is actually quite shocking -
"Dumbledore, you know perfectly well you did not make a mistake!" said Professor McGonagall angrily. "Really, what nonsense! Harry could not have crossed the line himself, and as Professor Dumbledore believes that he did not persuade an older student to do it for him, I'm sure that should be good enough for everybody else!"
Really? That's your take on the situation, Minerva? Dumbledore thinks something, so the headmasters of two other schools, two high ranking Ministry officials, two other Professors and three Champions must therefore be entirely satisfied that the truth of the matter has been settled? Dumbledore thinks it, therefore it must be true. Well, if that is the case, why wasn't this argument used on every other student and teacher in the castle, the entire Ministry and the Daily Prophet. I mean, that would have cleared everything right up now, wouldn't it? (sarcasm)
Anyway, another mother figure for Harry would not have gone amiss. I don't care what people say; neither Fleur nor Tonks became mother figures (if they had, reading stories where Harry is paired with one (or both) of them would not nearly be as fun!)
Dumbledore: This guy has a lot to answer for. I know that a lot of people adore Dumbledore but there is no escaping the fact that, like it or not, Harry was Dumbledore's weapon against Voldemort, and that's all there is too it. Dumbledore's goal from teh get-go was to turn Harry into a martyr and have him walk in front of Voldemort's wand. That was his sole plan.
To me, Dumbledore had far too much power. I can only assume that his positions of Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards were purely ceremonial as they clearly provided nothing in the was of useful resources for the war effort. Though there again, those resources might have been there but instead Dumbledore did not bother to make use of them.
Dumbledore was far too used to being listened to without question, this much can be seen first in his constant insistence that Harry trust Snape without providing a reason (this in the face of Snape's entire attitude which positively scream "do not trust this man!"). However a more pronounced example can be found at the end of Goblet of Fire. When the Minister refuses to believe Harry when he says that Voldemort is back, Dumbledore simply insists that he believes Harry and therefore expects Fudge to automatically do so as well. Other than the tattoo on Snape's arm, absolutely no effort is made to provide evidence to Harry's claims and, as the Minister quite rightly pointed out, Harry could easily have gotten the names of those he accused of being Death Eaters from a book. Also, with so little apparently being known about the Dark Mark tattoo, Snape's "evidence" is flimsy at best. That Dumbledore then immediately started throwing out demands that to Fudge sounded both crazy and politically suicidal (like removing the Dementors from Azkaban) only compounded the problem. If fact, reading that scene again it actually comes across as though Snape, McGonagall and especially Dumbledore are trying to intimidate the Minister into their way of thinking when he doesn't immediately agree with every word coming out of Dumbledore's mouth.
This, coupled with how the Order of the Phoenix seems to barely function at all after Dumbledore's death, does not paint a particularly pleasant picture of the man. Others appear so used to him doing their thinking for them that they go to pieces when he is not around, and he is so used to this that when someone comes along who doesn't treat every word out of his mouth as if it were pure gold resulted in very bad consequences for not only himself and Harry but the war effort and the Wizarding World as a whole.
Snape: Just as bad, if not worse than Dumbledore. That he was in love with Harry's mother is not romantic, it doesn't redeem him, and to be honest it's downright creepy. He was supposed to be the spy in Voldemort's ranks, but for some reason we never discover anything that he found out. Just a brief mention of some kind of Death Eater plot foiled by the Order working on information from Snape was all that was needed, but that never happened. The murder of Amelia Bones, Head of the DMLE, or the murder of Order member Emmeline Vance, the collapse of the Brockdale Bridge, the freeing Bellatrix and co. from Azkaban, the plan to lure Harry to the Department of Mysteries... the list goes on: where were Snape's spying skills? And placing the sword of Gryffindor at the bottom of a frozen pond: it's a contender for the crappest idea in the series. There are many Severus Snape fans out there who often cite the chapter "The Prince's Tale" from Deathly Hallows when defending him. Well to them I say this: read Prisoner of Azkaban again, and I mean really read it. I recommend listening to the Audiobook as narrated by Stephen Fry because he brings the characterisation out really well. This book clearly shows more than any other that Snape is not suitable to be a teacher, much less be anywhere near children!
JKR considers Snape to be brave, but not actually a hero. I notice that a lot of fans of Snape don't like that, but I wholeheartedly agree with it. Although we don't see the results of Snape's spying skills (that bit at the beginning of Deathly Hallows was not spy work but a contender to the shittest plan in the series), he did spy, and that takes bravery. He warned Dumbledore about Voldemort being after the Potters, again brave (more on that later though) but where was he heroic? When he saved Harry from falling off of his broom perhaps? Or was he just doing what every single teacher in the stands should have been doing? Was he being heroic when he completely failed to reign in the likes of Draco Malfoy? Was he being heroic when he carved George's ear off with a Sectumsempra in an attempt to save him from a killing curse (something meant to be unblockable by anything other than Priori Incantatem)? Was he being heroic when students under his care were tortured and maimed by the Carrows and the Slytherins? Was he being heroic when he utterly failed to teach Harry Occlumency? Was he being heroic when he failed to just simply keep his mouth shut when around Sirius? When was he heroic? The only time his actions benefited Harry were mostly due to circumstance (giving him the sword and giving him the memories) and the end results of both of those instances were down to luck as Harry nearly drowned when reclaiming the sword (it was only Ron strangely just happening to be there at the time that prevented this occurring) and it was mere luck that Harry was searching for the snake at the exact moment that Snape was attacked by it, otherwise Snape would have died with Harry none-the-wiser.
One thing that nobody who is a Snape fan ever bothers to pay attention to is the fact that after getting his O.W.L results at the beginning of HBP, Harry, although disappointed that he does not meet the requirements to take the N.E.W.T lessons needed to become an Auror, is happy at the idea that he does not have to deal with Snape. Now, if that is the case, one has to wonder just how many other students, in all the years that Snape was potions professor, gave up their dreams of becoming Aurors, Healers or Potioneers simply because they could not stand Snape any longer? Cornelius Fudge is often blamed for the lack of new Aurors, but does the blame solely lay with him? No matter what age you are, everyone out there can agree that if learning something is tortuous (as Harry, Ron and Neville found Potions class to be under Snape's tutelage) then you are immediately not so keen to learn it, (on a personal note, I am reasonably good with computers, but I despised those classes in school because I dreaded being in the same room as the teacher of the subject. Also when I was in Middle School, I was decent at French and found it reasonably interesting. When I went up to High school the teacher I have was a mean old cow and my interest in the subject rapidly dissipated. Opposite to that, my teachers in High School for Maths, Biology, Physics, Geography and Spanish were nice and suddenly my interest in and appreciation for these subjects increased tenfold.) It is the same with Harry, Ron, Neville and a good number of others. They dread potions solely because of the teacher (if you go back and read about Harry's first trip to Diagon Alley, one of the things he is most fascinated by is the apothecary, which sells potions and their ingredients. It is not until he encounters Snape that he comes to dread the subject). Several other teachers in the series are guilty of this too: all the students hated Defence Class until it was taught by Lupin. Those who loathed Divination loathed it because of Trelawney, and those who loathed History of Magic loathed it because of Binns (Harry even states and one point that History could have been interesting had someone else taught it). One of the best ways to learn is to want to learn it, and the best way to stop wanting to learn something is the way in which you are taught.
On a related note, one should ask just how much was the Ministry's early fall to Voldemort due to internal corruption and how much of it was to do with the fact that most of the Aurors would by now have been Slytherins: note that Snape had been teaching potions for ... years and that without Harry and Ron changing their minds the N.E.W.T. level potions class of Harry's sixth year would have consisted of four Slytherins (Malfoy, Nott, Zabini and, possibly Parkinson), four Ravenclaws (Michael Corner and three unknowns), one Hufflepuff (Ernie Macmillan) and one Gryffindor (Hermione). (Do we take this as the norm? Well given Snape's well-established reputation within Hogwarts, probably). Make of those figures what you will, but given how Gryffindors are supposed to be brave and chivalrous, and Hufflepuffs loyal and just, you'd think a few more of them would be taking the necessary subjects to become Aurors.
James: Following the end of Deathly Hallows, so many people seemed to start to hate James and I for one cannot see why. You only have to look at his actions the night Voldemort turned up at his door to know that he is one of the most selfless characters in the series. The case against him is extremely biased if you look at Snape's memories alone. We see, what, three memories where James and/or Sirius are mean to him (I don't count the incident on the train as both James and Snape were as bad as each other in that instance). Across seven years, how many of their unpleasant encounters were begun by Snape? We don't know because we only see things from Snape's point of view and anyone who might have said otherwise are, rather conveniently, dead by this point.
James hated Snape at school because Snape was heavily into the Dark Arts. Why do people hate James for that? At a time when the whole country was gripped in a civil war against those who use the Dark Arts, how is hating anyone who goes around reading about and even practicing the Dark Arts irrational? How is it illogical to hate someone who hangs around with soon-to be Death Eaters Avery and Mulciber (the latter of whom tried to do dark magic on fellow student Mary Macdonald, which Snape acutally considered to be just a laugh and says so to Lily when she brings it up)? James' loathing of Snape is well founded. (I do find it ironic that many of those who think that James bullied Snape just because he was different also think that Draco is just misunderstood. Yeah, Draco, the one who actually does bully people for being different.) Judging from what happened with Mary Macdonald, and the fact that Snape considered it to be just a laugh demonstrates to me that he was a bully himself. He even actively called Muggleborns "Mudbloods" (It wasn't just Lily that one time).
With regards to character development, one key thing that I particularly loathed about the series as a whole is that books three, four and about 90% of book five have themes surrounding Harry finding parental figures in the form of Sirius, to a lesser extent Remus and to an even lesser extent Dumbledore, and being guided through life by them, learning lessons that the Dursley's never taught him. The last ten percent of book five and almost the entirety of book seven are about destroying the reputations of all three of those men AND Harry's actual father, all in an effort to try and convince us that Snape is just misunderstood.
What annoys me most about this is the sheer number of Snape fans who despise James because of how he acted towards Snape in school. They completely gloss over the fact that James actually was a hero. It was he (along with Lily) who defied Voldemort three times. It was he who fought against the Death Eaters. It was he who tried to take on Voldemort so that Lily and Harry, his loved ones, had a marginally larger chance of escape. Everyone goes on about how Lily gave her life for Harry, but James did it too. James wanted to give them a chance, his motives were self-less, as opposed to Snape's which were selfish (don't forget, it is clearly stated in "The Prince's Tale" that Snape only wanted Lily safe, not those she loved and cared for. He does ask Dumbledore to "hide them all", but only after it is made clear what Dumbledore thinks of him for his selfish request).
Draco: Quite why JKR decided to let this little bastard live is beyond me. The little tosser was asking for a "Reducto" right between the eyes from the first moment we meet him right up until the end. Hermione's greatest moment in Prisoner of Azkaban was giving this prat a clout and it's a shame Harry and Ron pulled her away instead of lending her a hand. Many of Dumbledore's actions in Half-Blood Prince were aimed at bringing Draco "back to the light" (can one come back to the light when they were never there?) but ultimately it was not worth it as the little bastard never did anything to redeem himself. I remember when reading Harry hit him with "Sectumsempra" in Half Blood Prince I thought "Ha! Got the bastard... no, wait... nope, here comes Snape to save the him and... yep... Harry in detention for the rest of the year, fan-bloody-tastic." Harry got the bastard, and he was punished for it. Suddenly the wizarding world being a bunch of cowards waiting for someone else to take care of their problems makes sense.
There are actually quite a lot of similarities between Snape, Draco and Barty Crouch Jr. All the torturing and killing was fine with them until the tables were turned. Crouch Jr was caught and begged his dad and screamed for his mum when he was caught torturing the Longbottoms. Draco took great pleasure in the idea that the likes of Hermione would be hunted down like animals, then when his father failed Draco was made to step up or risk his family. Suddenly things weren't funny any more now that it was happening to him. Snape gleefully took what little of the prophecy he heard straight to Voldemort, probably happily imagining what reward Voldemort would grant him. Then Voldemort went for Lily. I see no way that Snape would have said anything at all had Voldemort gone after the Longbottoms.
Sirius: I love the character, but what purpose did he really serve that wasn't filled in another way? Father figure was already taken by several characters, and proof that the Ministry is made up of incapable morons was already well established with Hagrid in the Chamber of Secrets and then by Buckbeak in Prisoner of Azkaban. He gave Harry a bit of hope for all of half an hour, and then that was it. Harry and Sirius spend very little time together, and I've got to wonder if Harry was really upset about Sirius' death, or if it was more about what Sirius represented; a link to his parents. I mean really, how much time does Harry spend with Sirius? An hour or so of blind panic at the end of PoA, a couple of secret meetings in Hogsmeade and a fireplace chat in GoF, and a couple of weeks of summer and Christmas in OotP. That's it. Harry did not have time to get to know Sirius, or really learn anything about him, the sadness he feels must be about what Sirius represented and the guilt Harry felt about how he died. In honesty, without the extra information given by JKR, we learn about as much about Sirius as we do Mad-Eye and Kingsley, and although they are important they are not really key to the overall plot. At least Remus and Tonks were given some kind of story arc throughout the series.
The Order of the Phoenix: Pretty much compromised from the start. They seem just as bad as the Aurors for responding rather than acting. They were given five tasks throughout the series:
1) Protect Harry whilst he's at Privet Drive: failed.
2) Protect the Prophecy: failed (granted Voldemort never heard it, but his Death Eaters still got to it. Also suffered one imprisonment, one death and one near death that would have been a death had it not been for Harry).
3) Protect Hogwarts whilst Harry and Dumbledore went to find the locket: succeeded (though the Death Eaters still got in, and the Order failed to capture/kill any of them)
4) Protect Hogwarts during Voldemort's invasion: succeeded (though most of the castle was destroyed, and many of the staff, order, and older students are killed; would have been clueless without Harry raising alarm)
5) Protect the world from Dark Wizards: kind-of, sort-of did (though most seemed to hide until Harry raised the alarm about Hogwarts being attacked)
Not exactly a gleaming record.
Also not that great with plans. Seven Potters. Really? The fact that so few of the Order were killed in that little fiasco seriously reduced how dangerous the Death Eaters seemed in my opinion.
Occlumency has got to be one of the biggest discrepancies within the series, for three reasons:
1) You need to control your emotions. Really? So then why can Harry, who had to hide his emotions regularly at Privet Drive not do it, but Draco "Wait until my father hears about this" Malfoy can?
2) Harry was able to learn how to fight off mind control so well that he could throw off Voldemort's Imperius Curse, and yet he struggles to block attempts to read his mind? That does not make sense to me.
3) Learning it does not seem good for your mental disposition. The two characters who have been able to do it for a long time have major flaws in their character: Dumbledore keeps everything to himself for as long as possible (and we all know how that worked out), and rather than control his emotions (like you're supposed to) Snape simply kept everything bottled up and unleashed it upon his students, which isn't healthy.
The Deathly Hallows
The three items known as the Deathly Hallows were a strange last-minute addition to make to the series, even if they do serve essential functions in the end. Those functions, however, were not necessarily what they first appear to be.
The most obvious is the Invisibility Cloak. That this one was already Harry's was an obvious attempt to make the three items tie in with previous events in the books, and was therefore the most used.
The Resurrection Stone, however, was Dumbledore's insurance policy on his plan for Harry. Yes, it is nice that Harry gets to see his family before walking off to his "death" but the circumstances surrounding Harry's being able to see them gives an entirely different angle to the event. That the Golden Snitch, which contained the stone, was only to "Open at the Close" proves that giving Harry the stone was in fact Dumbledore's final guilt trip on Harry. Obviously with the Wizarding World being as fickle as it was, Dumbledore needed a final way to coerce Harry into walking to his death, seeing his deceased family was a clever way to do it, but also ultimately a cruel and despicable thing to do to Harry (not that Dumbledore ever really cared for Harry's well-being anyway).
The Elder Wand, on the other hand, and the hugely convoluted sub-plot that went with it was actually a rather strange thing to throw into the mix. The power that Harry supposedly has was meant to be love, which he would use to end Voldemort. So why did Harry require a mystical all-powerful wand with fickle loyalties in order to do the job? That its power was "accidentally" transferred to Harry seems more to be an attempt to make up for the fact that, after fourth year, Harry's power and skill seems to wane considerably. Throughout HBP and DH, there is one thing missing: the kid who drove off one hundred dementors with one patronus, and made Voldemort's wand submit to his in the cemetery. Where was that guy? I can't find him.
Harry Potter and Sexual Discrimination.
Lately I have observed that some authors of Harry Potter Fanfictions like to spin a tale of woe surrounding the women of the magical world, having them have to face the struggle in a male-dominated world. I find that this occurs particularly frequently when describing the back-story of Amelia Bones. However, does this have any basis within the Harry Potter Canon? Well from what I can tell, no. Research on the Harry Potter Wikia (frankly a virtual paradise of background information for any Harry Potter fanfic author) reveals that there does not seem to be much in the way of sexual discrimination within the Wizarding World. One thing I have seen crop up in far too many fanfictions is the idea that there has never been a female Minister for Magic. The books themselves prove this to be an incorrect statement, as in Order of the Phoenix, we learn of Millicent Bagnold, who was the Minister before Cornelius Fudge. Reading of the background information, we find that she took the post in the middle of the first war with Voldemort. She was still in charge of it when Voldemort fell in 1981, and she must have been doing a semi-decent job somewhere along the line as she remained in power for another nine years, retiring in 1990, one year before Harry comes to Hogwarts. Interestingly she was in the top job was Sirius Black was wrongfully imprisoned (a crime all too frequently seen being lumped solely upon Fudge).
Clumping together what we are told in the books and what we learn from background information (such as Pottermore and JKR's official site) we know the names on only fourteen Minister's for Magic for Britain (fifteen if you count Thicknesse, which I don't). Of these fourteen, four most certainly were witches. I've already mentioned Millicent Bagnold, so let's look into the other three. Artemisia Lufkin was Minister between 1798 and 1811 and was the first female Minister (note that she beat Thatcher by almost two centuries!). She must have been good at her job as she stayed in power for thirteen years. For this she is one of the most notable people to have been sorted into Hufflepuff. Ottaline Gambol is a significant witch, not because she was a Minister for Magic, but because she was the person who suggested, and made happen the controversial idea of using a muggle means of transport, the steam train, to take the students of Hogwarts to and from their school. So there you go. The Hogwarts Express was the work of a woman! Evangeline Orpington is not so well known. She held the top job "somewhere between 1819 and 1980" and was, according to Mr. Ollivander at any rate, one of the most accomplished Ministers ever. (Accomplished at what, exactly, is not embellished upon).
Lets look to the Ministry itself. Mnemone Radford was the first official Obliviator for the Ministry. Madame Edgecombe (mother of Marietta) was mentioned to work for the Floo Network Authority. She must have been a high ranking employee as she was a key player in helping Umbridge monitoring the Hogwarts floo network. Griselda Marchbanks was the Governor of the Wizarding Examinations Authority (and a member of the Wizengamot). Mafalda Hopkirke worked for the ImproperUse of Magic Office. Amelia Bones is (or was) the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement (and a member of the Wizengamot). Other female DMLE employees of note include Aurors Nymphadora Tonks and Alice Longbottom, both heroes of the wars against Voldemort.
Hogwarts was founded by four people, two of them witches; Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw. When Harry attends Hogwarts, two of the Heads of House (the highest ranking positions below Deputy Head) are held by women: Pomona Sprout and Minierva McGonagall, both of whom are highly respected in each of their fields. And McGonagall is the Deputy Head as well. In fact during Harry's time at Hogwarts, there are a total of 24 confirmed teachers at Hogwarts (counting Dumbledore, Grubbly-Plank and the line of Defence Teachers, as well as Umbridge and the two Carrows, even if what they did can't really be classified as "teaching"). Of those 24, 11 are female (Minerva McGonagall, Pomona Sprout, Sybill Trelawney, Rolanda Hooch, Aurora Sinistra, Charity Burbage, Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank, Bathsheba Babbling, Septima Vector, Dolores Umbridge and Alecto Carrow).
There have also been a fair number of past and present Headmistresses of Hogwarts, including Minerva McGonagall, Dilys Derwent, Phyllida Spore, Eoessa Sakndenberg, Rowena Ravenclaw and Pomona Sprout (obviously) and Dolores Umbridge (sort of). This may not seem like many given Hogwarts; thousand year history, but not that many heads of school are named. Also don't forget that Olympe Maxime made Headmistress of Beauxbatons.
The Order of the Phoenix, too, was a recruiter of women, including Lily Potter, Alice Longbottom, Minerva McGonagall, Nymphadora Tonks, Molly Weasley, Arabella Figg, Emmeline Vance, Dorcas Meadowes, Hestia Jones, Marlene McKinnon, Fleur Delacour and Hermione Granger (near enough).
Dumbledore's Army had many female students, including Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, Cho Chang, Parvati Patil, Padma Patil, Lavender Brown, Susan Bones, Hannah Abbott, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, Katie Bell and Marietta Edgecombe (with others such as Leanne joining in the final year).
At Hogwarts, girls are treated equally, with one boy prefect and pone girl prefect being chosen for each house, and a Head Boy and Head Girl in seventh year. In Quidditch only Slytherin seems to keep the girls out (though one of the films had one in goal, I think). Gryffindor and Ravenclaw were even captained by females, Angelina Johnson and Cho Chang respectively.
There's even an all-female Quidditch Team called The Holyhead Harpies.
When it comes to villains, the females aren't exactly lacking either. Alright, there's not so many of them named, but the ones that are make their mark on the series: Pansy Parkinson (sort-of), Alecto Carrow, Bellatrix Lestrange and Dolores Umbridge. Need I say more?
All in all, I'd say women do very well in the Wizarding World. They are certainly well represented within the Wizarding Society, and they were certainly attaining equal footing long before their Muggle counterparts were.
I love the pokemon franchise, there are just two things that I hate:
That Ash has never won a league (what the hell was that at the end of the Sinnoh League? Epic performances from Heracross, Sceptile and Pikachu, admittedly, but Swellow, Torkoal and Gible were there just to take the hit)
And that after all this time, and despite all these advancements in game technology, we still cannot teach our Pokemon more than four moves. What the hell?
So, in my pokemon stories, you will find the pokemon using at least six moves. Seems only fair to me. Also, Junichi Masuda, a game director and composer for Grame Freak stated that while developing Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire versions, Game Freak considered changing the number of Pokémon the player can have and the number of moves a Pokémon can learn; however, the idea was later scrapped.
The Anime Rewrite
So this is my big Pokemon-based project. Basically its a rewrite of the anime with the aim to have Ash actually learn from his mistakes and develop and grow over time, as well as interact with rivals old and new a lot more and actually earn his Gym Badges in battle rather than through other means like he did throughout most of Kanto. I'm also including an actual story arc for Misty so that she can be seen to make some proper progress as she attempts to because a great Water Type specialist.
Below I am including a mini biography for any main or reoccurring character and their pokemon in order to allow readers to keep up with them all.
Badges Obtained: 2 - Boulder Badge, Cascade Badge
Pokemon On Hand:
Pikachu: Type: Electric. Gender: Male. Attacks: Thunderbolt, Quick Attack, Slam, Swift, Double Team.
Nidoran > Nidorino: Type: Poison. Gender: Male. Attacks: Horn Attack, Double Kick, Pin Missile, Focus Energy, Bide.
Mankey: Type: Fighting. Gender: Male. Attacks: Low Kick, Karate Chop, Fury Swipes, Seismic Toss, Leer.
Caterpie > Metapod > Butterfree: Type: Bug/Flying. Gender: Male. Attacks: Confusion, Stun Spore, String Shot, Sleep Powder, Whirlwind, Tackle.
Pidgeotto: Type: Normal/Flying. Gender: Female. Attacks: Gust, Quick Attack, Sand Attack, Double-Edge, Whirlwind.
Krabby: Type: Water. Gender: Male. Attacks: Bubble, Vicegrip, Harden, Stomp.
Pokemon at Oak's Lab:
Pokemon On Hand:
Staryu: Type: Water. Gender: ?. Attacks: Water Gun, Tackle, Swift, Harden.
Poliwag: Type: Water. Gender: Male. Attacks: Water Gun, Bubble, Double Slap.
Goldeen: Type: Water. Gender: Female. Attacks: Horn Attack, Supersonic, Water Gun.
Pokemon at Cerulean Gym:
Magikarp > Gyarados: Type: Water/Flying. Gender: Male. Attacks: Tackle, Dragon Rage, Bite.
Pokemon on Hand:
Onix: Type: Rock/Ground. Gender: Male. Attacks: Slam, Bind, Dig, Rock Slide.
Graveler: Type: Rock/Ground. Gender: Male. Attacks: Rock Throw, Mega Punch, Body Slam, Defence Curl.
Kabuto: Type: Rock/Water. Gender: Male. Attacks: Scratch, Absorb, Harden, Water Gun.
Omanyte: Type: Rock/Water. Gender: Female. Attacks: Water Gun, Withdraw, Take Down.
Zubat: Type: Poison/Flying. Gender: Male. Attacks: Supersonic, Whirlwind, Leech Life, Bite, Wing Attack.
Badges Obtained: 2 - Boulder Badge, Cascade Badge
Pokemon On Hand:
Bulbasaur: Type: Grass/Poison. Gender: Female. Attacks: Tackle, Vine Whip, Leech Seed, Poison Powder
Nidoran > Nidorina: Type: Poison. Gender: Female. Attacks: Scratch, Double Kick, Poison Sting, Take Down
Butterfree: Type: Bug/Flying. Gender: Female. Attacks: Tackle, String Shot, Sleep Powder
Clefairy: Type: Normal. Gender: Female. Attacks: Metronome
Badges Obtained: 2 - Boulder Badge, Cascade Badge
Pokemon On Hand:
Squirtle > Wartortle: Type: Water. Gender: Male. Attacks: Water Gun, Bite, Withdraw, Mega Punch
Spearow > Fearow: Type: Normal/Flying. Gender: Male. Attacks: Drill Peck, Double Team, Fury Attack, Agility
Rattata > Raticate: Type: Normal. Gender: Male. Attacks: Quick Attack, Hyper Fang, Dig
Abra > Kadabara: Type: Psychic. Gender: Male. Attacks: Confusion, Psybeam, Thunder Wave, Reflect
Badges Obtained: 2 - Boulder Badge, Cascade Badge
Pokemon On Hand:
Charmander: Type: Fire. Gender: Male. Attacks: Ember, Scratch, Rage
Pikachu: Type: Electric. Gender: Male. Attacks: Thunder Shock, Thunder Wave
Beedrill: Type: Bug/Poison. Gender: Male. Attacks: Poison Sting, Fury Attack, Focus Energy
Poliwag: Type: Water. Gender: Male. Attacks: Water Gun, Body Slam
My Stories
Harry Potter
Wrackspurt Intervention - This was my first published fanfiction story and I have to say I'm rather proud of it. Basically Harry wants to stop Hermione from marrying Ron and puts his hopes in Luna to pull it off. Complete
Hogwarts Ruins - This story is still a work in progress, but basically Hogwarts Castle was abandoned after the Battle of Hogwarts, during which Harry was bitten by a Werewolf. Years later, Neville, Luna and others go back to survey they area. Will follow some of the plot of The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Abandoned
Harry Potter: The Forgotten Brother - My first big story, still a work in progress. I know the whole Wrong BWL thing has been done many times before, but hopefully this one is different enough to stand out a little. Complete.
Reinforcements - Just a little one-shot into what went through the minds of those who came to Hogwarts aid during the final part of the Battle of Hogwarts. Complete
Hijacking the Kangaroo Court - Basically Harry stands up for himself during his trial before fifth year. Complete
The Father of the Bride's Speech - Just a look at Hermione's Father's views on Ronald Weasley. Adapted from a Rowan Atkinson sketch. Complete
Girl Talk. - Believe it or not, I like the character of Lavender, so here she is, steering Hermione away from "Won-Won" and into the arms of another. Definitely one for H/Hr fans and not Ron lovers. Complete.
Harry's Had Enough - During OotP, the world's attitude towards Harry finally gets to be too much for him. Complete, sequel up.
How Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Should have Ended. - I'm a H/Hr fan, and eventually most H/Hr fans will write something like this. Enjoy. Complete
Harry Potter and the Twelve Days of Christmas - A festive tale for the holiday season. Harry has to prove to Hermione's dad that he he loves her. Complete
Head Boy and Girl - A short one-shot looking at Harry and Hermione as Hogwarts' Head Boy and Girl Complete.
Damn Wizards - Harry is the Muggle PM, and has an axe to grind with the Wizarding World. Someone needs to force the Wizards to stand up and take responsibility, not just obliviate all the Muggles who saw. Sequel to Harry's Had Enough. Complete.
You Owe Me - Harry gets mad at Fudge at the end of Goblet of Fire. See how things work out. Complete.
Why Time Magic Should Be Left Alone - In a war torn future, Harry, Hermione and Luna make plans to send themselves back in time to put things right. But what happens when they overshoot their mark? And I mean REALLY overshoot it. In Progress.
Harry Potter and the Court of Magical Brethren - Harry is in new lands, meeting new peoples and experiencing new magic. He is about to embark upon an adventure the likes of which no human ever sees. On Hiatus
A Darkened World - Hermione left with Ron on that fateful night in the tent. Twenty or so years later, their daughter Rose has joined a ICW task force who carry out raids within the Voldemort-controlled Europe. But when a mission in England goes very wrong, Rose finds herself separated from the rest of her group and alone. She discovers just what happened to Harry Potter. He is alive but has lost the will to fight. Can she re-ignite that spark, or is the supposed Chosen One doomed to continue drowning in the world of despair that his Horcrux-addled mind has created for him? Complete.
Auror Potter and the Creepy Case of Jack O'Lantern - A Halloween story in which wizards are paying the price for messing with nature. It is up to Harry Potter, the divorced head of the Aurors to solve this mystery before the creatures infect the whole world with their dangerous spores. In Progres.
Logic - At the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, Harry has a question about the Fidelius Charm to ask Dumbledore. Unfortunately he is looking at the situation logically and, as Hermione explained in their first year, logic is a lacking trait for many a wizard and witch. Complete.
Bad Christmas Jokes - Six year old Lily Luna Potter doesn't quite understand the lyrics of two very well known Christmas songs. Groan-worthy humour ensues! Complete.
Harry Potter: Junior Inquisitor - My next large story. After the events of fourth year and the fallout from the Ministry, Dumbledore decides to change his story, but he fails to tell Harry about them. At his trail, Harry realises that he has been stitched up and decides that two can play at that game. With the Minister convinced that he has a new poster boy for his Ministry, and with a new set of adults to help him, Albus Dumbledore had better watch out, because Harry Potter is playing a very Slytherin game, one that will set not only Hogwarts but the entire wizarding world on its head! In Progress.
A Potter From Another World - The grand finale to his fifth year breaks Harry's will and he is no longer in any condition to fight. Now knowing the full contents of the Prophecy, the Ministry and the Order conspire to get themselves a "new" Harry by stealing one from another dimension. This "new" Harry is cruel, calculating, mistrustful, pissed at being summoned and wants to know how to bring his army to him. Rather than look after the Harry they had, they chose to seek out a new one. But can they live with the consequences of this choice? In Progress.
Ash v Tobias: Redone - Title just about says it all, because, let's face it, that was the most unfair battle Ash has ever been in. In my version, Ash's pokemon are awesome (as they should be) First in what I hope will become a series. Complete
Sinnoh League Final Battle - Again, the title pretty much says it all. After claiming victory in the previous round, Harry faces his final opponent in the Sinnoh League Tournament. Features a vastly improved Torterra (whom the writers of the series seemed to hate), a bit of redemption from Donphan, and new fighting skills from three of Ash's least used pokemon ever. Sequel to Ash v Tobias: Redone. Complete.
Pokemon Johto Adventure - Based off of the games, follow Gold and Crystal through the Johto region, where they encounter the many wild pokemon there, do battle with the thief Silver, wage war against the evil organisation Team Rocket, battle for Gym Badges and try and earn the respect of two mysterious and powerful trainers known as Red and Leaf. On Hiatus.
Tricks of the Trade, Rewritten - A fun little story which looks at the Johto series episode Tricks of the Trade and explores the question of what if Ash traded twenty nine of his Tauros away? Complete.
Pokemon Rewrite - Indigo League - A rewrite of the entire anime, starting from the point where it began. Ash actually learns his lessons, Gary is seen more often, the trainers who chose Bulbasaur and Charmander turn up from time to time, new pokemon are captured and others evolve. And most importantly - Ash has to actually win his gym badges if he wants them. In Progress
- To be written some time in the future.
Harry Potter
The Battle for Little Whinging - After the D.A. is discovered, Fudge and Umbridge successfully get Harry thrown out of Hogwarts. Back in Little Whinging, Harry and the surviving muggles have to hold off the dark armies that Voldemort sends there.
The Herbology Assignment - Professor Sprout gives her sixth year students a simple project to do: go into the Forest, find a seed and grow it. Simple enough, right? Then why does Harry's plant look like a human embryo?
Wilderness - When they are six years old, deadly situations cause both Harry and Hermione to apparate to the same place: a forest on the mountainside, where they grow up.
Dark Jealousy - What happens when the taunting of Riddle's Locket proves too much for Ron? This will be a dark story.
Darkened Heart - Harry finds that Hermione died after the battle of the department of mysteries. He ends up shutting himself off from everyone, until Hermione's parents and sister extend a hand of comapassion. Together they struggle to heal, as Dumbledore's manipulations begin to unravel.
Old Harry - After a different Battle of Hogwarts, Harry leaves. Years later a young reporter thinks she has found him, but will he talk to her?
Notes from the Future - In a war-torn future, Harry sends a book through time to his younger self. When that younger self gets the book, he uses the notes inside to change the world for the better.
Magical Menagerie - Luna is concerned for magical creatures of the world whose populations are slowly declining. She turns to Harry for an answer.
The Gardener and the Librarian - A look at Harry and Hermione who did not go to Hogwarts.
Harry and Hermione vs Sexual Inadequacy - Not really sure where I'll go with this, but basically Harry and Hermione discover a potion to improve peoples sex lives and begin to sell it to muggles. I have no idea if this one will ever see the light of day.
The Biggest Betrayal - Harry suffers one of the worst betrayals in the world, and is now out for revenge.
Harry the Puppet - When Scrimgeour finds out about the prophecy, he has the Unspeakables take Harry and turn him into a weapon. When this is discovered, the ministry must fight off both Dumbledore and Voldemort as all attempt to control Harry the Puppet. Through it all, Hermione struggles to find a way to bring Harry back.
When Harry Hijacks the World - After the war, Harry takes control of the Wizengamot and the Ministry before declaring war on the Death Eaters, with capital punishment on the menu.
Harry Potter and the Dark Force Defence League - In a war-torn future where Harry has lost everything, he joins with the remains of the Dark Force Defence League who send him back in time. His mission? To become his own teacher and change the world for the better.
The Boy-Who-Draws - A story in which Harry is not the BWL, but with a twist: he really isn't the BWL. Quiet and unknown, Harry spends his free time drawing pictures in a special book. When his name comes out of the Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore instructs Hermione to befriend him. The consequences are ones that no one thought possible.
Harry Potter and the Muggleborn Liberation Front - Order of the Pheoenix clearly shows us that Lily had friends at school. What happened to them? Well in this story they find a young Harry and take him away from the Dursleys. What happens when an intelligent and skillful Harry Potter turns up at Hogwarts?
All on his Own - What happens when all of Harry's friends abandon him during fourth year? What happens when there are no sudden friendships with Daphne/Susan/Luna/Ginny/random Mary-Sue to help guide him? How does Harry Potter cope as he navigates the trecherous path that is his fourth year at Hogwarts all on his lonesome?
Terrible Times at Grunnings - At the beginning of the second book, the combined actions of Dobby and the Ministry merge together to cost Vernon Dursley a large business deal with a the very wealthy owner of a world renowned building firm. Who cares, it's just the Dursleys, right? Wrong! Grunnings Drills is actually a large company which employes many people, from factory workers and delivery men, to sales representatives, to administrative staff, cafeteria workers and cleaning staff. And Vernon Dursley, the Director of Sales, has just gone and lost them a massive contract. As a result, Grunnings is sinking fast, with shares in the company crashing in value and the company's existing clients starting to look elsewhere. Uncertainty is now in the air. With the company rapidly losing money and failing to secure new contracts, job safety is no longer guaranteed. He may have expressed it in the wrong way, but is it any wonder that Vernon's pissed of with the Potter freak?
Potter's Army - Ron and Hermione did not believe Harry when he told them his suspicions about Draco Malfoy in sixth year. But just because they didn't, does that automatically mean that no one else would have? He reconvenes the DA, minus a few members, and they agree with him - Draco Malfoy is up to no good, and after teh events of fifth year, no one is prepared to place their faith in the teachers again. The Room of Requirements quickly becomes a base of operations, with the students spending every free moment they can training, researching and inventing. Their ranks grow, and so do their resources. Harry comes to realise what a farce Dumbledore's "Special Lessons" are and stops going. If Dumbledore won't protect the students, then they'll do it themselves!
Unnamed Deathly Hallows Alteration - An alternate story to the second half Deathly Hallows. Picks up in the Godric's Hollow Graveyard. Nagini in disguise as Bathilda Bagshot wasn't the only one watching the graveyard that night. Its the Christmas holidays after all, and the Potters, Dumbledores and Bagshot herself cannot have been the only people living in Godric's Hollow. There were graves marked with the name "Abbott" after all. As Harry begins to fall for the trap, help arrives in the form of a group of D.A. members, as well as a few unexpected faces. With new allies on their side, and more voices of reason to help Hermione get Harry to focus in the task at hand, they renew their search with vigor. Voldemort really does not understand just how many enemies he has made.
A Trip to Pal Park - Title says it all really. Ash, Brock and Dawn arrive at Pal Park in Sinnoh, meeting May and Misty there. They then embark on a pokemon catching spree.
Orre Mission - Ash heads off to the Orre region to investigate the Shadow Pokemon.
Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park 4 - It has been years since anyone has visited Isla Sorna or any of the surrounding islands. But when a group of young adults, looking for one last adventure before their final year at university decide to exlpore the islands, suddenly writing all those essays seem rather pointless. Expect Tyrannosaurs, Spinosaurs, Raptors and a bunch of new faces as they struggle to stay alive long enough to find a way off the islands.
Jurassic Park Europe - There is an island in the Azores where no one goes out of fear of the things that are said to lurk there. Given that this island was once purchased by the now defunct InGen as the loctation of the planned Jurassic Park Europe, some question if this is a coincidence. When an odd looking crocodile is washed up on a beach after a storm, a team of scientists is put together to go in and investigate the island and sort out what is going on once and for all!
Jurassic Park - New Dawn - When InGen went bust, they had to sell off the island in the Azores that they purchased for Jurassic Park Europe as well as the island near Guam that was the intended home of Jurassic Park Japan. With both the U.N. and the Costa Rican government looking patience with footing the bill of preserving Isla Sorna and its Dinosaurs, a European Company might just have the answer, especially when a Japanese business proposes a joint venture! Can these two companies succeed where InGen so spectacularly failed? Can the technologies of the 2010's avoid the same pitfalls that so easily brought that of the late 1980's to its knees? And what, after all this time, remains of the Dinosaurs of Isla Sorna? Are they all still surviving?


text:
Sedu Revolution Clipless Curling Iron 25mm Curluscious Set
The Sedu Revolution Clipless Curling Iron 25mm Curluscious set will leave your hair with incredible voluminous curls. . The Sedu Revolution Clipless Curling creates long lasting curls and waves that are frizz-free, shiny and long lasting. This professional curling iron is made with Sedu patented polishing process to create smooth curls and the clipless barrel results in curls with no creases! The set includes three Sedu sectioning clips to make it easier and quicker to style hair.
Guaranteed AuthenticGuaranteed Authentic
Folica is an authorized distributer of this product and guarantees its authenticity.Close
- Exclusive Ultra Polished barrel for the smoothest, long lasting curls
- Adjustable, digital temperature control to 350F for all hair textures
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- Heat resistant grip, protective kickstand and auto shut-off provides superior protection and comfort in styling
- Heat resistant glove
- 2 year warranty
- 25mm (1 inch), 38mm ( 1.5 inch) 19mm (3/4 inch)
- 9 foot swivel cord
- 3 sectioning clips are included to help section hair for easier styling
- Heat mat is also included to protect surfaces from appliance heat. Allow iron to cool completely prior to storing in pouch.
|Cord Length:
|9 Foot
|Max Temperature:
|350 Degrees Fahrenheit
|2 Year(s)
|Number of Barrels:
|Cord Type:
|Swivel Cord
|Included Bonus:
|Technology :
|Auto-Shut Off, Variable Heat Control, Digital
|Plug Type:
|Available Barrel Sizes:
|1 Inch
Folica's Warranty
Folica stands behind every product we sell and we honor all manufacturers' warranties. For all electrical appliances we offer complete protection. If you experience any problem with an item purchased from us and it's still under the warranty period, all you have to do is fill out our Warranty Replacement form, send us the items plus a small shipping and handling fee and we will take care of the rest. We'll repair or replace your item with a new product or a Folica Certified Refurbished product. It's that simple.
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The BaBylissPRO MiraCurl Nano Titanium Curl Machine is a the world's biggest innovation in hair curling since the invention of a curling iron. The BaBylissPRO MiraCurl Curling Iron is a professional automatic curl machine where you simply put the hair you would like to curl in the machine and within seconds you will achieve the perfect long lasting curl. Inside this Babyliss Pro Perfect Curl Machine is the new MaxLife Pro brushless motor, which provides precision control for all curl types. Control the time, curl direction, and temperature which allows you to achieve the curl type that you want with perfect results every time.New Price:
Best Curling Wand I Have Used!This curling wand it great for big loose curls. My sister has the Bombay hair curling wand but I have found that the Sedu curls hold longer and are less prone to frizz. I have great bodied curls the day of which loosen to a nice wave by the next day. It's heats up really quickly too! I wouldn't recommend the 1.5 inch barrel to people with hair any shorter than shoulder length.Jan 10, 2016Sedu Revolution Clipless Curling IronHAIR TYPEDark Brown / Normal Hair / Curly Hair / Color Treated Hair / Thick or Coarse Hair
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Great Shine & Lasting WavesSo, first off, a nod to Folica customer service: When this curling wand arrived, I found out (the hard way- OUCH) that the heat resistant glove had a hole in the index finger. I called Folica and they sent out a new one immediately!
To the iron itself: I have owned a number of traditional curling irons, most recently two Gold N Hot (a 1.5" and a 2") in the search for beautiful waves. I could never master the wavy look with these and thus retired them to the unused hair tools bin. I also have a BaByliss Nano Titanium conical iron that left me with a smaller curl at the ends of my hair than at the root - weird, right? No matter what technique I tried, neither the clip curling irons or the conical iron gave me the results I wanted.
Then I took a chance on the Sedu Revolution Clipless iron. I got the 38mm (1.5") because I am not looking for curls, just big waves and some volume.
I tried it the day it came in with no heat, curl or hair spray just to see how long they would last. The very first thing I noticed is that the waves were SHINY (something that never happened with other irons, even flat irons). The second is that the waves lasted two days despite sleeping on them. Granted, the fell out a bit, but my hair had a nice bend to it and retained volume.
Since then I've tried the hot heat setting (my hair is coarse but relaxed, so I shy away from the highest heat setting on styling tools) as well and I had waves in a shorter amount of time but they were still quite shiny. I've also tried it with various texture sprays (applied to the roots AFTER the waves are set) and hair sprays.
I won't be using this every day to save my hair from too much heat, but I'm VERY tempted to!
The following section is YMMV, so take what I say as you will:
A quick not about curls vs waves: There are different methods to wrapping your hair around irons in general (either twisted or flat or a combination of both) that will yield you different result. Both the size of the barrel and the size of the section of hair you use will also yield different results. Also, the way you hold the iron (horizontal vs vertical) will give you different looks. What's popular now, "beachy" hair is NOT a curly look, it's a wavy look. Curls have more of a ringlet look (where the hair will curl around to meet itself) whereas wavy hair will fall and not meet itself.
This iron can give you waves in varying sizes, but it's unlikely to give you curls. The reason is that the ends of the hair are left out (you'll be holding the end in your hands - with the glove on, of course, unless you like to live dangerously) instead of having the ends wrapped up against the barrel as with a traditional curling iron. You CAN hold the ends up against the barrel for waves all the way to the ends of your hair, but this iron gets HOT so I recommend you do this in the last few seconds of each section you are waving.
That said, experiment with the times each section of hair is waved and the amount of hair in each section.
More tips: Let the wave completely cool before you do anything with it! And to maintain length, I start wrapping the hair about 1/2 way down the hair instead of closer to the root in the under layers of my hair. (The top layers are wrapped about 1/3 of they way down or even closer to the root to give volume). I also brush out the underneath layers of the hair (again, AFTER the waves have cooled) and finger-comb the top layers. I apply a texurizing spray to the roots after I've done all the waves by taking a rat tail comb to gently lift the top sections of my hair and apply the spray if I'm going for a big, glam look. Other than that, I use a flexible hair spray (I hate crunchy hair) lightly all over then gently scrunch it in (again - AFTER the waves have cooled)
**You Tube has some great tutorials for this iron**
Enjoy your iron!Aug 28, 2015Sedu Revolution Clipless Curling IronHAIR TYPEBlack / Dry Hair / Relaxed Hair / Chemically Treated Hair
Use this link to send this review via e-mail, Twitter, or to post to your blog.Close
Love It!Curled my hair and lightly sprayed it on the afternoon of July 4th. Was outside all afternoon, evening. Slept on it and got up the next morning and tossed my head upside down and tossed my hair a little, and the curls were still there! I did nothing to it and walked out the door. I love this wand!!Jul 24, 2015Sedu Revolution Clipless Curling IronHAIR TYPEThick or Coarse Hair
Use this link to send this review via e-mail, Twitter, or to post to your blog.Close
So Far Loving It!I have only used the Sedu Clipless Curling Iron a few times but I am definitely happy with it. I was hesitant because of the price, but I had purchased a cheap $30 one and had horrible results. So I decided to give the Sedu a try. I have naturally curly hair but I straighten it a lot and then use a curling iron to achieve those beach curls (as my natural curls are half wavy half ringlet and sometimes frizzy). I found that I could use this iron with my straight hair AND even my curly hair. It held the curls so well even after a day or two. And it def gave me the beachy waves I've been wanting. I definitely use a smoothing cream or serum, just because my hair naturally has fly-aways and can frizz. The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is I have only used it twice, so I am not sure how long it will last and I have not played around much with it, but I LOVE IT and do not regret spending a little more for a great product!Jul 13, 2015Sedu Revolution Clipless Curling Iron
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Location Of Temp ControlsI LOVE my Sedu flat iron...so naturally I wanted to try the clipless curling iron. The biggest disappointment for me on the curling iron is the location of the temperature controls. The placement of them makes it such that your fingers hit them and change the temperature of the iron. It was so frustrating to me that I sadly returned this product.Jan 6, 2015Sedu Revolution Clipless Curling Iron
Use this link to send this review via e-mail, Twitter, or to post to your blog.Close
Love Iron, Hate Cord, Love FolicaMy 2 daughters and I all have this iron (actually 3 of them). We have had to return all 3 at different times because the cord shorts out. Luckily it has been within the 2 year warranty that Folica offers and they replaced them very quickly after we paid the $9.95 for a warranty return. On my last return transaction the very helpful customer service person told me that the problem is caused because we wrap the cord around the handle when the iron is not in use (after it is cool of course) and that the cords are very sensitive about this. I think this is a design flaw. If you do not want to leave your tools out on your counter all day you have to do something with the cord to store them. So I figure we get about 2 years of use out of each $119 curling wand....does not see like a very cost effective tool. Sedu should redesign the spinning cord so that it can be stored without causing problems. That being said, before it shorts out it is excellent and Folica is great for their in warranty returns.Nov 26, 2014Sedu Revolution Clipless Curling IronHAIR TYPEColor Treated Hair / Thick or Coarse Hair
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Pretty Great!I really like this curling wand but I do have a few problems with it.
Ladies, for those of you who are on a tight budget...I'm SURE you could find a significantly cheaper curling wand that will give you the same exact results as this one.
That being said, I purchased this as a gift for my sister and tried it out and it was pretty nice. It gives you nice beachy waves, if thats what you're looking for.
Secondly, I don't know if it's just my hair but after a few hours my hair became VERY VERY frizzy, and it usually doesn't do this so that was surprising!
But overall, I did get many compliments so if you have the budget and you want a brand name curling wand, this is the one for you!
Enjoy :DOct 24, 2014Sedu Revolution Clipless Curling IronHAIR TYPEBlack / Curly Hair / Thick or Coarse Hair
Use this link to send this review via e-mail, Twitter, or to post to your blog.Close
38mm - Curls Beautifully, But Doesn't LastI'm really sad to report that for my hair, this curling wand just doesn't do it. I was really looking forward to having bigger curls/beach waves, which is exactly what it does... for about 2 hours. I've tried this for two days now and had the same result, even when I spray the section of hair prior to curling AND use small sections (< 0.5") of hair. The pictures I've shared are taken about 3 hours after curling using hair spray before curling and then again after. This is my standard procedure when using a curling wand and worked great with my old (cheap/Conair) curling wand and when my stylist did my hair using another 38mm wand. So, I'm not sure why, but either this brand or this brand + size just don't work on my hair while others work great (curls form easily and last all day - even through the night). I'm going to exchange the 38mm for a 25mm to see if it works better, but I don't have much faith right now. And I really wanted it to work!
The photos show that the curl is still there, but it's at about 20% of what it was this morning. They just don't hold. BTW - there is no before and after... they're both just "after" photos! And my hair is slightly wavy, so I even think some of what is still there is natural.Sep 3, 2014Sedu Revolution Clipless Curling IronHAIR TYPEMedium Brown / Normal Hair / Fine or Thin Hair
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Really Wanted To Like... :(I had to send this back after trying it 2 times. I was really really excited about it but it did not work for me AT ALL. My hair didn't curl well and it took so much longer than it does normally with a clip curling iron....like 3 times as long and it looked terrible. I actually brushed it out after because I was embarrassed. Disappointed and not for me.Aug 6, 2014Sedu Revolution Clipless Curling IronHAIR TYPEDark Brown / Fine or Thin Hair
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Love This Iron!I've been using my new SEDU 19mm clipless iron for about 2 weeks now. I love it! It heats up quick and cools down just as quick. It's easy to use and creates the perfect spiral curl to help my natural hair blend in with my human hair weave when I wear it curly. I also have the 25mm no problems with that one either. The iron is made well and as long as you can learn how not to burn yourself, you will be in good shape!Jul 29, 2014Sedu Revolution Clipless Curling IronHAIR TYPECurly Hair / Thick or Coarse Hair
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subset: commoncrawl


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12 yr Old DD asking questions about losing virginity!(5 Posts)
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Opened in winter 2015, the stylish, five-star Sonesta Ocean Point Resort embraces a chic Caribbean style within a luxury, adults-only, limitless all-inclusive vacation experience.
Set in the most spectacular location, the "resort within a resort" sits on the westernmost point of the island, adjacent to the legendary Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino. The all-suite Sonesta Ocean Point features three pools including the Edge pool with private beach on the cliff, The Point pool and a Swim Out pool; three bars including Sunset Lounge + Bar, Martin's Bar and Azul Rooftop Bar (private functions only); and the Mediterranean-themed Azul restaurant including 24-hour room service, resort boutique, intimate gazebos, private cabanas, and a dedicated open air wellness area.
All amenities are complemented by the stellar service and hospitality of our private concierge and Butler service in designated suites providing comfort and next level luxury.
Apart from the exclusive amenities at Sonesta Ocean Point, guest have access to all services and facilities at Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino with five additional restaurants and five bars, Serenity Spa, sauna, fitness center, tour desk, four tennis courts, Casino Royale, Tantra nightclub and more than 24,000 square feet of renovated, eco-friendly meeting and conference facilities.
Ocean Point guests are immediately identified and greeted with warm Caribbean hospitality when they arrive at the main lobby (1). With personal attention, they are escorted to Ocean Point on a golf cart along a pathway of lush gardens and a lily pond. Guests enter through the porte-cochère (2) into Ocean Point and Martin's Bar, the contemporary lobby cafe and bar (3) where they swiftly check-in to one of the 129 spacious luxury suites (4).
Upon settling into their suite, guests head to Azul, the strikingly designed open-air restaurant (5) offering a full à la carte menu of modern Mediterranean cuisine and views expanding out around the dramatic azure-blue Edge swimming pool (6) perched on a terrace with a sandy cliffside beach below.
Although outside pathways lead to the Point, an adult-only swimming pool (7) with stone deck, it will only be offered to Ocean Point guests as they will have electronic keycard access.
Swim Out Suites have access to the Swim Out Pool (8) which meanders along the frontage of the resort. The Sunset Lounge & Bar (9) offers sweeping 360-degree views of the ocean, property, and sunset while socializing with specialty cocktails in hand. With outside access points for both Ocean Point and Sky Tower guests; Ocean Terrace market-style buffet restaurant (10) is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and the à la carte Point restaurant is also on offer for a chic gourmet experience. For meetings and events, Ocean Point guests will have access to convention center (12).
RESORT CONDUCT POLICY. To help ensure that all guests are able to enjoy a safe and healthy vacation, they are required to follow our resort conduct policy through their stay. We strongly encourage all guests to read this policy before the start of their trip. CLICK HERE TO READ (PDF)


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Personal Products
Company Overview of Ilex Consumer Products Group, Inc.
Company Overview
Ilex Consumer Products Group, Inc. manufactures health and beauty products, and over-the-counter drugs. It offers body washes, mists, gels, creams, and moisturizers; as well as antacids and cough and cold products. The company owns and licenses brands in the health, beauty, and over-the-counter (OTC) pharmaceutical sectors. The brands marketed by the company in the health and beauty segment consist of Calgon and the Healing Garden. In the OTC segment, it markets products under the St. Joseph's and di-Gel brands. The company was founded in 2008 and is based in Baltimore, Maryland. Ilex Consumer Products Group, Inc. is a former subsidiary of Ascendia Brands, Inc.
323 West Camden Street
Suite 700
Baltimore, MD 21201
United States
Founded in 2008
Key Executives for Ilex Consumer Products Group, Inc.
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We are just back from our ski holiday in Ortisei. The hotel is very good - clean, large and nicely decorated room, nice breakfast buffet with a lot of choice, good dinner, very very friendly stuff! The location is not in the center of the city, but this was not a problem for us as the taxi service hotel offers... More
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The Filbur FC-1226 is the replacement filter for the Unicel C-7488 R. Guaranteed to fit or your money back!
The Unicel C-7488 - Compatible Pool and Spa Water Filter is a pool filter replacement that measures 25.5 inches in length and 7 inches in width. This compatible Unicel pool filter features 106 sq. ft. of media filtration fabric and ensures high quality water for swimming pools and spas.


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Hangin' On - ink by Giselle-MWatch
©2009-2016 Giselle-M
graphite and ink
I referenced from the original made by Mia Tavonatti and Mike Butkus.
I do take commissions, note me or email me direct if interested email@example.com
I referenced from the original made by Mia Tavonatti and Mike Butkus.
I do take commissions, note me or email me direct if interested firstname.lastname@example.com
so cute love this!
I'm attracted to your technique. You've mastered many media.
wowwwwwww super
Why he is so sad?
Maybe because he is stuck in a tree
very good
Oooo, kitty!
Awesome work on the hair
Awesome work on the hair
awww! poor kitty!! so adorable though!!!
really good drawing!
This is absolutely darling. I love the way you drew the hair, managing to get the tabby stripes. The face is adorable! The most amazing feature I think is the whiskers. That you were able to draw them so fine, and so white is amazing to me. You have such great talent!
amazing, I love this!
awnnnn so perfect!!
beautiful. did you do that in pen? it looks wonderful, you didn't even have to put it on get watchers to get this comment!
Thank you for your kind comment. I drew it with pencil first then inked it in with a black felt pen.
Featured this beautiful drawn image in my Journal
Thank you so much, you will be added to my list of people who have featured my work in my journal I am glad you like it
That really cute!
I do like his work and thank you for the kind comment I wish I could take credit for this style but unfortunately I just drew this from a reference.
aww soooo cute!
This is adorable
aww, that's so cute! ^^
like your arts keep doing it
cute cat
Aww! It is so cute!


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Added by Chris Laumer-Giddens on February 14, 2013 at 7:30am — 8 Comments
A group of industry visionaries has set out to make the home-buying process as simple as buying a latte! It's an inspired vision of simplicity and data-sharing all built around the consumer. Latte Vision Video
According to their website, Inman News is the leading source of independent real estate news, information, advice,…Continue
Added by Laura Reedy Stukel on February 2, 2013 at 8:00am — No Comments
Denver, Nov. 1, 2012: GreenSpot Real Estate recently launched its "GreenSpot" eco-makeover program for existing-home listings, including a "window sticker" showing the property's…Continue
Added by Melissa Baldridge on October 31, 2012 at 6:28pm — 7 Comments
"Ma'am, we've just tested your house and found your infiltration rate to be 16.7 ACH50, your R-values to be only 26% of the IECC…Continue
Added by Allison A. Bailes III on October 18, 2012 at 8:01am — 4 Comments
It was my first weatherization conference since becoming the editor of Home Energy. I remember sitting in the crowd listening to the opening speaker and being very inspired. We're soldiers, I thought. Some of us are on the front lines—the weatherization workers—and some of us, like the staff at Home Energy, offer support from the safety of our offices in Berkeley. We are fighting for our nation's energy security, and for the health of children and adults, and for the survival…Continue
Added by Jim Gunshinan on October 17, 2012 at 3:00pm — No Comments
Working with my customers and friends that are home performance contractors we always seem to be seeking answers to questions such as:
What will make my business survive in the short term?
What does it mean to run a successful home performance business?
What can I do if my local utility rebates, tax credits, and programs change?
For the most part it is true that individuals and…Continue
Added by Roch Naleway on September 22, 2012 at 8:00am — 14 Comments
Home maintenance helps systems operate at optimal efficiency and lower the chances of a problem. For most people their house is their most valuable investment. So why do we tend to forget home maintenance? It seems like even cars get more love despite the large price disparity compared to a house.
Playing a Game of Memory
There are so many events, tasks, and errands…Continue
Added by Tyler Golberg on September 17, 2012 at 5:30am — No Comments
There are excellent energy rebate programs going on all across the U.S. to make your home more energy efficient. No matter what state you live in, the majority of local electric utility distribution providers are offering financial incentives to homeowners to upgrade the energy efficiency of their home. What is available in your area is totally dependent upon which specific local distribution supplier that you have. Not everyone lives in an area where incentive programs are…Continue
Added by Dennis Cheslik on August 6, 2012 at 1:19pm — No Comments
Let's take a closer look at the Green Button and see if it is more than just an adult toy. According to Obama and other government supporters, the Green button is going viral. Ya, right, I don't believe it.
There has been several efforts in previous years to get power companies to "sign on" to programs that allow electric and gas customers to see how much energy they are using right there and then. The theory is that households that have energy usage data readily available will use…Continue
Added by Don Ames on August 2, 2012 at 8:06pm — 12 Comments
A lot of home builders and homeowners are getting certified home energy ratings to find out how efficient their homes are. There's also a lot of buzz about HERS ratings, with builders looking at them…Continue
Added by Allison A. Bailes III on July 25, 2012 at 1:25pm — 2 Comments
DETROIT (WWJ) - Just ahead of the official start of summer (June 20), Metro Detroit is expecting a couple of days with near record-high temperatures.
"By dinner time Tuesday, 6 p.m., we're still looking at 91 degrees in Metro Detroit with high humidity levels," he said.
We have record heat coming for the next couple days around Metro Detroit. Air conditioners will be on full blast and people will be roasting in their 2nd story bedrooms at night.…Continue
Added by Adam Duke on June 21, 2012 at 7:14am — No Comments
This year ACI held its largest ever national home performance conference in Baltimore, Md. It was the largest in the number of workshop sessions: over 195 sessions, in 25 thematic tracks; with the largest number of exhibitors (115) and sponsors (48).
The three themes stood out: a) keep it simple (from the homeowners perspective); b) there is no silver bullet; and c) HVAC is jumping into home performance, maybe not head first, but at least with both feet in a measured…Continue
Added by Tom White on April 18, 2012 at 5:00am — No Comments
9 Steps to a More Energy Efficient Home and Lower Power Bills
How to reduce energy at home has gradually become a household desire as a result of high definition T.V.'s and homes the size of a castle. Throw in a struggling economy and the melt down of a nuclear plant and becoming more energy efficient seems like a great idea.
Our power bills rise as a result of increasing power costs and the need for more and more power to operate are power hungry homes and…Continue
Added by Don Ames on April 11, 2012 at 7:32pm — 2 Comments
In years past, the idea of the "passive house" was only a dream. In concept form, the passive house was one that minimized energy losses and operated at maximum energy efficiency. The result would be a home with little to no monthly energy expenses and a fraction of the environmental impact of most homes. Amazingly, the passive house is no longer just a dream; in fact, it's become a reality. Several companies are able to build passive homes for everyday consumers, creating a huge shift in…Continue
Added by Jeff Wendland on April 9, 2012 at 6:45am — 3 Comments
by Don Ames, www.detectenergy.com
I have been enjoying the advertisement on the radio that goes something like this, "If your home was built in the 1950's, why would you expect it to perform better than a T.V. built in the 1950's?"
The point is well taken if you are interested in energy conservation. Homes built in the 1950's do not perform…Continue
Added by Don Ames on March 10, 2012 at 8:15pm — No Comments
Illinois Home Performance with ENERGY STAR (IHP) is currently sponsoring a building science training series. The most recent training took place in Normal, Illinois at Heartland Community College on Infrared technologies such as infrared cameras and images used to detect problem areas in buildings. Brian Kumer, owner of Thermal Imaging Services, was the instructor for this 8-hour course which consisted of both a classroom portion and a field portion.…Continue
Added by Andrew Navolio on February 24, 2012 at 8:36am — No Comments
by Don Ames, www.detectenergy.com
Right now, it's more of a joke than a reality. For some reason, even with an iPhone or Tablet in our hands, we fail to realize the fact that someday, in the near future, we will all be living in a Smart Home. Yes, for a while, it will probably be like coming to terms with our first…Continue
Added by Don Ames on February 18, 2012 at 4:45pm — No Comments
by Don Ames, www.detectenergy.com
I have been spreading the news about a home energy monitoring system called FIDO by EcoDog Energy Monitoring. This is part three of a three article series. You may be interested in backtracking a little and checking out part one, 13 strong points to …Continue
Added by Don Ames on February 10, 2012 at 11:28am — No Comments
I've made my living solely as a home energy pro since 2004, and I was building a high performance home for two years before that. For six of the past eight…Continue
Added by Allison A. Bailes III on January 28, 2012 at 6:16am — 2 Comments
There's one thing that keeps me from my favorite fast-food indulgence, the Junior Whopper with Cheese. It's called the Happy Meal. My kids insist on them. And our meals are indeed happier if I forgo my trip to Burger King so we can snag Happy Meals at McDonald's instead.
How does this relate to Home Performance?
A big focus among home performance professionals at the moment is driving demand. To do that…Continue
Added by Laura Reedy Stukel on October 30, 2011 at 3:00pm — No Comments
© 2016 Created by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Powered by


text:
BMWW~Worth Fighting For by mitgard-knightWatch
©2012-2016 mitgard-knight
Batman and Wonder Woman find each other after a great battle in Gotham City.
This was a commission thas was really good for make it. I give my best skill for make best my others jobs too =J.
This work was made in Photoshop CS5.
This was a commission thas was really good for make it. I give my best skill for make best my others jobs too =J.
This work was made in Photoshop CS5.
awesome! glad to see the new 52 WW with Batman!!
the kiss is s Epic
it is because we survived together the bast couple in Gothem City and DC and THE World
amazing! job
it is because we survived together the bast couple in Gothem City and DC and THE World
amazing! job
Epic! Bruce and Diana look even better when they're all bloody and battered.
Love it. Very nice scene.
Beautiful work!
nyc one
I have hope of that will happen.
Absolutely beautiful! Excellent work!
...I just love couple, I just do
See guys. Considering the fact that Bruce has had mutiple love interest, whether its in a series, comic or movie, it doesn't always have to be Catwomen you know.
Awesome work on your part man, really gotta give you props on your work, I love the background and texture to your artwork. This needs a fanfic, heck I might be inspired to do one myself, thanks again, you just made my day
All's well that ends well, after a long hard fought battle, they deserve a rest, nice work on your part, gotta give you props
i really love how this relationship is.... as others say they complete each other and there is no other man or woman deserving of them.... they are trying to get a justice league movie out in 2015 i think we should combine our loves and try to get them to put these two together so we can see it happen for real. just look on Google for justice league movie 2015 and try to post were you can so it will happen on the big screen.
Cool! BMWW Rocks! DC are idiots.
I am in love with this!!!
Wow...this is great!
Lol my teachers name is Miss Gotham. No wonder her room is decorated with batman posters! :sigh: We she would have told us.
ya me parecia q se la iba a robar a superman! jaja
buena iluminacion
buena iluminacion
XDD, También me pareció eso cuando vi la serie de la Liga de la justicia. Me gusta esta pareja también . Muchas gracias.
EPIC!!!!!!!!!check my art
ME gusta mucho tu galería también, sigue practicando, que solo con ello podrás lograr tus metas .
Best relationship idea ever!!!Again dude you did an awesome jod.
How beautiful!
I really looks like that desperate kiss that expresses that the have been through a bit of Hell and are happy that they other one is okay. Just beautiful


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West Side Camelback MT by Swanee3Watch
©2007-2016 Swanee3
Two shot photomerge.......
Playing Now:
Artist: Megadeth
Song: 1000 Times Goodbye
Album: The World Needs a Hero
Playing Now:
Artist: Megadeth
Song: 1000 Times Goodbye
Album: The World Needs a Hero
Works for a motivational.
Union is not noticed at all.
Union is not noticed at all.
This beautiful art work is featured in my new Journal
It must be inspiring to be there.
must be outside of Phoenix???
very beautiful photo
I live right near there
just great... I really want to see something like that live...
Beautiful framing, the cactus and the tones of colours are beautiful! nice job merging them too, can't tell
Gorgeous framing in this, I love the cactus in front!
Beautiful! Nice capture!
ahhh camelback...memories! Great Shot!!
lovely colors
Great lighting!
Thank-you, I always wonder 'd when it would be a good time to take some shots of this area....
I love the contrast between the sky and sun drenched earth.
You really caught some wonderful light that day.. these are gorgeous


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STMicroelectronics offers a broad portfolio of RF DMOS Power Transistors for applications ranging from 1MHz to 250MHz, such as FM broadcast, industrial, scientific and medical applications. ST offers a broad portfolio of RF DMOS transistors operating from a supply voltage ranging from 28 up to 150V. They feature high peak power (up to 1.2kW) and high ruggedness capability (infinite:1 VSWR). The STAC® air cavity features enhanced thermal behavior, improved RF performance and best-in-class reliability.
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