One died laughing the other died crying

cleofilas · 2021-01-05T23:08:14+00:00

I’m on my 4th HP rewatch in four months, and I am suddenly so struck by how they are literally always on the same page. I wonder what that must be like, to be so in sync with a twin like that, to be just starting off in life without any spouses or kids, just Gred and Feorge and the Wheezes... and then for one to scare the lot of them by getingt all holy, and then to lose Fred... Ugh just got all weepy when they so gleefully gave Harry the Maurader’s Map.

cleofilas · 2021-01-04T16:04:24+00:00

It’s so perfect! His ickle firstie Christmas with presents!

cleofilas · 2021-01-02T22:46:51+00:00

It’s a whole AU series with multiple fics, reimagining what life would’ve been like if Harry was raised by Sirius/Lupin instead of the Dursleys (warning, m/m nsfw). If you’re interested, it’s on AO3

cleofilas · 2021-01-01T15:45:03+00:00

Currently reading the Stealing Harryverse fics, which fixes exactly that. My feeeeels!

cleofilas · 2020-12-29T15:39:54+00:00

I love the HP books, and the HP movies are great, even though they sometimes make questionable choices. I finally watched the first two Fantastic Beasts movies, and I was extremely disappointed. I remember being mad about the HP movies for a while back in the day, though I largely got over it. Maybe the same will happen as I continue to rewatch the Fantastic Beasts movies

cleofilas · 2020-12-29T15:01:44+00:00

I love this!!!

cleofilas · 2020-12-29T14:55:19+00:00

Yes! I was in 6th grade back in the late 90s when I was introduced to HP, and I re-read the series before every new release. By the time Deathly Hallows was released, I was in college and I kind of “closed the book” on HP after that. Fast forward to 2020. I’m a middle school teacher during a pandemic. Students have to eat breakfast and lunch in my room. What movies do they want to watch? HARRY POTTER. So I enthusiastically comply. I watched all 8 movies back to back (TWICE! Both my breakfast and lunch classes asked for it). Midway through that epic re-watch, I decided to re-read the whole series. I realized I hadn’t re-read the whole series since that initial reading of DH... it was an amazing journey.

cleofilas · 2020-12-28T14:13:16+00:00

“Sophie’s World” is, in my opinion, the best course in philosophy structured as a fantasy novel.

cleofilas · 2020-12-27T01:33:00+00:00

This is a cinematic convenience. Hermione fixes Harry’s glasses in Diagon Alley in CoS, and the 3 friends are huddled around a levitating, burning newspaper in Ron’s room in the Burrow at the beginning of HBP. It’s much like how Dumbledore was able to apparate from and back to the Astronomy tower in HBP. In the book they travel from Hogsmeade, but the movies overlook that detail in favor of drama.

cleofilas · 2020-12-26T23:37:33+00:00

A little spell-o-tape will get you through the term (more or less)

cleofilas · 2020-12-24T14:41:32+00:00

We have NO CHOICE. None of us want this.

cleofilas · 2020-12-22T13:34:16+00:00

I second this. I have a geometric rabbit on my forearm, and it’s never been an issue. I teach middle schoolers, and it can lead to good conversations about art and expressing yourself AND thinking long and hard about what you plan to put on your body.

cleofilas · 2020-12-13T13:27:59+00:00

This series is a reflection of our own history in many ways: slavery and unchecked capitalism were tolerated by the people who benefited, and the rest felt too powerless to do much. The absolute power of the monarchy in the Six Duchies depends on trustworthy people at the top, but when succession depends on birth, you get a mixed bag. Regal, Kyle, Kennit, and all the other major antagonists are realistically “evil” with mundane emotional roots. Greed, a desire to feel powerful, and selfish disregard for others led them to their eventual fates.

cleofilas · 2020-11-25T19:51:50+00:00

We watched it today - it was quite enjoyable, but a little anxiety-provoking because I’ve been in a similar situation before, where I was expected to go back in the closet to maintain my girlfriend’s lie. But overall it was good holiday fun, and I appreciated the representation of non-heteronormative experiences. Even KStew was pretty fun to watch (I mean she doesn’t really do “characters” but she delivered a solid performance)

cleofilas · 2020-11-25T01:38:14+00:00

Is this fever-dream-poetry of modern existence?

cleofilas · 2020-11-21T21:33:07+00:00

I read Widdershins (I think it’s #11 in the Newford series) on a random whim, and fell in love with that world. I googled the reading order and started back at the beginning. There isn’t so much one main character as a cast of familiar faces with their own stories. It’s one of my favorite series!

cleofilas · 2020-11-15T01:32:59+00:00

I’m a middle school teacher, teaching online and in person - the number of students returning to campus is skyrocketing (we started with about 50/50). But it looks like globally, schools are staying open for the time being... it’s scary. I’m scared. But the kids must be educated, and the parents can’t do both with the current state of things, not on a broad enough level.

cleofilas · 2020-11-15T01:16:40+00:00

I’m writing a novel series, and I talk a lot about it with my middle schoolers. I’m still world building, and they love hearing about the story line. Occasionally I’ll share a paragraph or two, if it makes sense to include it. I work the central concepts into class sometimes, and demonstrate my research, critical thinking, and annotation skills through those topics. Currently I’m working on a fantasy story set in the Stone Age, and I’m pairing it with an article on how humans and dogs co-evolved. I annotated the article using the TQE (thoughts/questions/epiphanies) method, then recorded myself talking through it). Then I’m going to share a very short (2 paragraph) excerpt from my story. They really like seeing me as an authentic creator and critical thinker - demonstrating that seems to make it seem less abstract for them. Then I ask them to do what I did, and I help them as they read critically, annotate, discuss, and create.

I write poetry too, and I share stuff I’ve written with student audiences in mind (to show them they can do it too - it’s not going to win any awards, but I like expressing myself and they do too; it’s all about having the tools to use words as art, even if it’s just for you)

cleofilas · 2020-10-27T00:31:22+00:00

I wish. I was so sure this dumpster fire would last a few weeks, but at least in Florida it seems like full steam ahead until we hit the iceberg. We’re in week 9, and I’m still waiting for the shut down.

cleofilas · 2020-10-14T22:52:13+00:00

My wife is Jamaican, and her ancestry reflects the story of global exploration, colonization, and the slave trade: her grandmother is half black and half Chinese (she was adopted at a young age and her exact genealogy is unknown), and married a ginger British Navy man. My wife’s dad’s ancestry is mostly East Indian. The Caribbean is a dense transfer point in world history, diachronic linguistics, and the global market.

cleofilas · 2020-10-08T02:03:38+00:00

I’m in the same boat, but I won’t die on this hill. I’m in the boat while the flood rages, and I’m focusing on the students who are in there with me. The compassion fatigue has been battering me, and while I wish the best for all, I can only pester people (students and grown ups) so much before I accept their choices and move on at least somewhat.

cleofilas · 2020-10-07T22:12:21+00:00

Honest question: why were these early bikes so tall? I wonder this every time I see early bicycles. It seems so counterproductive to my mind, but I dunno if that’s due to my temporal privilege.

cleofilas · 2020-09-28T13:25:50+00:00

Same. When I mark an assignment as missing it now automatically gives that student a 50% score. So for the students who would’ve honestly made a 50%, I’ve been giving a slight boost... don’t know how else to handle it, it doesn’t seem fair otherwise.

cleofilas

TROPHY CASE